Busy night at Swabbies took 45 minutes to get the wait staff attention to order food and another 45 minutes later my beer battered shrimp tacos arrived. I almost hate to say it, but they were worth the wait. So much flavor and the slaw and sauce were a perfect complement to the battered shrimp. The tortillas were just the right amount of crispy and tasty too! Ambiance was fun with live music. Only paid parking was available and that sucked! read more

This place came highly recommended so I was excited as to loaded the boat into the water and made our way over. We were too early for the music got there around 3. We ordered 2 burgers and a chips and salsa and requested hot sauce for the table. When our burgers arrived our fries were already cold. We inquired about our chips and salsa after seeing other tables had gotten theirs. We were informed by our waitress that she had taken them to another table by accident and she asked if we still wanted some. We told her yes we did and asked about the hot sauce again. After a few minutes I walked over to the kitchen to get the hot sauce myself. She informed me that she was the only one working. After finishing our meal she asked if we wanted our check. We said yes but wanted to make sure the chips and salsa were not on there since we never received it. She laughed and said she was just about to bring it out but we finished our food so fast. I would like to add I'm in no way a fast eater. I swirl every fry in sauce and eat them individually. We had also waited to eat for the hot sauce. I was very disappointed in the service I received. read more

Went to a cumbia event here! It was so fun and music was great. There probably could've been a little more room on the dance floor but it was good enough! Service was fast and our server was great. He was nice enough to let us keep the table for us to sit in between dancing. The main reason for the low review is the food. We got their chips and salsa and famous fish tacos... my stomach hurt a bit after eating the tacos to be honest! It tasted a bit off, but I was hungry. The chips and tacos were both crusted with Parmesan which was interesting & I think definitely saved the taco. Taco portion was good! I was definitely full. Would definitely come back for the ambiance but I think I'll stick to the appetizers. read more

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We decided to have some fun and see the Spazmatics at Swabbies on a warm Saturday. We have not been there for some time since we no longer have our boat. I remember from the past that it is hard to find parking, so we decided to go early to avoid the crowd, and that was a great idea because we found a convenient parking spot right up front. Although we were there hours early before the show, we were happy to enjoy great service because there were not yet a lot of people there. Our waiter was full of energy, and we received our delicious tacos quickly and enjoyed just sitting under the umbrella, which shaded us from the sun. I had a ground beef taco, and my husband had the shredded beef taco, and the taste brought back forgotten good times of boating on the river and pulling over to Swabbies on a hot and balmy summer weekend. The tacos were fantastic as always, and I even had a mimosa with them. We were told we could move under the tarp once the concert area was open and closer to the time of the concert, and we even got to sit up front, which we later regretted. There were also large vans providing lots of cool air, which was quite refreshing because I have heat sensitivity. Once the concert started, a large crowd swarmed the area where we were sitting, and multiple times I had to swerve in my chair to avoid being hit by people dancing in front of the stage. I had a couple people also step on my feet unfortunately, which hurt, as I am recovering from foot surgery. That was the worst thing about this event. I wish they could have a barrier or a way of keeping people from being so close to people sitting at the tables. Other than that, we had a great day. read more

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We scored tickets to the Spazmatics show Sept. 6 for their rare late night gig and glad we did! My buddy has been numerous times and raved about their show. Even the band said the turn out was great and the crowd was even better! Never been to this place before, usually we end up at Crawdads on the river for shows but decided to get tickets for this one. Loved the location (out of the way), atmosphere of the whole place and pirate theme was the vibe! We ended up getting the Cheeseburger in Paradise, fries for the table and hecka fish tacos! Fries were probably the favorite, loved the crinkle cut style and nice and salty. The place was packed and honestly they have a great system for seating. They make sure they do not over stack the capacity. Server was great and all of them looked like they hustled to keep up with the amount of people there. Made the wise decision to order multiple drinks at a time due to the fact they were sooo busy. Nothing bad about the service but since it was busy the server had to cover so many tables so kudos to her! Will be back for food and maybe a show if we get lucky! read more

