Swanky's

I'm not exactly sure when Swanky's second location opened, but it's been over five years since Steph & Chip reviewed the original location in Germantown.

Swankys Taco Shop (East)
4770 Poplar Ave Ste 102
(901) 730-0763

On Friday night after soccer practice and the Wayne Edge opening at David Lusk, we went to Swanky's for dinner. Swanky's it totally the kind of place we seek when we're out of town, but when in town we usually seek out more authentic Mexican food. I guess because we know where to get it.



Having only been to the Germantown location, and not anytime recently, we were expecting to build our own burritos "Subway style." However, it became very clear that this Swanky's was like a traditional restaurant with table service. That was fine by me.

It was approaching 8pm, so I was a tad nervous about having the monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) in tow, since Swanky's has a bar and has been known to have live music. The patio was pretty crowded, but inside was rather calm and I saw a few other kids sprinkled throughout the restaurant. We took a seat and began figuring out what to order.



Our waitress came right over, and the first thing we all said was, "It's freezing!" They were totally blasting the AC, but the waitress said that it was either freeze or burn up. We all agreed we'd rather freeze. We put in our drink order--waters all around--and asked for chips, salsa, and cheese dip. And Warren found out what exactly a burrito bowl is.

I liked that drinks came in reusable cups like at Central BBQ. I'm assuming the tops were added for the kids, but maybe not.



Jiro didn't like the dip's visible "green and red things" and I found it a little bland and drippy, but we ate all of it regardless. I liked that the chips had some seasoning. The smoky salsa was so-so.



There is a charge for chips and salsa unless you order from the grill, which I did. (It was a toss up between fish tacos and shrimp tacos. I went with the latter and asked for them in hard shells.)

Warren and Jiro opted for the "Build Your Own." The cute little menus made it a very appealing option.



The kids menu is very well priced--everything is $4 or $5 and includes black beans, rice, and a small drink. Satchel wanted taquitos, which weren't a kid option, so I got him the appetizer version. Our waitress was really sweet and patient. While we waited for our food Warren showed us fun movie trailers on YouTube. Anyone know if Black Lodge has "Fantastic Planet"?



We also enjoyed the music which ranged from hipster to eighties, watchin Shrek on one of the three TVs at the bar, and discussing the boys' upcoming reports on dinosaurs.

Our food came out before any of us could complain, so that was good.

Jiro loved his taco stand, and asked if he got to keep it before furiously inspecting his chicken taco for errant pieces of lettuce.



After I pulled off a couple of specks of green, he agreed to eat it. He declared it delicious, but had no interest in his rice or beans. Since he had also eshewed the cheese dip I knew he was going to be hungry as soon as we got home. He actually asked if he could go to Taco Bell on the way home if he ate all of his dinner!

I was glad Satchel went with a non-kids meal since he has been voracious lately.



He was able to eat 5 or 6 of his taquitos, which he said were delicious and Jiro's rice. Satch actually had a hair in his taquito, but got less worked up about it than Jiro did over the speck of lettuce. Warren and I ate the remaining two taquitos, which were good, but nothing special.

Warren's burrito was beautiful. He filled it with pork, guacamole, rice, pico, and a bunch of other stuff. I was really impressed that he ate all of it (minus the one bite he gave me).




My shrimp tacos were really good, and I too liked the presentation.



Next to the rice were some thinly sliced veggies that had a nice flavor. I had no problem polishing everything off.

Our total bill was $38 plus tip, so less than $10 each--not bad. My tacos were $12 so I could definitely order something less expensive next time. I definitely think there will be a next time. The food was fresh and tasty, and the service was fast and friendly. I think going during the day and sitting on the patio would be extra nice.

I have two small complaints--I didn't like the way the servers were busy cleaning up at 8:30pm. I realize they were probably ready to go home, but it made me feel weird and rushed. Second, there is no changing table in the bathroom. I think that from now on if a restaurant has a kids menu and highchairs then I am going to expect them to have a changing table. Swanky's has a huge handicapped stall that could easily fit one.