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.
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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 :)
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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.
Went there last night with a friend, absolutely delicious and great fun. Staff was friendly and very accommodating food was really good. A little pricey but worth it.
Closed at Lunch?. This one is not really a review. The last 2-3 times I have stopped there for lunch there has been a sign on the door saying they are not able to open for lunch due to a lack of staff. Not sure when this problem will be fixed, but I hope it is soon. I really do enjoy their food!
Good experience. Came here for a friend's birthday party on a Friday evening. Some of the table did all you can eat, while others just ordered off the menu (including myself). I shared a Jap Chae and Beef Bulgogi with my girlfriend. The two dishes were overall pretty good, not the best I've had, but not the worst either.
One thing that stood out were the friendly waitresses that served our table. They were super nice and pretty funny actually.
Pretty good food + awesome customer service would make me return a second time!
YUMMMYY!. Although it's a bit overpriced, i feel as though it's worth your money! The service was excellent! Did i say that you get 10% off on your birthday too? : ) worth giving it a try !!
No other place like it, gotta check it out. Everything at the buffet table was fresh and so yummy. The bbq meats were well seasoned and had a good selections of meats, and appetizers. Service is great, and always so friendly. Only complain is that you stink like bbq after you leave though. Gotta check this place out.
This place was recommended by a friend while I was staying in edmonton and knowing him I knew I could trust his choice in food! We bought the all you can't eat 30$ a person buffet and was excited to try all the different Korean dishes especially the different types of meats and marinades. The meat here was very flavourful and unique and the waitresses were fantastic and very helpful, it was really worth the prices we paid ! I would definitely recommend this to all the meat eaters out their that's craving a unique dining experience !
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Best BBQ I've had in years!!!. Since I moved back to Canada after 13 months in Korea, I've enthusiastically visited Korean restaurants in Toronto, Montreal, Niagara Falls, Columbus Ohio, and Edmonton, looking for the flavours I miss. And Ginseng is the best Korean BBQ I've had in North America!
Don't be put off by the website, which says it's an "Asian fusion" restaurant--the menu is almost all Korean. (In Korea "fusion" just means "modern".) I had the buffet, which you cook at your table. The meats are different cuts than in Korea of course, as are some of the vegetables. Among the delicious meats there was thin-marinated-beef/bulgogi; another kind of marinated beef--thicker, in a dwaeji-galbi-type sauce; spicy pork/jaeook; marinated chicken breast/dakgalbi; baby squids/ojinga; each of these were top-notch, and there was plenty of lettuce leaves to wrap it all up in. I didn't try the frozen whole shrimp/saeoo; BUT, unbelievably, there was samgyapsal/porkbelly! This last wasn't quite as I remembered it--there were no cartilage chunks/bones to chew. But this is the inevitable Americanization--we all know that bibimbap isn't supposed to have beef in it; eggs tend to be cooked rather than raw, etc. Still, there were no complaints at my table. The dolsot-bibimbap/hotpot rice (not on the buffet) was among the best I've had in North America too; the yook-gae-jang/spicy-beef-soup was good too. The buffet had some buffet-type-i.e. unspectacular dishes, but it also had much that was was excellent: the gogi-goon-mandu, the spicy ojinga, the fried marinated tofu,and the kimchi were all fantastic. We didn't try the sushi, but the miso-esque sidedish soup that came with the bibimbap was irresistible.
I went with a few experienced Korean food lovers as well as a first-timer, and we all loved it. The service we had was super-friendly and helpful. We couldn't have been happier. The atmosphere on a Sunday night was relaxed and comfortable. The servers changed our cooking plate several times and we got refills of veggies and drinks without us having to ask. The beers they have are Cass and Hite. No OB, but, that's hard to find. They serve soju and soju cocktails which looked good, but none of us ordered any.
Other reviews point out that it's expensive. $31 all you can eat, soft drinks included does seem a bit steep. But let's remember that Edmonton is a ridiculously expensive place to eat out, where sandwiches are $10, and everything else at the most mediocre places are $20+. So, it was totally worth it for me.
And it was really fun!!! It's one of the only table-top cooking places in town, and it's so fun to keep piling more and more delicious meats on the grill as you leisurely share food and spend time with your good friends. We can't wait to go back.
Cost: 3.5 / 5
Food: 4.0 / 5
Service: 4.0/ 5
Staff: 4.0 / 5
Overall Experience: 4.0 / 5
Jan 25, 2013 - Great place for a buffet. You can choose from either precooked dishes or take a plate of marinated meat / seafood and grill it yourself. The service was great and considering they had a full house of customers. The drinks were free and constantly topped off and there was never an issue with having to replace a charred cover grill plate. The staff is friendly and all the buffet items were consistently maintained. You are looking at $25/person for dinner here
I would not hesitate in recommending this restaurant.
Excellent!. Fabulous Korean food! The owner's wife makes all the kimchi for the restaurant and it is the best! I ordered mandu soup off the menu. It was amazing. I've come with 4 friends for bbq...also delicious. Probably the best Korean food in the city!
Gaya is a close second but not really a sit down and visit restaurant.
Delicioussss. I really enjoyed it! The staff was super friendly and food was good too. Its definitely on the pricey side, but its definitely worth it! Definitely recommended! :)
Some Guy. Went here as a group of 3 and was quite impressed overall. The meats were well seasoned, the service good, the sides awesome, and the atmosphere acceptable. My only displeasure was that the seafood was a solid block of ice on the buffet where you get your meats.
Love this place.. Korean BBQ is top notch!! Service is always great in this place as well. I wasn't really too keen on the items off the menu, but anything Bulgogi related was pretty good. Highly recommend this place, if you are ready to eat more $30 worth of meat!
