Sway

The atmosphere is intimate, dark and loud… which I love. Expect strobing lights, accessible VIP seating and flashy bottle service… in real glasses!
This has ALWAYS been a dance venue for me, I was never here for the food (when they had it). If you love to dance or watch people dance that’s what the do here. It’s a step up in class and attire so if you are looking for a traditional dance club to dress up and dance in, this is your place. They host national entertainers and you will mostly find the music style to be a fusion of house, dance, top 40 and hip hop.

This place is terrible. Probably the worst venue I have ever been to for music. Came here to see Markus Schulz and it was shocking to me that it felt like a hallway with an awful sound system. Oh, and they charge $ 4 for water. What a waste of (small) space.

By far the best club in Columbus that I have expieriences thus far; cover charges, show prices, and reservations are reasonable, wide variety at the bar, knowledgeable staff, atmosphere is on point. When I have an occasion to celebrate I go to Sway or just for fun.

One of my main gripes about moving to Columbus from LA/​SF is the difference in music scene. It feels like most clubs and bars here have only ever heard of rap, r&b, and hip-​hop, which are the exact opposite of what I want to dance to when I’m out with my friends. Fortunately, I discovered the wonders of Sway, which (as far as I know) is one of the only two places that actually hosts EDM events (the other being Bluestone). Honestly, I’m pleasantly surprised at the number of artists who’ve come here. I’ve gotten to see Bassjackers, Cosmic Gate, 3LAU, MOGUAI… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
Drinks are pretty cheap (except for water — I’ve never seen a bar charge $ 4 for a bottle, it’s usually maybe $ 1 – 2), and they have an upstairs lounge area for when you want to take a break from the blasting music downstairs (I’m not a huge fan of the speaker sytsem — it’s pretty low quality, so they have to amp up the volume to make up for that AKA hello early-​onset hearing loss). The actual dancefloor is a bit small, but crowding is rarely ever an issue. Furthermore, I find that the people who typically frequent this venue tend not to be too aggressive, which is definitely a problem in bigger cities.

I’m a little conflicted on how to review this place. We started our night here for a bachelorette party and were in the bar upstairs. There were only about 3 other tables and then our large party of 13 at 9p on a Saturday.
The pros: the food was very good and the manager was very welcoming when we arrived for our reservation.
Cons: The food was good but it took a long time for it to get out to the table. I understand that we were a large group, but it took almost 45 minutes from the time we ordered after we were told it would be 10 or 15 minutes. Our waitress is what makes me not want to go back. She barely came by our table, forgot to bring drinks that had been ordered, and got very snippy when we asked her to come take drink orders. I couldn’t see her but some of the people I was with said she was sitting at the bar eating while we were trying to order more drinks. One of my friends got up to ask her to come to the table to take some drink orders and she brought over water to do refills then left the table again. She gave excuses about how she was trying and that she had just been reamed by her boss which I thought was the worst way to try and make up for terrible service. I also saw another employee with her makeup and clothes spread out in the bathroom downstairs while she got ready. I realize that part of the bar wasn’t open yet, but it was still weird.
I’m hoping this was just a one off night but I’m not jumping with excitement to go back. The manager did comp some of our drinks, which was nice, but it really got the night off to a rough start.

Pop music and pretty girls swarm this place. In the mood to dance — this is the spot. Check out their guest DJ nights and bottle service.
Onto the food! I had the Cajun Shrimp Sliders and they were spot on. Fried Cajun style shrimp, coleslaw, banana pepper and remoulade in between brioche. Delicious. The flavors work really well together and it came out hot & fresh. The shrimp and chicken rice bowl was tasty. The teriyaki flavor was a great combo with the rice and shrimp. We also tried the mussels. Yummy! The broth it’s in is the best. Liked every dish!
Give this place a try. It’s surprising. And delicious.

Had a dinner of appetisers and a grilled «chicken burger.» The bar is small but that’s cool. The food was good and the drinks were not too expensive.
I had the habenaro chicken wings — they weren’t too spicy.
The chicken burger was juicy!
The salad I had was huge!

