Ginger Exchange - Watertown

A great spot for vegetarians with a solid menu, though it was odd that the veggie sushi platter wasn't listed under it. That said, the flavors were fantastic - especially the spicy edamame! Looking forward to returning and trying more non-sushi options.

The food was incredible! We got sushi, Korean loaded fries, Korean chicken wings, and dumplings, and I would highly recommend everything. The staff were also very kind. Can’t wait to come back!

First time trying this place. Food was great. Good sake selection. Also had some good beers on draft. Service was so attentive. Our family loves to eat out, we are so glad we tried this restaurant. We will definitely be back.

Had high hopes based on reviews but was really disappointed. Some of the worst food I've had in a long time. Perhaps dine-in is better, but the items ordered were all subpar and my fish was spoiled. Other dishes not particularly flavorful or notable, definitely lesser than other similar restaurants with the same dishes. 1) salmon poke- a few bites in and I got spoiled fish. So there's that. Plus it was served with cold sushi rice, rather than warm rice as it's supposed to be. It came with overripe and brown spotty avocado and mango so underripe it was crunchy and flavorless. Sauce was only on the bottom of the bowl and there wasn't much of it. Pretty disappointed for a $20 bowl, the only element that was done right was the seaweed salad. 0/10 Wouldn't order again. 2) Chicken teriyaki was awful. The sauce color was all wrong, there was no flavor of soy sauce or garlic at all. Didn't taste like teriyaki AT ALL Not worth the price and wouldn't order again. Rice was okay 2/10. 3) Chicken fried rice had a nice mix of veggies. The chicken was decent, the dish overall was too wet and the sauce was bland. No flavors of umami, soy, sesame, or anything salty. I can't tell what sauce they used but I had to add my own soy sauce to the dish. This was the best thing out of the order and wouldn't order again. 4/10 Maybe they just had an off night, but none of our dishes were good, and my poke had spoiled salmon which made it inedible. Really disappointed for the money spent. Unless the restaurant really tries to make it right I wouldn't order again.

My sweet potato sushi roll was still crunchy and very flavorful! Everything in my veggie bento box was delicious!

I love the sushi here and yellow coconut curry udon :-) the bao pork sandwiches are crazy good as well. The sushi is fresh made and very beautifully presented. In fact, the chefs artistry was a welcome balm for many of the worlds ills. A safe space inside.

Phenomenal! Got the veggie/shrimp tempura, miso soup, bibimbap and sushi pizza. Everything tasted amazing, the servers were very kind and let us take our time, and it had a cozy atmosphere and people were polite enough to keep the volume at an acceptable level. The Bibimbap was perfect, served in a searing hot bowl that made the rice on the sides extra crispy. The sauce and kimchi were both wonderful. The sushi pizza was a very refreshing and original idea! The sashimi and other toppings are on top of a thin rice and nori pattie that was fried in breading. This gave it a nice crunch and original feel, but still satisfied my sushi craving with the quality toppings. The miso and tempura were great and perfectly hit the spot. Officially my favorite place for Japanese (and other Asian dishes) in Watertown.

My husband and I have been ordering food a lot of times since they opened in Watertown ma years ago. The food is always fresh and delicious. We have placed orders for sitting in the restaurant, Pick up or delivery. Now here comes the problem we had last night. We placed an order for delivery, OVER $150 worth of food. We placed this order directly from Ginger exchange's website (screen shot photos) as we always do and it is delivered by Toast. We waited over an hour, nothing was delivered. My husband then downloaded Toast app to track the order, and it stated 20 mins to be delivered. we waited another 30 mins, still nothing. So, he called Ginger exchange and ask about our order. They informed him "we do not do any delivery, and your order has been ready for pick up" He ask why wasnt he called when the large order was sitting for so long. no response, just that he had to go pick it up. so, when he went to pick it up and again asked, showed the website, showed the confirmation of delivery. They were not helpful and gave him attitude, like this was his fault. He noticed that they only had a like a max of 3 customers sitting down, not that busy. He requested a refund for his Tip he provided during the transaction, since that was delivery charge/ tip and requested a refire of our food, besides the Sushi of course. More attitude was given to him, resistance of the requests. The person grabbed the bags and took them back to kitchen. Now to remind you.... This was now over 2 hours that our food was sitting, Dying and getting cold. So a refire request is not a unreasonable one. While waiting he noticed a lot of pick up delivery service. If you are no longer using Toast- Take it down from you website. Got worst when he got home, we could tell right away the food was just put in other bags. Dumplings Cold, mushy crab rangoons and cold from the moisture from sitting so long, etc This was the worst customer service, unprofessional and poor attempt to correct a customer's issue. Not sure what had changed recently in the restaurant.... Because when they opened and we tried their food and the service was so good, we were thinking of hiring them for catering events. We would like to hear from the owner on this matter and refund of the delivery/tip charge at least or we will be disputing the full charge with our bank.

