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cityweekend

Young and Unripe

I’ve enjoyed drinks with friends at Gingko often, and recently tried their new restaurant upstairs. Unfortunately, my gingko habits are unlikely to change. We started with a passable green salad with roasted vegetables, brie and walnuts (¥42), followed by a filet of beef (¥98) and a seared salmon with beetroot and avocado emulsion (¥82) for entrees. At these prices our expectations were high, but the plates did not deliver. The beef was cut on the thin side, and while a savory shallot and red wine sauce was a nice complement, sides of under-seasoned potatoes and muddled roasted vegetables were disappointing. Our salmon came with hot pink beet sauce and tiny avocado triangles—reminiscent of West Palm Beach. To be fair, we didn’t sample their bar menu, which, if it holds anything in common with their drinks, could be excellent. A praise-worthy point is their prompt and friendly service.

Emma Starks

 

Most Recent Reviews

beijingdaze

Quite underrated as dining establishment in my opinion. I have found myself there a few times over the past months and have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food as well as the staff. Their wednesday steak night is one the best steak values in the city at that price ( about 40 RMB) coupled with a 98rmb bottle of decent house red. Nice and cozy... and no, against popular belief, they ain't French no more

 

1 day, 7 hours ago

xiongdi12

Update:

I actually wrote my previous post from Ginkgo. After my friends and I paid our bill, I politely said to the manager/owner, "The next time you run out of a beer, you should tell the customer before you pour them a different beer." His response: "I did."

"No, sir, you poured me a beer that cost more than twice as much as the one I originally ordered and then told me that it was different and would cost more without giving me another option," I responded.

"Oh, well my apologizes," he half-heartedly said as he walked off. I stood there kind of dumbfounded at his lack of concern for my bad experience at his cafe.

So much for valuing the customer. My friends and I will not be back.

 

6 months, 2 weeks ago

xiongdi12

I was immediately impressed with the decor and atmosphere when I walked in, however my mood and feelings quickly changed. Looking at the Ginkgo happy hour, I was excited to order a 15 RMB Beijing Draft Beer. I only had about 50 RMB in my pocket, so I could safely get a couple and enjoy the afternoon.

Unfortunately, they were out of Beijing Draft, which would have been fine, however, without asking me if it was okay, poured me a 38 RMB Stella - not okay when you only have 50 RMB.

I realize I should not have accepted the beer, however I guess it was a matter of wanting to save face. In any event, this place left a bad taste in my mouth so I decided to write this review.

6 months, 2 weeks ago

beijingprincess

In reality, this place gets 3.5 stars. We made reservations for Sunday night (completely unnecessary)...when we arrived, the owner greeted us right away--from his bar stool. He said our table was ready right away and we can just go upstairs. We were a table of 7, but only arrived with 4 at first. We ordered a bottle of proseco to start out and a couple of dips (tsaziki and baba ganouch). About 5 minutes later the server said it would be 10 minutes for the wine (which I assumed they had to chill). After another 10 minutes when we asked for the wine, we revealed that they didn't have it and we actually had been waiting for them to go out and buy the wine. Thankfully, they served the newly-bought, unchilled sparkling wine in a wine bucket. For our meal we order just main courses--1 tagliatelle with pesto, sundried tomatos and goatcheese, 1 lemon, mint and asparagus risotto, one carpaccio and one crab stuffed tomato (two apps served as a main) and four orders of lamp chops (which were described as served with mashed potatoes and sauteed greens). The risotto was very, very good. The pasta was bland and not worth ordering. The carpaccio was sliced too thick (which is alittle gross for raw meat, but the crab stuff tomato was good). The lamb chopped were served with fried potatoes, no mashers and no veggies. I would have chalked this up to a language issue, but it was the french manager that described the plate, so I don't really know what happened. We enjoyed this all with a bottle of their 98RMB house wine (not bad!). We also had a cake delivered, which was received and served seamlessly. (much appreciated!) Overall, I would say Gingko is worth the visit and I will probably we back for the bar snacks menu, but for the price point, I'd rather head to the Vineyard.

 

7 months ago

okyjace

Just came back from a pleasant dinner for two and feel compelled to share my experience because it exceeded expectations. We both had the set menu, rmb98 for three courses or rmb78 for two courses. Moderately priced better than average food for larger than usual portions. Can't complain. Definitely go check it out, you won't be disappointed.

 

11 months, 2 weeks ago

taghazou

I really like this place, as for a cofee in the afternoon, a nice dinner or a crazy night dancing... The atmosphere and the place are very confortable and friendly. The cocktails are very good, especially the blue margarita, my favorite!

1 year, 1 month ago

beijingjobs_org

I hope things improve since the opening night...I was less than impressed.

 

1 year, 2 months ago