Sea Swirl

This place was recommended by a few people. Kids ordered off kids menu and we bought the scallop rolls. Lightly fried and cooked well. Hit the spot.

The lobster salad roll was really good, with big chunks of lobster and not too much mayonnaise. However, we also ordered the corn fritters which were not good at all. They were just over-​fried balls of dough «rocks» with like 6 corn kernels in each. Very heavy and dense, and no flavor at all. Then I ordered a coconut soft serve on a cone. The girl handed me the cone with ice cream already melting all down her hand. It tasted good, but it was more like soup than ice cream. Wouldn’t come here again.

THIS PLACE ROX MY SOX!!! There were three girls working when I went to this fine establishment. One girl with brown that was tall with brown hair with freckles and her name was ANNA had a signature ice cream sea swirl that you just can’t get anywhere else! This one other girl with a lot of tattoos with the name KADY was a top notch server. Another girl that was shorter with brown hair named SUZIE was very friendly and helpful when taking our order. There was another girl there with long hair and a baseball hat who’s name I didn’t catch was decent. The seafood was alright

I will soon be heading south and east to My Swirl (as I know it), for one of my mandatory seasonal shoreline visits … and I’m never quite sure what to expect.
Sometimes, things flow magnificently and the results are extraordinary — tender fried oysters and fragrant chowder that rivals the real stuff I grew up on in Woods Hole Mass., where we never added pasty thickeners.
And sometimes the place swings and misses — doughy coating on the oysters and lumpy (and once even cold) chowder.
But because I have tasted what this idiosyncratic oasis is capable of, I will always — always — return, salivating and with fingers crossed. I would no more miss this summertime opportunity than the swallows would miss a chance to see their beloved mission at San Juan Capistrano.
Wish me luck.
(And yes, I’ve heard they sell ice cream, as well.)

Really deserving of a perfect rating, this place is great. I’ve been going since I was young. It’s season seems so long. Always a quick and painless wait, after ordering from a window; the place has a retro feel. Seafood/​hamburger type food and soft-​serve ice cream. Their ice cream is really the business and it looks like they’ve been experimenting with flurry-​type ice cream in recent years as well. I wouldn’t say this place is outlandishly expensive at all either.

I’ve been to the Sea Swirl 4 – 5 times over the past few years and am pleased with the food, service and consistency. It’s in a nice location on the roadside close to downtown Mystic and has ample outdoor seating. The ice cream is great too.
Two small nitpicks that prevent me from giving 5 stars:
1. As is the case with many of these mainly fried food establishments, everything has a similar aftertaste (i.e french fries taste a little fishy, chicken tastes fishy, etc.).
2. The portions are small (especially considering the prices). I may be spoiled but I’m used to large portions from these type of fried fish stands/​restaurants.
Overall, a very good place for a quick lunch or to grab some ice cream after dinner!

Was sad to be there out of season because we knew this favorite little spot was seasonal and would have to wait for our next trip there! We located this place years ago after seeing it on a Rachel Ray episode featuring it, and now, cannot go into the area without stopping for a fried cod sandwich! It is delicious! A really fun little spot, with great food and friendly people!

We tried Sea Swirl for the first time yesterday, and it was actually by chance. Being new to the area, we of course had to visit Olde Mistick. We were hungry afterwards, but my husband wanted something light for lunch. We were heading to Mystic Soup Company, but they were randomly closed. So we decided to try Sea Swirl. We were not at all disappointed! I had the tuna salad sandwich, which was great. It came on toasted bread, and wasn’t dry, but wasn’t soppy either. I just added a little yellow mustard, because that’s how I like mine. My husband had the grilled fish tacos, and enjoyed them. He said they were the best he’s eaten in a long time. My daughter had some french fries. She chowed down on them, and of course we had a few too. Seriously, so good! They were crispy on the outside, and smooth on the inside! Then we all shared a chocolate chip cookie dough freezie. I don’t know what it was about that ice cream, but it was so delicious! I really hope we can make it back before they close for the season. There are a lot of menu items that I’d love to try! I’m thinking this place will be a new favorite of ours.
Funny how we wanted something light, and ended up here!

This place was hopping when we came, yet our food was delicious & came out quickly. We kept it simple with fish & chips with a side of onion rings. The fish seemed to be freshly battered & fried, as well as the onion rings. I was pleasantly surprised by the large portions, which was great cause we were sharing with the kids. Everything was piping hot, not greasy, & ample.
We knew we weren’t getting out of there without ice cream, so we ordered some yummy soft serve & no one was disappointed. I was impressed with the friendliness & efficiency of the staff, as well as the cleanliness of the place. There seemed to be mostly locals eating there, so the quality must be pretty consistent.