This is the worst Chinese/Thai food I've had in a VERY long time. The pan-seared veggie dumplings were gummy and the filling was mushy, but the flavor was kind of ok. That was the best dish of the three, and it kept getting worse. Fresh summer rolls were also gummy, with the wrappers splitting apart. The filling was huge expanses of flavorless rice noodles, a few cubes of flavorless steamed tofu, and a little bit of lettuce. The peanut sauce that came with them was very spicy but not good flavor so it didn't even help. The worst dish of them all was the pad thai with tofu/veggies. The noodles are completely white, there is no sauce at all. Mushy chunks of zucchini and that gross baby corn, some pieces of carrot, a few mushy sprigs of broccoli, and the same flavorless, textureless steamed tofu. A sprinkling of ground up spicy peanut on the top is the only textural variation from mush. No egg that I can find, either. Wildly overpriced for how gross the food is. Very disappointed.

Service definitely better with newer staff. Nice spot in the area to walk into and chill

i found a staple (from a stapler that staples paper together) in my first bite of food. i was eating from the restaurant container. it could have killed me! the vegetable dumplings were off taste and not fresh. yuck! but the worst was the risk of bowel or stomach or esophageal perforation or anywhere along the gi tract. this place should be closed by the board of health.

Great service! Food is delicious! Highly recommend this place for everyone! Sushi pizza and Padthai was yummy!

I really wish I can give less than one star.the food is great but the service is the worst now... tried to get a meal and no one single employee even bothered to get up. Need immediate rehire or this place will go down terribly. First restaurant I actually asked for food, no one even got up for their chair and I had to leave without being served. Shame to what was a nice restaurant

I ordered online for pickup and went myself to pick up the food (in traffic). When I arrived home, they forgot 2 items. I called and they said that they had no drivers to deliver it to me today... and I'd have to go back to the restaurant to pick it up. (At that time of day, 40min in traffic) I opted to have them cancel those items from my credit card. 4 days later, the charge goes through on my card-- including those items. No pending refund. The food was fine, but beware you might not get everything in your order and then it will be a pain to get it back. I will delete this review if/when the restaurant fixes this issue.

This is by far my favorite sushi delivery spot near Watertown. The sushi always tastes fresh and they have a good variety. I will continue to order from here for my bi-weekly sushi fix! I also love the ramen soup with pork belly. Would recommend

This is the worst food i've ever had. i ordered the miso salmon and it was raw. in addition, the sushi pizza was flavorless and the spicy tuna tasted like sewage.

Solid Asian restaurant with good service and a very extensive menu. The sushi was good and my kids like their noodles and miso soup. A little pricey, but not exorbitant for good Asian food.

Amazing, delicious, great service, clean and calm ambiance, warm inside, overall a lovely experience. We got sushi rolls (all so yummy, Symphony, Sake-2-Me, and Spider), and sweet garlic udon. Very happy!

Crab rangoons were too crabby for my taste. Eel avocado maki was good, no complaints. Salmon avocado maki was too vinegary. Spicy tuna maki was pretty bad. Way too spicy, so much that you couldn't even taste anything else, and adding Cucumber makes it cheap.

Pros: - Sashimi was fine - Seaweed salad was fine Cons: - Rice used to make nigiri and maki were not cooked through (i.e. raw and hard) Note: shows up as True Foods Asian Fusion on DoorDash

I was contacted today by someone who had read my review, and let me know that multiple people had found metal in their food due to metal scrub brushes used at the restaurant (I did find the reviews). I have also noticed major concerns by a number of people regarding disorganization, slow delivery, and danger to delivery drivers due to said disorganization. I personally have had food delivered very late a couple of times, but overall my experience has been very positive. That said, I don't feel comfortable leaving my review up without noting these concerns, particularly during COVID, when I do not want to facilitate people getting sick as they wait to bring me my food. So my personal experience enjoying my food stands, but these concerns are good to take into account if you plan on ordering here.

