Was not very impressed, it was right in same complex as my hotel so wanted to give it a try and was disappointed. Â Had the fish tacos, the shell was good and the dressing was good, but it was "warm" not "hot"on the temp so kinda was so-so. Â Fish was so-so.
Server must have been new, she was not very aware of a lot of things about he menu, overall service was so-so. Â Okay for quick bite but would not recommend if you are looking for a good dinner and good experience.
Food is less than average. I've been here twice, once for lunch during the work week and once as takeout for dinner. First time had a burrito, second time we had a chicken quesadilla, a chicken salad and a taco. The burrito was totally less than average - wouldn't get it again. The chicken quesadilla and salad were poorly seasoned and the salad had barely any lettuce. The taco was okay.
The service is nice and the place is clean, but the food just isn't good. West Coast burrito down the street is more authentic mexican (but maybe thats because I grew up on the west coast)...
Swanky's is one of my favorites. I love the chips and while I'm not a guacamole fan, I do really like the guacamole here. I always do the build your own salad- chicken, veggies and black beans. It's enough for two meals, which makes it pretty cheap for me. Although I wouldn't exactly call it authentic Mexican food, I still enjoy it. And the patio is great when the weather's nice!
Review Source:I am frequently an unpopular Yelp reviewer.
I enjoy chain places. Â I also enjoy locally owned businesses. Â Some yelpers say why do you review a chain place, they are all the same and snub their nose. Â I'm not that girl because a) I haven't visited every chain restaurant and department store on the planet yet, and b) they are not always the same.
I have a favorite Carribean restaurant that is a chain locally, and I will tell you which locations I like and which one I don't, and they are within the same geographic area. Â Managers are different, cooks are different, you just never know.
I don't really know why I told you all that. Â I've only been to one location of Swanky's, and it's this one. Â I know it's a chain, I've seen others, just haven't been there.
Some small things that I like that are not earth-shattering:
- Think Blue Coast Burrito/Baja Burrito, but there's carpet. Â Does carpet impact the taste of your food? Â Nope. Â But it makes it's quieter, and I enjoy that.
- Your entree is delivered on an actual plate or in an actual bowl. Â As in china, or probaly more specifically ceramic/glass/something else, but not disposable. Â And not a plastc basket that you are asked not to throw away repeatedly near every trash can in the place.
- You can have a margarita if you want. Â 'Nuf said. Â The convenience of fast, with grown up perks.
The food in my opinion is good. Â If it's lunchtime and I want a burrito, I'm not expecting my favorite Mexican owned by immigrants that on Friday night has a 20 minute wait. Â I just want a burrito, and if the place has good guacamole, all the better. Â That's Swanky's.
I'm not a fan of spicy, so the fact that I can specify which salsa and each individual ingredient going in works for me. Â If you want to eat something so hot your tongue catches on fire, well, I worry about you.
Overall, it's a good choice and I like the bold colors, comfy booths, and tables that are half booth/half table with comfy chairs, too. Â I'm not saying that the tacos aren't good at Oscar's or that someone else might not be a more gourmet experience - but you all go ahead, I'm good here, thanks.
I have finally fond nachos worth eating in Nashville. After living in this city for 3 years, I had given up hope that any store in the city knew how to serve nachos. We stumbled on Swanky's because of a "Foodie Deal". My wife and I went for dinner. We had the nachos and 'queso and chorizo" as an appetizer and then she got barbacoa tacos and I got a chicken chimichanga. The servings were large with adequate spice. The margaritas were also very stiff. I will definitely be returning. I look forward to seeing how the rest of their menu is. This isn't another chain tex-mex restaurant. This was a good quality meal!
Review Source:I recently had Swanky's catered for my business, and was disappointed to learn about the quality of their food.
The queso dip comes from a can, as do their black beans. Their vegetables are not organic (which most are not in these types of places, but the average bell pepper has 15 different kinds of pesticides - organic would be a nice option). Their meat is not hormone-free or antibiotic-free, and the chicken has tasted dry the last few times we've ordered it.
