I wanted to like this place because I'm a huge proponent of a better dining scene in Vancouver. Unfortunately dish after dish continued to inspire anything more from me than repeatedly saying to myself "this place needs help".
The interior is actually kind of cool and is best described as diner chic but the whole interior is a bit disjointed though with a bit more work could be really cool. A huge chandelier is ingeniously adorned with not crystals but clear glass coffee cups. A rich, ruby red banquette runs the length of one wall with a matching row of booths running down the center of the room. The tables could use some chrome condiment holders to continue the diner theme and a simple candle on the table would go a long way in enhancing the chic. A sit down counter with round retro style fixed stools faces a blank wall and sparse wine cabinet and seems terribly out of place. Suggestion: Raise the counter and turn it into the bar it's begging to be. In short, while OK there is a ton that could be done with this space and a good restaurant designer could have a hay day. Oh, one more thing...if you're gonna make me use a paper napkin, which I get because linen costs can kill a restaurants bottom line, at least give me a quality paper napkin.
I'm not sure how experienced the previous reviewers are in the area of Thai food but this was perhaps the most uninspired Thai fare I have ever experienced. We started with the Tofu Fries after being assured they would make me rethink tofu which it didn't. Bland tofu lightly coated in equally bland tempura...it was like eating Styrofoam and was made marginally better by each of 3 accompanying dipping sauces, the current sauce-of-the-moment sweet chili Thai, peanut and some acidic cilantro concoction that I'm still trying to get rid of the taste of. Next we moved to the Chicken Wings. Again, a tempura batter coated deep fried appetizer heavily laced with a sweet chili Thai sauce that as it cooled began to candy on the plate. By the last tiny chicken wing the sauce was so viscous it was virtually impossible to deftly remove from the plate. Our third course consisted of Pad Thai that lacked any complexity, depth of flavor or the heat we requested. We finished the Curry with Chicken, which wasn't that bad but came on the heels of so many disappointments that it would have had to be amazingly over the top in order to shine. Unfortunately, it was just OK.
Everything we ordered was pretty run of the mill, the things we unimaginative Americans tend to gravitate to when we're feeling unadventurous and just want something easy and comfortable so you'd think Thai restaurants would have these items down to a science. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong but after 30 years spent in the restaurant business I do have a fairly advanced palate and I know what's good and what's not and Ginger Pop's food just isn't that good.
Let me finish by speaking about the service. First, I'm no fan of uniforms BUT feel staff should at least look uniform because I want to easily discern who works there and who's a patron. So let your employees wear jeans, which I love, but you've got a tower of self-branded t-shirts available for sale in your lobby, throw a few your staffs way so when I'm looking around for that elusive selection of hot sauces I know who to direct my attention at. Second, your staff tries WAY to hard to be formal when your restaurant is anything but. I'm not saying they should be able to chew gum but they do need to chill out. Keeping their left arm behind the back and overuse of stuffy waiter speak is fooling no one and it's needlessly pretentious. Don't get me wrong, all front of the house staff were VERY nice, pleasant and fairly efficient, they just need some style tweaks is all.
I want this place to work. With a bit more style it could have a very cool vibe and with a lot more talent in the kitchen could have some really good food. And let me finish by saying that I try to prevent using Yelp for less than stellar reviews because I TOTALLY understand how frustrating it is for the owners. Had I been able to access an email address on Ginger Pop's website I would have been happy to bring my concerns directly to the ownership rather than such a public forum such as this. read more