Address: | 143 Charlotte St, Asheville, NC 28801, USA |
Phone: | +1 828-774-5280 |
Site: | ganshanstation.com |
Rating: | 4.2 |
Working: | 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM Closed |
AS
Asheville Rider
Im so sorry, but I simply cant recommend this place to anyone. Heres the story: I went here with my lady a little over a month ago to check it out. I ordered the Bulgogi for around $20, and she ordered the Pho for around $17. My plate was barely edible. (For comparison, I had the Bulgogi at Korean House just 3 days before, and thought itd be a great comparison dish. It unfortunately was. Korean House won hands down.) The pho dish was just "OK." We eat pho on a fairly regular basis (every other month), and this bowl was sub-par. I also ordered a bourbon cocktail. There was no bourbon in the $9 drink. My lady, who has a serious aversion to bourbon (bordering allergic reaction), could not detect any either. The bartender rectified it by sending us a shot of bourbon to pour into the drink. Ill happily report that they fixed our drink without charge. :) I filled out their little paper feedback form and said that we felt the atmosphere was nice, but food was well overpriced for what it was... perhaps $8 to $10 dollar dishes, tops. In fact, the owner who responds to reviews on here might remember this review. It was submitted in early January. I was content with leaving the paper feedback. I figured it was a fair response, and maybe just an off night. My lady and I discussed it and phrased it this way: "If a group of friends wanted to come here and were willing to pay for us... we would still try to talk them out of it. If we couldnt... then wed still come along." That was our conversation as we left the restaurant. Fast forward 6 weeks, and Gan Shan came up twice in two completely unrelated conversations. The first, my boss told me she ate there last night, and didnt like it at all. The wait staff was rude, and the food was inedible to her. In her words, "way too spiced." She brought it in for me to try because I like food a little more spiced than she does. I politely declined... I honestly had no interest in trying her leftovers since she didnt like it (and I had already eaten there). She had no idea I had already eaten there. Later this evening, I spoke to a good friend of mine who took his wife there on their AIR Passport as a special night out. He wanted to give me a heads up to avoid the place! He said it was ramen night, and the noodles were terrible. He felt like his teeth were sticking together while trying to eat, and that it tasted like a gift from his dog. On the bright side, though, he said "If you want to hang out in a converted garage with a nice hanging bar - this is the place! If you want to eat food, go somewhere else." So there you have it... now I simply must say something. Sorry Im disagreeing with all of the other reviewers... but this represents 3 separate folks eating, and three bad experiences. Maybe Ill meet someone who liked it soon. I still believe the atmosphere is nice (aside from the one rude server mentioned above), and this place has potential - but the food is greatly overpriced for the quality. Not sure where the disconnect there is. Its fairly new, so maybe theyll figure it out soon. Either way, I probably wont ever go back unless I hear positive feedback from my friends.
SH
Sheepdog Sherlock
I expected a menu with some variety after reading their website and the list of countries their food is inspired by. As it turns out the list of countries seemed to out number the variety of food they had. Their main menu totaling 6 things consisted of two types of dishes, curry and a couple ramen dishes. The side menu which was also very limited had chicken wings, tofu and dumplings. Based on the description on the website I expected to see some variety and something comparable to the Koreana restaurant (which is fantastic) So I assumed there would be some variety along with stir fried dishes. But not much at all. As far as beverages there are pretty much two choices, luke warm tap water and alcohol. There was no menu for any other drink. So at this point Im not really happy with the choices. The service just made things worse. The server leaves a recycled glass bottle of tap water on the table (same glass bottle that sparkling lemonade is sold in) I assume when a bottle of water is left at the table I can pour as I need it. The problem with this bottle is the opening is too narrow which doesnt allow for air to escape when poured so the water pours in a splashing way. So instead of me pouring water I need, the server is at our table every few minutes pouring water and each time splashing water all on the table and my cell phone and did not think to lift the glass up and pour to the side of the table. The glasses are so small so any time you take a sip the cup looks half full. This was extremely annoying to deal with. Note to management, stop making servers serve warm tap water from silly reused bottles. A small pitcher of ice water would do some good. I ordered the chicken wings which was only problematic as they come in a small bowl, I was never offered a side plate for bones, I was not offered any additional napkins or towelettes. The only thing I had to work with is a cloth napkin which does not work well with sticky wings you eat with your hands.Once you eat a wing and wipe your hands just once the napkin is no longer usable, it just makes the rest of your hands stickier. This is the first place I have been to that has not had the courtesy to bring you napkins or wet towelettes. The chicken wings were good, but you can find good chicken wings at better prices all over town. My wife had green curry, not sure if i call this curry, it was so-so. If you want actual curry there are places like the curry house downtown, or Thai basil in black mountain. I just figured Id eat here for once since I pass this place daily. I should have known better after I seen "hip" as a description of the dining experience here. When restaurants call themselves hip I now associate that with poor menu choice, odd eating conditions and poor service. The food was OK but overpriced, asheville is full of awesome places to eat that I can have amazing food and service for the same price. The service wasnt inherently terrible, however I was very annoyed at the entire experience. I wont dine here again but at least I can say I gave it a shot.
KE
Kelsey Haynes
Really excellent atmosphere with great friendly staff and a real sense of teamwork in the kitchen and with the waitstaff. The place combines Asian theme with old gas station and outdoor greenhouse feel. The bar area is fantastic and over all we had a pleasant experience. The drunken noodles were very good, very spicy and very authentic. The portion sizes are unfortunately small for $19 (the cheapest option). The noodles seemed homemade but undercooked (maybe they are supposed to be that way) The major, major flaw is that the Ramen was very unimpressive and the broth tasted very, very fake. Like stale pork boullion fake. The Ramen packets from that come with Ramen from Walmart have more of an authentic flavor than what I experienced. The pork belly in the ramen was very good but over all for $15.00 I expect more than chives, radishes and 3 small slices of pork and unbearably fake broth. I think if they increased portion sizes and ramped up authentic and fresh flavors this place could be a true Asheville gem.