Swell Taco — Restaurant in Town of Babylon

Swell Taco is located behind Deer Park Avenue although its address says differently. The entrance is around the back lot and there was plenty of parking. We got there on a Saturday night a little before 8 pm. As you step through the door there is an outer seating area, not outside but colder than the interior. Through the second doorway was a tiny wait area with small benches on either side of the path to the reservation podium. We were greeted immediately by a smiling hostess and told it would be about 15 minutes unless we wanted to eat in the outer seating area. It was a cold and rainy night so we opted for the wait. As we waited the music blasted. Thumping and loud as if we were in a club. The only way to talk was to shout. Even then , understanding each other was very difficult. There were several TV's sitting high just along the ceilings. Thankfully they seem to be muted, or the volume low enough that they didn't add to the deafening sounds. I found the screens full of beautiful , crashing waves along a shoreline, some scenes with surfers in what appeared to be loops of the same scenes over and over. In another TV , images of people doing stunts on skateboards. Again, the images seemed to be a loop of the same things over and over. The theme seemed to be surfer, skateboarder as indicated by the walls full of these items in a very colorful array. The wait was about 20 minutes, so not bad. We sat at a table for two and it didn't take long for our server to come over to us. Bringing our drinks and a platter of chips and green salsa. I wanted to try here for the loaded nachos. That was the first thing we ordered. Since I do not like refried beans and my guy does she brought us a platter which was half and half and made sure to point out to us which was which. The nachos were tasty enough although it was not the best we have had, not by a long shot. I ordered the taco salad with ground beef and he got the grand burrito. Talking was near impossible so I found myself mesmerized by those beautiful shoreline waves in the TV. The group of 4 at the next table talked ( shouted) loudly to each other through our time there although we did not understand a word of their conversation as it just added to the crescendo of noises. I found the taco salad, served in a tostito shell, to be lacking in flavor and I ate very little of it. The burrito was a little bit better but overall I have had better at Moe's Southwest Grill. Our waitress was attentive and continuously cleared our table since it was small and crowded. She was a bright spot during our visit, one of the very few. I will say that it did seem as if everything was freshly prepared on site but seemed to lack flavor more than anything. When our bill came we were pleasantly surprised to see that our nachos were half priced although there was nothing advertising why that would be so. We both took home our entrees and I eventually just threw my container of food out. If it wasn't good fresh it certainly would not be good as a leftover! Overall this was a one and done...

PLEASE READ: Honestly the best taco spot ever. And I mean that because of many reasons. 1. Service is amazing, my margarita is never empty the staff is soooo nice and soo cool. Their vibe is awesome...ever having a bad day go there lol There is a wait sometimes bc its small BUT WHO CARES its worth it!!! so worth the wait..2. the prices you can't beat... 6.50$ for a patron margarita that man gets u feeling no pain quick, but yet you don't taste it!!! you can't beat 6.50 anywhere and I HATE margaritas I can only have them their. They have a homemade mixture which isn't too sweet and not too sour. Its amazing, they also sell their mixture. 3. their burritos are huge !! and for the price its unbelievable. they range from 7$ I believe to 8.50$. They are stuffed and you can't go anywhere on the island anymore for that much food for that little price at a restaurant. its amazing. 4. there tacos are delicious, never soggy, soooo homemade, packed, etc list goes on they Are amazing. I usually get one burrito and one taco. 5. there apps are too die for omg there loaded nachos are delicious. every chip has ingredients on it. you don't get a mound of chips and stuff on it. No, they Are all laid out flat and every chip has a little goodness. Chicken flautas are all my friends' favorites literally you must get them. 6. NOTHING AND I MEAN NOTHING is over salted, or even salted for that matter. I hate salt and their food doesn't make me thirsty or taste salty. Honestly I wish they were opened on Sundays bc I love Sunday funday and for a quick buzz and amazing food for cheap its great. I've been going there since they opened and I have brought (no exaggeration) 70 people their over the course of 5 years and each and everyone of them get hooked and go back several times a week. ALSO I've had many friends only go to Del Fuego closely by and never tried swelll. Well let me tell you I've changed all their minds. None and I mean NONE have returned to Del Fuego (which is over priced, over-rated and over-salty!!) i wish I could give swell more stars. Cant wait for more locations. PS they have a location in patchogue which is great for me since my boat is docked out east and I'm so happy both are convenient for me. There is no difference in the flavors, staff or atmosphere. Trust me I would know, same taste, same price same staff. They did an amazing job ! I wish there was more affordable cool, fun...

Because tacos are pretty much my favorite food of all time, I’ve been dying to try Swell Taco in Babylon for as long it’s been open. I finally got the opportunity on Friday 3/23/18 and it was well worth the wait! In fact, I’m mad at myself for not getting to this place sooner!! I went with a group of about 12 guys from work and although they had to break our group into 3 separate tables, we were just happy to be seated as soon as we walked in and not have to wait for a table because we had less than an hour to get back to work. We told our waitress we were in a rush and she took good care of us. She put our order in right away and dropped our checks right after our meals came out so that we could just leave as soon as we were finished eating. The chips and salsa verde that they put on the table was a great snack to nosh on while we waited for our tacos. The chips came out fresh and warm and the salsa verde was very flavorful. I could tell that they were both made fresh in house that day. For my tacos, I ordered one of each: a pork carnitas taco, a ground beef taco and a fish taco. The pork carnitas was filled with shredded pork, more of that excellent salsa verde, cheddar and pickled red onions, which I love on tacos. This was my favorite taco out of the three. The ground beef taco was the closest to a traditional taco and was loaded with seasoned ground beef, lettuce, cheddar and pico de gallo. I love regular ground beef tacos and this one was one of the best I’ve had. The fish taco was the one I was most excited to try. I used to make killer fish tacos at a clam bar that I used to work at in Sayville and I’ve been searching for fish tacos that can compare to the ones I used to pump out. I have to say, the chef at Swell Taco might’ve possibly taken his inspiration for this fish taco from my fish taco because it was as close as I’ve ever tasted it. The mahi mahi was fresh and delicious and the chipotle mayo on top of the lettuce, cheddar and salsa brought gave it a creamy spicy bite. Not better than mine, but definitely pretty close. I now know that I made a mistake by waiting so long to try out Swell Taco. I won’t make that mistake again. I’ll be back before...