| Locality | Race Course Road |
|---|---|
| Place Type | Lounge |
| Food Type | Vietnamese |
| Timings | 12:30 PM to 2:45 PM, 7:30 PM to 11:45 PM |
| Price |
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| URL |
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first reviewed by aarti
Aug 21, 2008
First off, the ambience here is a big let down after you are told this is a very romantic place to go to.The setting is very cluttered and cramped though it sits amidst some lush greenery and a water body all around.This is probably best to go to for a corporate meeting rather than a personal event or to celebrate anything.
I am a wine connoisseur and was delighted when a sommelier from France helped us out with wines after I described to him what sort of flavor I was looking for.This is a first in Bangalore, I dont know any restaurant where they have a dedicated sommelier to help patrons out with wine.
Food on the whole was very average.Soup was watery and not rich and the food,be it veg or non veg turned out to be bland, maybe Vietnamese food is just not for the Indian palate.The dessert however was coconut based and was very good and innovative.To sum up, excellent service(huge plus point!), good china, lousy ambience and very average food.
Apr 06, 2008
Being the only Vietnamese restaurant in the country,the restaurant wins brownie points at the outset for sheer origiality. It also boasts of possibly the best setting in the city! Nestled in the midst
of thick foliage within the compound of The Taj WestEnd Hotel, The Blue Ginger is arguably the best restaurant in town.
It is situated away from the main building and compliments the Blue Bar which is it’s neighbour and again a very happening pub in the city.
The decor is typical of Vietnam complete with large blue urns and oriental decor. I would recommend the lunch set menu. Very good for a quick business lunch. Although the beauty of the place emerges at night when candles line the walkway to the restaurant and the water fountain around the place is in full spurt!They light a fire in the middle of the restaurant and that lends an ethereal glow to guests as well as the place itself.The neighbouring Blue Bar plays very good House music which complimets the setting of the restaurant as well.
Van, the Vietnamese hostess and now a dear friend, greets every guest with great enthusiasm and warmth - a trait that becomes the Vietnamese/Asian culture.
The staff is courteous and very clued in on the menu and immediately "get" what you would like to have. They help you through the menu to ensure you understand the various ingredients and that you don’t end up over ordering or worse yet - ordering something you wouldn’t touch with a barge pole. What I like is that the staff is attentive without being intrusive or in-your-face.
The food,as the cuisine suggests, is Vietnamese. Vietamese food has a lot of thai and chinese influence so you will recognize a lot of dishes. I particularly recommend the meat platter, the raw mango salad and the fish curry which comes with rice.
I would like to warn you though - they serve complimentary prawn and vegetable crackers when you sit down and one can easily eat the whole lot before the food arrives!
I haven’t really liked any of their desserts and we usually skip that course.
The weekends are very busy and I recommed that you make reservations. If you don’t have a reservation, you could hve a bit of a wait but they ensure you’re comfortable even there. There is an overstuffed couch upholstered in warm red and orange tones that relaxes the most irate guest....
Blue Ginger is an expensive restaurant. A meal for two which includes two main courses and noodles and a couple of glasses of wine could set you back by about 2500 per head. Hey. believe me - it’s worth every rupee.
I would highly recommend this restaurant. For it’s ambiance,food,staff and originality.
Jan 15, 2008
If you are thinking that Vietnamese in Bangalore would be cheap because most other things in India are cheap? Well think again.
I am accustomed to spending about Rs.280 for a dosa back home in Australia. However since we have a large Vietnamese community in Australia, we don't pay as much for the food you get in Blue Ginger.
So quite frankly, I don't see a problem with paying an exorbattant price for Vietnamese in a country where the Vietnamese population is either small or non existant.
Anyway, back to the topic of this restaurant, I found the food to be nice, the waiter service attentive like any other place I have been to in Bangalore and the ambience will make you feel like you're in another country. So if you want tasty and hygenic food and an experience without paying for a plane ticket to Vietnam, go to Blue Ginger.
I hope this type of food will take over the rotten Indian Chinese that is common in India and I hope it will bring the prices down once the demand is there.
Aug 12, 2007
Beautiful Place, Delicious Food, Fantastic Service.....BUT! Vietnamese?
Mar 20, 2007
Our experience left us quite shocked at what Rs 2000+ will fetch you these days in Bangalore. The food was displayed and served with a lot of fanfare in a pretty outdoor seating environment, but the service was quite terrible. The food itself was decent, but certainly nothing you couldn't pick up at for less than $20 in a self respecting Vietnamese rest on the other side of the Pacific (unfortunately, my points of calibration for Vietnamese food are not in Vietnam, but in the United States).
Most upsetting was the fact that the staff, initially friendly and prompt, decided completely ignore us once a bunch of celebrities showed up a few tables away.
Oh yes, the Sangria had as much alcohol as there is snowfall in Chennai.
Overall, not recommended.