It seems a bit ironic to call a place "Swanky" when the queso comes from a can...
I like Swanky's. When I worked down the street I would frequent this location for lunch and it is good for a pick up order.
The burrito bowls are excellent, I switched to the veggie after getting the chicken and not being a huge fan (reminded me of shredded canned chicken) but always had a great meal with the veggie bowl. The salsas are spicy and awesome, and most of the time the ingredients seem pretty fresh.
The fish tacos are really good, and whatever seasoning they put on their chips is amazing! I'm not giving them 4 stars because of the chicken and sometimes the veggies don't seem very fresh, but it's still a solid place to go for lunch!
If Chipotle or Qdoba let you order from your table and had a lot more options, and the burrito bowls were even larger, this would be it. Our server recommended the quest but it was so tasteless we sent it back. She also recommended the spicy buttermilk ranch which was phenomenal. Drinks come in huge to go cups.
Review Source:As someone who grew up around Tex-Mex and fresh Mexican food in Texas, I have learned what to expect with good Mexican food, and this is not it. The food was horrible, tasteless and mostly cold. Blech! For what I paid I could get better food and just as good service at Moe's or back home at Taco Cabana (if one wants to argue that this is not Tex-Mex).
The queso I ordered was cold and from the looks of it, whatever heat it had from cooking was obliterated when they added the Pico de Gallo. The fajita steak I ordered in my tacos had no seasoning what-so-ever and the cheese was tasteless too (both the queso and the shredded cheese). If you know me, I love my cheese and this was just sad.
The chips had seasoning... You Do Not Season Tortilla Chips!!!! And the salsa was only marginally good. For what I paid, I could have saved 25% cost at Taco Cabana and gotten 150% better food. Papasitos is 200% better, and the local Moe's is at least 125% better. Moe's and Taco Cabana both give better quality for the money, and Papasitos has both better quality and far larger portions for what you pay! I went here on a whim after they were talked up on Lightning 100 and suffice to say, they don't know anything about good Mexican or Tex-Mex at that station.
Why one star, if my experience was this bad shouldn't I be saying I wish I could give zero stars? While this is true, there is one, Just One, thing Swanky's does right. Do I have your attention now? Good, the one thing they do right is that they do not charge extra for guacamole. I will give them that, but that is about it. I will not be returning anytime soon though. Even though they do charge extra for guacamole, Moe's is far superior and just over the interstate from this abomination.
I don't understand why people dislike this place? Is it the best Tex Mex in the country? No. Is it fresh mexican for a reasonable price? Yes.
Don't go in expecting Santa Ana to cook you a meal, and you will leave happy. They do all of the necessities well except for the regular margaritas. I thought we were beyond the marg mix Nashville. Rosepepper has shown us the way.
Other than that, everything was good to very good.
I dunno - this place is like if Qdoba got nicer wood tables and straight from the mix machine margaritas. Its fine, nothing bad about it, but also nothing particularly 'swanky' to merit the approximately $2 per meal price increase.
None of the items in my burrito bowl were of any higher quality than I would've received at any of the other numerous 'build your own' mexi-cali joints here in town. It tasted fine though and I'm sure its a solid option for all those office workers in the area - namely if the boss or corporate card is picking up the (slightly overpriced) tab.
There were signs everywhere about being open late on weekends and happy hour prices on adult beverages. It makes me wonder whose 'scene' it is to have HH or to party at Chipotle?!?! Â Weird. ::shrugs::
Mexican restaurant? Â Two Stars. Â
Bar? Â Four stars.
I keep wanting to go back, but alas I'm old, married, and I'm a dad now. Â Nightlife for me is a visit to WalMart on a Friday night so I can do my grocery shopping without the lines that come on a Saturday or Sunday. Â
If I WERE the type to party though and didn't feel like hitting the club... this is definitely a spot where I could lounge about while enjoying some queso, chips, and a Corona
I don't consider 3 stars bad.. The description when you click says "A-OK" and that's exactly how I feel about Swanky's.