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The live music gave the place a fun, laid-back feel, and the food ended up being the highlight. My tacos were crispy, flavorful, and paired really well with the slaw. Service was a bit slow, especially when things got busy, and a couple requests took extra time. Still, I enjoyed the meal and the atmosphere enough to come back. read more

The events here are super fun and memorable. We came here for the Morgan Wallace one and then the Michael Jackson. I love how friendly everyone is and the owner is super cool. He helps out his workers and he is funny. The decorations is very nice and simple, feels like a backyard bbq party. The food and mixed drinks are delicious! Their fish and chips, chips and salsa, and calamari are good. I really love their fish and chips though. We will definitely come back to Swabbies, they have good vibes, good food and a good view of the river. read more

WOW FACTOR? Yes, we were able to put tables together to seat 12 people. HAVE AGAIN: The Philly cheese steak was pretty good, but needed some sauce. However, it was great to get something I liked this time. UNWOW FACTOR? Yes. Ordered fish n chips but requested sweet potato fries. Had to pay extra for those fries, which is fine; but there should be some discount since we didn't get the regular fries. Didn't see any discount. read more

Fun times!! This is a great place for live music by the river, the service is great and food is ok . We only had fry's. The decor is spot on with pirate statues here and there . It is on the dirt so be sure to be aware. The speakers are huge so can be loud, they also have fans to help cool you down. Three parking areas. It's right on the water so they have provided bug spray in the times I've gone. Get your tickets ahead of time and go enjoy live music. read more

Swabbies - Bars Near Me - Sacramento, California

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Great music, great food, great dance area, and great atmosphere. What is not to like about Swabbies?! Have fun, and get your dancing legs ready. Enjoy! read more

The perfect place to spend a summer afternoon! We went to catch a yacht rock cover band and had the best time. The tables were shaded and there were large fans around to keep the air moving. There is not much for a vegetarian to choose from but we had a couple apps and some beers and I left a happy camper. Service was quick, even though our server seemed to be covering half the tables in the place. read more

Live music here is really good, beach vibes with sand everywhere and outdoor tables. They have some really big tacos. I had beer battered fish tacos which was really crispy outside and juicy fish inside. My girl got Mahi mahi tacos, they were good but seemed like they needed some kind of sauce. Taco shells had cheese melted on the outside which was amazing. They had cali squeeze on draft which was really good. Swabbarita was not very good, seemed like the mix could have been better. The waitress walked by and said the mai tai she had in her hand was extra and she dropped it on the table. My gf gladly took it instead of the swabbarita which I drank with my beer. Looking forward to coming here again. One of a kind place read more

Swabbies - Bars Near Me - Sacramento, California

Super Fun!!! This is my wife and mine first time here. Super cool venue. Its right on the river. It was only $22 to get in. Food. Drinks. Lots of cool people. We will be back for sure. read more

Swabbies - Bars Near Me - Sacramento, California

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We pulled up walked in and told we can eat but once it's past 6 it's either a cover charge or they can move us to this dirty looking table right next to the hostess area. We go to be seated and it just was not a place that's clean, birds looking for food on your table and chickens running around freely. We decided NOT to eat here and left based on the environment of this place. read more

Changing my old 1-star review to a 4-star because our latest visit was excellent! The Philly steak salad is out of this world delicious. We caught Red Voodoo and A Shot of Rock, and both bands killed it. Great weather, and fantastic service from our usual server, Josh, who is always awesome. Thanks for the much better experience! read more

Swabbies - Just a yacht across the way - our view from Swabbies! - Bars Near Me - Sacramento, California

Food: 2/5 I ordered hot wings. The batter was good but the wings tasted musty, as if they weren't cleaned before cooking. Also the price points are a little high. $20 for 8 wings and fries. My total was $41 for wings and a cocktail. Service: 3/5 The staff was friendly and welcoming but they definitely work on "island time". A lot of wait time between ordering a second drink. Ambiance: 4/5 It's a unique vibe. Music stage by the river with indoor/outdoor space. read more

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I love the service,I love the waitresses and I love the music. BUT you guys need to do better cleaning those restrooms. The women's portable restrooms are always dirty, the vents are very dirty and the toilets have a hard time flushing. Especially back to back shows. Your customer deserves better. read more

