Many of you have notified us (and Spec reported earlier) that Swish has suddenly closed, though only temporarily. Some speculated it might be for health code violations, while others chalked it up to a changing look.
Bwog tipster Zack Sheppard suggests it may be closer to the latter, and the changes will be culinary as well as cosmetic: “I gave their old number a call and it connected me to Tomo, where they said Swish was closed for a month and, when it reopened, was going to be all Japanese food “like us.” News to me. And a disappointment, I liked Swish’s non-Japanese food.” He also sent along a photo of the shuttered restaurant.
Bwog shares Zack’s disappointment.
46 Comments
@hooray! No no, tomo is incredible. try their curry soup and all your swish-woes will go away.
@Anonymous Just FYI, I got Salmonella at Tomo over the break. Included a hospital trip and everything.
@NOOOOOO how can they get rid of the bubble tea?? take anything you want, mysterious swish/tomo/ollies restaurant kingpin, but don’t fuck with my bubble tea!
@sss http://www.wikicu.com/Swish
@eric tokyo pop is dunzo: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/dining/07off.html?scp=1&sq=tokyo%20pop&st=cse
@that's ok tokyo pop had really terrible sushi
@mmmmmm swish i hope it (them or their menu…) doesnt go away.
@... i actually saw swish as one of the least worst alternatives around here… :(
@agreed but tomo is SO much better that i don’t care!
@yay the service at swish was horrible i really hope it doesn’t come back and we get a better option in morningside
@omg omg finally. i hate swish. no longer will my friends be able to insist we eat there! hahaha! fuck swish!
@WTF TROELS JORGENSON WTF
@hmmm http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-01-05/resuscitation/2/
“At the Surgeon’s College in Ireland, they just flew the guy who plays The Todd over there to talk, which is insane.”
@monopoly swish, tomo, and ollie’s are all owned by the same person
@sajis rawks mah sawks
@confused a few weeks ago i called swish and it connected me to ollie’s, not tomo.
@Wait Tom’s is closed too?
@interesting i wonder what bank they retained to execute this transaction
@hmm lime leaf has bigger proportions for the price than thai market
thai market is delicious but sometimes im still hungry
@silly people if you want thai food that is actually good and not overpriced go to thai market. it’s a little bit further down amsterdam but well worth it. don’t know why anyone would ever go to swish
@Generic Asshole Ew! How could you ever go to [popular Columbia spot]? It’s overpriced and so fake! For REAL [service/product] you need to go to [some place that’s exactly the same]. It may be all the way in [not Morningside Heights] but it’s totally worth it.
See, I’m cooler than you because I don’t go to convenient places near CU. I know about New York… kinda!
@Anonymous i think im in love with you
@or! wondee siam, right across the street
@Downhill I used to love Swish. I ate the pad thai there for three years without any problems. Until one fateful night in December, where it gave me the worst food poisoning I’ve ever had. And a bunch of other people complained of similar problems that weekend. All good things must come to an end, I suppose.
Incidentally, a large number of the people working at Tomo are Chinese anyways. Most of the time I hear people speaking Mandarin, not Japanese.
@ugh toms one time i ordered chicken fingers from tom’s and they were fried on the outside and COMPLETELY RAW on the inside. I of course was drunk and took about 3 bites before noticing….
the waitress didn’t even care and just put them in the microwave.
@In other news... That picture looks like the scaffolding on that building has been taken down–is that true? Is it finally gone?
@Toms Would not be missed. If you want real, good diner food go to Westway; it’s cheaper and better.
I’ll miss the vietnamese fried rice at Swish. They also made a killer spicy tuna roll there. They had the mixture of spice, mayo, and tuna down perfectly.
@ummm if tom’s ever permanently closed, i would probably die… sure, it has its problems, but i love it so much. morningside heights would not be the same without it.
@... In my four years at Columbia I have eaten at Tom’s three times… every time I felt sick after my meal… It is by far the worst food around campus…
@concerned what about the bubble tea?!
@me too bubble tea is my life.
@we need one of those bubble tea places with 50 tea selections and the holy god called spicy popcorn chicken (i know they have it at all the bubble tea places here on the west coast). sorry 212 bubble tea, you just don’t cut it most of the time.
@FORREAL Amen.
@Anonymous I loved Swish’s waiters giving terrible services, looking at what you tip immediately, and then yelling when it’s not satisfactory. Awful, awful work culture, that place.
@you heartless bastards RIP Swish, RIP.
@Anonymous A woman on the street told me a few days ago that Swish and Tomo are owned by the same person. Tomo will be moving into Swish’s location and Swish will be gone forever. Expect something good in Tomo’s spot.
@Tom's is also closed “for minor repairs to [their] heating system” and hopes to reopen shortly.
@Tom's Speaking of GROSS, BAD, and RUDE, Tom’s is the worst diner on the Upper West Side and I hope it does not reopen. The menu is overpriced, the food is subpar, and nowhere in the city is the service more unfriendly. Please stop going!
@important can you sake bomb at tomo?
if not i will be bitter.
@EWww i cannot believe that anyone goes to swish. it is GROSS, the food is BAD, and the people are RUDE. Just don’t be surprised if you find a roach in your padthai
@ah!! where will i be able to sakebomb with all my underage friends now??
@Tom Swish Tomo has a much nicer ambience, Swish a more generously priced menu. I think their original placements were better.
@Uhoh... Swish was great for its padthai…if “all Japanese food” means no more pad thai, then swish has nothing left. They’ll lose a ton of business. Long live swish pad thai!!
@I spoke to a woman yesterday who said that the same people own Swish and Tomo and that they were going to move Tomo up to Swish’s location. Could it be true? Will this mean Swish will suck less? Hmmmm…
@voice I think they both suck pretty equally. except swish feeds you more. but alas, no longer.
@swish there’s an official-looking sign in the window that there’s going to be a public hearing, regarding having unauthorized tables on the sidewalk or something.