Swell Taco

Went on a Saturday night it was packed. But I was determined to wait it out, glad I did. We ordered the nachos which were terrific. We ordered the chicken tacos which were so yummy and fresh tasting. Definitely going back cant wait to try the burritos

Wonderful Taco establishment! I stopped by on my way through Babylon and I didn’t regret it! Great place to hangout with friends and have a Margarita. I had a San Clemente Burrito that was superb! Wait staff is filled with a bunch of burnt beach kids which makes the experience authentic, as if you were in a real Mexican Restaurant. Swell Taco is definitely «Swell» and i would totally reccommend going if you and your friends are looking for a restaurant with chill vibes. However don’t go on a Friday or Saturday due to the fact that the wait is probably over an hour.

I only visited once and bought just ONE taco but I think it’s enough to warrant a review, of which I’ll list some pros and cons.
Pro: Atmosphere. Swell has a Baja atmosphere theme going. From the high chairs, to the bar, to the surfboards, to the extremely cute looking wait staff (females I mean), to the cool bathroom décor, and to the (and this is a con) cramped space, Swell is def an inviting place to eat. Surely makes one feel «in the know» when lunching there.
Pro: Wait staff. Very nice and very well trained. Our waitress looked like s he just stepped out of Seventeen Magazine, albeit older, likely early 20s. I’m a sucker for a pretty face but she was just way too cute to not mention as a pro.
Pro: Food quality. Swell is definitely the Taco Bell healthy alternative. Stuff is made 100% fresh, with great ingredients, and served appetizingly hot. Def very very great quality food and I absolutely want to visit again. I had a grilled chicken taco and it was served on a nice plate, with some chips, and well, just wonderfully tasty!
Pro: Prices. Just under $ 3 for one taco is very fair, especially considering the food quality. Given that 1 soft taco at Taco Bell cost about $ 1.50, you’ll pay almost double for a REAL taco here. Still, due to the food being real, you don’t need that many tacos to fill you up.
Pro: Popularity. Def a great place that’s always got a good amount of people, so moods are always running high
Now to the cons…
Con: Wait time. Because Swell is so popular, expect to wait like 20 minutes EVEN IF you’re going during a weekday lunch, where all other restaurants have virtually nobody. Due to the size of the restaurant being so small, they can only sit so many people at once.
Con: Real estate space. Granted, while during the warmer months you can eat outside, the inside dining area is just too small, even for a baja theme. The results are, as I stated before, the longer wait times, and the feeling like you sort of need to rush out of there as people will be waiting to be seated.
Con: Chip quality. Sure, the food is great, but I’ve had much better appetizer chips at places like Chilis or Fridays. Minor quip but might as well mention it.
That’s about it. I definitely recommend and am looking forward to going again.

Absolutely great place! Friendly and engaging staff, amazing food and drink and welcoming atmosphere I went last night with my girlfriends and we really enjoyed ourselves. I had the shrimp taco, fish taco and queso w/​chips (served with their freshly made salsa verde, so good!) and Sangria. I highly recommend this place and will definitely be going back

A local staple! Really cool surf/​snowboarding theme – the tacos are extremely cost effective and their Crispy Chicken Taco on Mondays and Thursdays is one of the best tacos I’ve ever had in my life! They are small and have a limited amount of tables, so if you want to stay to eat, get there early during peak times.

The tacos are excellent, so much so that there is always a crowd of people. They expanded the restaurant last year but it is still small. If you can stand the wait, you can have a quaint table and enjoy the surfing ambience. What I like to do is place an order and pickup my tacos to go. You can never go wrong with the Three Amigos tacos.

I love this place. The theme of the resturant is surfing and waves. I usually order either a beef burrito or beefs tacos. The prices always keep me coming back and are very great. Super casual and tasty and never puts a hole in my pocket. Great place to stop on the way home from the beach when im looking for something casual and to keep the beach mood going. I especially love churros and this place has them which is great! They have taco tuesdays which are crowded but great great prices!!!
There are some downsides: sometimes i get free chips and sometimes when i go i have to pay for chips. I personally feel that the chips should be free, but because the resturant has great prices i dont complain. Another downside is that the place is very small– in the summer it doesnt feel as small because the place is more open because it is warm. But in the winter it is all closed up and it feels very small and cramped. When it is crowded it can get very loud and i often hear peoples conversations next to me.

