Imperial is a step above most Chinese restaurants. I liked that distinct flavors of the vegetables, proteins and spices came through. Additionally I'm really happy when a restaurant takes the time to cut fat and gristle from the meat. Most Chinese restaurants do not. We started with steamed dumplings and then had shrimp wonton soup. My lunch entree of Kung Pao Chicken was very good but did need some heat. The mustard sauce served with the spring rolls was super spicy! Loved that. The portions are huge and the dining room is nice. I'm happy to pay a little more for the higher quality of food served here.
(4)
Helen M.
Our party ordered the dim sum sampler to start. Each dumpling was unique, well filled and delicious. We shared the eggplant and the steamed bass with ginger which were perfectly prepared and fresh. We also tried mush hu pork and the sesame chicken which were merely ok and topped off our meal with creamy ginger ice cream. Excellent service and overall good value.
(4)
Samantha L.
So, to start, we didn't try the food here because we couldn't get it delivery. We couldn't get it delivery because there was a $25 fee. Yes, you read that right. And, I'm sorry, call me crazy and stereotypically American, but what good is a Chinese restaurant that won't deliver?! (A $25 fee is the same thing as NO delivery).
(1)
Razz C.
7 for dinner to celebrate my husband's, T, birthday. Great, attentive service. 2 ordered lamb, charbroiled to perfection. 1 sessme chix, excellent. 1 sweet n sour chix, delicious. 1 peking duck, wonderful. 1 mayo shrimp w walnuts, awesome. 1 shrimp szchuan prawns, 8 large, prawns, the best.
(4)
Sharod D.
One of the better Chinese restaurants I've had in the Denver area. You wouldn't think it from the outside but the establishment is decorated beautifully with an ancient Chinese feel to it. Huge variety of all the Chinese classics and I don't think there was a single item that myself or my guests did not like. I shared the Imperial dinner with a buddy, which was pretty much a 4 coarse meal to share with another person. Great choice if your hungry and if you want a little bit of everything. I would recommend the hot and sour soup to start or the lettuce wraps if you want a heftier appetizer. The Sesame chicken and the Hunan beef were also incredibly tasty! The portion sizes were pretty big, enough that I got a doggie bag to eat some for lunch the next day! The volcano drinks are a fun alcoholic beverage to share with someone and especially fun if your trying to get a little loose. Our server Sam, and the overall service was great! Very attentive and really personable! Great experience all around!
(4)
David T.
So, it's been a long time since we had a dine-in experience here but the lady friend was craving sesame chicken so off we went on Thursday at about 1:45pm - place was still packed - a little surprised about that and the service which started off fast really fell off between the appetizers and the mains - long pause. Started by sharing the scallion pancakes and the crab and cheese wontons. Both were very good - the scallion pancakes were a little greasy but the wontons were first rate. Both the dipping sauces were terrific. I like that they aren't shy about the Chinese mustard heat - whew! Entrees were a mixed bag. She loved her Sesame Chicken - that's what I should have had too but after fried appetizers I went with the Vietnamese beef noodle bowl which might have been OK but the sauce (faux nuoc mam) was just sugar water and veggies were MIA - no discrernable fish sauce or spice - not good at all. Steer away from non-Chinese American offerings. So, I barely touched mine and she didn't come close to finishing hers (no booze or dessert) - lots of food but $50 for lunch - really? Can't imagine what dinner would run. Might go by for some takeout appetizers (actually the hot and sour soup is good, too). But, I think prices are outpacing quality at the moment.
(3)
Kokass A.
I've been here several times and every time I've been it's been a great experience. The wait staff know not to interrupt and they are courteous. I generally go late and I've never had any issues with attitude (occasionally about-to-close late). The ambience is great, and the food is great. I've had their dim sum appetizer, eggrolls, lemon chicken, Mongolian beef, Genghis Khan Lamb, duck, and a few other dishes. They were fantastic interpretations of some pretty standard American Chinese fare. I also need to comment on a few of the reviews which take absolutely ludicrous positions: 1) This is not cafeteria food or anything near it, 2) It is not for cheap people. This is not a fast-food Chinese joint. So, don't expect cheap or fast food. I'm actually heading there tonight with out-of-town family, friends-of-family, and room mates.
(4)
Rita R.
Very nice decor. Fantastic food. I had the sesame chicken and the mister had the seafood gumbo. Excellent service. We will definitely be back.
(5)
Deb C.
It's prime has passed. Time to give it up, Imperial. Today after a long absence, we visited for a special lunch. It is an attractive setting, however, that's about the extent of anything positive. The food was a major disappointment. We had the Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Sesame Chicken. The lettuce was served wilted with rust around the edges. The chicken was overcooked and thus, tough. When we spoke to the manager, his demeanor was completely nonchalant. He explained the kitchen utilizes stainless steel scissors to cut the lettuce and they are unable to control the rust from growing on the food. To him, it was no big deal. I was repulsed by the food. For $20 a person (no alcohol) for a lunch, I think it's overpriced, lacks quality and attention.
(1)
Denise R.
Well I've been here quite a few times pretty good Chinese food just came for a quick little snack
(3)
Jason W.
Caveat: I am not a Yelper. It has never been my thing to aggressively demonize an establishment for a bad experience. Moreover, every previous experience I have had with Imperial has been outstanding. Takeout, dine in: wonderful. They have great staff and offer my favorite Chinese food in town. However. Tonight, we attempted to order delivery through a service advertised during our last trip: "Mile High Menus" a subsidiary of OrderUp. Oh boy, I thought. It's usually a trek to get out here, and I just really wanted a cup of that hot and sour soup on this rainy, gloomy evening, and oh boy again! It looks like we're in this third-party deliverer's area! I've had good luck with GrubHub before, so let's give it a go. An hour and a half later, we're thinking it might just be super busy (albeit just around 5 p.m.) so gave Imperial a call only to discover that our food had been there--waiting, getting cold, sitting around--for about an hour. A quick investigation on their part got us a number to call. Mile High Menus and OrderUp don't have any visible phone numbers on their website, but FYI it's 1-800-689-6613. Then, we spent around 11 minutes on hold before we were told they were unable to contact the delivery driver. The option was given to reorder the food, but by now it's too late; I'm on my way to work. Instead, we asked for a full refund and were given it, but at no point in any of this ordeal was an apology offered, nor did anyone seem to care enough that food was sitting around for an hour to give a heads-up courtesy call. Again, I don't want to dissuade people from going to Imperial, but I hope with a 1-star review, they might rethink what kind of shady businesses they're partnering with, and what lasting impact that'll make. I know for myself, I'm probably going to stick with something in the immediate neighborhood more often than not, and that's a damn shame.
(1)
Ray N.
I had the vegetarian lo mein, it was reminiscent of high school cafeteria food for $12 a plate. Service was sub par with the attitude to go with it. Really?
(1)
Kevin T.
Hands down still the best Chineese food in Denver! Born and raised in Denver CO and this place rules. I ordered 4 different appetizers & a main dish and did have a bad bite.
(5)
Joe S.
OK, first things first... we came here on Christmas Eve so I expected it to be a zoo. Front bar had a single bar tender who was doing a fine job keeping up with the crowds. Yes, the entry was jammed with people and 'cause it was snowing, everyone was jammed inside. Front desk did OK keeping track of the waitlist, but they were also allowing for take-out so that doubled the work-load on all and especially the kitchen. After an hour's wait [not unreasonable given the situation] we were seated. This is where things fell apart... the table was improperly set by an overwhelmed back-waiter who spoke no Chinese and barely any English. No tea, menus arrived late. Single waitress working 7+ tables [again, it was Christmas Eve so short-staffing is fine] but... missed orders, misfires, missing drinks that we ordered, bland food, slowwwww food, no flavor, no spice, no heat, no joy. I get it that it was Christmas Eve but then close the restaurant and give everyone a day off. Bad, uninspired, boring, tasteless, bland, not worth the money, nor the time, nor the anticipation. Looks like the great days are 20 years behind it...
(1)
Mark F.
(5 out of 5 for service) I ordered takeout from their website. The website was easy to use. The food was ready exactly at the quoted time. The service was very friendly and the restaurant was clean and upscale in appearance. The food was still hot by the time I arrived home. (2 out of 5 for food and value) I ordered sesame chicken and chicken fried rice. The sesame chicken was delicious. The sauce was very flavorful, but definitely on the sweeter side and absolutely zero heat, despite a pepper indicated on the menu. The chicken was very high quality. This is clearly one of their top dishes. At $12.75, I wouldn't hesitate to order it again. The chicken fried rice was WAY off the mark. The portion size was gigantic, the chicken was high quality, and there was plenty of egg, onion, and peas. However, the consistency of the rice was *almost* completely white. The dish had zero seasoning and tasted mostly of cooked white rice with hints of veggie and chicken. For the hefty price tag of $10, I would never order this dish again. (3 out of 5 overall) Imperial is definitely a step up from many other Chinese restaurants in the downtown area. I was hoping to rate it higher, but charging higher than average prices for blander than average entrees simply won't cut it.
(3)
Jon G.
We went here on Christmas day, which used to be my family tradition. You know, a movie and Chinese, like Justice Kagan. Well, I realized last year, when encountering a 2 hour wait at Imperial that this is not just a Jewish tradition anymore, and that many people like Chinese food on Christmas now. Another good idea that has caught on, like bagels :-). This year we made a reservation, and even with the chaos overtaking the place, they were able to honor it fairly close to the actual time (about 15 min). However, the place was clearly overwhelmed by the business. Everyone was hurrying about with no time for cordialities. That would be understandable, but the food just wasn't good. Imperial tries to be upscale Chinese, with perhaps a seeming continental twist. I had a rack of lamb. Of course, it was pricey, and it was also overcooked and had chinese spices thrown or slathered on it. I would get bites with way too much allspice or whatever that chinese spice is. My son's chicken was mushy and not very good. Also his potstickers has a strange taste too them. The kitchen was probably overwhelmed like the rest of the place, but I think I've had enough of Imperial. It wants to be more than it's capable of executing on.
(2)
Jacqueline A.
It's rare that I would go to a sit down Chinese restaurant, mostly because I don't know of any, but when friends asked to meet here I decided to try it out. Had the sesame chicken lunch special which is accompanied by choice of soup and egg roll. The portions here are enormous and the dish was good. With the big portion came a bigger check for what you'd expect at lunch. You could tell they used quality chicken in their product and it was well presented and tasted how sesame chicken is supposed to, a little sweet, a little nutty. As far as service goes it was spotty. No one was overly friendly and we were taken care of on time but we had probably three different servers so it was hard to know who to ask for when we needed something. If you are in the area, try it out but nothing really worth going out of your way for here.
(3)
Chris H.
I have eaten here a few times and every time the food was very good. I have to say that I am not a huge Chinese food fan so I may not be the best one to review this place, but I have always gone with other people and each of them has always commented on how it was some of the best Chinese food in town. Service is also friendly and efficient.
So far the best chinese food in Denver , the price is higher than other chinese restaurants in Denver but you buy good quality of food and good atmosphere. We ordered fillet of beef tenderloin hongkong style, sesame chicken, half peking duck as appetizer and combo fried rice. Fit for three people. You get what you pay for. Will come back to try another dishes.
(4)
Chelle T.
I'm not sure if arriving at the restaurant a little before 9pm when it closes at 9:30pm is the reason why my food was bland and the service was chilly but those are the facts. I can appreciate that it's almost time to go home and everyone probably has his/her heart set on leaving on time. That's why I politely inquired if we could still be seated before getting my hopes up for a good meal. I didn't order anything complicated. The "hot tofu" dish sounded appealing from the description on the menu. Unfortunately, it didn't deliver. As several other reviewers mentioned, the consistency of the tofu is soft. I'm definitely used to a firmer variety in this type of dish. That aside, the sauce was neither "hot" or flavorful, as promised. The meal was a mushy mess. My friend said her fried rice was okay but I don't really expect a restaurant of this caliber to flub that up. Overall, this is a nice looking restaurant. It was clean and the servers were nicely dressed. Based on some of the other reviews, I won't rule out trying it again. I am in no rush to hurry back, though.
(2)
Dean H.
Food and service were fantastic. Love the egg drop soup. Worst fortune cookie I've ever had in my life.
(4)
Luana L.
The previous reviewer was right , eating there does remind you of being in a James Bond movie! It's a beautiful restaurant. I'd never been there before, so I looked up their website and it said to call for reservations, so I did since we had a party of 8 and it was a Saturday night. When we got there, they seated us in our own dining room,which was nice since we were there for a family reunion, this allowed us to be more comfortable, as comfortable as sitting around our own dining room table at home. The food was delicious , my favorites were the striped bass and the dungeneous crab! Yumm! The staff was very knowledgeable and very helpful. I would definitely go back to try more
(5)
Cody J.
Went here last night with my brother. Heard that they have a traditional menu so though it would be worth checking out. Wait staff is amazing and the environment is cozy, but food is horrible. I have been to many "authentic" Chinese restaurants and this is definitely not one of them. The food is very overpriced and has no flavor. There are other places in denver with traditional menu and much better food.
(2)
Lizi C.
Sad, 3.5 star cumulative rating for what I consider to be one of the better Chinese restaurants in town. Say it ain't so Denver.... Imperial has rock solid Chinese food. My absolute favorite dish is the Chilean Sea Bass with black bean sauce. (This is a 5 star dish) The bass is very lightly fried and has a deliciously garlicky and salty sauce on it. Some people may complain about the price, but I think it's worth it. Ever looked at the price of Chilean sea bass at the grocery store? Yeah its expensive there too. All the other dishes I've tried are also tasty. Be prepared Chinese food is salty in general and Imperial Chinese is no exception. Does it taste delicious? Yes it does! Lunch specials are a good deal. The restaurant is nice inside and well kept. The service is attentive and efficient. How on earth could this place be less than 4 stars? If I'm in the mood for Chinese food, Imperial is the first restaurant on my mind.
(4)
Jennifer B.
Coming from the East Coast where great Chinese restaurants are easy to come by (every block really) it's been hard for me to find great Chinese out here. I've been here twice and been told by others this is really the best Chinese around. Ambiance is fabulous. It's not as fancy as it looks, this meaning you can wear a dress or jeans and either way you will feel very comfortable. I thoroughly enjoy their hot tea. I think I've had my fair share of tea, maybe the most at the table. Dishes I've tried so far: 1. Sesame Chicken 2. Thai Basil Chicken - Very spicy 3. Lemon Chicken 4. Panko Crusted Tilapia 5. Salmon with bean sauce 6. Kung Pao Chicken 7. Chicken and Broccoli 8. Crab Cheese Wontons 9. Steamed Pork Dumplings Everything is delicious. I would everything above again and again and again. They probably do take out and that is totally dangerous for me as I would drive out of my way to pick p this delectable food. Everything is perfectly spiced with sublime flavor. We cleaned our plates, not a drop left over not even the garnish. Prices and reasonable and reasonable enough to keep you coming back again and again. This is by far the best Chinese food I have found so far. If you have any suggestions of other great Chinese places please let me know, I am always willing to try.
(4)
Julie H.
Quite possibly the closest to perfect Asian lunch I've ever had. Definitely, the best Basil Chicken I have ever had. The chicken is tender and not drowned in gooey sauce. They use lots of basil, whole spicy chili peppers, red and green bell pepper, green onions, bamboo and grape tomatoes throughout. The sauce is light and the brown rice, perfectly cooked. The won ton soup is amazing. It has cabbage, whole spinach, and green onion. You almost don't need the won ton but they are so very good. Not surprised they also gave me what is now my favorite egg-roll in Denver.
(5)
Christopher A.
It had been some time since our last visit . What a disappointment! Food was, at best no hum. The Moo Shu chicken was bland and skimpy portions. Our lamb dish was very forgettable (not listed on their on-line menu. There is much better Chinese food in Denver. Two stars is generous!
(2)
Stephen K.
Basic lunch menu looks great, but a little pricy...6-10 for most apps, 11.50-15 for most lunches...most lunch menus I've seen for Chinese food run between 8-12.50...very stylishly decorated internally though and impeccably polished service...when you can tackle it. If you don't order when your waiter comes by to take your order the first time, you might be waiting for some minutes unless you actively flag someone down...Food, sadly, was average for my Vietnamese noodle bowl, not much in the way of sliced beef strips...guess it was ok.
(3)
Vince P.
No thanks! I ordered the vegetarian sesame "chicken" and it was so dumb. Normally this would be a textured fake chicken protein that would be delicious, but this was just simply really soft (undercooked) tofu breaded in sesame. No flavor, no fun. I mean, I've had "sesame tofu" before that's really good. This was just weird and not really good at all. My roommate ordered regular sesame chicken and it looked more normal but she says she can tell "they totally use MSG"...I don't know, just what she said. They charge extra for delivery and fried rice. I won't order from here again. Not the worst place on the planet but I wasn't happy really at all.
(2)
Ted P.
I've lived in Denver for 12 years. I've yet to eat at a Chinese restaurant here that had exceptional food. We've mostly gone to Imperial over the years, despite their complete lack of creativity or flair, because it's above the median for Americanized Chinese food and is relatively consistent. But, even that low bar is beyond their reach at this point. We had take-out tonight and the meat in the pot-stickers tasted like microwaved frozen hamburger. Have some pride, people. If we want Chinese food this lousy, we can just go to a dollar per scoop place on Colfax. This is not a restaurant that's owned by someone who truly loves food. It's just another business for them. If you are going to mail it in, you may as well buy a Pack-n'-Ship franchise.
(1)
Lance D.
Extremely disappointing! We're aware that most Chinese restaurants in Denver are "Americanized" so knew that we wouldn't receive authentic cuisine; however, everything we ordered was SO bland and flavorless, we couldn't believe the high rating average it has sustained on Yelp. That being said, the wait staff were very professional (although not knowledgeable WRT to menu items) and the restaurant itself has a nice atmosphere. Sorry to say but if you want Americanized Chinese food, you are better off going to Panda Express - you can do the math!
(1)
whitney m.
we have been coming to Imperial since we used to live on cap hill back in the day - so 14 years?! They serve consistently good chinese food. The preparations here are far superior to any other chinese place in denver IMO. We havent sat down and had dinner in a few years but the kids used to enjoy the big buddha, tea refills, and fish tanks. It is pricey compared to the hole in the strip mall but as i mentioned- preparations are better- fresh vegg and not steamed chicken and beef but actually sauteed meat and veg, ya know like when you stirfry at home! we always love the duck and whole fish and recently were very impressed by the bok choy dish.
