Wow... that review was so written by somebody in their early 20s.
LOLOLOLOLOLOL -- let's all make fun of me in 2009, shall we? I'll get us started:
*long island iced teas
*$20 ring
*my mother picked me up (wow... I actually wrote about that)
*did I really reference special treatment!?!? Â OMG somebody get in the time machine and slap me.
Talk about a 180! Â We took our 91 year old Grandma for lunch on Saturday. It took forever to get our drinks and food. When we got our food two of the orders were wrong and my Grandma's meal wasn't to her liking. Within minutes everything changed. Jason, the chef came out and saved the day. He instantly cooked my Grandma's meal to perfection, brought her a wonderful desert along with a free appetizer. In addition they knocked a meal and drinks off the bill. After we ate Jason gave us a tour of the kitchen and told us his rathetr touching history with The Spar. What started as a horrible dining experience turned into a wonder time accompanied by terrific food. We ended up leaving a generous gratuity and will be coming back. Well done Jason, well done.
Review Source:Let me start by saying I'm not young. Â I'm a mom. Â I'm a grandma. Â I like to go out and have a good time. Â The Swiss fits that bill, Â I find their beer selection more than sufficient. Â Today they had a porter from Ft. George Brewery, something that's hard to find in these parts. Â
 I like that they allow kids until 8pm.  I LOVE that they will reserve as much space as you wish for an afternoon party and not charge for that space..  We've held a joint baby shower and two first birthday parties there for members of my family.  The staff are SO friendly and helpful whenever I've been there as part of a large group, and we are not always low maintenance. Â
The food is above average and breakfast on weekends is a real treat and trivia Tuesdays are always a good time, even if we do suck at it!
I've only been to the Swiss for "happy hour", but I like the place. Â I've heard it can be a meat market on Fri-Sat night, but my experience is just the opposite. Â The afternoon happy hour crowd is low-key and friendly. Â The bar tenders have a slanted humor, but they can be pretty funny once you get to know them.
Review Source:Should be more like an overcast night. Mediocre overpriced food, the worst service in the Northwest, and the rudest. We arrived early. The place was nearly empty. Still, after 45 minutes, our food wasn't there. When we complained, they behaved as if it were our fault. Apparently, at the Swiss, there is no complaining.
Review Source:Have been here many times in the past to watch various bands, but flat out refuse to return. Â The reason: the spoiled brat, entitled, douchebag fratboys that over-run the place like rats on a wheat barge. Â The staff is great, but seem to be overly tolerant of these obnoxious losers. Â Figure out a way to make these fucktards feel as welcome as cancer, and the Swiss stands a chance of being a decent place to get your rock on. Â The rest of the crowd is pretty cool, actually.
Review Source:We were here on a Saturday night before going to the monster truck rally (America fuck yeah).
We are not from Tacoma and have really never been anywhere other than point defiance zoo. We literally stumbled into this place after walking around Tacoma looking for bars. Seriously where are the bars in Tacoma?!
Anyway, I am glad I found this place because it was pretty cool. First of all, they have supergoose IPA on tap. It's my boyfriend's fave beer and we have never seen anywhere serve it that way. 2 points!
Their whiskey cokes weren't the best when poured, but whenever I got one particular bartender, he made it stronger than the other bartenders and I appreciated that.
The vibe itself was pretty cool. It had a cool antiquated feel with a modern edge.
Good happy hour prices!
The Swiss - It's one of downtown Tacoma's most well known and prominent nightlife spots. It's been a little while since I've been here, but when I have gone, this place has proven to be a very mixed bag for me. Time for a pro/con assessment!
PROS - Cool historical/vintage building and decor. Friendly bartenders. Decent beer selection. Decent food from what I've had, and an abundance of pool tables. Reasonably priced.
CONS - Since this is basically a college bar (right within the UW Tacoma area), it tends to get extremely crowded, and attract a less desirable type of clientele on the weekends (To put it nicely). The live music is nice to have, but it's basically only been cover bands when I've gone. (To be fair though, it's kind of what I expected for who comes here on weekends).
