Empire Garden Restaurant
690 Washington St, Boston, MA, 02111
Empire Garden Restaurant Menu
Sorry, We are updating this restaurant menu details.
Visit below restaurant in Boston for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Boston for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Boston for healthy meals suggestion.
Sorry, we don't have Q&A for this restaurant.
Sorry, No Coupons available for this restaurant.
-
Address :
690 Washington St
Boston, MA, 02111 - Phone (617) 482-8898
- Website https://empiregardenboston.com/
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :9:00 am - 9:00pm
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch
Parking : Street
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Full Bar
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : No
WE SERVE THE FOLLOWING STATES
Looky Weed - Buy Marijuana Online
Looky Weed is here to help you navigate the maze of legalized marijuana. We provide you with a complete dispensary directory.
John W.
If you are not Asian, you should not enter this restaurant. I went with a group of non-Asian friends and we got charged almost $20 per person for a meal that is $6-8 at every other restaurant in China town. Apparently their reputation they have is that they will hound you for extra tip after you leave the table, and that goes for any race (my Asian friend was hounded for an extra 20% tip after leaving the table the last time he went). Other than that, the food was decent, although admittedly I am not an expert on the cuisine.
(2)Barbara L.
There will always be a special place in my mouth for Empire or Emperor's Garden (depending on which sign you look at), it's here that I lost my Dim Sum virginity a few years ago. First of all the place is in what appears to be an old gorgeous theater and it's really big, and really nice inside. The service is horrible by Chinatown standards, trust me I'm not one of those idiots who go to Chinatown stuff my face with awesome food that I probably pay triple for elsewhere and whine about how crappy the service/ambiance is. My forays into various restaurants in Chinatown has taught me it's about awesome food, and not about American standards of customer service, and I am ok with that. On the weekends when I shown up to dim sim at 2:30ish, when the crowds are thinning out,I been straight out ignored by the staff. They see us sitting at the table and don't bother serving us, in fact once it was so bad once we were on the verge of walking out, and I had to ask the lady at the desk if they were closing, she quickly remedied that by yelling at the staff. There been times when they run out of things and said it would take twenty minutes, then when I said I was ok with waiting instead I was told to order something else. I have very mixed feelings about the place. At prime dim sim hours the food can be on point and good. It's great starting point before a night out going to have some Americanized Chinese food, and has surprisingly good basic cocktails. Empire Garden will always be fondly remembered as my first. But it's time for me to see if they are bigger and better things out there. Although let's be honest I know like any Ex we have a few more rounds of makeup and breakups, and random weekends where I might be feeling low and come crawling back.
(3)a m.
Definitely a hidden gem indeed! Very good Dim sum selections and reasonably priced. Clean, spacious, unexpected surprised interior with old theater look and high arched ceiling. Pleasant and attentive wait staff.
(4)Jonathan Y.
This review is for their supermarket which they operate adjacent to the restaurant. About your average run of the mill Chinatown supermarket. Don't be bothered by the filthy floors, rude store staff, or occasional odd bucket of entrails sitting around by the fish tanks. And for god's sake don't squint too closely at anything around the butcher section. I come here just to buy noodles which they do have a good stock of, and for very cheap. In particular they stock chow fun (wide rice noodles) and "already-cooked" varieties of yellow noodles which are extremely convenient as you can throw them directly into the pan as your stir fry is progressing, without having to boil them first. Ah just like mom used to make. While Super 88 may have a larger overall selection of items, the convenience factor (this place is literally at the end of the block from the Chinatown Orange Line stop) is the main sell for me. Plus right after completing your grocery buying you can go by Eldo, grab pastries, and be back on the Orange Line in minutes. Be forewarned that lines during the weekend afternoon shopping hours can be insanely long. Have cash on hand instead of card.
(3)Jon L.
Sadly, I've been here for dim sum, regular lunch, and dinner, hoping that perhaps a change in menu offerings would put this restaurant in a better light. It didn't. Why this place gets no more than 1 star: -Most of the things I have here just taste greasy and lukewarm. That might be acceptable for take-out/food truck Americanized-Chinese, but when you're in a sit-down place, that just doesn't cut it. -This place's ambience just doesn't do it for me. As many past Yelpers have noted, it looks like this restaurant used to be an opera house or something. When you couple the general spaciousness of the interior with the fact that this place is almost always under-capacity, this place feels like a ghost restaurant.
(1)Helen F.
The building where this restaurant is once was a theatre in the 70's. Don't know exactly when it became the Empire Garden Restaurant. The last time I ate here was for a wedding. That was 10 years ago. I grew up in Boston. The only times I would ever have dim sum or dinner here was if a friend wanted to. I don't care if their food is good or not. The reason being is because the minute one enters the lobby, it reeks of urine. They may have had a big renovation since I've been there. I sure would if I were the owner.
(1)Alyssa J.
I can't believe I haven't reviewed this place yet. What a spectacularly bizarre place to go. It's an old opera house turned Chinese Restaurant. Oh, they also serve "Exotic Cocktails". I'm not sure if it's the cocktails themselves that are exotic (red kool-aid and booze doesn't strike me as that crazy), but the glasses are ridiculous. A scorpion bowl for one is $6. This may be one of my favorite places to awkwardly drink until I can't feel feelings. They also have food.
(4)Art L.
The first thing you notice when you arrive inside the dining room is that this place is big! I've been to many large dim sum restaurants in HK, China and New York, but this is very different mainly because of the theatre decor. The restaurant owners picked a fine venue for a dim sum restaurant, which also has the added benefit of having the noise dissipate into its high ceilings. I can't remember a dim sum restaurant being as non-noisy as this one! The food here is definitely "Boston-excellent". I especially liked the sticky rice, all their dumplings (har kow) and their fried "ham shui kok". We also had the added treat of the warm fresh tofu dessert. The dim sum carts came around fairly often and some of the waiters made an effort to speak with me in English even before I tried speaking to them in Chinese. I would give this place five stars, but the dim sum is not New York quality. However, I give this place five stars for the venue. Well done!
(4)Andrea C.
I could not believe how rude the staff was and how watered down the drinks were ! We ordered one appetizer, chicken wings, we wanted to go somewhere else because of the quality of the food and drinks. Don't waste your time here ! Go to Q right across the street drinks are more expensive but worth it !
(1)Rob Y.
Tried the dim sum here one weekend. Food (7.5/10) = Pretty standard fare of dim sum in terms of selection. There was nothing special. You had your usual steam shu mai, shrimp dumplings, etc. Ambiance (8.5/10) = The dining room is impressive. It is certainly unique compared to the rest of the restaurants in Boston's Chinatown. Beautifully decorated, and high-ceilings that reminded me of the rooms in the Vatican museum. Service (7.5/10) = standard dim sum service. Refill the tea pot when needed. Chinese lady with the cart. Overall Opinion = A nice dim sum place, but nothing special. It's been over 3 years since I had dim sum in Boston, so I can't say how this place compares to the other businesses in the area.
(3)Ranjit V.
This place is probably a Dim Sum place that happens to serve other stuff. First of all, the minute we sat down, we were bombarded by 6+ carts of food. I didn't even get a chance to explain to 2 newbies how Dim Sum works. It wasn't even clear what we were being served because we were being overwhelmed right off the bat. We decided to get regular chicken w/ broccoli and things like that. The "Spicy Chicken" turned out to be identical to the "General's Chicken." The lo mein wasn't impressive AT ALL. It was basically like chinese buffet food served to you. I don't recommend.
(1)K S.
Been a few times over many years. I like it. Comparable to NYC, Montery Park (CA), San Fran, and Vancouver. Very authentic. In an old theatre. Huge room.
(4)John Daniel G.
This was my first experience with dim sum. I didn't know what it was, I didn't even know it was a thing, so I got a crash course on the whole "bringing carts of food around to you" way of eating here. I want to avoid talking about the service because maybe for regular dim sum goers, only knowing what part of the menu is until someone comes around to your table and rattles off what they have one at a time for you to say "no thanks" instead of listing everything is normal, as is apparently instinctively knowing what the rice of everything is. Looking at the pictures below makes me wonder where they got that stuff, or where they found a menu, because I wasn't given one. What I want to focus on is the food, which was thoroughly average. The pork dumplings were okay, the sesame buns things were pretty good, the meat of some kind over rice was mostly bone, and the beef rolls did not have much flavor to them. Nothing was really bad, but you can get the same quality of food elsewhere with less of a hassle. Crap, I did focus more on the service. Oh well, it's a stupid concept anyway. At least the price was right. Fifteen bucks for four dishes. And apparently I could have gotten seconds if I wanted more.
(2)Marissa P.
Overall, the dim sum I ate here was poor quality. Most dishes were cold while they should have been warm. The BBQ pork buns were some of the worst I've tasted. Not sure what all the dishes are called, but we tried a bunch of things and I felt underwhelmed by most dishes. The sesame balls with red bean were really the only good thing we tasted. I will say the ambiance was cool. Nonetheless, if I am going to eat dim sum in Boston, I much prefer Hei La Moon and Winsor Dim Sum to this place.
(2)Hector K.
This dim sum restaurant is my favorite place to eat at when I'm in Boston. The food is delicious and cheap. I'd much rather eat at the Empire Garden than at any kind of take-out Chinese restaurant. The atmosphere is both exciting and relaxing at the same time. As a Chinese language student, I love being surrounded by so many people who are speaking Chinese. The restaurant, which is huge, is full of people of all ages. There are old men just hanging out and reading the newspaper, families trying to keep their children occupied and out of anyone's way, and tourists and student groups coming along for the more "authentic" Chinese experience. You get a pot of tea for the table, and you can have one of the wait staff bring over a pitcher of water so that you don't have to ask them to come over and pour it every time you run out (the glasses are pretty small). You also get a type of spicy dipping sauce on the table, but you don't get much of it. I wish they'd put out more because it's so good. Besides the food on the carts, you can also order dishes straight from the kitchen. Last time I went, I had Chinese broccoli and bok choy. It was so good, and it reminded me of my time in China. The desserts are also really good. My favorite things to eat at the Empire Garden are the pork buns and the pork dumplings. Overall, this is like the best place on Earth.
(5)Priscilla Z.
It's really a so-so place. Now I should really appreciate the dim sum in LA! Still, it is a large restaurant. They have a lot of space, so at least you don't need to wait to eat some dim sum. They have quite large variety of food, and they serve them continuously--but, they are not good enough. The Har-Gau's wrapper was tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo thick! Shu-Mai's filling is too hard. I know I'm being picky, but man, if you have ever tasted better, wouldn't you compare them? Good thing is they have 'BaiYe', and it was done ok. I don't know the price, maybe was also cheap than in LA. But I should not eat Chinese food ever again in Boston.
(3)Nicholas P.
Some friends and I stumbled upon Empire Garden while looking for an easy Chinese meal before a movie. Boy was I pleasantly surprised. You walk up a flight of stairs to get to the main diningroom which is a retrofitted Opera house. The place is enormous and must have a capacity of roughly 500. We were a group of 6 on a weekend night and were seated immediately. In traditional Chinese fashion, we were brought tea along with our menu's. We ordered a couple dozen items off the menu and everything was brought out super quick. We munched down the food which I have to say wasn't anything spectacular but it was what I was looking for; cheap & easy Chinese. We couldn't finish all the food we ordered and the bill was still less than $15 per head. If anyone asks me for a recommendation for an easy place to go in Chinatown, this is it.
(4)Kevin L.
The most amazing thing about Empire Garden (outside of their strong, fruity drinks) is what pretty much every other yelper has already pointed out: the venue's in a ginormous converted old-school theater. The kind that you'd expect heavy red velvet drapes hanging in front. And that's pretty awe-inspiring alone. The following review might be suspect, because I was admittedly under the influence for most of my meal here. I mean... how could one -not- be completely trizzashed by the time the food arrives when you can order ridiculously boozy beverages for $6-8 a pop? Come on. When's the last time -you- saw a Long Island Iced Tea for those kinds of prices? Obviously, I had to follow my first excessively alcoholic drink with a Scorpion Bowl. Because... well... more booze is clearly the right decision when you've already had too much. Anyway, dim sum for dinner here really isn't the best idea. But I was intoxicated. And under peer pressure! Regardless, our jie lan was surprisingly tender, the luo buo gao were super soft and fried to deliciousness, and the sao mai, xia jiao, and niu chong fun all tasted like they should. Just don't go in expecting to point and stuff on carts and fill your table up with food in under five minutes. If you do, you'll be sorely disappointed like I was; dim sum with no carts is like fried rice without salty fish flakes. Fortunately, I was able to drown my misery in ethanol. Not the best food. Not the best drinks. Not the most classy atmosphere. But hell if I cared after my first cocktail!
(3)Linda T.
Gave us plastic forks for my kids bad service on Friday around 11am...real crappy selection...I have dim sum all the time this is by far the worst.
(1)Mathew N.
We came too late for dim sum but had wonderfully fresh and tasty Chinese food in a nearly empty restaurant at about 5:00 on a Monday. The restaurant, converted from an old-school theater venue, is beautiful. Servers were very attentive and gave us friendly attention. I particularly recommend the kung pao chicken as that was our favorite dish but the garlic noodles were also quite good. Prices were reasonable. I would definitely go back.
(4)Chani C.
This place is a hidden gem. How did they find such a huge space in the middle of Boston. Whenever I find myself drunk and in Chinatown (not that it happens really often), I end up coming here. Pros: 1. Cheap food and drinks. 2. Quiet (too quiet if you ask me). We even held a round table meeting here, coz its that quiet. 3. Drinks are BIG. And I love the presentation. 4. Wait staff is friendly. Cons: 1. Some of the appetizers are way too greasy. 2. The waiter was friendly. But dude don't come and check on two people on a date after literally every 3 mins. Plus it didn't help that we couldn't understand a thing he said and probably vice-versa.
(4)Rosanna M.
My Boston trip was going so well until I decided to go to this place to have dimsum and encountered this rude and arrogant Chinese son of a bitch. Lanky, 5'10", about 60++ y.o. waiter who knows nothing about customer service. Very bad for business. This asshole should get fired.
(1)Melissa B.
I LOVE this place. They have fabulous tiki drinks that are STRONG and inexpensive. The food is your standard Americanized Chinese food, good but nothing special. The drinks are what keep me coming back here - scorpion bowls, pina coladas, zombies, etc., they will knock you on your ass!
(4)Sandy B.
I feel awful posting this, but I just didn't think the food was good at all. We tried about 6 different things from the Dim Sum menu, and nothing really grabbed us at all. The place is beautiful and it's a fun place to be, but the food is just so-so, and the drinks are really watered down. David Wong was wandering about saying hi to patrons that night... I'd think if the owner was in, the restaurant staff must've been on their best behavior. I have to then assume that this is just how the food tastes, and it is not to my liking. Sorry, folks.
(2)Perry F.
Dim sum in an old school movie theater? Yeah, it's nostalgic! Beautiful high ceilings with most of the old theater architecture still visible. I remember going to movies here to watch good martial arts stuff. And the dim sum? It's not the fancy Pan-Asian dim sum. It's the old school mainstays - steamed shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, beef balls, chicken feet, sweet rice, pan fried radish cakes, egg tarts, etc. This is the stuff I remember from my childhood. This place gets pretty crowded around noon so get there early! The service is very good and the carts are continually being filled and cruising around the tables.
(4)Maria M.
Service: Fast, friendly, and attentive. The owner came by and chatted with us with his limited English. He was so friendly and wanted to make sure we had a good experience. Don't always expect that from this type of restaurant, and I was pleasantly surprised. Food: Not the best Chinese food I've had, but really loved the lobster special in garlic sauce one night I was there with my entire family. Cost: Cheap, fast, and delicious.
(4)Stella P.
I absolutely love the dim sum and I would give it 4-5 stars but I was pretty disappointed from dinner there. Obviously they are not known for dinner menus but I expected better tasting plates. The broccoli chicken was very greasy and pretty plastic. Dim sum is really good though and the restaurant attracts a lot of people, especially during the weekends.
(3)Eric F.
Having been a Chinese opera house in its previous life, the building lends a unique ambiance that few others, if any, can emulate. The eating area is extremely roomy with ornate decorations all around. Generally average fare across the board, though I would not recommend the Shanghai dumplings (Xiao Long Bao), sticky rice, or spring rolls - they're by no means bad, but mediocre at best. On the upside, the waitresses pushing the carts around are on their game here. When we ate here for a classmate's birthday, we were bum rushed immediately upon seating and I was able to order literally 15+ dishes for the group before I could even put my things down.
(2)Josephine L.
So if you're like me and you've just about exhausted Chinatown's best for Cantonese dim sum (Windsor, Hei La, China Pearl), you want a place that'll seat you and 10 of your closest friends at the drop of a hat, you're hungry so you don't care too much about quality (or quantity) and you don't mind an interesting ambiance to boot, then come on down to Empire Garden! I realize that sounds like the most lackluster, semi-passive-aggressive recommendation ever, but I'm sick...and cold...and there are wolves after me, so that's the best intro I can write with all the cobwebs in my head. Aaaaanywaaaay, my point is that this place ain't half bad if you come in without high expectations. I met up with a large group of friends for a post-holiday catching up lunch and the 12 of us had no trouble getting seated and getting served with ~16 dishes within the first 5 minutes. It's old-school, cart-pushing dim sum, so you just point and pick. The quantity/variety is significantly less than HLM and CP, so there are few "special" items outside what's offered in the carts. But the staples are all there like shrimp dumplings, shumai, shrimp in rice noodles, beef tripe, fried turnip cake, etc. All those were as good as any other place in Chinatown. If I had to choose, I'd say the best dish we ordered was the sweet tofu soup. Portion is big and they give a whole other bowl filled with just the syrup, which is great 'cause I HATE when places skimp on the syrup. The coconut jelly was good too. Nice and firm. Bottom line: It's not the best, but it's not the worst, so it's worth at least one try.
(4)Mahina K.
I love it here. Big Group? Sure. Lots of varying tastes (Omnivores, vegetarians, not so much on the vegans but they have dishes for them you just have to look)? Sure. After I realized Taiwan Cafe was still closed for renovations I brought my family here and they have fairly high expectations of Chinese food. We got 2 orders of beef lo mein, 2 of the seasonal vegetables (Choi Sum), Kung Pao chicken, sweet and sour chicken and peppered beef. It was gone so fast! Like they loved it. It really made up for the fiasco that was mother's day brunch. I don't drink and I'm not sure how you feel about drinking at a Chinese restaurant that used to be a theater (Look from the ground up, it goes Chinese to European), but they have very cheap drinks including scorpion bowls. I don't drink but the price looks promising. I don't suggest going at noon on a Sunday. I've actually had a wait in this giant restaurant before just because there were so many people. But on other nights you might be the only people in the entire restaurant. It really varies with time but the consistency of the food is usually pretty normal. So happy there.
(4)Vloritine H.
Great room, lousy drinks. Weird service. 3 tries, they're out!
(1)Sharon R.
The Dim Sum was pretty good and the prices is on the inexpensive side. I would have given them a higher score (maybe a 4 stars?) since their food was good, but, towards the end of my meal I decided to order what I usually order at the end of all my dim sum meals, the cold tapioca soup with taro... It was the worst idea I had, the taro was old and off tasting. I ate most of it (picking out the taro) before I realized that that there was a bug in the soup. The waiter I told looked at it and shruged, then walked away. Makes me think what else I have eaten without knowing. I would eat elsewhere from now on.
(2)Mandi P.
I ate lunch at Empire Garden Restaurant on a whim during a recent business trip and thought it was quite good. I had never had dim sum until this visit so I have nothing really to compare it to, but I found some of the dishes really delicious. I have no idea what anything was called, but the long tube like dish that is basically a noodle wrapping with either beef or shrimp inside was my favorite!!! The noodle outside was sooooo good!!!! Another close second was the sesame ball...kind of odd tasting, but really good! The inside/decor is a bit odd. It looks like an old converted theater...you can still see some of the ornate markings of the old theater. Then there are pops of Asian decor everywhere. The two don't mix all that well, but I am guessing the decor is not why people like this place! This place really probably deserves a 4 star instead of a 3 star, but I felt a bit intimitdated by the lack of English spoken by the servers and was therefore slightly afraid to try too many different dishes. Also, I was not really sure what I was eating...
(3)Lawrence O.
The food here is good but the service is not. We went there on a weekday around 1:30pm. Our waiter had a lot of free time but he just slacked off and talked to his friends/customers. Every time we wanted something we would have to raise our hands to catch their attention. And even when our waiter saw us raising our hands he would first go to another table or take his sweet time finishing his other chores then take care of us. He just kept avoiding our table. Then when we go pay the bill the stupid waiter comes up to us and asks, "You paid in the front right? Where's the tip?" We say we will pay it once we leave and he goes "You have to pay the tip on the table." That was extremely rude because we weren't planning to leave till 10 mins later to enjoy more tea. We sat there for a little more until another waiter kept staring at up while he was cleaning the table across from us. What kind of service is that? We left them $2 for tip but really they deserve $0. They also charge $.50 each person for tea and even tax. You won't get charged for that at other restaurants [in NYC] so we should have a choice to give tip or not. If you want to go somewhere with good waiters and service this is not the place for you.
(2)Adam L.
I love this place. Every time I go to Boston I try to hit this place up for dim sum. It always packed when I go on Saturday or Sunday. I have been with small groups of 3 and huge groups of 20. When we had the huge group, we had some people order off the menu and it took a bit of time for them to get there food. They were craving food as we were demolishing the dim sum. That's what they get! Food is always decent and warm. The owners (or older people who run it.) always come up to the table to chit chat. Tea always stays full and the water is always topped off. The setting is pretty awesome too. I like the old theater look.
(4)Kyle D.
This is an interesting restaurant. There are plenty of tables and seats since it looks like a converted ballroom. The menu has a nice variety and good portions. The prices are decent and the service is friendly. But sometimes they do not know what they are doing. For example, if you go there and ask for something like the shrimp wrap every time you visit, they act like they do not know what you are talking about and they act like they do not have it on the menu. This has happened many times. It is almost funny. However, you should give this place a try, but don't feel guilty if you are tempted to leave a small tip.
(3)Selina n.
I loved the old theatre, but the food wasn't worth the price. It was just a nice place to sit and enjoy the room but not so much the food. It was okay but just okay. The price was a little high for the quality of food.
(3)Doris T.
If you don't like dim sum in general, then you've got a problem. But for people who like to go on dim sum dates with a huge of group of friends then this is the place for you. The food here is quite good and the waiters are also quite friendly compared to some of the other places I have been to. I am probably not a very good judge of dumplings (I will eat almost any you give me) but I still think that the ones I tried here were quite delicious. Of course, it helped a lot that we were with a bunch of Chinese friends who could interpret for us and help people like me who have dietary restrictions. The best of all is that this place is not expensive at all and you come out feeling stuffed! Personally, I like the steamed stuff better than the fried ones but they have a big collection anyway. Of course, the larger your group, the cheaper it is and the more fun it is.
(4)Daigo F.
Very cool setting and not as crazy busy at other places (like HLM) so we were able to sit around and talk for a while (was Saturday, so Sunday maybe a different story). Food wasn't bad.
(4)Emma H.
This is my favortie place to go for dim sum in Boston. The food is delicious and very reasonably priced. Myself and two friends went last weekend, ate too much, and it was still only $20.10 total. It's inside of an old theater which makes for a very interesting atmosphere. Don't expect super warm service, but everyone is nice enough and the service is incredibly fast. I don't speak a word of Chinese and the wait staff and I manage just fine with points and smiles. Even during peak dim sum times I've never had to wait for a table. Great alternative to weekend brunch!
(4)Sasha C.
we came based off a recommendation that this was the best dimsum in town. i do enjoy the fact that the place had charm, lots of it. that's my style of dimsum restaurants. the bigger and grander the better. it isnt as big as you'd think but it will do. we got here early thinking we'll have to wait on line and fight for a table (nyc style) but it was pretty easy. we were seated but didnt like our seat so asked to move. that's when we were first given an attitude. WHY are you giving us an attitude because we want to sit elsewhere?? its not like ther was anyone else sititng there so what's the big deal? either way, we ignored the lady's wishes and sat there ourselves anyway. what are you going to do kick us out? so she goes and grabs the main lady who claimed to be some manager and made up some lame excuse like oh.. you have to spend X amount of dollars. and we said ok whatever. and sat back down. the carts came and the dimsum was decent, nothing out of the world. it was your average dimsum food. never again, not worth the attitude and stupidity. go elsewhere!
(3)Diane H.
It's called Emperor's Garden!! Anyways this used to be my favorite dimsum place, but due to lack of parking in chinatown, I go to China Pearl in quincy more. But i came back recently to eat there and it was pretty good. TOok a while for a cart to come by..they always seem go EVERYWHERE but where I am..but once they come, they all come! Food was soo yummy I lovee eating there! Haha, Good food, good price! Though I was seated in back so it's a hassle to go to bathroom, but it's fine. Decor is nice. Waiter's usually very nice :)
(3)Juggy W.
I would like to point out that the photo of this place is not accurate... the photo is the hong kong eatery... not empire garden. this place is kinda nasty... just like most dim sum places in chinatown... the price is average but the wait staff is not only rude... but scum bags. too summarize how i got screwed: - there was a long line but the host's friends (like 10 of them) got to jump the line and get tables before us... not that i was surprised. - we told the waitor twice that we do NOT want the tea yet still got charged for tea (without tea being delivered to my table either). - some carts never went by us so we had to go out of our way to get them. - this dish that we wanted was in a cart not far from us... we asked the waitress to bring it over to us (it was too hot) and we waited for 30 min and it still wasnt on our table.... but when she saw the manager counting the stamps for the check, she rushed over and gave it to us knowing that we were DONE with the meal and the manager immediately added it to the bill. i left with $0 tip and packed the last dish home.
(2)Kev H.
Okay, this place has some fantastic cooks, I used to come here ona weekly basis with my family, but those outings have diminished due to me having to work and what not, but the beef stomach and the dry fried beef noodles have always been close to my heart along with the calories.
(4)Crystal L.
Had dim sum here and being it's the first time having dim sum in Boston, it wasn't bad. I was expecting it to be bad compare to CA. There are a few dishes that wasn't good. Their turnip cake and tofu fa was nothing CA let alone HK.
(3)Tess B.
I fully confess that I am by no means a dim sum expert, but the ambiance here is great, the food is cheap and tasty, and I love the dining room so much. It's like eating in an opera house. It's huge, so you can usually get a table. Warning: vegetarian options are few and far between, although they claim they can have more for you if you ask in advance.
(4)Coren D.
I've eaten at Empire Garden for dim sum about a dozen times and always am satisfied with the experience. The food selection is your standard dim sum offerings. Har gaw (shrimp dumplings) contain generous chunks of shrimp and garlic, though the wrapper is a bit thick and dense. Char siu bao (steamed BBQ pork buns) are light and fluffy with sweet meaty filling, but could use a bit more meat. Shui mei were BIG, more than a mouthful of ground pork, shrimp and black mushrooms. Jin dui (fried sesame balls) were served piping hot, crisp and filled with the sweet hot lava bean paste. Silken tofu is served hot with sweet ginger syrup. At the side buffet table, I always get a plate of the salt and pepper shrimp with the heads on. I recommend eating them head to tail, shell and all. I only wish they put more garlic and chili peppers in them. Like most dim sum, this place is cheap. Expect to spend $10 per person to get stuffed, and extra for drinks. $6 for a strong maitai makes the meal complete. Overall, not the greatest dim sum I've had, but certainly a solid go to place.
(3)D M.
This is my favorite dim sum place in Boston. Hands down. I've been to quite a few, and this one is the best in my book. I have spent many holidays here after nights out seeing drag queens (you haven't lived until you've seen a drag show on Christmas Eve) with various friends. The decor is kinda nuts, as this place was a former proper theatre, and then I believe it was a dirty one after that. Now they serve lots of shumai and dumplings there on carts! It is a huge place and gets pretty full on the weekends, to the point that it can take a while for carts to come your way, so make sure to load up when they do. They also serve standard Chinese dishes there, if you're not in a dim sum sort of mood. Jesse and I went here today after seeing a couple of movies, and we had mainly dumplings and shumai. He reminded me that we went there after we first started dated, which was funny to think about. The highlights of this visit were the shrimp shumai, a pork dumpling that was served with a vinegary ginger sauce, some sort of meat balls that were delicious (and yes, I made lots of ball jokes), a really interesting taro root and cilantro dumpling with pork, and pork buns that they made on our request. You always get a big pot of tea and water. If you don't see something you want on the carts, just ask....they are always very accommodating. Vegetarians, beware.....there's meat in pretty much all dim sum here.
(5)Lydia K.
Well, the business card I picked up at the restaurant said Empire Garden, but this is the same place for sure, so here is my review: WOW, dim sum in Boston, how exciting! And what a venue! I couldn't believe they allowed a restaurant in such a historic and goregeous old theater... a shame and yet cool at the same time... I'll eat there! The prices were great, a bit cheaper than the CA places I have been in SF and Sacramento... the quality, not as great, but I ain't complaining since I got to eat dim sum so far from home...! I did like the cheaper prices. I thought the staff were friendly enough... but we came late in the lunch hour and after we picked our initial items off the cart, we waited 20 or so minutes and they wouldn't come back.... I guess they thought we ordered enough... well, no.... there is no limit for dim sum people! I walked over and asked for more and they were overly compliant! Thank you for that....! I will come back to this place every time I visit Boston! And, next time I will also check out the other dim some places as well! Thank you Boston, Mass!
(4)Melissa A.
After walking up and down Washington Street a few times, looking for a place called Golden Palace, my mom finally tells me it's Empire or Imperial something. Well, that narrows it down. This place was very unassuming from the outside and only after you hike up the stairs, you realize what you're in for. Heck, I had been out drinking heavily the night before but my mom insisted on having dim sum with her husband, me and my boyfriend, her old friend from Vietnam and her husband on Easter Sunday. We were seated and through a flurry of waves from someone at my table, my boyfriend and I got forks and waters, but no one else did. Strange. I'm not sure what is so non-Asian about drinking water but whatever. Aside: this is not a good place to go hungover. The large room with tons of people making that dull crowd sound [rhubarb-rhubarb-rhubarb] and food you don't know made me nauseous. Making nicey-nice with company also made me nauseous. The few bits I could stomach were okay. But those dang chopsticks were so slippery, I could barely hold anything. The sticky rice with sausage was one of my favorites. There was some sort of pod with what tasted like peanut butter that was good, but in general, the only reason to go here is for the fact that it's a dim sum place and that's it. Also, the total bill was $57 for 6 of us. And if you're vegetarian or have allergies, make sure everyone understands this. My boyfriend can't eat shellfish and after telling my mom several times that, "No, it's not that I don't WANT to eat it, it's that I CAN'T." So, we leave with his throat slowly closing up, my stomach starting to shrink, and my mom ducking out of town with no clue I barfed shortly thereafter and ate a bunch of cheese fries. I make her proud.
(3)Dave L.
Empire Garden serves a solid round of dim sum. There are carts flying around with lots of different types of food. The food ranges from the relatively tame (Sticky Rice) to food only for the brave (Chicken Feet). A seemingly good way to judge Asian restaurants is to estimate the percentage of asian patrons. For example, if you walk into a sketchy take-out place and see a bunch of college kids, you will probably be disappointed. Empire Garden passes this test, with almost all Asians. From a non-asian's perspective, I would say these dishes are pretty "safe" for someone trying Dim Sum for the first time: - Sticky Rice. Comes with peanuts, meet, and veggies. Pretty tasty! - Char siu baau. Comes both steamed and baked. Pork dumplings - Bok Choy. Leafy vegetable..comes with Oyster sauce. - Turnip Cake. It's actually made with radish. Pretty good, comes with a sweet sauce. - Shrimp Dumpling. Pretty basic..just a dumpling with shrimp inside. For two people, the total for us has been in the $20-25 range.
(4)Rick K.
Great dim sum and cool looking space. The food was tasty and was authentic. I'm use to San Francisco and Los Angeles chinatown food. But this was pretty good!
(3)Space O.
I have no problems with this place - I stumbled upon it about 3 years ago and have eaten here 5-6 times. We ate there again on a recent Saturday at about 1 PM. This place reminds me of a Hong Kong dim sum restaurant: big, always crowded, reasonable prices. Waitstaff is friendly. Never a long wait. For those who are interested, the restaurant is in an old theatre in the former Combat Zone.
(4)Rich F.
While this place is a a great deal, I still prefer the Dim Sum places in San Fran or Seattle. As you enter the once giant movie theater on the second floor you notice that (assuming you are like me... white, white, so white I am a little red) you are maybe one of 2-3 non-Asians in the room. Good sign so far. Once you get to your table, you notice the cheap pink table cloth with years of ground in Dim Sum stains and the classic metal framed/vinyl diner chairs. As you wait for the first cart to meander by you notice the details of the place. European architecture details around the theater now painted over with bright colors and the flat spaces all covered up with murals of dragons and quaint Chinese painting. The first cart pulls up and the woman looks over your shoulder as she says something really fast and removes the lid to show you her goods. You realize after asking for clarification that she does not speak English. Sure, what the hell. I will try whatever you are showing me. You repeat this several times and most of time you are in luck and get a tasty Dim Sum treat. Sometimes you get the bread pieces wrapped in flat rice noodles that have almost no taste. It is a mystery and that is why Dim Sum is so good. I almost feel bad for the people who go to this place and can speak the language. You eat until you are almost too full and grab the ticket and hold it up for the human abacus to add up for you. You sip your 10th cup of hot tea and wait for the damage..... $16 !!!! It is the total package. Mystery, excitement, food, and it is cheap as all hell.
(4)Rachel G.
one of the best dim sum places in boston. always a fun time!
(4)L C.
It seems that many old, grand, historically rich buildings in Boston are now home to quite ordinary businesses... the Ruth Chris... a Borders... and this dim sum place. We had a long wait this weekend in the dingy red carpeted lobby, but finally entered the converted theater and felt like we were in a scene in Titanic. The room is truly breathtaking, with dramatic domed ceilings and murals. The dim sum is less breathtaking, definitely a solid 3 stars. Because of the sheer size of the room (ENORMOUS), the dim sum was slow in coming and they must make stuff in waves so our desperate search for roasted pork buns went unanswered until after we had paid. The Chinese broccoli, custard buns, and shrimp dumplings were good. In total, we had about 5 dishes for only $15, which was quite a bargain, though we didn't get exactly what we wanted. Also, I really didn't need to see a girl getting her nipples rubbed by a guy in a bear suit while I was eating my custard bun.
(3)Mark A.
Go here for amazing, affordable, authentic Chinese food. Very very difficult to find in Boston.
(5)John K.
Nothing special... Would not go back again.
(1)Lily F.
To begin, I'm a bit biased because I have an allergy to all nuts (except almonds) and shellfish... What I had: -Pork bun: delicious! I'm a bun fan (loooove red bean esp.) to begin with so these were delicious. -bbqed pork dumpling: I ate about four of them...not only because they were good but also due to the fact that I felt my options were a little limited. -spare ribs: the meat was good but the little bones were not very appetizing to say the least. If you can get over spitting out little bits of bone onto your plate you'll probably be fine! -chinese broccoli: steamed to perfection in a nice brown sauce...really good & simple. -rice soup: light flavor that included cut up meat in the soup with chives. Very filling. I thought the restaurant itself was the coolest aspect of this experience. The interior is creepy in a fun way, and as I was eating I couldn't help but look around at the crazy murals and large groups of families eating alongside me.
(3)Lindley E.
I've had very good experiences here with dim sum on saturday and sunday mornings...and on christmas! Between the carts and the buffet (you can bring your card up and they will give you a small bowl or plate of clams in black bean sauce, calamari, salt and pepper shrimp, or a couple other items) there's tons of variety and it is pretty tasty, too. If you know your way around dim sum, you will find things here that you really like. If you are new, you may find it a little challenging, unless you don't mind not knowing what you are eating. Good Har Gau. And yeah, don't bother coming here for other meals. You'll wish you'd never set foot in the place.
(4)Noel F.
Excellent dim sum. Be adventurous- try the jellyfish! My husband loves the stomach and the chicken feet, I prefer the spare ribs, shu mai and the red bean paste pastries.
(4)Darbar '.