(4)
Suzie S.
The waiter was attentive but couldn't believe when the two girls who were assisting at front desk openly complained about the amount of tips they received in front of customers. Won't return based on this unprofessional attitude. The meal was pleasant but overpriced and I would travel elsewhere for Chinese if I was in the area. I would hope the managers take note of the incredibly rude staff at the front
(1)
Ben F.
We were craving Chinese last night and decided to give Imperial Chinese a shot. Walking in I was pretty impressed by the decor, it's a classy looking place all the way around and we were seated at a nice booth since the restaurant was fairly empty. The GF ordered the Sesame Chicken and I was having a hard time figuring our what I should order. Should I go with an old standby like Mongolian Beef, Kung Pao Chicken, or Pork Lo Mein? After much lamenting and discussion I pulled a last-second audible and decided to go with the "Walnut Prawns" off of the signature dishes section. It was a little pricey at $16.75 but it's a dish that I enjoy even at a place like Panda Express so I figured it would be fantastic here, but just to be sure I asked the waiter and he assured me it was an extremely popular dish. Much to my dismay it was quite possibly the most disgusting meal I have ever been served at a restaurant. The entire dish was completely dooshed in mayonnaise to the point where it was gag-reflux inducing. Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of mayo, I would just never completely dunk something in it like an oreo cookie into a glass of milk, and that was essentially what had happened here.. The GF's sesame chicken was pretty good, but I think they should be embarrassed for serving that disgusting slop that was the Walnut Prawns, especially for $17! When Panda Express does a meal better than you do, something's wrong. So at this point I would say the place gets 3 stars overall, the decor is nice and the service was fine, but the food is overpriced and though I hope my meal was an aberration it really was terrible. But wait... there's more! *Warning* The rest of this review has little to do with the actual restaurant experience and is a specific situation I doubt you will find yourself in and is a bit of an angry rant, read ahead at your own risk: Upon arriving home the GF realizes that her cell phone is not in her purse... uh oh! Well she must've left it at the restaurant, I call over quickly and speak with Victoria. Victoria does a quick check for the phone, tells me it's not there and hangs up on me. No "sorry," no "why don't you give me your number and we'll call you if it turns up," NOTHING resembling customer service or even human empathy. At this point I tell the the GF that I don't trust Victoria and think she is wrong, but we decide to check the car first just in case. After a thorough sweep of the car worthy of a Mexican border checkpoint and still no phone it is clearer than ever that the phone is at Imperial. So I call and get Victoria again, after holding for about 3 minutes she again assures me that the phone is not there and that they "Moved all the booths" and checked above and below every one. I ask her if she checked the actual bench seat because that is where it probably is and she again assures me she did and that it's not there. and we hang up again. At this point the GF is freaking out, in this day and age being phone-less is pretty tough, and the budget doesn't really have the wiggle room for a new phone, but I guess that's what has to happen in the morning... After thinking about it I decide that after all my conversations with Victoria I have exactly zero faith in her as a human life-form and that I am going to go "ALL-IN" and call her bluff. We get in the car and drive back to Imperial. Upon arriving the restaurant is locked up and the windows drawn. I bang on the door then start peeking in window to window until Victoria comes to open the door. I explain to her that the phone HAS to be here and that I want to take a look myself, she rolls her eyes at me at me and makes the type of passive hand gesture that suggests that I am wasting my time but to "go for it." I walk straight to our booth and WHAT DO YOU KNOW, there's the GF's phone sitting right on the seat like I said it would be. Since Victoria didn't care enough about me to come help me look I have nobody to share my success with but on my way out I triumphantly hold the phone up in the air and ask Victoria, "How hard did you really look?" she literally says nothing to me as her jaw just slacks open. Thank god I didn't trust this imbecile as far as I could throw her, if I would've taken her word for it we would've already purchased a new phone this morning, moral of the story is trust no one and if you want something done right just do it yourself. Victoria, if you're reading this, thanks for nothing. We will never be back.
(2)
Lilli B.
we have been to imperial many times. The last two times we've been its been disappointing. We went last night and the food was really notgood. I've had better food at 1 dollar a scoop places. When we told the manager we didn't enjoy dinner and we were very surprised because the food was typically good he explained that no one else complain tonight so we must be crazy. not only worry extremely disappointed in the food but the managers response was unforgivable. We won't be back.
(1)
D P.
I believe that Imperial is the best Chinese in town. Always consistent. The Imperial dinner is the best value--great choices like Sesame Chicken and soup and a shared appetizer. Service is top notch and quality awesome.
(5)
Ginger C.
This is very, very good food in a very, very nice atmosphere. The service is fantastic and the atmosphere is soft and date-night like, but you don't have to dress up and they don't make you feel out of place because you're in jeans. The menu isn't your typical Chinese food fare; they do have that, don't get me wrong, but they also have really nice selections of fish and other items you wouldn't necessarily expect at a Chinese restaurant. Those were really pricey though so I'd save those for a special occasion. I had Happy Family. The scallops were so well cooked that I would've ordered a dish of just those had I known. They were tender and almost buttery; not at all chewy or fishy. The beef was obviously from a good cut of meat that had been cooked and sliced before adding to the dish because it was tender and juicy and also incredibly delicious. It really put all other beef dishes of curled up overcooked and chewy meat in other Chinese restaurants to shame. The vegetables were fresh and crunchy and the sauce had subtle hints of ginger and garlic instead of being an overpowering soy sauce gravy with MSG added. The service is phenomenal yet understated. Sometimes the filling of my water glass every time I drank an ounce or two was a little too attentive, but I never noticed them lingering so it didn't really bother me. Someone at my table actually spilled a glass of water and two staff members quietly swooped in, cleaned it up, covered the wet table cloth with napkins, replaced her water and disappeared into the night leaving me to say, "Who were those masked men!?" I wanted to spill another glass just to watch it all again. It was like some kind of mission impossible spy stuff with hushed tones. Cool. I only wish it weren't so pricey, but then again, the quality reflects the cost.
(5)
Jerry J.
Best Chinese I've had in Denver. Get the Imperial Noodles with chicken and shittake mushroom
(4)
M K.
My first 5 star review. I'm usually a bit stingy with the stars. I came here based on a recommendation from a friend as the "best sesame chicken ever." I looked up some of the reviews beforehand and was a little skeptical based on some of the latest reviews. This review is based on a weekday lunch visit. Restaraunt was very clean, and nicely decored. Excellent atmosphere. Sharply dressed wait staff. I had the sesame chicken, wife has the daily special - sesame scallops. Food was hot and outstanding. We both immensely enjoyed our dishes. They have great sweet and sour sauce for the egg rolls, not the red syrupy nasty sweet stuff most places serve but the excellent orange sauce you only see in the better places. Service was top-notch. My iced tea and water glass never got half empty. The minute a dish was empty it was removed from my table. I'm really confused about some of the more recent reviews. Maybe someone was reading them and has made some changes, but I honestly couldn't ask for a better dining experience. Prices are slightly higher than other Chinese restaurants but in my opinion it was totally worth it. Heck, I enjoyed myself so much, I want to go back tonight for dinner, it was that good.
(5)
Margaret C.
First time trying this people-packed Denver palace of Chinese cuisine. My daughter and I thought it would be kind of nice for the local relatives from my side of the family (you know how it is even years and years after a divorce) to go out to a nice Chinese restaurant together to celebrate the various holidays together, since my daughter and son will be with the other side of the family on Xmas. Like you all cared about these cumbersome details... So a big group of us got reservations to dine at the Imperial. My cousins recommended it and it is close to my son's house. My daughter wanted to try the place across the street, the Little Shanghai, but she was ok with going to the Imperial instead. There was a bit of a mix-up about the reservations as someone had forgotten to write them down, but when my cousins arrived, that was quickly straightened out. We started with tea. My daughter ordered roasted rice tea and it was marvelous. My son ordered jasmine tea and it was pungent and flowery. Then we ordered soup. I think we pretty much ordered all the soups on the menu. Egg drop, Hot & Sour, and Seaweed. I liked the Hot & Sour best. All were good. It took a very long time before our waiter arrived to take our order for dinner. We were all done with our soup and quite hungry. The person taking away the dishes didn't seem to understand what we were asking him, but it was loud and really really busy. My cousin reminded me that we had plenty of time, to relax, and not to worry. We ordered several items to share, and my brother ordered something to eat by himself. He liked his...it was moo shoo pork (sp?) We also ordered moo shoo vegetables...perfect! We ordered an interesting vegetable and wide noodle dish and I don't recall the name of it. I didn't like the flavor, but everyone else seemed to love it. We got brown rice, and it was tasty and cooked the way I like rice. We got a few different chicken dishes, hot and spicy, and they went fast. We also got the lemongrass salmon which was lovely. It was an enjoyable feast! My son got a chocolate cake for dessert and everyone got to try it. A few people ordered beer too. The total, for everyone, averaged to $17 per person, which wasn't too bad considering all that we ordered. I rather liked the place. Quite pleasant!
(4)
Bayley S.
Vegetarian menu is amazing! Great food and appetizer pancakes :)
(4)
Mike E.
My parents were in town for the weekend and we were looking for a lunch spot in the south Denver/Englewood area. They used to live in in Denver and while they always enjoy the places I take them they also have some favorites from back in the day. Imperial Chinese is near the top of their lists so it seemed like a perfect choice, and it didn't disappoint! We went for lunch so the menu wasn't anywhere near as deep as the dinner one apears to be, but there were still plenty of good options. I went with the Thai Basil Chicken - the meat was tender and juicy, the basil was fresh, and the chili peppers were kickin'. My dad loves their Sesame Chicken, and the piece he shared showed me why. It appears they use actual fresh chicken, not frozen nugget-like creations. Mom went with Szechwan Chicken, which came with a bunch of great veggies and was also good. All lunches come with an eggroll and soup, the Onion Egg Drop was a nice takeoff on the usual. Great service, classy decor, and good food are all reasons the Imperial has been around as long as it has. The prices are decent, especially for lunch, and it's always nice to not have to pay extra for brown rice. Lately I've been more into the "authentic" and less "Americanized" styles of Chinese cuisine, but there's always room for food made well with fresh ingredients!
(3)
Dan H.
I totally hate doing this but think it's important, especially for those fellow vegan diners out there. And please remmeber that I only base my reviews on friendly staff and good vegan food. I went here last night for a friend's celebration. He had been a couple of times and said they had good vegan dishes. After a long conversation with the server, we all realized that they only had one vegan dish, nbamboo with steamed veggies. They even have items on their menu that say vegan but are not. The problem seems to be with them using egg and chicken stock. It's a huge bummer as even the manager had said they had alot to choose from. I hope they can turn this around and make simple changes so that they are indeed vegan friendly (if they want to be).
(1)
Rico S.
A friend and I decided that to meet for lunch here. I had never been here before but I love asian food and it was near my friends place. The decor is nice very classy and nice looking very clean. The service was good they make sure your glass is no where near empty EVER!!!! (Dine in and you'll know what I'm talking about. It's almost annoying) The food however is sub par and much more pricey than your average asian place. I mean sure they offer you a shrimp wonton soup instead of pork, their egg rolls have pork in them, and you have the option of brown rice for no extra charge, but the portion size of the sesame chicken I ordered was ridiculous. I usually have left overs from most other Chinese places. I finished the soup, rice, chicken, egg roll, the bed of lettuce the chicken was served on, and the pineapple they used to garnish and left hungry..... It wasn't like I came in starved or was unusually hungry but for a $14 plus lunch...... I expect to been full. Save your time and money Denver has way better options than this. Go to Wakanos in Cap Hill it's worth the drive.
(2)
Janet S.
Always on the lookout for chinese food and always have unrealistic expectations, still I had hoped for better. Pancake appetizer, was expecting some thing with a soft texture like a Korean one...it came out like frybread!, sent it back. next up - shrimp with mayo and walnuts,..you know its supposed to have that little crunch to it, it did not...and there was a whole jar of mayo...sent it back....next up steamed duck, expensive and almost inedible/flavorless which for a duck slut is tragic. cocktails - pretty Ok - served in tikki cups. Whole lot came to $73 and that - they just comped the frybread. No value for money here, pretty good service though - she agreed with most of what we said...hmm so why no more comp on the food.
(2)
Garth E.
Imperial is not the kind of Chinese restaurant you only go to for takeout because you don't actually want to eat in the restaurant. This place is so fresh and so clean clean. There's several things about Imperial that I really like, especially when compared to your average Chinese restaurant in the US: 1) The vegetables are so fresh! Chinese food vegetables are usually soggy and covered in oil or some kind of sugary fatty sauce. At Imperial they're crisp and actually taste like what they're supposed to. 2) Varied menu. This place doesn't just have the standard American-Chinese fare (ie. Sesame Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken, etc.) but also has tons of fish and meat specialities that take you outside your Chinese food comfort zone in a very delicious way. [Try the pork chop specialty or the basil salmon] 3) Full bar. Most Chinese restaurants have very little if any alcohol beyond a small selection of Asian beers. Imperial has a great selection of wines in addition to some creative cocktails. 4) Pleasant atmosphere. Again, not the kind of restaurant you settle on getting takeout from when you can't really decide what you want. 5) Friendly and attentive waitstaff that are usually committed to service. They also have a vegan menu, which is unique to all Chinese restaurants I've been to, but is so very Colorado. If you're looking for Chinese food that's a cut above the rest, this is the place to go.
(4)
Monica L.
Excellent atmosphere, service and food. The shrimp wonton soup is better than your typical Chinese restaurant soup. Ditto for the imperial roll -- better than the typical egg roll. The sesame scallops were good, but my favorite was the chicken lo mein. The Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce was good.
(5)
Jon H.
Someone said that it was a great place for tourists to eat Chinese. It is. No subtle flavors, no delicacy, no imagination, no soul. Nice room, friendly service, but not a place for those who love the complexity of Asian food. Watered down for the old people who flock to tis place. Want taste? Head for Federal Blvd or Aurora. You will never find it here. I won't go back, but would recommend it it to my sister-in-law who thinks pot stickers are the essence of Chinese cooking.
(2)
Jeffrey E.
What I had? Onion Egg Drop Soup, Scallion Pancakes, Sesame Chicken (Lightly battered slices of chicken sauteed in a spicy sesame sauce) SAMPLED: Tokyo Sirloin Steak with Asparagus Food review: Well, I have to say this is the best Chinese food I've had in town but I suppose it better be with the prices you pay here. Everything I had was pretty good. Started with the the onion egg drop soup which was good but nothing out of the ordinary. When the scallion pancakes came out they looked like they were going to be really delicious. They were good but not as good as they looked. :-) For my entree, I dug into the Sesame Chicken which I believe had been highly praised on Yelp here. I'm afraid it didn't live up to the hype for me. It tasted like your regular sesame chicken which is good but nothing amazing by any means. One dish I wish I got instead, however, was what my friend got. The Tokyo Sirloin Steak... that stuff was crazy good from what I got to sample. I'd certainly recommend that dish over the Sesame Chicken. Service? Good service for the most part (if I were to be nit picky about one thing, that would be that their bar had no bartender so when I was waiting for a friend, there was no one around to serve me a beer while I waited. It wasn't a big deal though)
(4)
Eric R.
Since moving from NYC to Denver I haven't found too many good Chinese restaurants. Imperial Palace is one of the good ones. The sesame chicken is delicious. The service is very good. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for good Chinese food in Denver.
(5)
Kristin L.
I was really surprised that they had a vegan menu. =) Anyways, it was really good. They have a Chinese menu that you'll have to ask for it you want it. There's a Salt&Pepper Fried Tofu that was amazing off that menu. On the normal menu the Chicken + Asparagus dish and a Imperial Noodle dish were great =). The food is authentic with very little oil. =) Tea is free at lunch, but costs money with dinner. The waiter was so professional. He did round wipe with the hot plates before placing them. Also, he did offered the chopsticks with the napkin that you only see is very very high end traditional Chinese restaurants.
(4)
Deb G.
Love this place! Every time I visit Denver, I start and end with Imperial. Large menu and food is very tasty. The owner is a really nice guy. The dining room is just lovely. They are famous for their sesame chicken, which is very good, but check out the spicy Thai chicken with what tastes like wok-fried spinach! YUM!
(4)
Jaromir B.
One of the best Chinese restaurants I have ever been to. Incredibly good, nice atmosphere and great staff.
(5)
McKenzie G.
This place has been in Denver for years and only now am I made aware that there is a vegetarian and even vegan menu. Here's the confusing part: They have listed Vegan "Sea Bass" in black bean sauce and then Vegan Sweet & Sour "Pork" (Lotus Root). Then they have million vegetarian dishes, like "Chicken" lettuce wraps and Hunan "Beef" and Nan-King "Pork Loin." So we asked the lady if the "vegetarian" dishes were "Vegan" and she said, "oh sure! Yes!" Me: "So why are they labeled Vegetarian whereas other things are labeled Vegan?" Her: --stumped-- "I don't know! But they're vegan. OH! But some of them have sugar, maybe that's why?" So, beyond our waitress' (and I think manager or something?) lack of sure-fire knowledge, we ordered the two vegan options and they were pretty darn delicious--especially the "Sea Bass." Pretty sure it was a soy/gluten thing...more soy than gluten, but still a texture I have not come to find in most things sold in stores around here. Also a TON of gluten-free menu items that are labeled (doubtful vegan AND gluten free, but lots of gluten free, nonetheless). VERY expensive place--that's the drawback for me. 15 dollar entree, the Sea Bass was. Our friend got Beef and it was only 8 bucks. Just reinforces the strange concept of "eating healthy costs more." Why? I think the doctors are in on this.
(4)
Nate A.
Fantastic! Great place, food is fresh and well presented. The atmosphere is nice and well kept. The service is great! 5 stars for a lunch Chinese restaurant, it doesn't get any better than this.
(5)
Alexis G.
The food was really good. Good hot & sour & egg drop soup. The hot & sour wasn't very spicy but good & the dim sum appetizer was great. I also really liked the lettuce wraps w/ chicken. But if you don't think you'll eat them all then make sure the waiter doesn't put the mixture in the lettuce it gets soggy when saved all together. They also have a main lobster dinner special which I will definately go back for!!
(4)
G D.