My thoughts? Come here during the day or on a slower night if you wanna check this place out. Overall, it's just not really my kind of scene when it gets busy - But different strokes for different folks.
I went to The Swiss with my husband to meet several friends to see Dick Dale perform last night. Â We understood it was going to be busy, and were not completely surprised the establishment was packed when we arrived. Â What did not make sense was the poor lack of planning to make sure everyone was going to be accomodated so that they could eat dinner. Â The middle section (where the stage is) and the back section were blocked off until 8 PM. Â About half the tables sit in that area. Â
We are not too good to stand up and eat. Â However, now that The Swiss has decided to become "family friendly" (about a year or so ago), it is table service until 8 PM. Â You cannot get food unless you are seated at a table. Â Which my husband and I could not find one of. Â There was not even any seating at the bar itself. Â A server told us she'd try to squeeze us in at a table, but then disappeared and actually did not follow through.
We were too hungry to wait until after 8 PM (we were there at 7 PM), and we were too hungry to wait for a table (only to have to wait to have our order taking and that whole nine yards). My husband and I and another couple walked next door to The Rock and bought dinner and beer. Â
We don't go to The Swiss like we used to frequently do, since we eat at 21+ and up establishments to be away from annoying children. Â Not only does The Swiss allow kids until 8 PM, they cannot even ensure on busy nights with special events everyone who shows up there can eat when they need to do so. Â From here on out if we attend any music events there, we're not going to assume we'll be able to get food service and will eat before we go.
You know when you do a favor for somebody they usually return it at some point? Well a couple weeks ago the band I play in was here to perform for a benefit show. We knew it was for a benefit and wouldn't be receiving any money but they didn't even give us any deal on food or any free drinks, most venues give each band member two drinks at least . I asked the waitress what deals they were offering bands and she said "I'll check with the manager". She came back and actually said "You must have us confused with another venue because we don't offer the bands anything". Then she asked if I wanted to order anything and I said no. I ended up going to the Rock for pizza.
I don't think I have ever been treated like that in all of my years of playing live music and I really don't think I'll ever go back here again. Not only for the above reasons but because it's mostly a meat market vibe with spotty service and a weak beer selection.
I have no idea what changed, like new owner or staff? this used to be a great place on a friday or saturday night, great bands, good selection of beers. We went in and everything was changed, the bar was runing out of beer, the music was way too loud for how little patrons where there. Gotta find something closer to home with more bodies and beer.
Review Source:I want to like the Swiss, one of Tacoma's iconic bars. I've given it multiple chances.
Unfortunately, it falls short of its peers in beer selection (Parkway Tavern), food (Peterson Bros.), atmosphere (Red Hot), people-watching (all the aforementioned places), sports-watching and, oddly, temperature.
Yes, temperature is an issue here. It's hot and muggy, an unusual problem for Western Washington in November. My girlfriend and I had to remove multiple layers of clothing in an unsuccessful attempt to get comfortable.
Drink selection is average; my girlfriend asked for a "lighter" beer and was given a choice of Coors Light, Miller Lite and Bud Light. Not an inspiring set of options. My clam chowder was quite fantastic, but the oyster shooters didn't come with horseradish or hot sauce, and the cocktail sauce had a consistency suggesting it'd recently been frozen.
This apparently is a good place for families on Sunday afternoons; we were surrounded by so many during our most recent visit that it was a little creepy. Fortunately, they didn't break into "Another Brick in the Wall Part II" while shuffling toward us with arms outstretched. Still, it's not the atmosphere we were looking for.
The closest I could get to a TV screen showing the Seahawks game was a projector in the middle room. The way that room is set up, no one can sit within 20 feet of the screen, which is blurry. This makes for an uncomfortable viewing experience.
Great neighborhood place. This place used to be more of a locals dive from what I remember, now the college crowd descends on weekends ruining everything as they always do.
The food has always been great, loads of beers on tap, I've even had authentic cask ale here, though that is not always available. The staff is always friendly. I love this place on weeknights when it's not overrun by the college crowd.
