Sweet Squared

Walked in asking for a gel manicure. Was told $ 30 which is the going rate. They had a few gel colors to choose from. Disappointed, I moved to the regular polish and chose a teal green color. The gentleman took the color from me, put it back on the shelf and chose a blue color in the gel section. I said no thank you and asked for a regular manicure, upset he said it would cost me to remove my gel polish. No kidding!
I walked out and down the street to Eves Nail. More professional with LOTS of color options. What nail salon uses Brucci brand polish anyway!!!

There was a wait at Eve’s nails so I tried this place out. This place is clean but the ambience isn’t as posh as Eve’s nails down the block. The manager, Lulu, was the best and did a great job on my pedicure. She was fast and super friendly. Although the spa chair was a little run down, the massage vhair function wqs really good! The prices here are better as well with pedicure being $ 15 as opposed to $ 18. Ill definitely be back! **CASH ONLY**

I usually do not like to give bad reviews but I was very disappointed. The two Spanish ladies (nothing wrong with that just so you know who I am referring to) doing the pedi are new and do not know what they are doing. Plus my pedi was done in a blink of an eye. She was rushed, did not take her time. Not even a decent mini massage. And to top it off, they do not have the new color of the season like Essie’s 2015 summer collection. Definitely not worth $ 15!
Ok so icing on the freakin cake… THEY DON’T ACCEPT CREDIT/​DEBIT CARDS!!! and they don’t have a sign so ppl know this!!!

I love this place. They provide great service. A new lady, Naomi, she is great. I just love my manicure and pedicure always exceptional. Also I done my wax there with Lulu the owner and she is one of the best as far as waxing. I would definitely recommended.

I went to Sweet Squared on the weekend, I had a great manicure and pedicure. I felt looked after and I thought the service was good too. I would definitely recommend this place to others!

Getting a pedicure as we speak. I moved to Astoria almost a year ago and I’ve been searching for a great place to get my nails done. I had the prefect technician in New Jersey but I won’t be traveling 2 hours to see her every 2 weeks. So I’ve been nail salon hopping since my arrival and I decided to go to one place consistently but I still wasn’t satisfied with my pedicures. I work in retail so I’m always on my feet and they need a little more attention than the norm when it comes to scrubbing the heels.
I’m in the chair now and I’m amazed. I haven’t had anyone pay this much attention to my feet in a long time. Although the condition of the shop isn’t the best (which is why I gave 4 stars) in satisfied with the customer service and overall job well done. Will be returning for sure! Not sure if the gel manicures are good but that’s tbd.

I have gotten a couple of French pedicures here, and have been very impressed with how friendly the owner (LuLu) is. The first time I came, they were close to closing time, but nevertheless welcomed me in, chatted with me and provided exceptional service. Since I live close by, I have seen LuLu many times on the way to and from the train at 30^th Ave (Astoria) and she always smiles and waves hello. I’ll definitely keep supporting her business.
The salon is never crowded, they have a nice selection of colors, it is well-​ventilated, and from what I can tell (there are two other people working here besides LuLu), employees are treated well. Customers are treated exceptionally.

I’ve been coming to SQ for a while now. More than a year. I always get exceptional service and my nail technician is SUPER FRIENDLY. I only get mani/​pedi so that’s all I can comment on. The salon is kept clean and the leather chairs are comfortable. I live in the bronx and travel to Astoria because once you find a great place it’s hard to go to another.

This is still my general go-​to place, though a few other observations if I may… ;-)
Like many nail salons, they are guilty of being purposefully vague as to how long the wait might be when all their technicians seem to already be occupied with clients. The standard response is ‘pick a color!’ lol So you need to be very clear and say ‘how long might I have to wait?’ If they say ‘oh not too long’, you must ask ‘you mean like five minutes… fifteen minutes?‘
They also will often tell customers who don’t want to wait to ‘come back in 20 minutes’ or whatever. Then when that customer returns, guess what… they will often take that customer first, before you who may have actually been sitting waiting for 20 minutes. And they won’t explain that to you… that this other customer was told that if they returned, they’d apparently be sent to the top of the queue. This happened to me recently where I was given a vague ‘oh, you’ll have to wait ok?’ and I thought ‘ok’, and then I looked around to gauge how long it might be based on other customers currently there. I wasn’t in a particular rush. However, what they didn’t tell me was that two other customers had apparently popped their heads in before I arrived and were told to return later… they later just sailed-​in after I’d been waiting 30 minutes… and they took BOTH customers BEFORE me. Mind you I am a regular customer… they all know me by name. NOT a good system .to not even explain to me… to say nothing to me after I sat for 30 minutes and then witnessed two new customers walk in after me and be taken before me? So I expressed my extreme displeasure by walking out and taking my business elsewhere. Not sure if I will return at this point and especially since I now live in a different part of Astoria. There are obviously plenty of other nail salons and so long as I can find one with comparable service and prices and CLOSER to my apartment, so be it.
Y’ever also notice that, except for the owners and maybe one other long-​term technician there, the other staff seems to have a lot of turnover? I’ve heard some staff say that the manager doesn’t treat them very nice, and indeed I have not liked the way some of the staff there are talked down to like they are idiots.

Randomly popped in last night since I had time to kill. Both owners were SO sweet and cheery, it made for the experience even more enjoyable. They even kept the salon open an extra 15 min so my nails could dry, I also appreciate the technician letting my polish dry a bit before adding on the top coat — its something all salons should do to maintain color. Anyways for $ 8/​mani you can’t go wrong. I will be back if I am ever in the neighborhood again, thanks!