Do you like warm, gross limp, lettuce in your fried rice instead of sprouts? Then you'll like Imperial's revised fried rice. Used to be great, flavorful, full of sprouts, now it's terrible. Do you like glumps of soft, gooey chicken? Then you'll like Imperial's revised sesame chicken. Used to be crispy and fantastic, now it's truly so-so. Do you like by the gross frozen egg rolls that have little taste? Then you'll like Imperial's new egg rolls. Their delicious, lemon-scented, one-of-a-kind rolls are a thing of the past. Or maybe you'd like the Chinese hash with chicken gristle galore disguised as an appealing lettuce-wrap appetizer. Because that's what you'll get at today's Imperial Chinese. I was a faithful customer of Imperial for more than 20 years. Then it fell apart about 3-4 years ago.It used to be the best Chinese in Colorado. Now it's definitely below average. Anyone posting good reviews doesn't know the old Imperial. And sadly, the new one's days are numbered. Bad management being cheap. The ruin of many a business.
(1)
Jim T.
The Imperial is a good restaurant. Zagat's says so, as is touted nicely in framed endorsements in the lobby - so it must be true, right? And that lobster tank - man - that sizzle just seals the deal - whoopee! Oh, wait a minute, that's before you're seated. The book's cover. The dining room in nice, professional, and it looks like you're in for a good experience. More often than not, the service is good. I've been there for lunch and dinner, solo and with others and the bizarre thing is that while many of the dishes are very good, somehow I leave the place feeling like I should have gotten MORE out of the deal. It's not the money, it's the overall experience.. Unlike other reviewers, I don't *care* how many Asians frequent Imperial, then base my opinion upon the clientele mix. First of all, relatively - there aren't that Chinese/Vietnames/Laotians in Denver, and second, demographically, most don't tend live next door to the Imperial. The Imperial is on Broadway, near I-25, Wash Park, Baker, Capitol Hill and Country Club. I guess one really should be worried if there are no Canadians in there, or some other similarly useless comparison. Judge a book by its content, NOT by who ELSE bought it. If the latter were the case, we'd all have killer Cheap Trick and Hall & Oates in our sucky music collections.* Solid 3 plus, can't bring myself to round it up to a 4. Try it. *Note: it is now illegal in 17 states to own or download Cheap Trick music.
(3)
Ellen K.
Came here for lunch but the vegetarian choices were next to nil. (Where was the fake sesame chicken everyone talks about?) Reluctantly ate a dead animal ... the sesame chicken. It was drowning in sauce and a pool of it was left behind when I finished. Overkill. Small cup of rice. A thin slice of pineapple. Some mediocre egg drop soup. Usually I bring home leftovers, but there wasn't enough food on the plate for that. Nothing I couldn't find in ANY Chinese restaurant in a 50-mile radius for half the price. Don't know what all the applause is about. I won't be back.
(2)
John S.
So, we ate here 3 times. As one reviewer commented, the place is beautiful with the fishtanks and the servers are nice.. however, we stopped going. We had the walnut prawn shrimp and as another reviewer mentioned : disgusting.. too much mayo. But the biggest reason for us not returning was that every time we came we ordered Peking duck. We are from the east coast and CA where bejing duck it an ART. Well, every single time I ordered it here, the duck was lukewarm as if it had been sitting for a long time ( even though I called once and even asked that same young woman another customer complained about in another review to PLEASE make sure mine was cooked fresh so it would be HOT when I got there for our reservation..) That was the LAST time I went and will ever go. I was so irritated ( as this was the third time and they had been told it was a problem the past 2 x) that I called the manager ( owner?) to the table and requested my duck be re heated immediately. My waiter was clearly too afraid to tell the kitchen ( not sure why) and even the manager was VERY hesitant to bring it back.. FORTY minutes later I get my duck back and it was luke warm AGAIN... that was it... we will never go back again. Frankly its too bad since I love Chinese food , authentic AND American.. and their pancakes are the best I have ever had. See ya later Imperial
(2)
Alex J.
I live in the area, and occasionally go for the lazy takeout when I'm in no mood to cook. I am a "moderate vegan" (as in not extremist, open to vegetarian solutions and more, due to the lack of options when dining out) so I have my usual safe picks. This time I felt adventurous and wanted to try some chinese, so I ended up stopping at Imperial for some quick takeout. The place looks ok, the hostess was nice... but that's about where the good part ends. I'm handed a menu, start looking at items and prices and I pick a vegan shrimp plate. I ask if it comes with veggies, they say yes, and with some kind of crunchy shell, and that the price is actually $10 and not $8.5. Call me picky, but I like to see the actual prices: if you change them, change the menu! After a brief time, there comes the bag. The hostess apologizes and says that the shell actually is only for the restaurant, not for the takeout dish. Ok, have I paid less? No, so why? Yes, I'm a picky customer, but I like to get what I pay for: if you don't put something in, then shouldn't I pay less? I quickly get home, open the bag, and... surprise! I paid $10 for one of the smallest chinese dishes I've ever purchased. A tiny bed of chopped iceberg lettuce, a few cubes of roma tomatoes, and this protein substitute on top. No, not even a grain of rice! Unbelievable. So far, I'm definitely underwhelmed - vote for presentation: zero! vote for portion: zero. I'm still willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, I think "well, it's takeout, so presentation can't be that great, and it's a healthy portion, let's try it". Vote for taste: Zero! I could have purchased a bag of salt and I wouldn't have noticed the difference. This was probably one of the most disgusting culinary experiences that I can remember. The next time I'll probably go for Ramen noodles: less sodium, and I'm sure more taste. I hope the rest of the menu is better and this was in isolated incident, but I'll leave this up to somebody else to decide. As far as I'm concerned, this was my first and my last time at Imperial.
(1)
Sue C.
We loved the flavors of all our entrees at Imperial Garden. The Hong Kong Beef Medallions were outstanding, the beef very tender and the sauce full of flavor. The Vegetable Fried Rice was delicious and full of vegetables. The Lemon Chicken was thick and juicy pieces of chicken. Service was outstanding and atmosphere relaxing. My Dad grew up in New York City with all the choices for Chinese, and this is his favorite place in Denver.
(5)
Taylor V.
One of my favorite Chinese food places in Denver. If your dining for 2, getting the group meal which includes appetizers, entree selections and dessert is a great way to go. I haven't had a dish here I didn't enjoy, and I'm picky when it comes to Chinese (really what I'm saying is I don't eat cheap/dollar scoop). Nice place, nice fishtanks, been here a few times and I've never had a bad visit.
(4)
Megan A.
I've heard about this restaurant for years and finally had the chance to try it. It was fantastic and lived up to its reputation. Our server was Patrick, and he was wonderful and attentive. The food was fantastic. Every single course. We definitely plan to go back. It was well worth the price. There was actually meat in the dishes, instead of a ton of vegetables (which cost less than meat) like other restaurants typically serve.
(5)
Jesseca T.
Ah, the 'Ol Imp Chin....an annual event for my family on Chinese NY (CNY)...they host a lion dance with TWO Lions, and they have lovely food and great service. We only come here 2-3x/year because it's a longer drive for us (well really long from California) and 'cause of the price- We used to rent the back room, but our family is too big to fit now so we are always in the middle of the excitement. It's AWEsome 'cause there's 5 other vegetarians in our group of 18 so when they deliver our food they pile it on that huge lazy susan and it rolls around like a conveyor belt - there's tons of delicious veggie dishes to choose from.....fat noodles, veggie dumplings, chinese broccoli, mu shu, scallion pancakes..... Maybe it's all of the family memories, but I just love this place, from the beautiful fish in the aquariums to the carved wooden display cases. Food wise, you can pick anything and be happy. Seriously, I have played menu roulette here many times and never been disappointed. Epicure Highlight:: Get the Sesame Tofu even if you're NOt veg- all of the meat-eaters at the table scarf this one up as quickly as the veg-heads- despite being tofu, it's somehow magically crunchy and sesame-y, they get the seeds to stick to the side of it with a quick batter dip or something-served with a sweet/spicy sauce, (strangely) with halved cherry tomatoes- I don't get why the tomatoes are included but you're not going to have room for them anyway, you're eating crunchy, spicy, sweet, yummy tofu. On the meat end of the deal....My husband has had the duck, the whole fish with ginger, garlic and scallion sauce (excellent!!) , and multiple beef dishes- he reports back that they are prepared well and of good quality. I would happily pay the price to eat here again, it's got great service, clean and nicely decorated interiors, and excellent food. Good Chinese is hard to come by in Colorado but this place knows what they're doing- I wish them hundreds of years of success.
(5)
Tracy A.
Took my elderly in-laws to Imperial this week. It's a good place for that -- elegant atmosphere, easy parking, efficient service. The food is good, not great -- but very consistent. Over the years, Imperial has continued to be a reliable stop for Chinese food; but now that we have so many Thai and other options, it's rarely on my radar screen. For starters, the scallion pancakes and cold sesame noodles are tasty. But my brown rice wasn't as good as it should have been. (And there was a man sitting at a nearby booth talking really loud during our entire visit -- not the Imperial's fault, I know, but sadly representative of some of the clientele there.)
(3)
William P.
What if you opened a Chinese restaurant and only loud, clueless white people came to eat there? Then, you would have the basic premise for Imperial Chinese. Recently, one Saturday, while having some some new tires put on my car, I ducked in to Imperial for lunch and to wait out the fifteen deep wait for new tires at the nearby wholesale club. Upon entering the place, I nearly turned around and left. Why? Because, as I entered, there wasn't even one Asian face among the the hostess and wait staff that I saw. But, after all, since I was stranded without a car, and it seemed a better choice than the Wendy's down the street (a position that I would no longer hold 30 minutes later). I can see why Imperial makes the unadventerous whitey epicurian comfortable. The room is clean, warm and inviting. The staff speaks perfect English (since they are all WASPS) and the food offers the kind of safe choices that one might find on a good day at a mall food court after working up a hunger rifling through the sale racks at Macy's and on a bad day at Red Lobster. The patrons of this place are clearly more Red Lobster influenced than Superstar Dim Sum influenced. As a looked over the menu, I noticed that the "lunch specials" were in the $10-$12 range including an "imperial roll", soup and rice. "It must be mighty special for that price," I thought to myself. Accordingly, I decided to skip such real Chinese authentic daily specials as "Curried Chicken Salad" and "Salmon Stuffed with Cream Chese" in favor of the expensive, and unfortunately, not very "special" lunch special. I ordered the sesame chicken, based upon comments I have read here. Honestly, I could have had the same thing for a third of the price and Panda express. The Chicken was an overbreaded, tiny breast nugget, drowned in a cloyingly sweet sauce and served over a bed of iceberg lettuce. It reminded me of something my parents would have eaten at a Chinese restaurant in rural Georgia in the 1970s. The Imperial Roll was a greasy, deep fried little nugget of ground meat which I probably would have had a great appreciation for after a night of hard drinking, but not so much at 1 pm on a Saturday afternoon. The shrimp wonton soup had the greatest promise except for the fact that the shrimp wontons hadn't been sufficiently cooked and were floating dry and crispy (as in left out uncovered all day dry and crispy) on top of their flavorless broth. The plate came served with a big triangular hunk of watermelon which was, perhaps, the only redeeming food item on the plate. After a few bites, I asked for the check, paid the bill being sure to tip my waiter Chad for the more than adequate service and headed down to Wendy's for a junior bacon cheeseburger. Ugh.
(1)
Demetrius A.
It had been a while since I had visited the Imperial and it's just what I remember. The atmosphere is great, dining room is very fitting to crowds and the service was prompt... I had the Mongolian Chicken and brown rice and my friend had the Sea Bass I believe and both were very darn good... From the soup to the wine and everything in between, I had an enjoyable experience. They have an extensive menu and wine list as well...
(4)
Riza H. C.
Perhaps from all the hype this restaurant receive, its DEFINITELY over-rated. Very disappointed from the food spread of what the Restaurant manager has planned for us, with the certain price range we ask for. Banquet Style. They served us 1 dish after another. Clear the dish after we complete that dish. So far like about 9 to 10 different dishes to be shared at least 8 people in a table ~ prices range from $20 to $35 per person.. I believe to accomodate 24 people can be over-daunting or over-whleming?? Duh!! We had these: Appetizers: Peking Duck Steamed Spring Roll Pork Dumplings Soup: Chicken and Shrimp soup Main Entrees: Walnut Prawns Sesame Chicken Fried Whole Seabass with Schzwen Sauce Hunan Beef Nanking Pork Loin Fried Rice which contain PORK Dessert: Ginger Ice-cream The only good thing, was the Restaurant do provide private rooms for our big group eating. I only choose to have the main entrees of the chicken, beef, prawns and fish with brown rice since I dont eat PORK. Nevertheless, I will try it again with hubby so I can finalized it. The next time if I were to visit this restaurant again, I can choose what I really want to eat from this Restaurant rather than what the Manager plans. What can I say, coz I do have expectation if this Restaurant have been getting good reviews all across Colorado. Perhaps the reviewers have not been outside the US to taste and compare real Chinese food. No offence. I am just being truthfully honest!
(2)
Jaime D.
Tuesday evening, 8:00pm: perfect time to dine - I've eaten here before, and always get great service. tonight provided impeccable service. Dana brought us our Jameson, neat, without us asking. just kidding, we asked, but it came quickly. 'Tokyo Steak with Asparagus' - fantastic. gentle, steak-wrapped goodness. describing it would only take away from the experience. asparagus was blanched perfectly. everything else we ate was prepared with the same care and complexities of which I have spoken, previously. I won't bore you with 'why', but I must reiterate that the service was like floating on pillows. another great experience from a place that I love.
(5)
Louise M.
The first time I came here I was not impressed. I ordered to go so I didn't get the great service everyone raves about. I ordered kung pao chicken which was bland, not spicy at all, and heartless. The orange beef was cooked well, not over deep-fried, but also uninspired. We tossed the left overs. Thumbs down. That was last year. My dad made us return and I have to admit that the food was much better. I've even had it to go a few more times since and I feel like they've improved quite a bit. I'll give them a 4 for now, with plans to retun.
(4)
Bill F.
We went Sunday May 24, 2012 when the doors opened at 4pm. It was a celebration dinner for our Wedding annivesary. My sister in law and her husband wanted to treat us for our Wedding Anniversary. We first ordered the Dragon Well Tea (hot & it's decaffeinated) No one liked it, so we went with tried and true Jasmine tea. The server, Jeff was very accommodating, Oh well, doesn't hurt to try something different. What we ordered for four people. Appetizers. 1. BBQ baby back ribs 4 in an order (had a nice delicate sweet taste, I thought the ribs were rather small (about 3 inches each one and not very meaty at all) 2. Coconut Shrimp for for 4 people. looks like they butterfly the Shrimp before coating and frying. Very good crispy crunchy coating. Everybody liked them 3 Oriental Chicken Salad gluten Free. Everybody also like the chicken salad. I think it was everyone's favorite of the appetizers. We didn't order any soups. Main Dish. 1. Dungeness Crab imbued with 5 spices 2. Whole steamed sea bass Cantonese style 3.Shanghai Braised duck half 4. Filet of beef with Burgundy sauce Choice of white or brown rice, we took both. Dessert: we all ordered ginger ice cream. Ginger taste was very very light. All four main dishes came out hot and ready, good presentation, good flavor. Everybody was pleased with dinner, our server did a good job. So why give it only 3 stars? I ate in many Chinese restaurants through out the United States, Europe, China and Hong Kong as well as my father owned over 5 restaurants in his life time and I worked in them in my youth. This restaurant serves very good competent food. It's just missing that little extra, to boost it to a four star review. As a Chinese restaurant not located in a major Chinese area, it's good. We did enjoy ourselves at the restaurant.
(3)
Jonathan E.
the Chicken Teriyaki here is the best in Colorado. its actually the best Chinese food in Colorado, hands down. Always fresh, prepared with a lot of care and the staff here is really friendly. They check back all the time and make you feel at home
(5)
Barbara S.
Wonderful "vegan" Chicken Schzwhan and Sweet and Sour Pork" So good and what a wonderful find. Service was great; food was even better. Loved it!
(4)
Megan D.
Finally decent vegetarian Chinese food. Just because I don't eat meat doesn't mean that I want to eat tofu jello as my main course. Get with it people texurized soy protein is where its at. So thank you Imperial for delicious fake sesame "chicken" I tried the fake "beef" with hunan sauce. The "beef" was great the Hunan sauce was almost sickeningly sweet. I'd get it again but with a better sauce. They have fake fish options too, but I haven't tried em yet. A little pricey but what can you do when there are no comparable options. All in all I love it :D
(5)
Erin M.
Having grown up near Chicago, I often miss the ambiance of a true Chinatown restaurant, gilded to the hilt, fish tanks, low lighting, etc. I love when dining is more than just food, but is instead about the experience. Imperial Chinese hits this mark and then some. Both my husband and I noticed and commented on the ambiance as soon as we entered. The service was also wonderful. Unobtrusive, helpful and speedy. The food was better than average. I had chicken dumplings (which I appreciated could be steamed rather than fried) and they were light, crispy and spiced well. As an entree, I had beef and broccoli with brown rice(I appreciated that you could get brown, white, long grain or fried rice in both white and brown varieties). There was plenty of food, (though smaller portions than one might expect from a typical Chinese restaurant) and we each took home leftovers. Why the 3 starts? The meal was $40 without tip. While this isn't the end of the world by any means, the food was not significantly better than the average Chinese restaurant to warrant the significantly above average price tag. I will likely return, particularly because of their abundance of specialty items (gluten free, vegan)as I have friends who fall into both categories.I also appreciate that this is one of the few restaurants in Baker with ample parking, a rarity on Broadway.
(3)
Nina N.
I've been here a handful of times over the years and always have a good experience. We went last night for Chinese New Years and enjoyed our dinner. The dumplings both pork and chicken as well as edamame and pancake scallion app's were tasty. I ordered the spicy sizzling beef and the beef quality was suprisingly good! We had a very professional server who brought our daughter a free desert as he overheard that we were also celebrating an acheivement of hers. One other noteable mention is one of us in our party severely over tipped and the owner came to the table to point out our error. Who does that? Quality place!
(4)
Erica G.
Had a nice dinner - the imperial dinner for 2 was a good deal - soup, appetizer, entre and dessert. Not a whole lot of vegetables served with the sesame chicken or tea duck, but it was good food. I will say, the sesame chicken was labeled as spicy on the menu - it was most definitely NOT spicy. But it was flavorful and tasty. The atmosphere here was my favorite part - the staff was super nice and very formal. The decor is awesome - it was kind of like eating on the set of a James Bond flick.
(4)
Lily S.
