Swingers

In Short – Located on an otherwise not-so happening corner, this almost-24-hour diner has become an L.A. institution. Andy Warhol-inspired wallpaper (cows, not cans), tartan-plaid booths and George Nelson pendant lamps set the scene, while waitresses in fishnets cater to the crowd of vintage-clothed screenwriters, anti-corpo-looking yuppies and scruffy singles desperately seeking greasy spoon staples. The elaborately illustrated menu includes grilled cheese stuffed with sharp cheddar and jack, milk shakes with fruit juice, salads, turkey burgers and breakfast basics. –

Editor's Tips

Look Good:: While "B" stars are frequent patrons, it's not kosher to approach them, so curb your celeb-happy, out-of-town guests or you'll get dirty looks.

Write a Review

User Reviews (43)

ambiance	88.88999938964844% positive	“late night, great ambiance, good food” “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).” “It's got very fun decor, awesome service (my waiters were funnnn to talk to), and they have really cheesy cheese fries.” “fun place, great menu!” “Bright, kitschy decor and a huge menu are the first things that spring to mind when I think about Swingers.” “The food is great, the service good, and it has a fun ambience.” “It's a great place to not only eat (lots of vegetarian options) but also always has a fun social crowd.” “Swingers has the three essentials: Great food, great service, great ambience.” “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.”
dessert	100.0% positive	“the red velvet cake is good as well.”
drinks	100.0% positive	“Excellent coffee and my vegan heart leaps that they have soy milk to put in it.”
food quality	89.73999977111816% positive	“The wait for the food was not great either.” “The food is great, the service good, and it has a fun ambience.” “It has awesome salads that would keep any healthy eater happy or burgers, milkshakes, and fries that are great for any diet free day.” “The food's great too with lots of tasty organic options - the portabella mushroom sandwich is heavenly.” “My favorite dish is the spicy chicken omelet with avocado; however everything else on the menu is great.” “great music, great food, hot girls, great time.” “Big entrees are rather scarce from the menu, but breakfast favorites, sandwiches, and saladsamong other thingsare plentiful in number, delicious, and often made with organic ingredients.” “Excellent menu with lots of yummy stuff for omnivores and ma.” “the BLT, brownie sundae and chicken quesadilla are delish -- but you haven't lived until you've had their banana milkshake and challah french toast.” “The vibe is great, which matches the service and food, not to metion the cute server!” “The food was just amazing.” “Awesome food, not just an ordinary diner!” “inconsistent food quality, terrible service” “The food was great - no complaints!” “This place has so many good dishes!” “most food there is really good.” “love that sandwich.” “I've eaten there on several occasions, and had great service and great food.” “It's food though, and open late, and the vibe is cool, so it's not a terrible choice.” “like that I didn't pay very much at all for a big meal.” “Good food” “Swingers has the three essentials: Great food, great service, great ambience.” “They offer such great hangover food.” “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.” “late night, great ambiance, good food” “The tuna melt was so good I almost passed out and the the french fries were cooked perfectly!” “everyone knows swingers has the best jukebox in the city, and its impossible not to enjoy your meal when al green and the jackson 5 are playing in the background.” “It's got very fun decor, awesome service (my waiters were funnnn to talk to), and they have really cheesy cheese fries.” “Good food, one waiter is awful, the rest are cool!” “But the past several times we've gone the food has been terrible, either cold, the wrong order, NOT veggie bacon, etc.” “they have a number of veggie options that are tasty - my gf's fav is the grilled cheese w/ veggie bacon.” “Inside, however, the booths offer a comfy place to sit for a meal and the jukebox usually plays classic rock up into the 90s with a mix of other things thrown in.” “But if you've got time on your hands, it's good food that's a bit pricey.” “Great food, love the Hot Turkey Sandwich.” “The grilled cheese with avocado and tomato is a favorite.” “It has awesome salads that would keep any healthy eater happy and burgers, milkshakes, and fries that are great for any diet free day.” “The food was good, as well as diner food gets.” “The food is consistant, the servers have always been cool.” “Food is fresh.”
menu variety	100.0% positive	“And I will say that the menu is creative and the vibe singular.” “Excellent menu with lots of yummy stuff for omnivores and ma.” “Big entrees are rather scarce from the menu, but breakfast favorites, sandwiches, and saladsamong other thingsare plentiful in number, delicious, and often made with organic ingredients.” “My favorite dish is the spicy chicken omelet with avocado; however everything else on the menu is great.” “Bright, kitschy decor and a huge menu are the first things that spring to mind when I think about Swingers.” “they have a number of veggie options that are tasty - my gf's fav is the grilled cheese w/ veggie bacon.” “The food's great too with lots of tasty organic options - the portabella mushroom sandwich is heavenly.” “fun place, great menu!” “It's a great place to not only eat (lots of vegetarian options) but also always has a fun social crowd.”
overall	100.0% positive	“It's a great place to hang out with friends, bring the parents, or go to solo with a book at their counter.” “Swingers is a great breakfast place.” “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!” “It's a great place to not only eat (lots of vegetarian options) but also always has a fun social crowd.” “My absolute favorite restaurant on the universe” “This is such a great place to go after the bars close.” “The patio is a great place to sit in the daynot directly in the sun, but not in some dark corner either.”
return potential	100.0% positive	“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!”
service	62.5% positive	“I've eaten there on several occasions, and had great service and great food.” “Our server was very cool, and as they all are, dressed in a very retro-short skirt!” “The prices are average and the service is okayfrom my experience, usually only one or two waitresses are servicing the entire restaurantwhich isn't big, so that isn't as shocking as it sounds.” “The vibe is great, which matches the service and food, not to metion the cute server!” “The prices are great, the foods great, the staff is cool, and the customers are just as awesome.” “Plus the service is the worst as far as LA hipster waiters go- SLOW SLOW SLOW.” “inconsistent food quality, terrible service” “It's got very fun decor, awesome service (my waiters were funnnn to talk to), and they have really cheesy cheese fries.” “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.” “wanted to tip the bus boys but couldn't do that without tipping the lousy waiter.” “The service is fast usually like 10 minutes.” “The food is consistant, the servers have always been cool.” “Our waiter was super perky and provided good service.” “for far too long, this glorified diner got away with a pretentious wait staff and an ecclect.” “Super cute server (I think his name was Damon) took the best care of us.” “Staff is rude and inattentive.” “The food is great, the service good, and it has a fun ambience.” “Swingers has the three essentials: Great food, great service, great ambience.” “Good food, one waiter is awful, the rest are cool!” “amazing jukebox, adorable servers, free internet, GREAT FOOD.”
value	70.0% positive	“But if you've got time on your hands, it's good food that's a bit pricey.” “The prices are average and the service is okayfrom my experience, usually only one or two waitresses are servicing the entire restaurantwhich isn't big, so that isn't as shocking as it sounds.” “Bright, kitschy decor and a huge menu are the first things that spring to mind when I think about Swingers.” “cool vibe, interesting look, worth checking out - not to mention the late night hours!” “The prices are great, the foods great, the staff is cool, and the customers are just as awesome.”
wait time	33.3299994468689% positive	“for far too long, this glorified diner got away with a pretentious wait staff and an ecclect.” “Service was terribly slow (25 minutes for a tuna melt?)” “The service is fast usually like 10 minutes.”