The Swiss....what can I say about the Swiss....it doesn't remind me of a multifunctional Army knife nor a perfectly synced timewatch nor the beauty of the Alps....this Swiss reminds me sadly of a rowdy straight bar lol
We decided to check out the bar after a lovely reverse happy hour at the Social at Thea's Landing...lo and behold there's a big ass bouncer at the entrance and although he knew one of my friends he still made me pay to get in and YES we even had some estrogen with us which is something you MUST have going into a hetero bar and he still made me pay...jerk. Sooo that kind of turned off the night a bit...once you enter it wasn't that crowded but then we realized there are several areas...there's the seating area right at the entrance then the bar area, then a dance floor area with a stage where a cover band usually would periodically perform throughout the night and then in the back a larger area with pool tables...I was pretty impressed and realized woah there's alot more people in here than I thought which was fine...until you realize it was a mix of Jersey shore like girls or should I say older ladies "thinking" they're still in their twenties as well as drunk douche-bag like boys trying to get up on them! .....it also seems and its not surprising that its a place where lots of the straight military boys like to go to (and some were HOOOOOOOT! and some were noooooot! lol) The highlight of the night was the people watching and the cover band...they played some great songs and the singer with her 'tude was confident and fantastic..just wish I can say the same for the patrons who looked like they were imbibing a bit toooo much...oh yeah and I forgot about the sprinkle of nasty old guys who were looking for something...ick.
I guess from the gay perspective, this is a pretty alright bar...I think it depends on your mood and who you are with...I guess I just wasn't feeling it that night BUT it has potential...I'm sure I'll be back and obviously there's power in numbers so will definitely make a repeat visit with a bigger group which usually makes things a bit more fun since I'm not there to try to find a hook up (unless he is SUPER SUPER HOT! ;) )
Thanks Swiss...you're not really a hit and you're not really a miss...here's to good times!
My overall verdict: No thanks.
I can understand paying a cover to keep the crowds out, but there is nothing that makes me want to keep coming back and shelling out the bucks just to come here. The place overall is not very appealing, and its usually filled with the kind of people I try to avoid. I have been dragged here numerous times, and it is just my preference to go other places. For $2 more you can get into a bar in Seattle that has a lot more character and class.
That said, the staff has always been nice and attentive. The well drinks were really poor last time I went, used really cheap alcohol, not sure what it was.
This place used to be cool back in the day (and by that I mean - 1995/1996) but it has gotten increasingly meat-markety. Â Or, maybe I have just gotten old :)
The drinks are great here and the service at the bar ordering drinks is great, however it's extremely slow for food orders.
I also found annoying that thy started their weekend covercharge entry time of "after 7pm" or something rediculous to try to stop those that come hours early to avoid the cover. Â LOL! Â Annoying though.
All you single 20-something women, beware - because there are agressive military guys all over ther place between 11pm and 2am on weekends looking to score and/or start fights.
Just sayin' :) Â Keep an eye on your drink if you know what I mean.
But as for the Swiss itself - Decent food and service.
Let's face it, it's a meat market! Once you get used to the idea of a bunch of pervs offering you a vacation in Mexico, you'll probably have a very good time. Obviously, some nights are better than others. I'd check the calendar prior to going to see which band is playing. Certain bands will draw a certain type of crowd.
Love the bartenders, they are always friendly and the drinks are amazing. I absolutely love the food here and I never leave this place without getting something to eat.
The hubby and I used to go there more often but got tired of the testosterone infused atmosphere and the barely 21 y.o. drunk girls spilling drinks on people (us!)
Now we only go whenever they have a good band playing on the weekend which is rare because KryBoys or whatever they're called are always playing, cool band to see a couple of times but it's getting old...
Drinks are tasty and reasonably priced, food is pretty standard. I think the bathrooms are tiny, 2 stalls for a flock of drunk girls?
Come prepared to be pushed, balance your drink and watch out for others', dance with a total stranger, get an eyeful of a couple almost @$&*#^% in a corner, pay $8 cover to feel like saying "Why did I come here!" as you walk in the door and "I don't want to leave" as you walk to your car.
I love this place!