This is one of those places that I'll try once and unless someone else invites me back, probably won't miss. Nice setting, no mistake about it, but the food is so Americanized Chinese for a heck of a price! I can pay a fraction of the money and have much more authentic Chinese simply by driving south a little bit.
(3)
John P.
We love this place. I'm not sure if they are still doing off-site catering, but they did for our wedding and I can't say enough good things about our experience working with Jonny and his staff. The food is excellent (though some is clearly western style), the feng shui is good, and the wait staff are very attentive. We absolutely LOVE the tofu seafood soup. They also make and serve their Peking duck traditional style which is great. Also worth trying are the stir fried baby bok choy and Nan King Pork Loin. My wife was born and raised in China and I have traveled there extensively. As a result, we tend to favor more traditional, less western menus and preparation styles. Overall, the imperial gets high marks in this regard. When we talked with Jonny re: planning our wedding reception menu, we told him we wanted a traditional Chinese wedding menu with a few more western dishes for our more finicky guests. What we ended up with was a dinner that every one enjoyed and we've received great comments from everyone who attended (including family members who traveled from Taipei, Beijing, and yes, even Dayton, Ohio...). This is one of those places where it's good to be a regular and have the staff recognize and remember you. Again, I can't say enough good things about the food, the staff, and the restaurant. We've never had a bad experience at the restaurant and they made our wedding reception truly memorable.
(4)
Brian G.
It's a been a long time we have been going to the Imperial. I had to live a prison like sentence when we moved to Texas for two years. Dallas Chinese blows goats (no that's not a dish). I missed the Imperial more than anything while we were gone. Nothing is frozen and the use mostly fresh ingridents. Serive is fair to midland but the bar lacks. The bar is the only thing that required me to remove a star. I live the food and is great for big parties. Good wine prices and is generally quiet.
(4)
J K.
The food is pretty good, the staff is very attentive, but they are damn pleased with their restaurant, as seen by the prices. Don't get me wrong, if the food is amazing then the price should reflect it. But honestly, I just feel like I've spent too much for what I got whenever I come here. I like the food, but not going to go out of my way to get here anymore.
(4)
Maria T.
Disappointing American Chinese not sure what it wants to be. I have observed this restaurant for years and always heard good reviews so I decided to check it out after shopping at Sam's next door. Boring, lack of any real Chinese regional authenticity. It is nothing special. Drive an extra five minutes to Alameda and Federal area and find many more choices. A step above Panda in the mall, but not by much.
(2)
Susan P.
Great Chinese food, especially the sesame chicken and hot and sour soup. Fantastic service, especially useful at lunch when you really need to get back to work. A wonderful place.
(5)
Matthew B.
Ferrari doesn't make a station wagon, and if it did I wouldn't buy it because when you buy a Ferrari you've got to buy a sports car. Sesame Chicken is the Toyota Camry of Chinese food. It's ubiquitous, reliable and white people like it. (Will I make more car analogies in this review? Buckle up!) When you combine something reliable like the Camry with the performance of the Ferrari, you get lost in an auto metaphor. However, when you combine the Imperial and Sesame Chicken, you get the best Sesame Chicken in the United States. Bar none. When you go to the Imperial, they HAVE other dishes but you come here for the Sesame Chicken. Now I haven't been to EVERY city with a significant Asian population, but I've been to most of them. And this Sesame Chicken beats theirs HANDS down. If you are looking for Chinese food realism, you are better off heading to China because Americans tend to shy away from dishes that are featuring congealed Duck blood - and I like to think for good reason. The service here is perfect. Perfect service is this: A)There is a maitre'd who is in charge of making sure that his/her waitstaff is providing impeccable service. B)This aforementioned impeccable service consists of the waitstaff tending to their guests without being oppressive. Water should be constantly filled, guests should be happy with what they ordered, food should come out at the same time at the temperature that it was when it left the kitchen. Drink and appetizer orders should be taken promptly after seating guests. You would think that list wouldn't be that hard to fill, but the service at most restaurants is atrocious. Your waiter forgets about you, your appetizers come out at the same time as your entrees, your ice clinks as it melts, forgotten by your flummoxed waiter. None of that happens here. What happens here is Amazing Sesame Chicken, and incredible service.
(5)
Polly P.
The atmosphere is very pretty and I found the service to be very attentive, in fact down-right pleasant & very professional. The issue I had was with the food let-down. I was looking for exceptional Chinese - not an americanized version. I would classify this as Chinese-American the way one would use the words Tex-Mex instead of Mexican. My husband and I had the combinations for 2. Soup starter was standard. Appetizers were standard as well, however the ribs seemed a bit "old". My husband had Imperial Chicken ... simply put, chicken with vegetables. There was nothing savory or satisfying about it from a flavor perspective. I ordered Sesame Scallops. Ultimately my mistake for not asking how Sesame Scallops were cooked, but I hardly thought it would be sweet & sour scallops with a pinch of sesame seeds pitched on top. There were no veggies in this dish - maybe that's how they slid past qualifying it for "sweet n sour" category. For 2 of us, we came away spending about $60ish - what a disappointment. While Panda Express does not have scallop dishes, I would have been more satisfied with even their flavors, variety and even more with paying a fair 1/3 of what we did at Imperial Chinese. And I don't even really like Panda Express. Maybe this is a better lunch place?
(2)
Craw H.
Service was fast and gracious, and the price was great even with a fair amount of drinks and a Peking duck. Best Chinese food I've had in Colorado, and coming from San Francisco, I am very picky
(5)
Jennifer W.
The food and service were both excellent! I am a vegetarian and was thrilled to see their imitation meat substitutions. The fake Sesame Chicken was amazing! I don't usually order dessert and would have never thought to order the ginger ice cream (it came with our dinner option), but it was amazing!!! The cost was a little pricey for Chinese food and for the portions (I always expect to have leftovers from Chinese, and that was not the case here), but we will definitely be back!
(5)
Brandy M.
Love this place, been coming here for years. I usually get the hot and sour soup and the sesame chicken with brown rice. Clean and tastefully decorated restaurant.
(5)
Sherri L.
Perhaps we were there on the wrong night...After all the hype to hit the Imperial on Xmas Eve, we decided to stop in after a long day with family. We checked in with the hotess and decided to grab a drink at the bar. 1 hour later, after hearing other people being called around us we went to check on our table. We were told we were called already but would be put back on the list. Another half hour goes by, with lots more people being seated so we check again. Finally we get seated where we continue to sit. All the tables around us get their orders taken and food starts coming before our order is finally taken. I know, we should have left but knowing what was in the fridge at home and being so hungry we thought for sure we'd eat soon. The food finally came and it was not very good. Over 3 hour experience with ok food, don't think we'll be back or recommend this place to anyone else in the future. Spare yourself.
(1)
Leslie K.
It seems a lot of the negative reviews of this place buy into the old cliche of, "It isn't authentic!!!" Well of course it isn't. Despite the culinary gains Denver has made since I was a child, you still have to keep it in perspective people. Plus I wonder how many people really know what authentic mexican/chinese/indian etc. food tastes like? I used to work a block from Chinatown in NYC, and believe me you could get some "authentic" stuff there, but it simply made me understand why some foods are modified for the American palette. This obsession with authentic food does not make you more sophisticated or discerning, it just makes you sound kinda like a pretentious douchenozzle. To me what I care about is if it food tastes damn good or not. If it is authentic and tastes good, great. if it is Imperial Chinese standard Americanized fair, great too. So that being said, Imperial Chinese really does have the best sesame chicken I've ever had. They also have a good selection of tea, although they need to know how to steep them better so they don't turn bitter. My cousin and his wife shared mongolian beef and lemon chicken with us last time, which were also decent. The service has always been pretty good, regardless of the server's race (serious people, who goes in a restaurant and not only notices, but complains because they have white people working there...wtf?) Okay rant done. If you like tasty, and yes, Americanized Chinese, you will like this place.
(4)
Carrie R.
Once upon a time, I could look forward to the Sizzling Black Pepper Steak and an order of Imperial Rolls as a special treat. I knew I would be attended by a professional server who would efficiently, unobtrusively provide me with whatever I needed. Now, the entrees disappoint and the servers have been replaced with the new Denver Waitstaff: those who sneer at your every request and belittle you for your questions. Sigh.
(3)
Herman D.
Big disappointment. Over 30 minutes to get food. My sesame chicken was like eating little rocks. My wife's tilapia was too spicy. Next time I go for Chinese food, definitely not Imperial
(1)
Michael K.
Excellent, knowledgeable staff. I dined with a gluten-free companion, and they were especially helpful and suggestive about accommodating gluten-free dining. The food was excellent American Chinese, and seemed carefully and thoughtfully prepared. I'll definitely return.
(4)
Eugene S.
We go to this place whenever we want some good and upscale Chinese food. My choice is lemon chicken, beef with spicy pepper sauce.
(5)
Craig D.
My office ordered food from here for one of our lunchtime meetings. I have never been inside the restaurant, so this review is based only on the food. I have generally had pretty decent luck with ordering tofu entrees from Chinese, Thai, and Japanese restaurants. I ordered their Hot and Sour Tofu. Simply put... it was the worst Tofu entree I ever ordered from an Asian restaurant. The hot and sour sauce that it came in was fine. But the tofu seemed like it was barely cooked and it was actually slimy! It honestly, seemed like it was "soft" tofu pulled right out of one those containers you get in the store where it is packed in water, and then placed directly in my container of hot and sour sauce. It sure didnt taste like it was cooked... let alone marinated in the sauce. If this is how they prepare all their tofu dishes at Imperial Chinese... I would never order another one... or for that matter... ever eat their food again. Now I admit, I have only had their food once... and it was a free meal... If my office doesnt order from them again, I would be perfectly fine with that. I think I am being pretty generous by giving them 2 stars.
(2)
Neenrn C.
I read many of the reviews of this place and was looking forward to some hot and sour soup....... I'm still looking for real hot and sour soup. The soup was not hot as in spicey or sour...
(2)
Chris E.
Delicious entrees and sides, very responsive service, terrific for large parties. Our favorite Chinese restaurant in the Metro area!
(5)
michelle c.
Some of the food is good (seseme chicken), but way over priced. My husband used to work here and so we'd go once in awhile. I'd rather get authentic Chinese food for the price.
(3)
Jose S.
Loved the Imperial Rolls, hot and sour soup, Imperial tea selection... Hated the server, Mongolian beef, and dessert choices...since when do they sell pre-fab tiramisu at Chinese restaurants? The server thought it strange we asked for chop sticks, made a poor selection of entree, and was all around weird....
(2)
Shawn N.
Meh. So-So. Dining room is decent. Prices were average. Whenever I try a Chinese restaurant for the first time I always try the Sesame Chicken first since every single Chinese restaurant offers it, it is a good litmus test (apples to apples) for food. Their Sesame Chicken tasted okay, though I prefer a little more heat to my Sesame Chicken. Unfortunately the chicken was very dry even coated in sauce. I liked the onions added to the egg-drop soup although mine came out almost stone cold. The service was prompt however the waiter really found himself to be amusing and thought that his biting sarcasm and deprecating approach to speaking to us was acceptable. I really appreciate waiters that can gauge the mood of a party and address them appropriately. This guy? EPIC FAIL. Not really sure if I will be returning as there are so many other "Koi" in the Denver Metro Sea.
(3)
J C.
hey this place was pretty great. i admit to being a little hesitant at first. when we arrived on new years day, the place was packed. the hostess said there would be a 10-15 minute wait (which was actually more like 30 minutes). my brother and i waited at the bar for at least 15 minutes before anyone came to tend. things got better when we were seated. great service from the wait staff. one of the owners came by our table to make sure we were being taken care of etc... i ordered the sesame tofu, which will now forever be among my favorite dishes world-wide. it featured really nice tofu coated in sesame seeds and served in a sun-dried tomato and red cabbage sauce. my brother had sesame chicken (which didn't seem at all exciting to me, but he loves it) i felt that the prices were reasonable and the service was great (minus the lackluster bar)
(4)
Sasch D.
I just went here for take-out last night. My boyfriend and I both had the Sesame Chicken (I had brown rice, he had white). The chicken actually tasted like chicken! Most pieces were tender and tasty. It wasn't as crispy as I like my Sesame Chicken to be and the flavors could have been a bit more vibrant. The rice was very well cooked, nice and fluffy! We mainly tried this place because Chinese food sounded good and Imperial Chinese has good ratings. I may or may not come back here to try other things, I probably won't come back for take-out though. All in all, not a bad experience but nothing to rave about.
(3)
Mopsie B.
Lovely atmosphere, quick service and convenient location all make the Imperial a good place to visit. Frankly, I don't know of many other nice Chinese restaurants in Denver. The one complaint I would have is not unique to the Imperial, though- Chinese restaurants never seem to bother with organic or natural meats and seafood, which presents a problem for me when ordering, if I want something more substantial than vegetables. That being said, the steamed vegetables are excellent and I do enjoy the more upscale environment. It would be nice to have a few fewer fried items on the menu, too, but I realize that I am probably in the minority in thinking so.
(3)
C J.
We ordered: Dumplings (Pork & Chicken), Coconut Shrimp (had kids with us), Sesame Chicken (ditto), Salt & Pepper Prawns, Salt & Pepper Calamari, Vegetarian Chow Fun Noodles. There is no reason to go to here for the food alone. Granted, we had kids with us & ordered very kid-friendly dishes, nothing I consider exceptionally authentically Chinese, except for the Salt & Pepper Prawns. The pot stickers were big & meaty, but without any real flavor (could not tell which was the pork or the chicken), the rest were very bland, uninteresting, and very middling. Honestly, I've had more complex & interesting flavors while stuck at the airport from Panda Express. I was especially disappointed because the Asian restaurants on Federal/Alameda were so, so close, but we happened to be on Broadway during rush hour & we were famished. The ONLY reason to go here is for the very nice, sophisticated, masculine decor (nothing red & gold here) and the western-friendly attentive service. Basically, you would only go here if you/your party want a 'taste' of Chinese food & have never had authentic Chinese, and if you want Western style service & decor. I'm Vietnamese & I've made it a point to teach my kids & tell my friends this, if there are very few (or none) Asian diners, it's not a good sign. When we got there early in the dinner service (not quite 6pm) there were only a handful of occupied tables. As soon as our appetizers were served the place was filling up & by the time we left, almost every table was filled & the scene was very lively. I was AMAZED by the wide variety of customers they had: families with young kids, elderly & younger couples, sharply dressed business people having meetings, & lots of groups of business-casual colleagues. It was a Thurs night & they were packed. I never wish a 'decent' business harm & there is a place for this type of restaurant, but we were the only Asian customers. There are plenty of much better-but-not-so-pretty Asian restaurants close by (Federal/Alameda corridor), like Star Kitchen or Pho 78.
(2)
Dave A.
It's oaky but this is Asian food for white people too afraid to eat a more authentic place on S Fed. IMO this is just slightly more authentic than PF Changs.
(2)
Catherine B.
Could someone please explain to me why this is considered the best Chinese in Denver? I don't get it. I went here when I moved to Colorado in 1993, and then I tried it again in 2010. Still gross. The food is not flavorful at all, and it is really expensive. The atmosphere and service are fine, but that's about all I have to say that's positive.
(1)
Kevin S.
Totally don't get all of the rave recommendations I've been getting from friends. Ordered delivery from Imperial the other day. Outside of the fact that they totally screwed up the order, it was incredibly expensive and the food was nothing memorable. I should have known better when I saw Thai noodles on a Chinese restaurant menu. The Chicken Chow Mein didn't show up, but I did get a plastic container filled only with a heap of greasy, dried up, tough noodles. Huh? The orange beef was about a half-dozen small medallions, the rest was a heap of pea pods. Could barely find the orange flavor-- for $16. And $10 for a few pieces of forgettable bok choy that probably cost them fifty cents. The Szechwan chicken didn't resemble any Szechwan chicken I've eaten anywhere else. Sauces are way too sweet and overpowering. Won't bother ordering from here again, or going there to eat.
(1)
Jay L.
The Imperial is probably one of the best Chinese Restaurants in Denver. The inside is relatively plush, with interesting lighted aquariums. Reservations can be made for groups of about 10+ in private rooms if you would like privacy for a small event. Free public parking makes access very easy.
(4)
Craig R.
Lunch (especially sesame chicken with hot and sour soup) is 5 star. Dinner 3 or 4 start as it is very pricey and the menu is pretty uneven. Impeccable service at all times.
(5)
Marie G.
The first time we went here was to take my boyfriend's dad who grew up in Chicago and who has been on the search for good Chinese food ever since he moved. Our second visit was to take my parents for my dad's birthday. We all ordered the family style dinner for $20 per person which gives you soup, appetizers, an entree and ginger ice cream. The wonton soup is a shrimp wonton and very good. The egg drop soup was some of the best we have ever had. For appetizers we had lettuce wraps, egg rolls, cheese wontons, and little ribs. All appetizers were just wonderful. The entrees we shared family style and I was surprised by how much I loved the choices of other members of our families. We had hunan beef, pork loin, pork ribs, sesame chicken, pork fried rice, & seafood bird's nest. My boyfriend's parents said it was the best they have had since they lived in Chicago and used to eat in Chinatown. The atmosphere is very nice with large fish tanks - don't miss the 2 orange parrot fish in the middle of the dinning room. They have "I Love U" tattooed across their sides! The servers rarely let you run out of water. My only complaint is that the room is very loud on a busy Friday night. While it is some of the most expensive Chinese food I've ever had it is definitely some of the best. I asked them about MSG and I'm not sure I got a straght answer, so be careful in that department.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : Yes Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Classy Noise Level : Quiet Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : Free Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
The popularity of Chinese food in America can be adjudicated by the appearance of China Town in many major cities in the United State of America. The popular trend of ordering or opting for Chinese take away food isn't unknown in America. Chinese take away food comes to rescue when you're too tired from work or too exhausted to cook. No one can resist the temptation of eating spicy noodles, shrimp, chicken, beef or pork cooked in the sweet and spicy sauce. The cooking method of authentic Chinese food is a lot different compared to what is served in America.
Generally, Chinese use dark meat small bones and organs to cook dishes but this changes when you are eating American-Chinese fusion food prepared using white boneless meat cooked with broccoli, carrots and onions. Back in China, the food is less spicy and oily as they favor steaming and braising method for cooking the most popular dishes. So, if you have a taste for authentic Chinese food, then try finding a real Chinese restaurant in the city. You can also try the most popular fusion Chinese food like Pecking Duck, Chicken Feet, Hot Pot, Shrimp Dumpling Soup, Mapo Tofu, Wontons, Chop Suey, Egg Rolls and not to forget Fortune Cookies.