Dim sum on a weeknight at about 8:30. It was like eating dim sum in an alternate universe. The exact opposite of the weekend brunch crush. Everything is totally relaxed. You're in a cavernous converted theater with maybe 4-5 other parties scattered around. Nobody trying to hurry your table for the next people in line, and no carts trying to push food at you. You call a waiter when you feel like it, and order at your own pace. It's very quiet, but you can be happy without disturbing the peace because everyone's voices dissipates into the open space. It's almost like you're outdoors. So get yourself some of the tiki drinks, and pretend you're having dim sum on a tropical island. As Liz pointed out, taking someone here on a date might be a bad idea. What was relaxing for the 10 of us could be awkward for 2. The dim sum itself was mostly the usual items, solidly done. I haven't had anything much better in Boston.
(4)SpecialAgent D.
Liked it enough to go back. What I like most about it is that you can do Dim Sum for dinner. A lot of other places stop serving Dim Sum around 2 or 3, but they have it till 10. I love the atmosphere, it is pretty cool to eat in an old opera house. The staff was friendly both times I went. And the drinks....staaarong!!!! Warning!!!! Will definetely go back again.
(3)Laura R.
As a pescatarian and non-Mandarin speaker (going to dim sum with three other non-Mandarin speakers), I was worried that there would be very little for me to eat, and that I would get lots of accidental servings of pork. However, there was an abundance of delicious vegetarian and fish-containing (usually shrimp) dishes for me to enjoy, and the waitstaff could generally identify the main ingredients of everything - so there was a very low risk of eating pork I didn't plan on eating. The building itself is beautiful, the food is tasty, and the price is right! Try the "shrimp noodles with fire," cooked in front of you on a cart and served with hoisin sauce, and the glutinous rice balls with sesame seeds, which are sticky and sweet (and delicious!). I'll definitely go back again.
(4)Julia C.
come here if you want rude service and shumai that will make you so sick that you cannot take the T back home. the server was very rude and refused to accommodate the fact that i cannot eat black mushroom, and served it to me anyways. when i protested and reminded him, he snatched the dish off the table, left, came back, practically threw down the replacement dish on the table and stalked off. other non-shumai dishes were not particularly good, either. PLEASE go to hei la moon for a much better experience!
(1)Imani H.
It felt good to enter back in time when i went to Emperor's garden. The restaurant was once a theater ( just like the opera house and the wang theater). I went out with my mom last night and i have to say, this place know how to treat their customers. My mom loved the orange beef with stuff crab claws, and some delightful fried jumbo shrimp. ( and i do mean jumbo) This place is really nice. the place was very big and beautiful. I suggest people to go to this delightful place ( but do go after Dim_sum. If gets very crowded). I love this place a lot. I will defiantly come back to this place some times soon.
(5)Aretha B.
This place is weird. you walk up this grandiose staircase... there are these dilapidated murals on the way up. You get to the top and there is this massive banquet area to the left, with like 2 people sitting in it. (or a wedding party, depending on the night). You can get seated at the other floor upstairs though, and it's just like your average chinese place. They have the assortment of chinese restaurant drinks like mai tai, fog cutter, suffering bastard, etc... and they come out strong. Of the things I've eaten there, I have to give big ups to the general gao's chicken. It's among the top three best I've had in my life, and *trust me* I've eaten a lot of general gao chicken. I'd try it at least once to see what you think. Good choice before a movie or after getting extremely baked.
(3)Jeremy F.
I thought this place was pretty cool inside. Food was stereotypical chinese-esque, but in terms of bizarro atmosphere i give them an A+
(3)Francis W.
For boston, this is pretty good dim sum. For CA standards, eh. The ambience is unique and memorable, since it is an old theater. Fun times!
(4)Jesse R.
I haven't been to many dim sum places at all, so its hard for me to compare at this point, but in general I had a great experience. I came here with a party of 7 and we had great service and it was extremely affordable. The place is set in an old stage theatre, so the setting is really cool but kind of strange. Its a huge place, which would seem awkward if the place was dead, but they really bring in the customers, both Chinese and Caucasian. There is a regular menu if you're not in the mood for dim sum, but dim sum is there thing and service might suffer if you order a regular style meal. I would come here again, its fun with a group of people and its great to try so many different foods.
(4)Kristine M.
I think their dim sum is quite good. Good seafood. Great calamari. Love their shu mai. It's kind of a cool interior...an old theater. I've never had a super long wait, because the restaurant is so huge. It also consistently has the best service of any place I've been for dim sum. They're attentive with the water and tea.
(5)Jesse N.
I really wish I had seen the reviews here before passing by, so that I could have warned my friends before we went in on a whim. I am so sick. I even took pictures of the nasty food. So gross. Stay away, if you don't read the rest of this review, just stay away for your own health!!! But let's see... 4 friends and I went into the Empire Garden Restaurant, located at 690-698 Washington Street (China Town) in Boston, MA today at around :3:30pm. Now, the stairwell of this place stunk to the hight heavens. Just like we'd walked into a dumpster. I thought it wise to leave, but the rest seemed to figure that it was just outside, so we went up. When they came over to take our order, they seemed a bit confused when asked if chicken wings could be substituted in for chicken fingers, but finally got it. Now, I was ordering the SAME THING as one of my friends- the same substitution, and a simple one at that, and I had the same trouble with them being "confused" as she did. Finally, orders were placed. They brought over tea and water. There were five of us, and the tea was not enough to go around, and seemed mysteriously weak. When the food arrived, they couldn't even remember whose food was whose (there were only two other people in the entire restaurant and about eight people "working") and upon looking at the "eggrolls" that came with my meal, I was not pleased, as they looked questionable. Upon taking on bite, I was disgusted. It was vile. The "friend shrimp" wasn't good either, and were basically the tiniest things I've ever seen, with tons of greasy disgusting breading on it. The chicken wings were somehow a cross between dry and greasy. I had a taste of one friends beef and broccoli, and the broccoli was nearly impossible to bite and the beef was... spongey. Now, since we were not given enough tea in the first place, one of us had taken the bag out and the lid off to signal that we needed more. That didn't work, so we flat out asked for it. So the guy takes the pot and goes away. He comes back and slams it on the table, and one us us goes to pour some, and a clear liquid comes out of the pot... Water... THEY WERE GOING TO RE-USE THE DAMN TEABAG! Being just after 4:20pm, we joked that they must have been smoking the good stuff to think that they were any sort of good establishment. Dude comes back over, and was informed that there was no teabag in the pot. He said "Okay!" and left. He didn't bring a tea bag, a new teapot...nothing. They'd started off refilling water glasses fairly regularly, but took no shame in simply shoving shoulders/heads if they were in their way. Then they decided to just leave the pitcher on the table by way of shoving my shoulder and slamming the pitcher down. One friend decided to bring her rice with her, and when they wrapped it up, they gave it to me, even though I was on the other side of the large table. We had to ask for the check, even though we'd already had said food wrapped. Then we were going through, putting in our portions and discussing how much of a tip to NOT give and why. Now, we OBVIOUSLY had cash in plain view and the guy comes over and takes the black money holder thing out from under his arm and said "all set?" and we all said "NO" and he said "Oh okay" and walked away. Now, one of the five of us felt bad about not leaving a tip. My 2 bites cost me $8.95 and with tax that would come out to $9.39. I gave $10 as to not stiff my friends, but there was no way in hell that I was going to give any more than that. I don't know how much of a tip the guy actually got, but when we were leaving he made quite the face of distaste about it. I don't know if we were charged for the tea, It was brought automatically without us being asked if we wanted it, so I didn't even know it was possible to be charged for it until reading another review that mentioned it,but obviously given what I've told you about the tea situation, if we were charged, I am even more disgusted now. I am honestly wondering if bacteria from an already-re-used teabag is why I am so ill right now. Since getting home, I have thrown up several times, and I have lost consciousness. This place needs to be shut down. First I thought that it was just bad food and terrible service... now I think it is a public health risk. If I had a way to get to the hospital, I'd go. I am going to post this as many places as I can think of, and I am going to find the number for the health commission in the morning.
(1)Stephen K.
"That guy spit in my food so many times but it doesn't matter." That sums up the view of about half of the 15-person group that went to Empire Garden tonight, though I was unfortunately in the other group that kind of felt sick and underwhelmed at the end of the meal. This place is 2.5 stars, though I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt for my satisfied friends. When we got there and sat down, we almost left because the place was basically empty, other than a tourist family. After reading some Yelp reviews on my phone, we decided to stay. As others have noted, the decor is a little odd. It almost certainly used to be a theatre, and I'm sure the atmosphere is pretty cool when it's full... but not so much at 8 p.m. The food was okay. The guy from Hong Kong said it was pretty authentic. The people that got the dim sum were most satisfied, but I and a few others ordered off the menu. They had an extensive list of cheap drinks, often with fun names. My favorite part of the evening was when someone asked the waiter what was in the scorpion bowl and he said (imagine an extremely stereotypical thick Chinese accent), "...the lime... and the juice." Another drink was described as "the alcohol... and the juice." Probably won't go back, but it was an experience, if that counts for anything.
(3)Hilary C.
Despite the novelty of them having gutted an old theater, I was not impressed by the dim sum here. I would sooner to to China Pearl or Hei La Moon for Dim Sum. Prices are comparable to most places. I found the frequency of the carts and the available variety to be a shortcoming. That said, it's not like they have bad dim sum. It tastes good and whatnot, but the full dim sum experience is missing. Also, if you're going here, request to sit on the main floor, not in one of the higher level seats, as there is a problem with cart circulation.
(2)Kevin H.
this place my wife took me to for the first time and it was incrediable the food was hot the hot tea made you calm down after the hustle and busle of the city the staff was great and the food was hot and well cooked defanetly a in the cut eatery
(5)Merri L.
I had dim sum at Empire Garden in Chinatown Boston MA on Sunday morning. I had been there once before, a couple months ago. This place serves dim sum all day, but it's different after 3. The first time I went, it was 4 or 5. We sat in a very girly white and pink room with pink flowers everywhere and chinese AAAhhhh aahhh music going on in the background loudly. It seemed like the same couple of songs were playing on a loop. In the afternoon, they don't get that many people, so you order off of a dim sum menu, instead of carts. The food was kind of cold, and not that good, plus some things, they were out of it. All of this combined to not a great meal, and so I hadn't gone back. This place always got good reviews though, so on Sunday, we went back, but at peak time this time. Now, we got to sit in the main room. This is an old theatre, so the main room is HUGE. We got to have the little carts coming around, they way they should, and the food was very good. There were no grossly girly cake looking decorations or annoying music. So it was a big improvement. The only problem I'd have is that, probably because the room is so large, the people didn't come around with carts often. We were starving for a long time, waiting for more food. Eventually, we ate a lot, and the bill was very cheap, only $40 something for four hungry people. You should check this place out. I'm not really sure which I like better though, this or China Pearl. Going on the taste of the free water you can get, take this place. added note: going back a few other times, we hardly got any food and it wasn't as good, so i would reccomend trying someplace else.
(2)Alyssa N.
Cool setting, the old theater is shabby but grand. The food a bit on the greasy side, at least for my stomach. Cheap and decent food, efficient service.
(3)H T.
The dim sum at this place is good. It's not as crowded as China Pearl, but the food is not as good as CP.
(4)Jeffrey R.
I don't know why but the sign and front door of the Emperor's Garden have intrigued me for a while now. Finally, my girlfriend and I went for dinner last Friday night. Walking into that odd, vacant, elegant downstairs lobby immediately told me I was on to something. We walked up the stairs and the contrast between the beauty of the place and the sheer ghost town-ness of it all made my girlfriend question the legitimacy of the place. This also further solidified my excitment for the Emperor's Garden. When we finally made it into the ballroom / dining hall, I was amazed. Such a cool place, so bizarre, so grand, so insane. The staff was really attentive, the food was good. They've got i think One Million cool drinks (headhunter, Mai Tai, Rum Runner, etc). And I just couldn't get over how cool the place was. I think they need to have some type of concert or party in this space...The Emperor's Garden After Dark.
(4)el e.
entrees were pretty nasty -- got the chicken mushroom and something else. dim sum was great -- radish cakes and some shrimp dumplings (if i recall correctly, which i probably don't). still, no excuse for nasty entrees that are somewhat cold.
(3)Rochelle R.
My quest to check out the Chinatowns of major cities started with London's Chinatown. It was so different from the Chinatowns in the US. It was clean and the buildings were very English. I have also checked out San Francisco's Chinatown (the best so far) and of course LA, so I was curious how Boston's looked like. I was very disappointed. It was rather small area and it looked like there were more Vietnamese restaurants than Chinese restaurants and I didn't even see 1 boba shop. Strange. Since I didn't Yelp for a restaurant in the area, I just went old school and looked for a restaurant that had potential of being good. The place was huge inside, it looked like a old theater they converted into a restaurant. I felt like I was in some Wong Kar Wai film. I ordered my usual....siu mai, chasu bao, etc. The waiter was impressed that my friend and I could use chopsticks and didn't need forks. Maybe that was indication that way too many tourists come into this joint. There were alot of Asians eating here, so it looked promising. The siu mai was okay, but the bao was flavorless. The sweet tofu was good since the broth had a hint of ginger, which was a nice touch. This was the only Chinese restaurant I tried in Boston, but I have a theory....the best Italian food stateside is on the East Coast and the best Asian food is on the West Coast. My friend who lived in Boston for a few years agrees that the Asian food sucks in Boston.
(2)Gaby S.
This place has the worst service. We were seated as they were putting a tablecloth on the table, but the tablecloth had a huge stain right in the middle. We waited about 20 minutes before someone came to take our order. We ordered dim sum from the after hours menu and a drink. The waiter brought us tea, but never brought our drink. We noticed that the table that came in after us, however, was quickly waited on and received their drink order before we did. We tried to get the attention of the waiter and manager on several occasions, but they did not notice. After waiting for another 30 minutes, we decided to leave. I don't know how the food was, but if it anything like the service, I'm sure it's lousy.
(1)Michael G.
This is a huge restaurant with gaudy Chinese decorations on the wall, but that's not why you come here. Instead, you want the dim sum. Coming here on a weekend for lunch is like going to any other crowded dim sum place. The food is good, though not incredible. You might want to bring someone who speaks Chinese, though, to understand what in the world they're pushing around on the carts.
(3)Esther L.
This is my favorite dim sum place in Chinatown. It used to be an old theater, and they converted it into a Chinese restaurant, so its pretty inside. When you walk in, it smells funny-greasy sometimes. But the food is really good. It gets busy on weekends, so go early for dim sum. Food at dinner is pretty standard Chinese-fare/ nothing special about it.
(4)Tom S.
I've been coming to this restaurant for over ten years. Yes I am a fan, cause of the steam tables pushing carts, the crazy amount of space this place provides. The authenticity of the place. It really feels similar to how it is in China. The servers aren't attentive besides in the beginning and at the end. Bring tea and water and then write up your bill. I love coming here because of their wide selections of dim sum. I usually come and get 3-4 plates of short ribs and 2 plates of the ha gau and 2 plates of the shrimp dumplings. Those are my necessities! I will most likely get noodles, some type of sticky rice in lotus leaf, beef balls with soy sauce on top, cha siu bau, egg tarts, chicken feet, tripe, and whatever else seems fresh and tasty at the time. Only bad side is, this place uses a lot oil or fat for the food, it made me a little sick the last time I came. I recommend this place for anyone who's looking to enjoy dim sum with a large party. There are other places that are very good in chinatown, but you can't really go wrong if your in the area and want a quick breakfast/lunch.
(4)Raymond W.
Dim Sum review only. This is sadly the forth or fifth place finisher of the main Chinatown dim sum establishments. While the restaurant is one of the biggest, the quality suffers as the food is consistently anywhere from luke warm to cold unless something is pan fried table side or in teh form of soup/congee. Location makes a huge difference here and time of meal. If it's after 1pm just walk away and say no. The restaurant empties, carts trickle down, and servers start ignoring you. If you have a large group and can make sure they get there early, don't bother.
(2)Devon B.
My friends and I go here for dim sum when we've got a craving for it. The place is really pretty as can be - the dining area is gigantic, and there's always tables available. Twenty of us came in without a reservation and we were able to sit together immediately. As a vegetarian, I couldn't eat much, but then that's pretty much every dim sum place. The bok choy was delicious, though, and my friends really enjoyed most of the food available (especially the octopus!)
(3)Calvin N.
The food is not bad at all I didn't have high expectation coming here to Boston to have dim-sum coming from SF Bay Area. However I did not like the service at all. Either my Chinese was not good or what, I felt that I was an outsider talking to them. Food your typical Dim Sum not bad decent I can live with it. Service I feel that I got ripped off, because my gf went here the day before and got more food for half the price... maybe try to have a set price instead of raising the price randomly.
(3)Sarah D.
I just don't even know where to begin here. This place is just so awkward. You walk in up a big staircase and the dining room is enormous and fancy looking. I've never seen the place even approach crowded, but I've only been there at night. You know how some places won't seat you until your whole party is there? Empire Garden really wants you to sit. Like, right now. No matter what. Just please sit at a table or they will not leave you alone. Once you are seated, in my experience, they are no longer in any rush to deal with you. Last time I was there they seemed to be making a concerted effort to avoid even looking at our table. The service is just quirky that way. By quirky I mean bad. The food is okay but nothing special. I've sampled a few entrees and a bunch of apps, the only thing that stands out it their crab rangoons which are an especially crispy, delicious version of a classic. The drinks look very different on the outside, but are exactly alike on the inside where it really matters. One drink, countless ornate cups, each with a name to match. Get the scorpion bowl, as it is the biggest. So, based on the above, it sounds like I don't like this place. But I actually kind of love it. All of its bad qualities make it a ridiculous place to hang out, and $6 (individually sized) scorpion bowls have a way of making me as ridiculous as the setting. Short version: Come get drunk here.
(3)Ambrose C.
My family often go to this restaurant for dim sum for the past year. It's good, particularly the Siu Mai, Ha Gau, Cha Siu Bao and Lau Mai Gai. However, it is not the best dim sum restaurant in Boston. We also tend to order some chicken chao mian and beef chao fen as well, and they were pretty good, although it is covered with a thick sauce. I would recommend this restaurant if you really want dim sum or chao mian, though it would be a secondary choice. I think Hei La Moon is better and fresher, as long as you come in around 10:30 AM. Empire Garden also pretty inexpensive as well so it is a very popular place that my friends go to. I would not say that this is the best dim sum place, but I think it is a little better than China Pearl's. The major advantage that this restaurant has is that it has a lot of space, so I do not think you will have any trouble finding a table. However, if you want a restaurant with longer hours, I would suggest Chau Chow City.
(4)Terry B.
B+/A- It was huge! reminded me of Jing Fong in NYC but bigger. We were 2 guys on Sunday so we ate a lot and came out to about $15 per person including tip. Average price I guess. The food itself was great and of course lots of selections! Cha Siu Bao, Chang Fen, shu mai, ribs and taro cakes were all great quality
(4)Teresa T.
The concept is fabulous - a converted old theatre into a chinese restaurant. However the execution is just a-ok. The space is grandiose and the ceiling is amazing but you can see that the owners have painted over the areas that they can reach - there is no cohesiveness in the paint decor and part of me wishes they had preserved that history. The food has been a mixed bag - some things cooked right, some things overcooked, some things bland and the soy sauce watery. Also what is surprising is that you can not order dishes until 11am. You eat what is being pushed in the carts. However the nice thing about Empire Garden is that they have an elevator so my grandpa can use it as oppose to hiking the stairs at China Pearl.
(3)Judy L.
Not bad, but not exceedingly excellent. The staff was super friendly, which was essential as we had over 60 people for lunch. This place was surprisingly huge. It's perfect for reserving rooms for huge gatherings. :D But for food-wise, it's decent.
(3)Nicole W.
I love dim sum and I've tried TONS of places. This place had your average dim sum foods, but the reason I will not be returning is their lack of customer service and flat out rudeness. On more than one instance, the server stood there and waited for their tip. Not only waited and stood over my shoulder, but then proceeded to tell me that our party should tip 20% regardless of their lack of attention or service. I did not enjoy my meal whatsoever. I felt so rushed and pushed around. I won't be returning there any time soon. There are so many other delicious restaurants in Chinatown that are extremely busy, but still pay attention to service and don't make you feel uncomfortable when they get paid. Try Hei La Moon or China Pearl if you're looking for a good meal and an enjoyable dim sum experience.
(1)Anna K.
I came to this restaurant 7/20/12 for my rehearsal dinner and they knew I had a least 40 ppl coming to the rehearsal so it ended up being 60. So they had one waiter working while the other waiter was walking around not sure what he was doing. My guest didn't get there pupu plater till 40-60 minutes later.Everyone there were tired of waiting for their food. Poor service. I asked the owner why there is only 1-2 waiters helping and his reply was " you told 40 ppl were coming and now you have 60." I said well I brought you more business and his reply was I don't need that type of business. I'm a millionaire. I said ok what does that have to do with me. It's David Wong the owner. He's a rude a**hole. I don't care if your rich. And worst of all 3 of our friends had food poisoning from that place. It's very dirty. The place wasn't like this before. Now it's gone to sh*t, I would never go back there. I strongly suggest you don't either . I'm calling the health bored on them. Gross restaurant. My hair dresser from Chinatown told me the owner is mean to his employees and the place has gone down hill. I have never made a rude comment on Yelp! But I had to this time about this place. Horrible place Don't go.
(1)John M.
Can't go wrong with dimsum right? Wrong. When we walked into this place there were no carts going around. So I thought maybe dimsum was done for the day. The waiter gave us a regular menu and a dimsum menu. I should have known by then to run out. I didn't. I tried to order fried shrimp dumplings since it was on the menu. The guy told me they don't make them... So naturally I got the steamed shrimp dumplings. When the shrimp dumplings came out to the table, my wife noticed that the shrimp was not cooked at all. Me of course being a man and hard headed decided to eat half the dumpling to see if it was raw. It was. I called one of the servers over and tried to explain to him. He seemed to understand, of course he just kept repeating the word shrimp. I asked for the manager and he pointed over to him. I had to get up to get him myself... When he came, I also explained. This is where I was both furious and also laughing cause it sounds hilarious. He said "ah yes shrimp. Under water. Shrimp. Shrimp." he then takes the shrimp and smashes it between his fingers and walks away. I had no idea what had just happened. I then ask for the check check. It wasn't the servers fault that the food was not completely cooked, or cooked at all.. The rest of the food was alright if that. I've had better takeout. Way better take out. I put a two dollar tip on the $35 bill. To me that was nice seeing as how the service was not bad, but was not even there to speak of. As I'm walking out with my family, the waiter, who I only saw when he took our order and when he brought out my check, had the audacity to come up to me asking for more tip. "15% is usually generous". I almost lost it on him there. My ghetto side was about to come out on him. Instead I held it back and took him over to the table and simply showed him the raw shrimp that was on the table. That seemed to make him mad. He then seemed to probably curse at me in Chinese which also made me laugh a bit more. I should have not been lazy and walk a few blocks down to the other dimsum place. I hope this review helps someone out. It only gets one star because the manager made me laugh when he smashed the shrimp in between his fingers. Haha might have been my worst experience but I will always have that moment.
(1)Dan P.
What a place ... amazing setting , amazing order , very efficient. Food was amazing , the experience is thrilling. One of a kind place here in Boston .... Food was real good , from the Chinese Broccoli through the pork,chicken and shrimp dim sum ( fried , steamed , half/half) RECOMMENDED!!!
(4)Judy K.
Just came from dim sum there. The food was OK overall but we were surprised that the bill was as high as it was. They even charged for tea - really?
(3)Jackie C.
The dim sum is all right, not the best, but then again, I have a tendency to compare dim sum to what I had in Hong Kong and that'spretty much a losing battle. I like the decor of the place since it used to be a chinese opera house. The service can get a bit slow sometimes where the wait staff doesn't really notice you. This especially happens in the morning hours on weekends. I understand that it can get a bit hectic, but that's never an excuse for bad service. If you are looking for decent dim sum, I'd give this place a try since most of the bigger restaurants in chinatown pretty much do the same when it comes to the quality of their dimsum.
(3)Tony S.
"The best Irish food in China"- now cut and paste that thought, and you'll be in the same quandry as me with 'the best dim sum in Boston." If Japanese, Indian, and Thai food can make the overseas transplant to Boston with much of the original homeland goodness, why can't they do it with dim sum (and then some)? I've had the best that dimsum has to offer in Hong Kong, and have found the same quality in Vancouver and New York. But unfortunately, the food in Boston has a very hard time measuring up. Sure, they have the authentic feel of numerous food carts, noisy clatter typical of busy dimsum places, and the occasional loud HOCK-A-LUGI waiter, but the food is strictly...."meh". The chicken feet was ok though. Kudos for nice sentimental effort, and with few alternatives in Boston, if I feel the need for dimsum, I'll always make the trek here, but only out of desperation. It's about the same enthusiasm as going on a first date with the hottest cheerleader you had a crush on that peaked in highschool 20 years ago, but now has a missing front tooth, long hair growing out of her left nostril, a wart the size of a penny above right eyebrow, and smells funny.
(3)Sara C.
The food was still good, but I did get a big of gristle in my pork bun. We had a tough time getting water. Even the hot tea came after the first dim sum cart. I totally meant to take pictures of the food, but it was so good I ate before I remembered. P.S. I hit there at noon yesterday and it was packed.
(4)Paul V.
Rancid-smelling mystery meat in fried rice; awful chicken offal, Vienna sausage chunks and bone fragments in dumplings. Not a vegetable in sight. Nonexistent service (water, chili sauce, basic English language proficiency, etc). We were willing to keep randomly giving their blobs of dough more chances, but walked out hungry after they left us in a corner with the only other white people and just stopped bringing food around.
(1)Jessica N.
3.5 stars. The space at Empire Garden is HUGE and really cool. It's an old theatre. It's also cheap if you go with a group! We had four people, and it was around $6 a person (very good deal for the amount of food; we were stuffed). The only thing that made me wary was how fresh the dim sum was. Those dumplings could have been on those carts for a rather long time. Other than that, it was great. You also get complimentary tea :) A cool experience.
(3)Josh W.
Empire Garden is a decent dim sum place in Boston. The dining room is cavernous. Their choices of dim sum is average and the food is average. It's not bad. It's very convenient, quick, and the prices are very reasonable.
(3)Ella B.
We went here last weekend to get a taste of Boston had to offer and we left happy. The place was crowded and popular among chinese and non chinese. The deco is as everyone else mentioned, big, a bit gawdy, but if not gawdy how could it be chinese.... (hey. I'm chinese, so I can say it....!) The owner has this wall of display cases which displays every award he's ever received from the city for all his "contributions" (ahem, "donations") to various "causes"... but it's all good,... Boston is an old city right? And we know how old cities work... we determined that all of his "good works" must have been to the fire inspector b/c this place was packed! There is also a photo of the owners with the Taiwanese president, Ma Ying-Jeo which sorta makes me smile... ok enough about politics... the food: Tea - jasmine by default, they do not ask you what kind you want. No soy sauce only hot pepper sauce or spicy mustard was provided. (which was ok, most of the food was salty enough) Really yummy har-gow's (shrimp dumplings) which large pieces of shrimp. They also had a dumpling that I had never had before, taro filled dumplings that are steamed with a "skin" like a shrimp dumpling skin, chewy and moist. It was our favorite. At the end, the check was $21.50, we were two stuffed birds, including tip $24.
(4)Sidi L.
their dim sums are goodï¼it's better than hei la moon. i like their porridge. it's better to go with several people，you can order many types of food
(4)Ariana Z.
Never a disappointment whenever I go. Great atmosphere and great for large groups.
(4)Hiro T.
Let's see...oh, here's a place that serves "dim sum" maybe we should go try it. I don't think so! The place maybe tempting due to the large number of asian people entering on the weekends, but this place is not worth the trip (Okay, well, I guess a little disclaimer, we did go on a weeknight, and on weeknights there are no asian people going into the place, so maybe it's not that great. Haven't been there on the weekends, when the hordes of asian people are entering and exiting the establishment. Maybe the place is better on the weekends). Anyway, the dim sum menu is a little lacking, and the dim sum is served up lukewarm. There are NO CARTS, and again the dim sum is served LUKEWARM. The dim sum is pretty cheap, but according to the people I was with Bubor Cha Cha is better than this place and the entire time I was regretting not trying Windsor Cafe, which has excellent reviews. The place is really large due to the fact it is a converted theater. If your looking for some good dim sum, this is NOT the place. Go to Chau Chau City or Hei La Moon for dim sum on the weekend, now that's totally worth it!
(2)Jeff L.
Dirty place, and food was: Yuck, cold, greasy. Yes, the theatre environment is nice. Do yourself a favour and walk in, admire the decor, and turn back out the other way.
(1)Dan L.
Lots of different opinions on this place. Why we return: - We've bounced around the different dim sum places and they all have pros and cons but we overall like this place most - The crispy leeky dumpling things I don't know the name of are the best here - It's not a big of a hassle to get seated than say at Hei La Moon with all the shouting of numbers - As long as you sit in the main room you get served by the carts a LOT. If you end up in a side room, forget it. Go a-cart-chasin'! - Massive value. 5 people ate recently for about $10 each and we were all STUFFED. When you're ready to play, look for a dude in a bow tie to add up your check. The others can't help you but may a bow tie down for you.
(4)Jeannette S.
Dim Sum wasn't the real reason I wanted to visit this place. My friends brought me here because I saw pics of this restaurant and I LOVED how the interior looks. It looks like an Opera House and I was just intrigued. Hahaaa don't ask why. Parking was a pain, my buddy's hubby had to drop us off and park 10 blocks away from the Restaurant. And once we were seated customer service almost did not exist. To me, most of the servers tried to avoid eye contact with you. And that "unlucky" one who actually looked at me had to work more. I am from Houston and we have many great Dim Sum places here. Therefore to me, Dim Sum tasted pretty average here except for their shiu mai. Their shiu mai was GOOD. As we walked out I was snapping pictures like a true tourist. The managers were friendly and came over to chat with us. One even offered to take a picture for us. Overall I enjoyed the atmosphere and food. I would come back if friend's hubby doesn't mind parking far away.
(4)Victoria J.
Ahaha...This place is ridiculous and I love it!!! You have to climb three flights of stairs just to get into the place and you are welcomed by a cheesy chandelier. I love life. The inside is MASSIVE. MASSIVE. MASSIVE. Was it a theater back in the day? It looks it. The place was packed with people while the little ladies in red vests pushed their carts of delights through the crowds. Don't ask me what anything was, but it was all delicious. The best part? It's not the delicious food let me tell you, even though it comes in a close second, it's the fact that for three people, including one Scorpion Bowl, the total was $26! I thought it was a mistake, but no, no, no, no, no...It wasn't. So I left this place with a pocket full of money and a tummy full of delicious. Yay!
(4)Ellen C.
This is my go-to Dim Sum restaurant. It's huge, in an old theatre, and they put up with me even when I don't have an Asian person with me! It's always quiet enough to talk. The food is always tasty, it's reasonably priced (last time we paid $9/person. Though admittedly, I don't eat a ton). The one downside is it can be awfully hard to get them to give you your check so you can leave. I wouldn't go on my way to an airport, but overall, great place!
(4)Francisca W.
ok, so you heard about my experience w/the class "field trip" adventure last year. this year, we decided to do it again w/the kids, but i would not bother to make reservations, submit menu, and all that nonsense since they don't seem to honor those arrangements anyways. so i just called the day before and told them about 50 of us would be coming, and, to their credit, they did have the tables set aside for us w/water and tea set up on each table, ready for our arrival. then i ordered food, which came promptly and was great and all, and we had enough to eat, even though i under-budgeted and had to shell out half a day's salary to cover the difference. which is fine; it was no fault of theirs. but i was under the assumption that they would give us free tea and tax free given that was what we enjoyed last year, but none of that happened. manager says they already gave us "discount" on tea but come to think of it, he could have charge us per head (adult) and we would probably end up paying less, since you can't seriously be charging KIDS for tea, or can you?? so $15 added to our bill for tea. that's an average tea charge for 30 adults. we had about 50 people total, 25 of them kids. tell me, how is that a "discount" again? then i realized i was supposed to produce that tax exemption number in order to enjoy the tax-free benefit for a non-profit organization activity, ok fine i didn't have that paper on hand so i sucked it up and paid taxes. but that tea thing, still very messed up. not only that, last year i DISTINCTLY remember the rice/noodle dishes we ordered were at least $2 LESS than what we had to pay this year (hence my "cheap dishes" comment in the previous review!)--i don't know if they decided to give us a generous "discount" last year bc we had double the people (this time we decided to split the group), whatever, but that is some $20 difference on the bill, which i would NOT have to shell out if they had stuck to the old prices. and thing is, if the price difference was due to inflation, that's fine, but it seems that their prices fluctuate more than the stock market! my colleague went two days after me, and found she was charged the AMERICAN MENU price even though her chinese-speaking assistant called the day prior and was quoted CHINESE MENU prices on these dishes! hey, i spoke chinese too, so how come i got charged the american menu prices? regardless, the fact that they have TWO menu prices and charge differently on the same dish, that itself is merely OUTRAGEOUS!!! that's just so wrong. so after this, i'm completely done w/this place and will boycott from this second on. next year, we're gonna walk the extra blocks and go to hei la moon instead. :)
(1)Erin H.
Emperor's Garden (or Empire Garden) - there are 2 signs when you get to the restaurant is all about the atmosphere and less about the food. We wanted Dim Sum, but the waiter didn't seem to hear us and never brought the menu so we just went ahead and ordered from the regular menu. The former theater setting is awesome and made for a memorable meal. Like many other people have mentioned though I found it alarming that the place was so empty. We ate here on a Sunday night and there were 3 other tables full when we arrived. The food was average Chinese - nothing to write home about. Because we were visiting and in a hotel we took our leftovers and gave them to some homeless people that were beyond happy to have them. Which made a mediocre meal better.
(2)Danny N.
The missus and me were in the mood for Chinese earlier into the night. This is rare considering he is more of a meat and potatoes type of person so any chance to share an ethnic meal is a must. So we were walking around Chinatown peering into windows to see what was what and somehow we ended up at Empire Garden. The first thing I'm going to say about the decor is you feel like you LITERALLY walked into the real-life version of the popular 80's flick, Big Trouble in Little China. Google it. What made it feel more surreal was also because it was 9:30 on a Tuesday night and the place was empty and with what seemed like hundreds of pink laced tables. The hostess is this older Asian gal who waved her hand to let us in like she was guiding us towards a mystical Asian waterfall with butterflies fluttering on cue. I digress. Anyway, the eggrolls were crisp, the crab rangoons were rangoony, the rice was white, and the cripsy aromatic shrimp was aromatic. Service is good. Prices are fair. But seriously, you have to go just for the decor at least!
(4)Nicole Y.
I went here for the first time with my cousin and friend and the food was so good! They come around with carts of food and ask you what you want. My reason for only four stars is I felt forced into some foods, and I didn't have water to start off, but other than that the tea we were given was flawless. It really complimented to food. I wish I didn't get so full so quickly because I wanted to eat everything. My friends loved their food too. Definitely recommend this place if you want amazing dim sum!
(4)Sarah S.
Went here with a group of six for dinner. The room itself is a huge old theater and is so interesting and was worth the trip. We mainly got the Peking Duck and a few dim sum plates. Everyone loved the Duck ands were so happy with what we got. We were one of the only people there and it was fun. If we needed a server all we had to do was waive one over (what I found to be pretty typical) or waiter was nice and helpful and the owner even came by to ask us how we were. I would definitely recommend this place for a casual nice out!
(4)Vincent H.
I was somewhat disappointed when I came here. Friend picked this place and I thought why not since I've always walked by it but when I walked in, I thought I was apart of a Rush Hour scene. Food was okay and nothing spectacular. Pork spareribs were interestingly flavored with a dark black pepper sauce. I WAS REALLY DISAPPOINTED THAT THERE WAS NO TURNIP CAKE!!! WHY?! :( Prices on the other hand were fair. Around $10 total each person in my group. Atmosphere wise, it's a nice old theater that they're using but it definitely needs an update on the decor.
(2)Jessica N.
Empire is located just right off Chinatown location. This place is just a typical stop for dim sum. The flavor is right on point. The taste is less msg compared to some other competitors on the block. I actually like the dim sum service here since its really quick and efficient, they're really quick. A good stop to go if you on the train. You can get traditional other chinese food as well. its not just limited to dim sum.
(3)Ian C.
We went you primarily because we had a really large group of people. They say 30+ of us in one area with out much hassle. Walking in to this place felt like you were walking back in time. Old school vaulted ceilings as if you were eating in a 1970's theater (which I think it clearly was). The food itself was ok, this is very much a middle of the road authentic cantonese place, not great not bad.
(3)Selina C.
