Swell Dive

I love this place. They have delicious food and good drink options. The best part is the vibe though. The Filipino/island thing really feels fun and genuine, not just kitschy. They offer drink specials and have games as well.

Where could you have tacos for breakfast in Brooklyn? Am I in Texas or what? They have a huge cup for your coffee. Their bloody Mary is fantastic. The music in the background is very accommodating, too.

Swell Dive is a casual spot serving Filipino flavored tacos and island influenced drinks. I have tried the pork sisig, grilled fish and spam tacos. All good but not crave worthy. There are darts and games to keep you entertained but the lack of draft beers make me less inclined to stay. I wish Swell Dive would commit to be either a bar or a restaurant. The place is set up as a restaurant but the menu is limited. The combo somehow does not work as well as other bar restaurants in the hood, although the back patio is a welcome surprise. Worth a visit.

Friendly atmosphere, great spicy kalamansi margarita. Good place for snacks and drinks.

Amazing food, big size delicious drinks. Probably the best tacos I've ever had. Get the Smoked Pork Sisig Taco. You won't regret it.

Noah is very sweet and was super helpful during my visit. Food is out of this world and unique. Filipino breakfast tacos are my new favorite obsession.

This place is so amazing and unique if you know what to order 🙃 I recommend the Adsilog (pulled pork - Filipino style), and the spam taco, yes spam if you know what’s up. The rest of obv good but I’m trying to help you get what the local filipinos order. Oh, and try the ube painkiller! So damn good.

The tacos tasted really good. Tanduay oh my is a great drink. It’s a nice hang out spot.

YUM! Went here with some friends and got some dope ass Filipino food! I rocked the tofu kare-kare, whereas my companions got a beef adobo rice bowl, and gata tacos. The nachos stole the show! The service as A+! Highly recommended for a quick bite and drinks!

A divey place to grab some tacos and drinks. There is bar seating, table seating for 2-4 people each, and a back room with more open area. You order at the bar and are given a buzzer that goes off to tell you when to pick up the food at the counter. The tacos themselves were good and the spiral potato thing was good. I really enjoyed the charred beef in the taco for its rich flavor. Fun joint to hang out at, but its not the kind of place with customer service. This is a more free flow and casual place with board games available as well. Menus are available by QR code on the little clipboards found at the bar.

This spot is great for a night out with friends to a local bar. There are tons of alcoholic options at the bar. Happy hour is Monday to fridays 4-8pm. This spot also has decent food options. The menu is small but unique. The flavors are Filipino inspired and I would consider them as small bites. To order your food and drink, it is best to order it straight at the bar. The menu is digital. The bartender was friendly and accommodating. After you place your order, you'll receive a buzzer to notify you when your food is ready. The hurricane fries is like a potato twist and it was fried nicely. It had textures of potato chips. The seasoning was decent. I wish there was more complex flavors as it was mainly covered in a sour cream/crema. I tried the charred beef tacos and the adsilog tacos. The charred beef taco was topped with crema, cheese and an avocado based sauce. The beef was quite flavored and tasted like Chinese barbecue. It was delicious and flavorful. The adsilog taco is braised pork with garlic rice and pico de Gallo. The braised pork had hints of Filipino adobo taste but I personally would prefer more. The garlic rice could have used more garlic flavor as well. The combination of the adsilog taco is delicious. The flour tortilla was fluffy in a way that it reminded me of a scallion pancake or Indian naan. It was quite nice and complimentary. I wish there was more attentive service but this place was more like a bar and self service type. You can linger here for as long as you'd probably like. The lighting is quite dark in here but doable.

The OG beef tacos were far-and-away the best thing about this place. It's a tragedy they are not on the new menu. Please bring them back! No beef tacos, no peace.

The bartender was one of the worst humanoids I've ever experienced. I've been in a number of times before, but I will never be coming back.

Amazing service! Great midtempo chill vibes! Tequila on a Wednesday kind of spot! Look forward to returning with friends for brunch and great take-out option as well.

We went to Swell for a light dinner and drinks. I guess I should have gleaned from the name that the concept is that this is a divey bar... you seat yourself. QR menus for food and drinks. They're posted right by the cash register, but it was really dark and I had little reception, so it was hard to access the menu. No wifi for customers. Luckily the workers lent us their phones to see the menu and order. The purple ube cocktail was delicious, though I wasn't sure I was getting much of the ube flavor. It was a pretty drink, though. They didn't have much that catered to the Filipino cuisine flavors, I felt... the tornado fries are good, but I was expecting a bit more with the food offerings. There was a taco that had sisig on it, and that was about as Filipino as it got. The food wasn't bad, but I felt the tacos were pretty boring. I'm not sure, maybe I was expecting too much for the bar food.

[March 2023] Still a shell of what it was. Clearly the tortillas are being made way beforehand and not kept warm because my tortillas were cold and stale. It's not every cook; the lady and younger guy make things superbly. Not just the tortillas, but the food is made with care. So, luck of the draw, here. Bartenders are cool. But owner has to fix the taps. They've been in and out, foamy as all hell, or busted for about 8 years lol. Again, luck of the draw.

I have to start by saying this place doesn't seem to be an authentic Filipino spot, more like a gentrified version of it. Which is cool, but just wanted to be fully transparent. It's giving real American with a little arcade box in the back. So I got the Chicken Fried Spam, A-Migas, a taco with a brick of cheese and the potato fries. My friend had the cauliflower taco, but they sent it back. I didn't try it. My favorite taco by far was the A-Migas because of the flavoring and the egg. The Chicken Fried Spam was interesting and crunchy. I wasn't a big fan at all of the box of cheese, tasted like bad blue cheese. The tacos did seem a little cold and they came out too quickly. Though I do like the creativity with the variety. Our server was too busy chatting with other customers and ended up forgetting my friend's drink and we had to ask for their card back. He was very nice though and ended up giving them a free drink which is cool. I would just say spend more time paying attention to customers orders inside of chatting with them first. I'd probably come back for a cheap taco or too, there were other ones on the menu that I wanted to take a stab at. The vibe is cool and the decoration is nice. Very cute for a little quick date. Let me know if I'm tripping or not...

Came by here on a Saturday afternoon after some solid reviews from Yelp. Apparently they have a mid-day siesta, so went to a nearby bar until they re-opened for the late afternoon. Their menu is smaller than what it used to be (from previous pictures), but still some interesting options to choose from. Between two people, shared the Hurricane Fries ($8), Roasted Cauliflower Taco ($5), and Grilled Fish Taco ($5). The fries are your expected spiral cut fare topped with succulent sauces. Easy to eat and not greasy at all. The fish was fresh, lightly battered and went well with some table hot sauce. Cauliflower was a letdown, not seasoned well and tasted mostly bland (had to use various sauces). Washed it all down with a draft beer ($7). Service bumps this place to four stars and the people behind the counter were courteous. They also seem to have board games to sit and hang out (not the greatest pandemic activity), as well as an outdoor setup. Would come back for the fries.

Went here with quite a few people mid day. I think I should start out by saying I enjoyed this place more than others. The tacos are a bit overpriced. But when you're eating a chicken fried spam taco...you should be willing to shell out an extra buck. Even if it's just once. Because it's a damn fine taco. Crunchy coating, excellently cooked. I tried another persons taco, the charred beef. I thought it was pretty dry but enjoyed the toppings. The drinks seem well priced. The great part about this place is the games in the back! Free, seemingly infinite video games to play with a friend! And just for the people in the back. Yes, it's free. There's also a bunch of board games and a few larger tables for groups to spread out and have a fun time.

It hurts me to write this. Used to be one of my favorites in the neighborhood. Quality has slipped quite a bit. The food has been subpar to pretty dang bad the past few times I've been there. I just don't think I can pay $5.50 for a small taco that's a poor representation of what it used to be. Gonna miss ya, SD

Bob Ross was playing on the TV the entire time. One star off for the garden having buoys.

Despite being a Manhattanite, I'm a weekly regular at this gorgeous little Bed-Stuy spot (can't stop the craving for the adsilog taco). Fantastic food, excellent cocktails, and the service is incredible (shout out to Michelle the bartender in particular for being such a gem in advising on the new rice bowl menu & generally being so welcoming).

I love this place. Good food, strong drinks (only tried the margarita, need to try the others), quick service, divey atmosphere, cool ambiance, and outdoor seating. A perfect date spot, and it's cheap! I gotta get back there ASAP.

A find! Delicious food and cool tiki bar vibe. A chill neighborhood place. Would recommend.

Cute little spot! Loved this place and I suggest coming here if you're in the area I came here on a Saturday night with a friend and miraculously there was a booth available. Loved the surf vibes and the atmosphere. The place is small so I would definitely not come in large groups (up to 4) All the cocktails are delicious. The Bellini, the painkiller, whatever is the special frozen of the day. I enjoyed whatever I tried there and I would come back for the drinks I got the spiral fries, the cauliflower taco and the cauliflower nachos. Everything was really good! If you're debating beware the taco and the nachos- go for the taco 100% The fries are drenched in queso, which we all love. Sometimes the kitchen gets backed up and they ask you to order in like 10-15 minutes Check this place out

Four stars for fun divey decor and yard space. Drinks were fine. Inside in small-ish, but having board games available was a nice touch.

Omg, big fan. Went in for a quick breakfast before running errands on a Saturday. Plenty of space to sit, the food came out fast, and it was delicious. Make sure to try the salsas! I tried the green and red, both so good. Def reco!

One of my favorite places in Brooklyn! You really can't go wrong with any of their tacos but the Adsilog, Charred Beef and Slab cheese are unreal! The staff is always awesome, when I lived in the neighborhood I was there weekly and never tired of it! My only complaint is that they took the Pork Sisig and Chicken Adobo off the menu because those were my favorites.

Came on a Friday evening with the mom...drinks and food came fast but the hurricane fries were cold! Cute back door patio with adequate heating and respectable COVID rules. Bartender was sweet and attentive. Drinks weren't bad but could have been stronger. Maybe I would visit after getting off the train after work.

Got the cauli & Tilapia taco. Both were good but if I were to choose one thing that I can order all the time.... It's gotta be the tilapia taco.

I would rate swell five four and a half stars. I had a couple of mezcals neat while my girlfriend has a cider. They had a few beers on draft too. What makes this bar stand out is the food menu and the great selection of complete board games. We decided to have the hurricane chips which is a trendy item featuring a potato specialty cut on a stick so that it swirls on the stick and you could bite off segments of chips. It was topped with nacho cheese and some other toppings. We also had one of the pork tacos which was pretty good too. My favorite part of the bar was the board games. They had Yahtzee, chess, battleship, connect four, clue, trouble, a couple decks of cards, others games, and a multi game set. I greatly appreciated that everything was complete.

My favorite local spot! Great drinks, great people, great food, and a great yard- what else could you want?!

The staff here has changed like a million times since my initial 2-star review, and dramatically for the better. The service is top notch, but who cares... these tacos, bruh. These tacos are so good. How'd they make a fried spam taco so effing good? How the hell did they make a cauliflower taco SO GOOD? And the nachos? They replaced the sisig pork with ground beef, which is a total downgrade, but I still live for these nachos. That cheese sauce they make can boost anything it's poured on. It's liquid Jesus. Amen.

I think this is where I draw the line on gentrification. The place has cool decor and the staff is nice, and their beer list is great. But they charge $4.75 for a taco. And they're really small. I got the charred beef taco and the smoked pork sisig. The sauce of the beef one was overly sweet. The sisig one was better, but definitely left me hungry. Not the best $10 I've spent. But I'd definitely come back just for drinks.

We just got drinks, beer, but there was a $1 off drinks for happy hour! They have lots of tasty special drinks. The atmosphere is nice and the staff is friendly! We sat outside in a little back patio area it was really nice and not to crowded!

This is a filipino/mexican fusion... but in reality it's just a taco with some stuff on it. I wasn't impressed but all the other people were ... The tacos are tiny (which is to be expected) but at $4 a taco it's meh.

This place is so fucking great. Every taco I've had is delicious. Those handmade tortillas are such a great touch. Also the portions are huge and the quality of ingredients are top notch. Fried cheese, sisig, the beef all amazing. The longanisa in the breakfast tacos was super authentic. That queso is so decadent. The breakfast tacos are an awesome addition to breakfast around here. Everyone there is really really nice and it's got a chill vibe. Good Toby's Estate coffee too. See ya there.

FAN-FCKING-TASTIC! Absolutely amazing charred beef tacos. Found this place randomly while searching for an afterwork wind down beer, I'm was in town for a few weeks and found this hidden gem at the last three days. I'd move to Brooklyn for this dive! The service is fantastic and food is phenomenal. This place is worth the trip.

The vibe inside was pretty cool. You definitely have to try the Painkiller and the charred steak tacos. Food and drinks were good but not $5 taco good and the happy hour special was only $1 off drinks The only reason that they received 4 stars, was due to the Painkiller which was delish and the chatty bartender!

I took my wife and toddler son here for dinner tonight and it was exceptionally delicious. We had chips and queso, adobo and sig sig and fish tacos simply superb! I had the pain killer which tasted as if I was floating at the soggy dollar in the BVI! The atmosphere is laid back, the vibe is mellow and the music on the box is old Skool 80's 90's. The owner is a super nice guy and I am proud to be a Filipino tonight! Good job pare! We coming back....

Service nice drinks awes, food cold even after request twice for hot food, not happy.

Tacos are fully packed with goodness overflowing with pacific island love. Heated covered patio is a great space to play darts and stretch your legs.

This place is just alright. As a place that brands itself as Tex-Mex, I do expect more. For one, the prices are pretty expensive. Each taco costs you about $3.50-$4, but the catch is that they are quite small. I had the potato, egg, and cheese and the queso when I went. The taco was small, cold, and there was no salsa/hot sauce in sight. The queso was flavorful and came out hot, but the chips were incredibly burnt. The folks I came here with also ordered queso, and their chips were also burnt. Not to mention that the man who brought out our tacos couldn't remember who ordered what. We ended up having to keep picking at our tacos and moving them to different plates just to figure out who had what. All in all, I think I'll stick to making my own breakfast tacos and queso. This place is decent in a pinch, but if you're looking for a satisfying meal, I'd say keep searching.

I keep thinking about the charred beef and chicken adobo tacos... Oh wow, so delicious. Being from Hawaii, I am used to some good Filipino chicken adobo. This chicken adobo - was even better than what I had in Hawaii and in a perfect soft, flour tortilla. The charred beef was like taco with soft cubes of marinated beef, super juicy. Yum. We also tried the spam taco, very delicious. And the cheese, also yummy vegetarian option... And the smoked pork, also great. All the tacos are filled with lots of meat/filling, they are not stingy on the filling. Also, they don't double up on the tortilla, which I think a lot of places do, to make you fuller off of less protein. Thanks, guys! Oh, I also liked the chips and queso - homemade cheese dip (made with real cheese, I heard). Comes with yummy, spicy green chile salsa. Actually, would be a great kids food (maybe ask for it without the spice for the kids?), but my 3-year-old loved it. I think they make their own corn tortilla chips too. I'm definitely going back. I hope the start to do delivery and to my house in Bed Stuy!

I came here one evening to have dinner with my BF and there were no available seats inside so we headed to the outdoor area in the back to eat there. After sitting down, we realized that the area, which is walled in on four sides, with no air flow, was filled with cigarette smoke. Basically it was not for people to enjoy a meal, it was for people to sit around and blow cancer at each other. We had to leave it was so gross. Basically - eat here if you want cancer.

CIGARETTE SMOKE, NASTY FOOD AND TERRIBLE SERVICE. If you thought smoking in restaurants was outlawed in New York City, please visit to Swell Dive for a walk down a nasty memory lane. Smoking is allowed, dare I say encouraged, in the patio of this restaurant. The patio is like a back garden where you can enjoy daylight and breathing secondhand smoke from all the cigarette smokers around you. Since the door of the patio is almost never closed, the inside of the restaurant also gets filled with nasty smoky air. I second gripe is that the food here is absolutely mediocre and borderline disgusting. They barely make anything fresh in this restaurant as the kitchen is incredibly tiny. What they do is pre-cook everything and serve it cold or microwaved. The Steak tacos tasted like it had been cooked three days before, the smoked beef taco was microwaved and covered in grease, the slab of cheese taco was burned and the cauliflower taco was cold and slimy. My third gripe is that the service is absolutely terrible. It takes about 15 minutes to get the attention of a server at the bar, and another 30 minutes to get your food! so please do not come you're hungry.

Wow, the folks here are rude as hell. Decency and kindness go a long way, and they definitely have neither. Their food is good, but routinely cold and not prepared well. I wish it was better cause the concept is inventive and deserves to succeed. But sorry to say: you should look elsewhere.

This place was not worth coming to. I was excited to try it because it had great reviews. Totally let down. Came here for breakfast to order their breakfast tacos. In the reviews, it states that the tortillas were freshly made. NOT! The pork adobo taco was a disgrace. If they call that adobo, that was the worst tasting adobo I have had in my life. No flavor! The pico de gallo was old. The tomatoes was on the brink of throwing out. It was already whiteish and not red. Yuck. The other taco was the longanisa taco. It was flavorless. We had to dump a boat load of green salsa to get it down. Had to throw our other tacos away. Definitely a waste of food and money, not to mention my time. Oh the coffee... I added milk and sugar. The milk was sour! Looks like this place will not make it.

Not only do they have yummy food and a super chill vibe, but they also open at 8am on weekdays and they're open late (midnight or later) every night! We've only been for brunch/lunch so far, so we haven't gotten to try their dinner menu yet (yes, I'm eyeing you, chicken fried spam taco). But I've had a decent smattering of their breakfast/lunch tacos, and they're reeeeally good. Like "I'm now craving it from just thinking about it" good. Everything is very fresh and super filling. They have a Tex-Mex taco list and a Filipino taco list. I'm obsessed with the Longsilog, from the Filipino taco list: a tortilla topped with longanisa sweet sausage, garlic rice, and a fried egg. Burst the yolk and dive (haha) in! I sometimes fork and knife their tacos cus it can get messy and I don't want to lose any of that precious egg yolk! But, obviously, feel free to dig in with your hands! I usually get two tacos and share a queso & chips with my bf. And I'm always very satisfied (read: super stuffed) afterwards. The Longsilog is a must-have and I'll usually get a Tex-Mex taco as the second, rotating between the A-Migas or Smashed Potato. I highly recommend the queso, too. It's SO delicious. They bring over two salsas in squeeze bottles for your tacos, as well, a tangy green salsa and a smokier dark red one. Both are yummy and neither is spicy. We haven't had any alcoholic beverages here but they've got a happy hour and a good selection. They serve coffee (but no decaf), which is what we usually get. Oh, they have a TV over the bar and it's always playing MSNBC when we've been there. I usually opt to sit facing away from it, if possible, cus the news just pisses me off these days. I just prefer to read my news lately and the TV can kind of be distracting. *Shrug* no big deal though, just an observation.

