Swirls Frozen Dairy & Juice Bar

Honestly, I don’t know if this place knows if it’s a sandwich place or a frozen yogurt place. It actually doesn’t matter, I don’t think it’s good at either one. The only reason we go here is because it’s within walking distance from work, but we usually try to avoid it if we can.
The customer service hasn’t been good since they opened. It’s usually teenagers that would rather speak on their cell then pay attention to the customers. The other day I think the owner was helping us out and he put his hand in my frozen yogurt and just wiped off the frozen yogurt off his hand and didn’t think it was a big deal at all.
There are never good options for toppings, they’re mostly out of everything. Only two choices for flavors of frozen yogurt and most of the time it’s vanilla or chocolate.
I think I’d rather drive somewhere then save time and walk to this place. Really disappointing, if it was good, we’d be there every day for an afternoon snack.

I think I found a new regular spot to go too!
It’s a bit miss leading from the name and décor on the outside, but when you get in you have a choice of sandwiches, bagels, soups, frozen yogurt and smoothies. The guy at the counter was very friendly when I went in and went over the menu with me. By the way, their menu is rather extensive.
I ended up getting a sesame seed bagel with cream cheese, lox, capers and cucumber. As someone who loves everything in this type of sandwich I was in heaven! To drink I ordered a Power Meal shake comprised of peanut butter, banana, strawberries, soy milk, and some other items. I was also asked to try it first before I bought it to make sure I would like it — I loved it!
They have a minimum credit card order of $ 7, but my bagel sandwich and 24 ounce power meal shake came to $ 11 — though I could have gotten a 16 ounce smoothie and brought it under $ 10 for everything.

I stumbled upon this place by chance as I was heading to Specialty’s to grab a quick bite to eat. I saw the name and it looked enticing, so I was like «what the heck, let’s check this place out»…
I hadn’t notice this place before, but the location is pretty good, considering the big downtown companies are just a few blocks away. The interior is pretty small, only a few bar stool seats which is probably most ideal for its long/​narrow pathway to the front cashier.
The menu selection mostly caters to their «juice bar», full of fresh juices and smoothies. They also had sandwiches, bagels, soups, etc. I didn’t actually try any out of their drinks, but rather gotten a parfait. Lemme just say, I LOVE the thick/​creamy texture of their original tart yogurt. I prefer creamy tart (like Red Mango) rather than icy tart (like Yogurtland), so this was up my alley.
Their parfait is pretty much like a 16oz cup of yogurt w/​granola & fruits. For $ 3.99, I don’t think that’s bad at all. Plus you don’t get charged extra for adding toppings, so it’s pretty much $ 3.99 flat rate.
One thing I will mention is that their topping selection doesn’t look all that bountiful. They have an assortment of fruit (kiwi, strawberry, mango, etc) but they usually have it ½ way filled up, so it looks like it’ll run out at anytime.
The cashier man was pretty nice. He tried to pack as much fruit, granola and froyo as he could, which is pretty generous of him. I think eventually I’ll try their smoothies, but thumbs up overall for their creamy tart yogurt *thumbs up*

I am a fan. The original tart is… almost as good as Red Mango. I like the creaminess of Red Mango better though.
Expensive. But I think sometimes during the week I am desperate for a froyo fix.

Bummer… this place wasn’t like it used to be when it first opened! Came back yesterday because it was hot as hell in the morning and I wanted to satisfy my «yogurt» tooth, hahah.
Anyway, walked in hoping to feel a nice breeze from the AC, but what the hell? The temperature just shot up by like 20 more degrees! It is ridiculously hot in there. I ordered a small tart yogurt with 3 toppings. but then right after my friend, he said they had run out. So I was like okay, that’s fine, I’ll just have the Vanilla. Guess they didn’t change their signs because they didn’t have that either. Ended up with a blueberry yogurt. The worker gave soo little. T_​T Thought he would give more to compensate for my request of tart. The taste was okay, but the consistency was bad, don’t think it was done freezing or something because it was so watery. I’m still disappointed I had to pay $ 4 something for a puny little thing.