Husband and I were out in Cool Springs and had been caught in Christmas traffic for about an hour. As we approached the interstate I proclaimed that I was going to die if we didn't stop for food right. then. Swanky's rang a bell from my time in Memphis so I wanted to stop in.
I was confused when I first entered because the Swanky's I frequented when I lived in Memphis was like a "Moe's-style" down-the-line ordering experience and here I had a server. Hmm. Turns out they do the line during lunch and then have servers. Our server told us that "people really get confused by that." Um, yeah, they do. Pick one. I thought that was a pretty goofy way to run a restaurant - because when you have a server, you are just as likely to order from a checklist that she hands you as you are from the menu (think SATCO). So what am I tipping for if you just bring me a plate that I ordered myself (or, in our case, your coworker brought our food)? Bizarre.
Husband and I both got chicken dishes - he the burrito on a wheat tortilla and me the salad bowl. Well, I checked in on Foursquare and got a free chips and salsa special, so that was cool. I loved the salsa and the chips were fresh and crispy. One complaint - they don't bring you a lot of salsa! A whole big basket of chips and like a 2-oz. ramekin of salsa. I went to the bathroom and when I got back, husband had eaten all the salsa. Geez.
Our food.. ok I love spicy food, but as I dug into my salad I noticed that the juices at the bottom, when coating the food, were SUPER spicy. My eyes welled up with tears from how hot it was. I thought maybe it was just "pregnant taste buds" imagining things until my husband got to the middle of his burrito and said, "Whoa!" He must have hit the juicy part of the seasonings too, and he mentioned that it was way too hot for his taste (and he isn't a spice sissy!). All in all, my salad was fresh and the lettuce crispy, and all the things I asked for were on there (except sour cream, which I didn't notice until I was almost done), but I couldn't taste the seasonings on the chicken at all. All I could taste was HOT. The fact that by the time I was done my lips felt like I'd used an entire tube of that cinnamon lip gloss crap that sets your lips on fire really turned me off. In fact, just thinking about it now is making my mouth feel hot.
I might change my review to 4 stars if I went back and it wasn't so spicy; maybe on that night whoever mixed up the chicken and seasonings was too heavy-handed with the heat. I'd like to taste what their seasonings actually taste like and not just SPICY. I'd try it again but preferably during the day when you don't have to tip a server just to bring you a drink.
Swanky's is a nicer Chipotle, and when i say "nicer" I mean they have carpet and serve margaritas.
After an evening of shopping, my friend and I wanted to wine down with a margarita and some light munchies. We decided to try Swankys. It was about 8:30 and the place was pretty dead with crushed tortilla chips on the floor. All the food comes out on disposable containers, including your soft drinks. You can get a specialty item, or you can get a 'this-is-what-i-want-check-list" where you pick your toppings for either your tacos, burrito or salad. Â
The server was more of a 'buffet' style server, where they just bus your table and take your check-list order from you. Â When I got my custom tacos, I was thinking I was really going to get blown away by the wonderful ingredients I had chosen. Â Well, they were JUST tacos, nothing to rave about.
The drinks were okay, very very sweet. Â The only sound we heard while were eating was of the roller-vacuum was picking up 1 chip at time. Â No music.
Swanky's lived up to its name in the bathrooms, which are very nice and swanky. Honest. Check em out!
I did not realize that I had not yet reviewed Swanky's as I have been here on several occasions for lunch because it is very close to my work in Cool Springs.
It is an upscale version of Chipotle - that's how I would described the place. Â The spices and the flavoring are better than Chipotle but the offerings very similar. Â The portion sizes are large, but no larger than Chipotle. Â Most of the experience is similar to a Chipotle experience. Â The decor is just nicer at Swanky's.