Well, I've been to the Swiss for the night life and for a sit down lunch. Â The live music is pretty cool on Friday/Saturday night if you don't mind the cover.. Â ohhhh, I went on a Sunday afternoon for an afternoon drink. Â We sat at the tables near the pool table area. Â Some huge fight broke out between these (what it looked like) college guys playing pool... they were going crazy and the cops came. Â Even this experience didn't detour me from the place... so I went back again for lunch with a co-worker. Â I ordered their chicken breast sandwich (or was it considered a burger)? Â It was dry and didn't taste very good. :( Â
If you have nowhere else to go to in Tacoma for live music and drinks, I suppose the Swiss is a good place to go. Â The venue itself is pretty cool.. grungy and you get like that antique feel... I dig that.
Just up the steps from UW, in an historic old building lies The Swiss. It turned out to be a haven from the rain on our little visit to Tacoma and its smoky-dark rooms offered a warm escape full of good cheer, chilled beer and outstanding fish 'n chips. The manager, a tall, handsome man, goes by Jack, gave us a tour and, much as I hate to say this, the art collection here rivals that from across the street at the Tacoma Art Museum (<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/tacoma-art-museum-tacoma#hrid:NiSiN8GFm-prKfE26z0Kmg">http://www.yelp.com/biz/…</a>). Plus, they have cold beer, good food and no entry fee. Ask for Jack and ask about the Chihuly bongs above the bar. He'll probably call them "Venetians" or some such nonsense but we know.
I'd love to come back some rock 'n roll night for the music and a pint or two.
I've been to The Swiss a few times and it has been a decent spot to get some good bar food and a pitcher of good beer before concerts at the Tacoma Dome. Â A few of us went there before a concert last night and the service was HORRIBLE. Â
We arrived before the pre-concert rush, but the waitress was more interested in getting our credit card on file than taking our drink orders for first round. Â She forgot drinks - when we actually got them, got the wrong order on our food - after we had her tracked down to take it, and had my wife carry two plates of our table's food to our own table - after my wife tracked her down to check on the status of our food.
I'm happy that there are now a few other options down there. Â Won't be doing The Swiss again.
It's a College bar so beware! Â About 9p to 10p the douches swarm in like a violently sexual nest of hornets.
The bartenders are great.  They are laid back and funny, never missing a beat and staying on it no matter how  crowded it gets.
All the food is pretty standard and nothing to write home about but the drinks can be pretty stiff, which a girl on a budget can definitely appreciate.
There is a lot to this place, with excellent live music, pretty rad art throughout the beast and sections of activities with the common pool tables, dance floor, VG's and shuffle board. Â I'm game to come here for bday parties and HH after work.
You know that proverbial 'sea' where they say all those other 'fish' are? It's actually not an ocean, it's a bar, and it's called the Swiss.
$8 weekend cover charge might get you a little salty, but when you get inside you know you're in for quite the ride. The kind of ride though.. well, that's up to you.
The place is like, 4:1 ratio of men to women. Ladies, get here if you're looking for that one-night-stand with a guy that looks good and gets buckwild. Beware: some people here get smashed. Wait-- a LOT of people here get smashed. I've been destroyed here twice. The drinks are super strong. Like 2/3+ vodka and 1/3 tonic. Yeah, I like numbers when I think about the Swiss.
Get your bump 'n' grind on the tiny dance floor with a live band on the weekend. Play some pool and get some grub. In the back of the first room lies coat-check and a minibar where you can get beers and, in the winter, spiced wine or rum punch. In the third room over, where tables and pool tables lie, is another minibar where you can get vodka-Monsters and Jagerbombs.
Just expect to be constantly sandwiched between people unless you're in the smoker's section out front. That might not be a bad thing though.
I give this place a five star, just because its free cover for UW students and it has live music(rock) on Saturdays. Â I believe that cover is $7 on Saturday, but I don't know if they charge on other nights also. Â
Like the fact that they have like six pool tables, and two bars. Definitely a great place to relax to some drinks and live music. Â
The crowd is pretty much in causal attire like shorts and flippy floppys, and the age range is anywhere between 21-50/60ish?
