Blue Gingko

I was very excited when I heard Blue Gingko open. The idea of an upscale Japanese American fusion restaurant was an interesting idea. However, the execution was flawed. The food at time was very bland and price to quality was not there. Sushi lacking in every way — fish was not fresh, ingredient was boring, and roll was bland. The Manila clams’ broth was bland. The Shoyu ramen broth was boring. The only item I like is the pork belly bun.
I would summarize this place as Americanize Japanese tapas (which mean high price) and very small portion. The ambiance was simple but clean. The waiters are nice and polite.
Overall, it is a nice place for date night but do not count on a great food experience.

I always sit at the bar with my cousin and we get the best service from Sunny and Kyle!
The food is great but my faves have to be:
Spicy scallop rolls
Tempura lettuce wraps
Duck buns
This place is a never fail for me and the food is always fresh.
Also the cocktails and sake are great too! This location is a must — I have yet to try the Blackhawk location

Ramen presentation is very good, but not very tasty. Hamachi sashimi is very fresh. Lunch set B is excellent. Beef skewers and shrimp tempera lettuce wrap are great.

Although this place is not my favorite Sushi place, I will however come back and try other items on the menu. There’s no wow factor food wise, but I have to admit, the place is clean and they have good atmosphere and service. We had an awesome waiter also, I think his name is Sam.
Don’t get me wrong, the food is nicely presented. BUT where’s the fish? Is there fish? Geez! For the $$$ you spend here, you should at least have a sense of satisfaction. We spent about $ 160 (for 4 people) and left feeling we should of tried other places.
I guess if you’re coming here for happy hour or just to have a little drink or two then it’s OK. Dinner? Is another story.

Just wanted to update my review based on eating dinner here again on a Monday night.
Food is still amazing and so fresh! And I mainly wanted to update my review because the service here was so awesome. Jason was our server and he was so accommodating for me and my parents and even cracked a few jokes with us. Thanks for being so rad Jason!
If you’re looking for some delicious and fresh tasting fish, sushi, sashimi along with great and personable customer service, come to Blue Gingko!

Sushi and drinks are 10 stars!!!
I had the dragon snd caterpillar roll… Fresh and tasty. I also tried the «fugu effect» libation which numbs your tongue and then kicks your ass… Lol.
I really recommed trying the sake fanatic… Ehich gives you three samples of premium sake. Y favorite was the hot «sohomari».
I finished with the green tea crème brûlée. It had a soft taste and was good but not overly rich.

Second visit was a bit of a mixed bag. Decided to try the small plates for dinner. Should have stuck with the sushi. Don’t know if the server or kitchen was at fault but the recurring issue was the temp of the food which was tasty enough but came out cold.
Love kabocha squash but usually only 1 piece is included in a mixed veggie tempura. There is always a thumb or chopstick war between members of my party to see who gets the lone squash. Blue Gingko made a smart move adding an all squash tempura to the menu. Now they just have to perfect their execution. While tasty, the sad thing was that the tempura was cold. It must have sat in the window for quite awhile since it was also starting to weep oil.
The temp issue came up throughout the night. We also got the eggplant which was a delicious but very weird dish. Cubed eggplant, some pieces were stone cold while a few pieces were piping hot. Was this supposed to be a hot or cold dish? Perhaps 2 separate orders were cooked at different times and combined to make one dish?
We also had the bacon wrapped mochi. Mochi was soft but surprisingly, the bacon lacked that salty bacon-​y flavor. Again this dish was cold.
The snapper was my least favorite dish. Dry and lacked seasoning. What was that bushy plant on top? Looked like basil. Raw leaves on a thick, fibrous stem. Black sauce was thick, gooey and tasteless. Neither element added anything to the dish but visual appeal. I don’t mind garnishes but they must do more than sit pretty on a plate.
Only the grilled half of the octopus 2 ways was successful. The grilled octopus was «meaty» but tender. Loved it despite it being cold. Less successful was the tempura octopus legs. Let me reiterate what I said early in my review, tempura should be served hot! The batter was heavy when it should have been ethereal. Scraped it off and ate only the octopus.
Bananas Foster Honey Toast was an interesting dessert. A loaf of white bread was divided into mega-​sized approximately 3″ thick slices. Think Texas toast on steroids. This hunk of bread is lightly toasted, hollowed out, filled with caramelized banana slices, topped with whipped cream and drizzled with honey and chocolate sauces. A small scoop of vanilla ice cream accompanied the starchy tower. Despite all these ingredients, the completed dessert was not especially sweet. Only complaint, not enough bananas for the dessert to be called Bananas Foster. At most, probably only half a banana in that bread bowl. Still a winning dessert.
I enjoy BG Dublin’s sister restaurants, Sasa in Walnut Creek and Blue Gingko in Blackhawk. Hope the Dublin branch improves to equal or surpass them.
PS. Loved the fish fries at Sasa’s. Wish they would offer it in Dublin.