First I'll talk about getting to go from here for lunch. I have had a burrito bowl twice and a salad once. The salad was HUGE and I couldn't finish it. I didn't really enjoy the salad because there was a lot of white lettuce - I'd rather they use spinach - and a lot of "juices" at the bottom of the bowl. However, I really enjoy the burrito bowls. They are smaller and they mix of flavors is great. I love the rice and the medium salsa. So far chicken is my favorite meat vs. the barbacoa which I found to be super greasy. I love the guacamole (free!). And for some reason I love collecting their plastic cups for soda. Really, it's one of the draws of this place for me.
I've also had Swanky's cater a work lunch. They are awesome for this! I ordered a fajita bar which has a million things for people to choose from to build their own fajitas. It's only $10/person. Great deal, in my opinion. I also added on the queso for $1/person. The queso isn't the best out there, but it's decent. I probably wouldn't order it again. They were on time and very organized. I definitely recommend using Swanky's for catering a quick, informal lunch.
And Swanky's has a gluten free menu! Some day I won't just come in to get a burrito bowl to go, and I'll actually order something else off the extensive gluten free menu.
Swanky Tacos. Â Isn't that an oxymoron?
Swanky is stylishly luxurious and expensive. Â A taco is a cheap Mexican food predating the current language of the aforementioned country. Â So heading in to Swanky's Tacos I ask Swanky and Taco, are they Swanky, or are they Tacos?
Swanky: It's stylin' in here. Â It's not a Taco Bell, or a Mexican restaurant with campy decor.
Taco: Tacos are on the menu.
Swanky: Tequila flights. Â 3 shots 1 price. Â There is more to tequila here than Jose' Cuervo.
Taco: The server didn't know the tequila flights were on the drinks menu.
Swanky: They have a drink menu.
Taco: They have 2 or 3 copies of the drink menu for the whole restaurant, so if you don't ask for it, it doesn't exist.
Swanky: Food is super fresh tasting, and very customizable.
Taco: If you're not creative, you can get a pretty basic, albeit fresh, taco.
Swanky: Tapas!
Taco: Only 5 Tapas, one of them being Nachos, so you can't really make a meal of Tapas.
Swanky: You wouldn't feel out of place here in a shirt and tie.
Taco: You will dribble a black bean down that tie. Â Wear a t-shirt and jeans.
Swanky: $51 for 2 people.
Taco: The water glass is a big plastic cup, like something from a sporting event, that would also cost you $51
In the end, it is a perfect balance of Swanky and Taco, and It earns a balanced 3 stars. Â Now I need to see if there is a restaurant named "Tasty's Rice Cakes"
I always feel like giving 3 stars to a place is bad in some way - but don't take it like that at all. Â Swanky's is a good place for some food. Â They have burritos and tacos and other tasty morsels as well.
However, I have been during the day once and at night once and both times the service underwhelmed me. Â
During the day (and during times when the weather is warmer) it is a great place to sit on the patio and have a drink or seven.
The chips were decent - the salsa didn't blow me away. Â The queso was pretty good however. Â But, it wasn't different enough or good enough for me to remember anything specific about the queso - other than it was good. Â
However, the chips I do remember. Â They didn't have just salt on them as is standard for most tortilla chips. Â There were also some other spices sprinkled over our chips. Â Not sure exactly what it was - but, it was decent.
Swanky's excels in a few places however.
First, they do have a great atmosphere. Â The food is decent - but not better (or worse) than I've had other places. Â They also have going for them a great selection of tequilas. Â And, apparently, they staff people who know a LOT about the tequilas. Â I didn't know there was that much to know! Â I just thought - you have enough of it and your clothes magically disappear. Â I'm not sure how it happens - but it just does. Â Apparently there is more to tequila than its ability to make you naked.
