Gingerline: The Grand Expedition

It seems a lot of people are giving this one an absolute kicking 😬 My experience wasn't any different to a lot of the complaints. We pre-booked when tickets were released in November and it was such a let down. 💔 The good: My starter was fish free because the person who booked just ticked veg for all of us; the manager was very accommodating and brought me one with salmon. The main (beef curry) was tasty and the server brought me a second helping of curry and rice in a "smaller portion" but it was so big I ended up sharing with someone else on the table 😄. The performers gave their all and while they didn't talk (I didn't see an issue with that while many others did) they were still fun. The not so good: This is the third one I've been to (first one was spaced themed), but also the worst one I've been to and I don't think I can justify buying a ticket again; I even went to this same experience in its previous location (in Tottenham) and it was so very different but not for the right reasons. It was a smaller space this time, so it felt crammed, which in turn meant you couldn't see all the performers. The welcome cocktail as noted by many was just a small tin, the food didn't wow me like last time, and they had to reboot the visuals at least twice (I say "at least" as I zoned out after a while because it wasn't as slick as their previous ones). The beer flight might be fine if you like IPAs, otherwise you're screwed, so we just stick to buying individual lagers. Our drinks server "dedicated to our balloon" was impossible to grab because she was run off her feet, bless her. Although based on 'girl math' it was free because we paid for it last year, I was so disappointed to have spent so much on such an overwhelmingly poor event. Was chatting to two random guys (who didn't know each other either) in the loos and they felt the same about how poor this one was. Real shame because they clearly know how to do better, which is why I booked for a third time.

Not great organisation for actually letting people in to the event, it was meant to start at 6:45, and the queue outside stood in the drizzle for 40 mins before we were let in. However, once we were eventually allowed inside, sat at our table and the food, drink and entertainment commenced, our group of 8 had a fantastic night. The food and variety was excellent! The wines were also well selected.

It was a good night out with plenty of entertainment. Love the fact they encourage the guests to join in. The staff and performers are absolutely great. Pleasant place drinks on the pricey side with coke being around a fiver being the cheapest.

The Great Expedition was awesome. I went in apprehensive having read some of the reviews on here, but was thoroughly impressed and won over by the exquisite food, the setting (which definitely delivers a 'wow' factor) and the concept. It's shared / family style dining, but done in a way that adds to the evening. I'd recommend the wine pairing which was lovely.

This was my first ginger line experience and sadly it fell short of my expectations. I’d previously heard about events like Chamber of flavours and thought it would be more along those lines. That’s the problem with inviting people to book a ‘mystery’ event - you’re relying on reputation of past events and if the new event largely deviates as this one did, I think it’s natural that customers will be a bit disappointed. I don’t mind a bit of audience participation where it’s actually fun and relevant, but here I think it was nothing short of awkward unless you’re a real extrovert. To be fair the actors won’t force anyone who is unwilling, which was a relief. But I felt so much second hand embarrassment for those who were handed props and made to stand around with no real clue as to what they were supposed to be doing, as the actors aren’t allowed to speak. For me too much of the entertainment relied on these non-verbal actors dancing around and essentially miming, which personally just isn’t for me. I thought gingerline was known for being a foodie experience and that’s one of the reasons I booked. I expected great food served in an immersive and quirky way. What we got was mediocre food which often had to be served for yourselves amongst your table of 10 or so strangers. I think it would have made all the difference to have individually plated each course. Forcing strangers to eat ‘family style’ created so much unnecessary awkwardness and people went home hungry because they were being very polite about ensuring not to serve themselves too much food, knowing that bowl had to stretch around the whole table. The food also went cold quickly due to this. The cocktails being of the premixed can variety was also a disappointment to me so I stuck with Diet Coke. We found fun in the evening, but perhaps not in the intended places. Overall I was disappointed and a bit embarrassed as I’d taken my foodie boyfriend and had hyped up how amazing I’d expected the event to be. I’m glad I booked Sunday tickets which were cheaper, and didn’t go for any of the ‘upgrades’. Those who did seemed to be having trouble accessing what they paid for. It seemed the welcome drink which should have had two options only had one - a negroni. And the waiter couldn’t even tell those customers what was in it - other than vaguely saying it was gin. Two of them opted to have a non alcoholic cocktail, but later were told that wasn’t available either. I’d like to try gingerline again if there was another event more like the Chamber of Flavours, but I think it would be hard to gauge if the events are still marked on a ‘mystery’ basis.

Gingerline have done it once again! Like all of their projects, The Grand Expedition was a truly magic experience. All aspects of the event, from the out of this world scenery to the fabulous food were truly incredible. A perfect evening, that I couldn’t recommend more.

I am pretty much a ’Gingerline Superfan’ , so I have been to pretty much every Gingerline. Therefore, I was so so excited to hear it was coming back to London after a brief pause due to the pandemic and certainly did not disappoint! 🤩 The whole immersion was fantastic, the food was incredible, it was like stepping into a fantasy world. Also, I actually work within events so have an incredibly high standard and have been to lots of this type of event ( i.e I have lots to base my opinions on and can be pretty critical 🤣 ) but I would recommend this as my absolute favourite and definitely worth a visit. 😎

It’s so wonderful to finally have the amazing world of Gingerline back in town. We experienced a fantastic culinary adventure the other evening filled with flavoursome treats, delicious cocktails & all perfectly complimented with our smile inducing hosts. If you haven’t visited The Grand Expedition yet, do your senses a favour & book a ticket, you won’t be disappointed. I can’t wait to go back and do it all again.