Swingers

What I like about Swingers: It has an electic, broad menu that doesn't resemble the Norm's down the block.... more

What I like about Swingers: It has an electic, broad menu that doesn't resemble the Norm's down the block. It's open late. They sell cupcakes! W... more

ive been to the swingers location by the grove several times and never had any problems there. however when i went to the santa monica location with some friends and the experience was nothing short of awful. DON'T expect to have your drinks taken promptly. DON'T expect to have your order taken within 40 minutes either. DO expect attitude from your server. DON'T expect them to get your order right. DON'T expect to see your server more than twice ( once to take the order, once to give you the bill-we had to keep asking other servers for everything.) *I'll also add that it was not a busy night, and there were plenty of people on staff. **I hope the short skirts help these girls with their tips, b/c their service does not. Pros: None, just go to Norms Cons: The List goes on... more

My friends from the westside brought me here for dinner before we went out on the town one night. It was my first time here and I just fell in love with the quirky decor and atmosphere. We were waited on by an extremely friendly young woman. The service we got was personal, friendly and made me feel very comfortable in this hip joint. The food was just amazing. The menu really has something for everyone. One of my friends is Vegan and they had a number of things that he could choose from. I went for a scrumptious grilled cheese that had avacado and grilled onions inside that was super good. Desert was just as perfect. I think we went for a brownie that came with ice cream and other goodies. It got pretty busy by the time we left, but our waitress still came by to check on us before we left. I had a really good experience here and can't wait to share this place with my family when they visit from out of town and I will definitely come back when I am on this side of town again!! Pros: Cool atmosphere Cons: parking at really busy times more

I've eaten there on several occasions, and had great service and great food. Recently, I had the unfortunate circumstance to be waited on by a young man who couldn't care less about any of the diners he was serving. Not only did my five friends and I all have something to complain about with this waiter, the table next to us were shocked as well. The bus boys were doing all of the work, and when our waiter came around (only once) to check on us, we had already been taken care of by the bus boys. I wanted to tip the bus boys but couldn't do that without tipping the lousy waiter. I served drinks and food in LA since 1990 and tip really well, since I lived off tips for many, many years, but this was one of those rare circumstances where I actually brought something up with the owner/manager, and he was even rude with me. If you go there, only get waited on by anyone who's not a young, thin man who likes to flirt with other men. Wish I knew his name. It's too bad one lousy server and a encounter with an angry manager/owner can ruin a fun place to go after a movie. more

I love eating at Swingers! I've been going one in Santa Monica for years, and I can honestly say that I have always had a really positive experience. The food is consistant, the servers have always been cool. It's a great place to not only eat (lots of vegetarian options) but also always has a fun social crowd. I deffinately recommend you check it out for yourself atleast once. From experience I can tell you that you won't be disappointed! Pros: Vegetarian options, music, staff Cons: Sometimes there can be a kind of long wait if you get there after the bars let out. more

Love, love, love this place. It?s the only place that I can bring anyone of my dieting friends, vegetarian, vegan, or the hungry burger man. It has awesome salads that would keep any healthy eater happy or burgers, milkshakes, and fries that are great for any diet free day. All of the staff was laughing and eager to help us during our visit and they were slammed. It was nice to see a smiling face amongst all of this busy diner's commotion. VEGAN COOKIES!!!! Pros: AWESOME MENU! Open early, open late more

I've eaten at the Hollywood Swingers and had a fine experience. The Santa Monica Swingers, however, is Greater L.A.'s worst restaurant. I've read other reviews that call the food fun and the waits long. Both true. And I will say that the menu is creative and the vibe singular. But... The service is beyond abysmal. Staff is rude and inattentive. There is no care nor craft. If you eat here and are not a young clubber, you will be totally out of place. Granted, a tough place to work. Swingers thrives on the rowdy after-two-a.m. crowd. But that's just it. We were the few adult lucid sober people in there. And they threatened to kick us out. We were quietly and privately discussing the service at our table (three of us packed into a booth for two). Note that this is a loud and bustling place. And if it matters, our comments were not overly disparaging. I had said that Swingers is not a place you go for service. It's not even a restaurant, really, it's a place that serves food, and at that time of night you know exactly what you're getting. We even took the time to tell one food runner / busser that he was doing a great job. He was the only one paying attention to us. Next thing we know, our server is telling us that, under the manager's orders, they've heard us speaking ill of their restaurant and if continued, will ask us to leave. We didn't get angry; we just said okay. We told our server we were going to write the L.A. Times and Citysearch about our experience, and our server said, "Yeah, you do that." (While this was happening, the people one table over were complaining to their server about being overcharged.) Swingers won't care -- they do high volume business -- but I'm never setting foot in either location again. I'm an adult male pushing 40 who has dined in fine establishments around the world. And the one time I almost get kicked out is at Swingers? Almost hard to believe they're not in the Michelin guide. Pros: Open late. Cons: Everything else. more