Again, I hate giving 3 stars because I think 3 stars is average. Â And I know when I'm looking for a place to go and searing Yelp - I'm not looking for average. Â I want something great! Â So, I feel that it is worth checking out - I just didn't think it was different enough to make it stand out in my mind. Â But I will come back for the atmosphere and tequila. Maybe I'll ask the tequila experts if there is any that keeps my clothes on! Â I'll put that on my 'to do' list.
I used to really like Swanky's - then I got food poisoning from there, and spent 3 days in bed really sick. I tried the place again after a few months and left feeling pretty ill. I spoke with some friends and co-workers, and apparently just about everyone I know who's eaten regularly at Swanky's as gotten pretty ill at some point or another because of their food. While the place has good service, a nice atmosphere, and good value, there food will inevitably make you sick...I avoid the place completely now.
Review Source:Here is a trivia question for you: Name two places in Nashville that have Trivia Nights.
If you answered Ming's Laundry on Nolensville and Taco Bell, then you are WRONG! DING DING DING!
Swanky's is one place that has aforesaid Trivia Nights (on Wednesdays at 8) The decor is nice and for a tequila connoisseur such as myself, it is another place (the only other besting Swanky's being Sol in downtown Franklin) with a moderately decent choice of heady tequilas. Food choices were meh! for a Vegetosaurus like me, but the infinite chips and salsa refills were nice. Waitresses were amenable and the trivia nights are pretty fun, even if my answer was Jimmy Carter for all the questions.
the other place is The Flying Saucer (on Tue nights)
I thoroughly enjoy Swanky's for lunch. Â I typically eat there once a week or so. Â Most of the guys who work there are nice. Â Service is fast, food is decent especially when I'm in the mood for chicken tacos. Â It's fast food not dinner at a top restaurant with international chefs. Â I especially love their chips when they are warm and the queso is decent. Â The chips have a dusting of seasonings which taste great! Â It's quick and inexpensive. Â I've had a couple of drinks there and the bartender was knowledgeable about the different tequilas. Â
The atmosphere is better than Moe's and I can actually have an alcoholic beverage other than beer.
Yes, I like a fast-casual mexican-style salad.  And yes, Swanky's satisfies.  The lettuce could be better than bagged iceberg mix, but there's plenty of sautéed veggies, corn, tomatoes, and many different salsas to make a delicious and relatively healthy dinner.
I wouldn't go there for the ambiance, but it's great for takeout.
And don't get the chips - they need salt.
in my opinion, style over substance. Â reminded me of a recent UK version 'kitchen nightmares' episode where the owner really wanted a bar, but was (badly) running a restaurant instead. Â too dark -- this isn't the W hotel, it's a taco place in Cool Springs.
tried some tortilla soup & fish tacos with black beans. Â Asked for a cup of soup, received (and was charged for) a bowl. Â ok, pretty salty, nothing special. Â
black beans were mysterious - hard to screw these up but they had apparently been overcooked to the point where they were mid point between black beans & refried black beans from a consistency standpoint. Â i could eat black beans 2x a day and I left these on the plate.
fish taco - again, eh, not bad but nothing special. Â pricey for a small amount of food.
this struck me as mexican for people that are afraid to go to Mexican restaurants. Â I won't return.
I eat at Swanky's once a week and have never had a bad experience. Â You can order off the menu, or "build your own" (salad bowl, burrito bowl, burritos, tacos, etc) Â and they make them right in front of you. Â Huge portions, Â low prices, fast/friendly service, hip atmosphere. Â What's not to love?
Review Source:I'll echo David O.'s review of Swanky's: It's ALMOST awesome.
The food is pretty great, but the prices are a tad too rich for my taste. Â I can get similar food at Blue Coast Burrito or Baja Fresh for less money. Â But the fish tacos keep calling be back. Â While I don't eat there often, when I do, I generally have a good experience.
