Red Ginger opens in El Granada

Five of us had a fine dinner there Friday night.  There were the usual rough spots that happen for any new restaurant, but we all said we will go back again.

The delicious wines we ordered were accurately described.  The potstickers were very good, the dipping sauces served with them were fantastic.  The main courses were all superb. 

Something that few restaurants have is a great tea selection.  At Red Ginger it is better than any I have seen in any restaurant I have visited in California.  No just the standard assortment of bagged herbal and black teas - Red Ginger offers exotic Chinese leaf tea selected to be paired with menu selections. 

This is an excellent addition to our wonderful restaurants on the midcoast.  Between Cafe Gibraltar, Mezza Luna, Cafe Lucca, Cafe Classique [to name just a few] and now Red Ginger we are blessed here to have world class cuisine so close to home.

My wife and I persuaded two of our friends to try the Red Ginger last weekend. Even allowing for start up snafus the experience was very disappointing. Two of us were served immediately, and the other two waited over a half hour for their dishes. The pot stickers were tiny and burned, the soup watery, and the servings small and pricey. The menu is way too exotic. This restaurant belongs on the Embarcadero in SF, or in LA.

We went to Red Ginger last night and were very pleased.  There are definitely still many wrinkles to be ironed out (5 people waiting at front with no hostess in sight??), water not being filled, etc… Nothing out of the ordinary for a place in business only two weeks.  For example, the Brewery,which we love, was a train wreck the first few weeks it was open! The wait-staff was friendly, the food was creative and very tasty, came quickly, and we had a great experience.

The potickers were incredible, and the “Main Mein” I had as a main course was very tasty and reasonably priced.

I don’t see how it’s too exotic.  We have enough great meat and potatoes places on the coast.  Bring on the exotic! :)

We’ll be going back for sure.  I know a couple that are avid Coastsider.com fans owe us a dinner and will no doubt read this. :)

If you mean us Mike, yes we are avid Coastsider.com fans. :0)

Red Ginger was one of the most delightful dining experiences we have had in recent years.  There are so many reasons we liked the place. 

Even though the restaurant was completely full the acoustics were good and we could converse comfortably.  The music was perfect and the food was exceptional.

Where can you find excellent food that is beautifully prepared, unique, creative and quite healthy! I honestly don’t pay much attention to food in restaurants but this place is great. 

We are from out of town but will make it a point to come to Red Ginger on every visit to San Francisco.

We will be back.

BTW, Red Ginger is officially closed.  They closed their doors 1/16.  I never tried them but was looking forward to giving it a try today….

Give them a call and they have a nice message about the closure.

Wow. They didn’t last very long. It was the most ambitious development for Coastsiders I’ve seen in the few years I’ve been here (Sam’s Chowder House or whatever is for visitors, not Coastsiders so I don’t count that, IMHO).

I wasn’t impressed with our first and only visit there, but I still held out hope.

I’m sorry to see them go.  We had nothing but great experiences there and we went there at least 5 times, bringing out of town friends/family 3 times.  All were impressed.  I enjoyed the lettuce wraps and the low-carb fare that you could have without the rice or noodles….I’m sorry to see them go, but read somewhere that Spence and family may stay on the coast—delighted to hear that.  The other family members are our neighbors…..good luck on your future endeavors.  Rebecca Newlin