The reviews surely speak of this place. Very good ambiance. I was seated @ the sushi bar and the guys (Brandon, Luke & Kim) behind the bar are very friendly and nice. They answered every questions I have, and always smiling. Really good customer service … and that is what fine dining is about.
I ordered the eggplant appetizer, too beautiful to eat. It was very tasty and tender, melts in your mouth.
Then I ordered the sashimi plate — Brandon was very considerate to ask if there’s any fish that I didn’t like, and he prepared it the way I liked it. The sashimi is VERY fresh and nicely prepared … it’s an art on a plate.
My server (Ryma) and the manager (Eric) are so welcoming and nice that they even gave me a free dessert of crème brûlée … I feel so special in this place! I think I’ve found my sushi place here in the east bay!
I will for sure come back to this place, and try their other dishes!!!
If you want great and fresh sashimi … This is quite a find in the east bay.

Very nice clean restaurant near Livermore outlet
Excellent Food and Service!
Outdoor seatings for my puppy is big plus.

My friend’s husband planned her birthday lunch here the other day. The menu had sushi, ramen, rice plates, and different appetizers to choose from. I love that the menu was labeled with what was «gluten free» (though not much).
I ordered the bacon wrapped mochi, sea salt chicken skewers, spicy scallop hand roll, and a sunomono (cucumber salad) with ebi shrimp. The back wrapped mochi was really good, in that, I had to order another serving because my husband stole some off my plate. Everything I had was tasty! I wasn’t unsatisfied with anything I ordered.
We had a large party, and the the service was really good. All of our servers were attentive, and they checked up on us often. The restaurant itself is clean, and the décor is modern and sleek. I also like that their menu is diverse so there’s a lot of options for all the different moods people are feeling. We had about three people in the party order ramen. Two folks ordered the rice plates, which had great presentation. Two other folks ordered off the sushi menu. Then you have me who ordered appetizers and small plates. There’s something for everyone!
My girlfriends enjoyed the cocktails here. They said that they were tasty to the point where they couldn’t taste the alcohol. They’re favorite was the lychee flavored cocktail.
Overall, cute place in a mall plaza. They have good service, tasty food with lots of options, clean, and vast parking! If I lived in the neighborhood this would probably be one of my go to spots.

In terms of sushi, this is some of the best Japanese food I’ve had in the Bay Area. The fish is insanely fresh. Like it tastes like they have a little bay in the back and they freshly caught the fish. I was super super impressed.
Usually I’m not a fan of lunch specials, but theirs are really really cool and appetizing. My mom got Lunch Special 1 (I forgot what it came with, but I remember it was really yummy). Service is also super friendly and attentive.
Totally worth the price! Will definitely be checking out the one over at Blackhawk soon too.

This place is cute and their service was great! Our waiter was really friendly and thoroughly explained the menu to us. He also happily gave us dish recommendations. Their sushi section didn’t exactly cater to people who don’t really eat raw (aka my BF and I) which was kind of a bummer. I got the Garlic Chicken dish which was under «large plates» but I don’t think it was a true large. Nonetheless, it was delicious! My boyfriend got their ramen which also tasted great and had a lot of flavor. We got the duck buns but we both agreed they were just okay. They weren’t bad but it was just different than the normal duck buns we’ve tried. The buns were not sweet and they didn’t have much sauce in them. I wouldn’t get them again for $ 16.
Although their dishes are on the smaller and pricey side, I didn’t leave feeling unsatisfied. I would gladly come again!

First time here and what lured us here was the «all day, every day HH» signage!
We didn’t know what to order, so we asked our server and she recommended us the seared albacore (not on HH menu and its $ 15 for 5 pieces) and that was delicious! The server told us that customers usually order by the dozens!
From the happy hour menu, we ordered the eggplant (highly recommended by our server), fried tofu, riblets, mochi bacon wrapped skewers, Alaska and spicy hamachi sushi roll. Everything from the HH menu was delicious and my favorites were the fried tofu and the Alaska roll.
For drinks, we had the ginger mojito (highly recommended by the server), lychee chu-​hi and the non-​alcoholic iced lemon green tea with matcha. All three drinks were very good as well. They were refreshing and complimented the HH food.
I’ll definitely come here again for all day, everyday happy hour and I’ll gladly recommend others to go here!
Parking can be a bitch in this little busy plaza, so park across, near the Target area.