There are not many restaurants in America serving authentic Chinese food. A little research on Restaurant Listings directory can help you locate the best Chinese restaurants in the city. Chinese cuisine is continuously evolving, and you can find a variety of dishes categorized as the food for lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, vegan, vegetarian, and diabetic friendly. So, if you have a group of friends with different taste patterns, save the hassle and visit the nearest Chinese restaurant in your city.
Bruce F.
Imperial is a step above most Chinese restaurants. I liked that distinct flavors of the vegetables, proteins and spices came through. Additionally I'm really happy when a restaurant takes the time to cut fat and gristle from the meat. Most Chinese restaurants do not. We started with steamed dumplings and then had shrimp wonton soup. My lunch entree of Kung Pao Chicken was very good but did need some heat. The mustard sauce served with the spring rolls was super spicy! Loved that. The portions are huge and the dining room is nice. I'm happy to pay a little more for the higher quality of food served here.
(4)Helen M.
Our party ordered the dim sum sampler to start. Each dumpling was unique, well filled and delicious. We shared the eggplant and the steamed bass with ginger which were perfectly prepared and fresh. We also tried mush hu pork and the sesame chicken which were merely ok and topped off our meal with creamy ginger ice cream. Excellent service and overall good value.
(4)Samantha L.
So, to start, we didn't try the food here because we couldn't get it delivery. We couldn't get it delivery because there was a $25 fee. Yes, you read that right. And, I'm sorry, call me crazy and stereotypically American, but what good is a Chinese restaurant that won't deliver?! (A $25 fee is the same thing as NO delivery).
(1)Razz C.
7 for dinner to celebrate my husband's, T, birthday. Great, attentive service. 2 ordered lamb, charbroiled to perfection. 1 sessme chix, excellent. 1 sweet n sour chix, delicious. 1 peking duck, wonderful. 1 mayo shrimp w walnuts, awesome. 1 shrimp szchuan prawns, 8 large, prawns, the best.
(4)Sharod D.
One of the better Chinese restaurants I've had in the Denver area. You wouldn't think it from the outside but the establishment is decorated beautifully with an ancient Chinese feel to it. Huge variety of all the Chinese classics and I don't think there was a single item that myself or my guests did not like. I shared the Imperial dinner with a buddy, which was pretty much a 4 coarse meal to share with another person. Great choice if your hungry and if you want a little bit of everything. I would recommend the hot and sour soup to start or the lettuce wraps if you want a heftier appetizer. The Sesame chicken and the Hunan beef were also incredibly tasty! The portion sizes were pretty big, enough that I got a doggie bag to eat some for lunch the next day! The volcano drinks are a fun alcoholic beverage to share with someone and especially fun if your trying to get a little loose. Our server Sam, and the overall service was great! Very attentive and really personable! Great experience all around!
(4)David T.
So, it's been a long time since we had a dine-in experience here but the lady friend was craving sesame chicken so off we went on Thursday at about 1:45pm - place was still packed - a little surprised about that and the service which started off fast really fell off between the appetizers and the mains - long pause. Started by sharing the scallion pancakes and the crab and cheese wontons. Both were very good - the scallion pancakes were a little greasy but the wontons were first rate. Both the dipping sauces were terrific. I like that they aren't shy about the Chinese mustard heat - whew! Entrees were a mixed bag. She loved her Sesame Chicken - that's what I should have had too but after fried appetizers I went with the Vietnamese beef noodle bowl which might have been OK but the sauce (faux nuoc mam) was just sugar water and veggies were MIA - no discrernable fish sauce or spice - not good at all. Steer away from non-Chinese American offerings. So, I barely touched mine and she didn't come close to finishing hers (no booze or dessert) - lots of food but $50 for lunch - really? Can't imagine what dinner would run. Might go by for some takeout appetizers (actually the hot and sour soup is good, too). But, I think prices are outpacing quality at the moment.
(3)Kokass A.
I've been here several times and every time I've been it's been a great experience. The wait staff know not to interrupt and they are courteous. I generally go late and I've never had any issues with attitude (occasionally about-to-close late). The ambience is great, and the food is great. I've had their dim sum appetizer, eggrolls, lemon chicken, Mongolian beef, Genghis Khan Lamb, duck, and a few other dishes. They were fantastic interpretations of some pretty standard American Chinese fare. I also need to comment on a few of the reviews which take absolutely ludicrous positions: 1) This is not cafeteria food or anything near it, 2) It is not for cheap people. This is not a fast-food Chinese joint. So, don't expect cheap or fast food. I'm actually heading there tonight with out-of-town family, friends-of-family, and room mates.
(4)Rita R.
Very nice decor. Fantastic food. I had the sesame chicken and the mister had the seafood gumbo. Excellent service. We will definitely be back.
(5)Deb C.
It's prime has passed. Time to give it up, Imperial. Today after a long absence, we visited for a special lunch. It is an attractive setting, however, that's about the extent of anything positive. The food was a major disappointment. We had the Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Sesame Chicken. The lettuce was served wilted with rust around the edges. The chicken was overcooked and thus, tough. When we spoke to the manager, his demeanor was completely nonchalant. He explained the kitchen utilizes stainless steel scissors to cut the lettuce and they are unable to control the rust from growing on the food. To him, it was no big deal. I was repulsed by the food. For $20 a person (no alcohol) for a lunch, I think it's overpriced, lacks quality and attention.
(1)Denise R.
Well I've been here quite a few times pretty good Chinese food just came for a quick little snack
(3)Jason W.
Caveat: I am not a Yelper. It has never been my thing to aggressively demonize an establishment for a bad experience. Moreover, every previous experience I have had with Imperial has been outstanding. Takeout, dine in: wonderful. They have great staff and offer my favorite Chinese food in town. However. Tonight, we attempted to order delivery through a service advertised during our last trip: "Mile High Menus" a subsidiary of OrderUp. Oh boy, I thought. It's usually a trek to get out here, and I just really wanted a cup of that hot and sour soup on this rainy, gloomy evening, and oh boy again! It looks like we're in this third-party deliverer's area! I've had good luck with GrubHub before, so let's give it a go. An hour and a half later, we're thinking it might just be super busy (albeit just around 5 p.m.) so gave Imperial a call only to discover that our food had been there--waiting, getting cold, sitting around--for about an hour. A quick investigation on their part got us a number to call. Mile High Menus and OrderUp don't have any visible phone numbers on their website, but FYI it's 1-800-689-6613. Then, we spent around 11 minutes on hold before we were told they were unable to contact the delivery driver. The option was given to reorder the food, but by now it's too late; I'm on my way to work. Instead, we asked for a full refund and were given it, but at no point in any of this ordeal was an apology offered, nor did anyone seem to care enough that food was sitting around for an hour to give a heads-up courtesy call. Again, I don't want to dissuade people from going to Imperial, but I hope with a 1-star review, they might rethink what kind of shady businesses they're partnering with, and what lasting impact that'll make. I know for myself, I'm probably going to stick with something in the immediate neighborhood more often than not, and that's a damn shame.
(1)Ray N.
I had the vegetarian lo mein, it was reminiscent of high school cafeteria food for $12 a plate. Service was sub par with the attitude to go with it. Really?
(1)Kevin T.
Hands down still the best Chineese food in Denver! Born and raised in Denver CO and this place rules. I ordered 4 different appetizers & a main dish and did have a bad bite.
(5)Joe S.
OK, first things first... we came here on Christmas Eve so I expected it to be a zoo. Front bar had a single bar tender who was doing a fine job keeping up with the crowds. Yes, the entry was jammed with people and 'cause it was snowing, everyone was jammed inside. Front desk did OK keeping track of the waitlist, but they were also allowing for take-out so that doubled the work-load on all and especially the kitchen. After an hour's wait [not unreasonable given the situation] we were seated. This is where things fell apart... the table was improperly set by an overwhelmed back-waiter who spoke no Chinese and barely any English. No tea, menus arrived late. Single waitress working 7+ tables [again, it was Christmas Eve so short-staffing is fine] but... missed orders, misfires, missing drinks that we ordered, bland food, slowwwww food, no flavor, no spice, no heat, no joy. I get it that it was Christmas Eve but then close the restaurant and give everyone a day off. Bad, uninspired, boring, tasteless, bland, not worth the money, nor the time, nor the anticipation. Looks like the great days are 20 years behind it...
(1)Mark F.
(5 out of 5 for service) I ordered takeout from their website. The website was easy to use. The food was ready exactly at the quoted time. The service was very friendly and the restaurant was clean and upscale in appearance. The food was still hot by the time I arrived home. (2 out of 5 for food and value) I ordered sesame chicken and chicken fried rice. The sesame chicken was delicious. The sauce was very flavorful, but definitely on the sweeter side and absolutely zero heat, despite a pepper indicated on the menu. The chicken was very high quality. This is clearly one of their top dishes. At $12.75, I wouldn't hesitate to order it again. The chicken fried rice was WAY off the mark. The portion size was gigantic, the chicken was high quality, and there was plenty of egg, onion, and peas. However, the consistency of the rice was *almost* completely white. The dish had zero seasoning and tasted mostly of cooked white rice with hints of veggie and chicken. For the hefty price tag of $10, I would never order this dish again. (3 out of 5 overall) Imperial is definitely a step up from many other Chinese restaurants in the downtown area. I was hoping to rate it higher, but charging higher than average prices for blander than average entrees simply won't cut it.
(3)Jon G.
We went here on Christmas day, which used to be my family tradition. You know, a movie and Chinese, like Justice Kagan. Well, I realized last year, when encountering a 2 hour wait at Imperial that this is not just a Jewish tradition anymore, and that many people like Chinese food on Christmas now. Another good idea that has caught on, like bagels :-). This year we made a reservation, and even with the chaos overtaking the place, they were able to honor it fairly close to the actual time (about 15 min). However, the place was clearly overwhelmed by the business. Everyone was hurrying about with no time for cordialities. That would be understandable, but the food just wasn't good. Imperial tries to be upscale Chinese, with perhaps a seeming continental twist. I had a rack of lamb. Of course, it was pricey, and it was also overcooked and had chinese spices thrown or slathered on it. I would get bites with way too much allspice or whatever that chinese spice is. My son's chicken was mushy and not very good. Also his potstickers has a strange taste too them. The kitchen was probably overwhelmed like the rest of the place, but I think I've had enough of Imperial. It wants to be more than it's capable of executing on.
(2)Jacqueline A.
It's rare that I would go to a sit down Chinese restaurant, mostly because I don't know of any, but when friends asked to meet here I decided to try it out. Had the sesame chicken lunch special which is accompanied by choice of soup and egg roll. The portions here are enormous and the dish was good. With the big portion came a bigger check for what you'd expect at lunch. You could tell they used quality chicken in their product and it was well presented and tasted how sesame chicken is supposed to, a little sweet, a little nutty. As far as service goes it was spotty. No one was overly friendly and we were taken care of on time but we had probably three different servers so it was hard to know who to ask for when we needed something. If you are in the area, try it out but nothing really worth going out of your way for here.
(3)Chris H.
I have eaten here a few times and every time the food was very good. I have to say that I am not a huge Chinese food fan so I may not be the best one to review this place, but I have always gone with other people and each of them has always commented on how it was some of the best Chinese food in town. Service is also friendly and efficient.
(4)Celia M.
We walked in on a whim last Sat. nt to find this place was super busy during prime time dinnertime. It got me excited, it's hard to find a sit down Chinese restaurant with table cloth and nice décor nowadays vs. the take out, by the scoop, or trendy overpriced places. Disregarding the yelp reviews to only find myself left disappointed. The menu looked great, a little limited compared to other places I would call similar. Next time I'd rather spend the additional 5-7 minutes to drive to the Alameda/Federal area where you can find better, less Americanized overpriced Chinese. You don't get what you pay for at the Imperial Palace, sorry.
(3)John F.
So far the best chinese food in Denver , the price is higher than other chinese restaurants in Denver but you buy good quality of food and good atmosphere. We ordered fillet of beef tenderloin hongkong style, sesame chicken, half peking duck as appetizer and combo fried rice. Fit for three people. You get what you pay for. Will come back to try another dishes.
(4)Chelle T.
I'm not sure if arriving at the restaurant a little before 9pm when it closes at 9:30pm is the reason why my food was bland and the service was chilly but those are the facts. I can appreciate that it's almost time to go home and everyone probably has his/her heart set on leaving on time. That's why I politely inquired if we could still be seated before getting my hopes up for a good meal. I didn't order anything complicated. The "hot tofu" dish sounded appealing from the description on the menu. Unfortunately, it didn't deliver. As several other reviewers mentioned, the consistency of the tofu is soft. I'm definitely used to a firmer variety in this type of dish. That aside, the sauce was neither "hot" or flavorful, as promised. The meal was a mushy mess. My friend said her fried rice was okay but I don't really expect a restaurant of this caliber to flub that up. Overall, this is a nice looking restaurant. It was clean and the servers were nicely dressed. Based on some of the other reviews, I won't rule out trying it again. I am in no rush to hurry back, though.
(2)Dean H.
Food and service were fantastic. Love the egg drop soup. Worst fortune cookie I've ever had in my life.
(4)Luana L.
The previous reviewer was right , eating there does remind you of being in a James Bond movie! It's a beautiful restaurant. I'd never been there before, so I looked up their website and it said to call for reservations, so I did since we had a party of 8 and it was a Saturday night. When we got there, they seated us in our own dining room,which was nice since we were there for a family reunion, this allowed us to be more comfortable, as comfortable as sitting around our own dining room table at home. The food was delicious , my favorites were the striped bass and the dungeneous crab! Yumm! The staff was very knowledgeable and very helpful. I would definitely go back to try more
(5)Cody J.
Went here last night with my brother. Heard that they have a traditional menu so though it would be worth checking out. Wait staff is amazing and the environment is cozy, but food is horrible. I have been to many "authentic" Chinese restaurants and this is definitely not one of them. The food is very overpriced and has no flavor. There are other places in denver with traditional menu and much better food.
(2)Lizi C.
Sad, 3.5 star cumulative rating for what I consider to be one of the better Chinese restaurants in town. Say it ain't so Denver.... Imperial has rock solid Chinese food. My absolute favorite dish is the Chilean Sea Bass with black bean sauce. (This is a 5 star dish) The bass is very lightly fried and has a deliciously garlicky and salty sauce on it. Some people may complain about the price, but I think it's worth it. Ever looked at the price of Chilean sea bass at the grocery store? Yeah its expensive there too. All the other dishes I've tried are also tasty. Be prepared Chinese food is salty in general and Imperial Chinese is no exception. Does it taste delicious? Yes it does! Lunch specials are a good deal. The restaurant is nice inside and well kept. The service is attentive and efficient. How on earth could this place be less than 4 stars? If I'm in the mood for Chinese food, Imperial is the first restaurant on my mind.
(4)Jennifer B.
Coming from the East Coast where great Chinese restaurants are easy to come by (every block really) it's been hard for me to find great Chinese out here. I've been here twice and been told by others this is really the best Chinese around. Ambiance is fabulous. It's not as fancy as it looks, this meaning you can wear a dress or jeans and either way you will feel very comfortable. I thoroughly enjoy their hot tea. I think I've had my fair share of tea, maybe the most at the table. Dishes I've tried so far: 1. Sesame Chicken 2. Thai Basil Chicken - Very spicy 3. Lemon Chicken 4. Panko Crusted Tilapia 5. Salmon with bean sauce 6. Kung Pao Chicken 7. Chicken and Broccoli 8. Crab Cheese Wontons 9. Steamed Pork Dumplings Everything is delicious. I would everything above again and again and again. They probably do take out and that is totally dangerous for me as I would drive out of my way to pick p this delectable food. Everything is perfectly spiced with sublime flavor. We cleaned our plates, not a drop left over not even the garnish. Prices and reasonable and reasonable enough to keep you coming back again and again. This is by far the best Chinese food I have found so far. If you have any suggestions of other great Chinese places please let me know, I am always willing to try.
(4)Julie H.
Quite possibly the closest to perfect Asian lunch I've ever had. Definitely, the best Basil Chicken I have ever had. The chicken is tender and not drowned in gooey sauce. They use lots of basil, whole spicy chili peppers, red and green bell pepper, green onions, bamboo and grape tomatoes throughout. The sauce is light and the brown rice, perfectly cooked. The won ton soup is amazing. It has cabbage, whole spinach, and green onion. You almost don't need the won ton but they are so very good. Not surprised they also gave me what is now my favorite egg-roll in Denver.
(5)Christopher A.
It had been some time since our last visit . What a disappointment! Food was, at best no hum. The Moo Shu chicken was bland and skimpy portions. Our lamb dish was very forgettable (not listed on their on-line menu. There is much better Chinese food in Denver. Two stars is generous!
(2)Stephen K.
Basic lunch menu looks great, but a little pricy...6-10 for most apps, 11.50-15 for most lunches...most lunch menus I've seen for Chinese food run between 8-12.50...very stylishly decorated internally though and impeccably polished service...when you can tackle it. If you don't order when your waiter comes by to take your order the first time, you might be waiting for some minutes unless you actively flag someone down...Food, sadly, was average for my Vietnamese noodle bowl, not much in the way of sliced beef strips...guess it was ok.
(3)Vince P.
No thanks! I ordered the vegetarian sesame "chicken" and it was so dumb. Normally this would be a textured fake chicken protein that would be delicious, but this was just simply really soft (undercooked) tofu breaded in sesame. No flavor, no fun. I mean, I've had "sesame tofu" before that's really good. This was just weird and not really good at all. My roommate ordered regular sesame chicken and it looked more normal but she says she can tell "they totally use MSG"...I don't know, just what she said. They charge extra for delivery and fried rice. I won't order from here again. Not the worst place on the planet but I wasn't happy really at all.
(2)Ted P.
I've lived in Denver for 12 years. I've yet to eat at a Chinese restaurant here that had exceptional food. We've mostly gone to Imperial over the years, despite their complete lack of creativity or flair, because it's above the median for Americanized Chinese food and is relatively consistent. But, even that low bar is beyond their reach at this point. We had take-out tonight and the meat in the pot-stickers tasted like microwaved frozen hamburger. Have some pride, people. If we want Chinese food this lousy, we can just go to a dollar per scoop place on Colfax. This is not a restaurant that's owned by someone who truly loves food. It's just another business for them. If you are going to mail it in, you may as well buy a Pack-n'-Ship franchise.