Wow! Our first and not last time. What an awesome place! There was plenty of seating; picnic tables under covering, tables and chairs with umbrellas, covered upper deck seating on high tops. Lots of bar stools on the river side. No food, drink (no water bottles) or chairs allowed. Once you check in you are ushered to a table of your choosing. Friendly staff from start to finish. Great waiters, fast efficient. Ours was Chris on the deck, he was great! Fish tacos and the fries were perfect! The cook was crankin out the food, good job! Only issue was the parking situation. I would suggest after the lot is full to put a sign or have someone up on the street directing traffic to the boat launch area which costs $8. It became a traffic jam especially with drop off that backed things up. Thank you for a great time! read more

Swabbies - stage from from deck - Bars Near Me - Sacramento, California

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Only thing negative I can say is the location and not a lot of parking. Had to pay for parking at the river docks parking lot. Great food. Live music was good. read more

We went for the Innavision concert and let me just say, Swabbies is a BIG VIIIIIIBE!!! Parking was super easy and convenient, the check in process for your ticket was smooth. I loved how they seat you so it's not overcrowded and you are guaranteed a table! All tables have a great view of the stage! Weather was perfect, cold beer and good food!! The star of the show was really our waitress, Amber! Amber was the bomb! From the time we sat down she had such a good vibe and was so sweet and friendly. It was a concert so of course she was busy but she never gave off a vibe that made us feel rushed or that we were bothering her! Awesome service, Amber!! We had a couple interactions with a few other workers and they were all so cool!! We will be back for sure!!! Thank you Swabbies for a great night!! It kinda made us feel like we were back home (Hawaii). read more

I had the fish tacos. They were delicious. My wife had the beef tacos and my son had a cheeseburger. They have crinkle cut fries. They were so crispy. The servers were friendly and we will be back. read more

We drove from Reno to see Yellow man, staff was very accommodating as we got there very early not sure what parking would be like. Great place to see a show! The food is decent we got fish & shrimp tacos and the calamari a little over priced but large portions. I would definitely see another show here, thanks for a great time read more

Only my 2nd time here and I'm not sure why I don't come here more often. Such a chill, laid back place with simple but yummy food choices and beautiful shady location under trees and right on the river. We went on a Sunday for lunch and got to listen to the 3 p.m. band warming up. We didn't stay long enough to hear them play but was fun hearing what we did. Hubby and I got fried fish and fried shrimp tacos.... served hot and crunchy and dusted with parmesan cheese. Fresh cabbage on top and a pace type salsa... which some might poopoo but it went perfectly and I'm a cilantro hater so this was fiiiine by me Their tropical mai tai drink was fruity and yummy and the beer was nice and cold. For what it is, Swabbie's is a great place for some fun eats and down time! read more

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Cash only? Who carries cash. Outdated practice. Saw the sign and turned right around.

