Wild Ginger, one of Long Island’s pioneering Asian fusion restaurants, has closed after 23 years in Great Neck.

In a 2002 review, Newsday’s Joan Reminick described the restaurant’s then-novel concept was as "Asian-ish — Thai, Chinese, Malaysian, Vietnamese — a fusion rather than an authentic representation of any one country's cuisine." Its debut ushered in the original wave of Asian fusion eateries on Long Island, of which Matsulin in Hampton Bays (2004) and Toku in Manhasset (2007) are the most prominent survivors.

"Wild Ginger explodes upon the Great Neck dining scene like a fireworks display," Newsday's review said. "The cavernous dining spot, with stunning Asian-style murals in hues of orange and yellow, is a place where faux palm trees grow and a mini-waterfall flows. From the open kitchen, woks sizzle and clatter. Even on a weeknight, the crowded space reverberates with enough noise to make text messaging the preferred method of communication."

On Thursday, the restaurant's second-to-last night of dinner service, the dining room was less than half full. A man who identified himself as a partner, but who asked that his name not be used, said that while the cost of everything — ingredients, supplies, labor — keeps increasing, he couldn't raise his pieces any higher and still retain his customers.

In 2025, there’s hardly a more popular concept than Asian fusion. In the last two months, we’ve seen the debuts of Mizu II in North Bellmore, TOA in East Islip and Jade in Port Washington (Long Island’s first Jade opened last year in Hicksville). All of these venues, and many more, represent a second wave of Asian fusion.