(1)Lance D.
Extremely disappointing! We're aware that most Chinese restaurants in Denver are "Americanized" so knew that we wouldn't receive authentic cuisine; however, everything we ordered was SO bland and flavorless, we couldn't believe the high rating average it has sustained on Yelp. That being said, the wait staff were very professional (although not knowledgeable WRT to menu items) and the restaurant itself has a nice atmosphere. Sorry to say but if you want Americanized Chinese food, you are better off going to Panda Express - you can do the math!
(1)whitney m.
we have been coming to Imperial since we used to live on cap hill back in the day - so 14 years?! They serve consistently good chinese food. The preparations here are far superior to any other chinese place in denver IMO. We havent sat down and had dinner in a few years but the kids used to enjoy the big buddha, tea refills, and fish tanks. It is pricey compared to the hole in the strip mall but as i mentioned- preparations are better- fresh vegg and not steamed chicken and beef but actually sauteed meat and veg, ya know like when you stirfry at home! we always love the duck and whole fish and recently were very impressed by the bok choy dish.
(4)Suzie S.
The waiter was attentive but couldn't believe when the two girls who were assisting at front desk openly complained about the amount of tips they received in front of customers. Won't return based on this unprofessional attitude. The meal was pleasant but overpriced and I would travel elsewhere for Chinese if I was in the area. I would hope the managers take note of the incredibly rude staff at the front
(1)Ben F.
We were craving Chinese last night and decided to give Imperial Chinese a shot. Walking in I was pretty impressed by the decor, it's a classy looking place all the way around and we were seated at a nice booth since the restaurant was fairly empty. The GF ordered the Sesame Chicken and I was having a hard time figuring our what I should order. Should I go with an old standby like Mongolian Beef, Kung Pao Chicken, or Pork Lo Mein? After much lamenting and discussion I pulled a last-second audible and decided to go with the "Walnut Prawns" off of the signature dishes section. It was a little pricey at $16.75 but it's a dish that I enjoy even at a place like Panda Express so I figured it would be fantastic here, but just to be sure I asked the waiter and he assured me it was an extremely popular dish. Much to my dismay it was quite possibly the most disgusting meal I have ever been served at a restaurant. The entire dish was completely dooshed in mayonnaise to the point where it was gag-reflux inducing. Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of mayo, I would just never completely dunk something in it like an oreo cookie into a glass of milk, and that was essentially what had happened here.. The GF's sesame chicken was pretty good, but I think they should be embarrassed for serving that disgusting slop that was the Walnut Prawns, especially for $17! When Panda Express does a meal better than you do, something's wrong. So at this point I would say the place gets 3 stars overall, the decor is nice and the service was fine, but the food is overpriced and though I hope my meal was an aberration it really was terrible. But wait... there's more! *Warning* The rest of this review has little to do with the actual restaurant experience and is a specific situation I doubt you will find yourself in and is a bit of an angry rant, read ahead at your own risk: Upon arriving home the GF realizes that her cell phone is not in her purse... uh oh! Well she must've left it at the restaurant, I call over quickly and speak with Victoria. Victoria does a quick check for the phone, tells me it's not there and hangs up on me. No "sorry," no "why don't you give me your number and we'll call you if it turns up," NOTHING resembling customer service or even human empathy. At this point I tell the the GF that I don't trust Victoria and think she is wrong, but we decide to check the car first just in case. After a thorough sweep of the car worthy of a Mexican border checkpoint and still no phone it is clearer than ever that the phone is at Imperial. So I call and get Victoria again, after holding for about 3 minutes she again assures me that the phone is not there and that they "Moved all the booths" and checked above and below every one. I ask her if she checked the actual bench seat because that is where it probably is and she again assures me she did and that it's not there. and we hang up again. At this point the GF is freaking out, in this day and age being phone-less is pretty tough, and the budget doesn't really have the wiggle room for a new phone, but I guess that's what has to happen in the morning... After thinking about it I decide that after all my conversations with Victoria I have exactly zero faith in her as a human life-form and that I am going to go "ALL-IN" and call her bluff. We get in the car and drive back to Imperial. Upon arriving the restaurant is locked up and the windows drawn. I bang on the door then start peeking in window to window until Victoria comes to open the door. I explain to her that the phone HAS to be here and that I want to take a look myself, she rolls her eyes at me at me and makes the type of passive hand gesture that suggests that I am wasting my time but to "go for it." I walk straight to our booth and WHAT DO YOU KNOW, there's the GF's phone sitting right on the seat like I said it would be. Since Victoria didn't care enough about me to come help me look I have nobody to share my success with but on my way out I triumphantly hold the phone up in the air and ask Victoria, "How hard did you really look?" she literally says nothing to me as her jaw just slacks open. Thank god I didn't trust this imbecile as far as I could throw her, if I would've taken her word for it we would've already purchased a new phone this morning, moral of the story is trust no one and if you want something done right just do it yourself. Victoria, if you're reading this, thanks for nothing. We will never be back.
(2)Lilli B.
we have been to imperial many times. The last two times we've been its been disappointing. We went last night and the food was really notgood. I've had better food at 1 dollar a scoop places. When we told the manager we didn't enjoy dinner and we were very surprised because the food was typically good he explained that no one else complain tonight so we must be crazy. not only worry extremely disappointed in the food but the managers response was unforgivable. We won't be back.
(1)D P.
I believe that Imperial is the best Chinese in town. Always consistent. The Imperial dinner is the best value--great choices like Sesame Chicken and soup and a shared appetizer. Service is top notch and quality awesome.
(5)Ginger C.
This is very, very good food in a very, very nice atmosphere. The service is fantastic and the atmosphere is soft and date-night like, but you don't have to dress up and they don't make you feel out of place because you're in jeans. The menu isn't your typical Chinese food fare; they do have that, don't get me wrong, but they also have really nice selections of fish and other items you wouldn't necessarily expect at a Chinese restaurant. Those were really pricey though so I'd save those for a special occasion. I had Happy Family. The scallops were so well cooked that I would've ordered a dish of just those had I known. They were tender and almost buttery; not at all chewy or fishy. The beef was obviously from a good cut of meat that had been cooked and sliced before adding to the dish because it was tender and juicy and also incredibly delicious. It really put all other beef dishes of curled up overcooked and chewy meat in other Chinese restaurants to shame. The vegetables were fresh and crunchy and the sauce had subtle hints of ginger and garlic instead of being an overpowering soy sauce gravy with MSG added. The service is phenomenal yet understated. Sometimes the filling of my water glass every time I drank an ounce or two was a little too attentive, but I never noticed them lingering so it didn't really bother me. Someone at my table actually spilled a glass of water and two staff members quietly swooped in, cleaned it up, covered the wet table cloth with napkins, replaced her water and disappeared into the night leaving me to say, "Who were those masked men!?" I wanted to spill another glass just to watch it all again. It was like some kind of mission impossible spy stuff with hushed tones. Cool. I only wish it weren't so pricey, but then again, the quality reflects the cost.
(5)Jerry J.
Best Chinese I've had in Denver. Get the Imperial Noodles with chicken and shittake mushroom
(4)M K.
My first 5 star review. I'm usually a bit stingy with the stars. I came here based on a recommendation from a friend as the "best sesame chicken ever." I looked up some of the reviews beforehand and was a little skeptical based on some of the latest reviews. This review is based on a weekday lunch visit. Restaraunt was very clean, and nicely decored. Excellent atmosphere. Sharply dressed wait staff. I had the sesame chicken, wife has the daily special - sesame scallops. Food was hot and outstanding. We both immensely enjoyed our dishes. They have great sweet and sour sauce for the egg rolls, not the red syrupy nasty sweet stuff most places serve but the excellent orange sauce you only see in the better places. Service was top-notch. My iced tea and water glass never got half empty. The minute a dish was empty it was removed from my table. I'm really confused about some of the more recent reviews. Maybe someone was reading them and has made some changes, but I honestly couldn't ask for a better dining experience. Prices are slightly higher than other Chinese restaurants but in my opinion it was totally worth it. Heck, I enjoyed myself so much, I want to go back tonight for dinner, it was that good.
(5)Margaret C.
First time trying this people-packed Denver palace of Chinese cuisine. My daughter and I thought it would be kind of nice for the local relatives from my side of the family (you know how it is even years and years after a divorce) to go out to a nice Chinese restaurant together to celebrate the various holidays together, since my daughter and son will be with the other side of the family on Xmas. Like you all cared about these cumbersome details... So a big group of us got reservations to dine at the Imperial. My cousins recommended it and it is close to my son's house. My daughter wanted to try the place across the street, the Little Shanghai, but she was ok with going to the Imperial instead. There was a bit of a mix-up about the reservations as someone had forgotten to write them down, but when my cousins arrived, that was quickly straightened out. We started with tea. My daughter ordered roasted rice tea and it was marvelous. My son ordered jasmine tea and it was pungent and flowery. Then we ordered soup. I think we pretty much ordered all the soups on the menu. Egg drop, Hot & Sour, and Seaweed. I liked the Hot & Sour best. All were good. It took a very long time before our waiter arrived to take our order for dinner. We were all done with our soup and quite hungry. The person taking away the dishes didn't seem to understand what we were asking him, but it was loud and really really busy. My cousin reminded me that we had plenty of time, to relax, and not to worry. We ordered several items to share, and my brother ordered something to eat by himself. He liked his...it was moo shoo pork (sp?) We also ordered moo shoo vegetables...perfect! We ordered an interesting vegetable and wide noodle dish and I don't recall the name of it. I didn't like the flavor, but everyone else seemed to love it. We got brown rice, and it was tasty and cooked the way I like rice. We got a few different chicken dishes, hot and spicy, and they went fast. We also got the lemongrass salmon which was lovely. It was an enjoyable feast! My son got a chocolate cake for dessert and everyone got to try it. A few people ordered beer too. The total, for everyone, averaged to $17 per person, which wasn't too bad considering all that we ordered. I rather liked the place. Quite pleasant!
(4)Bayley S.
Vegetarian menu is amazing! Great food and appetizer pancakes :)
(4)Mike E.
My parents were in town for the weekend and we were looking for a lunch spot in the south Denver/Englewood area. They used to live in in Denver and while they always enjoy the places I take them they also have some favorites from back in the day. Imperial Chinese is near the top of their lists so it seemed like a perfect choice, and it didn't disappoint! We went for lunch so the menu wasn't anywhere near as deep as the dinner one apears to be, but there were still plenty of good options. I went with the Thai Basil Chicken - the meat was tender and juicy, the basil was fresh, and the chili peppers were kickin'. My dad loves their Sesame Chicken, and the piece he shared showed me why. It appears they use actual fresh chicken, not frozen nugget-like creations. Mom went with Szechwan Chicken, which came with a bunch of great veggies and was also good. All lunches come with an eggroll and soup, the Onion Egg Drop was a nice takeoff on the usual. Great service, classy decor, and good food are all reasons the Imperial has been around as long as it has. The prices are decent, especially for lunch, and it's always nice to not have to pay extra for brown rice. Lately I've been more into the "authentic" and less "Americanized" styles of Chinese cuisine, but there's always room for food made well with fresh ingredients!
(3)Dan H.
I totally hate doing this but think it's important, especially for those fellow vegan diners out there. And please remmeber that I only base my reviews on friendly staff and good vegan food. I went here last night for a friend's celebration. He had been a couple of times and said they had good vegan dishes. After a long conversation with the server, we all realized that they only had one vegan dish, nbamboo with steamed veggies. They even have items on their menu that say vegan but are not. The problem seems to be with them using egg and chicken stock. It's a huge bummer as even the manager had said they had alot to choose from. I hope they can turn this around and make simple changes so that they are indeed vegan friendly (if they want to be).
(1)Rico S.
A friend and I decided that to meet for lunch here. I had never been here before but I love asian food and it was near my friends place. The decor is nice very classy and nice looking very clean. The service was good they make sure your glass is no where near empty EVER!!!! (Dine in and you'll know what I'm talking about. It's almost annoying) The food however is sub par and much more pricey than your average asian place. I mean sure they offer you a shrimp wonton soup instead of pork, their egg rolls have pork in them, and you have the option of brown rice for no extra charge, but the portion size of the sesame chicken I ordered was ridiculous. I usually have left overs from most other Chinese places. I finished the soup, rice, chicken, egg roll, the bed of lettuce the chicken was served on, and the pineapple they used to garnish and left hungry..... It wasn't like I came in starved or was unusually hungry but for a $14 plus lunch...... I expect to been full. Save your time and money Denver has way better options than this. Go to Wakanos in Cap Hill it's worth the drive.
(2)Janet S.
Always on the lookout for chinese food and always have unrealistic expectations, still I had hoped for better. Pancake appetizer, was expecting some thing with a soft texture like a Korean one...it came out like frybread!, sent it back. next up - shrimp with mayo and walnuts,..you know its supposed to have that little crunch to it, it did not...and there was a whole jar of mayo...sent it back....next up steamed duck, expensive and almost inedible/flavorless which for a duck slut is tragic. cocktails - pretty Ok - served in tikki cups. Whole lot came to $73 and that - they just comped the frybread. No value for money here, pretty good service though - she agreed with most of what we said...hmm so why no more comp on the food.
(2)Garth E.
Imperial is not the kind of Chinese restaurant you only go to for takeout because you don't actually want to eat in the restaurant. This place is so fresh and so clean clean. There's several things about Imperial that I really like, especially when compared to your average Chinese restaurant in the US: 1) The vegetables are so fresh! Chinese food vegetables are usually soggy and covered in oil or some kind of sugary fatty sauce. At Imperial they're crisp and actually taste like what they're supposed to. 2) Varied menu. This place doesn't just have the standard American-Chinese fare (ie. Sesame Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken, etc.) but also has tons of fish and meat specialities that take you outside your Chinese food comfort zone in a very delicious way. [Try the pork chop specialty or the basil salmon] 3) Full bar. Most Chinese restaurants have very little if any alcohol beyond a small selection of Asian beers. Imperial has a great selection of wines in addition to some creative cocktails. 4) Pleasant atmosphere. Again, not the kind of restaurant you settle on getting takeout from when you can't really decide what you want. 5) Friendly and attentive waitstaff that are usually committed to service. They also have a vegan menu, which is unique to all Chinese restaurants I've been to, but is so very Colorado. If you're looking for Chinese food that's a cut above the rest, this is the place to go.
(4)Monica L.
Excellent atmosphere, service and food. The shrimp wonton soup is better than your typical Chinese restaurant soup. Ditto for the imperial roll -- better than the typical egg roll. The sesame scallops were good, but my favorite was the chicken lo mein. The Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce was good.
(5)Jon H.
Someone said that it was a great place for tourists to eat Chinese. It is. No subtle flavors, no delicacy, no imagination, no soul. Nice room, friendly service, but not a place for those who love the complexity of Asian food. Watered down for the old people who flock to tis place. Want taste? Head for Federal Blvd or Aurora. You will never find it here. I won't go back, but would recommend it it to my sister-in-law who thinks pot stickers are the essence of Chinese cooking.
(2)Jeffrey E.
What I had? Onion Egg Drop Soup, Scallion Pancakes, Sesame Chicken (Lightly battered slices of chicken sauteed in a spicy sesame sauce) SAMPLED: Tokyo Sirloin Steak with Asparagus Food review: Well, I have to say this is the best Chinese food I've had in town but I suppose it better be with the prices you pay here. Everything I had was pretty good. Started with the the onion egg drop soup which was good but nothing out of the ordinary. When the scallion pancakes came out they looked like they were going to be really delicious. They were good but not as good as they looked. :-) For my entree, I dug into the Sesame Chicken which I believe had been highly praised on Yelp here. I'm afraid it didn't live up to the hype for me. It tasted like your regular sesame chicken which is good but nothing amazing by any means. One dish I wish I got instead, however, was what my friend got. The Tokyo Sirloin Steak... that stuff was crazy good from what I got to sample. I'd certainly recommend that dish over the Sesame Chicken. Service? Good service for the most part (if I were to be nit picky about one thing, that would be that their bar had no bartender so when I was waiting for a friend, there was no one around to serve me a beer while I waited. It wasn't a big deal though)
(4)Eric R.
Since moving from NYC to Denver I haven't found too many good Chinese restaurants. Imperial Palace is one of the good ones. The sesame chicken is delicious. The service is very good. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for good Chinese food in Denver.
(5)Kristin L.
I was really surprised that they had a vegan menu. =) Anyways, it was really good. They have a Chinese menu that you'll have to ask for it you want it. There's a Salt&Pepper Fried Tofu that was amazing off that menu. On the normal menu the Chicken + Asparagus dish and a Imperial Noodle dish were great =). The food is authentic with very little oil. =) Tea is free at lunch, but costs money with dinner. The waiter was so professional. He did round wipe with the hot plates before placing them. Also, he did offered the chopsticks with the napkin that you only see is very very high end traditional Chinese restaurants.
(4)Deb G.
Love this place! Every time I visit Denver, I start and end with Imperial. Large menu and food is very tasty. The owner is a really nice guy. The dining room is just lovely. They are famous for their sesame chicken, which is very good, but check out the spicy Thai chicken with what tastes like wok-fried spinach! YUM!
(4)Jaromir B.
One of the best Chinese restaurants I have ever been to. Incredibly good, nice atmosphere and great staff.
(5)McKenzie G.
This place has been in Denver for years and only now am I made aware that there is a vegetarian and even vegan menu. Here's the confusing part: They have listed Vegan "Sea Bass" in black bean sauce and then Vegan Sweet & Sour "Pork" (Lotus Root). Then they have million vegetarian dishes, like "Chicken" lettuce wraps and Hunan "Beef" and Nan-King "Pork Loin." So we asked the lady if the "vegetarian" dishes were "Vegan" and she said, "oh sure! Yes!" Me: "So why are they labeled Vegetarian whereas other things are labeled Vegan?" Her: --stumped-- "I don't know! But they're vegan. OH! But some of them have sugar, maybe that's why?" So, beyond our waitress' (and I think manager or something?) lack of sure-fire knowledge, we ordered the two vegan options and they were pretty darn delicious--especially the "Sea Bass." Pretty sure it was a soy/gluten thing...more soy than gluten, but still a texture I have not come to find in most things sold in stores around here. Also a TON of gluten-free menu items that are labeled (doubtful vegan AND gluten free, but lots of gluten free, nonetheless). VERY expensive place--that's the drawback for me. 15 dollar entree, the Sea Bass was. Our friend got Beef and it was only 8 bucks. Just reinforces the strange concept of "eating healthy costs more." Why? I think the doctors are in on this.
(4)Nate A.
Fantastic! Great place, food is fresh and well presented. The atmosphere is nice and well kept. The service is great! 5 stars for a lunch Chinese restaurant, it doesn't get any better than this.
(5)Alexis G.
The food was really good. Good hot & sour & egg drop soup. The hot & sour wasn't very spicy but good & the dim sum appetizer was great. I also really liked the lettuce wraps w/ chicken. But if you don't think you'll eat them all then make sure the waiter doesn't put the mixture in the lettuce it gets soggy when saved all together. They also have a main lobster dinner special which I will definately go back for!!
(4)G D.
Do you like warm, gross limp, lettuce in your fried rice instead of sprouts? Then you'll like Imperial's revised fried rice. Used to be great, flavorful, full of sprouts, now it's terrible. Do you like glumps of soft, gooey chicken? Then you'll like Imperial's revised sesame chicken. Used to be crispy and fantastic, now it's truly so-so. Do you like by the gross frozen egg rolls that have little taste? Then you'll like Imperial's new egg rolls. Their delicious, lemon-scented, one-of-a-kind rolls are a thing of the past. Or maybe you'd like the Chinese hash with chicken gristle galore disguised as an appealing lettuce-wrap appetizer. Because that's what you'll get at today's Imperial Chinese. I was a faithful customer of Imperial for more than 20 years. Then it fell apart about 3-4 years ago.It used to be the best Chinese in Colorado. Now it's definitely below average. Anyone posting good reviews doesn't know the old Imperial. And sadly, the new one's days are numbered. Bad management being cheap. The ruin of many a business.
(1)Jim T.
The Imperial is a good restaurant. Zagat's says so, as is touted nicely in framed endorsements in the lobby - so it must be true, right? And that lobster tank - man - that sizzle just seals the deal - whoopee! Oh, wait a minute, that's before you're seated. The book's cover. The dining room in nice, professional, and it looks like you're in for a good experience. More often than not, the service is good. I've been there for lunch and dinner, solo and with others and the bizarre thing is that while many of the dishes are very good, somehow I leave the place feeling like I should have gotten MORE out of the deal. It's not the money, it's the overall experience.. Unlike other reviewers, I don't *care* how many Asians frequent Imperial, then base my opinion upon the clientele mix. First of all, relatively - there aren't that Chinese/Vietnames/Laotians in Denver, and second, demographically, most don't tend live next door to the Imperial. The Imperial is on Broadway, near I-25, Wash Park, Baker, Capitol Hill and Country Club. I guess one really should be worried if there are no Canadians in there, or some other similarly useless comparison. Judge a book by its content, NOT by who ELSE bought it. If the latter were the case, we'd all have killer Cheap Trick and Hall & Oates in our sucky music collections.* Solid 3 plus, can't bring myself to round it up to a 4. Try it. *Note: it is now illegal in 17 states to own or download Cheap Trick music.
(3)Ellen K.
Came here for lunch but the vegetarian choices were next to nil. (Where was the fake sesame chicken everyone talks about?) Reluctantly ate a dead animal ... the sesame chicken. It was drowning in sauce and a pool of it was left behind when I finished. Overkill. Small cup of rice. A thin slice of pineapple. Some mediocre egg drop soup. Usually I bring home leftovers, but there wasn't enough food on the plate for that. Nothing I couldn't find in ANY Chinese restaurant in a 50-mile radius for half the price. Don't know what all the applause is about. I won't be back.
(2)John S.
So, we ate here 3 times. As one reviewer commented, the place is beautiful with the fishtanks and the servers are nice.. however, we stopped going. We had the walnut prawn shrimp and as another reviewer mentioned : disgusting.. too much mayo. But the biggest reason for us not returning was that every time we came we ordered Peking duck. We are from the east coast and CA where bejing duck it an ART. Well, every single time I ordered it here, the duck was lukewarm as if it had been sitting for a long time ( even though I called once and even asked that same young woman another customer complained about in another review to PLEASE make sure mine was cooked fresh so it would be HOT when I got there for our reservation..) That was the LAST time I went and will ever go. I was so irritated ( as this was the third time and they had been told it was a problem the past 2 x) that I called the manager ( owner?) to the table and requested my duck be re heated immediately. My waiter was clearly too afraid to tell the kitchen ( not sure why) and even the manager was VERY hesitant to bring it back.. FORTY minutes later I get my duck back and it was luke warm AGAIN... that was it... we will never go back again. Frankly its too bad since I love Chinese food , authentic AND American.. and their pancakes are the best I have ever had. See ya later Imperial
(2)Alex J.
I live in the area, and occasionally go for the lazy takeout when I'm in no mood to cook. I am a "moderate vegan" (as in not extremist, open to vegetarian solutions and more, due to the lack of options when dining out) so I have my usual safe picks. This time I felt adventurous and wanted to try some chinese, so I ended up stopping at Imperial for some quick takeout. The place looks ok, the hostess was nice... but that's about where the good part ends. I'm handed a menu, start looking at items and prices and I pick a vegan shrimp plate. I ask if it comes with veggies, they say yes, and with some kind of crunchy shell, and that the price is actually $10 and not $8.5. Call me picky, but I like to see the actual prices: if you change them, change the menu! After a brief time, there comes the bag. The hostess apologizes and says that the shell actually is only for the restaurant, not for the takeout dish. Ok, have I paid less? No, so why? Yes, I'm a picky customer, but I like to get what I pay for: if you don't put something in, then shouldn't I pay less? I quickly get home, open the bag, and... surprise! I paid $10 for one of the smallest chinese dishes I've ever purchased. A tiny bed of chopped iceberg lettuce, a few cubes of roma tomatoes, and this protein substitute on top. No, not even a grain of rice! Unbelievable. So far, I'm definitely underwhelmed - vote for presentation: zero! vote for portion: zero. I'm still willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, I think "well, it's takeout, so presentation can't be that great, and it's a healthy portion, let's try it". Vote for taste: Zero! I could have purchased a bag of salt and I wouldn't have noticed the difference. This was probably one of the most disgusting culinary experiences that I can remember. The next time I'll probably go for Ramen noodles: less sodium, and I'm sure more taste. I hope the rest of the menu is better and this was in isolated incident, but I'll leave this up to somebody else to decide. As far as I'm concerned, this was my first and my last time at Imperial.
(1)Sue C.
We loved the flavors of all our entrees at Imperial Garden. The Hong Kong Beef Medallions were outstanding, the beef very tender and the sauce full of flavor. The Vegetable Fried Rice was delicious and full of vegetables. The Lemon Chicken was thick and juicy pieces of chicken. Service was outstanding and atmosphere relaxing. My Dad grew up in New York City with all the choices for Chinese, and this is his favorite place in Denver.
(5)Taylor V.
One of my favorite Chinese food places in Denver. If your dining for 2, getting the group meal which includes appetizers, entree selections and dessert is a great way to go. I haven't had a dish here I didn't enjoy, and I'm picky when it comes to Chinese (really what I'm saying is I don't eat cheap/dollar scoop). Nice place, nice fishtanks, been here a few times and I've never had a bad visit.
(4)Megan A.
I've heard about this restaurant for years and finally had the chance to try it. It was fantastic and lived up to its reputation. Our server was Patrick, and he was wonderful and attentive. The food was fantastic. Every single course. We definitely plan to go back. It was well worth the price. There was actually meat in the dishes, instead of a ton of vegetables (which cost less than meat) like other restaurants typically serve.
(5)Jesseca T.
Ah, the 'Ol Imp Chin....an annual event for my family on Chinese NY (CNY)...they host a lion dance with TWO Lions, and they have lovely food and great service. We only come here 2-3x/year because it's a longer drive for us (well really long from California) and 'cause of the price- We used to rent the back room, but our family is too big to fit now so we are always in the middle of the excitement. It's AWEsome 'cause there's 5 other vegetarians in our group of 18 so when they deliver our food they pile it on that huge lazy susan and it rolls around like a conveyor belt - there's tons of delicious veggie dishes to choose from.....fat noodles, veggie dumplings, chinese broccoli, mu shu, scallion pancakes..... Maybe it's all of the family memories, but I just love this place, from the beautiful fish in the aquariums to the carved wooden display cases. Food wise, you can pick anything and be happy. Seriously, I have played menu roulette here many times and never been disappointed. Epicure Highlight:: Get the Sesame Tofu even if you're NOt veg- all of the meat-eaters at the table scarf this one up as quickly as the veg-heads- despite being tofu, it's somehow magically crunchy and sesame-y, they get the seeds to stick to the side of it with a quick batter dip or something-served with a sweet/spicy sauce, (strangely) with halved cherry tomatoes- I don't get why the tomatoes are included but you're not going to have room for them anyway, you're eating crunchy, spicy, sweet, yummy tofu. On the meat end of the deal....My husband has had the duck, the whole fish with ginger, garlic and scallion sauce (excellent!!) , and multiple beef dishes- he reports back that they are prepared well and of good quality. I would happily pay the price to eat here again, it's got great service, clean and nicely decorated interiors, and excellent food. Good Chinese is hard to come by in Colorado but this place knows what they're doing- I wish them hundreds of years of success.
(5)Tracy A.
Took my elderly in-laws to Imperial this week. It's a good place for that -- elegant atmosphere, easy parking, efficient service. The food is good, not great -- but very consistent. Over the years, Imperial has continued to be a reliable stop for Chinese food; but now that we have so many Thai and other options, it's rarely on my radar screen. For starters, the scallion pancakes and cold sesame noodles are tasty. But my brown rice wasn't as good as it should have been. (And there was a man sitting at a nearby booth talking really loud during our entire visit -- not the Imperial's fault, I know, but sadly representative of some of the clientele there.)
(3)William P.
What if you opened a Chinese restaurant and only loud, clueless white people came to eat there? Then, you would have the basic premise for Imperial Chinese. Recently, one Saturday, while having some some new tires put on my car, I ducked in to Imperial for lunch and to wait out the fifteen deep wait for new tires at the nearby wholesale club. Upon entering the place, I nearly turned around and left. Why? Because, as I entered, there wasn't even one Asian face among the the hostess and wait staff that I saw. But, after all, since I was stranded without a car, and it seemed a better choice than the Wendy's down the street (a position that I would no longer hold 30 minutes later). I can see why Imperial makes the unadventerous whitey epicurian comfortable. The room is clean, warm and inviting. The staff speaks perfect English (since they are all WASPS) and the food offers the kind of safe choices that one might find on a good day at a mall food court after working up a hunger rifling through the sale racks at Macy's and on a bad day at Red Lobster. The patrons of this place are clearly more Red Lobster influenced than Superstar Dim Sum influenced. As a looked over the menu, I noticed that the "lunch specials" were in the $10-$12 range including an "imperial roll", soup and rice. "It must be mighty special for that price," I thought to myself. Accordingly, I decided to skip such real Chinese authentic daily specials as "Curried Chicken Salad" and "Salmon Stuffed with Cream Chese" in favor of the expensive, and unfortunately, not very "special" lunch special. I ordered the sesame chicken, based upon comments I have read here. Honestly, I could have had the same thing for a third of the price and Panda express. The Chicken was an overbreaded, tiny breast nugget, drowned in a cloyingly sweet sauce and served over a bed of iceberg lettuce. It reminded me of something my parents would have eaten at a Chinese restaurant in rural Georgia in the 1970s. The Imperial Roll was a greasy, deep fried little nugget of ground meat which I probably would have had a great appreciation for after a night of hard drinking, but not so much at 1 pm on a Saturday afternoon. The shrimp wonton soup had the greatest promise except for the fact that the shrimp wontons hadn't been sufficiently cooked and were floating dry and crispy (as in left out uncovered all day dry and crispy) on top of their flavorless broth. The plate came served with a big triangular hunk of watermelon which was, perhaps, the only redeeming food item on the plate. After a few bites, I asked for the check, paid the bill being sure to tip my waiter Chad for the more than adequate service and headed down to Wendy's for a junior bacon cheeseburger. Ugh.
(1)Demetrius A.
It had been a while since I had visited the Imperial and it's just what I remember. The atmosphere is great, dining room is very fitting to crowds and the service was prompt... I had the Mongolian Chicken and brown rice and my friend had the Sea Bass I believe and both were very darn good... From the soup to the wine and everything in between, I had an enjoyable experience. They have an extensive menu and wine list as well...
(4)Riza H. C.
Perhaps from all the hype this restaurant receive, its DEFINITELY over-rated. Very disappointed from the food spread of what the Restaurant manager has planned for us, with the certain price range we ask for. Banquet Style. They served us 1 dish after another. Clear the dish after we complete that dish. So far like about 9 to 10 different dishes to be shared at least 8 people in a table ~ prices range from $20 to $35 per person.. I believe to accomodate 24 people can be over-daunting or over-whleming?? Duh!! We had these: Appetizers: Peking Duck Steamed Spring Roll Pork Dumplings Soup: Chicken and Shrimp soup Main Entrees: Walnut Prawns Sesame Chicken Fried Whole Seabass with Schzwen Sauce Hunan Beef Nanking Pork Loin Fried Rice which contain PORK Dessert: Ginger Ice-cream The only good thing, was the Restaurant do provide private rooms for our big group eating. I only choose to have the main entrees of the chicken, beef, prawns and fish with brown rice since I dont eat PORK. Nevertheless, I will try it again with hubby so I can finalized it. The next time if I were to visit this restaurant again, I can choose what I really want to eat from this Restaurant rather than what the Manager plans. What can I say, coz I do have expectation if this Restaurant have been getting good reviews all across Colorado. Perhaps the reviewers have not been outside the US to taste and compare real Chinese food. No offence. I am just being truthfully honest!
(2)Jaime D.
Tuesday evening, 8:00pm: perfect time to dine - I've eaten here before, and always get great service. tonight provided impeccable service. Dana brought us our Jameson, neat, without us asking. just kidding, we asked, but it came quickly. 'Tokyo Steak with Asparagus' - fantastic. gentle, steak-wrapped goodness. describing it would only take away from the experience. asparagus was blanched perfectly. everything else we ate was prepared with the same care and complexities of which I have spoken, previously. I won't bore you with 'why', but I must reiterate that the service was like floating on pillows. another great experience from a place that I love.
(5)Louise M.
The first time I came here I was not impressed. I ordered to go so I didn't get the great service everyone raves about. I ordered kung pao chicken which was bland, not spicy at all, and heartless. The orange beef was cooked well, not over deep-fried, but also uninspired. We tossed the left overs. Thumbs down. That was last year. My dad made us return and I have to admit that the food was much better. I've even had it to go a few more times since and I feel like they've improved quite a bit. I'll give them a 4 for now, with plans to retun.
(4)Bill F.
We went Sunday May 24, 2012 when the doors opened at 4pm. It was a celebration dinner for our Wedding annivesary. My sister in law and her husband wanted to treat us for our Wedding Anniversary. We first ordered the Dragon Well Tea (hot & it's decaffeinated) No one liked it, so we went with tried and true Jasmine tea. The server, Jeff was very accommodating, Oh well, doesn't hurt to try something different. What we ordered for four people. Appetizers. 1. BBQ baby back ribs 4 in an order (had a nice delicate sweet taste, I thought the ribs were rather small (about 3 inches each one and not very meaty at all) 2. Coconut Shrimp for for 4 people. looks like they butterfly the Shrimp before coating and frying. Very good crispy crunchy coating. Everybody liked them 3 Oriental Chicken Salad gluten Free. Everybody also like the chicken salad. I think it was everyone's favorite of the appetizers. We didn't order any soups. Main Dish. 1. Dungeness Crab imbued with 5 spices 2. Whole steamed sea bass Cantonese style 3.Shanghai Braised duck half 4. Filet of beef with Burgundy sauce Choice of white or brown rice, we took both. Dessert: we all ordered ginger ice cream. Ginger taste was very very light. All four main dishes came out hot and ready, good presentation, good flavor. Everybody was pleased with dinner, our server did a good job. So why give it only 3 stars? I ate in many Chinese restaurants through out the United States, Europe, China and Hong Kong as well as my father owned over 5 restaurants in his life time and I worked in them in my youth. This restaurant serves very good competent food. It's just missing that little extra, to boost it to a four star review. As a Chinese restaurant not located in a major Chinese area, it's good. We did enjoy ourselves at the restaurant.
(3)Jonathan E.
the Chicken Teriyaki here is the best in Colorado. its actually the best Chinese food in Colorado, hands down. Always fresh, prepared with a lot of care and the staff here is really friendly. They check back all the time and make you feel at home
(5)Barbara S.
Wonderful "vegan" Chicken Schzwhan and Sweet and Sour Pork" So good and what a wonderful find. Service was great; food was even better. Loved it!
(4)Megan D.
Finally decent vegetarian Chinese food. Just because I don't eat meat doesn't mean that I want to eat tofu jello as my main course. Get with it people texurized soy protein is where its at. So thank you Imperial for delicious fake sesame "chicken" I tried the fake "beef" with hunan sauce. The "beef" was great the Hunan sauce was almost sickeningly sweet. I'd get it again but with a better sauce. They have fake fish options too, but I haven't tried em yet. A little pricey but what can you do when there are no comparable options. All in all I love it :D
(5)Erin M.
Having grown up near Chicago, I often miss the ambiance of a true Chinatown restaurant, gilded to the hilt, fish tanks, low lighting, etc. I love when dining is more than just food, but is instead about the experience. Imperial Chinese hits this mark and then some. Both my husband and I noticed and commented on the ambiance as soon as we entered. The service was also wonderful. Unobtrusive, helpful and speedy. The food was better than average. I had chicken dumplings (which I appreciated could be steamed rather than fried) and they were light, crispy and spiced well. As an entree, I had beef and broccoli with brown rice(I appreciated that you could get brown, white, long grain or fried rice in both white and brown varieties). There was plenty of food, (though smaller portions than one might expect from a typical Chinese restaurant) and we each took home leftovers. Why the 3 starts? The meal was $40 without tip. While this isn't the end of the world by any means, the food was not significantly better than the average Chinese restaurant to warrant the significantly above average price tag. I will likely return, particularly because of their abundance of specialty items (gluten free, vegan)as I have friends who fall into both categories.I also appreciate that this is one of the few restaurants in Baker with ample parking, a rarity on Broadway.
(3)Nina N.