I love this place. The tacos are perfect. I haven’t drank here yet, but I’m sure they are good too. The wait is pretty long during peak hours (weekends, summer), but take out orders are quick and easy to place. They have a great taco selection, including a yummy fish taco, carnitas, and a crunch and munch (basically a classy take on the Crunchwrap Supreme). I also had the immense pleasure of trying the buffalo chicken taco which will haunt you. The combination of a flour tortilla, bleu cheese sauce and buffalo chicken is somehow unlike your average wrap and therefore that much better. The chicken was tender, the buffalo sauce was hot but not enough to burn your tastebuds, and it worked well. The service was a little slow but it just shows that they’re making food fresh? The waiter we had was quick to refill our water glasses. The chips and guacamole were good as well. They do something special to their rice and beans – not sure what, but I think it’s some of the best rice and beans I’ve ever had.

I ate here after returning from a job site near Fire Island. One of the guys there suggested it and I was not disappointed.
It took us a bit to find the place. The GPS map will bring you to Deer Park Ave but the restaurant is actually located behind it next to the inner parking lot.
When we entered every single one of the staff showed us attention. I have to say that this is one of the friendliest places I have ever been to. The staff is really easy to talk to and seems to really enjoy what they do.
The food is good. I ordered three tacos. Pineapple pulled pork, coconut mahi mahi, and something called the crunch and munch. All were very tasty. My favorite was the pork which was one of the specials that day. I will definitely be back to experience more of what this SoCal influenced taqueria has to offer.

Clearly im in the minority here. I really hated it. I am somewhat easy to please and couldn’t wait to check this spot out since all my friends from Babylon tell me how great it is. So when my sis and I decided to do a late lunch here we both said Swell Taco at same time. So we walk in and its super crowded. Great sign. We got seated right away thankfully and i was looking around and everyone seems so happy with their food so i was super excited. The place is the size of my living room and it was somewhat claustrophobic but whatever. The server came up to us and we ordered Diet Coke Margarita and CHicken flautas. Then we got the chips with the green salsa. Meh, no flavor. The flautas were decent but nothing special and the cream sauce it came with was ick. I got the crunch and munch and she got the chicken tacos. I have never had such a bland boring meal in my life. It seriously had zero flavor. Hardly any beans at all and it was just awful. We didn’t eat any of our food instead wrapped it up to take home to give to her boyfriend cause he will eat anything. I went to the supermarket when i left and bought food cause i was still hungry. I don’t know whether i picked bad shit to try or they were just having an off day but it was awful. I hate bashing places because im obviously the only person alive that hated it. Would never go again thats for sure.

I just love this place, by far the best so cal style tacos/​burritos. The Sangria is pretty good. The Pork Tacos, and Burritos are amazing. Great vibes here too, and I love the expansion/​remodel they have recently done. Makes it so much more comfortable to enjoy a nice lunch or dinner.

Wait times are horrendous at this tiny Babylon taco and burrito spot. It’s also cramped and deafeningly loud. Was in the mood for beer on tap but they only have this one brand called Pacifica that I never heard of. Ordered a sangria which came in a small mason jar and was a bit watered down. Ordered chips and guacamole but the chips were way too salty. Then the tacos came out and they, thankfully, were very good. Ground beef is well seasoned, the carne asada was tasty and the carnitas was delicious. Service was okay and prices are very reasonable. I’d like to come back during lunch and hopefully it’s less crowded.

Swell Taco looks like the place to be in Babylon Village. The placed was packed on a Friday evening! We were seated quite quickly despite the overflowing crowd. I opted for the fish tacos and shrimp tacos. The shrimp tacos were not my favorite surprisingly. They lacked flavor. However, the fish tacos were the bomb! So flavorful and filling. The service was great. We had a few different employees tend to our table but all were friendly and attentive. Swell taco did score extra points for having one of my favorite hot sauces on board! Kudos! I will be back to explore the menu! Happy Unilocaling!

Swell taco was a pleasant surprise I heard about it from a friend and wanted to see what it was about. The atmosphere was very vibrant and relaxing.
The food was great especially for the price, the portions were generous and the in-​house drinks were delicious. I cannot wait to go back again and try different items on the menu.

My family loves swell. It’s a great part of babylon village for everyone in the family … A cool vibe with music playing and awesome pictures of surf throughout the eatery. The new renovations are great we love the high tables …
Be prepared to wait on weekends and really at any point of the day you will wait for a table … It’s worth the wait the food is fresh and some of the best Mexican you will have ! The burritos, the tacos (carne and crispy chicken our fave) and quesadillas are amazing !!! This is a weekly local spot that We alln throughly enjoy …
Thank you swell!
Hang ten!