My boyfriend and I stopped in for some «tapas» after buying a Groupon for this place. We are new to Columbus and therefore we did not realize it was also/​mainly a dance club.
The first time we tried to stop by it was showing outside. We sheepishly ventured into the basement area because the upstairs area was not open. At this point a gentlemen informed us they were not opening for the evening because too many employees had called off.
So, we returned about 2 weeks later to give this place a go. They had ropes set up out front, but only 4 other people were perched at the bar. The décor is awful with gaudy marble tables and icky flesh colored chairs. Our server, Steven, was lovely and attentive. He made us decent drinks and we ordered a few dishes. Let me say, this is NOT a tapas bar. The menu is very basic and set up with appetizers, salads, sandwiches, flatbreads, and burgers, not small plates. We ordered the calamari and some «shoestring» fries, my boyfriend got the Kobe beef sliders, and I got a veggie quesadilla. The calamari was not bad, a bit chewy but serviceable, and absolutely slathered in way too much sauce. The fries came in a huge portion and looked and tasted like they came from the McDonald’s drive thru. They came with a house ketchup that tasted like Heinz with Old Bay seasoning mixed in. My boyfriend asked for his sliders medium and they came out well done. The cheese was hard and the bun was even harder. It seems like they may have been microwaved. My quesadilla was more of the same. Very bland and quite chewy with oily cheese melted in a microwave on the top. We both ate about two bites and gave up.
Moral of the story, maybe this place is a way better dance club than tapas bar. Also, stay away from the Groupon and Living Social deals. You are guaranteed to be disappointed here.

I have experienced the club area in the basement, as well as the bar/​dining area upstairs.
I am not a «clubber» in any way, but was here a few months back for a bachelorette party. My god– it was ridiculous, and I couldn’t wait to get out. It’s pitch black down there, with the laser beams and such going on the dance floor. The servers are scantily clad and I pity them in their high heels trying to navigate the crowd with drinks. The dance floor was full of broken glass from the drunk 21 year olds unable to handle their drinks. Ugh. I got out of there as soon as possible.
Ok, so why the four stars? This place has good food and a great happy hour! My boyfriend insisted I try it after he bought an online deal. I resisted, but he got me there anyhow. Most of the appetizers are half off during happy hour, which runs from 4 – 8 M-​F. They had introduced a new drink menu that day as well, and I got a Makers Mark Manhattan for $ 5. Not bad. The «bartender» had to follow instructions to make the drinks, which I giggled at a bit in my head, but they were good, and that’s what matters. We had calamari and spinach/​artichoke dip, and both were a great deal and very yummy! We could have stopped there, but had more money to spend… so we each ordered a flatbread (the olde world, and the garlic chicken I believe), tried a piece of each, then packed them up to go. They were both delicious reheated the next night for dinner!
I can say, I’ll be back for happy hour, and I’d suggest you do the same! And, we were the only people there on a Friday for happy hour, so you can avoid the douchy crowd!

Sway? Just okay! I’m sure with the right people and the right amount of alcohol in your system it could be the best party ever. Unfortunately for me the company was not amazing and there was not enough alcohol in the place to make them any better. The music was pretty good techno mixes of popular stuff and the drinks were okay but overpriced. The best part of the night where the super fun foam sticks that lit up that they handed out to everyone! I do agree with some of the other reviews that this bar has a tendency to get a little douchie.