Uhh. I haven't been here in ages and I must say that things have changed or maybe I've just had better and there's just no going back now. I came here with my family for dim sum this afternoon mostly because my grandmother needed somewhere handicap accessible so props to them for having an elevator. I usually go to either Hei La Moon or Great Taste Restaurant on the rare occasions that I do go for dim sum. It was around 12 when we came in and there was a handful of tables filled with people? which was fair enough considering it was Friday. We ordered lo mai gai or the glutenous rice wrap with a meat filling and the moment we unwrapped the leaf wrapper, the rice was a suspicious dark color and had a weird smell. We figured it was burned from the leaf but still didn't try to eat it. My cousin ate the egg yolk bao/bun which had a weird lemony, bitter taste- figured the egg was spoiled so we abandoned ship on that. Other cousin had the cha siu or roasted pork bao and said the pork had a weird taste. The texture to the lotus seed bun was a weird, thick gummy kind of consistency too. I just don't know! They do have a lot of seating though??
(1)Nicole B.
Wow. This was my first dim sum experience and I am still processing my feelings. The atmosphere at Empire Garden feels like I have been transported to a very different place in time and geography. You walk up an exotic (and severely outdated) staircase to a huge dining room that is one open area. The focal point of the room is an old stage, closed off. Along the walls are servers waiting and staring expectantly at you with their carts of goodies -- everything from chicken feet to dumplings to french fries (yep). They write what you pick on the check -- all a la carte. The food on the carts seemed old and like it had been sitting there for a while. The service (after the cart service) was basically non existent and it took a long time to get sauce upon request and water refilled. I'm not sure if this experience is reflective of all dim sum in American places, or just this one in particular. Definitely interesting to try and see, but the food wasn't something I'd ever crave or go back for. Didn't seem fresh, wasn't hot, and wasn't quality ingredients or preparation.
(3)Michelle W.
Food is tasty when it says spicy it is. At home it means it comes with a hot chili on the side of the plate. Service is a bit rude as far as the average Caucasian might be used too. If you don't know what's what on the menu they will not explain. Just get pissy. What ever you do, do not ask for extra brown sauce, you will be told no. Over all the food was good and price reasonable.
(3)Alex C.
The only thing this place has going for it is that its in this cool vintage theatre. As cool as the ambiance was, it couldn't make up for their quality of dim sum. I give their food 2 stars but I gave 1 star overall because of service. As someone who has grown up in San Francisco and frequently visits Hong Kong--this dim sum is not worth your money. We only ordered about 6-8 things over the course about 15 minutes before deciding to go to a different dim sum place. After paying the bill and only leaving a little tip, we were on our way out when a waiter stopped us to ask for more tip. Maybe my mentality is different, but I should have at least a descent experience to leave a descent tip. Most importantly of all, I thought him coming up to ask us was extremely rude. Overall there are many other options for dimsum that I'm sure taste a lot better.
(1)L F.
I am by no means a Chinese food expert. However, I have visited a variety of restaurants in Boston's Chinatown, so I have a general idea of what to expect in terms of food quality and service. Empire Garden is situated in a former theater on Washington Street. This definitely gives the venue a 'cool' factor. However, I felt the food was just ok. It wasn't spectacular. Frankly, the mango pudding was awful! No flavor whatsoever and almost a JELLO like consistency. I will give them kudos for service. We mistakenly took our invoice to the front without having one of their cart attendants total it first. They told us to go back and have it added up. The man who added it up was very nice and was totally fine with splitting the bill between my card and my friend's card (I think this generally doesn't happen in Chinatown, lots of places will only accept one card and have a minimum charge. We found the gesture to be both nice and accommodating).
(3)Abhishek C.
probably the worst dim sum in Chinatown, Boston. I went there for lunch and the food was cold and stale and surprisingly overpriced for dim sum. The setting is interesting being that its in an old theater. Will never go there again. I recommend Hei La moon or China Pearl in Boston's Chinatown or New China Pearl in Woburn, MA if you're looking for good Chinese food especially dim sum. Stay away from this place.
(1)Steve X.
This place is a classic Dim Sum restaurant. I don't know what else to say. You will feel like you are in a holy church while eating, that is how I would describe the setting of this place. I mean this place is HUGE. Ceilings are ridiculously high and if there weren't so many people here, you would probably hear your echo. The food is just average and the service is also average. Typical, average, A-Ok, ordinary, standard, mediocre are words that come to my mind for this place. Nothing special.
(3)Bill Z.
How many people have been confused by the conflicting names at the entrance... emperor's... empire? I am fond of Empire Garden, even though I would not consider it "exceptional" dim sum. It has a very cozy atmosphere with an interesting decor. They have maintained the old theater ambiance above ceiling level and restaurant-appropriate decor at the dining level. They serve basic Dim Sum here, and it's appropriate "Dim Sum 101" for the novice. It was amusing, when we were seated, that we were almost assaulted by ladies with carts the moment we were seated: 3 customers, 3 carts. It was almost this anti-vulture thing, as if "blank card gravity" had ensued. We hadn't even received chopsticks, plates, or tea, and yet cart temptation had commenced. What they serve here is good but lacking in variety; it's the basics, though done well and tasty. But we also saw some ladies pushing the same carts around and around with no luck, as the food in the tins grew cold, and it looked like they weren't allowed fresh items until they served a good portion. One dish I enjoy, steamed bok choy in hoisin sauce, one of the few vegetable dishes you can get, did not show up on the floor until we had dined for 45 minutes. It was not on a cart either. One lady walked around with a plate of it, and when someone ordered it, she would take it back to the prep area to have it reheated, cut into smaller portions, and add the sauce. The restaurant could use some sprucing-up as well. Our tablecloth, while clean, was old and worn and discolored in spots. In the men's room, I actually got more water sprayed on my hand when I pushed the flush lever on the toilet than I did at one of the sinks (i.e. 2 sinks, only 1 dispensed cold water).
(3)Bobby V.
Nice surprise....we weren't hungry just wanted a few seafood dimsum plates to carry us through. All the shrimp dishes were very fresh...we were actually very impressed. (Didnt give it a full 5 stars, cuz inasked for ginger scallion crab, and they didnt have any?? What respectible coastal Chinese restaurant or any restaurant at all is out of crab??) And the restrooms were a bit gross...but thats typical.
(4)Christopher L.
Really awkward layout for dim sum. We constantly had to wave down the carts to get food. They literally would park in one area and expected people to wave them down across the whole restaurant. The food was decent, nothing bad or good to say about it.
(2)Matthew F.
Update -- Call it reverse karma, but today we brought guests there and were disgusted by the extra-grunginess, the disinterested and inattentive servers, the slowness of the service overall (this despite around a dozen managers patrolling the floor) and the utter lack of traditional dim sum options (I.e. steamed dumplings of any kind) -- completely dyspeptic, squalid, and unpleasant experience. The collective nausea we all experienced right after eating determined the already obvious conclusion that we will never go back.
(1)Krysten S.
I came to Empire Garden for a congratulatory lunch and loved it! The atmosphere was really neat (old theater) and I really enjoyed the whole dim sum concept. Food was very good. I recommend!
(4)Alex L.
Boston's version of a proper Chinese restaurant misses the mark. Four of us came here for a late weekend dinner. They took us to a table set for three. I thought they had figured out their mistake once we were seated, but then they only brought us three glasses of water. Whatever. We ordered dishes to share - wonton soup, spicy Hunan Eggplant, sizzling pepper beef, and Chinese fried chicken. Wonton soup was OK, not freshly made. It's your standard Chinese grocery soup mix base and generic freezer bag wontons. Spicy Hunan eggplant was not spicy in the slightest and greasy. SO GREASY. To illustrate, I could have put a straw into the dish and gulped down several mouthfuls of the stuff. Definitely defeats the purpose of ordering vegetables in the first place, which is to make one feel like something other than a human garbage disposal while stuffing one's face with artery-clogging fats. The sizzling beef was actually very good, tender and flavorful, and served on a bed of sautéed onions and peppers. But the "family sized" dish had only four bite-sized pieces of meat - not exactly impressive. The dish I was looking forward to the most was the Chinese fried chicken. But it came roasted, not fried! Misleading menu descriptors aside, it was decent but came out lukewarm, not hot. Service was pretty inattentive throughout. We had to ask for the check after waiting ~20 minutes. Although you'll find nothing deal-breaking here, absolutely nothing about this place is well-executed, either. Try someplace else.
(2)Jeff M.
I feel I have become a dim sum connoisseur over the past six years or so, trying at least seven different locations around Boston as well as Flushing, NY. Empire (Emperor's? They have some sort of identity crisis) Garden is on the cheaper side once you get your stamped bill back but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Service here is hit or miss but that isn't unlike other dim sum locations, depending on the crowds. What annoys me with EG is that I've been here after 1 PM on a weekday where maybe only 10 tables are filled and the carts are nonexistent or don't come back around often enough. I hate having to walk up to a cart to get what I want if I don't spot them heading my way after like 15 minutes but it's the only way I will get my shumai or tripe when I'm on a strict schedule at lunch. The food can be hit or miss, depending on the time of day, but at least it is always hot. For the more expensive items like clams in black bean sauce, you need to actually walk up and get them from a food counter on the right hand side of the restaurant. If you don't go that often, you'll never know this is the case as nobody ever says anything to you. The decor of EG takes the cake though and might be the only aspect of dining here that gets me to return other than the low(er) prices. It's in an old Boston theatre, probably at least 100 years old and I always imagine what plays took place there at the turn of the century on the stage. It's beautiful and the Chinese weddings that take place here must be great as well assuming the food is decent. Unfortunately, EG is just average when it comes to how they handle their dim sum runs each and every day and the comparisons of quality that surround it on the neighboring streets. My new go to place is actually in Malden but Chinatown does draw me in for its easy access when working downtown. I just can't bring myself back here all that often until their quality and service improves somewhat.
(3)Kitty C.
This place is awful. I have been here a total of two times, and left disappointed on both occasions. The ladies always rush over to your table the second you sit down and don't bother to check up on you after. GO TO ANOTHER DIM SUM PLACE, I cannot stress this enough.
(1)Brad P.
My family arrived at Empire Garden at 4:00 PM on a Tuesday. We were the only customers in the restaurant, this is not a small place by any stretch by the way. We got a nice assortment of Dim Sum and regular menu items. They were all quite good. I was particularly impressed with the fried octopus. It had a light breading that was nice and crispy and the octopus was tender. It is tough to get octopus to be done but not bike tire tube chewy. The service on the other hand not so great. In case you missed it we were the only customers in the restaurant. It was a little annoying to have to work so hard to flag down our waiter in an empty restaurant. Atmosphere 5 - This place is cavernous and ornate. It looks to me like a vaudeville theater or an opera house in a previous life. Service 2 - I had to struggle to tear a waiter away from the dinner prep they were doing to come to the table. Cost/Value 3 - For what we got where we were eating the prices were reasonable. Food 5 - The dishes we had were all very skillfully prepared and tasty.
(4)Adam L.
Wanted to try out this dim sum place for quite some time. Heard this place was the biggest dimsum place in china town. This place use to be a theater I believe. Even though we sat at the very corner of the place, we were still able to get multiple rounds of the carts come to us, which is pretty nice. We came to eat Dim sum on Saturday at 1 which was not too crowded. The food were relatively average price. The Dishes were great. I feel like they have a wide selection of choices from just about any bun out there to ur typical sui mai and xiao long bao. If anything, they probably have more choices than any other dim sum place around china town. All the waiters are very nice, wasn't sure if it was because i was chinese, but they were all very generous and willing to help.
(4)Danae K.
This is your average Dim Sum restaurant. Whenever I go with a Cantonese speaking friend, the service is slightly better and faster. Which makes sense :) The ceilings are very high, and it must have been a theater in the past since the entire ambiance is that of a "grand" past era. I have never liked the fried rice they served, but standard great options include steamed pork buns, shrimp shumai and the tofu. It's location is great since it's right off the corner of Boylston and Washington st. Pretty average and well priced!
(3)Alice S.
This place was better in the late 90s early 2000s. Their food was better and it seemed much more popular. I remember how I used to love coming here because the interior was so beautiful. However, the quality of their food has deteriorated. Dishes are hit or miss, and food is best described as just okay. The last time i came here, the restaurant was relatively empty, and I almost felt lonely eating in such a large space.
(2)Sozi N.
I have been here many times for weddings and what I really like about it is the ballroom it's beautiful, art works on the ceiling and walls and with the right lighting it's magical, it's the only dim sum restaurant in Chinatown that can hold 500+ people, I recently went back this past weekend for another wedding and I am very disappointed with the service. Workers are rude and don't do their jobs. You ask for something and they pretty much ignore you. We had a 7 course meal for the reception, the first dish was a mix appetizer which I thought was pretty good, the food came out pretty slow gradually everything starts to the taste the same. Overall the venue is beautiful but I wouldn't come back to eat
(2)PV D.
Went here for a wedding and the good and service was horrendous!! I asked the waiter for a napkin and he yelled at me to sit down and he will bring one. All this in Chinese and I don't speak of Chinese. All bc his Racist ass think everyone who's asian is Chinese. And did he ever come back w a napkin? NO I asked the bartender for a heinekin beer and he said they only have corona. He then shoved a corona in my face and says it taste just the same. Who the eff is he joking with? And then came the food. It was a 10 dish menu and 6 was aight. Couldn't recall but they taste like typical Chinese food that would only taste good if you were wasted drunk. The other 4 dishes were so dry. The shrimp rice was flavorless, tasted old and had so little shrimp. The noodle tasted the same except it was even more dry. The mushroom soup was the worse. The texture was slimy and it tasted like slime. Seriously, it tasted like someone threw a bag of salt into it. What was a major disappoint is that I'm always a fan of Chinese crispy skin chicken. Except here, the crispy part was soggy. Like the soup, it had too much salt. And if you're thirsty, bring your own water bc the waiter was no where to be found most of the night. Bad food, horribe rude staff = shotty venue for a wedding
(1)Jessica B.
I really love Dim Sum on a rainy Sunday morning and Empire Garden Restaurant does not disappoint. The key is to show up around 10:30, beat the crowd, and get first dibs on everything. I was hungover, so this was no mean trick, but well worth it. There were five of us today. One of my friends' parents run a Chinese restaurant, so he is good at getting the good stuff. I mainly had shrimp dumplings, steamed Chinese broccoli, a Cantonese barbecued pork bun, Taro cake, and Jin deui, for dessert, which is dough filled with red bean paste, and covered in sesame seeds. All were quite good. The building is pretty cool, lots of interesting art. It feels like it used to be a theater, and I've been told more recently it was a strip club. The servers were friendly and all the good stuff came by our table. Do note that you can't order off the menu during Dim Sum. The price was awesome. We all pigged out for $13/head including tip. If you park in the garage next door, Arch, the restaurant validates, so it's $10. I think I may prefer the atmosphere here and the food at Hei La Moon, but I like them both a lot. Invitations to Empire Garden Restaurant will NOT be turned down.
(4)Stella S.
Love this place, one of the better dim sum places I've tried.
(4)CC W.
Served us some very old dumplings...easily been sitting outside for hours.....gross! The worse dim sum experience ever!
(1)Jennifer G.
One of my favorite dim sum places in Chinatown. The restaurant is decently sized, unlike most other restaurants in the area, so there usually isn't a wait. You get your standard dim sum pushed around in a cart -- my faves are the shrimp dumplings & anything shrimp really! You get a pretty good meal for around $10, sometimes less. If you haven't had dim sum before, it's like tapas style Chinese food. Definitely worth it!
(5)Frances N.
Come here for dim sum at $10/person as long as you can handle the stern/grouchy service. FOOD - 3 stars ===== Great for the price. If this is the best dimsum Boston has to offer, I'd be disappointed. SERVICE - 2 stars ======= Pretty lackluster service, even during the midafternoon low tide. The waiters and manager here won't pander to you: if you disagree with how they run things, they will stand their ground and snap right back at you! I complained in Mandarin to the manager that they didn't tell us they'd charge $0.50/person for the tea and he angrily retorted that that was the case in all of China/Japantown. OK, that's fine, but smile, please, ATMOSPHERE - 3 stars ============ The restaurant is decorated like a funky, kitschy version of a Chinese opera auditorium? Clean bathrooms, though. We didn't go at a peak time, so I can't speak to how busy this place usually gets.
(2)Katie Y.
The food is okay and the decoration, from the days when it was an opera theater makes it look splendid. The lighting is pretty dark (like when the show is about to start), and the service is okay. Sometimes, the people would just park near the kitchen but we would just walk over there and choose what we like (woohoo fresh steamed batch). It's not the best but it's okay. The food improved compared to a few years ago so if you know what to order, you'll be okay.
(3)Linnie T.
Worst place to hold a wedding reception. My table was served a half raw steam fish. Butchered wedding cake that was not cut properly but mashed in a pile on a plate. Every dish that came out was wrong. Flavoring is off, orientation is not presentable. Terrible service.
(1)Robert C.
Wow. This placed sucked. Plain and simple. Waiter was soooo rude. Food was terrible and the drinks completely watered down. Trust me people. You do not want to come here. Be warned Update. So I went to Q just a few steps away. Drinking a real Mai tai and enjoying the great wait staff. This just reinforces the above review of how bad empire is! Holy crap that place sucked!
(1)Nancy F.
Loved it. Gotta be the most special place for dim sum!!!! Seriously awesome. Best yee shee gow I've ever tasted. There's even pink tablecloth. So classy. This is a true gem. Reminds me when I was a child when I went to chinese theater! So awesome!!
(5)Jing M.
My boyfriend suggested dim sum together, so we went to this place. I trusted his choice, so I didn't check how good the restaurant is beforehand. This place is huge, with lots of seating in the hall. It was almost packed when we went. We were seated at a small table around the corner, which is not ideal, as it's too close to the kitchen and the chairs were a bit shaky. We ordered shrimp dumplings, shrimp shumai, pork buns, leaf wrapped chicken with rice, and some vegetables. I like the shrimp shumai, but not very into the dumplings. It's possible that we've waited a bit too long before we started trying the dumplings so they were a bit dry. I also think the wrap could be thinner so that we can taste more of the shrimp. Having tasted better shrimp dumplings in HongKong and even a small town like Ann Arbor, I'm a little disappointed at what they have. The wrapped chicken with rice was just OK, not moist enough either. The service was not satisfying, which was expected in a busy Chinese restaurant. We had to wait quite a long time to get the shumai as the person was moving too fast. I think for whichever Chinese restaurant, they should probably start thinking about how to provide better service for customers.
(3)Yen D.
Atmosphere is great (super cool old theatre with Chinese music in the background), food was not so great, service was fine. We got some har kao (shrimp dumpling), lotus buns, shu mai, "crystal pork-taro buns", and shrimp in the wide noodles topped with sweet soy sauce. The wrappers on the har kao and shu mai are just too thick and glutinous for my taste- they detract from the filling. The filling on the har kao is actually really good, with actual pieces of shrimp instead of ground up shrimp paste, but it fell out of the wrapper and I just ended up eating that. Lotus buns were a bit dry. Shrimp in the wide noodles, which is one of my fav dim sum dishes, again suffered from being too glutinous. This is the problem with ordering off of menus instead of carts (we didn't go in the a.m. but they serve dim sum all the time)- I thought I knew what I'd be getting with the pork-taro, but what came out was just super greasy with diced taro and not the light fluffiness I was hoping for with ground taro. It was $10 for each of us, and we needed to eat something fast before the opera, so this did the trick in speediness. I also ordered the fried turnip cake but it didn't come out (though he did repeat the order to me)- oh well, they didn't charge us for it. Definitely prefer Hei La Moon, if only for the thickness of the wrappers.
(2)Bruce D.
It's one of those places where the huge sign outside says "Emperor..." Yet the sign on the door says Empire. Couldn't decide? Might as well call it, "Beware Of No English and Inconsideracy." Three stars? More like one or none. Besides food being DECENT, service wasn't to brag about. The dishes they gave us were a tad dirty. The tea pot provided still was a bit brown the spout and all around. The fact no one speaks English here. It's also the fact that the wait service cleaned up our table while we still sat there. Thus, discarding the lid to my baby sisters milk and her muffin she was still eating. Talk about being considerate. Three stars might be a little modest.
(1)Brynn S.
If I could leave negative stars, I would. People need to be warned about this place. The staff is incompetent. The servers were unresponsive when we brought my friend's severe allergy to their attention. I love a good Mai Tai as much as anyone. These cocktails were gross. The food is greasy but not in a good way--a horrible reflection of the amazing food Boston's Chinatown has to offer. Avoid eating here at all costs. It's seems like kitschy fun; it's not. There are pictures of the owner, David Wong, all over the place... rubbing elbows with Boston celebs. Empire Garden is Wong alright, totally Wong!
(1)Serena P.
I went here for an awards ceremony and never knew such a huge Chinese banquet area existed in Boston! I guess I haven't been to many but my friends took me to the China Pearl once for Sunday brunch and I thought that was huge! There's detailed paintings and moulding work. You might think you're at an opera house. I enjoyed the authentic Chinese dishes they brought out - or so I presume authentic since I don't typically eat the food at Chinese restaurants. It was fresh, tasty, and service was good!
(4)Lisa L.
I have been coming here ever since I was a little baby cause of my parents. Our service and food are alright, nothing to boast about really and nothing too problematic so I brought my friend who was a desi and never had dim sum to try it. The service and food were alright, again nothing to boast and nothing to cry about. I came here again today with my friends, desi and white, because we missed a movie and we were hungry. Our service was horrible. Food was alright. Service absolutely horrendous. We are in high school so they probably thought we needed some "guidance" to eating dim sum. Which we honestly don't. We were sat down and they would not stop bombarding us with food that we did not ask for and that we did not want. They also gave us a pitcher of iced water with some yellow foamy stuff on the pitcher mouth. Absolutely gross and disgusting but I said nothing. They did not ask us what kind of tea we wanted. Like really now? I had dim sum before, atleast ask us what kind!!! Which they didn't, and gave us an unknown tea that I forced them to take back. They charge the tea .50$$ per person and none of us wanted it. So we got the gross pitcher of water. Food were also most likely from the day before since one of the cart lady (This cart lady was really nice compared to the others, except it could be due to the fact that we got dishes from her cart and not from the others.) went somewhere and brought it out. What really bugs me was the fact that they kept on muttering stupid stuff like "she doesn't know how to eat" just please excuse me for not having the same taste buds!! Also the waiter was really rude, he kept staring at us after we paid and we were getting our stuff to leave. He then leaned over and said "you need to pay tip". Sorry, but I don't NEED TO PAY TIP. It's common COURTESY TO. I don't HAVE TO if I don't WANT TO. Their attitude did not deserve tip. Especially after saying that I have to give it. Please keep in mind that I can speak Cantonese and English so I understood what they were saying. We also came here on a morning. I will not be coming back here even though I grew up eating here. My lazy butt will be eating at other places that I grew up with.
(1)Patricia N.
Bad bad bad service!! By far the worse one in Chinatown!!!! They are not friendly, and rude!! If I want self service I would have eaten at home!!! Maybe these chines folks should think more of customer service!!! Cuz they are not going to get business from me.. I don't need them to butter me up or kiss my ass, I just need them to be at least decent and do their damn job right!!!
(1)Michael D.
From the outside it doesnt look appealing like a run down gimmicky restaurant. But untill you sit down you get complimentary oolong tea. The restaurant is an old theatre and if you want just chinese food instead of the other mixes then this place surprised me and was very delicious got a few appetizers and the meal overall was very affordable! I was really happy I went in and shouldnt of judged it by its cover I will be back again!
(4)Brittany D.
This is the best chinese ive ever had. Its never busy here and I dont know why, but I cant complain since on both dates Ive had here it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. The tea is hand rolled loose leaf, general gaos and szechuan dishes are amazing, as are the peking raviolis. Love this place, dont let appearances fool you!
(5)Moe Y.
Came for dim sum because the zagat said it was one of the best places in Boston. We were seated pretty quickly and we got served by the shu mai cart in seconds. That was about it. We didn't see another cart for a long time. Even when we waved one down, they acknowledged and then went the other direction. It took other people at another table to tell them as well we wanted the cart before they came back. Total of three cart came by in the span of one hour!!! Very slow for average food and mediocre for a place that came up as a top place in the zagat. Guess I better follow yelp reviews from now on.
(2)Corey W.
This review is based on my experience of their food during a wedding I attended in their ballroom. Bottom line their food was very hit or miss. I can't say much for the price because it was some one else's wedding. We ended up getting served an 11 course meal! I powered through and tried a little of every course. My biggest problem was with their seasoning of their food. It was very inconsistent. One course would be well flavored, and the next would be completely bland, without any spice, salt or pepper to be found. The other thing that was a negative is while there is nothing that jumps out, and the place has a lot of character being an old opera house it "feels" sorta dirty. Then there is a very faint subtle "off" smell that is off putting.
(2)Carolyn L.
Dimsum at an amazing price, but I've definitely had better. Maybe it's because I've been spoiled by the infamous Koi Palace? But the food didn't knock my socks off. There were plenty of waiters pushing the carts and I liked how nice they were! Everywhere else I've been, if you didn't want what they were offering, the servers would actually take offense and act kinda pissed. One of my favorites was this sort of fried taro piece that I'd never seen anywhere else. Perfect amount of crunch! The xiao long baos are so-so; I wouldn't order it again. The giant rice noodle with shrimps inside was a favorite at our table. We ended up getting two more orders! Disappointing was the fried taro skin with shrimp inside. It was more of a mashed up shrimp goop and did not look appetizing. The baked taro ball dish was just meh; it arrived room temperature :( There was a sweet ginger/honey/tofu dessert though that I really really enjoyed! That was probably the highlight of my meal. But what I looooved about this place was the PRICE! We all left stuffed and only paid $10 each. Not bad. Especially because I'm used to spending $20! I'll probably try out other dim sum restaurants before I come back, but it's definitely on my list because i love the price and the food is decent overall.
(3)Idy T.
I was craving for some dim sum after walking around Newbury St. This place is couple steps away from the subway so it is really convenient, especially on a rainy day like today. The decor of this restaurant looks like an old theatre. There's high ceiling and it looks kind of old-fashion. It definitely gives me feeling of a dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong. I came here with my parents and my sister and we ordered: Har gow Shu mai Beef rice roll Egg tarts Pork ribs and chicken feet rice Turnip cake and chestnut cake Congee Sweet Soft Tofu (total comes out to be $28.15) Everything is alright. Each order is categorized as small, medium, large, and special. The Har gow (shrimp dumpling) kind of tasted funky. I like the egg tarts, pork ribs and chicken feet rice, and sweet soft tofu. I hate how it gets super hot here! They don't turn the a/c on so I was sweating as I was eating here!
(3)Alberto C.
Worst place ever.... I've been to way better place. The food is alright but the service here SUCKS!!! When I finish the tea in my pot, they look at it and don't even do anything about it... I have to ask them to refill my pot.. seriously? come on!! I wouldn't want to say anything until I got my bill. The pricing was alright but they told me that I have to give them more tip. I gave them 20% already and they said it's not enough.. really now? Tips? Come on...
(1)Rick B.
Love it for what it is. A fast paced inexpensive authentic Dim Sum restaurant in one of the most unusual settings in China Town on the fringe of the Combat Zone. The food is good, the service is fine if you're cosmopolitan & been around and the atmosphere needs to be experienced.
(4)Tina H.
For a first time dim sum-er, I followed my fellow yelpers on what to try. I chose the steamed pork and steamed pork with peanut. I liked the normal steamed pork better only because the wrapper was sweeter and complimented the meat better than the peanut one with had more of a chest spring roll wrapper on it. The dim sums are big~ each order comes with 3 pieces and they are the size of large ping pong balls. They also give you a big pot of REAL tea~the leaves are brewed in the pot. A little dish with some spicy sauce came with the dim sum and it was good to try with and without on the dim sum. The place was empty except for 4 people, which made me hesitant but it was also 5 pm in the middle of the week. The almond cookie and fortune cookie at the end was a nice touch. The fortune cookie seemed a little stale but the almond cookie just magically dissolved on my tongue. I also loved the old theatre look to the place. The carvings and gold leaf look original. I would like to come back here if I am back in the Boston area to try some of the other kinds of dim sum.
(4)Charlie M.
After a long day of touristing, We wanted a short walk for dinner. Empire GArden filled the bill well as an unexpected surprise. We had shrimp with vegetables and pork fried rice. The shrimp was very good and the rice was excellent. Quantity of food was enough to fill us. Decor was pleasant. The restaurant is the balcony of an old movie theater. Much of the building's original charm remains.
(4)Alexander L.
There are generally regarded to be four main Dim Sum places in Boston. These places serve Dim Sum on carts. Hei La Moon, China Pearl, Chau Chau City and Empire Garden. Right now Empire Garden is the best. Indeed you'll notice the place packed with Chinese and Chinese-American families eating together, which may be correlated with quality and authenticity. Things to notice: Har gow: Full of real shrimp, not frozen mush (like Hei La Moon) Char siu bao: Full of lean slices of Char siu, not fat. Lo bak gou: The delicious radish cake is actually fried in fresh grease (this is a serious plus, and is opposed to other the recycle grease from one day to the next) If you're looking for the best Dim Sum in Boston (still nothing compared to HK or some places in SF or NYC) then go here, for now. In the next six months, it may be different. But Empire Garden holds the current crown.
(4)Julie V.
There was definitely a point last year when my boyfriend had just discovered Empire Garden that we went back three Sundays in a row. Perhaps one of the most enjoyable things about Empire Garden is the bustling atmosphere if you come in on a weekend afternoon. Almost all the tables are full of people, carts are scattered throughout the huge dining space, and you know that the dimsum is going to be as fresh as it comes. Service is insanely fast if you get there during the peak hours. This is also probably the tastiest food you can have if you're on a budget -- whenever I visit, it usually comes to about $10 a person and we all end up totally stuffed.
(4)Vicky H.
This is one of my "goto" places when I want dim sum. The ambience is just unbelievable. It used to be a theater before it was converted to a restaurant called "Grand China". In the mornings and on weekends dim sum is served. Often Asian folks book this place for weddings and other functions. It's a very unique place and experience. Sometimes the service is a little lacking by American Standards and seem a little off-standish or cold, but that's just how it is and I don't come here for that. Today, my daughter and I ordered quite a bit: 2 orders of Har Gow - steamed shrimp dumplings in a chewy-like wrapping. As always this dish never disappoints unless the wrapping is bad. It's just full of Shrimp inside with a little bit of ginger. 1 order of (I don't know what it's called) mixture of mushroom, pork and shrimp, rolled into a ball and set on top of a mushroom, steamed. This was an amazing dish. I don't know why I didn't order a second one (oh right, because I ordered others and was so full). 1 order of Har Cheung - shrimp wrapped in flat and wide rice noodle. It's steamed and served with a soy sauce. This was awesome really good. 1 order of sticky rice - made with peanuts, chinese sausage and a few other things. The rice is raw cooked by stir frying until it's cooked. The rice itself is the sticky kind so it isn't ordinary rice. I usually don't get this because it makes you full but my little lady wanted it and she's a picky eater and loves this. 1 order of steamed clams - i don't always like this because there can still be sand in it and often the meat falls out so you get a lot of shells. This time, it was really good. I liked it a lot. Service today was nice. I asked for Ice and the waiter misunderstood me and thinking it was just WATER WITHOUT ICE... and felt embarassed and chuckled a little and came right back with the ice and apologized. He was young so i let it slide... hahaha... It was a good experience today. And before we left, we ordered 2 eggplant dishes for my friend to go, and they made it fresh and it was so hot still. By the time I took it to her, which was 3 hours later and it was still very warm. She loved it!!!
(4)Betty C.
Once a theater for showcasing popular Chinese movies, is now the largest banquet dining go to in the Chinatown area. Dim sum is available daily, busiest on the weekends.
(3)Kim F.
Service was really poor/rude. Dim Sum was average. Gnats were bombarding us and in general the place was dirty. We walked in excited because the location is fun-looking and reminded us of a Dim Sum restaurant in NYC. But the look was the only similarity.
(1)Diana L.
Been here three times now so I think it's time to declare it my top choice for dim sum in Boston. Everything is always hot, the carts come fast, the ambience is bar none totally the best. I can never get into winsor dim sum cafe because of lines but this place is DEFINITELY better than hei la moon, for suuuure. I love this place it is everything I want from dim sum. Bring your friends here when you want to impress them with how cultured you are.
(4)Sam L.
Went there mostly because it is the biggest in Boston. Food wasn't okay though the service could be better. We had to keep reminding the servers to cut larger pieces for us to share with the group
(3)Jenn B.
For all the BRIDES out there - Empire Garden does not honor deposits. I am hoping that by writing this review,, I may save a future bride from the devastation of my wedding day. I had booked Empire Garden as I had a very large party (~500 guests) and there aren't that many Asian banquet places in Boston that can house that many. I booked 16 months in advance and put a deposit down for my June wedding date. On a Friday evening after work about 7 months before my wedding, the owner David Wong calls me up and tells me I no longer have the date. I said that I already put the deposit down, but he claimed that I needed to find another date because my date was taken. I asked "how can this be?" You told us that the date was free and you cashed our deposit. He then told me that the date was no longer free, and I needed to find another date. When I got upset, he stated that I had come into his restaurant over the weekend and changed the date from a Saturday to a Wednesday. I informed him that I did no such thing, but he kept to his false story. I think I would remember if I physically went somewhere the past weekend as it is my OWN self, but David Wong kept deluding himself that if he could make me believe I had changed my date purposely. When I started to get really upset, he hung up on me. I called him back again, hung up on me again. This happened yet a third time. I called him a fourth time, and he picked up the phone and said "I told you not to call me, i don't want to talk to you.", and of course hung up. At that time, I took matters into my own hand and drove to the restaurant to confront him. I cannot lose my wedding date in June. Where else was I going to find another place to house 500 guests on such short notice? He could not do this to me. I found out that another party booked my same date 4 months after I did, but David Wong had wanted me to cancel. He first asked me how many tables I had, and when I said 45-50, he confirmed " no, sorry you don't have the date. You have to find another date. Talk to my lawyer on Monday. I don't need your business. I don't want your business." I had never had a vendor act to rude to me, but I was desperate for the date because my photography and other services were already booked by that point. It was such a nightmare to work with this restaurant, and I would never do business with them again. After three weeks of battling with the lawyer, I was able to get my deposit back. They felt that they could just give me back my deposit - no harm, no foul. But now I am out of choices for a vendor. In the restaurant business, ,there are two things you never mess with - weddings and funerals. I thought that was a known fact. David Wong has turrned what should have been a happy experience into an extremely stressful one. I'm thinking about taking this to the BBB and Attorney General. Therefore, BRIDES beware!
(1)Cassy H.
Came back here for dim sum again and decided that actually the food isn't so bad. It's better than last time, but definitely still not up to par with CA dim sum restaurants. What was really amazing with today's meal was the egg tarts (see photo)... it was so flakey; I loved it so much. Each order comes with 3 egg tarts, and I probably could have had all 3, but refrained. Must get egg tart if you are dim sum-ing at Empire!
(4)Meredith D.
Nathan and I are very blessed to have loving family and friends who know that we have neither the time nor the money to go home often, so they come visit us! And we repay their kindness by taking them here for a good ole "overwhelming of the senses." We have taken every single visitor to this restaurant. It's the perfect way to introduce Southerners to Boston. Their senses are saturated: sight by the beautiful opera house surroundings, sound by the cacophony of other patrons and clinking metal carts, taste/smell by the food in the air, and tactile is occupied with fumbling chopsticks. Everything is loud and fast - a waitress comes up and tosses some dim sum on the table. They ask "what is it?" The waitress, IF she responds, says "YOU EAT" and zips away with her little cart. For our slow-paced, friendly Southern visitors, it's the best way to break them in for their visit. They're more tolerant of the chaos because it's clearly another culture - something they don't consider New England to be. This is our way of preparing them for the inevitable encounter with an abrupt Bostonian (who Southerners often misinterpret as being rude.) We take them as soon as we can during their visit. We've noticed it significantly diminishes their culture shock, and minimizes questions like "how do you live here???" The food is good, the prices are fair, the service is terrible, the surroundings are beautiful, and I love it.
(4)Rasien I.
Dim Sum cravings strike when I'm vacation too... While roaming around through Boston's Chinatown, I looked up and saw the giant sign that said "DIM SUM - EMPIRE GARDEN"... I knew i had to walk in and have brunch here... I think that this place was once a theater because there was a large stage in the front and had the perfect layout for tiered seating... Anyhow... Dim Sum was average... nothing too unexpected, but it satisfied my craving. :)
(3)D E.