We just went for breakfast this morning, after driving past it maybe a hundred times - and glad we finally stopped to try it out! And No, it has nothing to do with the movie Swingers! The decor is amusing and fun, with interesting tile work on the walls, and purple cow heads painted against a yellow wall (very Andy Warhol). There are counter seats and booths (a somewhat tight fit for my large fiance)... The food was great - no complaints! I had a very tasty turkey burger, while my fiance tried the eggs, bacon and multi-grain banana pancakes (served with real maple syrup) - everything delicious. Our server was very cool, and as they all are, dressed in a very retro-short skirt! We will be back! Pros: good menu, friendly staff, served hot, tasty food Cons: small booths, tight fit more

Any time I'm craving diner food, I go to Swingers. The prices are great, the foods great, the staff is cool, and the customers are just as awesome. On occasion, a celebrity spotting can occur. I was just there the other night when their power went out, and everyone was chill and fun about it. They just pulled out a box of candles and listed off the things they could prepare and serve without electricity! It's a great place to hang out with friends, bring the parents, or go to solo with a book at their counter. Pros: Everything! Cons: Can get really busy sometimes. more

Love, love, love this place. It?s the only place that I can bring anyone of any diet, vegetarian, vegan, or the hungry burger man. It has awesome salads that would keep any healthy eater happy and burgers, milkshakes, and fries that are great for any diet free day. All of the staff was laughing and eager to help us during our visit and they were slammed. It was nice to see a smiling face amongst all of this busy diner's commotion. VEGAN COOKIES!!!! Pros: delicious food, awesome service Cons: sometimes really busy more

This is a cool diner that's open late night (thankfully). We would have starved after arriving on a 3hr. delayed flight from NY. It was busy in the A.M, but we were seated promptly and it seems to be full of wannabe stars. Our waiter was super perky and provided good service. The food was good, as well as diner food gets. The menu had a lot to offer as well. Check it out. Pros: Open Late Night more

I've been to Swingers multiple times, mostly after I've been out drinking and am starving, yet I am yet to have any food there that makes me happy. I'm not too picky a person, but the food just doesn't cross that line of average into great. It's food though, and open late, and the vibe is cool, so it's not a terrible choice. If there are other places open, you should go somewhere else, but if it's late and you want some average diner food, enjoy! Pros: Open Late, Cool Vibe, Good Music Cons: The Food just isn't that great. Decent, but nothing to get excited about more

great diner in santa monica. most food there is really good. they have a number of veggie options that are tasty - my gf's fav is the grilled cheese w/ veggie bacon. the red velvet cake is good as well. cool vibe, interesting look, worth checking out - not to mention the late night hours! more

Swingers is a great breakfast place. Whenever I have a friend in from out of town or my parents are visiting, I always bring them here. It is a really funky place and always contains an eclectic group of people. The Warhol wallpaper and Scottish plaid seat covers really complement the unusual breakfast crowd. It has the vibe of local hangout, however many people (myself included) travel all the way across the city to get here. My favorite dish is the spicy chicken omelet with avocado; however everything else on the menu is great. I haven't had anything yet that I didn't like. more

We used to go here frequently because they are open late and they have vegetarian options. But the past several times we've gone the food has been terrible, either cold, the wrong order, NOT veggie bacon, etc. Plus the service is the worst as far as LA hipster waiters go- SLOW SLOW SLOW. It's just too bad. Pros: open late Cons: food, service more

Totally not the place to go after a night out drinking/clubbing, especially if you're terribly starving and if you do not have forever to wait for good grub. Needless to say, the wait was horrible. It was even worse because street parking only allows you to park until 3:00 am and if you get to Swingers after club hours (~2:00 am), after waiting to be seated, you're left with approximately 15 minutes to order AND eat until you have to go. The wait for the food was not great either. Oh yeah, which leaves you about 2 minutes to eat until you have to go. I could have gone to VONS next door, bought a box of mac-n-cheese, and prepared it myself and it would have been a lot quicker. Please turn around and head to Norms or Denny's instead and you'll be a much happier camper. Cons: the most horrific waiting experience more

Went in to Swingers last weekend after a night of drinking. Super cute server (I think his name was Damon) took the best care of us. The food came out in under 10 minutes, even though the place was packed. The tuna melt was so good I almost passed out and the the french fries were cooked perfectly! We had the brownie sundae for dessert, I didn't know anything could taste that good. The music was blasting with a mix of elvis, t-rex, white stripes and a whole bunch of other stuff. I have never heard better music anywhere else. All in all the place rocks. The vibe is great, which matches the service and food, not to metion the cute server! Pros: parking, late hours, great vibe, great music more

This place has so many good dishes! From the turkey club to the quesadillas and cream of asparagus soup or even the greek salad with sauteed tofu on top. YUM YUM YUM...you have to check it out. and while I was there I met the friendliest kid- Tyler- food runner, delivery guy. Good job to management on this hire. more

Probably the best pancakes in Santa Monica. I prefer the buttermilk to the whole grain. And you really can't beat the servers in short skirts. more