Wild Ginger

Reviews 5

JO

Josh Gehman

This review is a long time coming and Im afraid whether it is late to describe my experience there, it just came to my mind that I ought to review this terrible place. I brought my young girlfriend there after going to the ballet on December 21st, 2012, probably the fanciest date Ive ever been on, in spite of going to this dive of a pseudo-fancy restaurant. I had fond memories of coming here as a child when my moms boyfriend took me to a night on the town and exposed me to the fine arts scene. [Im not from Seattle, I only go there for the Symphony and Ballet these days], in any case I had a fond memory of the fragrant duck. The fragrant duck I had again when Wild Ginger was catering the triple door, I believe in 2008 or 2009. In any case I was excited to have it again since duck in my mind is a delicacy, it truly is more fragrant than the factory-farmed fowl we have in our grocery stores. When the duck arrived it was buried underneath a mountain of garnish, possibly to hide the poor quality of the meat, and the fact that it was chicken. I asked the waiter, (who looked like a washed-up italian mobster) if he could verify that this was in fact duck. He assured me that it was duck, in a rude and surly tone, even going so far as to swear to God it was duck. He then gestured toward my girlfriends plate and said, see, thats chicken. We never serve duck on the bone. I then retrieved from my own plate a chicken leg, complete with bone. I cant recall his response but I remember it was escalated and very rude, on par with service at maybe an Italian pizzeria in NYC. It was an absolute travesty when compared to the origins of the restaurant. In any case, I know the difference between duck and chicken. Im not sure if they discontinued duck entirely or if the kitchen had simply run out that night, but in any case the waiters rudeness made this an entirely unpleasant experience. Although the sauce they served with the chicken was what I remembered and was very good.

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A

A Private User

This incident happened a few years ago, but Ive never forgotten the rudeness we experienced, or how wonderfully the evening turned out. I had lived in Seattle many years ago, and we returned on a trip combining business and pleasure. We had our young son with us, and on a recommendation from a friend, called Wild Ginger for a dinner reservation. We explained we had a child with us, and asked for an early seating, where we wouldnt disrupt the later-night party crowd. No problem. We dressed nicely, and walked from the Mayflower Hotel to Wild Ginger. When we arrived at 5:00, the hostess "greeted" us. From her sneering expression, I knew we were in trouble. I told her we had a reservation. She told us she was sorry, but there were no tables available. The restaurant had barely opened, it was only 5 pm, and they were totally full. I told her we had called ahead, and we had a reservation. She insisted they were full. We got the message: families not wanted. We continued walking, hungry, in the rain down toward the waterfront. I knew I had seen a wonderful little restaurant early that day. We found it. The staff took one look at our wet, bedraggled family and ushered us to a table. We were so at home. The food was extraordinary. The restaurant was Ettas, and my recommendation is to skit the uppity, pretentious, and rude Wild Ginger and eat at Tom Douglas Etta. Thanks Wild Ginger, for an unforgettable meal! Too bad it wasnt at your restaurant!

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JI

Jill F Russell

This review deals with the vegan menu; your experience may vary. When I was an omnivore, I absolutely loved Wild Ginger. This was our go-to date night experience and I found the options inspired and the flavors delightfully curated. I had not been back since becoming a vegan a few years ago. So it was with excitement that my wife and I decided on the Wild Ginger as our downtown date night prior to a concert. We were delighted to see that they still offered a separate Vegan menu, but our delight quickly turned into disgust. . Examples: the bok choy was undercooked, cold and drowning in oil. The 7 flavor tofu was rubbery and just overwhelmingly smothered in sauce. The bean sprouts under the tofu were ok, I guess, but super uninspiring and just plain average. The Market Vegetable satay was 3 pieces of vegetables to be dipped in a cold (was that planned?) sauce: a giant super-undercooked portobello, a large barely grilled piece of squash, and the obligatory undercooked eggplant. For gods sake, how hard is it to grill vegetables and to not overcook tofu? Apparently, super difficult, because we could barely finish our meal, and trust me, our bar is set pretty low as well eat just about any vegetable in just about any form. In all good conscious I can no longer recommend Wild Ginger and I will not be going back. Bummed, but I refuse to pay $60 for three plates of meh.

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JE

Jess C

I have a celiac friend visiting who is extremely sensitive to even traces of gluten. I read some good reviews about Wild Ginger from other celiac diners, so I convinced her to try it. At first she was immediately spooked by the disclaimer on the menu (something about not being able to guarantee there wont be cross-contamination). My friend cant even eat food cooked in a wok that was previously used to cook a dish with gluten (eg. soy sauce), even if the wok has been washed in between. Same goes for sharing a grill with gluten-containing food. Our situation looked dire! Luckily our very friendly, very patient, and very knowledgeable server was able to help her pick out a couple of dishes: the Otak Otak (salmon wrapped in a banana leaf and cooked, thus safeguarded from any contamination) and Squash and Sweet Potato Stew. My friend was very happy with both dishes! The stew was rich and flavorful, the salmon tender and moist. My boyfriend and I shared the Wild Ginger Fragrant Duck (delicious!), Thai Spicy Clams (amazing broth with a surprising amount of heat and huge clams), and special pork ribs (a little dry but good flavor). The very good service became *great* service at the end of the night when our server offered us steaming hot moist towels to clean our hands. It was a perfect ending to an enjoyable meal.

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A

A Private User

Ive eaten here twice; once, a few years ago as a vegetarian and recently as a vegan. I will say that they are VERY veg-friendly. They have a separte vegetarian menu with extensive options, many of which are denoted as vegan. The Vietnamese Buddha Vegetable spring rolls were, in and of themselves, nothing to write home about, but once dipped in the sweet and sour sauce were heavenly (although the sauce couldve benefited from a touch of soy sauce). I ordered the Buddhas curry and wasnt impressed. The curry was not well-developed and was actually quite bland, although the dish was beautiful and the sweet potatoes and eggplant were prepared to perfection (couldve done without the daikon radish). The real highlight of both of our meals (my husband ordered a scallop dish) was the sichuan green beans. Make sure to order the vegan preparation otherwise they come with some sort of pork in them. They were TO DIE for! I was disappointed to find the only vegan dessert on the VAST dessert menu to be sorbet. Due to its prime location, this is a great spot to eat if you plan to shop or see a show downtown. We will definitely go back and just order different dishes, hoping for them to be more flavorful. Great service!!

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