If you're looking for fun on the weekend The Swiss is definitely the place to go. Â There's always a band and with three large rooms you can either chill in the front room with the bar, dance in the middle room, or play pool, shuffle board, darts and foosball in the third room.
The bartenders go out of their way to get to know you and their service is great. There's a variety of clientele that usually makes for an interesting night.
On the weekend there is usually a cover (varies) around 7 dollars. Make sure you have your ID with you or you'll be turned away at the door.
Overall it's a fun place to go with friendly staff, great drinks and a variety of shows.
This is definitely an interesting place. They had a bar, a stage for live music, some arcade games, and pool. Even though they had live music going on last night they only charged $5 to get in. But maybe that was because we didn't stop by until around 11.
The main reason I wouldn't spend a lot of time here is because of the clientele. No one was rude or anything, but I didn't get the impression I would hit it off with a lot of the people there. The woman that took me there said it was usually full with military guys and I also saw older women trying to act young (no the 21 year old bassist doesn't want to go home with you) and borderline slutty looking younger girls getting drunk and crazy (and again no the bassist doesn't want to go home with you).
Now I'm not trying to judge anyone, I'm all for the people that like this place going out and enjoying it. It just didn't seem like MY type of place. But if it is your kind of place it seems like it would be a lot of fun.
On the plus side they had a lot of cool hot rods parked out front.
+1 for the rockabilly show
+1 for all the hot rods of the 30s-70s parked outside (even though this technically isn't the bar's doing... still... nice. Especially the glittering golden one.)
+1 for only $5 cover when there are bands performing
+1 for the dudes who look like they are straight out of "Jersey Shore." Guy with the DJ Pauly D. gel spike haircut? PM me, thx.
-1 for the relentless olfactory assaults you experience while walking through the space. Everywhere I set foot, there was SOMETHING rank. Gasp, cleaning ammonia! Gag, here someone farted and there is sulfur! Â Ugh, someone puked! Eww, the bathroom! Bleh, sweaty people! There is no respite. None.
-1 for not letting me Yelp check in when I'm standing in the middle of the live room right in front of the stage because "You are too far away to check in here." I'm too far away when I'm INSIDE you? That's DEEP. Talk about some deep-seated issues, whoa.
It is what it is...
I've only been here on Friday and Saturday nights for the nightlife/music. Â $8 cover charge and live music.
It's such an odd mix of people: 21 year old cutesy girls, guys that look like they're auditioning for the Jersey Shore, middle-aged men/women who think they're still in their 20's, and just about every other type you can think of (some, not so bad).
I come here because it's so close to home, but it's hit or miss...and I hate paying for cover (and parking) and then not enjoying myself... Â
The dance floor is quite small and gets really packed and the pool table area is okay but gets super stuffy. Â The drinks are nice and stiff though, and I hear the food is good, although I've never tried it.
I pretty much have one rule for bartenders that will earn a negative experience from me, if I order a Red Bull and get something similar but not Red Bull. Red Bull is not a generic catch all for energy drinks. Red Bull is a product, a very specific one. If I want a whiskey coke you don't pour me whiskey and root beer do you? If you don't have it, tell me so I can get something else.
That said I didn't really have the greatest time here. I've lived in Washington for 4 years and finally decided to make my way out to Tacoma to see Donald Glaude at the Swiss. I really wasn't expecting this place to be so big but damn, the Swiss is a killer space with tons of pool tables and crazy lights swirling around. The vibe was off however with a DJ hammering music that was too fast and too frantic for the 0 people on the dance floor. It was honestly a headache to listen to (at one point I heard Van Halen vs. Nelly Furtado vs. Busta Rhymes vs. House of Paint, Awful). Come on, coax them onto the dance floor, don't bash their ears in before they have a chance to get their drink on.
After my friends got there the tempo of the music came down a bit and surprise! The dance floor filled up. We had a beer with surprisingly quick service and people watched for a little bit and it started to become very apparent that this was going to be a college bar and that maybe drinking heavily around a bunch of Ed Hardy clones was a recipe for disaster. So I stopped drinking there and went outside to have a smoke where I saw a pepper sprayed drunk being hauled into a cop car. Looks like my suspicions of this night were on point. It was only 10:45 and people were drunk enough for the cops to be called.