We come here twice a year. Service is hit or miss. However the good tasting dim sum is why we always return. Have tried others in Boston and not as good. Just be very patient and the carts eventually come. The place is showing age. If you didn't know the dim sum was going to be so good, the front entrance may send you away.
(4)Beka O.
Probably my least favorite out of Hei La Moon, Winsor Cafe and China Pearl. Pros: easy to get seated even during peak hours, very inexpensive Cons: difficult to get food you want-especially if you're sitting near the stage area, food quality not as good as other dimsum restaurants
(3)Victoria P.
First off I want to say that the service here was out of this world. I've always expected poor service at dim sum places because that's just the way it usually is, but empire provided better service than most 5 star restaurants. I felt like I was in some kind of alternate universe. The actual dim sum was decent, nothing spectacular, but not terrible. But the service alone tempts me for a return trip.
(4)David C.
I have been here many times for dim sum and it is a popular place for it. This place gets packed every weekend for the morning dim sum rush, come take a ticket and stand in line. If you get here too early there isn't much of a line but there isn't much food either. Come here later around 1:30 pm then the place is clearing out, because dim sum ends around 2:30. They have the usuals, shrimp dumplings, meat dumplings, spare ribs, chicken feet, but what is nice is they have the cart with rolled noodles and turnip cake and they fry it to order at table side. They also have servings of BBQ meats and a full cart of pastries. The place is nothing amazing, but it isn't bad. It is nice to go with a friend or in a big group for dim sum, but it is very dead for dinner.
(3)Henry P.
Looking for a place to satisfy your dim sum cravings? You've been around and about all over Boston's Chinatown but seeking a unique dining experience to enjoy those tiny tasty morsels of greasy goodness? Look no further! Empire Garden was formally a opera theater that had been renovated into a delicious dim sum restaurant. Looking to impress friends from out of town? Bringing that someone special to enjoy dim sum at distinct dining experience? By all means do come down. Like other dim sum establishments nearby, you have a huge spacious dining hall that can quickly seat you and all of your friends. You have the usual lovely dim sum ladies pushing carts of tantalizing mini treats up and down the aisles. You can enjoy all of your usual favorites ( Har Gao, Siu Mai, Char Siu Bao ) and more! All while admiring the lovely artwork adorning the ceiling of the former opera house. Atmosphere is always bustling and eccentric, prices are great and service is always quick, just point and pick and you are all set! 3 stars and will definitely be coming back!
(3)Chloe T.
I love this restaurant, but there are some flaws. First, I love the fact the restaurant is in an old theater, the atmosphere is fantastic. But the service is quite terrible. There are around 2-3 waiters after 3, when dim-sum is not too popular. We've had to wait for the check for longer than we should. The food is absolutely fantastic. I recommend the steamed shrimp dumpling and the fried rice.
(4)Matthew A.
After the pride parade, we all went for Dim Sum. I choose Empire Garden for 2 reasons. 1. The reviews. 2. They have been around for a long time and they are huge. Glad we did. We were immediately seated, and within seconds, we had the cart ladies descend upon us with their so many dim sum goodies. These ladies really made our day, cuz they spoke English and could answer all our questions. (Whats this?, This? etc, etc, etc) The food was GOOD and CHEAP. Averages to abt.$11 per person. A neg: Some dumplings were not hot. Barley warm. I would go back in a heartbeat.
(4)K K.
Is this restaurant named Empire Garden or Emperor Garden Restaurant? Both signs are posted in the front of the restaurant. Consumer is confused. Ordered a couple of dim sum items--not bad. However the Lo Mein with chicken was a big disappointment. No veggies in the noodles at all and greasy.
(2)Michelle T.
What a HUGE letdown! At first, I thought about giving this place 2 stars, but considering the fact that I would NEVER come back, nor would I every recommend friends come for dimsum...I think a 1-star "Eek! Methinks not." is actually perfectly appropriate for Empire Garden's Saturday dimsum. Gchat status prior to Empire garden: "Dim sum, I miss you!" Gchat status AFTER Empire garden: "Dim sum, I still miss you!!" In fact, I have an even more humongous craving for dim sum now. After our party of 6 left the restaurant, we vowed to go to dimsum tomorrow. Someplace else, obviously. Ohhh Hei La Moon, why didn't I go to you in the first place? why did we have to pretend to be adventurous?? Some pros: - You get seated right away (since this place is HUGE) - Service is decently fast (refilling tea, carts coming around, getting your check...etc.) Based on food, and food alone, I say,1-star ALL THE WAY. Here we go: - Har gow / Shrimp dumplings - 6/10. Pass. Though the shrimp filling was nice and chewy, decently flavored, the skin was way too thick and super gummy. - Siu mai - 6/10. Passes too, no real issues, just really average. Really porky. - Gai bao / Chicken buns - 4/10. FAIL. Though this came in a batch of 3, only 2 of them were eaten, and BOTH ppl eating them said "NEVER AGAIN....btw, what the heck is this???" [both were Chinese...both have dim sum'ed many times in their lifetime] - Ma lai gao / steamed sweet cake - 5/10. Fail. It smelled like cornbread. Tasted like "stone plaster". According to my friend Alan. - No mai fan / Sticky rice - 5/10. Bland bland flavors, and all rice, barely any meat/other ingredients. - Pai guat / Pork short ribs - 4/10, Bland. Greasy. Got cold fast. My friend who claims that is his all time favorite dimsum dish ate ONE...and then never went back. - Har cheung / Shrimp rolls - 7.5/10. No complaints. Average tasting with real, full pieces of shrimp in it. (i.e. 2 shrimps per roll) - Char siu bao / Baked BBQ pork bun - 8/10. Probably my favorite dish. Came out warm with a nice sweet top and nice chunks of pork inside. Good flavor but the skin was too thick! Still prefer the bao's from Hei La Moon. - Ham sui gok / Fried pork dumpling - 6/10. Non-memorable flavors and comes smaller in size than those at Hei La moon. We had a couple more dishes, but not worth writing about. You get the gist. Very very mediocre food for the most part, but so many TERRIBLE ones. Our group of 6 paid $10 each but nobody was full afterwards. There was also an empty hole inside my heart where this dimsum meal did not fill.
(1)D Q.
Sorry guys. Service was awful, food was mediocre. Waiter was very unattentive. Owner came by the table asked if everything was ok. I said "Actually my diet coke is flat, no bubbles." He laughed, said "OK," and walked away. Sent it back and still got charged for it. Took forever to get our checks and pay. Punch line of the joke was my fortune cookie had a sliver of unprinted paper in it.
(2)Julia D.
Very friendly staff. Beautiful inside, only had an appetizer, would love to go back for a proper meal. Affordable beer as well. We had the sticky pork buns and they were very very sticky. I'd never had them with this thick of a "bun" but the flavor was right on. Probably would order something different next time, they were just "ok".
(4)Lisa W.
Not the best dim sum ever, but very good, and the service is really great for a Chinese restaurant. We got seated right away at 1 pm on a Saturday, and the carts come by every few min or so. We had: roast pork buns beef chau fun (not sure what the english name is for this.. the long white noodle-covered beeft) pork ribs - this is actually better than what I get in LA, and that's saying a lot! turnip cakes - a little too mushy, the lady should've kept it on griddle longer xio long bao (beef dumplings?) - was this supposed to have soup inside? B/c ours didn't.. but still good served with the vinegar/ginger. mixed pork/seafood dumplings sticky rice in lotus leaf Everything was really good, even the turnip cakes that were falling apart. I had by heart set on some crispy duck but the lady ran out by the time she came around! Sadness. I was really impressed by the price! Seven dishes plus tea came out to $22 after tax, before tip. Maybe I've been in DC too long with their rip-off/crappy dim sum, but this seemed really good to me. Oh... and they serve REAL TEA, not the pre-boiled crap that most places serve now. I am a serious fan. And they take credit cards - the husband is a huge fan of that.
(4)Jonathan E.
This stop was a fairly pleasant and unexpected surprise. The original plan on the last day of my Boston trip was to have a big steak, but a friend of mine suggesteed "cheap dim sum." We made the journey to Chinatown and wandered around until we found the unmistakable signage. The restaurant looks similar to numerous dim sum places Ive seen around the country... From the outside. Once inside, it is quite unique. I feel like this building used to be a theater from the 20's or 30's by the look of it. The fact that they turned it into a massive dining space is interesting. It's also unique that you are eating Chinese food amidst an interior which is definitely NOT Chinese. The food was darn satisfying if I do say so. I cant say it was the best dim sum Ive ever had, but it was very affordable and filling. I couldnt even finish the whole shrimp which was a bit heavy after eating everything else on the table (see photo). Pretty much everything was good, even the tea. I have few complaints about this restaurant and really wouldnt hesitate going back if I was ever craving dim sum in the Boston area. Nothing spectacular, but it definitely serves it's culinary purpose. I also want to say that there is a guy there who is a wizard with numbers. He added up our tab and calculated tax in his head in about 20 seconds with everything itemized on the bill. It was extremely impressive. Pros: Affordable (two of us ate until we were stuffed for $24), tasty/filling food, interesting interior architecture, location in Chinatown Cons: Kinda hard to flag down the carts, not top of the line or spectacular
(3)Brian L.
Tried to get some late-day dim sum on a weekday here -- not your typical dim sum timing. This may have come through in both the food and service... Anyway, don't get lost, because it seemed like we were wandering as we had to climb up a bunch of stairs and go around some corners. Brags (+): Absolutely huge interior, very spacious and interesting things to look at. Beats (-): The dim sum was unimpressive. It was all very greasy and left a bad feeling in my stomach. The quality of the items didn't seem that great either -- not particularly fresh and mediocre quality ingredients. I was filled by the meal, but it was more of a lethargic malaise type of full. Variance (~): Scorpion bowls.
(2)Quinton M.
This restaurant was extremely beautiful design. Cannot find modern art like that. However the waiters acted like they didn't know what was on the menu, especially with the drinks. The drinks all the alcoholic drinks taste like they wanted down and for seven dollars you get a small cup of alcohol. I see pictures where there a lot of people in this place however this restaurant had at least 9 to 10 people in it. I would not come back here again. He acted like he did not know what was on the menu, but he was ready to get his tip
(2)Annette A.
Beautiful location, "meh" food. I was amazed at how large this place was - it's a gorgeous theatre on the inside. But all the food we had was nothing impressive.
(2)Vivian H.
We came here for dinner and there were only 2 other tables of people when we sat down. Then they left and we were the only people left in the HUGE dining room. I can imagine the amazing atmosphere when the place is packed, but when it's completely empty it's just downright creepy. And I'm not really okay with ordering off a menu for dimsum, wtf, I want carts! We ordered a selection of typical dimsum -- the turnip cake, har gow, eggplant/shrimp, tofu/shrimp, chicken bun... and it was just mediocre. They do have a crazy cheap drinks menu. I'm not sure there's really any GOOD dim sum in Boston though.. please correct me if I'm wrong!
(1)Danielle C.
Lack of respect. They kicked us out as soon as we put our chopsticks down. They cleared the table while we were still sitting and discard my personal items on the table. Not coming back here ever even if they give food away. David Wong should not be proud of this place. David- please help your staff and educate them.
(1)Sarah W.
A solid dim sum place. Like many of those in Chinatown, has surprisingly large capacity. The old opera house vibe is fun, and the food is delish. I came here with a big group (~15) as part of my bachelorette, and when we called ahead they were happy to set aside two tables for us. We especially enjoyed the shrimp dumplings. My main complaint: Normally the hallmark of dim sum is that you are accosted by food almost immediately upon being seated. Here? We waited... 5-7 minutes? Totally fine for the average restaurant, but epically slow in dim sum restaurants. Service is the usual brusque attitude found in most dim sum places. But c'mon. We all know that's part of the charm! For about 15 people, total food costs came to $11/person. Can't beat that for Saturday brunch prices!
(3)Monica F.
The service was horrible. My boyfriend didn't get his meal for 20 minutes after everyone else at the table had their food. The food tasted just like every Chinese restaurant I have been to (nothing special) but with a worse stomach ache than the rest. Oh, and did I mention how dusty everything is, including the smudged windows? It's gross! Never again.
(2)Danny F.
Having dinner at Empire Garden was an utterly bizarre experience. Yet so oddly satisfying at the same time. First of all, you MUST ask for the dim sum menu, even though you are here for dinner. Nothing on the regular dining menu is any more exciting or authentic than take out food. But they do dim sum, and best of all, it's all freshly steamed/cooked, so it comes out piping hot. And since there are no other diners, food gets to your table right away. Speaking of diners, there were only a few tables of what I would assume to be tourists or curious cats or people in on the secret? There was minimal waitstaff, gathered in one corner and chatting. Yet we are in this palatial dining space that used to be a theater, totally orientalized. Right. I said it was bizarre, didn't I? We ordered a bunch of dim sum items, as well as a lo mein and yu hsiang eggplant for my unadventurous brother and sister-in-law, but everything was totally acceptable. I might even say the eggplant was great - well cooked and fragrant. And after the meal, there were some sweet dim sum items available for dessert too. Admittedly I did not have high expectations when I went up the stairs and reluctantly sat down at a table (assuming that it was against better judgment). But I was proven wrong, and it was kind of fun to have a leisurely dim sum dinner in Chinatown. Next time, I'm going to get a "special drink" to make it even more fun.
(4)Chris V.
The place itself is quite ostentatious ... the staff is quite snarky ... i suppose the later is to be expected in this mess hall like atmosphere. Nothing really stood out...at all...except for the decrepit bathrooms...never been so happy that i don't have to sit down to pee...
(2)Cheryl C.
We had a half-Chinese, half-Western wedding on November 2, 2013. Here was our experience: We were engaged in October 2012 and knew we wanted our wedding in the Fall of 2013, so we started looking at different venues in the Boston Area. We decided to have a traditional Christian ceremony at a church in Boston and then have a Chinese reception/banquet in Chinatown. We scoped out different restaurants in Chinatown and found options to be limited. There are only 3 large Chinese restaurants in Boston's Chinatown: Hei La Moon, China Pearl, and Empire Garden. Our guests list was approximated to be around 120 people and Hei La Moon and China Pearl do not have smaller rooms to accommodate parties of that size and we did not want a divider between the restaurant and our wedding so we decided to go with Empire Garden. Empire garden has both a very large dining area and a smaller private room with a bar that is suitable for parties of around 150. We had trouble from the beginning trying to reserve the room all the way to the week before the wedding. We wanted to make a deposit to reserve the room, but the manager was reluctant to take our money. He gave the impression that if someone came in with more money to reserve the room he would take that party instead; a poor way of doing business, but most Chinatown restaurants work this way so keep that in mind. Wedding Day - List of disasters: The space is not kept clean. While this is nothing too out of the ordinary for Chinatown, it would seem some basic dusting and glass cleaning could be done for a private party room. Dirty glass and dusty Chinese lanterns could easily be cleaned/replaced. Low maintenance standards in the dining room perhaps hints at potentially low standards in the kitchen. The entrance to this restaurant looks like the establishment is perpetually closed. Some lighting, cleaning, and improved signage might be a wise investment. There is a reason this place is empty except for the occasional party/dim sum crowd. We repeatedly told to the manager that our guests will be arriving at 4pm and we want appetizers and drinks to be served when people start to arrive. Guests started to arrive at 4pm and they were turned away and they were told come back later. We had friends who were willing to come help us out on our wedding day and they arrived at 10AM to meet the groom and groomsmen to get directions about set up and they were told to leave. A family friend had to help the waiters set up the room and help put chair covers on all the chairs. The DJ arrived at 1pm to make sure he had plenty of time to set up, and he was told to come back later. He was not allowed in the room until 3:30. As soon as people were allowed in the room to set up, our helpers had to rush with the waiters to move tables and put chair covers on and set up the tables and table numbers. If we had relied solely on the restaurant, our party would not have started at 4:30 when people were finally allowed to go inside. Most likely they would have dragged it on till 5:30. Dinner finally came and the food was NOT GOOD. It was significantly worse than the food you would have there for dinner (which is still not great). Do not get the seafood soup. They do not serve it correctly with vinegar and it tastes like feet!!! They do not know how to mix drinks and the quality of liquor and mixers are terrible. You are not allowed to bring in your own liquor or request specific brands. We were told that the champagne would be Martini and Rossi. While this is not top shelf, it is good enough for toasting. The champagne provided was an absolute no-name brand that tasted terrible. The way they served the cake was horrible and unacceptable. They do not cut it up into slices for you; they give each table a big chunk with no utensils. We requested that the cake be sliced up individually and placed on a table so that guests could choose from the different flavors. When you spend a few hundred dollars on a cake, you would like it to be presented correctly. While this business is able to continue operating like this due to the incredibly low level of competition in Boston's Chinatown, please consider your alternatives. If we could do it over again, we would likely choose to pay more to rent one of the larger spaces at the other venues or perhaps may have rented a banquet hall and had it catered with traditional Chinese dishes. I HOPE THEY GO OUT OF BUSINESS
(1)Sam M.
Okay, Empire Garden for several years has been the place we go to with large groups of friends or family, where we take visitors who want to have the "big dim sum place" experience, etc. Here's why we're not going back. We met up with a group of friends for Christmas Day dim sum. Kind of a tradition, though our group has gotten smaller as people move away, have kids, etc. So there were 5 of us. We had a typical number of dishes for the group. Nothing special. Steamed dumplings, sticky rice, roast pork, tripe, a few deep-fried dishes, nothing we hadn't had before. But the bill came up more than one-third higher than we have ever paid before. It's hard to keep track of the number of dishes as they take them away as soon as they're empty. But on the check I noticed that one row with just four stamps on it totaled up to $26. (Other rows with far more items didn't even come close to that.) I asked the floor manager who'd totaled up the bill what those items were. He shrugged. "You know. Dishes. Those are the expensive dishes. $6.50 each." "Which dishes?" I asked. I mean, it should be easy to remember what your high-dollar items are on a menu that changes as infrequently as this one. The floor manager just shrugged and waved around the tables. "You know, rice dishes, vegetables, those are expensive." "Are you telling me I paid $6.50 for a plate of broccoli?" "Sure." He shrugged and walked away. So unfortunately, Empire Garden, I'm going to have to do the same thing. Shrug and walk away. If I'm going to pay higher prices for dim sum, I'll go to places that serve much better quality for those prices and keep the bullshit to a minimum. I'll miss not having to wait for a table, but that's about all.
(1)Fern H.
The atmosphere of Empire is the real draw here. It's located in an old opera house, but I wouldn't say that the dim sum is really anything to sing about. We arrived around 1pm on a Saturday. The large dining room was packed but we were able to snag a table at the very front, right where the stage area would be. The temperature in this area was pretty warm, but probably because the room was so full of bodies. Dim sum is served via cart style. Carts came by pretty often but most carts were offering the same few choices. We grabbed a few staples - har gow, sui mai, rice rolls with shrimps, deep fried dumplings, egg tarts and rice rolls with doughnut. Not sure the individual prices for the S, M, L dishes but total came out to just over $21 with tax. Some of the dim sum dishes were a bit on the cool side, on the account of riding around in the carts around the huge dining room. Service was okay, cart ladies were nice. Waiters weren't offensive. Certainly, not the best dim sum I've ever had but passable.
(3)Yancey L.
I used to go there every Saturday for the authentic Cantonese dim sum. Their chicken claws is my must-order, it's so chewy and savory. Various flavored and shaped steamed buns are also available. I once tried the fried spicy baby octopus which taste awesome too. Actually, I come to this place not just for their food, but more for the atmosphere. The place was once a theater, and it's so gorgeous and spacious inside. Every morning, so many Cantonese senior people are there chatting, eating and drinking tea which sort of gives me the feeling of being back to Guangzhou Shangxiajiu,
(5)Sarah L.
Walked in the night after Christmas with a party of 8 - there was only one other group there at the time, making seating and service quick and prompt. We had originally looked at another restaurant, but the wait was 2+ hours and we had a show to attend. The food needed to serve a variety of needs - a vegetarian, several picky eaters, and a gluten free. Everyone was able to find something that they liked - the prices were reasonable, the quantities were large and we walked away stuffed and happy. Drinks were strong and well-priced as well - a good start to an evening out.
(4)Jake W.
I went to this restaurant for menu service so I can't speak for their dim sum. But...this was the worst Chinese food I've ever had. The service was awful and all the employees had major attitude which didn't help. I ordered a $32 Peking Duck and it was 2 grossly overcooked drumsticks over bean sprouts and noodles...What exactly was I paying for? BAD BAD BAD.
(1)JP B.
Empire Garden is a standout in my 20 years of doing dim sum in Chinatowns from Montreal to D.C. When I go out for dim sum in Manhattan's Chinatown I'm often left wishing Empire Garden was located there, instead on three and a half hours north of my home. This is the real deal, folks. One more reason to love Boston's Chinatown.
(4)Nancy Z.
First of all people, this is CHINATOWN we're talking about. It's not exactly fine dining. So before we compare this to L'Espalier or even Bertucci's, please throw away any clean preconceived notions you have about the Empire Garden. With that said... onto the review! Whenever there's a family gathering for dim sum, you can be sure that I'll be here. What's not to like? Plenty of tables, quick seating, cheap prices, quick service, good food! Don't bother asking the same waiter for a particular dish that you can't find or anything else because it's likely that you won't be seeing him/her for a while. Just flag down anyone that's in a vest walking around and you're set. It's loud, it's chaotic. People are having conversations over finger foods and hot tea and that's how it's supposed to be. "Dim Sum" means to touch the heart. This place always does *love*
(4)Helena Q.
If this were the only dim sum place around, I would go to it. Prices are ok, food is ok. Unfortunately, the one item I /expect/ to be done well at any dim sum place, shrimp dumplings, had really gummy wrapper. OK tasting, but just not right. With better options nearby, I don't see why you would come here.
(3)Hubert H.
Only discussing dimsum today. Not as impressed as I am with Hei La Moon, though it is fun to sit in the interior of this place and imagine its former life as a theater. The interior is a little dark, and if you're seated at a corner it's hard to get the attention of the dim sum carts going by. The hargow and siumai are nothing to awe at here (a little too mealy, not as succulent as the hargow elsewhere), but the silken soft tofu with sweet syrup is quite good.
(3)Mark K.
Really good Chines food. Unique location in an old theater. Old school waiters. Service was a little slow, but that was OK with me. Good experience.
(4)Cassandra M.
I've done a whole lot of dim sum in the past few years, and Emperor Garden (aka Empire Garden) takes the cake. However, I'm not too big on their regular dishes outside of Dim Sum. Top 5 treats: 5.) shrimp noodle (big thick rice noodle with yummy sauce on top and shrimps inside) 4.) chinese broccoli (as it seems, dipped in oil, squirt of same yummy sauce as shrimp noodle.) 3.) all types of shumai (shrimp, pork, beef ball, taro inside rice pocket) 2.) BBQ pork buns - steamed (clouds of rice flour buns with BBQ pork inside) 1.) PORK DONUTS - Don't be disgusted by the name. (BBQ pork inside of a flaky, slightly sweet flour pastry.) BUT, don't forget to eat the sesame balls, chicken buns, Malasian sweet bread, hot, silken tofu with sweet, ginger sauce, anything made with taro. Because we've been coming here for years, I think the staff is finally starting to recognize us. I could be imagining things though. Don't be afraid of their seemingly brash attitude, its nothing personal, just a different culture. You've got to ask questions and flag them down to get the food you want. They're totally warm people when you get talking to them.
(5)Justin S.
Decent food, had better. Good staff and very nice dining room. I am sure they have "off menu" authentic Chinese food, if desired.
(3)Christine L.
1. Only go there for Dim Sum- end of story. If you want to be "adventurous' and eat dinner there you will be disappointed. 2. If you have anxiety about any of the following don't eat there: a. Death by suffocation of too many bodies b. Theaters c. a lot of screaming asian people, young and old, male and female. 3. If you are easily miffed by racial profiling, do not eat there. If you are non-yellow, you WILL be served a fork (sometimes two if you are over 6 feet tall, like my boyfriend), and a glass of water. 4. If you love dim sum, theirs is comparable to Hei La Moon, China Pearl. The food is better than Chau Chau's and Peach Farm, in my opinion. Ordering tips: three basic stand-by's, hard to go wrong with these 1. ja leurng- fried dough wrapped in rice noodle. The common counter part is "Ha Cheurng," which is shrimp wrapped in rice noodle. 2. Ha Gao- Shrimp Dumplings 3. Shu Mai- uhhh it's a type of cylindrical dumpling For me it's all about the experience. The dim sum places that don't use carts, yeah, that's a big heck no from me. Empire Garden is HUGE; therefore, there isn't as much of the megaphone shouting of numbers in english and chinese like at Hei La moon. Also, when they reach capacity in the large room, they have a side room that has a lot of windows, so that's a big differentiator from Hei La Moon's creepy basement. That's pretty much it. Do it.
(4)Te R.
emperor's garden (or empire garden) has one of the best dimsum in boston. for me, the discriminability for dimsum goes down once it passes the threshold. the thing i love about this place was the decor. it used to be a theatre!!! so it felt like you're dining in a fancy expensive chinese restaurant. i went there for dimsum dinner once. it was pretty quiet so the service was particularly attentive unlike most chinese joints. i came here couple times for dimsum brunch during weekdays, and it was fairly crowded. every time i came the cost was little below $15, which is awesome.
(5)John A.
Why can't Atlanta have places like these? I suppose there isn't enough foot traffic as this place has sitting in Boston's China Town on street level. Okay, so you have to walk up the steps (or use the elevator) to enter this old looking building, but the dining hall is HUGE. The ceiling goes way up, making it look like it may have been a theater at one point. You sit down and you wait for the first dim sum cart to arrive. Sadly, even though I'm Azn, I couldn't understand what any of them were saying, so I just took one of everything from every cart :D I was in heaven. There was quite a bit of baby shrimp in a lot of the dishes, but there was enough of a variety to satisfy me. There's a parking garage half a block to the left of the of entrance (when facing it) that will let you park there for $10/all day if you get it validated.
(4)April M.
Empire Garden (whose sign also says "Emperor Garden") is like a family tradition for me at this point. Every-time my chinese fiancé's mom comes up to visit, we make a morning dim sum trip to EG and it's just glorious. Been doing it for 7+ years and it never gets old. You WILL get faster, better seating if you are with a chinese speaking individual. It's great walking in, going right by the group of white people sitting outside waiting for a table, and directly into the middle of the room, where there are multiple tables clearly open that could easily accommodate the poor saps in the hallway...oh, the perils of not having an asian friend! So the way dim sum works is, you are seated, you are given your white card (which will serve as your bill - not to be confused with a green card), plate, tea cup, chop sticks and napkins. They roll carts of pre-cooked food around the large dining room, table to table, and the cute old asian ladies try their best to convince you that you do, indeed, want the item they are serving from their steamy, wheeled cart. Once you agree to the item without actually realizing it, they will leave the dish, grab your card, stamp it, and move on with a smile. Dim sum is made to share as a table, but greedy, naive white people don't always realize that, and they end up ordering entire dishes for themselves. Unfortunate. I love eating here, and half of that is because I'm with people I love every time I do. The other half is that I enjoy eating authentic chinese brunch when I'm hungover (which half of the time, I am). Definitely give it a try. Bring your chinese friend along. Be ready to share. Be ready to have more food on the table than you can likely finish. Be ready to not quite know what's in the food on your table. Be ready to enjoy! Best of all, the price is super cheap for what you get! They validate parking for Archstone ONLY!
(4)Stephanie L.
I went here with my family a year or so ago for dinner. Ordering off of a menu, it shouldn't be that hard to order vegetarian, right? Most places nowadays have tofu dishes, right? False. We had to special order an eggplant dish without the beef (that was supposed to come with it), and it didn't even taste great in the end. I think we got charged the full amount for it. thumbs down for having a limited menu ... it might have changed since then but I wouldn't know, since I've avoided this place ever since.
(2)Tammy L.
I used to love Empire Garden. There was a point in my life when I was madly in love with their shrimp dumplings and their pork buns. But I think I started disliking their food a few years ago. Everything started to taste bland and definitely not fresh. It's the same situation for dinners and banquets. I've been to at least three banquets here and maybe a half a dozen family dinners. Let's just say that if you're hungry and you just need SOMETHING to fill your stomach, then come here. Otherwise, I'd advise you to go walk about two blocks to Hei La Moon. But I give this place three stars because I do have a soft spot for their interior decor and their chicken feet.
(3)Simon L.
Surprisingly good dim sum service. I was on my own today but was ushered into a side room that I did not even know existed. Within 5 minutes, the room was packed and out of no where 5 carts of different steaming delicacies are pushed around the room with tops removed and fillings explained. By the time I had finished ordering, I had 5 different kinds of dim sum on the table: chicken, rice and egg steamed in grape leaves, shrimp soup dumpling, shrimp shu mai, chopped pork knuckles with beans and pork meatballs. The flavors were multitude, textures varied and service polite. As others have noted, the place is enormous and high noon is literally just that - everyone seems to show up then for dim sum on Sundays. With a beer, the entire bill was $20.
(4)Camille C.
This place has terrible service! They wouldn't serve me a drink because I didn't look my age(?) when we were leaving they chased my friend to get her credit card because they thought she wasn't going to pay! Ohhh then they ran out after us asking why we didn't tip!! Seriously who does that? They actually asked for a tip...
(1)Dan G.
I thought the sign clearly says Emperors Garden? Maybe Im blind...So I went today and I love going here because it feels like you are at a huge wedding reception. Its really a huge and amazing looking space. Soooooo...I hope I don't get kicked in the head, buuuuuut...I've only been for dim sum and of course everyone hopefully knows that like 80% of the dim sum dishes come frozen and can be bought in any asian market? They all taste the same from dim sum restaurant to dim sum restaurant. Well ok back that up...Im sure they make their own fried deliciousness and vegetables and soups. I love bringing first timers to this place because its just so huge, and I have only waited once, for about 10 minutes, but even before you sit down on a busy day you are attacked from every direction with pork buns galore to shrimp dumpling dreams. You really don't need a translator, I mean, seriously? Half the fun of dim sum anywhere is the lack of communication you have with the lovely cart ladies. You ask them what it is and they struggle with it, and then you have to make that quick decision..try it or not?. I mean unless you are allergic to a lot of things, whats with the need to know everything about it? One of my favorites is the..I dont know what it is, but its sticky rice filled with sausage, duck and vegetables wrapped in banana or lotus leaves (not sure which) and its just really delicious. A second favorite is the white fluffy pork bun, but not the one that looks like a glazed dinner roll. Its cheap, its good and its abundant..have some imagination when you go for dim sum.
(4)Jason L.
We walked in and froze after stepping in...... amazed at the decor. Our group, (and the birthday boy) were stricken by the theater decor and grand stage. Awesome high curved ceiling. We were pumped and hungry for some dim sum. Onwards to good eating?? Sat in the lower seating area, at a table with dirty tablecloth. (Hey, you know, its Chinatown, oh well, at least we're in a f***ing theater for lunch right! awesome) We were immediately surrounded by carts and eager servers! Fast service, and quickly landed 7 dishes. I threw some mandarin/cantonese at them, and the server was kind enough to have the kitchen make us rice rolls with fried dough (Za liang) since they don't have any. Onto the food: Oh wow, everything was average / below average. Barely tasted bamboo in the Har gao , the xiao long bao were kinda a disaster, no pork in the bbq pork turnover we got. Sticky rice was ok....ive had better. Shu mai was similar to the frozen ones I get from 88. The only nice and hot item was the za liang, which was made to order by the kitchen, which was actually really good. (My friends, which don't eat much dim sum, were fine with it, thought it was good). For $10/person, china pearl/winsor is much better quality. I love dim sum, and always go nuts in hong kong, but wow have not been so disappointed in a while. However, the decor is worth going to see. .... [but just once]. Food (4/10) Decor (5/5) Service (4/5)
(2)Lea G.
Disclaimer: Tried & True Dim Sum place - not for those of you who think Chinese food = PF Chang's...not that there's anything wrong with PF Chang's =) I was really happy to find this place in Chinatown. We were not craving a big lunch (as we planned on eating mini-meals the whole day). We decided to have some dim sum. We went up the stairs and to our surprise it was a giant banquet hall with pink round tables and numerous dim sum carts being pushed about. We immediately felt like we were in Taiwan and eagerly followed our host to the next available table. We watched the carts being pushed around and because my friend had never experienced real dim sum before I looked for the safe bets: barbeque pork buns, shrimp shumai, shrimp filled fried wonton and turnip cake. The food is fast and good. My first time dim sum'er was VERY happy. She doesn't scare easily so I know she would enjoy it... I live in San Francisco and travel all over Asia so this was a very nice find for me in Boston.
(4)Raoul C.
If I'm going clubbing in the city, I love starting my night here. As mentioned by a few already, the cocktail selection here is hilariously strong, cheap and fruity. Lots of rum-based stuff, pineapple juice and an umbrella tossed in almost every drink. At $6 a piece, you can't go wrong. Suffering Bastard and Zombies are my favourite. The description on the menu? "This is it." Can't vouch for the food, but the decor is all kinds of awesome - you're getting drunk in an old theatre with dragons eying you up. Bring friends and laugh at how uncomfortable the waiters get when you ask for 6 zombies.
(4)Amanda N.
You can't beat lunch for two costing $18.10, and being completely stuffed when you leave. My favorites are the steamed pork buns, steamed dumplings, and the sticky rice. Oh yeah, and get the egg custards if you are a fan, they are fantastic!!
(4)Theresa J.
I went here today for the second time and I am not really sure I will be back. There was nothing specifically wrong with any of the dishes I ordered. I just felt like there was a lack of good service and the food was nothing spectacular. Yes it was edible and yes it was decent but there was nothing I had that would make me rush there again in a hurry. I'll stick to Winsor when I am in Chinatown and want dim sum.
(3)Mia F.
Whenever i'm in town visiting my sister and need a good sunday brunch we always end up here..... I've been to dim sum here countless times, and this was the first place i really felt comfortable knowing exactly what i was ordering and there wasn't a sneak attack of baby shrimp in every item (like i've seen in the place across the street) i'm not saying i'm against baby shrimp, it just doesn't need to be in everything! I definitely have some favorites that i must always get: pork buns, turnip cakes, that steamed chinese vegetable that looks like asparagus, but tastes like broccoli, but isn't quite either vegetable & of course dumplings galore! I'm a dumpling fanatic. I've been quite adventurous there, but within reason...nothing blatantly fish head fishy and no chicken feet or organ meats.....unless there's some of said random personal no-no meats inside the sticky rice square that does happen to be filled with various delicious mystery meats. In this case - ignorance is belly bliss. The service is standard dim sum, the sea of carts on a busy late morning is entertaining, as well as the decor of the old renovated theater. I like to look around and see what huge families order. An overwhelming feast for 2 is usually less than 15 bucks per person. The bathroom is pretty standard not clean. If you're in a pinch it won't kill you immediately, but if you've got stellar plumbing control i'd opt to hold it. Conservative 1st timers: go with someone (semi)-seasoned Adventurous 1st timers: don't mind sampling whatever may be wrapped in rice noodle inside those cute little bamboo containers? Get some! *Remember there are chinese doughnuts and there are also chinese doughnuts with pork in them. Both are surprisingly tasty.
(4)Lauren S.
This place is amazing in terms of atmosphere and deliciousness level of the food. The only problem I see is that if you have any food allergies or preferences against shrimp or pork you shouldn't eat here (for Dim Sum) because they will tell you it's one thing and it may very well be another. They don't speak much English. ...But if you're like me and enjoy all things Chinese and Dim Sum, with out regard for specific ingredients, then DEFINITELY EAT HERE.
(4)Eric S.
The food is sometimes decent and sometimes not-so-decent. With all the other choices around chinatown, I'd skip this one although it does have a charm to it since it used to be a movie theater.
(3)Maria B.
The one star is indicative of the dim sum being good/cheap, and the drinks being cheap. BUT: The waitstaff is not very accommodating or attentive, and fairly rude sometimes as well. I ordered a scorpion bowl. It literally had DIRT floating in it when I got served so I asked for another. When they brought me a "new" one, it not only still had dirt in it, but there was a FLY floating in it. When my friend asked the waiter to bring me another one she asked, "Is this one going to have a fly in it too?" and the waiter said, no joke, "I don't know, maybe." :(
(1)Victoria H.
If you want to feel like you are dining in some place fancy but don't want to spend too much money! this is the place for you. the waiters are quick on their toes and they are polite as well. But let's take a moment and talk about the beautiful design in the resturant! It use to be a theater long time ago before it became a a wonderfull resturant. But the food was so mouthwatering it was ridiculous. The food was really a masterpiece. the flavor was intoxicting and the food would melt in your mouth. This is truly a place to go when you are in boston, it's truely chinatowns speical gem!