This place was a pleasant surprise.
Went there last saturday with my hubby and parents. I picked blue gingko mainly because of fellow Unilocalers’ review. I was glad that I picked this place!
I made reservation for 6 around noon time for dinner. We got seated right away to a 8-​people table in a semi-​private area, which was very nice because I have a baby with me. They have sushi bar table, regular table, and bar table. Our waiter was very friendly and explained the menu to us thoroughly. It’s a japanese-​fusion izakaya place, which all dishes came in small plates.
After looking at the menu I ordered the eggplant, kabocha tempura, hamachi sashimi (5pcs), bone marrow (special), banzai roll (special), four season roll, black cod, calamari two-​way, one order of each type of skewers (beef, pork belly and mochi), duck buns and garlic rice. That’s a lot of food for 4 adults (we ended up having 4 adults and 1 baby) but we were able to try different things.
Food came out pretty fast. Sashimi was fresh, kabocha tempura was not oily and the batter was light. Eggplant was on the sweet side and the black cod was a tad too salty but it was still pretty good. The rolls were decent size, but was a bit pricey. Both the beef and pork belly skewers were good, mochi skewer was alright. Calamari was tender and delicious, duck buns were similar to eating peking duck. Bone marrow was yum!
Overall food was good! We were so satisfied and full that we couldn’t even try out their desserts. The bill came out to be around $ 200 before tips. It’s a nice place to dine at once in a while.

Blue Gingko is honestly one of the best Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area. Yes, it’s on the pricier side, but the price absolutely mirrors the quality and taste of food you get here, unlike other places you might have been to, but where the cost and the food didn’t match up.
Boyfriend and I came here on their grand opening day after shopping at the Livermore outlet, and boom, we were hooked. I still remember the wagyu beef we cooked on sizzling hot stones, the fresh o-​toro and the Japanese uni that was flown in.
They always have a special on the weekends too, and the specials are ALWAYS GREAT. Their lunch and dinner menu do not disappoint either. The misoyaki black cod — tasted just like how my grandma used to make.
I also want to clear that, I have never had their ramen or udon, and my review doesn’t rely on the rolls either. If you are looking for fresh sushi, this is your place. You simply cannot compare this place to your typical, neighborhood sushi joints. Yes, you may pay 12+ dollars for chu/​o-​toro, but the quality is on a different level. Do not come here and leave without ordering at least one thing off of the specials menu.
I don’t have anything except excellent things to say about this place. I almost didn’t want to write this review so I can keep this hidden gem to myself. Lol. Come here. Come here. COME HERE.

After a long day of shopping at the outlets, wifey and I wanted Japanese. This place is a bit fancy than the normal spots we frequent. Looked trendy with lots metal, reclaimed wood and LED lighting. That’s not a bad thing.
Service was great, our server took the time to explain the menu and tapas format. Everything is ala carte which is fine, but portions were small and expensive. They do not have a tempura appetizer or side, only in a roll. My wife doesn’t eat raw fish, so she ordered the fried cod very similar to fish n chips. It was okay.
I ordered the ramen which was good but the bowl was small and lacked more noodles. Red Gingko Roll was fine, nothing spectacular. We walked out of there $ 70 later and felt unsatisfied.
I would come back for drinks and perhaps their happy hour menu. It’s not a place I would go for dinner.

This place is just your average Japanese restaurant. Don’t get me wrong, i only had the ramen and Garlic fried rice. Both were full of flavor, but 14.00 for ramen was quite expensive. The ramen was not bad, it was packed with flavor, but you only had one choice to pick from. The Popcorn chicken was pretty good, ask for the hot pepper salt to go with it, if you like it spicy that is. The Garlic fried rice was good but the portions was way to small. I guess that’s what you get for the price. The service was pretty good, the waitress saw my two nieces struggling with their chopsticks and she provided the tools that helped the learn. Super kind of her! i’m sure i’ll try to come back to this place again if i’m around the area. But I want to try the other items that other Unilocalers talked about.