Ginger Exchange is our GO TO when we can't decide what to have for dinner! Everything they make is amazing. We've had a ton of items from their menu. Tonight, my husband (who doesn't give high praise often) said that his Red Thai curry might have been the best one he's had in his life... The Korean Loaded Fries are the perfect treat. Their regular fries are pretty amazing too. Oh and yes. Their spicy fries will melt your face off. Very hot! I love their Bao Bao, and dumplings. Their sushi is good too. Oh. And their Pad Thai.

The food is usually great but last time I came here for dinner both me and my friend got food poisoning the next day I am also 9 months pregnant so this was really unpleasant.

A solid place for your Asian cravings with everything from Pad Thai to Bao sandwiches. We ordered delivery through GrubHub and got Watertown Pad Thai, Pineapple Fried Rice, Galbi, and BaoBao dinner (3 baos & fries). I loved the extra amount of peanuts that were in the Pad Thai that added extra crunch to every single bite of noodle I ate. The pineapple fried rice was good but really oily. The galbi was sweet, but a little different from the taste I am used to. The baos were solid - we ordered the Korean beef, and the fries were average and come with a side of ketchup. We enjoyed leftovers the next day, so feel free to order and try that extra dish.

I had a decent experience at ginger exchange. I went for dinner with a friend at around 5 pm on a weeknight and we had the place to ourselves. The menu was pretty extensive. I had the yaki udon noodles with veggies and my friend had the soondubu (Korean soft tofu soup). We were both satisfied with our meals. There were lots of veggies in my dish which I enjoyed and the sauce was very good. I ate the whole thing but wasn't super full afterwards. Service was very fast. I'd definitely come again, but may order an appetizer or side dish with the main meal.

https://people.com/health/pediatric-er-doctor-warns-after-boy-ate-burger-with-wire-in-it/ The above is exactly what happened to me at Ginger Exchange in Watertown! The owner did nothing to reassure me these metal brushes would never be used again!

I stopped in here for lunch today. Hoping for a tasty sushi lunch. I would have to say the food was pretty average. Not great not bad. Kind of bland, really. The best part of this restaurant was the fast service. And the restaurant itself is quite clean. I think it must've been recently renovated. I have the three roll lunch. Salmon, spicy California, spicy tuna. I think the highlight was the spicy California roll. The salmon was quite fresh, but kind of bland. Not sure why. Price was fairly reasonable. Around $15 without tip.

I used to love this place, but then was treated so horribly by a staff member. I have celiac disease, and Ginger Exchange has a gluten free menu, so we like to order here. My gf sushi was packaged with my husband's gluten containing sushi. They were touching so I couldn't eat it because I am celiac. We called and asked for a new sushi roll, and the woman on the phone refused. She insisted we never told her I had a gluten allergy (I did, I have celiac I'm not trying to get sick). She then proceeded to tell me I need to learn that the customer isn't always right, and asked how I sleep at night and that I am a horrible person. We didn't even ask for a refund. All we asked for was one remade sushi roll that we would come pick up. I have never been treated like that in my life. We went to the restaurant to drop the food off and ask for a refund, and she then lied and said a man took the order and she didn't know what we were talking about. This experience has turned me off to Ginger Exchange which is a bummer because they have a gluten free menu and I felt safe eating here.

My bf and I went there for dinner and wanted to check it out since we've been to the other location on Huntington Ave. Service was ok. Food was ok but I felt the Huntington location was much better. Not too long after our food arrived low and behold a mouse came running out into the dining room. Totally wasn't what we expected so we had to cut our dinner really short and even paid the bill. Really wanted to like the place but highly doubt we'll be back.

We really had a wonderful meal here. Clean. Up lifting. Nice all around. I do not understand why people are giving bad reviews for delivery people. NOT the restaurant's fault. The service was delightful. We had delicious Korean food and Pad Thai. Both were so tasty, with nice presentation, lovely care with the decor. The world has had such a hard time. Why punish people trying to make a place for people to gather? Please try this place! It is worth the visit.

This restaurant is going to kill your delivery drivers. They are not operating the apps correctly and it is leading to stuffing their small pickup area with over a dozen drivers waiting 30+ minutes each for their orders. If you want to kill your ride share delivery drivers, order from here.