I came here early August and was extremely dissatisfied and uber annoyed at the bartender/server/*****. First of all, she forgot my order right after I said it to her. My boyfriend however, got his food even though he ordered AFTER I did. Not only was I waiting there for a solid 15 minutes AFTER his food arrived, but she kept flaunting her breasts in front of me to my man. Not sure if it's because it was totally dead in there, but seriously not the classiest way to leave an impression. Also, can't forget about the moment when she remembered my drink order, prepared it, and put it on the edge of the bar for me to get. She prepared my boyfriends' drink after mine and of course urgently brought it over to him :) I wasn't going to make this review but I thought I would for the sake of this business. The food was great, the drinks weren't worth the trouble. The projector gave a really cool feel. Would love to come back but not a place I'd recommend after this experience. I still left a pretty nice tip, since I could tell she desperately needed it. #stayhydrated

Stepped off the bus with my tummy grumbling. Saw the sign for breakfast tacos & sashayed in for a bite. Ordered the A-Miga taco. Yummy to my tummy!!! The bartender Miguel was nice & the music was on point! That's big for me! No mimosa. No problem! A Palawan Sunrise Bellini (prosecco, mango, nectar & Aperol) hit the spot! Took a snap before it was all gone. Petite, clean and cute. Stop by. You won't regret it!

I was very excited to come to this place as I've had an amazing time here previously with a large group of coworkers after a night shift and this is one of the rare places that will serve booze first thing in the morning. HOWEVER my second time around has left me severely disappointed. Not only am I still waiting for food 50 min after ordering with only 3 parties in the restaurant with the placating comment "there was a back log in the kitchen" (really?), a party that arrived after us was served food and have left AND I STILL HAVE NOT EATEN. If this is a method to get us to buy additional liquor, I'm sorry that's not how I roll. I will not be coming back and if my coworkers suggest this place, it will be a hell to the eff no from this girl.

Super chill spot to go to if you're on a date or just wanna hang with a friend. Came here for a quick bite and to play some board games. We tried two tacos: the beef & fish. Both were good and packed a lot of flavor. I would def return if im around the area

As a born and bred Texan, Swell Dive has the best breakfast tacos I've had in the Northeast. The queso is good too--but the migas tacos are definitely the star of the show! They only serve breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, so go and enjoy migas and queso and if you're a Texan, enjoy a true taste of home.

From the outside it looks like only the to go window is operating but they have a backyard patio with seating. I'm a big fan of the margaritas and the cauliflower tacos from here. The service is also great as the bartenders are always super nice.

Swell Dive is a really swell place, complete with tasty fare and fun board games in a laid back environment. A couple of friends and I spent much of Saturday afternoon and well into evening here. Starting out with surprisingly good iced coffees and chips with queso, one of my friends and I later moved on to glasses of rose and finally a couple rounds of margaritas, which were accompanied by an order of the wings and the fried cheese tacos. Everything was delicious. If it sounds like we were here for a long time, we were. A game of Scrabble filled the latter part of our afternoon. We then gave Never Have I Ever a go, until we realized that none of the scenarios were particularly remarkable. We had better stories to tell, anyway. Not once were we pushed to leave by the staff, who were always friendly and patient. I can't wait to go back!

Came in and ordered to go at least 5 minutes before a party of 3 and a few minutes before a party of 2. Everyone got their food 15 minutes before me. I waited 25 minutes for my to go order, when I ordered before anyone else in that place. The food was cold when I got to the car right outside. Never again. I usually am VERY understanding and patient as someone who worked in food service before. And I RARELY ever give bad reviews, but I was pissed. There was no apology for the wait. Everyone else got their food WAY before I did even though I ordered ahead of them. Poor service. And the tacos we ordered were bad! Tortillas fell apart and there was barely any queso for the chips we ordered.