(5)Jessica S.
good place for a big group. lot of options on the carts and they come around often. custard buns are really good. good shrimp shumai and ribs too.
(4)Dennis L.
I was not specific enough with my issues with this place. Here are some of the issues I have encountered at the former Grand China: 1) For a Christmas banquet fundraiser, they put at every table... monogrammed green plates with palm trees from the defunct Tiki Hut that used to be near the Westgate Mall. 2) They use much smaller count shrimp/scallops and even then, use a smaller number of them in equivalent dishes compared to their competition. 3) They booked a wedding on top of a dinner I had booked when I called in to confirm a menu six weeks prior to the event without informing me of anything prior. 4) Count the number of fried dishes like sweet and sour (insert the blank), glutinous rice balls filled with condensed milk, and fried scallops at a banquet. 5) They served dessert to us at a banquet of jellies not on a plate, but on a chaffing dishes (without a base, just the pan put right in the middle of the table) 6) They served 'steak and lobster' by putting oven roasted lobster tails completely undressed and just thrown on a pan and roasted in the oven on a plate and steak was just massive slabs of london broil selected for seemingly quantity instead of quality, simmered to far past well-done and never finished in slab form, then cut and thrown on a plate as a slab, the au jus luke-warm on the side in a bowl with a spoon, not a garnish of any form on the plates 7) I can't find less durable silverware at a Building #19. 8) Green vegetables should have the ends and things like broccolli should have their leaves removed. Not the case here! 9) Walking between the tables requires stilts or a catapault. 10) Why does some of their china STILL say Grand China... more than a decade after the fact?
(1)Robert B.
Had the absolute worst Chinese meal here ever. 4 people felt ill before leaving the table. Avoid this place at all costs. Positive reviews here must be from family members.
(1)Jeff D.
Good dim sum, though nothing truly blew my socks off. We got there early (10:30) and got a seat right in the middle, which I'm sure helped us fill our table with dishes in about two minutes. It's almost 12 hours since I went and i'm still full.
(4)Lynne S.
I went to Emperor's Garden (or Empire Garden - depending on which sign you read) this afternoon for my first ever Dim Sum experience. After reading some of the reviews on here beforehand I was a little nervous about what to expect. I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. The actual restaurant was giant and beautiful in that old 50's extravagant sort of way. We were seated right away and the carts started going by immediately. We tried many different dishes but my favorites were the chinese brocoli, BBQ pork and a banana leaf stuffed with steamed rice and other yummy things! And as it is my motto to try everything once, I even tried a chickens foot! All in all it was a great meal! We ate so much and when the bill came, we were all shocked to find out we only owed $10 a piece! Needless to say, I'm a newly born Dim Sum fan! Xie xie Emperor Garden!
(4)Lily C.
I'm def slightly biased because the owner of the restaurant is a good family friend. In fact, he was my dad's partner at one point. But anyways...... + = pros - = cons + huge place, lots of tables + not usually a huge wait, if a wait at all + good selection of food + the little dim sum chicks are usually pretty good at getting stuff moving + kinda cool place..it's a renovated opera house FYI + fairly attentive staff + cheap dim sum + they've got take out + authentic dim sum/high tea hahaha - hate the bathrooms - parking sucks asshole - sometimes the food isn't totally fresh if they're not super busy & cooking fresh batches of food all the time - sometimes the waiters forget to refill water - carpet/floor can be kinda dirty (well dammit what do you expect with 80,000 asians in there at one time? haha) - will suck for caucasians or people who don't speak cantonese/mandarin.....they don't speak english well enough to accurately describe dim sum dishes. give em a break, most of em are illegal immigrants. hahahaha jkkkkk - i wouldn't recommend dinner here...not good
(4)wendy h.
We have eaten here for the last 5 years everytime we come into town. In the last couple of years this place has gone down hill. Maybe the don't care because they have the local business but, the dim sum has been just so so. it's time for us to try a new place. The last few times, it has not been fresh tasting. I love stuff taro root and it was for sure warmed up from the day before.. to bad. Again this review is for those who don't know better. In the past my family has really liked this place but, no more. I will move on.
(2)Walter G.
there's no justification for the four stars, i just like this place and can't figure out why. maybe it's because my friends and i had no intention of stopping in until we noticed the signs out front. exotic cocktails huh? don't mind if i do... maybe it's because the drink menu devotes more effort to accurately representing the specialty glass each drink is served in than telling you what's it in it e.g. "the zombie - two of these will knock you down!" with a spot-on picture of the glass that's shaped like a squatting tribal statue. TWO PLEASE! i was particularly amused at how pretty much all the drinks are $6.50 but vary WIDELY in size. i think two "headhunters" could easily fit into the scorpion bowl, and considering they both pretty much taste like strongly alcoholic pineapple juice, there's no question as to the best value. this is a plus in my book because getting drunk for cheap at emperor garden (i could've SWORN it was empire garden) is apparently something that you get better at with practice and i like improving. there was a bunch of other cool shit too - awesome huge dining room with old-timey decorations and singers (which we didn't get to sit in because of a wedding. SO disappointing); freemason logos on the waiter's notepad; cool back bar area; fake plants all along the ceiling perimeter; dragon wall sculpture that looks like it's gonna spring to life and rock your face off; a couple on an awkward date sitting right behind us... i can't wait to go back. p.s. - apparently, as of this posting, 19 people have said that there's no alcohol here which is patently incorrect. you have my solemn assurances that the exotic cocktails advertised on the sign exist and are worth the trip up the huge gallant staircase.
(4)Mike M.
I stopped in because I wanted to eat at the place I'm pretty sure was once the "Naked i" when this stretch of Washington St. comprised the heart of the Combat Zone. I'd been to the "I" several times but it's been a while. Anyway, I'm pretty sure the "I" was what is now the grocery downstairs. I was shunted to the back (perhaps I still smell like stripper perfume, cigarettes and beer) because there was a wedding going on in the cavernous former theater that houses this place. Service was good, the food was OK - typical Chinatown fare. The place is worth a visit to marvel at the decor which covers the towering walls and ceiling... and to listen for the echoes of "Mustang Sally" if you are so inclined.
(3)Julie T.
The waiter was extremely rude. I went there for dim sum, and the food wasn't at all anything like the reviews. I've had some pretty great dim sum before, and this definetly wasn't it.
(1)Ashley J.
A date brought me here because it is where his family always goes for dim sum. No lines, nice open floor plan. People where actually really nice, but maybe that was because he was ordering in chinese haha. Anyway, it was nice to let someone order for me and tell me stories about how his grandma used to make this back in China and just get to try things I never would have ordered on my own. I like that the food is fresh and comes fast. We almost had too much but they let me take it home with me. Red Bean paste buns for later, Score. We had a great time and I would definitely recommend this place as an alternative to the bigger names around the corner.
(4)Keith W.
Built in an old theater, the dining room space is quite interesting... unfortunately so is the smell of old mothballs or something. Perhaps this place has good dim sum... however, given the dinner that I had there, I would find that hard to believe. Perhaps this is a known fact (since there were only 2 other tables with people there), but if it is, I feel I need to point out the fact that this is probably not a place for dinner, unless your idea of Chinese food is from a stand at the local county fair... I mean, not it's not even as high a quality as Panda Express.... and far from PF Chang's quality, which by the way I understand is not very authentic. The food was high in MSG, greasy, and had a somewhat strange taste to it. We had the Westlake Beef soup, which was probably the best dish, the sweet and sour shrimp, which was really a large ball of carnival style fried dough and shrimp, the cashew shrimp, which was made with frozen peas and carrots, and the salt and pepper pork chop, which tasted like it was refried from the previous day and had a strange aftertaste to it. Coming from Monterey Park, this is a far leap from restaurants, such as Ocean Star, NBC, Elite, etc... which I would say are 10x better and more authentic. Again, maybe dim sum is good here... I don't know, but from my dinner experience, I don't think I want to find out.
(2)Robyn G.
This place is not vegan friendly, at least for the dim sum.That being said, most of my friends like to go there for drinks and dim sum. The place operates out of a beautiful, old theater and the drinks are reasonably priced ($6-7 a cocktail). Also, they've got plenty of space for a large group of people, and it's not noisy or overcrowded. So we go there, I drink and have good conversation with groups of friends and I eat somewhere else.
(3)Kristina D.
Again, I am doing the default three stars until I embark upon an epic dim sum battle between Hei La Moon, China Pearl, Emperor's Garden, and Windsor. This week, the entire JQUS faculty and staff went here for a holiday lunch. We had: -scallion pancakes (were supposed to have, but they never came out :( -crab rangoon -shrimp dumplings -the yellowish dim sum thing which I can't recognize -beef with broccoli -chicken -shrimp with broccoli and other vegetables -vegetables -lo mein -fried rice -what I thought was a duck but other tablemates insisted was a chicken I would have given it four stars if one of the male teachers had eaten the chicken/duck head. He apparently did it last year but claims that he can't eat too many brains this year. Now I plot for a duck-head-eating scheme of 2009...
(3)Liz E.
Mmmmmmm, dim sum. They have really good food. Granted, they don't have quite the variety at EG that most dim sum places in NYC do, but this *is* Boston after all. I love their dumplings (shrimp and leek, yum) and those little pancake/shrimp/roll thingies. I also really like those sesame balls with bean stuff on the inside (lotus balls?) and the tofu pudding dessert stuff (Yeah, I don't know the names of anything. I grew up in Minnesota. All the food there is white and yellow.). I love that you can stuff yourself silly for $10 or less. So much fun with a group of friends!
(4)Allison B.
Empire Garden (or Emperor's Garden, whatever floats your boat) will always hold a special place in my heart as the place where I was introduced to dim sum, and also a roommate tradition (every Monday we had off from school, we'd go to dim sum). I've been to several other dim sum places--albeit in San Fransisco/Bay Area--but Empire Garden is by far my favorite. After eating in its grandiose ballroom (1 part tacky, 1 part awesome) and never paying over $10 per person, it seems nowhere else can really live up to it. The food is delicious. Sure, it's undoubtedly terrible for you, but delicious nonetheless. I've never tried anything off the big kid menu, but I doubt I'll ever even bother--I go here for the dim sum experience more than anything else. So, why minus 1 star? Like another Yelper mentioned, it's best to come here with someone who speaks Chinese, as the majority of the people who work here speak little English, and can't elaborate on many details of the foods outside of the type of meat. But once you've discovered your favorites, you can come on your own and be golden (they don't mind point-and-nod communication). Things to try (pardon my hideous phonetic attempt at Chinese): - siu mai (pork dumpling) - ha gow (shrimp dumpling) - cha siu bao (pork bun, steamed or fried) - guk po (chrysanthemum tea, i think) - these little fried triangular dumplings with chives and shrimp (my fave!) - chinese broccoli - coconut tapioca dessert - sesame lotus ball Things to watch out for: - Chicken feet - Overzealous stuffing of one's self
(4)Andrea H.
The best dim sum I've had in Boston or New York! There are lots of carts with all sorts of different tasty dishes. My favorites are the shrimp noodles, and anything else with rice noodles. You can get lots of food really quickly if you want, or take your time. The prices are low. The employees who push the carts are helpful, and often try to back with the item you wanted if they don't have it right then. Dinner here is good too, and it is usually almost empty at that time.
(5)Toodles K.
There is no mistaking the pink tablecloths... My friend and I ordered Moo Shi Pork (excellent), boiled white rice, and Kung Poe Chicken with Peanuts. There were corn, carrots, green peas and green beans in the KPC w/ Peanuts. WTF? Are you insane chefs at Emperor's Garden? Was there a sale on frozen veggies and you just HAD to put them in this dish where they do not ever belong? I ate it but... I wasn't thrilled. My friend's red cloth napkin had a stain on it. Other than that? Meh... Go to The New Shanghei around the corner instead. They never let ya down... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: The New Shanghei Neighborhood: Chinatown 21 Hudson St (between Beach St & Kneeland St) Boston, MA 02111 (617) 338-6688 newshanghaiboston.com
(3)K D.
Cheap, tasty dim sum. Good for kids, not good for vegetarians. Fast but brusque service, English kinda hard to understand. You have to point at things on carts, but that's fun.
(4)Francine W.
actually, this place is much better than most nyc dimsum places ive eaten at. the shrimp is always so fresh and so big. my favs are har gow, chicken feet, small fried shrimp sticks, turnip cake, hom suey gok, and the sticky rice.
(5)Elizabeth D.
This is where my dad wants to eat every time he visits. He says he will be happy if it's the only restaurant we go to while he's here. The dim sum is pretty good. I enjoy that they still come around with carts (vs ordering off a picture menu) even if it means I have to keep my eye out for the cart I want. They have my favorite dishes, so that alone keeps me happy. I've only been once for a non-dim sum meal. I shared crab rangoon and a Peking duck with my friend. I ordered a Scorpion bowl, she a mai tai. The drinks are cheap at $6, but they do not skimp on the alcohol. Those drinks were sta-rong! The crab rangoon was decent, not the best ever. The Peking duck was served differently than what I'm used to. The skin is served with the pancakes and scallions as normal, but the meat is stir fried with vegetables. I found this to be quite interesting but also quite tasty. I enjoyed adding the stir fry to my pancakes and felt less guilty since vegetables were involved. My friend, however, was convinced that, while delicious, it was a sneaky way to skimp on the meat and save some of the meat for other dishes... Conspiracy or not, it was a meal I enjoyed. We left full with satiated taste buds and leftovers too.
(4)Jim Z.
People come here for the food? My god, you guys, you should just come here for the rock bottom prices on drinks. Come on, a Scorpion Bowl is $6. A zombie is $6.50. Also I like to tell people that the place used to be a strip club, since it's, you know, across from Centerfolds and the Glass Slipper.
(4)Carlos R.
Service not good at all, the place is big and beautiful but is not a good restaurant that you expect, i ordered crab rangoons 1 star, not good, spicy squid 2 star it chewy like gum, service well they got a table for me and give water 1 star, food 1 star.
(1)Alex A.
Here speedy service here can be confused with pushy service. However the complex and grand design of the century-old building, especially the panted ceiling, makes the service here quite acceptable. Food here is far from the main draw, but is good nonetheless. Prices are dirt cheap, especially when ordering an all dim-sum meal, a very easy thing to do here.
(4)Lilo P.
the. best. pai gwut fan. ever. Pai gwut fan is the sole purpose of my Dim Sum excursions and Empire Garden has a really good one. Of course their other things are delectable as well. Their beef noodles, ha gou, and beef tripe are very nice as well. Setting is nice as well and the restaurant is very close to the subway.
(5)joe w.
I recommend the coconut gelatin, bean curd, sweet soft tofu, fried noodles and mushrooms, beef chow fun, sesame seed balls, hot water.
(4)R G.
*breaking news* I must be coming here too often lately because last time I was not given water or a fork! (and for the record, I am superwhite.) it was a proud moment. okay, we all know the deal with empire garden, right? it's not the absolute best dim sum ever, (I've only been for dim sum, and I've heard that's wise), but it does hit the spot. a few points to be made: - I've always been seated immediately, even when the dining room looks impossibly crowded. I've never detected attitude for taking up a four top as a party of two. - the atmosphere is fun. it's an old converted theatre. awesome. - everything I've had has been hot and tasted fresh. the quality is very consistent. (I've always arrived before noon.) your meal will be heavy on the carbs and you will likely go into a food coma when you are done. vegetables can be hard to find. - most of the cart ladies speak very limited english. this is not a vegetarian/vegan friendly place. or a friendly place for anyone with allergies/dietary restrictions. or if you must absolutely know what you're eating. most of the ladies are very friendly, though, and don't mind pointing. - you will not know what your bill says (unless maybe you read chinese and know their stamps). deal with it. it's really cheap. - it's best to go with a small group (too large and you have to double up on many dishes) so you can get variety. - only thing I would definitely avoid is the turnip cakes. they were mushy and greasy.
(3)David V.
OK, we have not been back to this restaurant, so we do not have an update based on our experiences. However, I spoke with a friend recently, and she informed me that she used to eat at this place frequently, until she found dead flies in her soy sauce during a Sunday brunch. Although we did not encounter any problems, we have to take this information seriously, and for that we will not return.
(1)JARED D.
I go to this restaurant at least once a month. I thought it was called the Royal Palace for so long that I never get the name right, so if I say I'm at The Royal Palace, The Royal Garden, The Emperor's Palace, The Emperor's Royal Palace, The Palace Garden, or The Emperor's Royal Palace Garden, I'm actually talking about Empire Garden. Every time I go here its to drink "Exotic Cocktails" that are advertised on the big red sign out in front of the restaurant. I let my buddy order the food, because he's a picky eater. We got the pigeon wings, the cat on a stick, and some other standard Chinese restaurant fare. Service was prompt, and everything was delicious. The main reason I'm such a fan of this place is the Suffering Bastards. Its a lovely rum concoction with a little umbrella served in a tiki glass. They taste great, but we really only drink them because of the irony. Two suffering bastards drinking Suffering Bastards. Another reason I frequent this establishment is it's close proximity to Centerfolds Lounge, making it very easy to talk my friend into going in there afterwards. He has agoraphobia so I need to use these tactics or he would never leave his house. It sounds underhanded and sneaky, because it is, but I'm doing him a favor by helping him overcome his phobia. All and all this place is a hit. The dining area is interesting and the people that work there are friendly and fun. Stop in for a few drinks before you hit the strip club and save some cash.
(4)Julie H.
I've been to Hei La Moon and China Pearl several times, and decided to try something new. A friend recommended Empire Garden, so off we went. It looks fairly small and innocuous from the outside, but once you go up the stairs and enter into the main dining area, it is actually a pretty big theater with high ceilings and blue painted walls. This was a nice change from other places where you're literally sitting arm-to-arm with the person at the next table over. The food itself was okay, but not remarkable. All the servers came around frequently with their carts, and they could actually speak mediocre English, which is a plus. However, we waited quite some time for the check. When it finally came, we paid with cash, but the host wouldn't let us leave until he counted every single bill. He then got mad at us because we only tipped 15% given that it was Chinese New Year. He didn't simply ask us to give one more dollar or two. Instead, he wouldn't let us leave until we paid more tip, and then acerbically INSULTED us by asking whether or not we had come from mainland China and didn't understand the concept of tipping. He then just stood there and yelled to the other waiters about how ridiculous overseas Chinese people are. First of all, way to make the incorrect assumption that my friends and I are FOBs. Second of all, I'm not sure what his stereotypes and vendettas are, but his actions were outright rude and unprofessional, and no way to talk to your patrons.
(2)J B.
My friend brought me here a few weeks ago. The interior is like an old theater/opera house, it is pretty neat. Wasn't too pricey, He was able to get 'the best chicken feet in town', and I was able to find some suitable veg options. Good service as well. I'll go back.
(4)Yuri C.
Nice and very cheap ! I was surprised with the size of the restaurant. It was Huge !! Foods were really good. I loved yellow cake and shrimp dim sum ! I have no idea what it should be tasted. you know, food tastes different from original taste, but whatever, all foods were fantastic. I and my friend ate a lot. Both very full. But we paid like $25 inc. tip .. I can tell we were very full and satisfied with foods , so I believe it was a well spend :) Crews were all very sweet and kind. I will definitely go there again :)
(5)Shih-Hao H.
Th food is quite nice and price is also reasonable. Nice place for people who love dim sum.
(4)Brenden L.
While I enjoy the dim sum at China Pearl better, this place is a very close second and I like it better overall because the items on the actual menu are as good as the dim sum. The spicy chicken with broccoli is delicious and you will not be able to eat it in one sitting which is always a plus because Chinese food stays good for like 9 years. The dining room is gaudy but beautiful in its own way. It used to be a theatre back in the day.
(5)Rita K.
My friend and I walked into this restaurant around 5:30/6. A bit early for dinner, but not incredibly so. The place was huge and only one table was filled- generally a bad sign, but we gave it a shot. Sat down and began perusing the menu. Less than 5 minutes after we sat down, the waiter came by asking if we were ready to order. We weren't. He proceeded to hover around the table. He came back 2 more times before we finally were actually ready to order. He took our order, brought it, and continued to linger around our table while we were eating. And I don't mean he came by often asking how things were (he didn't), rather, he stood about 5 feet away and watched. Eventually he left us to go linger around another table- right as we were finishing up our meal. So, after having an uncomfortable meal because the waiter wouldn't leave us alone, we ended up waiting 25 minutes for him to finally come back for us to ask for our bill. As for the food itself? I got the squid in shrimp sauce, which it turns out is a lot of onions and a couple of pieces of squid. The sauce was decent, though. My friend got the Buddha Delight (one of the few vegetarian options). It was horrendous. I am likely one of the least picky eaters you will ever find and I couldn't eat more than a bite of it. My friend, who was starving before we came in, couldn't even get through half of the meal. The price is about average ($10-15 for a dinner entree) and you can find the same food so many other places around the same area, I would not recommend coming here.
(2)David H.
Very good dim sum! The place was huge for being in the middle of Chinatown. The restaurant is in an old theater apparently. It took about 20 minutes to get seated on a Sunday for lunch. They didn't have anywhere to sit while you waited except for a few chairs. The food was incredible and fresh though!
(5)Joey E.
I absolutely loved this place. It's an old opera/theater house that was turned into restaurant. A very grandiose feel from walking up the stairs all the way until you are seated. The staff was friendly and prompt with service. Food came out fast and was excellent!
(5)Sandra C.
I generally rotate between a few good restaurants in Chinatown for Dim Sum. China Pearl, Chau Chow City, and Empire Garden. They each have their perks and are better at certain dishes than others. I think most believe that China Pearl is the best for dim sum, though I like Empire Garden for it's spaciousness. It's a pretty impressive place to take people as it used to be a giant theater house. Not as cramped as most other restaurants in Chinatown.
(5)Ashley M.
so yummy... so cheap... so very far apart from the people you're sitting with - the tables are enormous - i felt like i was doing that funny shouting-whispering thing to be heard. but hey who really needs to talk when there's so much good food to eat?
(4)krystle j.
good chinese food, always busy, no lack of cart-pushing so i was happy
(4)Ame k.
their dim sum not so bad.
(4)Betty P.
I've never been here for dimsum because frankly this place is dark, dingy, and depressing and I would never choose to come here on my own. One time, a friend's parent was in town (a fellow Chinese restaurateur) and we walked in there and we walked back out upon her request. It took about 10 minutes for us to just get glasses of water and after 10 minutes, nary a dimsum cart in sight so we bolted. I have been to two wedding banquets here and you would think they would at least vacuum before the festivities. We walked up the winding staircase and there are dustballs and crap on the main landing. Ewww. The place just always seems dirty and the fixtures/carpet old. The decorative ceiling is nice, but that is about the draw of this place to me. If you want a place with nice ceilings and good dimsum, Linden Place in Flushing is much better. Anyhow, the food at both wedding banquets was mediocre. I mean, I have been to a couple dozen of them in Boston and NYC and I always cringe when I hear it's gonna be at EG. The cold plate, the fried rice, and the vegetarian dish were the only 3 courses out of 10 that tickled my palate. That's not a very good ratio in my opinion. Oh and I guess the crab rangoon during the reception were decent too. I was assisting my friends with the wedding and we had to constantly ask for the servers to bring out the food on time. Our table's dedicated server was particularly rude, just plopping the dishes on the table and splashing sauce everywhere. We asked him for glasses of ice water since they didn't have any water on the table and he nodded, but we never did get any water. It's like the theme of this place. They also dragged bags of garbage and rolled out carts of dirty plates out during the banquet which seems really rude/weird to me. They also messed up on several requests from the bride and groom which I won't go into or I would be writing a novel. I guess I know where I WON'T be going when I get married. PS We were calling it Empire Garden too but lo and behold we get there and the sign DOES say Emperor's Garden.
(2)Stella K.
I've only had dim sum a handful of times so I'm no expert as to what the best dishes are. The roast pork buns were a bit on the sweeter side (not too fond of that) but the turnip cakes were surprisingly really good! The dishes didn't leave a lasting impression, hence the 3 stars. Thank goodness that we had someone with us who could speak a bit of cantonese. If you go without someone who can speak the language, good luck.
(3)Cheryl C.
Pretty good dim sum. The wait was long but worth it. I can see why it was so crowded. Isn't too expensive too - for 2 hungry people, the bill came up to be $27. Didn't have taro balls though which was a tad disappointing. Their cheong fun was good and their view mai and har gow were typical. Pork ribs were better than most places. All in all I would highly recommend this place. Be prepared to wait though if you head in during busy brunch hours.
(5)Nicole Y.
I went here for the first time with my cousin and friend and the food was so good! They come around with carts of food and ask you what you want. My reason for only four stars is I felt forced into some foods, and I didn't have water to start off, but other than that the tea we were given was flawless. It really complimented to food. I wish I didn't get so full so quickly because I wanted to eat everything. My friends loved their food too. Definitely recommend this place if you want amazing dim sum!
(4)Sarah S.
Went here with a group of six for dinner. The room itself is a huge old theater and is so interesting and was worth the trip. We mainly got the Peking Duck and a few dim sum plates. Everyone loved the Duck ands were so happy with what we got. We were one of the only people there and it was fun. If we needed a server all we had to do was waive one over (what I found to be pretty typical) or waiter was nice and helpful and the owner even came by to ask us how we were. I would definitely recommend this place for a casual nice out!
(4)Vincent H.
I was somewhat disappointed when I came here. Friend picked this place and I thought why not since I've always walked by it but when I walked in, I thought I was apart of a Rush Hour scene. Food was okay and nothing spectacular. Pork spareribs were interestingly flavored with a dark black pepper sauce. I WAS REALLY DISAPPOINTED THAT THERE WAS NO TURNIP CAKE!!! WHY?! :( Prices on the other hand were fair. Around $10 total each person in my group. Atmosphere wise, it's a nice old theater that they're using but it definitely needs an update on the decor.
(2)Jessica N.
Empire is located just right off Chinatown location. This place is just a typical stop for dim sum. The flavor is right on point. The taste is less msg compared to some other competitors on the block. I actually like the dim sum service here since its really quick and efficient, they're really quick. A good stop to go if you on the train. You can get traditional other chinese food as well. its not just limited to dim sum.
(3)Ian C.
We went you primarily because we had a really large group of people. They say 30+ of us in one area with out much hassle. Walking in to this place felt like you were walking back in time. Old school vaulted ceilings as if you were eating in a 1970's theater (which I think it clearly was). The food itself was ok, this is very much a middle of the road authentic cantonese place, not great not bad.
(3)Selina C.
Uhh. I haven't been here in ages and I must say that things have changed or maybe I've just had better and there's just no going back now. I came here with my family for dim sum this afternoon mostly because my grandmother needed somewhere handicap accessible so props to them for having an elevator. I usually go to either Hei La Moon or Great Taste Restaurant on the rare occasions that I do go for dim sum. It was around 12 when we came in and there was a handful of tables filled with people? which was fair enough considering it was Friday. We ordered lo mai gai or the glutenous rice wrap with a meat filling and the moment we unwrapped the leaf wrapper, the rice was a suspicious dark color and had a weird smell. We figured it was burned from the leaf but still didn't try to eat it. My cousin ate the egg yolk bao/bun which had a weird lemony, bitter taste- figured the egg was spoiled so we abandoned ship on that. Other cousin had the cha siu or roasted pork bao and said the pork had a weird taste. The texture to the lotus seed bun was a weird, thick gummy kind of consistency too. I just don't know! They do have a lot of seating though??
(1)Nicole B.
Wow. This was my first dim sum experience and I am still processing my feelings. The atmosphere at Empire Garden feels like I have been transported to a very different place in time and geography. You walk up an exotic (and severely outdated) staircase to a huge dining room that is one open area. The focal point of the room is an old stage, closed off. Along the walls are servers waiting and staring expectantly at you with their carts of goodies -- everything from chicken feet to dumplings to french fries (yep). They write what you pick on the check -- all a la carte. The food on the carts seemed old and like it had been sitting there for a while. The service (after the cart service) was basically non existent and it took a long time to get sauce upon request and water refilled. I'm not sure if this experience is reflective of all dim sum in American places, or just this one in particular. Definitely interesting to try and see, but the food wasn't something I'd ever crave or go back for. Didn't seem fresh, wasn't hot, and wasn't quality ingredients or preparation.
(3)Michelle W.
Food is tasty when it says spicy it is. At home it means it comes with a hot chili on the side of the plate. Service is a bit rude as far as the average Caucasian might be used too. If you don't know what's what on the menu they will not explain. Just get pissy. What ever you do, do not ask for extra brown sauce, you will be told no. Over all the food was good and price reasonable.
(3)Alex C.
The only thing this place has going for it is that its in this cool vintage theatre. As cool as the ambiance was, it couldn't make up for their quality of dim sum. I give their food 2 stars but I gave 1 star overall because of service. As someone who has grown up in San Francisco and frequently visits Hong Kong--this dim sum is not worth your money. We only ordered about 6-8 things over the course about 15 minutes before deciding to go to a different dim sum place. After paying the bill and only leaving a little tip, we were on our way out when a waiter stopped us to ask for more tip. Maybe my mentality is different, but I should have at least a descent experience to leave a descent tip. Most importantly of all, I thought him coming up to ask us was extremely rude. Overall there are many other options for dimsum that I'm sure taste a lot better.
(1)L F.
I am by no means a Chinese food expert. However, I have visited a variety of restaurants in Boston's Chinatown, so I have a general idea of what to expect in terms of food quality and service. Empire Garden is situated in a former theater on Washington Street. This definitely gives the venue a 'cool' factor. However, I felt the food was just ok. It wasn't spectacular. Frankly, the mango pudding was awful! No flavor whatsoever and almost a JELLO like consistency. I will give them kudos for service. We mistakenly took our invoice to the front without having one of their cart attendants total it first. They told us to go back and have it added up. The man who added it up was very nice and was totally fine with splitting the bill between my card and my friend's card (I think this generally doesn't happen in Chinatown, lots of places will only accept one card and have a minimum charge. We found the gesture to be both nice and accommodating).
(3)Bill Z.
How many people have been confused by the conflicting names at the entrance... emperor's... empire? I am fond of Empire Garden, even though I would not consider it "exceptional" dim sum. It has a very cozy atmosphere with an interesting decor. They have maintained the old theater ambiance above ceiling level and restaurant-appropriate decor at the dining level. They serve basic Dim Sum here, and it's appropriate "Dim Sum 101" for the novice. It was amusing, when we were seated, that we were almost assaulted by ladies with carts the moment we were seated: 3 customers, 3 carts. It was almost this anti-vulture thing, as if "blank card gravity" had ensued. We hadn't even received chopsticks, plates, or tea, and yet cart temptation had commenced. What they serve here is good but lacking in variety; it's the basics, though done well and tasty. But we also saw some ladies pushing the same carts around and around with no luck, as the food in the tins grew cold, and it looked like they weren't allowed fresh items until they served a good portion. One dish I enjoy, steamed bok choy in hoisin sauce, one of the few vegetable dishes you can get, did not show up on the floor until we had dined for 45 minutes. It was not on a cart either. One lady walked around with a plate of it, and when someone ordered it, she would take it back to the prep area to have it reheated, cut into smaller portions, and add the sauce. The restaurant could use some sprucing-up as well. Our tablecloth, while clean, was old and worn and discolored in spots. In the men's room, I actually got more water sprayed on my hand when I pushed the flush lever on the toilet than I did at one of the sinks (i.e. 2 sinks, only 1 dispensed cold water).
(3)Bobby V.
Nice surprise....we weren't hungry just wanted a few seafood dimsum plates to carry us through. All the shrimp dishes were very fresh...we were actually very impressed. (Didnt give it a full 5 stars, cuz inasked for ginger scallion crab, and they didnt have any?? What respectible coastal Chinese restaurant or any restaurant at all is out of crab??) And the restrooms were a bit gross...but thats typical.
(4)Christopher L.
Really awkward layout for dim sum. We constantly had to wave down the carts to get food. They literally would park in one area and expected people to wave them down across the whole restaurant. The food was decent, nothing bad or good to say about it.
(2)Matthew F.
Update -- Call it reverse karma, but today we brought guests there and were disgusted by the extra-grunginess, the disinterested and inattentive servers, the slowness of the service overall (this despite around a dozen managers patrolling the floor) and the utter lack of traditional dim sum options (I.e. steamed dumplings of any kind) -- completely dyspeptic, squalid, and unpleasant experience. The collective nausea we all experienced right after eating determined the already obvious conclusion that we will never go back.
(1)Krysten S.
I came to Empire Garden for a congratulatory lunch and loved it! The atmosphere was really neat (old theater) and I really enjoyed the whole dim sum concept. Food was very good. I recommend!
(4)Alex L.
Boston's version of a proper Chinese restaurant misses the mark. Four of us came here for a late weekend dinner. They took us to a table set for three. I thought they had figured out their mistake once we were seated, but then they only brought us three glasses of water. Whatever. We ordered dishes to share - wonton soup, spicy Hunan Eggplant, sizzling pepper beef, and Chinese fried chicken. Wonton soup was OK, not freshly made. It's your standard Chinese grocery soup mix base and generic freezer bag wontons. Spicy Hunan eggplant was not spicy in the slightest and greasy. SO GREASY. To illustrate, I could have put a straw into the dish and gulped down several mouthfuls of the stuff. Definitely defeats the purpose of ordering vegetables in the first place, which is to make one feel like something other than a human garbage disposal while stuffing one's face with artery-clogging fats. The sizzling beef was actually very good, tender and flavorful, and served on a bed of sautéed onions and peppers. But the "family sized" dish had only four bite-sized pieces of meat - not exactly impressive. The dish I was looking forward to the most was the Chinese fried chicken. But it came roasted, not fried! Misleading menu descriptors aside, it was decent but came out lukewarm, not hot. Service was pretty inattentive throughout. We had to ask for the check after waiting ~20 minutes. Although you'll find nothing deal-breaking here, absolutely nothing about this place is well-executed, either. Try someplace else.
(2)Jeff M.
I feel I have become a dim sum connoisseur over the past six years or so, trying at least seven different locations around Boston as well as Flushing, NY. Empire (Emperor's? They have some sort of identity crisis) Garden is on the cheaper side once you get your stamped bill back but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Service here is hit or miss but that isn't unlike other dim sum locations, depending on the crowds. What annoys me with EG is that I've been here after 1 PM on a weekday where maybe only 10 tables are filled and the carts are nonexistent or don't come back around often enough. I hate having to walk up to a cart to get what I want if I don't spot them heading my way after like 15 minutes but it's the only way I will get my shumai or tripe when I'm on a strict schedule at lunch. The food can be hit or miss, depending on the time of day, but at least it is always hot. For the more expensive items like clams in black bean sauce, you need to actually walk up and get them from a food counter on the right hand side of the restaurant. If you don't go that often, you'll never know this is the case as nobody ever says anything to you. The decor of EG takes the cake though and might be the only aspect of dining here that gets me to return other than the low(er) prices. It's in an old Boston theatre, probably at least 100 years old and I always imagine what plays took place there at the turn of the century on the stage. It's beautiful and the Chinese weddings that take place here must be great as well assuming the food is decent. Unfortunately, EG is just average when it comes to how they handle their dim sum runs each and every day and the comparisons of quality that surround it on the neighboring streets. My new go to place is actually in Malden but Chinatown does draw me in for its easy access when working downtown. I just can't bring myself back here all that often until their quality and service improves somewhat.
(3)Abhishek C.
probably the worst dim sum in Chinatown, Boston. I went there for lunch and the food was cold and stale and surprisingly overpriced for dim sum. The setting is interesting being that its in an old theater. Will never go there again. I recommend Hei La moon or China Pearl in Boston's Chinatown or New China Pearl in Woburn, MA if you're looking for good Chinese food especially dim sum. Stay away from this place.
(1)Steve X.
This place is a classic Dim Sum restaurant. I don't know what else to say. You will feel like you are in a holy church while eating, that is how I would describe the setting of this place. I mean this place is HUGE. Ceilings are ridiculously high and if there weren't so many people here, you would probably hear your echo. The food is just average and the service is also average. Typical, average, A-Ok, ordinary, standard, mediocre are words that come to my mind for this place. Nothing special.
(3)Kitty C.
This place is awful. I have been here a total of two times, and left disappointed on both occasions. The ladies always rush over to your table the second you sit down and don't bother to check up on you after. GO TO ANOTHER DIM SUM PLACE, I cannot stress this enough.
(1)Brad P.
My family arrived at Empire Garden at 4:00 PM on a Tuesday. We were the only customers in the restaurant, this is not a small place by any stretch by the way. We got a nice assortment of Dim Sum and regular menu items. They were all quite good. I was particularly impressed with the fried octopus. It had a light breading that was nice and crispy and the octopus was tender. It is tough to get octopus to be done but not bike tire tube chewy. The service on the other hand not so great. In case you missed it we were the only customers in the restaurant. It was a little annoying to have to work so hard to flag down our waiter in an empty restaurant. Atmosphere 5 - This place is cavernous and ornate. It looks to me like a vaudeville theater or an opera house in a previous life. Service 2 - I had to struggle to tear a waiter away from the dinner prep they were doing to come to the table. Cost/Value 3 - For what we got where we were eating the prices were reasonable. Food 5 - The dishes we had were all very skillfully prepared and tasty.
(4)Adam L.
Wanted to try out this dim sum place for quite some time. Heard this place was the biggest dimsum place in china town. This place use to be a theater I believe. Even though we sat at the very corner of the place, we were still able to get multiple rounds of the carts come to us, which is pretty nice. We came to eat Dim sum on Saturday at 1 which was not too crowded. The food were relatively average price. The Dishes were great. I feel like they have a wide selection of choices from just about any bun out there to ur typical sui mai and xiao long bao. If anything, they probably have more choices than any other dim sum place around china town. All the waiters are very nice, wasn't sure if it was because i was chinese, but they were all very generous and willing to help.
(4)Maria B.
The one star is indicative of the dim sum being good/cheap, and the drinks being cheap. BUT: The waitstaff is not very accommodating or attentive, and fairly rude sometimes as well. I ordered a scorpion bowl. It literally had DIRT floating in it when I got served so I asked for another. When they brought me a "new" one, it not only still had dirt in it, but there was a FLY floating in it. When my friend asked the waiter to bring me another one she asked, "Is this one going to have a fly in it too?" and the waiter said, no joke, "I don't know, maybe." :(
(1)Victoria H.
If you want to feel like you are dining in some place fancy but don't want to spend too much money! this is the place for you. the waiters are quick on their toes and they are polite as well. But let's take a moment and talk about the beautiful design in the resturant! It use to be a theater long time ago before it became a a wonderfull resturant. But the food was so mouthwatering it was ridiculous. The food was really a masterpiece. the flavor was intoxicting and the food would melt in your mouth. This is truly a place to go when you are in boston, it's truely chinatowns speical gem!
(5)Jessica S.
good place for a big group. lot of options on the carts and they come around often. custard buns are really good. good shrimp shumai and ribs too.
(4)Dennis L.
I was not specific enough with my issues with this place. Here are some of the issues I have encountered at the former Grand China: 1) For a Christmas banquet fundraiser, they put at every table... monogrammed green plates with palm trees from the defunct Tiki Hut that used to be near the Westgate Mall. 2) They use much smaller count shrimp/scallops and even then, use a smaller number of them in equivalent dishes compared to their competition. 3) They booked a wedding on top of a dinner I had booked when I called in to confirm a menu six weeks prior to the event without informing me of anything prior. 4) Count the number of fried dishes like sweet and sour (insert the blank), glutinous rice balls filled with condensed milk, and fried scallops at a banquet. 5) They served dessert to us at a banquet of jellies not on a plate, but on a chaffing dishes (without a base, just the pan put right in the middle of the table) 6) They served 'steak and lobster' by putting oven roasted lobster tails completely undressed and just thrown on a pan and roasted in the oven on a plate and steak was just massive slabs of london broil selected for seemingly quantity instead of quality, simmered to far past well-done and never finished in slab form, then cut and thrown on a plate as a slab, the au jus luke-warm on the side in a bowl with a spoon, not a garnish of any form on the plates 7) I can't find less durable silverware at a Building #19. 8) Green vegetables should have the ends and things like broccolli should have their leaves removed. Not the case here! 9) Walking between the tables requires stilts or a catapault. 10) Why does some of their china STILL say Grand China... more than a decade after the fact?
(1)Robert B.
Had the absolute worst Chinese meal here ever. 4 people felt ill before leaving the table. Avoid this place at all costs. Positive reviews here must be from family members.
(1)Jeff D.
Good dim sum, though nothing truly blew my socks off. We got there early (10:30) and got a seat right in the middle, which I'm sure helped us fill our table with dishes in about two minutes. It's almost 12 hours since I went and i'm still full.
(4)Lynne S.
I went to Emperor's Garden (or Empire Garden - depending on which sign you read) this afternoon for my first ever Dim Sum experience. After reading some of the reviews on here beforehand I was a little nervous about what to expect. I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. The actual restaurant was giant and beautiful in that old 50's extravagant sort of way. We were seated right away and the carts started going by immediately. We tried many different dishes but my favorites were the chinese brocoli, BBQ pork and a banana leaf stuffed with steamed rice and other yummy things! And as it is my motto to try everything once, I even tried a chickens foot! All in all it was a great meal! We ate so much and when the bill came, we were all shocked to find out we only owed $10 a piece! Needless to say, I'm a newly born Dim Sum fan! Xie xie Emperor Garden!
(4)Lily C.
I'm def slightly biased because the owner of the restaurant is a good family friend. In fact, he was my dad's partner at one point. But anyways...... + = pros - = cons + huge place, lots of tables + not usually a huge wait, if a wait at all + good selection of food + the little dim sum chicks are usually pretty good at getting stuff moving + kinda cool place..it's a renovated opera house FYI + fairly attentive staff + cheap dim sum + they've got take out + authentic dim sum/high tea hahaha - hate the bathrooms - parking sucks asshole - sometimes the food isn't totally fresh if they're not super busy & cooking fresh batches of food all the time - sometimes the waiters forget to refill water - carpet/floor can be kinda dirty (well dammit what do you expect with 80,000 asians in there at one time? haha) - will suck for caucasians or people who don't speak cantonese/mandarin.....they don't speak english well enough to accurately describe dim sum dishes. give em a break, most of em are illegal immigrants. hahahaha jkkkkk - i wouldn't recommend dinner here...not good
(4)Liz E.
Mmmmmmm, dim sum. They have really good food. Granted, they don't have quite the variety at EG that most dim sum places in NYC do, but this *is* Boston after all. I love their dumplings (shrimp and leek, yum) and those little pancake/shrimp/roll thingies. I also really like those sesame balls with bean stuff on the inside (lotus balls?) and the tofu pudding dessert stuff (Yeah, I don't know the names of anything. I grew up in Minnesota. All the food there is white and yellow.). I love that you can stuff yourself silly for $10 or less. So much fun with a group of friends!
(4)Walter G.
there's no justification for the four stars, i just like this place and can't figure out why. maybe it's because my friends and i had no intention of stopping in until we noticed the signs out front. exotic cocktails huh? don't mind if i do... maybe it's because the drink menu devotes more effort to accurately representing the specialty glass each drink is served in than telling you what's it in it e.g. "the zombie - two of these will knock you down!" with a spot-on picture of the glass that's shaped like a squatting tribal statue. TWO PLEASE! i was particularly amused at how pretty much all the drinks are $6.50 but vary WIDELY in size. i think two "headhunters" could easily fit into the scorpion bowl, and considering they both pretty much taste like strongly alcoholic pineapple juice, there's no question as to the best value. this is a plus in my book because getting drunk for cheap at emperor garden (i could've SWORN it was empire garden) is apparently something that you get better at with practice and i like improving. there was a bunch of other cool shit too - awesome huge dining room with old-timey decorations and singers (which we didn't get to sit in because of a wedding. SO disappointing); freemason logos on the waiter's notepad; cool back bar area; fake plants all along the ceiling perimeter; dragon wall sculpture that looks like it's gonna spring to life and rock your face off; a couple on an awkward date sitting right behind us... i can't wait to go back. p.s. - apparently, as of this posting, 19 people have said that there's no alcohol here which is patently incorrect. you have my solemn assurances that the exotic cocktails advertised on the sign exist and are worth the trip up the huge gallant staircase.
(4)Mike M.
I stopped in because I wanted to eat at the place I'm pretty sure was once the "Naked i" when this stretch of Washington St. comprised the heart of the Combat Zone. I'd been to the "I" several times but it's been a while. Anyway, I'm pretty sure the "I" was what is now the grocery downstairs. I was shunted to the back (perhaps I still smell like stripper perfume, cigarettes and beer) because there was a wedding going on in the cavernous former theater that houses this place. Service was good, the food was OK - typical Chinatown fare. The place is worth a visit to marvel at the decor which covers the towering walls and ceiling... and to listen for the echoes of "Mustang Sally" if you are so inclined.
(3)K D.
Cheap, tasty dim sum. Good for kids, not good for vegetarians. Fast but brusque service, English kinda hard to understand. You have to point at things on carts, but that's fun.
(4)Francine W.
actually, this place is much better than most nyc dimsum places ive eaten at. the shrimp is always so fresh and so big. my favs are har gow, chicken feet, small fried shrimp sticks, turnip cake, hom suey gok, and the sticky rice.
(5)John K.
Nothing special... Would not go back again.
(1)Keith W.
Built in an old theater, the dining room space is quite interesting... unfortunately so is the smell of old mothballs or something. Perhaps this place has good dim sum... however, given the dinner that I had there, I would find that hard to believe. Perhaps this is a known fact (since there were only 2 other tables with people there), but if it is, I feel I need to point out the fact that this is probably not a place for dinner, unless your idea of Chinese food is from a stand at the local county fair... I mean, not it's not even as high a quality as Panda Express.... and far from PF Chang's quality, which by the way I understand is not very authentic. The food was high in MSG, greasy, and had a somewhat strange taste to it. We had the Westlake Beef soup, which was probably the best dish, the sweet and sour shrimp, which was really a large ball of carnival style fried dough and shrimp, the cashew shrimp, which was made with frozen peas and carrots, and the salt and pepper pork chop, which tasted like it was refried from the previous day and had a strange aftertaste to it. Coming from Monterey Park, this is a far leap from restaurants, such as Ocean Star, NBC, Elite, etc... which I would say are 10x better and more authentic. Again, maybe dim sum is good here... I don't know, but from my dinner experience, I don't think I want to find out.
(2)Robyn G.
This place is not vegan friendly, at least for the dim sum.That being said, most of my friends like to go there for drinks and dim sum. The place operates out of a beautiful, old theater and the drinks are reasonably priced ($6-7 a cocktail). Also, they've got plenty of space for a large group of people, and it's not noisy or overcrowded. So we go there, I drink and have good conversation with groups of friends and I eat somewhere else.
(3)Kristina D.
Again, I am doing the default three stars until I embark upon an epic dim sum battle between Hei La Moon, China Pearl, Emperor's Garden, and Windsor. This week, the entire JQUS faculty and staff went here for a holiday lunch. We had: -scallion pancakes (were supposed to have, but they never came out :( -crab rangoon -shrimp dumplings -the yellowish dim sum thing which I can't recognize -beef with broccoli -chicken -shrimp with broccoli and other vegetables -vegetables -lo mein -fried rice -what I thought was a duck but other tablemates insisted was a chicken I would have given it four stars if one of the male teachers had eaten the chicken/duck head. He apparently did it last year but claims that he can't eat too many brains this year. Now I plot for a duck-head-eating scheme of 2009...
(3)wendy h.
We have eaten here for the last 5 years everytime we come into town. In the last couple of years this place has gone down hill. Maybe the don't care because they have the local business but, the dim sum has been just so so. it's time for us to try a new place. The last few times, it has not been fresh tasting. I love stuff taro root and it was for sure warmed up from the day before.. to bad. Again this review is for those who don't know better. In the past my family has really liked this place but, no more. I will move on.
(2)Allison B.
Empire Garden (or Emperor's Garden, whatever floats your boat) will always hold a special place in my heart as the place where I was introduced to dim sum, and also a roommate tradition (every Monday we had off from school, we'd go to dim sum). I've been to several other dim sum places--albeit in San Fransisco/Bay Area--but Empire Garden is by far my favorite. After eating in its grandiose ballroom (1 part tacky, 1 part awesome) and never paying over $10 per person, it seems nowhere else can really live up to it. The food is delicious. Sure, it's undoubtedly terrible for you, but delicious nonetheless. I've never tried anything off the big kid menu, but I doubt I'll ever even bother--I go here for the dim sum experience more than anything else. So, why minus 1 star? Like another Yelper mentioned, it's best to come here with someone who speaks Chinese, as the majority of the people who work here speak little English, and can't elaborate on many details of the foods outside of the type of meat. But once you've discovered your favorites, you can come on your own and be golden (they don't mind point-and-nod communication). Things to try (pardon my hideous phonetic attempt at Chinese): - siu mai (pork dumpling) - ha gow (shrimp dumpling) - cha siu bao (pork bun, steamed or fried) - guk po (chrysanthemum tea, i think) - these little fried triangular dumplings with chives and shrimp (my fave!) - chinese broccoli - coconut tapioca dessert - sesame lotus ball Things to watch out for: - Chicken feet - Overzealous stuffing of one's self
(4)Andrea H.
The best dim sum I've had in Boston or New York! There are lots of carts with all sorts of different tasty dishes. My favorites are the shrimp noodles, and anything else with rice noodles. You can get lots of food really quickly if you want, or take your time. The prices are low. The employees who push the carts are helpful, and often try to back with the item you wanted if they don't have it right then. Dinner here is good too, and it is usually almost empty at that time.
(5)Toodles K.
There is no mistaking the pink tablecloths... My friend and I ordered Moo Shi Pork (excellent), boiled white rice, and Kung Poe Chicken with Peanuts. There were corn, carrots, green peas and green beans in the KPC w/ Peanuts. WTF? Are you insane chefs at Emperor's Garden? Was there a sale on frozen veggies and you just HAD to put them in this dish where they do not ever belong? I ate it but... I wasn't thrilled. My friend's red cloth napkin had a stain on it. Other than that? Meh... Go to The New Shanghei around the corner instead. They never let ya down... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: The New Shanghei Neighborhood: Chinatown 21 Hudson St (between Beach St & Kneeland St) Boston, MA 02111 (617) 338-6688 newshanghaiboston.com
(3)Ashley J.
A date brought me here because it is where his family always goes for dim sum. No lines, nice open floor plan. People where actually really nice, but maybe that was because he was ordering in chinese haha. Anyway, it was nice to let someone order for me and tell me stories about how his grandma used to make this back in China and just get to try things I never would have ordered on my own. I like that the food is fresh and comes fast. We almost had too much but they let me take it home with me. Red Bean paste buns for later, Score. We had a great time and I would definitely recommend this place as an alternative to the bigger names around the corner.
(4)Elizabeth D.
This is where my dad wants to eat every time he visits. He says he will be happy if it's the only restaurant we go to while he's here. The dim sum is pretty good. I enjoy that they still come around with carts (vs ordering off a picture menu) even if it means I have to keep my eye out for the cart I want. They have my favorite dishes, so that alone keeps me happy. I've only been once for a non-dim sum meal. I shared crab rangoon and a Peking duck with my friend. I ordered a Scorpion bowl, she a mai tai. The drinks are cheap at $6, but they do not skimp on the alcohol. Those drinks were sta-rong! The crab rangoon was decent, not the best ever. The Peking duck was served differently than what I'm used to. The skin is served with the pancakes and scallions as normal, but the meat is stir fried with vegetables. I found this to be quite interesting but also quite tasty. I enjoyed adding the stir fry to my pancakes and felt less guilty since vegetables were involved. My friend, however, was convinced that, while delicious, it was a sneaky way to skimp on the meat and save some of the meat for other dishes... Conspiracy or not, it was a meal I enjoyed. We left full with satiated taste buds and leftovers too.
(4)Jim Z.
People come here for the food? My god, you guys, you should just come here for the rock bottom prices on drinks. Come on, a Scorpion Bowl is $6. A zombie is $6.50. Also I like to tell people that the place used to be a strip club, since it's, you know, across from Centerfolds and the Glass Slipper.
(4)Carlos R.
Service not good at all, the place is big and beautiful but is not a good restaurant that you expect, i ordered crab rangoons 1 star, not good, spicy squid 2 star it chewy like gum, service well they got a table for me and give water 1 star, food 1 star.
(1)Alex A.
Here speedy service here can be confused with pushy service. However the complex and grand design of the century-old building, especially the panted ceiling, makes the service here quite acceptable. Food here is far from the main draw, but is good nonetheless. Prices are dirt cheap, especially when ordering an all dim-sum meal, a very easy thing to do here.
(4)Lilo P.
the. best. pai gwut fan. ever. Pai gwut fan is the sole purpose of my Dim Sum excursions and Empire Garden has a really good one. Of course their other things are delectable as well. Their beef noodles, ha gou, and beef tripe are very nice as well. Setting is nice as well and the restaurant is very close to the subway.
(5)joe w.
I recommend the coconut gelatin, bean curd, sweet soft tofu, fried noodles and mushrooms, beef chow fun, sesame seed balls, hot water.
(4)R G.
*breaking news* I must be coming here too often lately because last time I was not given water or a fork! (and for the record, I am superwhite.) it was a proud moment. okay, we all know the deal with empire garden, right? it's not the absolute best dim sum ever, (I've only been for dim sum, and I've heard that's wise), but it does hit the spot. a few points to be made: - I've always been seated immediately, even when the dining room looks impossibly crowded. I've never detected attitude for taking up a four top as a party of two. - the atmosphere is fun. it's an old converted theatre. awesome. - everything I've had has been hot and tasted fresh. the quality is very consistent. (I've always arrived before noon.) your meal will be heavy on the carbs and you will likely go into a food coma when you are done. vegetables can be hard to find. - most of the cart ladies speak very limited english. this is not a vegetarian/vegan friendly place. or a friendly place for anyone with allergies/dietary restrictions. or if you must absolutely know what you're eating. most of the ladies are very friendly, though, and don't mind pointing. - you will not know what your bill says (unless maybe you read chinese and know their stamps). deal with it. it's really cheap. - it's best to go with a small group (too large and you have to double up on many dishes) so you can get variety. - only thing I would definitely avoid is the turnip cakes. they were mushy and greasy.
(3)David V.
OK, we have not been back to this restaurant, so we do not have an update based on our experiences. However, I spoke with a friend recently, and she informed me that she used to eat at this place frequently, until she found dead flies in her soy sauce during a Sunday brunch. Although we did not encounter any problems, we have to take this information seriously, and for that we will not return.
(1)JARED D.
I go to this restaurant at least once a month. I thought it was called the Royal Palace for so long that I never get the name right, so if I say I'm at The Royal Palace, The Royal Garden, The Emperor's Palace, The Emperor's Royal Palace, The Palace Garden, or The Emperor's Royal Palace Garden, I'm actually talking about Empire Garden. Every time I go here its to drink "Exotic Cocktails" that are advertised on the big red sign out in front of the restaurant. I let my buddy order the food, because he's a picky eater. We got the pigeon wings, the cat on a stick, and some other standard Chinese restaurant fare. Service was prompt, and everything was delicious. The main reason I'm such a fan of this place is the Suffering Bastards. Its a lovely rum concoction with a little umbrella served in a tiki glass. They taste great, but we really only drink them because of the irony. Two suffering bastards drinking Suffering Bastards. Another reason I frequent this establishment is it's close proximity to Centerfolds Lounge, making it very easy to talk my friend into going in there afterwards. He has agoraphobia so I need to use these tactics or he would never leave his house. It sounds underhanded and sneaky, because it is, but I'm doing him a favor by helping him overcome his phobia. All and all this place is a hit. The dining area is interesting and the people that work there are friendly and fun. Stop in for a few drinks before you hit the strip club and save some cash.
(4)Julie H.
I've been to Hei La Moon and China Pearl several times, and decided to try something new. A friend recommended Empire Garden, so off we went. It looks fairly small and innocuous from the outside, but once you go up the stairs and enter into the main dining area, it is actually a pretty big theater with high ceilings and blue painted walls. This was a nice change from other places where you're literally sitting arm-to-arm with the person at the next table over. The food itself was okay, but not remarkable. All the servers came around frequently with their carts, and they could actually speak mediocre English, which is a plus. However, we waited quite some time for the check. When it finally came, we paid with cash, but the host wouldn't let us leave until he counted every single bill. He then got mad at us because we only tipped 15% given that it was Chinese New Year. He didn't simply ask us to give one more dollar or two. Instead, he wouldn't let us leave until we paid more tip, and then acerbically INSULTED us by asking whether or not we had come from mainland China and didn't understand the concept of tipping. He then just stood there and yelled to the other waiters about how ridiculous overseas Chinese people are. First of all, way to make the incorrect assumption that my friends and I are FOBs. Second of all, I'm not sure what his stereotypes and vendettas are, but his actions were outright rude and unprofessional, and no way to talk to your patrons.
(2)J B.
My friend brought me here a few weeks ago. The interior is like an old theater/opera house, it is pretty neat. Wasn't too pricey, He was able to get 'the best chicken feet in town', and I was able to find some suitable veg options. Good service as well. I'll go back.
(4)Yuri C.
Nice and very cheap ! I was surprised with the size of the restaurant. It was Huge !! Foods were really good. I loved yellow cake and shrimp dim sum ! I have no idea what it should be tasted. you know, food tastes different from original taste, but whatever, all foods were fantastic. I and my friend ate a lot. Both very full. But we paid like $25 inc. tip .. I can tell we were very full and satisfied with foods , so I believe it was a well spend :) Crews were all very sweet and kind. I will definitely go there again :)
(5)Shih-Hao H.
Th food is quite nice and price is also reasonable. Nice place for people who love dim sum.
(4)Julie T.
The waiter was extremely rude. I went there for dim sum, and the food wasn't at all anything like the reviews. I've had some pretty great dim sum before, and this definetly wasn't it.
(1)Rita K.
My friend and I walked into this restaurant around 5:30/6. A bit early for dinner, but not incredibly so. The place was huge and only one table was filled- generally a bad sign, but we gave it a shot. Sat down and began perusing the menu. Less than 5 minutes after we sat down, the waiter came by asking if we were ready to order. We weren't. He proceeded to hover around the table. He came back 2 more times before we finally were actually ready to order. He took our order, brought it, and continued to linger around our table while we were eating. And I don't mean he came by often asking how things were (he didn't), rather, he stood about 5 feet away and watched. Eventually he left us to go linger around another table- right as we were finishing up our meal. So, after having an uncomfortable meal because the waiter wouldn't leave us alone, we ended up waiting 25 minutes for him to finally come back for us to ask for our bill. As for the food itself? I got the squid in shrimp sauce, which it turns out is a lot of onions and a couple of pieces of squid. The sauce was decent, though. My friend got the Buddha Delight (one of the few vegetarian options). It was horrendous. I am likely one of the least picky eaters you will ever find and I couldn't eat more than a bite of it. My friend, who was starving before we came in, couldn't even get through half of the meal. The price is about average ($10-15 for a dinner entree) and you can find the same food so many other places around the same area, I would not recommend coming here.
(2)David H.
Very good dim sum! The place was huge for being in the middle of Chinatown. The restaurant is in an old theater apparently. It took about 20 minutes to get seated on a Sunday for lunch. They didn't have anywhere to sit while you waited except for a few chairs. The food was incredible and fresh though!
(5)Joey E.
I absolutely loved this place. It's an old opera/theater house that was turned into restaurant. A very grandiose feel from walking up the stairs all the way until you are seated. The staff was friendly and prompt with service. Food came out fast and was excellent!
(5)Ashley M.
so yummy... so cheap... so very far apart from the people you're sitting with - the tables are enormous - i felt like i was doing that funny shouting-whispering thing to be heard. but hey who really needs to talk when there's so much good food to eat?
(4)krystle j.
good chinese food, always busy, no lack of cart-pushing so i was happy
(4)Ame k.
their dim sum not so bad.
(4)Betty P.
I've never been here for dimsum because frankly this place is dark, dingy, and depressing and I would never choose to come here on my own. One time, a friend's parent was in town (a fellow Chinese restaurateur) and we walked in there and we walked back out upon her request. It took about 10 minutes for us to just get glasses of water and after 10 minutes, nary a dimsum cart in sight so we bolted. I have been to two wedding banquets here and you would think they would at least vacuum before the festivities. We walked up the winding staircase and there are dustballs and crap on the main landing. Ewww. The place just always seems dirty and the fixtures/carpet old. The decorative ceiling is nice, but that is about the draw of this place to me. If you want a place with nice ceilings and good dimsum, Linden Place in Flushing is much better. Anyhow, the food at both wedding banquets was mediocre. I mean, I have been to a couple dozen of them in Boston and NYC and I always cringe when I hear it's gonna be at EG. The cold plate, the fried rice, and the vegetarian dish were the only 3 courses out of 10 that tickled my palate. That's not a very good ratio in my opinion. Oh and I guess the crab rangoon during the reception were decent too. I was assisting my friends with the wedding and we had to constantly ask for the servers to bring out the food on time. Our table's dedicated server was particularly rude, just plopping the dishes on the table and splashing sauce everywhere. We asked him for glasses of ice water since they didn't have any water on the table and he nodded, but we never did get any water. It's like the theme of this place. They also dragged bags of garbage and rolled out carts of dirty plates out during the banquet which seems really rude/weird to me. They also messed up on several requests from the bride and groom which I won't go into or I would be writing a novel. I guess I know where I WON'T be going when I get married. PS We were calling it Empire Garden too but lo and behold we get there and the sign DOES say Emperor's Garden.
(2)Stella K.
I've only had dim sum a handful of times so I'm no expert as to what the best dishes are. The roast pork buns were a bit on the sweeter side (not too fond of that) but the turnip cakes were surprisingly really good! The dishes didn't leave a lasting impression, hence the 3 stars. Thank goodness that we had someone with us who could speak a bit of cantonese. If you go without someone who can speak the language, good luck.
(3)Cheryl C.
Pretty good dim sum. The wait was long but worth it. I can see why it was so crowded. Isn't too expensive too - for 2 hungry people, the bill came up to be $27. Didn't have taro balls though which was a tad disappointing. Their cheong fun was good and their view mai and har gow were typical. Pork ribs were better than most places. All in all I would highly recommend this place. Be prepared to wait though if you head in during busy brunch hours.
(5)Lawrence O.
The food here is good but the service is not. We went there on a weekday around 1:30pm. Our waiter had a lot of free time but he just slacked off and talked to his friends/customers. Every time we wanted something we would have to raise our hands to catch their attention. And even when our waiter saw us raising our hands he would first go to another table or take his sweet time finishing his other chores then take care of us. He just kept avoiding our table. Then when we go pay the bill the stupid waiter comes up to us and asks, "You paid in the front right? Where's the tip?" We say we will pay it once we leave and he goes "You have to pay the tip on the table." That was extremely rude because we weren't planning to leave till 10 mins later to enjoy more tea. We sat there for a little more until another waiter kept staring at up while he was cleaning the table across from us. What kind of service is that? We left them $2 for tip but really they deserve $0. They also charge $.50 each person for tea and even tax. You won't get charged for that at other restaurants [in NYC] so we should have a choice to give tip or not. If you want to go somewhere with good waiters and service this is not the place for you.
(2)Adam L.
I love this place. Every time I go to Boston I try to hit this place up for dim sum. It always packed when I go on Saturday or Sunday. I have been with small groups of 3 and huge groups of 20. When we had the huge group, we had some people order off the menu and it took a bit of time for them to get there food. They were craving food as we were demolishing the dim sum. That's what they get! Food is always decent and warm. The owners (or older people who run it.) always come up to the table to chit chat. Tea always stays full and the water is always topped off. The setting is pretty awesome too. I like the old theater look.
(4)Kyle D.
This is an interesting restaurant. There are plenty of tables and seats since it looks like a converted ballroom. The menu has a nice variety and good portions. The prices are decent and the service is friendly. But sometimes they do not know what they are doing. For example, if you go there and ask for something like the shrimp wrap every time you visit, they act like they do not know what you are talking about and they act like they do not have it on the menu. This has happened many times. It is almost funny. However, you should give this place a try, but don't feel guilty if you are tempted to leave a small tip.
(3)Selina n.
I loved the old theatre, but the food wasn't worth the price. It was just a nice place to sit and enjoy the room but not so much the food. It was okay but just okay. The price was a little high for the quality of food.
(3)Doris T.
If you don't like dim sum in general, then you've got a problem. But for people who like to go on dim sum dates with a huge of group of friends then this is the place for you. The food here is quite good and the waiters are also quite friendly compared to some of the other places I have been to. I am probably not a very good judge of dumplings (I will eat almost any you give me) but I still think that the ones I tried here were quite delicious. Of course, it helped a lot that we were with a bunch of Chinese friends who could interpret for us and help people like me who have dietary restrictions. The best of all is that this place is not expensive at all and you come out feeling stuffed! Personally, I like the steamed stuff better than the fried ones but they have a big collection anyway. Of course, the larger your group, the cheaper it is and the more fun it is.
(4)Daigo F.
Very cool setting and not as crazy busy at other places (like HLM) so we were able to sit around and talk for a while (was Saturday, so Sunday maybe a different story). Food wasn't bad.
(4)Emma H.
This is my favortie place to go for dim sum in Boston. The food is delicious and very reasonably priced. Myself and two friends went last weekend, ate too much, and it was still only $20.10 total. It's inside of an old theater which makes for a very interesting atmosphere. Don't expect super warm service, but everyone is nice enough and the service is incredibly fast. I don't speak a word of Chinese and the wait staff and I manage just fine with points and smiles. Even during peak dim sum times I've never had to wait for a table. Great alternative to weekend brunch!
(4)Sasha C.
we came based off a recommendation that this was the best dimsum in town. i do enjoy the fact that the place had charm, lots of it. that's my style of dimsum restaurants. the bigger and grander the better. it isnt as big as you'd think but it will do. we got here early thinking we'll have to wait on line and fight for a table (nyc style) but it was pretty easy. we were seated but didnt like our seat so asked to move. that's when we were first given an attitude. WHY are you giving us an attitude because we want to sit elsewhere?? its not like ther was anyone else sititng there so what's the big deal? either way, we ignored the lady's wishes and sat there ourselves anyway. what are you going to do kick us out? so she goes and grabs the main lady who claimed to be some manager and made up some lame excuse like oh.. you have to spend X amount of dollars. and we said ok whatever. and sat back down. the carts came and the dimsum was decent, nothing out of the world. it was your average dimsum food. never again, not worth the attitude and stupidity. go elsewhere!
(3)Diane H.
It's called Emperor's Garden!! Anyways this used to be my favorite dimsum place, but due to lack of parking in chinatown, I go to China Pearl in quincy more. But i came back recently to eat there and it was pretty good. TOok a while for a cart to come by..they always seem go EVERYWHERE but where I am..but once they come, they all come! Food was soo yummy I lovee eating there! Haha, Good food, good price! Though I was seated in back so it's a hassle to go to bathroom, but it's fine. Decor is nice. Waiter's usually very nice :)
(3)Juggy W.
I would like to point out that the photo of this place is not accurate... the photo is the hong kong eatery... not empire garden. this place is kinda nasty... just like most dim sum places in chinatown... the price is average but the wait staff is not only rude... but scum bags. too summarize how i got screwed: - there was a long line but the host's friends (like 10 of them) got to jump the line and get tables before us... not that i was surprised. - we told the waitor twice that we do NOT want the tea yet still got charged for tea (without tea being delivered to my table either). - some carts never went by us so we had to go out of our way to get them. - this dish that we wanted was in a cart not far from us... we asked the waitress to bring it over to us (it was too hot) and we waited for 30 min and it still wasnt on our table.... but when she saw the manager counting the stamps for the check, she rushed over and gave it to us knowing that we were DONE with the meal and the manager immediately added it to the bill. i left with $0 tip and packed the last dish home.
(2)Kev H.
Okay, this place has some fantastic cooks, I used to come here ona weekly basis with my family, but those outings have diminished due to me having to work and what not, but the beef stomach and the dry fried beef noodles have always been close to my heart along with the calories.
(4)Crystal L.
Had dim sum here and being it's the first time having dim sum in Boston, it wasn't bad. I was expecting it to be bad compare to CA. There are a few dishes that wasn't good. Their turnip cake and tofu fa was nothing CA let alone HK.
(3)Tess B.
I fully confess that I am by no means a dim sum expert, but the ambiance here is great, the food is cheap and tasty, and I love the dining room so much. It's like eating in an opera house. It's huge, so you can usually get a table. Warning: vegetarian options are few and far between, although they claim they can have more for you if you ask in advance.
(4)Coren D.
I've eaten at Empire Garden for dim sum about a dozen times and always am satisfied with the experience. The food selection is your standard dim sum offerings. Har gaw (shrimp dumplings) contain generous chunks of shrimp and garlic, though the wrapper is a bit thick and dense. Char siu bao (steamed BBQ pork buns) are light and fluffy with sweet meaty filling, but could use a bit more meat. Shui mei were BIG, more than a mouthful of ground pork, shrimp and black mushrooms. Jin dui (fried sesame balls) were served piping hot, crisp and filled with the sweet hot lava bean paste. Silken tofu is served hot with sweet ginger syrup. At the side buffet table, I always get a plate of the salt and pepper shrimp with the heads on. I recommend eating them head to tail, shell and all. I only wish they put more garlic and chili peppers in them. Like most dim sum, this place is cheap. Expect to spend $10 per person to get stuffed, and extra for drinks. $6 for a strong maitai makes the meal complete. Overall, not the greatest dim sum I've had, but certainly a solid go to place.
(3)D M.
This is my favorite dim sum place in Boston. Hands down. I've been to quite a few, and this one is the best in my book. I have spent many holidays here after nights out seeing drag queens (you haven't lived until you've seen a drag show on Christmas Eve) with various friends. The decor is kinda nuts, as this place was a former proper theatre, and then I believe it was a dirty one after that. Now they serve lots of shumai and dumplings there on carts! It is a huge place and gets pretty full on the weekends, to the point that it can take a while for carts to come your way, so make sure to load up when they do. They also serve standard Chinese dishes there, if you're not in a dim sum sort of mood. Jesse and I went here today after seeing a couple of movies, and we had mainly dumplings and shumai. He reminded me that we went there after we first started dated, which was funny to think about. The highlights of this visit were the shrimp shumai, a pork dumpling that was served with a vinegary ginger sauce, some sort of meat balls that were delicious (and yes, I made lots of ball jokes), a really interesting taro root and cilantro dumpling with pork, and pork buns that they made on our request. You always get a big pot of tea and water. If you don't see something you want on the carts, just ask....they are always very accommodating. Vegetarians, beware.....there's meat in pretty much all dim sum here.
(5)Lydia K.
Well, the business card I picked up at the restaurant said Empire Garden, but this is the same place for sure, so here is my review: WOW, dim sum in Boston, how exciting! And what a venue! I couldn't believe they allowed a restaurant in such a historic and goregeous old theater... a shame and yet cool at the same time... I'll eat there! The prices were great, a bit cheaper than the CA places I have been in SF and Sacramento... the quality, not as great, but I ain't complaining since I got to eat dim sum so far from home...! I did like the cheaper prices. I thought the staff were friendly enough... but we came late in the lunch hour and after we picked our initial items off the cart, we waited 20 or so minutes and they wouldn't come back.... I guess they thought we ordered enough... well, no.... there is no limit for dim sum people! I walked over and asked for more and they were overly compliant! Thank you for that....! I will come back to this place every time I visit Boston! And, next time I will also check out the other dim some places as well! Thank you Boston, Mass!
(4)Brenden L.
While I enjoy the dim sum at China Pearl better, this place is a very close second and I like it better overall because the items on the actual menu are as good as the dim sum. The spicy chicken with broccoli is delicious and you will not be able to eat it in one sitting which is always a plus because Chinese food stays good for like 9 years. The dining room is gaudy but beautiful in its own way. It used to be a theatre back in the day.
(5)Sandra C.
I generally rotate between a few good restaurants in Chinatown for Dim Sum. China Pearl, Chau Chow City, and Empire Garden. They each have their perks and are better at certain dishes than others. I think most believe that China Pearl is the best for dim sum, though I like Empire Garden for it's spaciousness. It's a pretty impressive place to take people as it used to be a giant theater house. Not as cramped as most other restaurants in Chinatown.
(5)Melissa A.
After walking up and down Washington Street a few times, looking for a place called Golden Palace, my mom finally tells me it's Empire or Imperial something. Well, that narrows it down. This place was very unassuming from the outside and only after you hike up the stairs, you realize what you're in for. Heck, I had been out drinking heavily the night before but my mom insisted on having dim sum with her husband, me and my boyfriend, her old friend from Vietnam and her husband on Easter Sunday. We were seated and through a flurry of waves from someone at my table, my boyfriend and I got forks and waters, but no one else did. Strange. I'm not sure what is so non-Asian about drinking water but whatever. Aside: this is not a good place to go hungover. The large room with tons of people making that dull crowd sound [rhubarb-rhubarb-rhubarb] and food you don't know made me nauseous. Making nicey-nice with company also made me nauseous. The few bits I could stomach were okay. But those dang chopsticks were so slippery, I could barely hold anything. The sticky rice with sausage was one of my favorites. There was some sort of pod with what tasted like peanut butter that was good, but in general, the only reason to go here is for the fact that it's a dim sum place and that's it. Also, the total bill was $57 for 6 of us. And if you're vegetarian or have allergies, make sure everyone understands this. My boyfriend can't eat shellfish and after telling my mom several times that, "No, it's not that I don't WANT to eat it, it's that I CAN'T." So, we leave with his throat slowly closing up, my stomach starting to shrink, and my mom ducking out of town with no clue I barfed shortly thereafter and ate a bunch of cheese fries. I make her proud.
(3)Dave L.
Empire Garden serves a solid round of dim sum. There are carts flying around with lots of different types of food. The food ranges from the relatively tame (Sticky Rice) to food only for the brave (Chicken Feet). A seemingly good way to judge Asian restaurants is to estimate the percentage of asian patrons. For example, if you walk into a sketchy take-out place and see a bunch of college kids, you will probably be disappointed. Empire Garden passes this test, with almost all Asians. From a non-asian's perspective, I would say these dishes are pretty "safe" for someone trying Dim Sum for the first time: - Sticky Rice. Comes with peanuts, meet, and veggies. Pretty tasty! - Char siu baau. Comes both steamed and baked. Pork dumplings - Bok Choy. Leafy vegetable..comes with Oyster sauce. - Turnip Cake. It's actually made with radish. Pretty good, comes with a sweet sauce. - Shrimp Dumpling. Pretty basic..just a dumpling with shrimp inside. For two people, the total for us has been in the $20-25 range.
(4)Rick K.
Great dim sum and cool looking space. The food was tasty and was authentic. I'm use to San Francisco and Los Angeles chinatown food. But this was pretty good!
(3)Space O.
I have no problems with this place - I stumbled upon it about 3 years ago and have eaten here 5-6 times. We ate there again on a recent Saturday at about 1 PM. This place reminds me of a Hong Kong dim sum restaurant: big, always crowded, reasonable prices. Waitstaff is friendly. Never a long wait. For those who are interested, the restaurant is in an old theatre in the former Combat Zone.
(4)Rich F.
While this place is a a great deal, I still prefer the Dim Sum places in San Fran or Seattle. As you enter the once giant movie theater on the second floor you notice that (assuming you are like me... white, white, so white I am a little red) you are maybe one of 2-3 non-Asians in the room. Good sign so far. Once you get to your table, you notice the cheap pink table cloth with years of ground in Dim Sum stains and the classic metal framed/vinyl diner chairs. As you wait for the first cart to meander by you notice the details of the place. European architecture details around the theater now painted over with bright colors and the flat spaces all covered up with murals of dragons and quaint Chinese painting. The first cart pulls up and the woman looks over your shoulder as she says something really fast and removes the lid to show you her goods. You realize after asking for clarification that she does not speak English. Sure, what the hell. I will try whatever you are showing me. You repeat this several times and most of time you are in luck and get a tasty Dim Sum treat. Sometimes you get the bread pieces wrapped in flat rice noodles that have almost no taste. It is a mystery and that is why Dim Sum is so good. I almost feel bad for the people who go to this place and can speak the language. You eat until you are almost too full and grab the ticket and hold it up for the human abacus to add up for you. You sip your 10th cup of hot tea and wait for the damage..... $16 !!!! It is the total package. Mystery, excitement, food, and it is cheap as all hell.
(4)Rachel G.
one of the best dim sum places in boston. always a fun time!
(4)L C.
It seems that many old, grand, historically rich buildings in Boston are now home to quite ordinary businesses... the Ruth Chris... a Borders... and this dim sum place. We had a long wait this weekend in the dingy red carpeted lobby, but finally entered the converted theater and felt like we were in a scene in Titanic. The room is truly breathtaking, with dramatic domed ceilings and murals. The dim sum is less breathtaking, definitely a solid 3 stars. Because of the sheer size of the room (ENORMOUS), the dim sum was slow in coming and they must make stuff in waves so our desperate search for roasted pork buns went unanswered until after we had paid. The Chinese broccoli, custard buns, and shrimp dumplings were good. In total, we had about 5 dishes for only $15, which was quite a bargain, though we didn't get exactly what we wanted. Also, I really didn't need to see a girl getting her nipples rubbed by a guy in a bear suit while I was eating my custard bun.
(3)Mark A.
Go here for amazing, affordable, authentic Chinese food. Very very difficult to find in Boston.
(5)Lily F.
To begin, I'm a bit biased because I have an allergy to all nuts (except almonds) and shellfish... What I had: -Pork bun: delicious! I'm a bun fan (loooove red bean esp.) to begin with so these were delicious. -bbqed pork dumpling: I ate about four of them...not only because they were good but also due to the fact that I felt my options were a little limited. -spare ribs: the meat was good but the little bones were not very appetizing to say the least. If you can get over spitting out little bits of bone onto your plate you'll probably be fine! -chinese broccoli: steamed to perfection in a nice brown sauce...really good & simple. -rice soup: light flavor that included cut up meat in the soup with chives. Very filling. I thought the restaurant itself was the coolest aspect of this experience. The interior is creepy in a fun way, and as I was eating I couldn't help but look around at the crazy murals and large groups of families eating alongside me.
(3)Lindley E.
I've had very good experiences here with dim sum on saturday and sunday mornings...and on christmas! Between the carts and the buffet (you can bring your card up and they will give you a small bowl or plate of clams in black bean sauce, calamari, salt and pepper shrimp, or a couple other items) there's tons of variety and it is pretty tasty, too. If you know your way around dim sum, you will find things here that you really like. If you are new, you may find it a little challenging, unless you don't mind not knowing what you are eating. Good Har Gau. And yeah, don't bother coming here for other meals. You'll wish you'd never set foot in the place.
(4)Noel F.
Excellent dim sum. Be adventurous- try the jellyfish! My husband loves the stomach and the chicken feet, I prefer the spare ribs, shu mai and the red bean paste pastries.
(4)Darbar '.
Dim sum on a weeknight at about 8:30. It was like eating dim sum in an alternate universe. The exact opposite of the weekend brunch crush. Everything is totally relaxed. You're in a cavernous converted theater with maybe 4-5 other parties scattered around. Nobody trying to hurry your table for the next people in line, and no carts trying to push food at you. You call a waiter when you feel like it, and order at your own pace. It's very quiet, but you can be happy without disturbing the peace because everyone's voices dissipates into the open space. It's almost like you're outdoors. So get yourself some of the tiki drinks, and pretend you're having dim sum on a tropical island. As Liz pointed out, taking someone here on a date might be a bad idea. What was relaxing for the 10 of us could be awkward for 2. The dim sum itself was mostly the usual items, solidly done. I haven't had anything much better in Boston.
(4)SpecialAgent D.
Liked it enough to go back. What I like most about it is that you can do Dim Sum for dinner. A lot of other places stop serving Dim Sum around 2 or 3, but they have it till 10. I love the atmosphere, it is pretty cool to eat in an old opera house. The staff was friendly both times I went. And the drinks....staaarong!!!! Warning!!!! Will definetely go back again.
(3)Laura R.
As a pescatarian and non-Mandarin speaker (going to dim sum with three other non-Mandarin speakers), I was worried that there would be very little for me to eat, and that I would get lots of accidental servings of pork. However, there was an abundance of delicious vegetarian and fish-containing (usually shrimp) dishes for me to enjoy, and the waitstaff could generally identify the main ingredients of everything - so there was a very low risk of eating pork I didn't plan on eating. The building itself is beautiful, the food is tasty, and the price is right! Try the "shrimp noodles with fire," cooked in front of you on a cart and served with hoisin sauce, and the glutinous rice balls with sesame seeds, which are sticky and sweet (and delicious!). I'll definitely go back again.
(4)Julia C.
come here if you want rude service and shumai that will make you so sick that you cannot take the T back home. the server was very rude and refused to accommodate the fact that i cannot eat black mushroom, and served it to me anyways. when i protested and reminded him, he snatched the dish off the table, left, came back, practically threw down the replacement dish on the table and stalked off. other non-shumai dishes were not particularly good, either. PLEASE go to hei la moon for a much better experience!
(1)Imani H.
It felt good to enter back in time when i went to Emperor's garden. The restaurant was once a theater ( just like the opera house and the wang theater). I went out with my mom last night and i have to say, this place know how to treat their customers. My mom loved the orange beef with stuff crab claws, and some delightful fried jumbo shrimp. ( and i do mean jumbo) This place is really nice. the place was very big and beautiful. I suggest people to go to this delightful place ( but do go after Dim_sum. If gets very crowded). I love this place a lot. I will defiantly come back to this place some times soon.
(5)Aretha B.
This place is weird. you walk up this grandiose staircase... there are these dilapidated murals on the way up. You get to the top and there is this massive banquet area to the left, with like 2 people sitting in it. (or a wedding party, depending on the night). You can get seated at the other floor upstairs though, and it's just like your average chinese place. They have the assortment of chinese restaurant drinks like mai tai, fog cutter, suffering bastard, etc... and they come out strong. Of the things I've eaten there, I have to give big ups to the general gao's chicken. It's among the top three best I've had in my life, and *trust me* I've eaten a lot of general gao chicken. I'd try it at least once to see what you think. Good choice before a movie or after getting extremely baked.
(3)Jeremy F.
I thought this place was pretty cool inside. Food was stereotypical chinese-esque, but in terms of bizarro atmosphere i give them an A+
(3)Francis W.
For boston, this is pretty good dim sum. For CA standards, eh. The ambience is unique and memorable, since it is an old theater. Fun times!
(4)Jesse R.
I haven't been to many dim sum places at all, so its hard for me to compare at this point, but in general I had a great experience. I came here with a party of 7 and we had great service and it was extremely affordable. The place is set in an old stage theatre, so the setting is really cool but kind of strange. Its a huge place, which would seem awkward if the place was dead, but they really bring in the customers, both Chinese and Caucasian. There is a regular menu if you're not in the mood for dim sum, but dim sum is there thing and service might suffer if you order a regular style meal. I would come here again, its fun with a group of people and its great to try so many different foods.
(4)Kristine M.
I think their dim sum is quite good. Good seafood. Great calamari. Love their shu mai. It's kind of a cool interior...an old theater. I've never had a super long wait, because the restaurant is so huge. It also consistently has the best service of any place I've been for dim sum. They're attentive with the water and tea.
(5)Jesse N.
I really wish I had seen the reviews here before passing by, so that I could have warned my friends before we went in on a whim. I am so sick. I even took pictures of the nasty food. So gross. Stay away, if you don't read the rest of this review, just stay away for your own health!!! But let's see... 4 friends and I went into the Empire Garden Restaurant, located at 690-698 Washington Street (China Town) in Boston, MA today at around :3:30pm. Now, the stairwell of this place stunk to the hight heavens. Just like we'd walked into a dumpster. I thought it wise to leave, but the rest seemed to figure that it was just outside, so we went up. When they came over to take our order, they seemed a bit confused when asked if chicken wings could be substituted in for chicken fingers, but finally got it. Now, I was ordering the SAME THING as one of my friends- the same substitution, and a simple one at that, and I had the same trouble with them being "confused" as she did. Finally, orders were placed. They brought over tea and water. There were five of us, and the tea was not enough to go around, and seemed mysteriously weak. When the food arrived, they couldn't even remember whose food was whose (there were only two other people in the entire restaurant and about eight people "working") and upon looking at the "eggrolls" that came with my meal, I was not pleased, as they looked questionable. Upon taking on bite, I was disgusted. It was vile. The "friend shrimp" wasn't good either, and were basically the tiniest things I've ever seen, with tons of greasy disgusting breading on it. The chicken wings were somehow a cross between dry and greasy. I had a taste of one friends beef and broccoli, and the broccoli was nearly impossible to bite and the beef was... spongey. Now, since we were not given enough tea in the first place, one of us had taken the bag out and the lid off to signal that we needed more. That didn't work, so we flat out asked for it. So the guy takes the pot and goes away. He comes back and slams it on the table, and one us us goes to pour some, and a clear liquid comes out of the pot... Water... THEY WERE GOING TO RE-USE THE DAMN TEABAG! Being just after 4:20pm, we joked that they must have been smoking the good stuff to think that they were any sort of good establishment. Dude comes back over, and was informed that there was no teabag in the pot. He said "Okay!" and left. He didn't bring a tea bag, a new teapot...nothing. They'd started off refilling water glasses fairly regularly, but took no shame in simply shoving shoulders/heads if they were in their way. Then they decided to just leave the pitcher on the table by way of shoving my shoulder and slamming the pitcher down. One friend decided to bring her rice with her, and when they wrapped it up, they gave it to me, even though I was on the other side of the large table. We had to ask for the check, even though we'd already had said food wrapped. Then we were going through, putting in our portions and discussing how much of a tip to NOT give and why. Now, we OBVIOUSLY had cash in plain view and the guy comes over and takes the black money holder thing out from under his arm and said "all set?" and we all said "NO" and he said "Oh okay" and walked away. Now, one of the five of us felt bad about not leaving a tip. My 2 bites cost me $8.95 and with tax that would come out to $9.39. I gave $10 as to not stiff my friends, but there was no way in hell that I was going to give any more than that. I don't know how much of a tip the guy actually got, but when we were leaving he made quite the face of distaste about it. I don't know if we were charged for the tea, It was brought automatically without us being asked if we wanted it, so I didn't even know it was possible to be charged for it until reading another review that mentioned it,but obviously given what I've told you about the tea situation, if we were charged, I am even more disgusted now. I am honestly wondering if bacteria from an already-re-used teabag is why I am so ill right now. Since getting home, I have thrown up several times, and I have lost consciousness. This place needs to be shut down. First I thought that it was just bad food and terrible service... now I think it is a public health risk. If I had a way to get to the hospital, I'd go. I am going to post this as many places as I can think of, and I am going to find the number for the health commission in the morning.
(1)David C.
I have been here many times for dim sum and it is a popular place for it. This place gets packed every weekend for the morning dim sum rush, come take a ticket and stand in line. If you get here too early there isn't much of a line but there isn't much food either. Come here later around 1:30 pm then the place is clearing out, because dim sum ends around 2:30. They have the usuals, shrimp dumplings, meat dumplings, spare ribs, chicken feet, but what is nice is they have the cart with rolled noodles and turnip cake and they fry it to order at table side. They also have servings of BBQ meats and a full cart of pastries. The place is nothing amazing, but it isn't bad. It is nice to go with a friend or in a big group for dim sum, but it is very dead for dinner.
(3)Henry P.
Looking for a place to satisfy your dim sum cravings? You've been around and about all over Boston's Chinatown but seeking a unique dining experience to enjoy those tiny tasty morsels of greasy goodness? Look no further! Empire Garden was formally a opera theater that had been renovated into a delicious dim sum restaurant. Looking to impress friends from out of town? Bringing that someone special to enjoy dim sum at distinct dining experience? By all means do come down. Like other dim sum establishments nearby, you have a huge spacious dining hall that can quickly seat you and all of your friends. You have the usual lovely dim sum ladies pushing carts of tantalizing mini treats up and down the aisles. You can enjoy all of your usual favorites ( Har Gao, Siu Mai, Char Siu Bao ) and more! All while admiring the lovely artwork adorning the ceiling of the former opera house. Atmosphere is always bustling and eccentric, prices are great and service is always quick, just point and pick and you are all set! 3 stars and will definitely be coming back!
(3)Chloe T.
I love this restaurant, but there are some flaws. First, I love the fact the restaurant is in an old theater, the atmosphere is fantastic. But the service is quite terrible. There are around 2-3 waiters after 3, when dim-sum is not too popular. We've had to wait for the check for longer than we should. The food is absolutely fantastic. I recommend the steamed shrimp dumpling and the fried rice.
(4)Matthew A.
After the pride parade, we all went for Dim Sum. I choose Empire Garden for 2 reasons. 1. The reviews. 2. They have been around for a long time and they are huge. Glad we did. We were immediately seated, and within seconds, we had the cart ladies descend upon us with their so many dim sum goodies. These ladies really made our day, cuz they spoke English and could answer all our questions. (Whats this?, This? etc, etc, etc) The food was GOOD and CHEAP. Averages to abt.$11 per person. A neg: Some dumplings were not hot. Barley warm. I would go back in a heartbeat.
(4)K K.
Is this restaurant named Empire Garden or Emperor Garden Restaurant? Both signs are posted in the front of the restaurant. Consumer is confused. Ordered a couple of dim sum items--not bad. However the Lo Mein with chicken was a big disappointment. No veggies in the noodles at all and greasy.
(2)Michelle T.
What a HUGE letdown! At first, I thought about giving this place 2 stars, but considering the fact that I would NEVER come back, nor would I every recommend friends come for dimsum...I think a 1-star "Eek! Methinks not." is actually perfectly appropriate for Empire Garden's Saturday dimsum. Gchat status prior to Empire garden: "Dim sum, I miss you!" Gchat status AFTER Empire garden: "Dim sum, I still miss you!!" In fact, I have an even more humongous craving for dim sum now. After our party of 6 left the restaurant, we vowed to go to dimsum tomorrow. Someplace else, obviously. Ohhh Hei La Moon, why didn't I go to you in the first place? why did we have to pretend to be adventurous?? Some pros: - You get seated right away (since this place is HUGE) - Service is decently fast (refilling tea, carts coming around, getting your check...etc.) Based on food, and food alone, I say,1-star ALL THE WAY. Here we go: - Har gow / Shrimp dumplings - 6/10. Pass. Though the shrimp filling was nice and chewy, decently flavored, the skin was way too thick and super gummy. - Siu mai - 6/10. Passes too, no real issues, just really average. Really porky. - Gai bao / Chicken buns - 4/10. FAIL. Though this came in a batch of 3, only 2 of them were eaten, and BOTH ppl eating them said "NEVER AGAIN....btw, what the heck is this???" [both were Chinese...both have dim sum'ed many times in their lifetime] - Ma lai gao / steamed sweet cake - 5/10. Fail. It smelled like cornbread. Tasted like "stone plaster". According to my friend Alan. - No mai fan / Sticky rice - 5/10. Bland bland flavors, and all rice, barely any meat/other ingredients. - Pai guat / Pork short ribs - 4/10, Bland. Greasy. Got cold fast. My friend who claims that is his all time favorite dimsum dish ate ONE...and then never went back. - Har cheung / Shrimp rolls - 7.5/10. No complaints. Average tasting with real, full pieces of shrimp in it. (i.e. 2 shrimps per roll) - Char siu bao / Baked BBQ pork bun - 8/10. Probably my favorite dish. Came out warm with a nice sweet top and nice chunks of pork inside. Good flavor but the skin was too thick! Still prefer the bao's from Hei La Moon. - Ham sui gok / Fried pork dumpling - 6/10. Non-memorable flavors and comes smaller in size than those at Hei La moon. We had a couple more dishes, but not worth writing about. You get the gist. Very very mediocre food for the most part, but so many TERRIBLE ones. Our group of 6 paid $10 each but nobody was full afterwards. There was also an empty hole inside my heart where this dimsum meal did not fill.
(1)D Q.
Sorry guys. Service was awful, food was mediocre. Waiter was very unattentive. Owner came by the table asked if everything was ok. I said "Actually my diet coke is flat, no bubbles." He laughed, said "OK," and walked away. Sent it back and still got charged for it. Took forever to get our checks and pay. Punch line of the joke was my fortune cookie had a sliver of unprinted paper in it.
(2)Julia D.
Very friendly staff. Beautiful inside, only had an appetizer, would love to go back for a proper meal. Affordable beer as well. We had the sticky pork buns and they were very very sticky. I'd never had them with this thick of a "bun" but the flavor was right on. Probably would order something different next time, they were just "ok".
(4)Lisa W.
Not the best dim sum ever, but very good, and the service is really great for a Chinese restaurant. We got seated right away at 1 pm on a Saturday, and the carts come by every few min or so. We had: roast pork buns beef chau fun (not sure what the english name is for this.. the long white noodle-covered beeft) pork ribs - this is actually better than what I get in LA, and that's saying a lot! turnip cakes - a little too mushy, the lady should've kept it on griddle longer xio long bao (beef dumplings?) - was this supposed to have soup inside? B/c ours didn't.. but still good served with the vinegar/ginger. mixed pork/seafood dumplings sticky rice in lotus leaf Everything was really good, even the turnip cakes that were falling apart. I had by heart set on some crispy duck but the lady ran out by the time she came around! Sadness. I was really impressed by the price! Seven dishes plus tea came out to $22 after tax, before tip. Maybe I've been in DC too long with their rip-off/crappy dim sum, but this seemed really good to me. Oh... and they serve REAL TEA, not the pre-boiled crap that most places serve now. I am a serious fan. And they take credit cards - the husband is a huge fan of that.
(4)Jonathan E.
This stop was a fairly pleasant and unexpected surprise. The original plan on the last day of my Boston trip was to have a big steak, but a friend of mine suggesteed "cheap dim sum." We made the journey to Chinatown and wandered around until we found the unmistakable signage. The restaurant looks similar to numerous dim sum places Ive seen around the country... From the outside. Once inside, it is quite unique. I feel like this building used to be a theater from the 20's or 30's by the look of it. The fact that they turned it into a massive dining space is interesting. It's also unique that you are eating Chinese food amidst an interior which is definitely NOT Chinese. The food was darn satisfying if I do say so. I cant say it was the best dim sum Ive ever had, but it was very affordable and filling. I couldnt even finish the whole shrimp which was a bit heavy after eating everything else on the table (see photo). Pretty much everything was good, even the tea. I have few complaints about this restaurant and really wouldnt hesitate going back if I was ever craving dim sum in the Boston area. Nothing spectacular, but it definitely serves it's culinary purpose. I also want to say that there is a guy there who is a wizard with numbers. He added up our tab and calculated tax in his head in about 20 seconds with everything itemized on the bill. It was extremely impressive. Pros: Affordable (two of us ate until we were stuffed for $24), tasty/filling food, interesting interior architecture, location in Chinatown Cons: Kinda hard to flag down the carts, not top of the line or spectacular
(3)Brian L.
Tried to get some late-day dim sum on a weekday here -- not your typical dim sum timing. This may have come through in both the food and service... Anyway, don't get lost, because it seemed like we were wandering as we had to climb up a bunch of stairs and go around some corners. Brags (+): Absolutely huge interior, very spacious and interesting things to look at. Beats (-): The dim sum was unimpressive. It was all very greasy and left a bad feeling in my stomach. The quality of the items didn't seem that great either -- not particularly fresh and mediocre quality ingredients. I was filled by the meal, but it was more of a lethargic malaise type of full. Variance (~): Scorpion bowls.
(2)Quinton M.
This restaurant was extremely beautiful design. Cannot find modern art like that. However the waiters acted like they didn't know what was on the menu, especially with the drinks. The drinks all the alcoholic drinks taste like they wanted down and for seven dollars you get a small cup of alcohol. I see pictures where there a lot of people in this place however this restaurant had at least 9 to 10 people in it. I would not come back here again. He acted like he did not know what was on the menu, but he was ready to get his tip
(2)Annette A.
Beautiful location, "meh" food. I was amazed at how large this place was - it's a gorgeous theatre on the inside. But all the food we had was nothing impressive.
(2)Vivian H.
We came here for dinner and there were only 2 other tables of people when we sat down. Then they left and we were the only people left in the HUGE dining room. I can imagine the amazing atmosphere when the place is packed, but when it's completely empty it's just downright creepy. And I'm not really okay with ordering off a menu for dimsum, wtf, I want carts! We ordered a selection of typical dimsum -- the turnip cake, har gow, eggplant/shrimp, tofu/shrimp, chicken bun... and it was just mediocre. They do have a crazy cheap drinks menu. I'm not sure there's really any GOOD dim sum in Boston though.. please correct me if I'm wrong!
(1)Danielle C.
Lack of respect. They kicked us out as soon as we put our chopsticks down. They cleared the table while we were still sitting and discard my personal items on the table. Not coming back here ever even if they give food away. David Wong should not be proud of this place. David- please help your staff and educate them.
(1)Sarah W.
A solid dim sum place. Like many of those in Chinatown, has surprisingly large capacity. The old opera house vibe is fun, and the food is delish. I came here with a big group (~15) as part of my bachelorette, and when we called ahead they were happy to set aside two tables for us. We especially enjoyed the shrimp dumplings. My main complaint: Normally the hallmark of dim sum is that you are accosted by food almost immediately upon being seated. Here? We waited... 5-7 minutes? Totally fine for the average restaurant, but epically slow in dim sum restaurants. Service is the usual brusque attitude found in most dim sum places. But c'mon. We all know that's part of the charm! For about 15 people, total food costs came to $11/person. Can't beat that for Saturday brunch prices!
(3)John W.
If you are not Asian, you should not enter this restaurant. I went with a group of non-Asian friends and we got charged almost $20 per person for a meal that is $6-8 at every other restaurant in China town. Apparently their reputation they have is that they will hound you for extra tip after you leave the table, and that goes for any race (my Asian friend was hounded for an extra 20% tip after leaving the table the last time he went). Other than that, the food was decent, although admittedly I am not an expert on the cuisine.
(2)Danny F.
Having dinner at Empire Garden was an utterly bizarre experience. Yet so oddly satisfying at the same time. First of all, you MUST ask for the dim sum menu, even though you are here for dinner. Nothing on the regular dining menu is any more exciting or authentic than take out food. But they do dim sum, and best of all, it's all freshly steamed/cooked, so it comes out piping hot. And since there are no other diners, food gets to your table right away. Speaking of diners, there were only a few tables of what I would assume to be tourists or curious cats or people in on the secret? There was minimal waitstaff, gathered in one corner and chatting. Yet we are in this palatial dining space that used to be a theater, totally orientalized. Right. I said it was bizarre, didn't I? We ordered a bunch of dim sum items, as well as a lo mein and yu hsiang eggplant for my unadventurous brother and sister-in-law, but everything was totally acceptable. I might even say the eggplant was great - well cooked and fragrant. And after the meal, there were some sweet dim sum items available for dessert too. Admittedly I did not have high expectations when I went up the stairs and reluctantly sat down at a table (assuming that it was against better judgment). But I was proven wrong, and it was kind of fun to have a leisurely dim sum dinner in Chinatown. Next time, I'm going to get a "special drink" to make it even more fun.
(4)Chris V.
The place itself is quite ostentatious ... the staff is quite snarky ... i suppose the later is to be expected in this mess hall like atmosphere. Nothing really stood out...at all...except for the decrepit bathrooms...never been so happy that i don't have to sit down to pee...
(2)Cheryl C.
We had a half-Chinese, half-Western wedding on November 2, 2013. Here was our experience: We were engaged in October 2012 and knew we wanted our wedding in the Fall of 2013, so we started looking at different venues in the Boston Area. We decided to have a traditional Christian ceremony at a church in Boston and then have a Chinese reception/banquet in Chinatown. We scoped out different restaurants in Chinatown and found options to be limited. There are only 3 large Chinese restaurants in Boston's Chinatown: Hei La Moon, China Pearl, and Empire Garden. Our guests list was approximated to be around 120 people and Hei La Moon and China Pearl do not have smaller rooms to accommodate parties of that size and we did not want a divider between the restaurant and our wedding so we decided to go with Empire Garden. Empire garden has both a very large dining area and a smaller private room with a bar that is suitable for parties of around 150. We had trouble from the beginning trying to reserve the room all the way to the week before the wedding. We wanted to make a deposit to reserve the room, but the manager was reluctant to take our money. He gave the impression that if someone came in with more money to reserve the room he would take that party instead; a poor way of doing business, but most Chinatown restaurants work this way so keep that in mind. Wedding Day - List of disasters: The space is not kept clean. While this is nothing too out of the ordinary for Chinatown, it would seem some basic dusting and glass cleaning could be done for a private party room. Dirty glass and dusty Chinese lanterns could easily be cleaned/replaced. Low maintenance standards in the dining room perhaps hints at potentially low standards in the kitchen. The entrance to this restaurant looks like the establishment is perpetually closed. Some lighting, cleaning, and improved signage might be a wise investment. There is a reason this place is empty except for the occasional party/dim sum crowd. We repeatedly told to the manager that our guests will be arriving at 4pm and we want appetizers and drinks to be served when people start to arrive. Guests started to arrive at 4pm and they were turned away and they were told come back later. We had friends who were willing to come help us out on our wedding day and they arrived at 10AM to meet the groom and groomsmen to get directions about set up and they were told to leave. A family friend had to help the waiters set up the room and help put chair covers on all the chairs. The DJ arrived at 1pm to make sure he had plenty of time to set up, and he was told to come back later. He was not allowed in the room until 3:30. As soon as people were allowed in the room to set up, our helpers had to rush with the waiters to move tables and put chair covers on and set up the tables and table numbers. If we had relied solely on the restaurant, our party would not have started at 4:30 when people were finally allowed to go inside. Most likely they would have dragged it on till 5:30. Dinner finally came and the food was NOT GOOD. It was significantly worse than the food you would have there for dinner (which is still not great). Do not get the seafood soup. They do not serve it correctly with vinegar and it tastes like feet!!! They do not know how to mix drinks and the quality of liquor and mixers are terrible. You are not allowed to bring in your own liquor or request specific brands. We were told that the champagne would be Martini and Rossi. While this is not top shelf, it is good enough for toasting. The champagne provided was an absolute no-name brand that tasted terrible. The way they served the cake was horrible and unacceptable. They do not cut it up into slices for you; they give each table a big chunk with no utensils. We requested that the cake be sliced up individually and placed on a table so that guests could choose from the different flavors. When you spend a few hundred dollars on a cake, you would like it to be presented correctly. While this business is able to continue operating like this due to the incredibly low level of competition in Boston's Chinatown, please consider your alternatives. If we could do it over again, we would likely choose to pay more to rent one of the larger spaces at the other venues or perhaps may have rented a banquet hall and had it catered with traditional Chinese dishes. I HOPE THEY GO OUT OF BUSINESS
(1)Sam M.
Okay, Empire Garden for several years has been the place we go to with large groups of friends or family, where we take visitors who want to have the "big dim sum place" experience, etc. Here's why we're not going back. We met up with a group of friends for Christmas Day dim sum. Kind of a tradition, though our group has gotten smaller as people move away, have kids, etc. So there were 5 of us. We had a typical number of dishes for the group. Nothing special. Steamed dumplings, sticky rice, roast pork, tripe, a few deep-fried dishes, nothing we hadn't had before. But the bill came up more than one-third higher than we have ever paid before. It's hard to keep track of the number of dishes as they take them away as soon as they're empty. But on the check I noticed that one row with just four stamps on it totaled up to $26. (Other rows with far more items didn't even come close to that.) I asked the floor manager who'd totaled up the bill what those items were. He shrugged. "You know. Dishes. Those are the expensive dishes. $6.50 each." "Which dishes?" I asked. I mean, it should be easy to remember what your high-dollar items are on a menu that changes as infrequently as this one. The floor manager just shrugged and waved around the tables. "You know, rice dishes, vegetables, those are expensive." "Are you telling me I paid $6.50 for a plate of broccoli?" "Sure." He shrugged and walked away. So unfortunately, Empire Garden, I'm going to have to do the same thing. Shrug and walk away. If I'm going to pay higher prices for dim sum, I'll go to places that serve much better quality for those prices and keep the bullshit to a minimum. I'll miss not having to wait for a table, but that's about all.
(1)Fern H.
The atmosphere of Empire is the real draw here. It's located in an old opera house, but I wouldn't say that the dim sum is really anything to sing about. We arrived around 1pm on a Saturday. The large dining room was packed but we were able to snag a table at the very front, right where the stage area would be. The temperature in this area was pretty warm, but probably because the room was so full of bodies. Dim sum is served via cart style. Carts came by pretty often but most carts were offering the same few choices. We grabbed a few staples - har gow, sui mai, rice rolls with shrimps, deep fried dumplings, egg tarts and rice rolls with doughnut. Not sure the individual prices for the S, M, L dishes but total came out to just over $21 with tax. Some of the dim sum dishes were a bit on the cool side, on the account of riding around in the carts around the huge dining room. Service was okay, cart ladies were nice. Waiters weren't offensive. Certainly, not the best dim sum I've ever had but passable.
(3)Yancey L.
I used to go there every Saturday for the authentic Cantonese dim sum. Their chicken claws is my must-order, it's so chewy and savory. Various flavored and shaped steamed buns are also available. I once tried the fried spicy baby octopus which taste awesome too. Actually, I come to this place not just for their food, but more for the atmosphere. The place was once a theater, and it's so gorgeous and spacious inside. Every morning, so many Cantonese senior people are there chatting, eating and drinking tea which sort of gives me the feeling of being back to Guangzhou Shangxiajiu,
(5)Sarah L.
Walked in the night after Christmas with a party of 8 - there was only one other group there at the time, making seating and service quick and prompt. We had originally looked at another restaurant, but the wait was 2+ hours and we had a show to attend. The food needed to serve a variety of needs - a vegetarian, several picky eaters, and a gluten free. Everyone was able to find something that they liked - the prices were reasonable, the quantities were large and we walked away stuffed and happy. Drinks were strong and well-priced as well - a good start to an evening out.
(4)Jake W.
I went to this restaurant for menu service so I can't speak for their dim sum. But...this was the worst Chinese food I've ever had. The service was awful and all the employees had major attitude which didn't help. I ordered a $32 Peking Duck and it was 2 grossly overcooked drumsticks over bean sprouts and noodles...What exactly was I paying for? BAD BAD BAD.
(1)Monica F.
The service was horrible. My boyfriend didn't get his meal for 20 minutes after everyone else at the table had their food. The food tasted just like every Chinese restaurant I have been to (nothing special) but with a worse stomach ache than the rest. Oh, and did I mention how dusty everything is, including the smudged windows? It's gross! Never again.
(2)Barbara L.
There will always be a special place in my mouth for Empire or Emperor's Garden (depending on which sign you look at), it's here that I lost my Dim Sum virginity a few years ago. First of all the place is in what appears to be an old gorgeous theater and it's really big, and really nice inside. The service is horrible by Chinatown standards, trust me I'm not one of those idiots who go to Chinatown stuff my face with awesome food that I probably pay triple for elsewhere and whine about how crappy the service/ambiance is. My forays into various restaurants in Chinatown has taught me it's about awesome food, and not about American standards of customer service, and I am ok with that. On the weekends when I shown up to dim sim at 2:30ish, when the crowds are thinning out,I been straight out ignored by the staff. They see us sitting at the table and don't bother serving us, in fact once it was so bad once we were on the verge of walking out, and I had to ask the lady at the desk if they were closing, she quickly remedied that by yelling at the staff. There been times when they run out of things and said it would take twenty minutes, then when I said I was ok with waiting instead I was told to order something else. I have very mixed feelings about the place. At prime dim sim hours the food can be on point and good. It's great starting point before a night out going to have some Americanized Chinese food, and has surprisingly good basic cocktails. Empire Garden will always be fondly remembered as my first. But it's time for me to see if they are bigger and better things out there. Although let's be honest I know like any Ex we have a few more rounds of makeup and breakups, and random weekends where I might be feeling low and come crawling back.
(3)a m.
Definitely a hidden gem indeed! Very good Dim sum selections and reasonably priced. Clean, spacious, unexpected surprised interior with old theater look and high arched ceiling. Pleasant and attentive wait staff.
(4)Jonathan Y.
This review is for their supermarket which they operate adjacent to the restaurant. About your average run of the mill Chinatown supermarket. Don't be bothered by the filthy floors, rude store staff, or occasional odd bucket of entrails sitting around by the fish tanks. And for god's sake don't squint too closely at anything around the butcher section. I come here just to buy noodles which they do have a good stock of, and for very cheap. In particular they stock chow fun (wide rice noodles) and "already-cooked" varieties of yellow noodles which are extremely convenient as you can throw them directly into the pan as your stir fry is progressing, without having to boil them first. Ah just like mom used to make. While Super 88 may have a larger overall selection of items, the convenience factor (this place is literally at the end of the block from the Chinatown Orange Line stop) is the main sell for me. Plus right after completing your grocery buying you can go by Eldo, grab pastries, and be back on the Orange Line in minutes. Be forewarned that lines during the weekend afternoon shopping hours can be insanely long. Have cash on hand instead of card.