Checked this place out with my friend last week during her break. Great customer service. We were greeted when we walked in and asked if we’d like a sample of anything. I asked for a sample of their vanilla and chocolate froyo. The sample was good but I wasn’t feeling like anything too sweet that day, so I went for the tart with fruity pebbles sprinkled on top instead. The first few bites were really good but it started to feel too heavy. I got full really quick and couldn’t finish although I had gotten the smallest size.
I’d definitely give this place another shot, but I’d probably try a smoothie next time. My friend Mary says they make a killer smoothie. Other than that, I liked the place-​just wish they had a bigger selection of froyo. The outdoor seating was nice as well.

The place looks really cute on the inside. It makes you want to wander inside and have some frozen yogurt, which is what I did. Unfortunately, the layout is confusing.
When I go to the front counter of a frozen yogurt joint, I need either:
1) An easy to read menu that lists food items, frozen yogurt flavors, toppings, drinks, smoothies, etc.
2) A very helpful staff member ready and willing to answer my questions, no matter how stupid they might be, with a smile.
3) Both.
With that said, this place offered neither. Well, they had a sign for the items they offered in a weird font (everything was crammed), but the fro-​yo flavors were not listed.
I asked the guy behind the counter what the flavors were and he just pointed at some sign on the side of the frozen yogurt machine.
Once I figured out the flavors available (on an obscure sign that was below eye level on the fro-​yo machine itself), I ordered and the straight faced guy behind the counter served me without saying much to me (or even looking at me).
I sat down to eat my frozen treat in a very cool looking futuristic chair. Unfortunately, it was very uncomfortable.
Hey, at least the product itself was good. Yum.
Now, if only we could do something about their menu, that obscure sign, and the unhelpful (or unhappy) staff.

No good (in terms of original tart froyo). It doesn’t even taste like tart froyo. more like regular dairy soft serve that was made to be slightly tart. Felt like I was eating frozen milk. Actually I’ve never had frozen milk, so I can’t really say that… friggin confusing. One of the few times that I did NOT finish my froyo and threw the rest in the garbage… *GASP*
But to be fair, the store front is cute, and doesn’t only serve froyo so maybe their other stuff is good. But as a strictly froyo person I gotta keep it real.
Locations sucks too. Next to a parking lot and… I duno. I was there on a Saturday afternoon and it still felt desolate. Did not help my overall froyo experience. Sigh.

Product= yummy stuff… Service = leaves A LOT to be desired.
When this place first opened there was only one girl working there and I didn’t mind waiting a long time for my juice because she was very friendly and it was clear that she was the only employee.
Now there are several employees and I think all of them must have been born without the ability to smile or say «hello».
I stopped in the other day to get a yummy plain tart yogurt and a red bull.
There were four employees behind the counter, the one at the register was talking on her cell phone and tilted the phone down and whispered to me what my total was (like i was disrupting her phone call).
I said «I haven’t even ordered yet».
She said– «Oh you want more than the red bull»?
One of the other employees got my yogurt and charged me.
The product is good and tasty and if you luck out perhaps the service might be okay that day.
I will go back because it’s close and tasty, but I have no expectations of good service here any longer.

I visit this little spot almost every day. I am a huge fan of liquid meals — juices and smoothies– mostly because I am too lazy to chew.
Swirls offers massive doses of healthy food. So healthy that you want to stop by at Fat Burger afterward, just to get some nasty stuff in your body, to counterbalance that echinacea boost, you know.
My excuse is that I drink rejuvenating elixirs hoping to recover from the ‘previous night’ of silly debauchery. The idea is that you can have an entire bottle of Zinfandel and then drink a «Detoxifier» juice to get back on track. At least, that’s what I am telling myself. My liver is happy and so am I.
The place looks ultra aseptic, like a pharmacy. It is equally cold (temperature wise) and generic. Design-​wise, it’s rather mediocre. Chaming it isn’t. Basically, you want to grab your food and leave immediately. It’s so bright that dark shades are almost mandatory. They are going to blind you with yogurt. Not nice.
The preparation of the juices takes forever. It looks very esoteric, almost arcane. Moreover, the girls hate making them because the entire procedure is quite elaborate and it does require some attention, so if your train is leaving in 30 to 45 minutes, just forget it.
Swirls also offer a bunch of power-​ups in the form of energy bars (but stay away from those that have sucralose!). If you feel like a videogame character (who doesn’t, these days?), those turd-​like bars can boost your stamina — but not your self-​esteem.
Bottom line: Definitely better than Jumba Juice, but there is room for improvement.

