Gingerline: The Grand Expedition

Creative, interactive, immersive - excellent experience and would definitely look out for the next.

When I asked for a white only wine flight I was told it was impossible. Only when I complained was a solution offered. Then turned up at the stated time and spent 45 minutes waiting in line. Despite having been told that a welcome drink was included I had to battle for it with others who had to trawl through emails to prove our eligibility. Would it have been so hard to accept our word? The event itself was disappointing but much worse was the fact it was billed to end at 8pm. It massively overran so we had to leave part way through. To their credit they offered us desert to take away but it hardly made up for missing a third of the show

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.

A truly excellent evening and experience. Immersion done at its very best. Excellent engaging entertainment and lovely food. Drinks were incredibly strong which made them excellent value, which is unusual for this sort of experience. Excellent with dietary issues (gluten free and onion and a friend with lots of severed allergies) Will absolutely be booking the next experience gingerline host

We were really looking forward to this and booked as soon as the tickets came out. Overall, we were disappointed. It said to arrive at 18.45 and it didn't start until about 19.30 - we were waiting outside in the rain for about 20 minutes of that. We had premium tickets and they didn't have that noted, we had to find the original email and show them it for them to move us across, although to be honest all it got us was entry out of the rain before everyone else and a negroni out of a tin (neither of us like this cocktail and there wasn't another option, so had to go for the soft drink, which was poured in a tiny glass so they could split 1 can of ginger beer across 3 people). The food was average and that was a surprise, given I thought it would be much better than it was. The hot air balloons looked good and the performers did well with the vague concept, but it was a bit of a nothing storyline like others have said. It felt quite rushed too once it started. We paid over £100 each for our tickets and it honestly didn't feel like good value for money - I couldn't recommend it to others and I wouldn't rush back for another of their experiences. We paid £32 on the night for the wine flight to match the 4 courses and I couldn't even finish some of the glasses it was so bad - it was cheap wine and they didn't even explain what it was or how it matched the food. Don't waste your money as it's just another way to upsell you. The cocktails are £11+ and all come from a tin. Such a shame!

What a fun evening of great food, entertainment, excitement and joy! Our faces hurt from smiling and laughing. Highly recommend booking this event if you want a high quality memorable experience. We were so pleased to see that Gingerline was back and we can’t wait to go again.

Huge disappointment, not on par with the previous experiences and didn't meet at all expectations. £120 (without fees and drinks!) to sit with strangers all night (that was not made clear at booking we'd have to share a table), to eat basic food and watch a bizarre and boring performance. Well done to actors though, they really gave everything they had with such a poor script, so this review is not at all criticising them. The food is really the biggest let down, if at least it'd been great I would have given a few more stars, but that was not at all a great culinary experience. 120£ for stale bread, a bun and some rice... the wine pairing (you pay extra of course) is a joke. You can eat at a Michelin star restaurant for this price!! You won't have actors shouting "hoo-ha" at you or asking you to do skipping rope though.

An evening that exceeded my expectations in every way possible, fantastic food and drink, high quality entertainment, an impressive set, and friendly and attentive staff. As somebody who has attended many Gingerline events over the years, I was not disappointed! The food was simply outstanding, with each dish expertly crafted and bursting with flavor. Every bite was a culinary adventure, and I found myself eagerly anticipating each new course as we ‘travelled’ around the world. The entertainment was equally impressive, adding an extra layer of excitement and enjoyment throughout the evening. From interaction with the performers, audience participation (I particularly enjoyed the swing!)to captivating performances, there was never a dull moment. We were entertained throughout every element of the meal and evening and appreciated not having to move location as it also gave us time to chat and enjoy ourselves with friends. It truly felt like we were part of something special. Drinks were also aplenty, unlike the typical watered-down drinks you often find at events like this, the cocktails and wine were spot on. One aspect that truly stood out to me was the allergy management. As someone with multiple serious food allergies, I'm always a bit nervous when dining out, but the staff went above and beyond to ensure that my needs were met. They were incredibly attentive and knowledgeable, and I felt completely safe throughout the entire evening and delighted that adaptations to the meal had been so carefully thought out. A huge, huge thank you to the catering team and front of house staff for this. Overall, I can't recommend this dining experience enough. Whether you're a foodie, a fan of theatrics and entertainment, or just looking for a unique night out, this event has something for everyone. I can’t wait to see what Gingerline bring next! Dietary restrictions: Absolutely faultless allergy management, they were fabulous. Would highly recommend.