Very disappointed with the HAND Rolls, we order every week for the past year, today was a disaster, the hand rolls looked weak, stale, pale, weird fishy texture and sour taste. The quality control needs attention, not acceptable, my mom is on 18 Medications we can not just assume this is normal. Chefs must spot check moving forward that the freshness is consistent

The maki here are okayyy. I highly recommend the chicken teriyaki bento box. The chicken is flavored well and has a nice crisp/char to it. It reminds me of Sarku of Japan. Their crab rangoon is solid too. I like their beer selections. It's an interesting Asian fusion place. I do need to try out their other dishes to provide a more thorough review. They renovated the place nicely though. It looks clean and modern (J.Dee was more casual looking).

Very nice ambience with modern and Asian-style decor. Street parking or you can get here by MBTA bus. Friendly servers. However, the food needs work. Sushi pizza was delicious and I would order again. Taste great even as left over. Bibimbap was decent and would order again if I was too lazy to go to Allston. Tofu soup was eh. Lacked in flavor besides the spice and not much seafood in it. Brown rice is as expected.

Had a wonderful meal here. It was a pleasant surprise. We will definitely be returning. Place just opened 2weeks back in this location. Nice decor, nice staff. Service was very good. We shared the Korean chicken wings. They were crispy and juicy. Good flavor. I got the tofu soup in seafood broth with pork, mild. The broth was flavorful and dish was outstanding. Bibambap was very good as well as the drunken noodles and spicy Bento box. Highly recommend. Can't wait to go back.

Used to love this restaurant although overpriced. But the I found a live worm in my food!! Absolutely disgusting and I was so sick after. Will not be coming back!

Cozy spot for Asian flare. From crab rangoon, bao to sushi. I was disappointed that their lunch menu is on weekdays only. We ended up spending more than we would like for lunch. Opted to try some random things to see if everything was tasty. Crab rangoon was alright. I wish there was more filling so I can have more flavor to each bite. Salmon tartare was light and refreshing. The flavor compliments well with the salmon and avocado. Loved this dish the most out of everything we ordered. Watertown pad thai was too tart. Overkill on the lime juice and not sweet enough. We were expecting more peanutty flavor since the description made it sound like peanut sauce based. Korean beef bao was alright. I wished it was thicker slices of beef for more balance. It was more bao flavor than beef flavor. The service here was phenomenal. They regularly checked in with us to see how we're doing. Clearing dishes as we finished each one. Refilled water glasses automatically. 3 stars for food. Up another star for the awesome service!

My wife ordered the bao bao bento with pork belly online for takeout, which according to the site would include a "chef choice sushi roll, appetizer, fries, and soup or salad." Unfortunately, after I picked it up and got home, her order only contained the baos and a salad. It was mother's day and after tiring days with our children, for my wife, asking for a nice takeout was her only request. While their food is generally tasty, I cannot rub the taste of this disappointment off.

I visited with little expectation and was completely satisfied! Every dish, from appetizer through dessert was fabulous. The service and atmosphere were both great. The waitstaff and management are kind and considerate while the atmosphere is a modern yet comfortable feel. Its location is great and though there's no dedicated parking. Street parking is often available and there's a nearby public lot. It's also really accessible by a few bus lines. Highly recommend for an elevated version of your favorite dishes and discovering a few new favorites!

I get the shrimp tempera and it's really good. Always presented very nice, and they make it fresh.. you can tell. Also comes out pretty quickly! I think they mostly do Uber eat orders (or just from what I've seen while eating there). I'm usually the only customer in there, at the time, so noise and being understaffed doesn't seem to be an issue!

The food comes out so fast!! My mom & I were flabbergasted at how fast and the high quality of food and service. The owner was sweet too! Get the Crab Rangoon and Great Gatsby Sushi roll

I was extremely disappointed with my order. - I ordered their 'Wow' Wings, spicy. They were nice and crunchy but not even a little bit spicy. - I ordered their pad Thai, it was some of the worst pad Thai I've ever had. Dry, flavorless, bland, borderline inedible. BUT what inspired me to write a review is that I found a hair in my spring roll. This is completely unacceptable. (On the plus side their kung pao beef was delicious, but the rest of the order was pretty awful.)

Decent food, very friendly waitstaff. However, ordered a drink (bottle) that ended up being half the size and over 50% price increase from what was listed on the menu. Seems they may be increasing prices and altering products and not updating menus. Didn't say anything when the drink came out smaller and didn't realize the price increase until we got the bill. Be careful, and be sure to confirm products and prices with your waiter if you're getting anything expensive.

