ginger

we've been to gingers many, many times.  our first meal there was incredible and every visit since has been the same.3 words:  mac and cheese!!  being from wisconsin i've had an endless variety of mac-n-cheese recipes but ginger's wins hands-down.  rich, creamy, cheesy and never greasy.  the dinner entree is actually grilled scallops with mac-n-cheese being the side dish, but the mac-n-cheese is half gone before the first scallop is touched.  it's that good!  
everydishwe've had has been just as tasty with not one single "miss".  usually every place has that onedishthat doesn't work, but not here.
gingers is pricey, but a good way to lessen the hit on your wallet is to stop by for their happy hour.  i'm not sure when it starts but it ends at 6pm.  drinks and the bar menu appetizers are half price.  the bar menu appetizers are an eclectic selection that are all very tasty and they even have a mini sized appetizer of their mac-n-cheese (yes!!).

meh. i went their for lunch and the food was too expensive for how it tasted..... it was salty on my taste and i'd probably not go there again... maybe to try their scallopdishone day... their pork egg rolls were delicious though - probably worth going back only for that

come for the food, stay for the drinks. i hadn't been to ginger in a couple years and had decided to give them a second chance after too many disappointments in the past. unfortunately, it was more of the same last night.

the night started out alright with a fantastic martini and a ginger-infused mojito, and the crispy pork egg roll appetizers were delicious and served piping hot. i was disappointed, however, that ginger's website menu was out of date as the cohiba-rubbed bistro filet i had been planning to order was not on the menu once we arrived at the restaurant. in it's place was a wagyu strip steak, a very renowned cut of beef and something i normally would've been excited for, but for whatever reason ginger's chef felt it was necessary to coconut-crust and schezuan-spice one of the best cuts of beef in the world (their filet mignon had the same preparation, it boggles the mind). despite the dissertation our server gave us on the origins of the wagyu, i decided on the flat iron steak served with roasted fingerlings, green beans, and a plum butter. my girlfriend order the panang beef curry, and we continued our drinking with a glass of white oak merlot and pint of ninkasi's total domination ipa (fabulous).

our entrees arrived, and with them disappointment. my girlfriend's beef curry was closer to lukewarm than hot, and the curry itself was startlingly bland, and any beef in thedishwas few and far between. for an asian fusion restaurant to not be able to pull off a simple curry is depressing. my flat iron steak, ordered medium rare, arrived more on the well side of medium-well, but at least it was hot. the sauce, the type of which i cannot recall, was delicious (as was the plum butter). unfortunately that was the only silver lining to the flat iron. our server, suddenly disinterested in us, failed to reappear until our meal was well and truly finished, and then only to ask what kind of dessert we'd be having tonight. apparently unconcerned with how we enjoyed our meal (if he had bothered to ask, i'd have told him) and only interested in increasing the size of the bill. unsatisfied with the performance of the kitchen thus far, i opted for a glass of laphroaig for dessert, since the bar was only part of the restaurant to not disappoint us that evening.

it saddens me to say that it's more of the same from ginger. the food continues to disappoint, yet the bar remains a star attraction. their cocktails are well-crafted and delicious, and the liquor selection is extensive and well-rounded. avoid ginger if you're looking for a place to have a nice dinner, but i highly recommend it if you're just looking for a cocktail or two, and maybe an appetizer.

great food great service. this is our favorite downtown go to place for a nice dinner before shows. our staple go to is their signature mac-n-cheese and oyster shooters. penne pasta stuffed with four cheeses topped with huge flavorful scallops. oyster shooters are the tastiest i've had anywhere. excellent contemporary atmosphere and professional staff. we've tried other dishes which were also very good. on one occasion during an extremely busy night before a big show we ordered the mac-n-cheese and another pastadishcalled mee krob (based upon others we saw being served it looked fantastic). the mee krob we received was a sticky over-sugared blob that looked like it had been poured out of a can. the shrimps and other constituents looked like 'cup of noodles' material. after immediately pointing this out, the very nice and professional waiter removed thedishand the charge from our bill w/o issue and brought me another oyster shooter. now that's service. we'll be back for more mac's n' shooters!

had dinner and the wait between apps and dinner was around 45 min! would have ordered more drinks but never saw our server between the apps and dinner but once. it would have been nice to have had more communication from our server as to wait time between apps and dinner. app was delicious but my filet was black on the edges, my husbandsdishwas delicious (scallops). not sure we'll go back. don't like restaurants that are inconsistent.