When Donald Glaude came on though a lot of my worries were washed away. The dancefloor was alive with energy and everyone was having a good time. People were dancing on stage and everyone was having a blast. That is until some random drunk dumped a beer on my friend and they started fighting in the middle of the dancefloor. People yelled, people were shoved, and before I knew it my friend was thrown out (to be fair, by the time security got there my buddy did look like the aggressor in the situation). Kind of a lame way to end the night but to be I was pretty much done with the night anyway.
So I'll give it 2 stars for the well done lighting, speedy service, and jacking dance floor, but it's got a long way to go to overcome the shitty house dj, confusing smoking area, hostile crowd, college drunks, and my own personal pet peeve of thinking I can't taste the difference between Monster and Red Bull.
It's Saint Paddy's day and I'm in Tacoma. Â Dammit!
Wait... I have an idea! Â Nothing says Irish quite like The Swiss! Â After all, the hills around Killarney are reputed to be chocked full of scantily clad boozy coeds... right? Â Furthermore, I'm pretty sure that the old Gaelic word "craic" translates to: ogling drunken revelers. Â This makes The Swiss quintessentially Irish.
Honestly, my buddies and I wanted a couple of beers, and we found 'em here with a booth on one of the busiest drinking nights of the year. Â We drank, we ogled, then we hit the rack at our hotel. Â Aren't we good boys?
The Swiss makes me feel older and younger at the same time. Â I think I like that.
I want to like this place more than I do. Â Despite some things strongly in its favor, other things detract.
Excellent beer selection; but I'm not really into their sandwiches. Â Or their other food, really.
The decor is awesome; this place has been around forever, and it shows (in a good way). Â But I'm not into live music, and this place has it. Â Too loud, too crowded, too expensive to get in if all you're into is a drink with friends.
This place is a landmark for a reason, but it's just not always my speed. Â On one of their quiet nights (without earsplitting music), however, I'm happy to pop in here for a beer or three after work.
You gotta love a place where the doorman loudly announces that if you "cause any trouble, YOU WILL BE TASERED." Wow thanks man, the not only sounds illegal but you've really made me want to stay!
I'll admit I've only been to the swiss twice--the first time I was punched in the face by an unruly woman who was at least twice my size (in both respects) and couldn't take no for an answer. Then she screamed for the bouncer and lied to him, saying I was the one who had hit her. Needless to say, I was promptly thrown on the ground and subdued, and had it not been for my friends I probably would have been arrested. Most guys know not to hit women, but apparently the people who frequent this hole are of the "domestic dispute" variety.
The second time--last night--two guys appeared out of thin air and started trying to beat the shit out of my friend. The Tacoma "police" officers who were on hand near the entrance couldn't have cared less and instead treated us as if we were the ones who had just committed a crime. Maybe we should just feel lucky we weren't tasered? Cool.
Since I usually choose to spend my weekends in Seattle, I found this place to be a total joke. It's Tacoma for gods sake! I mean, the city has really cleaned itself up and seems to have a better image now, but the attitude at some of the places here could really use some work. With so many lowlifes hanging around this place, you'd think that any respectably dressed, halfway decent person would be a welcome reprieve, but I guess not. I guess that taser warning was a good hint at what kind of clientele this place is trying to attract.
Needless to say, I'll never go back to this place again. If you're looking for a stress- and drama-free good time, you would do well to skip this place as well. If "nothing" was a selection under the "good for" rating, I would have chosen it. That, or maybe "getting beat up."
Never been to the Swiss. Pretty popular from what I understand. This was one of my ex's favorite spots and now I know why, hah. Pretty cool place for a week night, pretty chill, but enough people to not make it boring. No cover on the night we went, wouldn't have went in if there was. They had one pin in the worst place ever. Along a wall, right in the way of a pool table. So if anyone on that table wanted a shot, they had to wait for us to finish that ball. Very annoying.
The guy with me got a sandwich, pretty tasty, little spendy though. Seems like a pretty cool place if you're into the college type bars...
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