Excellent, tasty fish tacos with corn tortillas. And the clam chowder with clear broth was a sea-​filled, briney surprise. Yum!

This review is of their ice cream not the seafood. We each had hard pack ice cream in a cup. Not good. In fact mine was clearly from the bottom and old. It just had that nasty freezer taste to it and the coffee ice cream barely had any flavor. We both had moose tracks and my friend’s was okay since her’s was from a new bucket. I have not had the seafood so can not comment on that. However, if you are craving good ice cream look elsewhere. You won’t be happy with it here,

Sea Swirl is a tiny shack on the road that is known for ice cream and their famous whole belly clams. After reading some of the reviews on here about the big whole belly clams, it made me want to take the trip here for the good whole belly clams that are so hard to find.
Ordered a side order of whole bellies and Rhode Island style clam chowder. What a disappointment. Bellies weren’t big at all and they were very greasy. Clam chowder really wasn’t all that great either, it was like eating a bowl of broth and chopped potatoes, with hardly any clams at all. I’ll stick to somewhere more local next time with better prices.

Used to come here a lot a few years ago. Stopped by today and was a little disappointed. Prices are outrageous considering the portions.
I had the clam fritters and there were no clams. I’m not exageratting. I’ll post a picture to show there is nothing but fried dough.
Mozzerella sticks and burgers and frozen.
I would go to a real restaurant to pay less for higher quality food.

I have such fond memories of this place, which my family always stopped at on the way home from Watch Hill during the summer. My experience with Sea Swirl is purely ice cream, of the soft serve variety. This is going to sound odd, but Sea Swirl has DELICIOUS sprinkles. Their soft serve is light and creamy, and their cones are the standard soft serve cones but MAN there is something about these sprinkles! I have told my friends that the sprinkles are amazing, only to have them laugh at me like I was crazy. And yet! I have made converts of them with one summertime trip to Sea Swirl. Seriously, get the rainbow sprinkles. They’re better than your average sprinkles, and taste like little pieces of candy.
Promise I’m not insane, just try it!

Wasnt too sure I wanted to go to a place that served both seafood and dessert. Doesnt sound like a good combination. Boy am I glad that I stopped by. the fried clam belly absolutely fried heaven. The fries werent as good, but it may be just that I wanted more clams. Onion rings are made with real onions!
Dessert. the slush is icy satisfaction with so many flavor options it really makes it hard to choose. But the best part is the soft serve. They had something like 20 soft serve flavors to choose from. I got the pistachio soft serve, unheard of! Soo good, I want more. So glad I stopped by this spot

Every time we are in the area we make it a point to stop here. IT IS DELICIOUS. It is a little pricey for being a little outdoor shack but it is totally worth it.
We had the clam strips which is the REAL reason we come here, a tuna salad sandwich, a cheeseburger, and strawberry milkshake. Total was $ 30. All were excellent. The shake is super fresh and tasty! This is the best out of all of the little shacks in this neighborhood.
They have plenty of seating and they are pretty quick in calling your number/​order.

Came with my bf for our anniversary last weekend. It seemed to be run by young girls for the summer. It was a cute roadside place. We were driving from Mystic back to our hotel, and came upon this place. The name sounded familiar from all the google searches i did before going… so we stopped in for a snack.
We split an order of fish & chips, and it was pretty good. It could’ve used a bit of seasoning on the fish though.
We would definitely stop by again in the future if we are in the area.

Great fresh seafood!
Ice-​cream is yummy also!
Not cheap. Way better that sea-​view snack bar

The Sea Swirl is a cute roadside establishment on the east side of the Mystic River not far from the RR station. It is a blast from the past! Mystic has a couple of these places like the SeaView and Fords Lobsters and Abbott’s.
The Sea Swirl has fried food, dogs, burgers and ice cream. It is busy! It has picnic tables and we typically bring our dog. We love it!
But the chicken nuggets were TERRIBLE. Way too small-​we should have complained!

Maybe my nostalgia for summers in Mystic colors my review, but I love Sea Swirl. It’s a typical seasonal seafood shack, like many that dot the East Coast. Unlike some of its counterparts, however, the food is really good. I don’t deviate from my fave scallop roll because it’s just so gosh darn tasty. Soft, fresh bun; a generous portion of large, lightly fried scallops; and a side of tartar sauce to add to your liking. My husband digs their clam roll and my parents regularly rotate through the scallop roll, lobster roll, and cheeseburger. Oh, and I would be remiss if I forgot to mention that any Sea Swirl meal would be incomplete without a side of onion rings to share.
If you can find the hidden chamber in your stomach, you can always finish off your lunch with one of a bazillion flavors of soft-​serve ice cream. Otherwise, just park yourself on one of the picnic tables in front of the order window or across the parking lot by the water and enjoy a little sea breeze with your seafood plate.