Purple Ginger

I used to order some good olé’ standbys here for delivery only. Their food wasn’t brilliant, but, Green Curry Chicken, spring rolls, Pad Thai, Papaya salads… all fine. Not brilliant like I said, but, fully serviceable.
We ordered here twice in the last month (October 2015) and both times the food was ABYSMAL. I can’t say enough bad things about it now and I hate the idea of giving a restaurant a bad review but honestly folks the food was AWFUL. Last night, the Green Curry Chicken was SWEET! Kill me now. The spring rolls were all mushy and disgusting. The Papaya Salad was BLAND. The Pad Thai – same, no flavor. Even the little garnish they put with the spring rolls – that shaved carrot that’s a little bit pickled and is nice and delectable on its own? Not even pickled, just dry straw-​like carrot threads that look the part and taste like nothing.
I think they must have new owners or something. I just reread and I think that it was closed for a bit and there MUST be new owners here. The new owners need to read this review. I have never had a worse meal in New York City in the 30+ years I have lived here. STAY AWAY. You have been warned. The food is not worth the money.

This used to be my GO TO place — even taking dates there. I always enjoyed the hospitality but more importantly the food was so good. I am of southeast Asian descent and appreciate when I can find flavored close to eating in my moms kitchen. Purple ginger was that for me but after what I had last night I can’t say that now. The red curry I ordered was almost inedible. The broth was as thin as tap water and tasted like it too. It was also loaded w the most random vegetables including HUGE florets of cauliflower. I don’t know what happened there but I hope the old purple ginger comes back.

My go to Thai delivery. Been trying to lay off meat and they have some great alternatives. Spicy basil with veg duck with brown rice is my jam. Also the spicy Thai rice & Singapore noodles are very good. Delivery is fast and hot. Very happy with these guys!

The food was just okay, I hate using the word mediocre especially when the staff was so nice. With the exception of our very enthusiastic waiter, not. He didn’t even bother to check in the kitchen if they could make something vegan.
This is a decent spot and could have a lot of potential, but once you overcook the rice our relationship is over.
Despite the many vegan options, this is just a solid 3 stars.

Purple Ginger isn’t so much a Thai restaurant than it is an Asian restaurant in which Thai food is one of few cuisines offered. Thai, Japanese, and Chinese food are the main picks.
I came here for dinner was because it was close to somewhere I had to be that night but in addition to locale, they lured me in with their big «50% of all traditional sushi rolls» sign and then they got me to order beer with their «50% of all beer and wine» Unilocal check-​in deal. Deals galore!
Food was tasty but pretty standard. It will neither surprise nor disappoint.
In terms of service, I won’t fault the guy since it looked like it was basically a one-​man show, but the service was a bit slow. Between taking care of a fair number of tables and phone calls, our server finally made it to us to take our order but when he did, he seemed like he was in a rush. I think having a hostess would’ve helped? Just a thought, management.

Best place to have sushi. I love the traditional rolls and they are 50% off dine in… The place is really clean. if i could give more than 5 stars i would!

Fuck this place. Lie on the sign it front, clearly says 50% off sushi, dine in only. Sit down, after waiting 5 minutes for a waiter when the place is dead, only to find out the sushi pricing starts at 6pm??? It’s 2:30, why is the sign it front? I didn’t even want sushi, I wanted cashew chicken, but the bullshit lie turned me off so much that I left. BTW, they have a fish in a tank with a giant tumor growing out of its head, made my girlfriend sick to her stomach. This place is shit.

Ordered take out which then followed a dine in follow up. Both times there was a definite aftertaste to all the dishes. Chicken wings were dry and strangely dark on the inside. Fried fish was a bit mushy and chili sweet sauce definitely out of the jar. The duck was relatively moist yet again had a strange after taste. Drunken noodles with seafood had mini scallops and shrimp. Ok, technically anything more than 2 is a mix but that’s really bare bones. Only plus was half off beer with Unilocal check in.