After doing some research on which are the good clubs to go to around my area, I decided to go to Sway and it was a good decision, I enjoyed the night.
About the place:
For a dance floor I believe it should not be too big not too small, good enough to get you rollin. One thing I like about this place is most of the tables that you can reserve for groups or just be seated are right beside the dance floor which makes it much fun. Although there are three designated cabins for larger groups as well, since I was along with 7 other people we chose to sit into those cabins. There is a full bar which keeps u feeling to be on the floor, the best part on the day I went was they were offering Wild Turkey Bourbon shots for free as part of a promotion, it added so much to the fun.
About the service:
Different people have different expectations which results in different experience. My experience says this place had one of the best services which you could find in a night club. The girls serving are so damn hot. Very attentive and friendly management.
About the music:
We had DJ Masha playing for the night, nice DJ good song selection keeps u on the floor. Cheers

After coming here to dance on more than one occasion, it’s about time I write a review.
From what I can remember of course, because both times bottle service has been involved and shots are constantly shoved in my face… who am I to say no?
Anyways. Glowfoams. They give you… Glowfoams. I’m a sucker for all things that light up especially when EDM music is involved. So that’s a plus. Though it’s sort of a bad thing if you’re like me & the more drinks you consume the harder it is to hold back acting on the idea of duck, duck GLOW. ;)
Not much has changed here from Mynt… They just cleaned up a bit and added more lights. There’s also designated Go-​Go dancers… though, after having been to places in MIA and Chicago… the Go-​Go dancers aren’t very impressive. They should really work on projecting more energy! But no worries. the crowd handles that after midnight. ;)
I’ve never paid a cover so I can’t speak on that. lets see… drinks. Ah. drinks. Drink prices are what is expected here in good ol’ Columbus. The drink quality… eh. I’m typically a few drinks in whenever I go out anywhere here in Columbus, so it’s not a huge deal. Luckily I’ve gone with parties that end up getting bottle service so we can make real drinks. :) Oh, their table service… the bottle girls are fun! I’ve never had a rude encounter with them. They’re prompt and there when you need them. The table areas can get quite cramped along the wall though… seems like there’s not a limit to how many folks you can have up there. Doesn’t bother me much though because once the party gets going (after midnight) there’s no way you’ll catch me sitting down.
I LOVE the music selection, as I am a big EDM fan. If you’re looking for an alt bar, hiphop club… Sway shouldn’t be at the top of your list. But if you’re looking to rage your little heart out, it’s definitely worth stopping by!

I’ll admit that I expected this place to be a little douchey. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the dance area of this place was separate from the dining area. Other reviewers complained about not being able to hear their dining partners, but I didn’t find this to be a problem at all.
I came for happy hour which runs from 4 – 8 and features $ 5 martinis and half off appetizers. I tried the pear fizz, peach bellini, and the blueberry gimlet, which they substituted blackberries for blueberries as they were out. All of the drinks were good, but a bit on the sweet side. I ended up asking them to use about half the amount of simple syrup or whatever sweetener.
I ordered the meat and cheese appetizer as well as tuna skewers. The meat and cheese platter was a pretty sweet deal as it consisted of way more food than I expected. There were 3 different types of charcutterie, bleu cheese, pepper jack cheese, candied figs, two kinds of olives, crostinis, and marinated artichokes. Yurm! The tuna skewers were ok, but definitely less impressive. I ordered them rare, but the middle seemed overly cooked.
The dance floor is located in the basement. It was empty when I went, but looked like it might be fun on the weekend.
Like other reviewers have mentioned, the bathroom is weirdly unmarked and located in the lobby area near the elevators.
I’d come back again, but only for happy hour.

My Groupon brought me into Sway on Saturday evening. When we walked in there were a few people at the bar and a couple at one other table. The music was very loud and it was difficult to hear my friend across the table. The service was good, but the food was terrible. We ordered peach bellinis, crispy calamari, chicken skewers and the kobe sliders. The calamari was overcooked and chewy and seemed to be fried in funnel cake batter and served on a stick — similar to a corn dog but not as delicious! The chicken and kobe sliders were fine, but nothing special. The dishes were served with several dipping sauces all similar in taste. I am pretty sure the chicken came with wing sauce topped with sesame seeds for fancy effect.
Sway away!

Went to Sway tonight, and we were having a great time. The place is beautiful. The bartenders are fantastic. Happy hour prices were ridiculously cheap.
And then…
Douchebag at the bar, gold watch, clearly the guy in charge of things. He shouts to one bartender — who’s obviously busy with customers — to bring him a Red Bull. And then, I sh*t you not, he looks up at one of the servers, a guy who happens to be black, and says, «Hey, Kunta.» He seemed to think he was being charming. The server ignored him.
We will never go back. F**k that guy.

I decided to check out Sway after seeing a Living Social deal and checking out the menu online and recruited a couple friends to try it out with me. Overall, it was really good. Friendly wait staff, good décor, and fresh ingredients for drinks, which is a nice change from the ordinary. The food was ok, I agree with the other reviewer that said the dipping sauces that come with skewers are all very similar and do not offer much variety. (the addition of a peanut sauce would be nice for the chicken, for example, instead of only variations on a teriyaki) The cones (essentially egg rolls) were delicious, but not very original.
The bartender told us the nightlife tends tends to be a ‘young professional’ crowd, and we decided to check it out. However, we did not have a good experience. The bartending staff was completely clueless, had no idea what their ‘well’ liquors were, and kept ‘taking our order’ but then walking away mid-​sentence and coming back and starting the process over again, this happened at least three times before any of us actually got a drink. Also, the night we went there was some sort of go-​go dancer contest that cheapened the whole atmosphere for us, and we left shortly after only to realize we had been charged different prices than we were told for the nightly ‘specials.‘
Overall, I would say the food is worth the trip, and make sure you go for the happy hour deals that last until 8, half price appetizers (everything we tried was well worth the reduced price) and $ 5 specialty drinks and martinis make it worth the trip for something different. Nightlife… I would avoid, at least until they get their staff properly trained and stop holding cheesy ‘promotions’ that make them look more like a strip club than a upscale martini bar.

My husband and I stopped in this new tapas bar last night and we were surprised at how high end and original the décor was. We sat at the bar and talked with the very friendly bartenders who concocted a couple of the best cocktails I’ve had in a while. I told them what type of drinks I like and they immediately made up an awesome blueberry martini using muddled fresh blueberries. We then tried the scallops appetizer and a mussel plate which were both delicious! The menu offers a nice change from typical bar food and the knowledgable bartenders are more than happy to help you pick out something special. There is a club downstairs for nightlife which looked very sharp-​our 20 something daughter’s would love it. It’s a bit out of the way of the Short North strip which was nice but close enough if you just want a drink before dinner somewhere else. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly with high end taste in food and drinks.

Awesome place! Food has been outstanding. Bartender is great! Tom and Laura really rock!

So I stumbled across (quite by accident!) this new martini bar. I’m torn to describe it, overall, as «poor-men’s-martini-bar» or just «wannabe-​Martini.» What is more, this bar is actually directly behind Martini. I do not think that is a coincidence. My guess is they were going for a hipper feel, but it feels a little painful to look around and see an entire bar *trying* to be so cool. To set the stage, you walk into a lobby for the building — turn to the right, swank bar with cocktail tables or turn to the left and take the stairs to the «nightlife.» As I said, it was dinnertime, so I stuck to the right and didn’t stay long enough to check out the left. They had some girl standing outside flirting with a waiter at about 6 PM — not sure if she was there early to ID the «nightlife» or just let people know this new bar was there.
As of now, happy hour goes until 8 and it is a decent deal worth checking out…5 dollar martinis and half-​off appetizers. We had a few good drinks (Peach Bellini, Swaytini, something with Gin in the title…) and would return. They were out of the appetizer we wanted, so we asked the waitress to pick her favorite: Tuna skewers. I am infatuated with good ahi tuna, so I was down! Unfortunately, the skewers came pretty cooked through which made me feel sad they ruined a slab of beautiful red fish. There were 3 versions of a teriyaki dipping sauce, which is never really warranted, and nothing to write home about. The shrimp and gazpacho looked worth checking out. I’m not exactly sure where the kitchen is located — servers just seemed to appear through the lobby.
Also, the restroom is not in the bar but in the lobby of the building, and it is unmarked. Maybe its cool to have secret bathrooms? Good luck finding it!
Welcome to the block Sway — I shall return in a few weeks and see how this place pans out.