The Ginger Group - , ACT

Ava Adore

Ambience and views are breathtaking. As usual gets very busy on weekends and public holidays. Ordered the cured salmon which overall tasted quite good but was so disappointed at the amount of actual salmon in the dish - just a few tiny rolled up pieces on the edges and nothing in the whole body of the dish! Very disappointed. It was good to see some green salad appearing on the fish and chip dish. Whilst there is a public holiday surcharge it was good to see no credit card surcharge (at least none appeared on my credit card so far). Service was relatively quick considering how busy the venue was. Overall quite expensive meals but it's the only option if you want to dine at the Arboretum.

Ross

We hadn’t been to the cafe at the arboretum for quite a while. Whilst the building is a marvel, and the arboretum itself is amazing, the coffee and the service have been sketchy at best.

A few people had suggested new owners had turned it around, so we decided to split up a long walk with a visit.

It was quiet for a Friday, we even got a window table! Immediately heartened by seeing Ona coffee was being served, and the Maple blend at that.

We had a good coffee, split a delightful croissant au chocolat and set off to finish our walk. The service was good and, of course; the venue was amazing. Other table’s food looked very nice as well.

There will not be such a long time between this and our next visit!

Jess B

Such a beautiful location to have lunch and enjoy the view of Canberra! We are visiting and this was one of the top recommended places to go. We visited on a Saturday and it was quite busy. The line was long but moved relatively quickly. Staff were friendly, helpful and efficient. They really did a good job. We ordered a few items and I got the eggs benny and some chips. They are super generous with their bacon servings in the dish, the sauce was great and the chips were delicious! The family had some coffees, calamari and a meat lovers pizza. The pasties looked so good but we didn’t have any more room in our bellies for more. Will come back again when visiting Canberra!

Alexandria

Pretty decent food with a variety of options, overlooking a great view of the arboretum. It's very busy with customers and has plenty of seats where you get your own cutlery and water. Some of the dishes were great value for money, like the calamari and fish and chips, while we found that the soup of the day was a little pricey as it wasn't too big. The butter chicken and Penang chicken curry were great and flavoursome. Roti was a stand out, as like the chips, seems to be homemade.

Esther Hew

Edited review:
Been back with my family 3 weekends in a row, service standards has improved & tables cleared & clean much quicker than before.
Only downside is the coffee has been consistently weak. Felt like we were drinking milk with a dash of coffee instead.
So might skip the coffees next time we are here. Cheesecake wasn’t as fresh as the last time we had it too..

Visited the venue twice last week. Service was a bit inconsistent. Was ignored for a little bit whilst trying to place an order when I visited on the 28th of March.
Luckily the gentleman in black which I presume is the manager on duty popped in at the counter & took my order straightaway & he was friendly.
Didn’t really like the buzzer system as it makes a lot of noise whilst you try to enjoy your meal & the view.
Not friendly for parents with young children or the elderly having to look for a table & then get back to the counter to pick up their order.
Coffee & pie I ordered was ok.
Tables in general are not wiped down. Depends on the waiter or waitress working that particular shift. I know this place can get really busy but for a hospitality venue, you’d expect a certain hygiene standard.
Went back again last Sunday 02/04/23 with the rest of my family.
We tried the chips & cheesecake this time around. Chips were all right, bit lukewarm. Cheesecake was a highlight, it was absolutely fresh & very delicious. Service on the day was ok.
Not all tables were wiped down again. Would like to see improvement in regards to service standards in future as this venue is busy & has much more potential!

Pranav Mulay

I visited The Ginger Cafe recently and found it to be an average spot for a casual bite. While the views are lovely and provide a nice setting, I was a bit disappointed with the vegetarian options—they're quite limited. The portions were smaller than expected for the price, so I didn't feel fully satisfied. The cafe tends to get pretty busy over the weekend, so be prepared for a bit of a wait. Overall, it's a decent choice for a quick visit, but it could be improved in terms of food variety and portion sizes.

C. L.

In comparison to wedding reception guests, horrible food is served to crew, photographers, and wedding singers working to make this event memorable to a newly wed couple at the National Arboretum by this catering company.

While wedding guests enjoy being served steak, chicken, lamb and canapes; crew get fed only quiche (all the time). Sad to say crew are getting treated less favorably because they are workers and not guests of the event.

Remember that a worker is also a potential customer in the future.

a gc

The view is absolutely stunning! The chips I ordered tasted like freshly cut and cooked. The chips and coffee cost $15 which was a bit expensive but the overall experience was worth the price.