12/12/08

The Worst BuzzKILL

by velvetgoldmina

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...

helpful (0) not helpful (0) comment share

08/08/08

Tasty Fun Nights to be had here!!

by Arnold101

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

helpful (0) not helpful (0) comment share

05/29/08

Good food, one waiter is awful, the rest are cool!

by lalocalsince86

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.

helpful (0) not helpful (0) comment share

03/01/08

Love this place!!!

by MIkeNY27

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.

helpful (0) not helpful (0) comment share

03/01/08

Come one, come all

by juicyjizzel

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

helpful (0) not helpful (0) comment share

Write a Review

See more Swingers reviews

Swingers

Price:

Category:

Restaurant Special Features:

General Info:

What People Are Saying About Swingers

Contributor

Contributor

Editor's Tips

12/12/08

The Worst BuzzKILL

by velvetgoldmina

08/08/08

Tasty Fun Nights to be had here!!

by Arnold101

05/29/08

Good food, one waiter is awful, the rest are cool!

by lalocalsince86

03/01/08

Love this place!!!

by MIkeNY27

03/01/08

Come one, come all

by juicyjizzel

The Details on Swingers

Place Categories:

Things To Do Nearby Swingers

Lists In Santa Monica

Recent Reviews In Santa Monica

More Info

Contact

More Navigation

Partner Sites: