Swingers Grille

Had lunch at Swingers Grille around 1:00pm on a Saturday afternoon. It was not very busy so we were seated right away.

Service was pretty good but not the best. Our waitress was very nice but she seemed very uneducated on then menu. I saw that the Drunken Palmer was the drink special and I asked what it was. She didn't know what was in it, but said it was good. I took my chances and ended up liking it luckily. Not a huge deal, but typically if you can't answer a question, you go find out at the bar and come back. My friend had a question on her martini as well and she couldn't answer it. Other than that she was really nice though.

Food was very good. We split the nachos and they were plentiful. I didn't care for all the greens on top as it was excessive but we just removed them and ate the rest of the Nachos.

We spent some quality time with the new GM and chef a month ago and knew they recently completed renovations and are in the process of relaunching Swingers.

The best news may be that the OTB has re-opened, it still is the best driving range around, and the dining has been reinvigorated under chef Manny. The cocktails, craft beer and many TVs are definitely a draw for us, even though they are considering a new beer line system. We were excited to actually taste the finished product...but we have to say the first experience was a mixed bag.

The flatbread was really good - well cooked, not large but not expensive either. The tuna appetizer was very disappointing though - twice. That's right we sent the first one back because they cooked it too long for supposedly sushi-grade, but the replacement we received barely had touched the pan at all and the inferior quality of the fish made us take a pass on the whole thing (with a cooperative removal from the check). The other thing I noticed food-wise was a preponderance of ghost pepper in several offerings, which may alienate some tastebuds, but we will taste that next time. At least the menu itself is much easier to read than the leather bound books they used to offer!

We really liked the previous bartender and we're disappointed by new bar staff which seemed to be more focused on each other and a push to get rid of the last of their pumpkin beer than ensuring customer sat.

Suffice it to say our 2.5-stars are probably generous because there are some kinks to work out, but we have confidence the new mgmt team will do just that and we look forward to trying some other dishes at our next visit.

I was not expecting this place to have one of the most delicious burgers I've ever had - no joke.

My husband and I dined at Swingers on a Thursday around 12pm. We thought it was interesting that it was a bar/grill located in the lower level of a golfing facility. We assumed they would have regular lunch time bar food - and that's all we needed to satisfy our hunger before getting back on our road trip. It wasn't busy when we went. There were only a few people there, perhaps on a lunch break, and a couple of adorable old retirees at the bar.

THE FOOD (!!!) My husband and I both got the smoked maple cheddar burger. WOW! I would eat this burger every day for the rest of my life and never tire of it. The sweetness of the carmelized onions and the juciness of the burger were pret-ty impressive. Mine was cooked perfectly - medium. When my husband was done with his burger, there was a puddle of juice left on his plate from all the juices that ran down and off of his hand every time he took a bite!

I especially liked that the burgers were grilled and you could actually taste the char-grilling of the meat. I've been to so many restaurants that serve burgers that are fried on a pan - not impressive. I like my burgers grilled, and this was perfection.

Our waiter was a young guy who was very kind and did a great job. We saw him sweeping when he wasn't serving. Seemed like a hard worker.

One other thing I noticed, and thought was a nice little perk, was the mouthwash in the restroom. They have a glass pump jar of mouthwash, with small paper cups next to it. I have never seen this in a restaurant, except for those places where you have to pay for it. It was a great way to freshen my breath just in case my husband wanted to kiss me in the car. ;)

Not a fan. $24 prime rib looked more like a thick cut of brisket. Asparagus was over cooked and under seasoned. Mashed potatoes didn't have much flavor. To top it off I was really hungry so it should have been tasty, but it felt like a waste. Service was good, so kudos to the staff

This is where I dine when I am in Bloomington / Normal, and this is the place I send people who are working in Bloomington / Normal. This is a great place with a great atmosphere. The food has always been good, service has been on the ball. The specials change often.

Swinger's has plenty of parking and a great atmosphere. The attached golf range adds a casual feel, while the live jazz music on weekends classes up the place. TVs all around the bar make it friendly for the solo diner to have a good meal.

This is one of the top 3 restaurants in Bloomington Normal. Hands down I've never had a bad experience. The Friday night crowd says it all - they always seem busy.

I recently enjoyed the $20 Prime Rib. It was perfect. The crust was salty and peppery, the middle was medium rare and the texture was rested and could be cut with a fork. Served with fresh daily veggies and I opted for the loaded baked potatoe. What a treat.

The staff is always professional. The atmosphere is alive and bustling. The food is of the highest quality. The overall experience is the best time and again.

We found ourselves here because they were the only place we could find taking reservations for an early dinner due to the local university's graduation. After eating here, I know why! The food was okay, but the service was awful! Our waiter couldn't remember our orders, we had to ask several times for items, one of the orders came half way through the rest of our meals, he forgot a round of drinks, our food came out and they placed the tray by our table and instead of serving us, he took an order for another table. The drinks we did get, were not made well...I could go on and on...
I'm giving them 2 stars, because the food wasn't horrible. I will not be swinging my way back there anytime soon and can't recommend anyone to do so either.

We had a large group come here last weekend and we were pretty much the only ones there! Turns out they closed at 11:00 pm on Saturday night! I remember when this place first opened it was busy and happening all the time, but not anymore. I don't know what happened but it seems like this place has been run into the ground.

Some of us ordered desserts and they were actually quite good. They were out of some of the desserts and beers that we wanted and the service was a little slow.

I hope things improve!

This place was terrible. First thing we didn't have a reservation, so they were kind of rude about it. There was only 2 people in our party. I called ahead and was told no problem, no wait. But the changed. When seated we waited forever then a server asked us for our drinks, and was told our server would be there shortly, but we heard him tell her he was too busy. So, she told us she would be our server. I mean dude, say that out of earshot of the customer.

The new server was very nice. Things coming out of kitchen looked good. But again I think they forgot about us. Fries came out cold along with my prime rib sliders. Do not ordered these! 11 bucks for all fat not meat tiny sandwich with no sides. I barely ate anything all chewy fat.

Top it off they charged our card twice so we were out money for a week to get resolved. PASS PASS PASS.

Recently stopped by here only to find it out of business (replaced with another restaurant). Used to come by here in 2010 when business brought me into town and this was by far the best place in Bloomington - good food and even better social scene. Sorry to read the disappointing reviews from recent years and see it gone. Not sure what happened but it's hard to believe such a winning operation could turn around like this - they did not seem to have much competition.