Ginger Cafe&Grill — Restaurant in Corpus Christi

I am writing this review because I recently resigned from Ginger Café after working there for nearly a month 1/8/24-2/3/24. The night I decided to leave, a confrontation occurred between a server manager and another server, resulting in a physical altercation in the kitchen(2/3/24). This incident was the final straw for me. Leading up to the night of my final straw, my experience at Ginger Café was quite an eye-opener at the lack of passion and integrity some have to be a restaurant owner and I've had the pleasure of working under great and not so great owners in my past. However Noone has never NOT paid me, 3 days late before aswell as with hold my tips from me from my last shift(2/3/24), until now of course, so lets write about it. So I figure I'll give them a $57 review in regards to my $57 tips that was stolen by there Head Manager J*n. I should recieve around 30 points for this review alone. So Let's get into it.

The cooks at Ginger Café lacked cleanliness, which was a constant concern for me. Working in an environment that showed zero regard for health regulations was unsettling. It was disheartening to witness such disregard for basic cleanliness standards. While on shift, I made concerted efforts to promote the use of gloves, proper hand hygiene, clean rags, clean surfaces, and preventing cross-contamination. However, the limitations of being just one person became evident. It's important to note that I was only employed at Ginger Café for almost a month, and I was initially hired as a server with considerable experience, which led to an immediate promotion to a server managerial position. At Ginger Café, there was a lack of adherence to FIFO (First In, First Out) regulations, and items were not labeled properly, further compounding food safety concerns. The absence of these basic protocols raised serious doubts about the establishment's commitment to maintaining sanitary and safe food handling practices. If you ever wonder why the air conditioner at Ginger Café is set to 60 degrees during our winter, it's due to the infestation of cockroaches. There's a fear that if they turn the air conditioning off, the roaches will appear— which they do. The storage room at Ginger Café, where supplies for customers and everyday used items are kept, is maintained in unimaginable conditions. For example, there was a week when the storage room floor was covered in sewage and feces water and you would think they would throw away everything contaminated but they did not, just put everything back in there and we worked through those conditions flooding the restaurant main dining room. Despite the conditions, I persevered and performed my duties to the best of my ability out of necessity for income knowing since shift 1, this would not be a long term place for me. That night when the head manager relieved me(night of the altercation). She assured me that she would contact me at the end of the shift. She did at 11:23pm to inform me about my cashout, which she had. How else would i know it was specifically $57? The receipt trail will prove that, clipped along with customer signed receipts from 2/3/24. However, since that night, she has not uttered a word to me nor made any attempt to return my messages. Despite me reaching out once or twice every day since then, I have received no response. And I wasn't relieved of my duties the night of the fight. Instead, I found myself completely overwhelmed and nearly hyperventilating due to the shock of what occurred 40 minutes previous. It all hit me at once, and I could no longer continue working on the floor without melting down. I resigned that following monday respectfully before my next shift. So, you decide if you want to take any of this information into consideration the next time you plan on eating at...

There are 5 star reviews then there are 1 star reviews. So make whatever you make of that. With that being said Ginger cafe has a lot of potential but not sure what changed recently either the management changed or if its the same management then they are running out of money, may be!

First thing first, brother or sister or whoever you are, you CANNOT be cooking all different kind of cuisines in one place - NOT possible - you for sure don't have enough burners or true cooks (not the short order ones, the illegals who put food in the microwave). There is American, Middle eastern, Indian and all kind of foods available. I am not here to tell you how to make your living, but everyone would agree, stick to what you can do best, and you will be just fine.

Anyhow, we went in on Friday 01/03/2025 around 2:30 PM or so and got the shawarma platter and mixed grill kebab. The beef kobaidah was dry and not tasty. Some of the other kebab meats were just burnt. Overall the Kebabs were NOT good at all. There was not a single kabob chicken or beef or kobidah that was good to enjoy. The yellow rice was tasty though. There was no garlic sauce (thoom) with the platters which is what you should serve and not just Tzatziki sauce. The overall kabob rating 2/5 considering flavor and tenderness.

Funniest thing, we asked for an extra naan, it took 15 minutes for it to come out - the server was funny, she said "it takes them time because they are cooking it and that takes time" lol - brother or sister, this was an exact naan/tortilla/bread/khubz that I get all the time from Costco/Wwalmart - this was simply put on your steel top (silver color) flat stove top and warmed up lol - anyhow I also don't expect you to have a tandoor in the back there but the nice server should know not to say stuff that does not make sense lol -

I wish you guys best of luck - you have a lot of potential but you have to reduce the menu items so whatever you deliver is spot on and then once you have enough cash to hire more folks in the back then you can...

In light of recent experiences, I feel compelled to share my feedback, although I generally refrain from writing unfavorable reviews. Unfortunately, my interactions with this establishment have been deeply disappointing on two separate occasions, and regrettably, I will not recommend or eat at this restaurant in the future.

During our most recent visit, we endured the longest wait of over an hour for our meals after lunch rush, which ultimately never materialized. Our order consisted of two butter chicken dishes and one chicken salad. When my husband decided he could wait no longer for his salad, the staff assured us it would be ready in five minutes. However, it was only after more than an hour had elapsed that they conveyed to us that they had run out of the sauce required for the butter chicken. Had this crucial information been communicated promptly, we could have made alternative choices.

My previous encounter with this establishment was equally disheartening. On that occasion, I had ordered a chicken salad, which took over 40 minutes to prepare. To my astonishment, when it was finally presented to me, it contained no chicken. When I inquired about the missing chicken, I was informed that the grill had been turned off. Had I not inspected my order before leaving, I would have unwittingly paid for a chicken-less chicken salad.

These experiences have left me with a strong impression of disingenuity and a sense that customers are not being treated fairly.

I do wish to acknowledge that the waiter who served us provided a commendable level of service, and I have no complaints in...