Swen Chinese Restaurant

My favorite chinese restaurant in the area! Great food, clean restaurant and friendly staff. Lunch menu has good selection and great prices. :-)

We ordered takeout today for lunch for the umpteenth time in the past year so what does that tell ya? Yeah, we’re fans of this place. This is a really good restaurant for Chinese because the food is tasty, they have the best hot & sour soup I’ve ever eaten, and you get a lot for your money. Two dishes I recommend are the triple mongolian and the combination mei fun.

Ehhh… Yet again I am dissatisfied. The place needs rehab. Paint the walls, fix the holes in the seats and please clean the menus. The only thing good about the place was the bowl of crispy wontons. The egg rolls were subpar and seemed as if they were deep fried twice (the second time for a reheat). Rice seemed old and the sesame chicken had a ton of canned sauce without much flavor. Don’t get me started on the service. End of story.

Everyone is always really nice here. Their Mongolian beef and chicken are so good as well as the black pepper beef. The portions are perfect and the food is great even when it’s take out.

It was better than airport/​mall Chinese, and I mean that as a compliment — I love airport Chinese!
Service was fast. Portions were ample. A little too saucy, but the taste was there. Ordered a spicy item, and could see the peppers.

Great place for Chinese in the Northport area. The service is great and the food really enjoyable and the portions quite large.
Some of the sauces aren’t that distinguishable from one another, such as the sesame and General Tso’s chicken. It’s almost as if they just added spice to the sauce and called it General chicken. Still, most of their menu is quite tasty with few mediocre dishes.
The restaurant itself is clean and comfortable and the service quick and friendly. It’s a great place to go with a few friends on a week night and chat while you eat.
If you’re looking for quality Chinese takeout in the area, this is definitely the place to go.

I’m not so keen on Swen, but if I’m in the mood for a Chinese change-​up, I’ll stop here instead of Lai Lai. Not that Swen does anything wrong, but the slight chaininess and super-​occasional lackluster service give some of the edge to the other guy. Their dinner portions are massive, for sure, but I don’t think they keep well, especially anything breaded. A guilty fridge cleaning usually accompanies a Swen meal. Some entrees have been blah for me, including a honey chicken that was, essentially, honey and chicken. My girlfriend likes their cabbage (looks to me like unfermented kimchee) and feels fine as a vegetarian there. I just have yet to be truly impressed.

Swen is an amazing little Chinese restaurant within walking distance of U of A. They also have a Northport location that’s ok. When I was a grad student I used to eat there a couple times a week, and sometimes a couple times a day! Their Black Pepper Beef was my favorite, but the Triple Mongolian was a close second. I recommend getting the larger portions since they’re aren’t that much more expensive and are just as good the next day. The crab rangoon might be the best I’ve ever had. Many of my Chinese friends love this place and will only eat there or at Lai Lai. The service is really good, and the location is perfect for students, although parking can be a pain. They do take-​out, but I preferred the restaurant because you’re likely to see friends there if you live in the area.