Some of these reviews are a bit exaggerated. A dump? Hardly, unless nothing less than white tablecloths & Riedel stemware will do. If you like the food you must be a local with no taste? Totally ridiculous & pretty presumptuous. Glad to know PA's taste speaks for all. It would appear Cambria isn't PA's cup of tea anyway.
Size - Wild Ginger is very small & it takes no reservations, so yes, anything beyond 2-4 can be a problem, depending. OTOH, if it's not busy, the tall tables can be pushed together. There are 7 tables inside & 5 outside, so seating capacity is very limited. At times, we've had to gamely eat outdoors in our coats under the heaters. Go into it knowing the limitations & you'll be fine. If it doesn't work out on a particular night, so be it. There are other places to move on to, but don't ding it for being what it is - very small & walk-in only.
Ambiance - small, casual cafe. It's not a dump & it's not without any charm. It is small & casual, though. Wine served in juice glasses, for example, instead of stemware.
Price - those complaining about the price reflect limited knowledge of small tourist towns with long off-seasons. Businesses have to survive the long off seasons, so pricing will reflect this. Cambria is not packed with tourists year around. Yes, the food is not inexpensive, but given the circumstances, it's exactly what I would expect to pay.
Meal size - I think the meal size is average for a restaurant. If you're looking for Cheesecake Factory proportions, you will be disappointed, but otherwise, the portions are just fine. This isn't a restaurant that serves you tapas-size servings on a regular plate or anything like that.
Service - if you are in a hurry or expect to be fawned over, yes, this probably isn't your kind of place. The pace is slower & you won't get fine dining-level service. Most of the servers we've encountered have been sort of neutral. Not rude or cold, but not warm & friendly, either. Just sort of there.
I think there is legitimacy in some of the complaints about feeling put off about the service & the owner, but we started going for the food & with that being the focus, we were never disappointed. At this point, the owner recognizes us, so yes, we're apparently now in the disparaged category of those getting warm service from the owner. Well, we've eaten many meals there over the years during our once or twice a year trips to Cambria. For the first few years, we just quietly came & went & enjoyed the food. If warm, fawning service is important to you, you will probably need to look elsewhere. OTOH, it doesn't equal the Soup Nazi, either.
I think PA's complaint about the vegetarian mix-up is legitimate, but I can't help but be curious how it was handled on PA's end. Anyway, it is what it is & there are enough reviews here that you can go into it knowing what to expect.
Food - we have never had a bad meal here. The salmon cream cheese wontons are wonderful, as are the the lemon pudding cake & the pumpkin cheese cake (seasonal). I never order from the regular menu for entrees. Always from the specials board & I've never been disappointed. The garnishes are always fresh & phenomenal. Blueberries, strawberries, bell peppers, Brussels sprouts, cucumber, etc. Seaweed salad was part of my entree this trip. Very good.
In sum, we love this place & have eaten many meals there over the years. There can be issues with seating due to the small size, it is very casual, & the service is going to be slower in pace, usually, & not of the fawning variety. If you don't expect it to be something it's not, you should have a very enjoyable experience. We find Deborah's food to be amazing & despite PA's comment to the contrary, we are neither local nor lacking in savvy when it comes to food. There are any number of truly mediocre restaurants in Cambria & this is not one of them. read more