I work right near here, and have been dying to go for so long, mostly due to the BYOB policy. The food was very yummy — my roommate and I are both vegetarian, and we had lots of options to choose from. The portions were quite large, and the lunch special was only $ 7.50 and included an appetizer and a soup or salad. And the food was very yummy! My only complaint is that they didn’t have the sushi bar going, even though the sign outside was advertising half-​off sushi, which makes literally no sense. The vibe also is a little confusing — it’s meant to be asian, but they were also playing songs from the 2000’s top 40. Otherwise, the food was good and we had a lot of fun.

*** Delivery service review only ***
I am SO impressed by their delivery. I ordered the veggie chicken tom yum soup. It was extremely filling and very delicious. I was also impressed by the price considering the chicken was seitan meat. Would definitely order again and hope to visit their location too.

There have been countless deals for this joint over the years* yet they’re still here AND pretty well-​reviewed, so I checked them out with their 15% off Eat24 deal for first-​timers. Garlic shrimp was fine but very far from very spicy (the decent spicy tom yum fish soup was spicier, but still not too hot), best thing it had going for it was the portion for the price. PS No chopsticks. PPS Place does not open at 11:30, it opens at 12, and the lunch special inexplicably doesn’t start until 12:30
L8. Garlic Shrimp (Lunch) 1 + 8.50 Delete
How Spicy?: Very Spicy
Choice of Side: Spicy Tom Yum Fish Soup
Choose a Coupon:
Subtotal: 8.50
Discount (15% OFF): 1.28
*They currently have a50% off wine & beer with Unilocal checkin, had a
voucher, Scoutmob deal, and who knows what else.

We tried Purple Ginger last time we came to New York and vowed to go back on our next trip. Awesome customer service and absolutely delicious Thai food. I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! Some must tries — Crispy Coconut Shrimp and the Spicey Thai Fried Rice in a stone pot. Thai tea is pretty good too. If you are in the area this is a must!!!

Ordered take out from Purple Ginger a couple nights ago when it was far too cold to leave the apartment. Delivery was free — hooray! Choosing my order was quite a struggle. I’d seen in other reviews that they’re good for vegetarians, but dang, I underestimated it! Purple ginger has a vast vegetarian section with lots of interesting options– much more than the standard tofu stir fries and veggie pad thai you find at most Thai restaurants. They have both tofu and mock meat (chicken, beef, duck) selections. A couple of the tofu options I’d never heard of before. After a long deliberation, I went with the Black Pepper Vegetarian Chicken.
The food came in a quite reasonable amount of time, 10 or 15 minutes before the ETA. Receiving the food, though, was a bit difficult. When I answered the phone, the delivery person yelled some completely indiscernible words at me, then hung up before I could get a word in. It took some time to find him in my apartment building, but thankfully I was able to get my food.
The food was good, and there was quite a lot of it! Nothing mind blowing, but I certainly enjoyed it. The sauce was a little heavier than I would have liked, but tasty. All in all, a very satisfying vegetarian meal. My boyfriend got chicken pad thai and liked it a lot, so seems like they do real meat well, too. I definitely want to order from here again and try out some more of the meatless excitement.

Great food. Great service. I can’t say enough about this place other than that you should go and enjoy a great meal. My favorites — tom yum noodle soup with shrimp n thin rice noodles, Indian pancakes, seafood pancakes, chicken wings, spicy basil lobster (are usually sold out. boo!), brisket ramen. Not trendy, small staff so be patient and enjoy. I could go on and on. Just go.

Solid good Thai place!
We made reservations here for Sunday brunch and ended up being the only people in the restaurant the entire time!
Pros:
–clean restroom
–attentive service
–food was tasty (notable dishes are the tom yum soup and pineapple fried rice)
–food came out in 10ish min
–15%off your dine in bill through Unilocal check in!
–pretty roomy for a les restaurant
–ideal for a scrumptious brunch meal in a quiet environment (vs the usual loud and packed brunch places)
Cons:
–wish their soup came in larger portions! we ordered a big bowl and their «big» bowl was definitely not enough for soup lovers like me
Thumbs up!