Very friendly owner, but the girl who did my nails went too light on the massage part of my mani and the reason I’m giving it two stars is because my nails chipped the next day. I had to go get it redone up the block for a cheaper price and better quality of the polish. If they give better massages and invest in nail polish that doesn’t chip, they’d be a great place.

On a Friday night and with 22 $ mani pedi. This place was surprisingly not as crowded as most places are.
The technician was ok. She seemed to be in a bad mood and didnt talk at all. I dont like chattering away. I can happily be reading or in my phone. But her bad mood made me fill like I was imposing on her.
Anyways, the owner is super cheery and was very attentive.
They have good range of colors. A little bit overwhelming. Though they seriously need to invest in a better top coat. I had chipped nails the next day! Which is why I wont be going back. I didn’t spend that money and time to have chipped nails the next day. She also cut my cuticles too much. One of my finger was hurting later on.

I came last week for a mani/​pedi. The salon is not fancy but the staff is very friendly and they did a great job. I had a coughing attack during my manicure, and the technician promptly got up and rubbed my back, someone else got me water. While my nails were drying, the owner came up and gave me a massage to «make me feel better.» The polish lasted a week, which never happens. I will be back!

Excellent value with many choices of options. Friendly, competent staff. Wonderful massage chair and massage by staff. Very happy with my relaxing experience and pretty nails. Other reviews mention it being empty a lot, but it was pretty busy when my friend and I went on a Saturday afternoon. We had to wait a little and it continued to stay busy throughout our visit. I would definitely return.

I love this place! It has been my spot for a year and a half. The owners/​managers are super sweet. (I am not sure if they are the owners but it seems like it.-Kevin & Lulu) They treat you like family as soon as you come through the door. They even say hello when I walk by the shop if they see me. I am shocked to hear the negative reviews about being dissatisfied with the mani/​pedi because in the year and a half I have gone there (almost every week-​if not every other), I have never had a bad experience. And if I asked to change something they are extremely nice and accommodating. I love how they do my nails. My nails have been so much better since I started going there. They always broke and were thin but now they are actually growing!
The salon is clean and you can’t beat the price. $ 22 for a combo of mani/​pedi. Plus I have been other places that were close to the price but the service is what keeps me loyal to Sweet Squared. I love the staff and how well they treat you every time I come through the door. And I love the manicures and pedicures I get. I definitely recommend!

Ever pass by this place and notice how empty it is? Uh yeah… Well allow me to tell you why that is.
It’s my third time here and the manicures are poorly done. Yeah they are friendly blah blah blah, just give me a good mani!
The simplest thing such as filing they can not do. Base and top coats are not essie nor opi! The color selection is anemic. Three shades of blue three shades of red. Really?!
Go somewhere else! Thank me later.

Ugh, I really wanted to upgrade the rating on this place, but based on my pedicure + shellac manicure a few weeks back, I just can’t do it. They’ve upgraded on the sanitizing issues I had last time, which I thought was a good sign. However, I had a shellac manicure done and not only was the color so mottled that I considered going back the next day to get them to re-​do it, but it started peeling really badly within three days — to the extent that I had to remove it. I was out of town, so I did it myself.
The pedicure was just OK, and it was definitely rushed. I came in a little after 7, and I was definitely there until closing, so I get it, but at the same time the could have done both at the same time if there was going to be a time crunch — there was another woman available that they let go home while I was there.
For a basic mani, I would still drop in here.

very happy to find this place today. was on my way to the mani/​pedi salons near 31^st street, prepared for a long long wait.
when i walked by, nobody was in, so I gave it a try.
got mani and pedi, both done okay.
will come back.

This review should be a three star review, but I just can’t do it.
At 12:45 PM this afternoon this place was empty. In Astoria, especially on 30^th Avenue, nail salons are packed all the time. It is one of the most competitive businesses in this neighborhood.
Over the last few years I have become a strong supporter of small business owners. I think it is every ones responsibility to do our best to give neighborhood businesses a chance. With this said, Sweet Squared is one of these new businesses that open 7 to 10 days ago.
While the place looks nice, the small details I look for miss the mark. Examples: dirty storefront window, no price list, wipe the cut nails to floor, music not soothing; small little things like this that makes me notice lack of details.
The service tech was nice and friendly, but my manicure was average at best. The cost $ 10 which is $ 2 more than the competition.
I know this is a new establishment (this is way the extra star), but they need to at the very least meet the bar set my their competition or exceed it. Only time will tell, but with the cost of running start ups these days there is a very small window of opportunity.
I will continue «to support». I know how difficult it is to run a small business and I wish the location all the best.

This place is so new it doesn’t even have a price list, business cards, or a listed phone number yet. While it will eventually take credit cards — not today. I watched it go from the previous business — to closed — to under complete renovations, the place was completely gutted — to open for business within the span of two weeks.
The interior is simple but it works. Walls are olive, floors are stone and furniture is leather and ratan. Hopefully they will have a few pictures on the walls soon. One lone plant by the front door is begging for company. The only picture I saw was in the waxing room.
The four pedicure chairs are the massage kind but they have bubble wrapped the remote so it was difficult to see the controls. There are five manicure desks, two in the front and three in the back. The waxing bed was comfy and the lighting in the room was well done and in mind for staring at the ceiling.
The prices are comparable with the neighborhood and since three places around here are one big monopoly and the wait there is astronomical, there is plenty of demand in the neighborhood. If they keep up the good work I think I might have found a new home.