Unless you’re a froyo freak, you probably won’t notice TOO much of a difference between Swirls and other «good» froyo spots. I’m definitely not one. I just know what tastes good and what doesn’t. I don’t sit there and measure the amount of «creaminess» and «tartness». If it tastes good, I’ll come back.
With that said, I would recommend this place. It definitely doesn’t taste like Red Mango but for a quick fix, I seriously wouldn’t mind coming here. Downtown SJ is a lot closer than driving to Palo Alto. Fruits are fresh but that should be a given. This business would not survive w/​o fresh fruit!
They also serve smoothies and I think food to make it a one stop shop.

I’m currently in a heated but friendly battle with other Unilocalers to monitor and share each other’s reviews for Fro-​yo places. And being in hot and muggy San Jose and dealing with my own personal crisis from my job, I really needed to deal with more «heat» than I have to.
Located in the financial district of San Jose and sited across the street from the Parkside Center and the Performing Art Center of the city, this cute little place has a juice and fro-​yo bar and deli all crammed into one little place.
They were serving four fro-​yo flavors: Vanilla, Dark Chocolate, Plain-​Tart and Mango. I had samples with three except the vanilla (sick of Vanilla). The Tart was very neutral and opaque. The Chocolate was questionable, because I never had chocolate flavor fro-​yo before and couldn’t compare, but tasted like one of my protein shakes. Finally, I had the Mango flavor and the taste was very tropical and tangy. I got myself a winner!
I ordered that Mango flavor in a Medium cup (8oz) for $ 3.95+ tax with the popular Mochi ball as my one and only topping for an additional $ 1.00. The size given was very generous, but the mochi balls were stuck together with approximately 37 pieces formed into one unit on my fro-​yo bowl. I had to bite that unit like a chewy peach. Nevertheless, a pretty tasty treat and what a way to cool myself and beat the San Jose heat. And being broke, credit cards are accepted here.
Unfortunately, I needed to take one star off, because the music at the shop drives me nuts while enjoying my treat in the cool air-​conditioned facility. I was thinking about transforming my Crown Victoria into a «Rice Rocket» and change my military hair into orange. Every fro-​yo places that I’ve visited plays that kind of music and maybe I should start getting attuned to that kind of music. «NOT!»

I was just walking to the Tech Museum when I saw this sign. OMG another yogurt place… SCORE!
Too bad the yogurt here tasted horrible. Maybe I got a bad batch or something but their plain yogurt tasted so much like milk, it was disgusting. The tartiness of it reminded me of spoiled milk. Not going here again.
Oh, and the smoothies are expensive!

I didnt like the yogurt and i dont want to pay parking meter. boo.
the yogurt was a little bland and fluffy. I didnt care for it and it wasnt memorable. the strawberries were old and wack and the almonds came in raw chunks. not toasted or slivered. :(
if i wanted to get someone on the fro yo band wagon. i wouldnt take them here.
i stopped by bc im a fanatic about yogurt. this just was not it for me.
now im sad.

I didn’t realize there was frogurt in downtown San Jose — so I was happy I found this place!
The frogurt is more creamy than I’m used to, but its still very good. I coudln’t finish my 5oz because it was a ton of thick yogurt and the yogurt to fruit ratio wasn’t so great. I didn’t have enough fruit to eat with the rest of my yogurt… and I was rationing my fruit bits as much as I could!
It was also difficult to follow how to order. The flavors were on a tiny 8.5×11 sheet in the corner. I had the original with pineapples and strawberries. My fiancée had the vanilla with cocoa pebbles and oreos. Mine was better.
The chairs weren’t very comfortable and the table kept moving and spinning. I’m surprised I didn’t fall.