Was in the area after the Thompson Sq Park annual dog parade and wanted a quick and filling lunch where we can sit down. Came here after remembering good food from the previous visits. Unfortunately the same waiter with the same mediocre service never changed. I noticed that their prices increased by a dollar or two, not that big of a deal, but there are definitely other thai places in the area that can compete. They no longer take restaurant. com certificates, which wasn’t surprising since the last time I went there with one, they weren’t exactly happy to accept it. The spicy thai fried rice in a stone pot wasn’t as tasty as I remembered. For one, the tomatoes was soggy instead of crunchy, and the vegetables that were included did not have any taste to it. The happy hour specials with $ 2 beers are no longer available all day. Overall, I’d probably pass this one in the future.

Being vegan can be difficult. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve ordered food from other restaurants and come to find out it contains some kind of animal byproduct. So I ordered the vegetable chicken bites from Purple Ginger, they were delivered, I took one bite of them and knew they were made of real chicken.
So annoyed that this happened to me AGAIN I called the restaurant and told them I had ordered the vegetable chicken bites but they had sent me regular chicken.
I was then told,“no ma’am that was tofu chicken that was not real chicken.“
I asked «are you sure»
She laughed and said «yes.»
I of course then apologized and told her this is the best vegan chicken I have EVER had you’re amazing and I’m so sorry for being bitchy and wasting your time.“
She again laughed and said «not a problem at all.»
Seriously the best vegan chicken ever.
Bow down to the gods of Purple Ginger.
We are not worthy.

one of my Thai places in the east village for pickup or delivery…
can only go by the lunch menu which is the best bang for your buck.
my go-​tos on the menu are the drunk man noodles and the chicken wings. good amount of spiciness, savory, and carb+protein. food is NOT greasy and smells incredible. i’d stick to noodles here. curry is fine, but the noodle skills are on-​point!
staff is solid. they could be more energetic. not sure i’d do sit-​down here even though the dining area is fine, clean and such. the restaurant is just too quiet for me.
wish i had more to add on this joint but if you’re looking for lunch pickup/​delivery options in the east village. you can beat the prices. there always seems to be a seamless, groupon, scoutmob, etc. deal here, so your bill will be extra light!

*Dinner review*
I’d also like to mention that I’m kind of a Thai food snob…
After wanting to visit Pukk and finding out that it was only vegetarian and feeling extremely carnivorous, my friend and I visited Purple Ginger, armed with a convenient Scoutmob deal. I cannot understand how this place has 4 stars. We should have been skeptical after walking in at 8pm and realizing we were the only patrons in the restaurant.
Service: Only 1 person working and there were 3 tables max, including ours, all night. And even then it was slow.
Food:
Thai tea: worst Thai tea I have ever had. It’s worse than drinking it out of a can. It was extremely watered down and tasted like it was made of skim milk or something.
Papaya salad: Definitely not the best papaya salad I’ve ever had. Not spicy enough and the shrimp (4) tasted half cooked and very, very soggy. The papaya was also very firm and the sauce was not flavorful enough.
Drunken noodles + beef, ordered «a little more spicy»: This is what saved this place from getting 1 star. I’d give the drunken noodles 4 stars — it had that «wok flavor», it was super hot in temperature, just the right amount of spice, and the beef was very tender and delicious. Not too sweet and not too salty. I’d actually go back for more of the drunken noodle, surprisingly.
Mango sticky rice: Don’t EVER, EVER, EVER get this here. It was probably the worst dessert I’ve had in years. It was basically a very minimal amount of very minced unripened mango on top of a heap of sticky rice. The entire thing was the temperature of microwaved food — even the mango was hot. See pictures — you’ll see that actual mango sticky rice is NOT supposed to look anything like this.
At least prices are decent, and even more so with Scoutmob.

*Lunch special ends at 3pm*
Décor: ⁴⁄₅
–Seating for about 30, the chairs were comfortable
–The peppermints were great
Service: ³⁄₅
–friendly yet mediocre
Food: ³⁄₅
–Tom Yum Gang came with two jumbo shrimps. The lemongrass was good but not as sour as I’m used to. Decent for $ 4.95. (⁴⁄₅)
–Singapore Rice Noodle with four jumbo shrimps. I didn’t expect this to be covered in curry. The curry flavor was there but that’s about it, the dish overall was fairly boring though the portions will not leave you hungry. (2.5÷5)