Swing 46

 

0

4

Stu C.

Bronx, NY

I'll make it short and sweet:

Classy. Romantic Great Drinks. Lame Food.

Go for the music and the ambience, not the food.

Worth a visit ;)

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1

7

duane b.

Jersey City, NJ

What a fun evening. I took my g/f here for a little belated Valentine's Day celebration and we had a great time. I guess we are a couple of nostalgics but the idea of a nice supper club, in the old school sense, has been appealing to us for a long time. It was great to go out for an evening of dining and dancing in the style of bygone eras where elegance reigned. We will surely be returning to hone our newly developed swing dancing skills.

Pros:
Nice Atmosphere - Cozy feel to the bar area as well as the dining/dancing room. It was a good mix between upscale and comfortable. Niether us in our suit and dress or others in jeans and t-shirts seemed out of place.
Good Service - From the moment we walked in and were greeted fondly by the host to our very attentive waitor to the friendly bartender all had a really great attitude. It was like they enjoyed being there not just collecting a paycheck.
Unique Experience - It's great leaving a place with a sense of accomplishment. We were no Fred and Ginger but it felt really good as we picked up some basic moves and our growing confidence led to further experimentation and ad-libbing.
Good Food - For a joint that is more about the dance experience the kitchen didn't miss a beat either. We started with some calamari which was surprisingly light and not at all chewy. The sauce that came with it was one of the best marinaras that we've had. I had the hangar steak which was cooked perfectly medium and was accompanied by some tasty mashed potatoes and scrumptious mixed veggies. My g/f had the grilled shrimp and rigatoni. The pasta was just right and the shrimp were big and juicy. Unfortunately this didn't have the same sauce that was with the calamari but it was still good. They were out of a couple of the dessert options on the menu as well as the champagne that we wanted but even our second choices were very good.

Cons:
The Bottom Line - When you throw in the cover charge the price was a little steep. When I got the bill I noticed that the bottle of Champagne was $5 more than the menu price, but I didn't feel like haggling about it. Plus they automatically added an 18% gratuity to the bill, so I had to be careful not to double tip. It seems that with dinner you should be able to pay a reduce cover. I don't think we'll be eating there much in the future.

Again, overall we really had a great time here. I would and have been recommending it for anyone looking for a fun time that isn't your run of the mill night out. This would be a great choice for all kinds of occasions; first (or any) date, birthday, friends or relatives visiting or just something different.

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38

41

Jennifer M.

New York, NY

I had a blast at this place. However, here are my gripes:  the cover was $15.00, and drinks were outrageously expensive (okay, I'm not really used to or down with spending $9.00 for a glass of crappy house wine).

AND they made you pay $1.00 for water. Water! Just regular old tap water in a plastic cup - and believe me, you need to drink that water after swing dancing for five minutes. I sorta resented Swing 46 for entrapping us, making us sweat - then refusing free water. It seemed, dare I say: evil?

However, on the good side: the dance instructor was really great and worked with us throughout the night, the staff was friendly and the over vibe was fun.

I would love to go here every weekend as I love swing dancing - but I really just can't afford this place every Saturday. Those are my two cents - which, I believe were just taken by Swing 46.

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9

23

Jason G.

New York, NY

This is one of the places to find Lindy Hop in New York, every Tuesday night. They always have live music. They used to have George Gee, but now it seems that the Big Bang Big Band has taken their place. Occasionally, the Blue Vipers of Brookyln play there, which are fantastic.

The dance area is fairly small, and there aren't too many dancers. But, it's cozy.

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Elite '08

7

110

Marja M.

Fremont, CA

You know, life can be funny. I heard about Swing 46 initially from Linda Pagan, owner of The Hat Shop on Thompson St. (thehatshopnyc.com) last December. Then, I heard about it again from a fellow swing dancer. Now, I was walking down the 46th St. with Le Festa, after going to see the VERY delightful musical "Curtains," starring Tony award winner David Hyde Pierce. We were looking for a place to eat after we abandoned the idea of going to the Lincoln Center Swing event (since it wraps up at 10pm). Lo, and behold, we came across Swing 46! I was jazzed to see it, and John agreed that we should go in.

I'm deducting one star because they wanted to charge us $12 a piece to come in and eat dinner. Uh, no. I guess it's a quandary when live music is offered but it's not a formal show (I understand a cover charge, drink minimum, etc.) or an informal bar either. So, we reached a compromise: they would seat us as far away from the music as possible (fine by me, since we wanted to actually be able to communicate with each other), and if we decided we wanted to dance, we'd each cough up the dinero. We didn't.

Our waiter, an aspiring writer and local baseball fan, was cute but not very flirtacious. Bummer. I had the Maine Crab Cakes and the 10 oz. Hanger Steak off their small menu. I find crab cakes to be a rip-off but I was on vacation, so I figured, "so what?" The steak was done to perfection (medium rare, thank you).

The bill for 1 cocktail, 1 appetizer, and 1 entree, including tax and tip? I forget, but figure around $50.00.

We didn't have reservations for a Tuesday night. Going around 10pm, the place was pretty empty but that could have been explained by the Lincoln Center Swing event.

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6

46

Nancy H.

NY

Swing 46 has dance lessons a few times a week which are really fun.  The lesson itself lasts about 20 minutes, and then you get to try what you learned as a live band plays in the background.  The people in the club range from being totally inexperienced to being expert swing dancers - don't worry if you've never done it before, they'll teach you - and from twenty somethings to seventy somethings.   After the lesson, you can keep dancing with your partner (if you came with one) or one of the other people in the bar (friendly, not a pick up scene).  The better dancers are patient and happy to get more people involved, so they'll keep working with you a lot of the time after the lesson ends.  After a few times you'll feel comfortable enough to dance without staring at your feet.

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2

56

Prakash S.

Winchester, VA

Probably The Best Supper Club in all of New York.   Live big band sound, swing dancing, great food.  

Not many menu options for vegetarians, but just ask and their chefs can come up with amazing dishes.  

Friendly, not dingy atmousphere.  Make reservations if you can!

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4

54

Kristen N.

Brooklyn, NY

I've never been here for dinner, so I can't comment on that.  I've been swing dancing for almost 10 years, so I love to come here to dance to live music.  George Gee plays on Tuesdays and he is great.  If you're going to check out Swing 46, then definitely come on a Tuesday.  

I also read that they have a tap dancing day on Sundays and I'm looking forward checking that out soon!  Sounds like a blast.

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3

76

Liz C.

New York, NY

Very, very cute dessert option before heading over to the Theater District. It's swing-themed; the wait staff is friendly and fun, and the atmosphere is straight out of the Big Band Era.

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47

60

dee w.

New York, NY

i didn't try the food here, but the music was great! i came here on a monday, and saw the harlem renaissance orchestra. i'm biased because i love jazz and swing, but i brought my boyfriend and he had a great time too! during intermission, they have a dance instructor teach audience members how to bust a move. on this particular night, evita taught us the charleston. overall, i had a really fun time, and it was refreshing to do something different from the normal movie/dinner/bar/club routine.

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