Swirls is amazing!
When I went to LA in January, my cousins took me to Pinkberry and it was my first time having frozen yogurt. As soon as I got back into the bay area, my friend and I started Unilocaling different frozen yogurt places. After trying a handful of other places, we found happiness with Swirls! We gave up the first time we tried to find it because it’s small, but I’m glad we tried again.
My friends an I are regular customers and we always feel so welcome because the management is very friendly. On one machine they have plain tart flavor (my fav) every day and on the other, they switch flavors day to day. They have so many toppings to choose from including the infamous mochi and fresh fruits.
They also serve fresh smoothies and juices that can be very refreshing and also taste great. I just recently tried my first wheat grass shot which is healthy and doesn’t taste too bad!

I was literally blown away by the fro yo!
Don’t you hate it when people use the word literal to describe something figurative?

Not bad, not bad at all. Came here when it was around 12 and there was no one here. The place is pretty tiny and we missed it twice until we start driving slowly. There wasn’t a huge sign saying Swirl on it so yea.
The menu had a lot to offer. Fro-​yo, smoothie blends, power meal blends, fresh squeeze, and bagels.
Fro-​yo had choices of Natural and special flavors
SM 5oz $ 2.75
MD 8oz $ 3.95
LG 13oz $ 6.65
add fresh fruits or dry toppings
1 topping $ 0.85(S) $ 0.95 (M) $ 1.05(L)
2 topping $ 1.05 $ 1.20 $ 1.35
Not THAT much toppings to choose from but had mostly what every Fro-​Yo shop has.
I went for the SM Natural and my usual toppings on strawberries and MOCHI! The lady hooked me up with a little more Fro-​yo then a SM. Thank goodness cuz I was licking my spoon after I was done. The strawberries were diced small and fresh. MOCHI was chewy and a great choice with strawberries! The fro-​yo itself tasted more milky then tangy. It was really creamy and I liked the milky flavor…
I also got a Strawberry Breeze smoothie blend ($ 3.59) Smoothie was made with apple-​strawberry juice, strawberries, banana, and sorbet. It was good and you could taste that it was pretty healthy. Probably no additional sugar added cuz it wasn’t that sweet. It was filling though.
I liked how the lady made sure if I wanted to sample the yogurt before I ordered and she wanted me to taste the smoothie to make sure it was what I wanted before charging me. How sweet is that!

Hm… I would rate this as probably the second best froyo place around here. Nothing so far comes close to Delatti’s in Los Gatos. Unfortunately Las Gatos is a bit of a drive; but that’s where taking on little silly bets with Sam comes into play. «If I win… I get another Froyo trip to Delatti’s!» Let’s just say that I have quite a few «Froyo Credits.» :D
The froyo is slightly icy which I don’t like; the tartness is nice. But the creamy part leaves a funny aftertaste. Oh yeah, they are quite pricey in comparison to the other froyo shops!
So far I’d rank the froyo places:
Delatti
Swirls
Harmony
Fraiche
Aroma
Frozo

UPDATE****
11÷29÷07
I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that the yogurt from Swirls is 99% fat free– I came back for some more! This time I choose fresh mango as a topping. I found out that they will be serving wraps and more soon! Sadly– the smoothie machine was still not operational. Oh well– this just gives me a reason to return!
***I decided to wander around for lunch this afternoon and noticed that Swirls had opened up where the old CB Richard Ellis office had been. I just couldn’t ignore the sign that read, «FREE SAMPLES INSIDE!» I was warmly greeted and offered a sample of frozen yogurt– which I happily savored. I’m not a yogurt officiant– but this is some damn good yogurt! Swirls just opened two days ago, so the smoothie machine was not operational– but they are serving fresh juices and frozen yogurt.