I've been here a handful of times over the years and always have a good experience. We went last night for Chinese New Years and enjoyed our dinner. The dumplings both pork and chicken as well as edamame and pancake scallion app's were tasty. I ordered the spicy sizzling beef and the beef quality was suprisingly good! We had a very professional server who brought our daughter a free desert as he overheard that we were also celebrating an acheivement of hers. One other noteable mention is one of us in our party severely over tipped and the owner came to the table to point out our error. Who does that? Quality place!
(4)Erica G.
Had a nice dinner - the imperial dinner for 2 was a good deal - soup, appetizer, entre and dessert. Not a whole lot of vegetables served with the sesame chicken or tea duck, but it was good food. I will say, the sesame chicken was labeled as spicy on the menu - it was most definitely NOT spicy. But it was flavorful and tasty. The atmosphere here was my favorite part - the staff was super nice and very formal. The decor is awesome - it was kind of like eating on the set of a James Bond flick.
(4)Lily S.
This is one of those places that I'll try once and unless someone else invites me back, probably won't miss. Nice setting, no mistake about it, but the food is so Americanized Chinese for a heck of a price! I can pay a fraction of the money and have much more authentic Chinese simply by driving south a little bit.
(3)John P.
We love this place. I'm not sure if they are still doing off-site catering, but they did for our wedding and I can't say enough good things about our experience working with Jonny and his staff. The food is excellent (though some is clearly western style), the feng shui is good, and the wait staff are very attentive. We absolutely LOVE the tofu seafood soup. They also make and serve their Peking duck traditional style which is great. Also worth trying are the stir fried baby bok choy and Nan King Pork Loin. My wife was born and raised in China and I have traveled there extensively. As a result, we tend to favor more traditional, less western menus and preparation styles. Overall, the imperial gets high marks in this regard. When we talked with Jonny re: planning our wedding reception menu, we told him we wanted a traditional Chinese wedding menu with a few more western dishes for our more finicky guests. What we ended up with was a dinner that every one enjoyed and we've received great comments from everyone who attended (including family members who traveled from Taipei, Beijing, and yes, even Dayton, Ohio...). This is one of those places where it's good to be a regular and have the staff recognize and remember you. Again, I can't say enough good things about the food, the staff, and the restaurant. We've never had a bad experience at the restaurant and they made our wedding reception truly memorable.
(4)Brian G.
It's a been a long time we have been going to the Imperial. I had to live a prison like sentence when we moved to Texas for two years. Dallas Chinese blows goats (no that's not a dish). I missed the Imperial more than anything while we were gone. Nothing is frozen and the use mostly fresh ingridents. Serive is fair to midland but the bar lacks. The bar is the only thing that required me to remove a star. I live the food and is great for big parties. Good wine prices and is generally quiet.
(4)J K.
The food is pretty good, the staff is very attentive, but they are damn pleased with their restaurant, as seen by the prices. Don't get me wrong, if the food is amazing then the price should reflect it. But honestly, I just feel like I've spent too much for what I got whenever I come here. I like the food, but not going to go out of my way to get here anymore.
(4)Maria T.
Disappointing American Chinese not sure what it wants to be. I have observed this restaurant for years and always heard good reviews so I decided to check it out after shopping at Sam's next door. Boring, lack of any real Chinese regional authenticity. It is nothing special. Drive an extra five minutes to Alameda and Federal area and find many more choices. A step above Panda in the mall, but not by much.
(2)Susan P.
Great Chinese food, especially the sesame chicken and hot and sour soup. Fantastic service, especially useful at lunch when you really need to get back to work. A wonderful place.
(5)Matthew B.
Ferrari doesn't make a station wagon, and if it did I wouldn't buy it because when you buy a Ferrari you've got to buy a sports car. Sesame Chicken is the Toyota Camry of Chinese food. It's ubiquitous, reliable and white people like it. (Will I make more car analogies in this review? Buckle up!) When you combine something reliable like the Camry with the performance of the Ferrari, you get lost in an auto metaphor. However, when you combine the Imperial and Sesame Chicken, you get the best Sesame Chicken in the United States. Bar none. When you go to the Imperial, they HAVE other dishes but you come here for the Sesame Chicken. Now I haven't been to EVERY city with a significant Asian population, but I've been to most of them. And this Sesame Chicken beats theirs HANDS down. If you are looking for Chinese food realism, you are better off heading to China because Americans tend to shy away from dishes that are featuring congealed Duck blood - and I like to think for good reason. The service here is perfect. Perfect service is this: A)There is a maitre'd who is in charge of making sure that his/her waitstaff is providing impeccable service. B)This aforementioned impeccable service consists of the waitstaff tending to their guests without being oppressive. Water should be constantly filled, guests should be happy with what they ordered, food should come out at the same time at the temperature that it was when it left the kitchen. Drink and appetizer orders should be taken promptly after seating guests. You would think that list wouldn't be that hard to fill, but the service at most restaurants is atrocious. Your waiter forgets about you, your appetizers come out at the same time as your entrees, your ice clinks as it melts, forgotten by your flummoxed waiter. None of that happens here. What happens here is Amazing Sesame Chicken, and incredible service.
(5)Polly P.
The atmosphere is very pretty and I found the service to be very attentive, in fact down-right pleasant & very professional. The issue I had was with the food let-down. I was looking for exceptional Chinese - not an americanized version. I would classify this as Chinese-American the way one would use the words Tex-Mex instead of Mexican. My husband and I had the combinations for 2. Soup starter was standard. Appetizers were standard as well, however the ribs seemed a bit "old". My husband had Imperial Chicken ... simply put, chicken with vegetables. There was nothing savory or satisfying about it from a flavor perspective. I ordered Sesame Scallops. Ultimately my mistake for not asking how Sesame Scallops were cooked, but I hardly thought it would be sweet & sour scallops with a pinch of sesame seeds pitched on top. There were no veggies in this dish - maybe that's how they slid past qualifying it for "sweet n sour" category. For 2 of us, we came away spending about $60ish - what a disappointment. While Panda Express does not have scallop dishes, I would have been more satisfied with even their flavors, variety and even more with paying a fair 1/3 of what we did at Imperial Chinese. And I don't even really like Panda Express. Maybe this is a better lunch place?
(2)Craw H.
Service was fast and gracious, and the price was great even with a fair amount of drinks and a Peking duck. Best Chinese food I've had in Colorado, and coming from San Francisco, I am very picky
(5)Jennifer W.
The food and service were both excellent! I am a vegetarian and was thrilled to see their imitation meat substitutions. The fake Sesame Chicken was amazing! I don't usually order dessert and would have never thought to order the ginger ice cream (it came with our dinner option), but it was amazing!!! The cost was a little pricey for Chinese food and for the portions (I always expect to have leftovers from Chinese, and that was not the case here), but we will definitely be back!
(5)Brandy M.
Love this place, been coming here for years. I usually get the hot and sour soup and the sesame chicken with brown rice. Clean and tastefully decorated restaurant.
(5)Sherri L.
Perhaps we were there on the wrong night...After all the hype to hit the Imperial on Xmas Eve, we decided to stop in after a long day with family. We checked in with the hotess and decided to grab a drink at the bar. 1 hour later, after hearing other people being called around us we went to check on our table. We were told we were called already but would be put back on the list. Another half hour goes by, with lots more people being seated so we check again. Finally we get seated where we continue to sit. All the tables around us get their orders taken and food starts coming before our order is finally taken. I know, we should have left but knowing what was in the fridge at home and being so hungry we thought for sure we'd eat soon. The food finally came and it was not very good. Over 3 hour experience with ok food, don't think we'll be back or recommend this place to anyone else in the future. Spare yourself.
(1)Leslie K.
It seems a lot of the negative reviews of this place buy into the old cliche of, "It isn't authentic!!!" Well of course it isn't. Despite the culinary gains Denver has made since I was a child, you still have to keep it in perspective people. Plus I wonder how many people really know what authentic mexican/chinese/indian etc. food tastes like? I used to work a block from Chinatown in NYC, and believe me you could get some "authentic" stuff there, but it simply made me understand why some foods are modified for the American palette. This obsession with authentic food does not make you more sophisticated or discerning, it just makes you sound kinda like a pretentious douchenozzle. To me what I care about is if it food tastes damn good or not. If it is authentic and tastes good, great. if it is Imperial Chinese standard Americanized fair, great too. So that being said, Imperial Chinese really does have the best sesame chicken I've ever had. They also have a good selection of tea, although they need to know how to steep them better so they don't turn bitter. My cousin and his wife shared mongolian beef and lemon chicken with us last time, which were also decent. The service has always been pretty good, regardless of the server's race (serious people, who goes in a restaurant and not only notices, but complains because they have white people working there...wtf?) Okay rant done. If you like tasty, and yes, Americanized Chinese, you will like this place.
(4)Carrie R.
Once upon a time, I could look forward to the Sizzling Black Pepper Steak and an order of Imperial Rolls as a special treat. I knew I would be attended by a professional server who would efficiently, unobtrusively provide me with whatever I needed. Now, the entrees disappoint and the servers have been replaced with the new Denver Waitstaff: those who sneer at your every request and belittle you for your questions. Sigh.
(3)Herman D.
Big disappointment. Over 30 minutes to get food. My sesame chicken was like eating little rocks. My wife's tilapia was too spicy. Next time I go for Chinese food, definitely not Imperial
(1)Michael K.
Excellent, knowledgeable staff. I dined with a gluten-free companion, and they were especially helpful and suggestive about accommodating gluten-free dining. The food was excellent American Chinese, and seemed carefully and thoughtfully prepared. I'll definitely return.
(4)Eugene S.
We go to this place whenever we want some good and upscale Chinese food. My choice is lemon chicken, beef with spicy pepper sauce.
(5)Craig D.
My office ordered food from here for one of our lunchtime meetings. I have never been inside the restaurant, so this review is based only on the food. I have generally had pretty decent luck with ordering tofu entrees from Chinese, Thai, and Japanese restaurants. I ordered their Hot and Sour Tofu. Simply put... it was the worst Tofu entree I ever ordered from an Asian restaurant. The hot and sour sauce that it came in was fine. But the tofu seemed like it was barely cooked and it was actually slimy! It honestly, seemed like it was "soft" tofu pulled right out of one those containers you get in the store where it is packed in water, and then placed directly in my container of hot and sour sauce. It sure didnt taste like it was cooked... let alone marinated in the sauce. If this is how they prepare all their tofu dishes at Imperial Chinese... I would never order another one... or for that matter... ever eat their food again. Now I admit, I have only had their food once... and it was a free meal... If my office doesnt order from them again, I would be perfectly fine with that. I think I am being pretty generous by giving them 2 stars.
(2)Neenrn C.
I read many of the reviews of this place and was looking forward to some hot and sour soup....... I'm still looking for real hot and sour soup. The soup was not hot as in spicey or sour...
(2)Chris E.
Delicious entrees and sides, very responsive service, terrific for large parties. Our favorite Chinese restaurant in the Metro area!
(5)michelle c.
Some of the food is good (seseme chicken), but way over priced. My husband used to work here and so we'd go once in awhile. I'd rather get authentic Chinese food for the price.
(3)Jose S.
Loved the Imperial Rolls, hot and sour soup, Imperial tea selection... Hated the server, Mongolian beef, and dessert choices...since when do they sell pre-fab tiramisu at Chinese restaurants? The server thought it strange we asked for chop sticks, made a poor selection of entree, and was all around weird....
(2)Shawn N.
Meh. So-So. Dining room is decent. Prices were average. Whenever I try a Chinese restaurant for the first time I always try the Sesame Chicken first since every single Chinese restaurant offers it, it is a good litmus test (apples to apples) for food. Their Sesame Chicken tasted okay, though I prefer a little more heat to my Sesame Chicken. Unfortunately the chicken was very dry even coated in sauce. I liked the onions added to the egg-drop soup although mine came out almost stone cold. The service was prompt however the waiter really found himself to be amusing and thought that his biting sarcasm and deprecating approach to speaking to us was acceptable. I really appreciate waiters that can gauge the mood of a party and address them appropriately. This guy? EPIC FAIL. Not really sure if I will be returning as there are so many other "Koi" in the Denver Metro Sea.
(3)J C.
hey this place was pretty great. i admit to being a little hesitant at first. when we arrived on new years day, the place was packed. the hostess said there would be a 10-15 minute wait (which was actually more like 30 minutes). my brother and i waited at the bar for at least 15 minutes before anyone came to tend. things got better when we were seated. great service from the wait staff. one of the owners came by our table to make sure we were being taken care of etc... i ordered the sesame tofu, which will now forever be among my favorite dishes world-wide. it featured really nice tofu coated in sesame seeds and served in a sun-dried tomato and red cabbage sauce. my brother had sesame chicken (which didn't seem at all exciting to me, but he loves it) i felt that the prices were reasonable and the service was great (minus the lackluster bar)
(4)Sasch D.
I just went here for take-out last night. My boyfriend and I both had the Sesame Chicken (I had brown rice, he had white). The chicken actually tasted like chicken! Most pieces were tender and tasty. It wasn't as crispy as I like my Sesame Chicken to be and the flavors could have been a bit more vibrant. The rice was very well cooked, nice and fluffy! We mainly tried this place because Chinese food sounded good and Imperial Chinese has good ratings. I may or may not come back here to try other things, I probably won't come back for take-out though. All in all, not a bad experience but nothing to rave about.
(3)Mopsie B.
Lovely atmosphere, quick service and convenient location all make the Imperial a good place to visit. Frankly, I don't know of many other nice Chinese restaurants in Denver. The one complaint I would have is not unique to the Imperial, though- Chinese restaurants never seem to bother with organic or natural meats and seafood, which presents a problem for me when ordering, if I want something more substantial than vegetables. That being said, the steamed vegetables are excellent and I do enjoy the more upscale environment. It would be nice to have a few fewer fried items on the menu, too, but I realize that I am probably in the minority in thinking so.
(3)C J.
We ordered: Dumplings (Pork & Chicken), Coconut Shrimp (had kids with us), Sesame Chicken (ditto), Salt & Pepper Prawns, Salt & Pepper Calamari, Vegetarian Chow Fun Noodles. There is no reason to go to here for the food alone. Granted, we had kids with us & ordered very kid-friendly dishes, nothing I consider exceptionally authentically Chinese, except for the Salt & Pepper Prawns. The pot stickers were big & meaty, but without any real flavor (could not tell which was the pork or the chicken), the rest were very bland, uninteresting, and very middling. Honestly, I've had more complex & interesting flavors while stuck at the airport from Panda Express. I was especially disappointed because the Asian restaurants on Federal/Alameda were so, so close, but we happened to be on Broadway during rush hour & we were famished. The ONLY reason to go here is for the very nice, sophisticated, masculine decor (nothing red & gold here) and the western-friendly attentive service. Basically, you would only go here if you/your party want a 'taste' of Chinese food & have never had authentic Chinese, and if you want Western style service & decor. I'm Vietnamese & I've made it a point to teach my kids & tell my friends this, if there are very few (or none) Asian diners, it's not a good sign. When we got there early in the dinner service (not quite 6pm) there were only a handful of occupied tables. As soon as our appetizers were served the place was filling up & by the time we left, almost every table was filled & the scene was very lively. I was AMAZED by the wide variety of customers they had: families with young kids, elderly & younger couples, sharply dressed business people having meetings, & lots of groups of business-casual colleagues. It was a Thurs night & they were packed. I never wish a 'decent' business harm & there is a place for this type of restaurant, but we were the only Asian customers. There are plenty of much better-but-not-so-pretty Asian restaurants close by (Federal/Alameda corridor), like Star Kitchen or Pho 78.
(2)Dave A.
It's oaky but this is Asian food for white people too afraid to eat a more authentic place on S Fed. IMO this is just slightly more authentic than PF Changs.
(2)Catherine B.
Could someone please explain to me why this is considered the best Chinese in Denver? I don't get it. I went here when I moved to Colorado in 1993, and then I tried it again in 2010. Still gross. The food is not flavorful at all, and it is really expensive. The atmosphere and service are fine, but that's about all I have to say that's positive.
(1)Kevin S.
Totally don't get all of the rave recommendations I've been getting from friends. Ordered delivery from Imperial the other day. Outside of the fact that they totally screwed up the order, it was incredibly expensive and the food was nothing memorable. I should have known better when I saw Thai noodles on a Chinese restaurant menu. The Chicken Chow Mein didn't show up, but I did get a plastic container filled only with a heap of greasy, dried up, tough noodles. Huh? The orange beef was about a half-dozen small medallions, the rest was a heap of pea pods. Could barely find the orange flavor-- for $16. And $10 for a few pieces of forgettable bok choy that probably cost them fifty cents. The Szechwan chicken didn't resemble any Szechwan chicken I've eaten anywhere else. Sauces are way too sweet and overpowering. Won't bother ordering from here again, or going there to eat.
(1)Jay L.
The Imperial is probably one of the best Chinese Restaurants in Denver. The inside is relatively plush, with interesting lighted aquariums. Reservations can be made for groups of about 10+ in private rooms if you would like privacy for a small event. Free public parking makes access very easy.
(4)Craig R.
Lunch (especially sesame chicken with hot and sour soup) is 5 star. Dinner 3 or 4 start as it is very pricey and the menu is pretty uneven. Impeccable service at all times.
(5)Marie G.
The first time we went here was to take my boyfriend's dad who grew up in Chicago and who has been on the search for good Chinese food ever since he moved. Our second visit was to take my parents for my dad's birthday. We all ordered the family style dinner for $20 per person which gives you soup, appetizers, an entree and ginger ice cream. The wonton soup is a shrimp wonton and very good. The egg drop soup was some of the best we have ever had. For appetizers we had lettuce wraps, egg rolls, cheese wontons, and little ribs. All appetizers were just wonderful. The entrees we shared family style and I was surprised by how much I loved the choices of other members of our families. We had hunan beef, pork loin, pork ribs, sesame chicken, pork fried rice, & seafood bird's nest. My boyfriend's parents said it was the best they have had since they lived in Chicago and used to eat in Chinatown. The atmosphere is very nice with large fish tanks - don't miss the 2 orange parrot fish in the middle of the dinning room. They have "I Love U" tattooed across their sides! The servers rarely let you run out of water. My only complaint is that the room is very loud on a busy Friday night. While it is some of the most expensive Chinese food I've ever had it is definitely some of the best. I asked them about MSG and I'm not sure I got a straght answer, so be careful in that department.
(4)