We were excited to try this new sushi restaurant in the Tri-​Valley. Thought it would dethrone the current champ of fancy sushi, Amakara, but alas. DH made the reservation through the Unilocal services. He had a hard time finding a spot on the weekend, so we thought the place was packed. It was mostly empty the whole time we were there. Ambiance is really modern and nice, however, it doesn’t require dressing up. Some people brought their well behaved toddlers. It’s quieter than Amakara, but then again, there were way fewer people here.
Our server, a tall gentleman, was outstanding. I believe his name was Sam. He was friendly and really knew the menu well. This is a «tapas» style, small plate, restaurant. We decided to order in rounds, since we didn’t know how small the plates were. Food came out reasonably quickly. We started out with the eggplant age nasu ($ 8), which had fried eggplant chunks in a savory glaze. It was topped with slow-​cooked onions, green onion shavings, and nori. This was better than expected. The eggplant skin was a little tough, but I’m being picky here. Flavors are good in this dish.
DH was interested in their izakaya (charcoal grilled) items and got the chicken skewers ($ 7). Now, this didn’t seem that great of a value, but what izakaya place is?! DH enjoyed the skewers, which had a good amount of browning and retained enough of the natural juices.
Our cocktail ($ 10) came in a mason jar. This was the «Smoked Peach Barrel». It was delicious! It had a touch of sweetness, fruitiness, and whisky flavor. This drink is made with rock & rye honey whiskey, house smoked peaches, lemon, mint, and agave. Garnishes were a large sprig of mint and dried cherries on a pick. We’d be delighted to come back for Happy Hour.
The calamari two ways ($ 12) was interesting and different, but I didn’t like it. Grilled calamari just isn’t my thing. DH liked it, though. The fried calamari was good. It came with a spicy mayo dipping sauce. The rainbow roll ($ 14) is a way for us to evaluate new Japanese restaurants. Based on this, they would not pass. The salmon tasted slightly fishy. It was rolled in a really sloppy fashion (check out the photo). We were struck by how careless a job it was. Seriously, I could do a better job at home blindfolded. The chef needs to eat at Amakara and see how incredibly neat their rolls are. The sushi rice was slightly too cold and hard, which ruins the texture and overall experience. C’mon people! Sushi rice should be body temp. Yes, we’re sushi snobs… we’ve eaten at some pretty good places around the globe. :)
DH wanted to try the spider roll ($ 9). This tasted fine, but it was also cold. It was pretty small, but then again, the price is less than the average for a spider roll.
DH knows I’m an eel fan, so he ordered an unagi nigiri ($ 6). They looked nice, but biting into them was an entirely different experience. Unagi is supposed to be served HOT. The best places will put a little char on the top for extra flavor. These were cold and rubbery. DH was dismayed. Ugh!
Our server recommended the Katsuo ($ 11), which is skipjack tuna. They actually looked really nice. I wondered if they had a different chef doing these. The flavor was not bad, but it’s not a fish I get often, so I don’t have a good point of reference. Same complaint with the rice, though.
We looked at the dessert menu, but didn’t see anything that tickled our fancy. Also, I couldn’t have anything with too much dairy. So, we decided to get another skewer — the Bacon Mochi skewer ($ 8). I liked it a lot… the bacon was appropriately crispy and the mochi helped to balance things out. DH doesn’t like mochi, but he still ate it.
With tax & tip, our total came out just over $ 100 for two, with one cocktail and no dessert. We were pretty full, though. TIP: get the gift cards from Costco. I believe they were $ 80 for a value of $ 100. If we come back here, we would go to the Happy Hour and focus on the cooked food. We would NOT come back here for sushi.

More like 3.5. bump up a bit for the freshness in the food. But slow service is what made me feel like 4 stars was being a little generous.
For the East Bay local, I’m an Amakara fan… However, Blue Gingko is about 5 minutes from my current living situation and for my first visit and meal here, it was not bad at all. Not bad at all I tell ya.
I came here for lunch with a friend to catch up. I got the Hamachi Sashimi (3 pieces) incredibly fresh. And the Spicy Hamachi Cut Roll. I wanted to OWN me some Uni Nigiri but at the $ 28 market price for two pieces, I can pretty much kiss my gas money for the week good bye.
But I’d definitely make my way here again, especially with my staple place being closed during the 3 to 5 hours and Blue Gingko being open straight through the night. Pretty convenient! Oh… and you can make your way to the outlets after. JUST SAYIN’!

We had a phenomenal lunch here today… so glad they are in my part of town!
We arrived as they opened… we were so excited to try this! Clean, modern space. Our service experience was amazing… helpful staff, food arrived quickly. Love the small plate concept.
Rating best from top:
Ricotta Doughnuts… really creamy and dense, these were amazing with the Lemon Curd Sauce Do not skip these when they are available… not too sweet!
Bites of Joy… scallops/​red onion/​miso-​garlic aioli/​black tobiko… blew us away… so good!
Miso soup… had a smokey quality I have not tasted before… loved!
Tempura String beans… perfection!
Garlic Rice… I want to know how to make this!
Wine list… what can I say… they have a Viognier that was amazing with their food, and it was *date* day ;-)
Lettuce Wraps… tempura prawns/​cucumbers/​carrots/​candied walnuts/​honey-​miso aioli… a bit to sweet for our taste, would not order again. This was the only dish we did not love.
We will gladly slide down the hill for more of this yummy food! Next time more rolls, and maybe a Lunch Special.