Swanky's is ALMOST Awesome. From its almost awesome ambiance, almost awesome service and to its almost awesome food. First off I'll freely admit that I'm a girthy guy, but this is one of the only places I've been to where the booth is simply too small. The seating is really cramped. Even after moving to a table there was very little room for nearby patrons. They do have some Great Salsa.
The service average. We identified ourselves as first time patrons, but the waitress failed to mention a choice of corn or flour tortilla. I did not like the Corn tortilla at all. The ingredients were delicious, but my taco was not as good as I think it would have been with a flour tortilla
The Taco was very messy though, and I requested extra napkins. The waitress went to retrieve them, but when returning she walked to a table past ours WITH the napkins and proceeded to have a conversation with those patrons only to come back to my table with the napkins after this exchange. It would have been much nicer for my shirt if she had just dropped the napkins off as she passed.
Atmosphere is a big selling point and I can certainly see why people would enjoy going there. Hopefully if I return the overall experience will be better and more enjoyable.
Since I had never been to Swanky's, I felt that I needed to order the tacos, because....well, Tacos is in their name! If I ever give Swanky's another chance, I won't be getting the tacos.
I'm an accident-prone eater (meaning that my shirt often wears my food), and ordering the tacos was a big mistake for me. The ingredients seemed to just be thrown in the shells and was spilling out all over and even filling the bottom of my basket. To combat the accident-proneness that I am used to experiencing, I ate the tacos with my fork instead of like a taco.
Be aware: the soft tacos are made from corn tortillas instead of the commonly used flour tortillas. You can request flour tortillas, but we found this out after we had ordered, so that wasn't very helpful.
I'll probably give Swanky's one more try just because the ingredients were very delicious, but I won't be ordering the tacos again.
Funny apparently some of the reviewers are expecting a gourmet meal for $7. The fact that Swanky's has a great dining room and table service perhaps some folks forgot that IT BASICALLY IS FAST FOOD.
Chipotle is a fair comparison, but this food is better and the dining room is great. I love the cards where you can choose your individual ingredients. Â
It's a fun, comfortable place and my kids love it.
If you want to eat food inspired by Mexico without smelling Pine-Sol, without having bad Tejano music blaring in your ears, without deperately trying to flag down sweaty food-stained waiters for your check so you can stand in line at the register/candy stand, etc... give this place a try.
I went here for lunch today because my friend was craving Mexican food. Being from California I was skeptical how "Mexican" this place would be. And I was right, it's very Americanized. If you have been to Chipotle, it's pretty much a knock-off of that concept. You pick your base (soft or hard shell tacos, bowl, burrito, etc) and then pick the ingredients you put in it. They also have tapas dishes (quesadillas, nachos, etc). Their meat looked like something that was broiled in the oven (gross) so I got a Vegatarian Burrito Bowl. It was pretty tasty but nothing compared to my love for Chipotle! They had a tequila bar so I enjoyed a margarita on the rocks. It was ok but not strong enough for me (they are pre-made).
I would go back if someone suggested to go, but if I was making the decision I would probably choose somewhere else.
I'd give them 3.5 stars if it was possible. Not quite worthy of 4, but close!
The first time I went to Swanky's I was really impressed! I had their chicken quesadilla. It is a little unique. It's made with a chipotle-like chicken mix and served with a garlic sauce that goes perfectly with it. I loved every bite and it was a BIG quesadilla, too.
The 2nd visit I tried their Fish Tacos. Excellent Fish Tacos! My only complaint is that there are only 2 of them and the price is a little steep for that in my opinion. But you can excuse the price if you're able to appreciate the quality of these tacos, which I was able to justify.
My 3rd visit stunk! I tried their Nachos. I should have known better since I was not impressed with the chips they serve with salsa on previous visits. They are a lighter tortilla chip than most places serve. While I can give them an E for effort, and not just serving some lame Sysco Distribution chips, their chips are especially not suited to nachos. They become a soggy mess within a minute or two after being served.
I'm on my way to try Swanky's for the 4th time and will report back!
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