Great food and service. I hadn't had korean BBQ since I had it in Vancouver a long time ago and was looking forward to visiting Ginseng. I wasn't disapointed. The service was excellent and the food was great. My wife and I left very full and very satisfied with everything and would highly recommend the restaurant.
We are regulars. This is a great restaurant. My family absolutely loves going here and we try to get there when ever we are in Edmonton. We walk in and at least 3 server faces light up and they know exactly what we like. Basically they automatically come with the side dishes along with the little extras someone may not know to ask for. Eg the sesame oil for dipping. I brought my students here as part of a field trip to experiece Korean Cuisine. My husband takes it as a personal challenge to eat as much meat as he possibly can. We will continue to go back but also add more restaurants to our plates!
THis is definitely an interesting restaurant. I like the idea of the buffet style Korean BBQ where you grill your own food. The prices are not bad but I wish there was a little more hooch for the types of meats and marinades on he meats. As for the cooked food portion, there is very little selection and by the end of the night it looks pretty bad and not so fresh.
We were thoroughly impressed by this restaurant. The buffet was delicious and fun, and the service was excellent. We spent an easy 3 1/2 hours enjoying the company of friends and trying some new foods while we were at it. This restaurant is all about the experience! A must try!
Pretty Good!. Well, I was only here for the buffet they offer there. I guess it was alright. Buffet food was kinda cold for the few times I have been there. Food was good. Service was average. The people was really nice. I still would come back for the buffet, cuz it's cheap.
Favorite. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! one of our favorite restaurants. For $29 a person for all you can eat buffet, it's really worth it. The meats are so tasty and flavorful, the marinade is delicious. The kimchi is just the way I like it too, not too spicy but spicy enough. The service is amazing, one of the best out there for an Asian restaurant. The same girls are always there and everytime they give wonderful service. The grills are changed often and my drinks are always refilled. The food is amazing, service is wonderful, great price, what more can you ask for? only thing I don't really like is the lack of parking. There is a huge parking lot but shared. Next door is an Indian Restaurant and the parking lot is always full all the times I've been there.
My favorite Korean BBQ restaurant in Edmonton. Well, it's kinda the only BBQ restaurant, but whatever :)
I've been going to this place for about 10 years... when it was much cheaper for buffet (low $20's) and now it's low $30's.
The quality of food has remained the same... while the price increased... the service is just as good as ever also.
Onto the food - decent hot food for you to chew on while you are BBQ'ing squids, mussells, korean bacon, ribs, steak, shrimps, veggies, etc... it's really quite glorious and you won't be disappointed. Oh and did I mention your buffet comes with a drink?
The lunch menu consists entirely of hot food and for the price you pay for I guess it's decent, but I wouldn't come back for that.
Best place to go with friends. Hands down the place to go if you good AYCE BBQ with friends.
Edit: May 31st
I been coming here alot with friends and family (everything is awesome but only the buffet is worth it even if its expensive)
HAVE A DIFFERENT SET OF CLOTHING when you come here. The ventilation here has been BROKEN FOR YEARS! The smell of BBQ sticking to clothing is proof of that.
Awsome food. Will definitely go back. Not like Korea but good for Edmonton.
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Lots of fun with a group!. I've been here twice now and will continue coming here again. The whole "bbq your own food" idea is really fun with a group of friends. It's like hot pot but BBQ instead.
The buffet has quite the selection of cooked foods (soups, deep fried dumplings, noodles, rice etc) and raw meats (steak, marinated beef, spicy pork, chicken, shrimp etc). The raw meat supply is constantly being replenished and is kept on ice for freshness.
The restaurant is pretty large, with some larger group seating areas at the back. When it's busy though, be prepared to have to wait for a table with a grill. The service is good. The waitresses are quick to refill drinks and change the grill. But there really is no "service" because everything is pretty much DIY.
All you can eat BBQ is approx $30 per person which include unlimited pop/refills. $30 is pretty pricey but, fill up on the right foods and it is worth it. Also the experience with friends is more than enough to justify the price. Just be prepared to smell BBQ all over your cloths and hair until you get home to change and shower.
Definitely recommend this place, even if you just go once to try. It's a unique experience.
Nobody In Particular
+4.5
Great Korean!. I decided to go here after hearing such rave reviews. On one website, this restaurant was named best Korean in the city. Those are some big shoes to fill, and filled they were! I mentioned that it was my first time here, and the servers were so helpful, above and beyond the usual great service Ive heard so much about. We had the bar b que buffet, which was delicious. The spicy pork and chicken were the best, and it had this incredibly flavourful sauce on them. The kimchi was great as well. Although it is certainly pricey, if you plan on eating a lot, its definately worth it. This place is a must for all you Korean food lovers. Its a fun, interactive experience, and perfect for large groups, or just two. I was not dissappointed at all.
This is a restaurant where you have a gas grill installed in the table so that you cam grill your own food. There are cooked dishes to munch on while you're grilling the marinated meat. The grilling ingredients range from spicy chicken to teriyaki beef , shrimp, mussels, pork belly and a variety of vegetables. It's fun grilling your food while chilling out and chatting with your companions. A bit on the expensive side, but it's a grill-all-you-can-eat so it wasn't too bad. Service was good and over all it was a great experience.
With excellent service and delicious traditional Korean eats that not limited to buffet, we'll be back again soon! Mmmm!
Ginseng Sushi and BBQ is a meat lover’s heaven. For $29 per person, you can indulge yourself in an all-you-can-eat feast of tantalizingly marinated Korean meats. The only catch is, you have to cook it yourself.
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