I've eaten here four times now and brought friends with me each time. Every single time it's been a hit! This is unbelievable for me and my picky pals. I started with drunkard's noodles. Then went on to orange chicken. Then tried the Bao bao bento box. The biggest hit among my friends has been the Watertown Pad Thai. I love the restaurant design itself, too. Really clean lines, soothing spaces. Obviously- it's a real fave...

One measly soy sauce- and not even low sodium which I asked for, NO chopsticks and my roll wasn't spicy after I specifically asked for it. This shows me they don't care and don't appreciate their takeout customers. Have given this place too many chances.

Sushi is excellent. Got take out. The tempura was not lightly fried - more like very greasy. My rating is on the sushi. Uber Eats delivers.

I placed an order through grubhub, which didn't go through - no big deal. I called ginger exchange to find out where my order was. They said I should check with grubhub to find out, because they had no record of it. I didn't complain or anything, I said ok and went and checked with grubhub - no big deal. I replace the order with ginger exchange - no big deal Ginger exchange calls me back to say they now have an order from me - great! Ginger exchange then says "I told you so" to me on the phone. I never gave them a hard time about the order. I understand that they probably deal with annoying customers blaming them or grubhub screwing up, but that's not what happened. Rude.

I was there around 7 o'clock on Saturday night. The place wasn't busy. Nice interior, pretty comfortable seats. 1. The food is Amazing 10 out of 10. We have tried sushi and hot bowls. Wow. 2. Drinks are terrible. My Alagash beer was so watery and Sangria it was just wine without any mixers. Didn't like that at all. 3. Greater was very nice, but the waitress was ok. Never smiled to us and didn't know what hot bowl included. So I gave 4 stars because the atmosphere was nice and food delicious

Unlike your standard "Asian fusion", the dishes here hold true to their origins and standards. Sushi is decent, and tempura is light and crispy. Decor is inviting, and service is pleasant. Very much a spot to come back and try their Kalbi and Korean japchae.

The food was good.... until I found a piece of metal (which looks like a staple) when I took a bite of my udon noodles. Extremely upsetting and scary.

I was walking by this place and finally decided to walk in, the lunch specials are a good price and the service was amazing. I personally got the sweet garlic Udon noodles with a side of crab rangoons. The price is very reasonable the only thing is that the crab rangoos don't taste fresh other than that the noodles were good and a good portion. The inside of this location looks soo nice and also has tap beer /bar (I dont think it's a full bar) this is a great location for work lunch or even a date or if your just in the mood for it they have plenty of options from rice bowls, noodles , soups , sides, and sushi!

I can only base my experience on what we ordered. The Korean beef yummy but the bao bun was dry. The crab Rangoon was very tasty. Sushi was meh. There are far better places here in town. The pork belly bao was absolutely dreadful! Dry bun and the fat was hardened rubber! Not edible for us at all. I gag even thinking about it. Take it off the menu or re-work it. Won't be ordering from here again.

We ordered for the first time from this place today and all the food was delicious and good quality. We ordered the soy garlic wings, shrimp fried rice, chicken fried rice, vegetable dumplings and all were delicious. We'll definitely order again.

Amazing example of how to run a business!!! I had an issue with an Uber eats glitch and was communicating with a ginger exchange employee. She helped me throughout the whole process (i completely forgot her name)! I also LOVE their poke bowls, sushi and their Korean bbq wings

The food was great at this place the staff was very friendly and The place was modern I would definitely recommend this place prices are reasonable tried a few different things on their menu I would definitely recommend the wings I have the spicy wings they were amazing they had a nice crunch to them and a good Kick I also tried the dumplings which tasted great

Came in to give this new location in Watertown another try after being disappointed in the past. The food and service was not better,in fact, it was worse. If you love sushi, than you want fresh pieces of tuna, salmon, and fish that you can see and recognize. Ginger Exchange "mashes" the fish for the center of the rolls. It is unrecognizable and doesn't taste fresh or good. Asiana Fusion and New Ginza are close by and that's where the real "thing" is.

The food always is consistently tasty! We order take out at least once a week. We watched switch from the Upper Crust to this very chic Asian fusion space. I've been meaning to try other items on the menu, but I always go back to my usual. My only recommendation is that they need to expand their takeout space