I was craving Korean BBQ and decided to give Ginseng another try (haven't been here in over 5 years) and surprisingly I enjoyed it. The buffet selection is pretty much the same (all your salads, meats, fruit, etc.) and is excellent. The service waa great (quick to refill our drinks and change the grill). A cool new feature is that they now have a karaoke room - free 2 hours with meal! I am definitely coming back.
Korean Barbecue has always been one of my favourite things to eat (MEAT! surprised? haha). I haven’t had too much of it in Edmonton, but finally decided to give it a try, with Ginseng, an AYCE joint. Ginseng is located on 34 avenue, along with a slew of other Korean restaurants. This are is unofficially known has K-town, or the Korean district due to the high number of Korean establishments around.
The service was great and the food was very good. We were part of a large party everyone enjoyed the evening. Nice atmosphere for a dinner party.
I've been to this place a few times, so I was glad to see that the quality of the food and service hadn't changed much over the past few years. The idea is very unique among Korean restaurants and indeed among restaurants in general in Edmonton: a buffet that includes many raw ingredients including a variety of marinated meats (bulgogi [beef], bulgalbi [ribs], pork, chicken, etc.) that the diner brings to his/her own table where a hot plate is set up for the ingredients to be cooked on. The buffet also has some cooked Korean staples such as kim chi and steamed rice to accompany the raw items that are cooked at table. The price for the buffet is higher than you will see from other such restaurants, but the fact that many of the ingredients are not cooked is the main reason for this. The food is very good, as the meats are sliced thinly so as to enable fast cooking on the plate so that diners can gobble them down while eating rice and other dishes. One tip: plan on having to change clothes after you finish eating here, as the smell of cooked meats will be embedded in them before you leave. Overall, I would recommend this place to anyone who is looking for a different kind of dining experience and is willing to spend to get it. As it is a buffet, portion size is not a concern- you WILL be stuffed to the gills when you leave.
Overall great experience here !
Pros:
- the buffet style allows you to see what you are ordering and portion size to your needs
- really tasty, well marinated meats !
- good variety of meats and cooked sides to keep you occupied while cooking if you come "hangry"
- quick and friendly service, consistent drink top-ups
- bonus points for consistent hot plate swap outs (no burnt tasting meat here !!)
Cons
- outdated atmosphere but really, who cares when the food is amazing ?
- Could use a few more sauces to compliment meals (current sauces are Ginseng sauce [sesame soy tasting] and hot sauce) BUT the tasty marinated meats compensate for this con
Dinner AYCE was $37/person incl. unlimited pop, tea or coffee
Well worth my money :)
I hadn't been to Ginseng restaurant in a couple years when they upped their prices into the mid $30's, and had read and heard from other reviews that they had priced their buffet even higher! So when my friends were trying to convince me to try it again since they had never been there before, I was a bit hesitant that it'd be similar to what I had before and the prices would have gone up too.
It's still the same KBBQ process as before, you enter, get seated and your drinks, then you get the food from the buffet and cook it yourselves. Food was as usual really good, but a bit salty. Service has significantly improved from before - our drinks were refilled when asked and our grill was changed twice throughout the entire dinner. They never pressured us even though we stayed well past 2 hours and that left a really positive and relaxed mood with my friends and I.
Our biggest surprise of the night was when the bill came and it was only $35 each! Reading the reviews we were expecting $37-40 without GST/Tip, so it was nice keeping those extra few $'s in the wallet (and making it comparable to other AYCE dinner places in Edmonton). All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by my first trip back to Ginseng in years and while food is salty and pricey so I wouldn't go very often, it's still a solid choice for AYCE Korean BBQ in Edmonton. Recommended.
Walking in you wouldn't expect anything spectacular. The atmosphere is dated and the buffet offerings looks minimal BUT give it a chance because it's great! The meat, which of course is the highlight, is marinated very well and tastes fantastic after being self BBQ'd on the table top grill. The buffet options are also a nice accompaniment to the BBQ. Check this place out!
Well when Korean BBQ comes to mind, Ginseng is the only place in Edmonton that'll do it for me. I only come here for dinner to maximize my gluttony but it's a pretty straight forward buffet. Grab all the food you want, bring it back to your table and pig out. Very simple and definitely worth the money. They have a plethora of options, marinated pork, beef, chicken, assortment of fresh cut vegetables, all your Ban Chan's to choose from, rice and soups. But the one thing I always grab an entire plate of is the pork belly. Cooked to almost crispy perfection on the BBQ. Hands down the best Korean BBQ.
Was here in June. Read reviews and was kinda worried. Went anyways. Brought a friend. It was smokey inside but my friend loved it. Mind you it is expensive. $37 for adults $27 for seniors, children are also discounted. Bottomless pop.
Food was awesome and flavourful! The service was great too! Servers always came around to check on our food, plates and drinks, always changed the grill plate when it got too dark or burnt.
Selection of food was plentiful, never out.
Floor does get a bit greasy so watch your footing.
Overall, very good food, worth the drive from our location, near the West Edmonton Mall, about a 15 minute drive or so.
We made a reservation but didn't need it, came on a Sunday evening so it was not too busy, maybe about 8 tables with people, out of 20 some tables.
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