My absolute favorite place in babylon! Simple, delicious and a great atmosphere.
My favorite thing is the fish tacos and the cheese quesadilla, and the salsa verde they serve with the chips is BOMB!!!
Love this place. If you go on a weekend night, you’re going to have to wait. I went today around lunch time, and there was a wait, but they get you in there and serve you quick.
Definitely recommend for tacos, burritos, margaritas & fun!

Hummm… I wasn’t blown away. Wasn’t even mildly impressed. Went here for lunch on Cinco de Mayo with a couple friends. After reading Unilocal reviews I was stoked and pretty much knew what I wanted to order the night before!
My order: The special fish taco (think it was called an El Camino). The waiter recommend these over the fish tacos off the menu. I also got the flautas. The one minuscule strip of fish in the taco was dry and there really wasn’t any flavor. The flautas were just fried tubes filled with cheese. There was supposed to be chicken too, but I couldn’t find any. The chipotle cream dipping sauce wasn’t flavorful at all, just sour cream. Big whoop. I do not like hot/​spicy foods but I do like spicy/​flavorful. This was neither.
Friend #1 ordered the chicken quesadilla and a pork taco. The chicken in the «chicken quesadilla» was undetectable and the pork taco wasn’t thrilling. We also thought it was odd to not have sour cream or salsa to dip the ‘dilla in. She didn’t realize it didn’t come with any or else we would’ve ordered it on the side, but by the time our food came we were in a rush to eat and hit the road.
Friend #2 ordered two fish tacos and thought the same thing I did: that the microscopic fish was dry and there was no flavor.
The highlight of our meal were the complimentary chips and salsa verde — that was a hit with all of us.
I gave them 3 stars because the vibe and outdoorsy dining was nice (even tho there’s really no view except for the parking lot. Hence no people watching). The servers were friendly and the burritos looked good, maybe we would’ve been better off with one of those.
It was a 35 minute drive when I have Salsa Salsa less than 10 minutes from me. I’ll take Salsa Salsa over Swell any day — plus it’s practically in my own backyard!

We love this place!
The restaurant itself is a little on the small side. I would guess they have seating for approximately 30 people. Their food is good so on Friday and Saturday nights we usually get takeout. (It’s either that or wait 30 minutes for a table.)
It does have a nice surfer theme, though. Makes you feel like you’re eating outdoors by the beach! :)
The food always tastes VERY fresh! It’s reasonably priced. They will alter the items to your liking.
The fish taco is one of my favorites. Lightly battered and fried fish with chipotle sour cream. Yum!
When the weather is nice there is outdoor seating.
One negative: they are closed on Sunday. :-(
Overall: two thumbs up! An excellent spot for a quick, casual meal.

Love this little hidden gem in Babylon.
In the summer, they open the whole place up, which adds to the atmosphere as well as to the seating. You can expect a wait here, as it has gotten popular, is pretty small, and the service isn’t the speediest (you are given fair warning with the surfer /​island theme complete with sign at the cashier about telling you not to rush).
Never had anything I didn’t like here — great nachos, burritos, taquitos, but my usual go-​to is their tacos. You can order al a cart and they are SO GOOD. The shrimp and fish are my favorite and they have a crunch and munch taco, which is a hard taco melted into a soft shell with cheese. The red sangria is also really good, and everything is cheap! Even without $ 1 on Taco Tuesdays.

Swell Taco is just, well, Swell. This is one of my favorite places in the village. When you come here, you feel like family. It’s a cozy and welcoming environment. It’s off the beaten path of the village, but if you are walking by on Deer Park Ave, you’ll see the sign right before Fitness Incentive.
As you have probably read from other reviews, they have their «Taco Tuesday», which for $ 1/​taco, can’t be beat. There are three tacos in the deal to choose from, but I always go «Buffalo Soldier».
My absolute favorite thing on the menu is the salad. It’s one of my favorite salads anywhere, really. I get it with the buffalo chicken — doesn’t need dressing with this chicken. The combo of the fresh black beans, cheese, lettuce and crispy shell hits the spot every time. Especially when washed down with a nice (jalapeño margarita). Though they only had this for Halloween, if you give James (my fav person at S.W.) a wink and a nod, maybe he’ll make this up for you too. So delicious, bet you can’t have just one.
Love the chilled out environment and the surfer vibe, posters, and surfing videos.