My first let down was never receiving the welcome email detailing pre drinks as my friends all had. Secondly, when I reached the front of the line on the evening of the show I let them know I had booked two premium tickets (which I had) and I was met with such distrust and hostility, saying many people have ‘claimed’ to have premium tickets (not my problem) and I needed to find a very specific email with very specific wording in the additional information. I think this is ridiculous, you cited an issue with your booking system for why you don’t have this info - but if you have clearly identified this being an issue since the show started then it is frankly down to you as a company to go through ticket sales and recognise who has booked premium and who hasn’t. It was a painful process, I had to look through so many emails and it was so unclear. Your door people were not remotely apologetic and I suggest you very quickly sort this on your end and stop making it an issue of the consumer. I understand it’s teething pains, but the price point does not justify the issues. You should frankly charge less given you seem to anticipate these teething pains. Service was also incredibly hard to come by. The set design was nice, the performers good, the food mediocre - dessert was bad in my opinion. I was also not able to order a margarita because your shipment didn’t arrive. So yes, frustrating for such a hyped and highly priced event. Chamber of secrets was much, much better.

A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT The dining and the "immersion" were equally disappointing. We expected a real "foodie" experience but we were served what was at best a bang average meal, which did not look like the photos seen here above the reviews. The "flight of wines" that we paid extra for was an insult. It's hard to believe that the wines were paired at all, not least because we got the same red twice and it's beyond our oenological ken to say whether any wine can actually be paired with a bit of aubergine in a bun. The measures were stingy and the wines were low budget. The show, or story (or whatever it was supposed to be - it's hard to categorise, in a bad way) was laboured, boring and trite. Curiously, performers weren't allowed to speak, besides a sort of grunting (might this mean Equity rates for speaking parts were ruled out?) and the increasingly annoying utterance of "Hoo Har!", a sort of motto for the evening that diners were expected to echo each time they heard it. Imagine a weird and particular tedious episode of Hi-De-Hi!, but you've paid £205 each for the misfortune of watching it and you can't just change the channel. Although the cast tried their best, it's hard to see how they could have made anything good come from their roles and instructions. Those sat around the periphery weren't able to participate and could only observe from a distance, which aroused our sympathy initially, although by the end we were so unimpressed with the participatory elements that we wondered why we'd paid extra high prices for "VIP" tickets. We are filled with regret over a terrible decision to spend a large amount of money for an experience that we wouldn’t want to repeat if it were offered to us again for free. THE FOLLOWING ADDENDUM IS WRITTEN IN RESPONSE TO GINGERLINE'S REPLY As to Gingerline being a small business making best use of resources, I'm interested in the calculations in Joseph Dodds' review below, reckoning on about £18,000 in revenue per "performance". There were two performances the night I went. Sommelier? Ha! Inspired by love of pop up books etc? Whatever it was, it just wasn't very good. Use of non-verbal communication? Presumably the point being made is that it would have been culturally demeaning to speak English in foreign accents. If so, I doubt it would be any more so than the bizarre use of "emotive sounds". Why not just have performers speak English in their own accents? The response hasn't addressed my question on whether non-verbal performances simply cost less. This was the first Google review I've ever written, and I was driven to it by the sheer poor quality and poor value of Gingerline's dismal offering. How anyone could give it the glowing testimonials found here, including the recent flurry of good reviews, will forever remain a mystery to me. IF WANTING A FAIR REPRESENTATION OF THE REVIEWS I WOULD URGE ANYONE TO SORT BY "NEWEST" RATHER THAN "RELEVANCE". THE LATTER OPTION APPEARS TO FAVOUR GOOD REVIEWS.