Haven't been here in a few years but decided to check out taco Tuesday as they had a band we wanted to see, no cover and to be honest I LOVE the fish tacos here. The live music and the location by the river is pretty cool. Also, I recently had a death in the family and this was going to be an outing to just get out relax and enjoy ourselves. I have been to Swabbie's many times over the years and have we family that goes very frequently as they know and follow a few bands that play there regularly. The back seating area was taped off with seating only available in the front which I am sure is helpful to the servers especially when it is not busy. There is a small bar area inside but most of the seating is outside in the open area that is sand and located along the river. Bring bug spray or use some before you come in the evenings. They have umbrellas for sun but there are trees for shade too. There were quite a few tables open so we figured it would be a little faster to get food & drinks. During main events it can get super packed and can take awhile for drinks, etc. We had a waitress come to our table pretty quickly and set up the menu board at our table, provide menus for the table and take our drink order. Drinks came pretty quickly but this is when things went a little south. We were not quite ready to order food so she said she will give us a few minutes. Over 30 minutes later and after many attempts to make eye contact, and to flag her down AND after watching her take food orders for at least 5 other tables that were seated after us she finally came back to the table. This is after the other tables even received food and additional drinks before us. In addition to that there was a table we watched her bring drinks/food to and check in on at least three times in that 30 minute period without even coming back to take our food order or check in on if we wanted more drinks. We were not rude at all but did share with her that it has taken over 30 minutes for her to come back and we really had wanted to order food and more drinks awhile ago. To be fair, she did apologize and said she was busy with other things and comped the drinks. We totally have empathy for servers being overworked and understaffed and tend to be way more laid back and rarely even say anything which is a stark contrast to many people we have seen in all of our travel and dining experiences. We were honestly not looking to get comped but just wanted to share some feedback. Also to watch your server take care of a bunch of new tables and customers close to you multiple times minutes but avoid you and/or never come to check on you was frustrating and just made us feel like we didn't matter. She did finally took our food order and told us the order was in and someone else would be taking care of us from this point. No problem, but also not necessary as we really tried to be kind with the feedback. It was not just us, there were a few other tables around us we heard complaining that they couldn't get the servers attention that either just wanted their bill so they could leave and waited over 30 minutes for that or another table just kept waiting to order drinks so we were in good company - I guess. However, we did end up appreciating the hand off as the new server was super sweet and more attentive. We got our food pretty quickly after ordering and a few more drinks. They had some kiddos helping with clean up closer to closing time that were really sweet and fun to watch help out. It had been years that we have been here. So maybe if we had read some reviews before going we would have known that service is usually really slow and expected to wait. Something I understand when it is really busy but harder to understand when it is not. The band! Despite the service, they totally made the evening! Rachel Steele was fantastic! We were able to chat a little with one of band members we know while they were on a break. It is one of the reasons we love coming here is the live music. I know there are a ton of regulars that love this place as our family is one of them. We may be back to give it another try when there is a band we really want to see or decide we want to have the famous fish tacos and drinks. Based on our experience and other reviews here we will just have to be prepared for waiting if that is the norm. read more

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We came in as two separate tables -- one was a family of 5 and the other a party of 4. Even though we split the bill, we were each charged a 20% gratuity, which came out to about $60 total. For the level of service we received, that felt really unfair. It took an extremely long time just to get drinks, even though our server only had three tables including both of ours. They forgot our appetizer completely, and then also forgot the sides that came with our meals. By the time everything was corrected, the experience felt disorganized and frustrating. Overall, the automatic gratuity on top of slow and incomplete service left a bad impression. read more

Enjoying warm weather never was better than at Swabbies! From cover bands (today was a Chicago cover band!) to a variety of beers on tap (and more in bottles) and cocktails to pub style fare, Swabbies - on the Sacramento River is a lovely spot for locals to chill and hang out on the weekend with family and friends. Down the country road, Garden Hwy, the path leads you alongside the Sacramento River. At the bend - near Elkhorn Boat Ramp, is Swabbies...a local hangout. With its beach vibes, from the Pirates of the Caribbean and Capt' Jack Sparrow statues to the sandy pit area before the music stage, where local cover bands provide the ambiance and groove, this is truly a fun easygoing local joint that's unpretentious and relaxed. Seating is all outside under thatched roofed huts and covered umbrella or patio seating. Servers are friendly and efficient. I tried the guacamole and chips. The chips were fresh made and sprinkled with Parmesan - reminding me of a JimBoy taco. The shredded beef taco was delish, too. One was perfect for a light lunch along with my draft beer. An afternoon at Swabbies is always a good choice. read more

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I have lived nearby for 3 years and didn't stop in until today. Now I have to apologize to myself for not getting here sooner. The prawn tacos in corn tortillas with crispy Parmesan on the outside filled with slaw and mangos topped with a sauce that brought the whole thing together had me saying, I'm full no wait one more bite! It's outside along the river and under the freeway river overpass which is noisy but it doesn't matter because they play good music and it's a party on their patio. Waitress Sophia, all smiles, was casual and accommodating as well. I can't give a five because of the freeway noise and oddly enough the chips were just okay. read more

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Big improvement with the tarp shade this season. I think the tickets are too expensive with the whole online service fee, etc.. order them mahi fish tacos and had to send them back because they were so skimpy. They remade them and they were much better. The service was good. read more