so disappointed. the atmosphere was beautiful. i am sorry to say that was the best part of the night. there is not a lot to choose from that was not spicy or had a curry sauce. the four of us all tried something different. onedishwas overcooked, one meatdishonly had a couple of bites of meat, mine was great but it was an appetizer so not a lot of. two of us didn’t finish our dinners and left hungry. our table was set with a salad fork and an entrée fork, which they took away just after we ordered along with the little bread plates. not sure why they did that since i was having a salad. as the bus person came and took my empty plate she purposefully dumped my fork back on the table to reuse with dessert. with these prices i would be surprised to learn that they didn’t have enough forks to serve the restaurant. i would like to have seen fewer tables so you can exit without having squeeze through the very narrow opening. overall not a great experience. too many other restaurants to choose from to go back here.

love the new desserts. went in recently after being out of town for a while and was excited to find some new menu items, including a completely revamped dessert menu. i had the broccoli beef for dinner. the chefs interpretation substitutes filet mignon and broccolini in place of the more traditional ingredients and elevated thedishto a new level. and the dessert menu made me want to try one of everything. new items include sweet basil ice cream served in a cherry soup & a thai chili infused chocolate mousse over devil's food cake. in the end i settled on the pineapple & cashew bread pudding with a coconut rum sauce. it wasn't overly sweet but the drizzle of sauce provided the perfect touch of sugar, just the way i like it. all in all, a fantastic meal!

not your average alaska restaurant. let me start by saying that i liked ginger. when compared to other alaska restaurants it tops the list. to be fair, i don't think they are trying to just be another alaska restaurant.
i decided to try the most recommended items for lunch yesterday. the banana lemongrass soup, spicy tuna tower, and the green tea creme brulee.
the banana lemongrass soup was delightful. a light first course, great flavor and texture. it is obvious why everyone raves about this.
next up, the "non" spicy tuna tower. i understand that living in alaska you are confined by the tastes of your regular restaurant guests. let's face it, alaskans think ketchup is too spicy. if you advertise something as spicy on your menu, i really believe that it should be just that. there was literally no spice to this dish. the tuna was wonderful and high quality, but the rest of thedishlacked flavor. i tasted the sauces and the salsa on top by itself and none of it had any flavor. this was very bland. since the tuna was great, i didn't really mind and just enjoyed having some good tuna sashimi. the only place there was any flavor on thedishwas the fried wontons. that is if you consider salt a flavor. every bit of the wonton was crusted in coarse salt.
the green tea creme brulee was good quality, but again lacked flavor. one of my pet peeves with alaska restaurants is using out of season produce. the strawberries that topped thisdishwere nearly green. if it isn't in season, just don't use it. it really brings down the overall quality of the dish. the actually creme brulee had a nice consistency, but did not taste like green tea or anything but plain cream. the top had not been torched all the way to the edges leaving it quite granular and degraded the overall quality.
i am the type of person who is more than willing to pay $40 (with tip) for a good lunch, but i do expect a lot for that $40. i didn't get it at ginger. i did however get a very good $20 meal. either the prices need to come down or the quality needs to improve.

average asian fusion. excellent potato leek soup although it was probably too spicy for most. beef curry was good but not great. they should do elk or moose curry. the beef was fairly tasteless as most beef in alaska is.

excellent server but the restaurant was overwhelmed by a group of nine and our service suffered. the waiter brought the maindishbefore we finished our appetizers. he apologized for it but said it could not be helped because he was trying to get our food to us before the large party clogged the kitchen.

they try too hard to be non-alaska. from the decor to the menu choices.

one of my anchorage favorites. when you walk into ginger you feel like you walk out of alaska and into a place that could be anywhere, but here. the food is outstanding with flavors that are as unique as the decor. i usually start with the homemade ginger ale, which offers a nice ginger ale kick. the banana lemongrass soup is a must! the spicy tuna tower is beautifully presented with tuna that melts in your mouth. the spice offers a little kick, but does not overwhelm the flavor of the tuna. for the maindishthe baked sea scallops "mac & cheese" is an adult version of a classic comfort food that is rich and creamy. another favorite is the *sesame crusted ahi.
the service is wonderful and they are very knowledgeable on the food and flavors.
enjoy and happy eating!

the appetizers were pretty good. the banana lemongrass soup is delicious and the spicy tuna tower pretty tasty. but the main courses were really disappointing. the ribeye was tough despite being served rare andthe tofu quinoa was decent but served colder than it should have been. none of thedishtasted as exotic as they were described in the menu. the curry was way too rich, even for a curry. and they didn't have expresso. disappointing velvet chocolate raspberry cake, too dry! overall, for what we got, everything was way overpriced!! good service though...