Ginger and Lemongrass — Restaurant in New York

From the moment you step into Ginger and Lemongrass, a Vietnamese culinary haven in Whitestone, you're enveloped by the aromas of authentic, rich flavors that promise a delightful dining experience. I have frequented this restaurant multiple times, and each visit solidifies my love for their exquisite cuisine.

The star of the menu is undoubtedly the pho. The soup base is deep, rich, and layered with flavors that make other versions seem bland in comparison. It's a comforting bowl that brings the essence of Vietnam right to your table. Equally impressive are the savory cakes, which are a unique delight with a subtle hint of coconut that tickles the palate in the most pleasant way.

While I enjoy dishes with a stronger heat, the coconut spicy lemongrass soup was a well-balanced medium spicy, suitable for most taste buds. However, the real surprise was the steamed seafood paired with garlic bread – a combination that enhanced the flavors and added a satisfying texture contrast to the meal.

Despite the restaurant's bustling atmosphere, especially noted during our last visit at 6:30 PM, the service remained commendable. Although there were minor hiccups, like two items missing from our order, the staff's efforts to rectify the situation were noteworthy. They promptly addressed the oversight with the kids' pho and graciously compensated with a complimentary coconut pandan lemonade, which was a refreshing end to our meal.

Ginger and Lemongrass truly stands out not just for its authentic and flavorful dishes, but also for its dedication to customer satisfaction. The packed house is a testament to its popularity and the quality of its offerings. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for an authentic Vietnamese dining experience in Whitestone. Their commitment to flavor, service, and a genuine dining experience is evident in every dish and...

I was pleasantly surprised coming here. I'm kind of sick of the stereotypical thai place serving up the boring pad see ewe or green or red curry. Enter Ginger and Lemongrass which is serving up elevated thai food; they may be using some classic mediums such as pho or banh mi but they definitely have some interesting options. On this visit we chose the bbq pork banh mi and the lemongrass coconut spicy noodle soup. The banh mi was suprisingly good and the bread was quite fresh. It's definitely on the expensive side but I'm willing to shell out for food done right. The knockout for me was the coconut lemongrass soup; i opted for the chicken. The chicken was a tad overcooked but definitely forgiveable. The portion of the chicken was also somewhat generous. The soup was everything that I thought it should be. A wonderful rich thick texture with plenty of depth and plenty of coconut flavor providing balance with the spicyness. The noodles were relatively standard but provided a good way to draw out the soup. I wish you could ask for the spiciness level but according to the waitress the soup always comes with a certain amount of chili oil/spiciness level. I also splurged for the roasted bone marrow and while it wasn't crazy amazing, its nice to get some bone marrow for 5 dollars instead of 20 dollars from a fine dining establishment. I highly recommend only ordering the bone marrow if youre having it with something else like bread or if your friend is getting a banh mi.

In summary if this place was 1-2 dollars cheaper per item I'd probably be here once a week but alas it is not so maybe once a month. Anyway these days i'm realizing that I just need to be willing to pay the extra dollar or two to get food done right. Hope to find more gems like...

I heard about this place from a friend so I went to try it out. First of all, the inside decor seemed okay but I could tell it wasn’t authentic. It felt as if they were trying to hard to show it was an “asian restaurant”. Next, the service was the worst I’ve experienced in my life. They gave us menus but took forever to come and take our order. The waiter stood behind the bar just sipping his cucumber water and looking at his phone. After they finally took our order, the food came out. I ordered the chicken and pork spring rolls and the bone marrow pho. My friend ordered the scallion pancakes and spicy lemongrass noodles. HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT! First of all, the lettuce leafs for the spring rolls were soggy and withered. The bean sprouts for the pho were sitting in a pool of water and the limes were dry and hard. The spring rolls themselves weren’t too bad but the scallion pancakes were the worst I’ve had in my life. They were doughy and almost felt raw. The soups for the noodles were barely warm! How can you serve pho noodles with lukewarm soup?! The bone marrow itself was half decent but the lukewarm soup ruined the pho. I was tempted to return my pho but didn’t want to deal with the already poor service. The spicy lemongrass noodles was definitely spicy but tasted bland, almost watered down. Not sure if they refilled the soup pot with water. Overall, we were disappointed with the food and service and don’t think we’ll come back again. It’s a pity since there weren’t any vietnamese restaurants near by but I guess we’ll have to travel...