Not our fist visit but it has been awhile Sorry to say but paying cover for one band and then you have to pay again for the second one? Took awhile to get drinks Cash only for cover and if you wanted to get your own drinks at the bar cash only as well Disappointing didn't used to be like that. Probably won't be back at $25 per person cover read more

My husband and I had so much fun yesterday having lunch on the River. Our waitress was so sweet and attentive. We will definitely be back. Beautiful location and fun times. read more

Still a fave and flavors I crave! Came home for a short time and was hungry when we landed. Called some tacos in (after checking my notes to remind myself I live for shredded beef here) while renting the car and was off to the races. Food was ready when I arrived, lady was super sweet and filled my bottle for me as well. Get the green sauce!!! It makes the tacos really pop. When I eat here I swear I use a bottle lol. Surprisingly all the times I went when we lived here, my mom never went! She LOVED the tacos and is still talking about them. This ladies favorite words are, "it's ok". We did chicken and shredded beef. She loved and is still talking about both. She asked how they're so good! The Parmesan? The flavors of the meat? The green sauce? Idk but they're some of the best tacos goin. Wish I'd had time to sit and take in the scene. Flavors are the exact same they've been all these years and I'll be back and craving them in the meantime. read more

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Came here for lunch one day on a Sunday. We were seated in the area with the river view. There was a big board listed what is available to order. We ordered 2 fish tacos, 2 prawns tacos, a salad, French fries, and drinks. The salad and French fries are just okay. Nothing special and nothing stand out to say wow. I do enjoyed the fish and shrimp tacos. They used Parmesan cheese on the outer layer of the tortillas. It had a nice cheesy crunch to it so I enjoyed it but for $19.99 for 2 tacos is pretty pricy. don't think it's worth it. I guess we paid for a nice sac river view setting. Also, I got so many bug bites while having lunch. Remember to bring your bug repellent spray. Not sure if I will be coming back anytime soon if I'm in the area. Foos was just okay. read more

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Amazing service and amazing food no wonder my youngest son and his family go there all the time

Fun! Fun! Fun. Always great live music by the water! Yummy tacos. Diverse group. Good margaritas.

Not good at all. Very fried and gross food, roosters and cats were roaming on tables. Definitely not coming back! read more

Swabbies - Bars Near Me - Sacramento, California

Went there for a Reggae concert. Parking is a challenge but this experience was a time had! The fish batter on the fish and chips wasn't the best but the rest of the food we tried was great. Drinks are tasty and you definitely can taste the alcohol. Prices aren't bad. The Reggae concert was off the chain. Had a blast. The only thing is the wait time to get into the venue. Something about that process needs to improve. The Atmosphere is a whole vibe! Everyone was chilling and the river views against the sunset and moonlight- ahhhhh. This was our first visit but definitely coming back and worth the drive. read more

Swabbies is such a hidden gem--what an awesome location! We came with family and had an amazing time soaking in the riverfront views and gorgeous sunset. The atmosphere is laid-back and full of character, with good vibes all around, especially when the live reggae music kicked in. There was even a pirate roaming around, which added a fun and quirky touch to the night! The food was delicious, the prices were super reasonable, and the portions hit the spot. It was packed when we arrived, so parking took a little creativity, but we managed to get in without a hitch. Once you're inside, it's totally worth it--great energy, friendly staff, and a crowd that's clearly there to have a good time. Swabbies is the kind of place you want to return to again and again. We loved it and will definitely be back for more sunsets, music, and maybe another visit from that pirate! read more

the food is real good. the parking sucks - oh well. i am capable walking a few blocks away. music is ok to listen to while eating. i have been here several times and thought to let inquirers know I had a pleasant good tasty meal. no complaints except parking sucks. read more

Pros: Great venue, love the live music and dancing, love the view of the water. Cons: Waitresses take a loooong time to take order, takes a looong time to get food and the food isnt that good (lukewarm and greasy) when you finally get it, drinks are expensive and just ok, and the mosquitoes literally eat you alive if you arent wearing repellant. But, dancing with my boys is priceless! read more