(3)Jon L.
Sadly, I've been here for dim sum, regular lunch, and dinner, hoping that perhaps a change in menu offerings would put this restaurant in a better light. It didn't. Why this place gets no more than 1 star: -Most of the things I have here just taste greasy and lukewarm. That might be acceptable for take-out/food truck Americanized-Chinese, but when you're in a sit-down place, that just doesn't cut it. -This place's ambience just doesn't do it for me. As many past Yelpers have noted, it looks like this restaurant used to be an opera house or something. When you couple the general spaciousness of the interior with the fact that this place is almost always under-capacity, this place feels like a ghost restaurant.
(1)Helen F.
The building where this restaurant is once was a theatre in the 70's. Don't know exactly when it became the Empire Garden Restaurant. The last time I ate here was for a wedding. That was 10 years ago. I grew up in Boston. The only times I would ever have dim sum or dinner here was if a friend wanted to. I don't care if their food is good or not. The reason being is because the minute one enters the lobby, it reeks of urine. They may have had a big renovation since I've been there. I sure would if I were the owner.
(1)Alyssa J.
I can't believe I haven't reviewed this place yet. What a spectacularly bizarre place to go. It's an old opera house turned Chinese Restaurant. Oh, they also serve "Exotic Cocktails". I'm not sure if it's the cocktails themselves that are exotic (red kool-aid and booze doesn't strike me as that crazy), but the glasses are ridiculous. A scorpion bowl for one is $6. This may be one of my favorite places to awkwardly drink until I can't feel feelings. They also have food.
(4)Art L.
The first thing you notice when you arrive inside the dining room is that this place is big! I've been to many large dim sum restaurants in HK, China and New York, but this is very different mainly because of the theatre decor. The restaurant owners picked a fine venue for a dim sum restaurant, which also has the added benefit of having the noise dissipate into its high ceilings. I can't remember a dim sum restaurant being as non-noisy as this one! The food here is definitely "Boston-excellent". I especially liked the sticky rice, all their dumplings (har kow) and their fried "ham shui kok". We also had the added treat of the warm fresh tofu dessert. The dim sum carts came around fairly often and some of the waiters made an effort to speak with me in English even before I tried speaking to them in Chinese. I would give this place five stars, but the dim sum is not New York quality. However, I give this place five stars for the venue. Well done!
(4)Andrea C.
I could not believe how rude the staff was and how watered down the drinks were ! We ordered one appetizer, chicken wings, we wanted to go somewhere else because of the quality of the food and drinks. Don't waste your time here ! Go to Q right across the street drinks are more expensive but worth it !
(1)Rob Y.
Tried the dim sum here one weekend. Food (7.5/10) = Pretty standard fare of dim sum in terms of selection. There was nothing special. You had your usual steam shu mai, shrimp dumplings, etc. Ambiance (8.5/10) = The dining room is impressive. It is certainly unique compared to the rest of the restaurants in Boston's Chinatown. Beautifully decorated, and high-ceilings that reminded me of the rooms in the Vatican museum. Service (7.5/10) = standard dim sum service. Refill the tea pot when needed. Chinese lady with the cart. Overall Opinion = A nice dim sum place, but nothing special. It's been over 3 years since I had dim sum in Boston, so I can't say how this place compares to the other businesses in the area.
(3)Ranjit V.
This place is probably a Dim Sum place that happens to serve other stuff. First of all, the minute we sat down, we were bombarded by 6+ carts of food. I didn't even get a chance to explain to 2 newbies how Dim Sum works. It wasn't even clear what we were being served because we were being overwhelmed right off the bat. We decided to get regular chicken w/ broccoli and things like that. The "Spicy Chicken" turned out to be identical to the "General's Chicken." The lo mein wasn't impressive AT ALL. It was basically like chinese buffet food served to you. I don't recommend.
(1)K S.
Been a few times over many years. I like it. Comparable to NYC, Montery Park (CA), San Fran, and Vancouver. Very authentic. In an old theatre. Huge room.
(4)John Daniel G.
This was my first experience with dim sum. I didn't know what it was, I didn't even know it was a thing, so I got a crash course on the whole "bringing carts of food around to you" way of eating here. I want to avoid talking about the service because maybe for regular dim sum goers, only knowing what part of the menu is until someone comes around to your table and rattles off what they have one at a time for you to say "no thanks" instead of listing everything is normal, as is apparently instinctively knowing what the rice of everything is. Looking at the pictures below makes me wonder where they got that stuff, or where they found a menu, because I wasn't given one. What I want to focus on is the food, which was thoroughly average. The pork dumplings were okay, the sesame buns things were pretty good, the meat of some kind over rice was mostly bone, and the beef rolls did not have much flavor to them. Nothing was really bad, but you can get the same quality of food elsewhere with less of a hassle. Crap, I did focus more on the service. Oh well, it's a stupid concept anyway. At least the price was right. Fifteen bucks for four dishes. And apparently I could have gotten seconds if I wanted more.
(2)Marissa P.
Overall, the dim sum I ate here was poor quality. Most dishes were cold while they should have been warm. The BBQ pork buns were some of the worst I've tasted. Not sure what all the dishes are called, but we tried a bunch of things and I felt underwhelmed by most dishes. The sesame balls with red bean were really the only good thing we tasted. I will say the ambiance was cool. Nonetheless, if I am going to eat dim sum in Boston, I much prefer Hei La Moon and Winsor Dim Sum to this place.
(2)Hector K.
This dim sum restaurant is my favorite place to eat at when I'm in Boston. The food is delicious and cheap. I'd much rather eat at the Empire Garden than at any kind of take-out Chinese restaurant. The atmosphere is both exciting and relaxing at the same time. As a Chinese language student, I love being surrounded by so many people who are speaking Chinese. The restaurant, which is huge, is full of people of all ages. There are old men just hanging out and reading the newspaper, families trying to keep their children occupied and out of anyone's way, and tourists and student groups coming along for the more "authentic" Chinese experience. You get a pot of tea for the table, and you can have one of the wait staff bring over a pitcher of water so that you don't have to ask them to come over and pour it every time you run out (the glasses are pretty small). You also get a type of spicy dipping sauce on the table, but you don't get much of it. I wish they'd put out more because it's so good. Besides the food on the carts, you can also order dishes straight from the kitchen. Last time I went, I had Chinese broccoli and bok choy. It was so good, and it reminded me of my time in China. The desserts are also really good. My favorite things to eat at the Empire Garden are the pork buns and the pork dumplings. Overall, this is like the best place on Earth.
(5)Priscilla Z.
It's really a so-so place. Now I should really appreciate the dim sum in LA! Still, it is a large restaurant. They have a lot of space, so at least you don't need to wait to eat some dim sum. They have quite large variety of food, and they serve them continuously--but, they are not good enough. The Har-Gau's wrapper was tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo thick! Shu-Mai's filling is too hard. I know I'm being picky, but man, if you have ever tasted better, wouldn't you compare them? Good thing is they have 'BaiYe', and it was done ok. I don't know the price, maybe was also cheap than in LA. But I should not eat Chinese food ever again in Boston.
(3)Nicholas P.
Some friends and I stumbled upon Empire Garden while looking for an easy Chinese meal before a movie. Boy was I pleasantly surprised. You walk up a flight of stairs to get to the main diningroom which is a retrofitted Opera house. The place is enormous and must have a capacity of roughly 500. We were a group of 6 on a weekend night and were seated immediately. In traditional Chinese fashion, we were brought tea along with our menu's. We ordered a couple dozen items off the menu and everything was brought out super quick. We munched down the food which I have to say wasn't anything spectacular but it was what I was looking for; cheap & easy Chinese. We couldn't finish all the food we ordered and the bill was still less than $15 per head. If anyone asks me for a recommendation for an easy place to go in Chinatown, this is it.
(4)Kevin L.
The most amazing thing about Empire Garden (outside of their strong, fruity drinks) is what pretty much every other yelper has already pointed out: the venue's in a ginormous converted old-school theater. The kind that you'd expect heavy red velvet drapes hanging in front. And that's pretty awe-inspiring alone. The following review might be suspect, because I was admittedly under the influence for most of my meal here. I mean... how could one -not- be completely trizzashed by the time the food arrives when you can order ridiculously boozy beverages for $6-8 a pop? Come on. When's the last time -you- saw a Long Island Iced Tea for those kinds of prices? Obviously, I had to follow my first excessively alcoholic drink with a Scorpion Bowl. Because... well... more booze is clearly the right decision when you've already had too much. Anyway, dim sum for dinner here really isn't the best idea. But I was intoxicated. And under peer pressure! Regardless, our jie lan was surprisingly tender, the luo buo gao were super soft and fried to deliciousness, and the sao mai, xia jiao, and niu chong fun all tasted like they should. Just don't go in expecting to point and stuff on carts and fill your table up with food in under five minutes. If you do, you'll be sorely disappointed like I was; dim sum with no carts is like fried rice without salty fish flakes. Fortunately, I was able to drown my misery in ethanol. Not the best food. Not the best drinks. Not the most classy atmosphere. But hell if I cared after my first cocktail!
(3)Linda T.
Gave us plastic forks for my kids bad service on Friday around 11am...real crappy selection...I have dim sum all the time this is by far the worst.
(1)Mathew N.
We came too late for dim sum but had wonderfully fresh and tasty Chinese food in a nearly empty restaurant at about 5:00 on a Monday. The restaurant, converted from an old-school theater venue, is beautiful. Servers were very attentive and gave us friendly attention. I particularly recommend the kung pao chicken as that was our favorite dish but the garlic noodles were also quite good. Prices were reasonable. I would definitely go back.
(4)Chani C.
This place is a hidden gem. How did they find such a huge space in the middle of Boston. Whenever I find myself drunk and in Chinatown (not that it happens really often), I end up coming here. Pros: 1. Cheap food and drinks. 2. Quiet (too quiet if you ask me). We even held a round table meeting here, coz its that quiet. 3. Drinks are BIG. And I love the presentation. 4. Wait staff is friendly. Cons: 1. Some of the appetizers are way too greasy. 2. The waiter was friendly. But dude don't come and check on two people on a date after literally every 3 mins. Plus it didn't help that we couldn't understand a thing he said and probably vice-versa.
(4)Rosanna M.
My Boston trip was going so well until I decided to go to this place to have dimsum and encountered this rude and arrogant Chinese son of a bitch. Lanky, 5'10", about 60++ y.o. waiter who knows nothing about customer service. Very bad for business. This asshole should get fired.
(1)Melissa B.
I LOVE this place. They have fabulous tiki drinks that are STRONG and inexpensive. The food is your standard Americanized Chinese food, good but nothing special. The drinks are what keep me coming back here - scorpion bowls, pina coladas, zombies, etc., they will knock you on your ass!
(4)Sandy B.
I feel awful posting this, but I just didn't think the food was good at all. We tried about 6 different things from the Dim Sum menu, and nothing really grabbed us at all. The place is beautiful and it's a fun place to be, but the food is just so-so, and the drinks are really watered down. David Wong was wandering about saying hi to patrons that night... I'd think if the owner was in, the restaurant staff must've been on their best behavior. I have to then assume that this is just how the food tastes, and it is not to my liking. Sorry, folks.
(2)Perry F.
Dim sum in an old school movie theater? Yeah, it's nostalgic! Beautiful high ceilings with most of the old theater architecture still visible. I remember going to movies here to watch good martial arts stuff. And the dim sum? It's not the fancy Pan-Asian dim sum. It's the old school mainstays - steamed shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, beef balls, chicken feet, sweet rice, pan fried radish cakes, egg tarts, etc. This is the stuff I remember from my childhood. This place gets pretty crowded around noon so get there early! The service is very good and the carts are continually being filled and cruising around the tables.
(4)Maria M.
Service: Fast, friendly, and attentive. The owner came by and chatted with us with his limited English. He was so friendly and wanted to make sure we had a good experience. Don't always expect that from this type of restaurant, and I was pleasantly surprised. Food: Not the best Chinese food I've had, but really loved the lobster special in garlic sauce one night I was there with my entire family. Cost: Cheap, fast, and delicious.
(4)Stella P.
I absolutely love the dim sum and I would give it 4-5 stars but I was pretty disappointed from dinner there. Obviously they are not known for dinner menus but I expected better tasting plates. The broccoli chicken was very greasy and pretty plastic. Dim sum is really good though and the restaurant attracts a lot of people, especially during the weekends.
(3)Eric F.
Having been a Chinese opera house in its previous life, the building lends a unique ambiance that few others, if any, can emulate. The eating area is extremely roomy with ornate decorations all around. Generally average fare across the board, though I would not recommend the Shanghai dumplings (Xiao Long Bao), sticky rice, or spring rolls - they're by no means bad, but mediocre at best. On the upside, the waitresses pushing the carts around are on their game here. When we ate here for a classmate's birthday, we were bum rushed immediately upon seating and I was able to order literally 15+ dishes for the group before I could even put my things down.
(2)Josephine L.
So if you're like me and you've just about exhausted Chinatown's best for Cantonese dim sum (Windsor, Hei La, China Pearl), you want a place that'll seat you and 10 of your closest friends at the drop of a hat, you're hungry so you don't care too much about quality (or quantity) and you don't mind an interesting ambiance to boot, then come on down to Empire Garden! I realize that sounds like the most lackluster, semi-passive-aggressive recommendation ever, but I'm sick...and cold...and there are wolves after me, so that's the best intro I can write with all the cobwebs in my head. Aaaaanywaaaay, my point is that this place ain't half bad if you come in without high expectations. I met up with a large group of friends for a post-holiday catching up lunch and the 12 of us had no trouble getting seated and getting served with ~16 dishes within the first 5 minutes. It's old-school, cart-pushing dim sum, so you just point and pick. The quantity/variety is significantly less than HLM and CP, so there are few "special" items outside what's offered in the carts. But the staples are all there like shrimp dumplings, shumai, shrimp in rice noodles, beef tripe, fried turnip cake, etc. All those were as good as any other place in Chinatown. If I had to choose, I'd say the best dish we ordered was the sweet tofu soup. Portion is big and they give a whole other bowl filled with just the syrup, which is great 'cause I HATE when places skimp on the syrup. The coconut jelly was good too. Nice and firm. Bottom line: It's not the best, but it's not the worst, so it's worth at least one try.
(4)Mahina K.
I love it here. Big Group? Sure. Lots of varying tastes (Omnivores, vegetarians, not so much on the vegans but they have dishes for them you just have to look)? Sure. After I realized Taiwan Cafe was still closed for renovations I brought my family here and they have fairly high expectations of Chinese food. We got 2 orders of beef lo mein, 2 of the seasonal vegetables (Choi Sum), Kung Pao chicken, sweet and sour chicken and peppered beef. It was gone so fast! Like they loved it. It really made up for the fiasco that was mother's day brunch. I don't drink and I'm not sure how you feel about drinking at a Chinese restaurant that used to be a theater (Look from the ground up, it goes Chinese to European), but they have very cheap drinks including scorpion bowls. I don't drink but the price looks promising. I don't suggest going at noon on a Sunday. I've actually had a wait in this giant restaurant before just because there were so many people. But on other nights you might be the only people in the entire restaurant. It really varies with time but the consistency of the food is usually pretty normal. So happy there.
(4)Vloritine H.
Great room, lousy drinks. Weird service. 3 tries, they're out!
(1)Sharon R.
The Dim Sum was pretty good and the prices is on the inexpensive side. I would have given them a higher score (maybe a 4 stars?) since their food was good, but, towards the end of my meal I decided to order what I usually order at the end of all my dim sum meals, the cold tapioca soup with taro... It was the worst idea I had, the taro was old and off tasting. I ate most of it (picking out the taro) before I realized that that there was a bug in the soup. The waiter I told looked at it and shruged, then walked away. Makes me think what else I have eaten without knowing. I would eat elsewhere from now on.
(2)Mandi P.
I ate lunch at Empire Garden Restaurant on a whim during a recent business trip and thought it was quite good. I had never had dim sum until this visit so I have nothing really to compare it to, but I found some of the dishes really delicious. I have no idea what anything was called, but the long tube like dish that is basically a noodle wrapping with either beef or shrimp inside was my favorite!!! The noodle outside was sooooo good!!!! Another close second was the sesame ball...kind of odd tasting, but really good! The inside/decor is a bit odd. It looks like an old converted theater...you can still see some of the ornate markings of the old theater. Then there are pops of Asian decor everywhere. The two don't mix all that well, but I am guessing the decor is not why people like this place! This place really probably deserves a 4 star instead of a 3 star, but I felt a bit intimitdated by the lack of English spoken by the servers and was therefore slightly afraid to try too many different dishes. Also, I was not really sure what I was eating...
(3)Tom S.
I've been coming to this restaurant for over ten years. Yes I am a fan, cause of the steam tables pushing carts, the crazy amount of space this place provides. The authenticity of the place. It really feels similar to how it is in China. The servers aren't attentive besides in the beginning and at the end. Bring tea and water and then write up your bill. I love coming here because of their wide selections of dim sum. I usually come and get 3-4 plates of short ribs and 2 plates of the ha gau and 2 plates of the shrimp dumplings. Those are my necessities! I will most likely get noodles, some type of sticky rice in lotus leaf, beef balls with soy sauce on top, cha siu bau, egg tarts, chicken feet, tripe, and whatever else seems fresh and tasty at the time. Only bad side is, this place uses a lot oil or fat for the food, it made me a little sick the last time I came. I recommend this place for anyone who's looking to enjoy dim sum with a large party. There are other places that are very good in chinatown, but you can't really go wrong if your in the area and want a quick breakfast/lunch.
(4)Raymond W.
Dim Sum review only. This is sadly the forth or fifth place finisher of the main Chinatown dim sum establishments. While the restaurant is one of the biggest, the quality suffers as the food is consistently anywhere from luke warm to cold unless something is pan fried table side or in teh form of soup/congee. Location makes a huge difference here and time of meal. If it's after 1pm just walk away and say no. The restaurant empties, carts trickle down, and servers start ignoring you. If you have a large group and can make sure they get there early, don't bother.
(2)Devon B.
My friends and I go here for dim sum when we've got a craving for it. The place is really pretty as can be - the dining area is gigantic, and there's always tables available. Twenty of us came in without a reservation and we were able to sit together immediately. As a vegetarian, I couldn't eat much, but then that's pretty much every dim sum place. The bok choy was delicious, though, and my friends really enjoyed most of the food available (especially the octopus!)
(3)Calvin N.
The food is not bad at all I didn't have high expectation coming here to Boston to have dim-sum coming from SF Bay Area. However I did not like the service at all. Either my Chinese was not good or what, I felt that I was an outsider talking to them. Food your typical Dim Sum not bad decent I can live with it. Service I feel that I got ripped off, because my gf went here the day before and got more food for half the price... maybe try to have a set price instead of raising the price randomly.
(3)Sarah D.
I just don't even know where to begin here. This place is just so awkward. You walk in up a big staircase and the dining room is enormous and fancy looking. I've never seen the place even approach crowded, but I've only been there at night. You know how some places won't seat you until your whole party is there? Empire Garden really wants you to sit. Like, right now. No matter what. Just please sit at a table or they will not leave you alone. Once you are seated, in my experience, they are no longer in any rush to deal with you. Last time I was there they seemed to be making a concerted effort to avoid even looking at our table. The service is just quirky that way. By quirky I mean bad. The food is okay but nothing special. I've sampled a few entrees and a bunch of apps, the only thing that stands out it their crab rangoons which are an especially crispy, delicious version of a classic. The drinks look very different on the outside, but are exactly alike on the inside where it really matters. One drink, countless ornate cups, each with a name to match. Get the scorpion bowl, as it is the biggest. So, based on the above, it sounds like I don't like this place. But I actually kind of love it. All of its bad qualities make it a ridiculous place to hang out, and $6 (individually sized) scorpion bowls have a way of making me as ridiculous as the setting. Short version: Come get drunk here.
(3)Ambrose C.
My family often go to this restaurant for dim sum for the past year. It's good, particularly the Siu Mai, Ha Gau, Cha Siu Bao and Lau Mai Gai. However, it is not the best dim sum restaurant in Boston. We also tend to order some chicken chao mian and beef chao fen as well, and they were pretty good, although it is covered with a thick sauce. I would recommend this restaurant if you really want dim sum or chao mian, though it would be a secondary choice. I think Hei La Moon is better and fresher, as long as you come in around 10:30 AM. Empire Garden also pretty inexpensive as well so it is a very popular place that my friends go to. I would not say that this is the best dim sum place, but I think it is a little better than China Pearl's. The major advantage that this restaurant has is that it has a lot of space, so I do not think you will have any trouble finding a table. However, if you want a restaurant with longer hours, I would suggest Chau Chow City.
(4)Terry B.
B+/A- It was huge! reminded me of Jing Fong in NYC but bigger. We were 2 guys on Sunday so we ate a lot and came out to about $15 per person including tip. Average price I guess. The food itself was great and of course lots of selections! Cha Siu Bao, Chang Fen, shu mai, ribs and taro cakes were all great quality
(4)Teresa T.
The concept is fabulous - a converted old theatre into a chinese restaurant. However the execution is just a-ok. The space is grandiose and the ceiling is amazing but you can see that the owners have painted over the areas that they can reach - there is no cohesiveness in the paint decor and part of me wishes they had preserved that history. The food has been a mixed bag - some things cooked right, some things overcooked, some things bland and the soy sauce watery. Also what is surprising is that you can not order dishes until 11am. You eat what is being pushed in the carts. However the nice thing about Empire Garden is that they have an elevator so my grandpa can use it as oppose to hiking the stairs at China Pearl.
(3)Judy L.
Not bad, but not exceedingly excellent. The staff was super friendly, which was essential as we had over 60 people for lunch. This place was surprisingly huge. It's perfect for reserving rooms for huge gatherings. :D But for food-wise, it's decent.
(3)Nicole W.
I love dim sum and I've tried TONS of places. This place had your average dim sum foods, but the reason I will not be returning is their lack of customer service and flat out rudeness. On more than one instance, the server stood there and waited for their tip. Not only waited and stood over my shoulder, but then proceeded to tell me that our party should tip 20% regardless of their lack of attention or service. I did not enjoy my meal whatsoever. I felt so rushed and pushed around. I won't be returning there any time soon. There are so many other delicious restaurants in Chinatown that are extremely busy, but still pay attention to service and don't make you feel uncomfortable when they get paid. Try Hei La Moon or China Pearl if you're looking for a good meal and an enjoyable dim sum experience.
(1)Anna K.
I came to this restaurant 7/20/12 for my rehearsal dinner and they knew I had a least 40 ppl coming to the rehearsal so it ended up being 60. So they had one waiter working while the other waiter was walking around not sure what he was doing. My guest didn't get there pupu plater till 40-60 minutes later.Everyone there were tired of waiting for their food. Poor service. I asked the owner why there is only 1-2 waiters helping and his reply was " you told 40 ppl were coming and now you have 60." I said well I brought you more business and his reply was I don't need that type of business. I'm a millionaire. I said ok what does that have to do with me. It's David Wong the owner. He's a rude a**hole. I don't care if your rich. And worst of all 3 of our friends had food poisoning from that place. It's very dirty. The place wasn't like this before. Now it's gone to sh*t, I would never go back there. I strongly suggest you don't either . I'm calling the health bored on them. Gross restaurant. My hair dresser from Chinatown told me the owner is mean to his employees and the place has gone down hill. I have never made a rude comment on Yelp! But I had to this time about this place. Horrible place Don't go.
(1)John M.
Can't go wrong with dimsum right? Wrong. When we walked into this place there were no carts going around. So I thought maybe dimsum was done for the day. The waiter gave us a regular menu and a dimsum menu. I should have known by then to run out. I didn't. I tried to order fried shrimp dumplings since it was on the menu. The guy told me they don't make them... So naturally I got the steamed shrimp dumplings. When the shrimp dumplings came out to the table, my wife noticed that the shrimp was not cooked at all. Me of course being a man and hard headed decided to eat half the dumpling to see if it was raw. It was. I called one of the servers over and tried to explain to him. He seemed to understand, of course he just kept repeating the word shrimp. I asked for the manager and he pointed over to him. I had to get up to get him myself... When he came, I also explained. This is where I was both furious and also laughing cause it sounds hilarious. He said "ah yes shrimp. Under water. Shrimp. Shrimp." he then takes the shrimp and smashes it between his fingers and walks away. I had no idea what had just happened. I then ask for the check check. It wasn't the servers fault that the food was not completely cooked, or cooked at all.. The rest of the food was alright if that. I've had better takeout. Way better take out. I put a two dollar tip on the $35 bill. To me that was nice seeing as how the service was not bad, but was not even there to speak of. As I'm walking out with my family, the waiter, who I only saw when he took our order and when he brought out my check, had the audacity to come up to me asking for more tip. "15% is usually generous". I almost lost it on him there. My ghetto side was about to come out on him. Instead I held it back and took him over to the table and simply showed him the raw shrimp that was on the table. That seemed to make him mad. He then seemed to probably curse at me in Chinese which also made me laugh a bit more. I should have not been lazy and walk a few blocks down to the other dimsum place. I hope this review helps someone out. It only gets one star because the manager made me laugh when he smashed the shrimp in between his fingers. Haha might have been my worst experience but I will always have that moment.
(1)Dan P.
What a place ... amazing setting , amazing order , very efficient. Food was amazing , the experience is thrilling. One of a kind place here in Boston .... Food was real good , from the Chinese Broccoli through the pork,chicken and shrimp dim sum ( fried , steamed , half/half) RECOMMENDED!!!
(4)Judy K.
Just came from dim sum there. The food was OK overall but we were surprised that the bill was as high as it was. They even charged for tea - really?
(3)Jackie C.
The dim sum is all right, not the best, but then again, I have a tendency to compare dim sum to what I had in Hong Kong and that'spretty much a losing battle. I like the decor of the place since it used to be a chinese opera house. The service can get a bit slow sometimes where the wait staff doesn't really notice you. This especially happens in the morning hours on weekends. I understand that it can get a bit hectic, but that's never an excuse for bad service. If you are looking for decent dim sum, I'd give this place a try since most of the bigger restaurants in chinatown pretty much do the same when it comes to the quality of their dimsum.
(3)Tony S.
"The best Irish food in China"- now cut and paste that thought, and you'll be in the same quandry as me with 'the best dim sum in Boston." If Japanese, Indian, and Thai food can make the overseas transplant to Boston with much of the original homeland goodness, why can't they do it with dim sum (and then some)? I've had the best that dimsum has to offer in Hong Kong, and have found the same quality in Vancouver and New York. But unfortunately, the food in Boston has a very hard time measuring up. Sure, they have the authentic feel of numerous food carts, noisy clatter typical of busy dimsum places, and the occasional loud HOCK-A-LUGI waiter, but the food is strictly...."meh". The chicken feet was ok though. Kudos for nice sentimental effort, and with few alternatives in Boston, if I feel the need for dimsum, I'll always make the trek here, but only out of desperation. It's about the same enthusiasm as going on a first date with the hottest cheerleader you had a crush on that peaked in highschool 20 years ago, but now has a missing front tooth, long hair growing out of her left nostril, a wart the size of a penny above right eyebrow, and smells funny.
(3)Sara C.
The food was still good, but I did get a big of gristle in my pork bun. We had a tough time getting water. Even the hot tea came after the first dim sum cart. I totally meant to take pictures of the food, but it was so good I ate before I remembered. P.S. I hit there at noon yesterday and it was packed.
(4)Paul V.
Rancid-smelling mystery meat in fried rice; awful chicken offal, Vienna sausage chunks and bone fragments in dumplings. Not a vegetable in sight. Nonexistent service (water, chili sauce, basic English language proficiency, etc). We were willing to keep randomly giving their blobs of dough more chances, but walked out hungry after they left us in a corner with the only other white people and just stopped bringing food around.
(1)Jessica N.
3.5 stars. The space at Empire Garden is HUGE and really cool. It's an old theatre. It's also cheap if you go with a group! We had four people, and it was around $6 a person (very good deal for the amount of food; we were stuffed). The only thing that made me wary was how fresh the dim sum was. Those dumplings could have been on those carts for a rather long time. Other than that, it was great. You also get complimentary tea :) A cool experience.
(3)Hubert H.
Only discussing dimsum today. Not as impressed as I am with Hei La Moon, though it is fun to sit in the interior of this place and imagine its former life as a theater. The interior is a little dark, and if you're seated at a corner it's hard to get the attention of the dim sum carts going by. The hargow and siumai are nothing to awe at here (a little too mealy, not as succulent as the hargow elsewhere), but the silken soft tofu with sweet syrup is quite good.
(3)Mark K.
Really good Chines food. Unique location in an old theater. Old school waiters. Service was a little slow, but that was OK with me. Good experience.
(4)Ella B.
We went here last weekend to get a taste of Boston had to offer and we left happy. The place was crowded and popular among chinese and non chinese. The deco is as everyone else mentioned, big, a bit gawdy, but if not gawdy how could it be chinese.... (hey. I'm chinese, so I can say it....!) The owner has this wall of display cases which displays every award he's ever received from the city for all his "contributions" (ahem, "donations") to various "causes"... but it's all good,... Boston is an old city right? And we know how old cities work... we determined that all of his "good works" must have been to the fire inspector b/c this place was packed! There is also a photo of the owners with the Taiwanese president, Ma Ying-Jeo which sorta makes me smile... ok enough about politics... the food: Tea - jasmine by default, they do not ask you what kind you want. No soy sauce only hot pepper sauce or spicy mustard was provided. (which was ok, most of the food was salty enough) Really yummy har-gow's (shrimp dumplings) which large pieces of shrimp. They also had a dumpling that I had never had before, taro filled dumplings that are steamed with a "skin" like a shrimp dumpling skin, chewy and moist. It was our favorite. At the end, the check was $21.50, we were two stuffed birds, including tip $24.
(4)Sidi L.
their dim sums are goodï¼it's better than hei la moon. i like their porridge. it's better to go with several people，you can order many types of food
(4)Ariana Z.
Never a disappointment whenever I go. Great atmosphere and great for large groups.
(4)Hiro T.
Let's see...oh, here's a place that serves "dim sum" maybe we should go try it. I don't think so! The place maybe tempting due to the large number of asian people entering on the weekends, but this place is not worth the trip (Okay, well, I guess a little disclaimer, we did go on a weeknight, and on weeknights there are no asian people going into the place, so maybe it's not that great. Haven't been there on the weekends, when the hordes of asian people are entering and exiting the establishment. Maybe the place is better on the weekends). Anyway, the dim sum menu is a little lacking, and the dim sum is served up lukewarm. There are NO CARTS, and again the dim sum is served LUKEWARM. The dim sum is pretty cheap, but according to the people I was with Bubor Cha Cha is better than this place and the entire time I was regretting not trying Windsor Cafe, which has excellent reviews. The place is really large due to the fact it is a converted theater. If your looking for some good dim sum, this is NOT the place. Go to Chau Chau City or Hei La Moon for dim sum on the weekend, now that's totally worth it!
(2)Jeff L.
Dirty place, and food was: Yuck, cold, greasy. Yes, the theatre environment is nice. Do yourself a favour and walk in, admire the decor, and turn back out the other way.
(1)Dan L.
Lots of different opinions on this place. Why we return: - We've bounced around the different dim sum places and they all have pros and cons but we overall like this place most - The crispy leeky dumpling things I don't know the name of are the best here - It's not a big of a hassle to get seated than say at Hei La Moon with all the shouting of numbers - As long as you sit in the main room you get served by the carts a LOT. If you end up in a side room, forget it. Go a-cart-chasin'! - Massive value. 5 people ate recently for about $10 each and we were all STUFFED. When you're ready to play, look for a dude in a bow tie to add up your check. The others can't help you but may a bow tie down for you.
(4)Jeannette S.
Dim Sum wasn't the real reason I wanted to visit this place. My friends brought me here because I saw pics of this restaurant and I LOVED how the interior looks. It looks like an Opera House and I was just intrigued. Hahaaa don't ask why. Parking was a pain, my buddy's hubby had to drop us off and park 10 blocks away from the Restaurant. And once we were seated customer service almost did not exist. To me, most of the servers tried to avoid eye contact with you. And that "unlucky" one who actually looked at me had to work more. I am from Houston and we have many great Dim Sum places here. Therefore to me, Dim Sum tasted pretty average here except for their shiu mai. Their shiu mai was GOOD. As we walked out I was snapping pictures like a true tourist. The managers were friendly and came over to chat with us. One even offered to take a picture for us. Overall I enjoyed the atmosphere and food. I would come back if friend's hubby doesn't mind parking far away.
(4)Victoria J.
Ahaha...This place is ridiculous and I love it!!! You have to climb three flights of stairs just to get into the place and you are welcomed by a cheesy chandelier. I love life. The inside is MASSIVE. MASSIVE. MASSIVE. Was it a theater back in the day? It looks it. The place was packed with people while the little ladies in red vests pushed their carts of delights through the crowds. Don't ask me what anything was, but it was all delicious. The best part? It's not the delicious food let me tell you, even though it comes in a close second, it's the fact that for three people, including one Scorpion Bowl, the total was $26! I thought it was a mistake, but no, no, no, no, no...It wasn't. So I left this place with a pocket full of money and a tummy full of delicious. Yay!
(4)Josh W.
Empire Garden is a decent dim sum place in Boston. The dining room is cavernous. Their choices of dim sum is average and the food is average. It's not bad. It's very convenient, quick, and the prices are very reasonable.
(3)Francisca W.
ok, so you heard about my experience w/the class "field trip" adventure last year. this year, we decided to do it again w/the kids, but i would not bother to make reservations, submit menu, and all that nonsense since they don't seem to honor those arrangements anyways. so i just called the day before and told them about 50 of us would be coming, and, to their credit, they did have the tables set aside for us w/water and tea set up on each table, ready for our arrival. then i ordered food, which came promptly and was great and all, and we had enough to eat, even though i under-budgeted and had to shell out half a day's salary to cover the difference. which is fine; it was no fault of theirs. but i was under the assumption that they would give us free tea and tax free given that was what we enjoyed last year, but none of that happened. manager says they already gave us "discount" on tea but come to think of it, he could have charge us per head (adult) and we would probably end up paying less, since you can't seriously be charging KIDS for tea, or can you?? so $15 added to our bill for tea. that's an average tea charge for 30 adults. we had about 50 people total, 25 of them kids. tell me, how is that a "discount" again? then i realized i was supposed to produce that tax exemption number in order to enjoy the tax-free benefit for a non-profit organization activity, ok fine i didn't have that paper on hand so i sucked it up and paid taxes. but that tea thing, still very messed up. not only that, last year i DISTINCTLY remember the rice/noodle dishes we ordered were at least $2 LESS than what we had to pay this year (hence my "cheap dishes" comment in the previous review!)--i don't know if they decided to give us a generous "discount" last year bc we had double the people (this time we decided to split the group), whatever, but that is some $20 difference on the bill, which i would NOT have to shell out if they had stuck to the old prices. and thing is, if the price difference was due to inflation, that's fine, but it seems that their prices fluctuate more than the stock market! my colleague went two days after me, and found she was charged the AMERICAN MENU price even though her chinese-speaking assistant called the day prior and was quoted CHINESE MENU prices on these dishes! hey, i spoke chinese too, so how come i got charged the american menu prices? regardless, the fact that they have TWO menu prices and charge differently on the same dish, that itself is merely OUTRAGEOUS!!! that's just so wrong. so after this, i'm completely done w/this place and will boycott from this second on. next year, we're gonna walk the extra blocks and go to hei la moon instead. :)
(1)Erin H.
Emperor's Garden (or Empire Garden) - there are 2 signs when you get to the restaurant is all about the atmosphere and less about the food. We wanted Dim Sum, but the waiter didn't seem to hear us and never brought the menu so we just went ahead and ordered from the regular menu. The former theater setting is awesome and made for a memorable meal. Like many other people have mentioned though I found it alarming that the place was so empty. We ate here on a Sunday night and there were 3 other tables full when we arrived. The food was average Chinese - nothing to write home about. Because we were visiting and in a hotel we took our leftovers and gave them to some homeless people that were beyond happy to have them. Which made a mediocre meal better.
(2)Danny N.
The missus and me were in the mood for Chinese earlier into the night. This is rare considering he is more of a meat and potatoes type of person so any chance to share an ethnic meal is a must. So we were walking around Chinatown peering into windows to see what was what and somehow we ended up at Empire Garden. The first thing I'm going to say about the decor is you feel like you LITERALLY walked into the real-life version of the popular 80's flick, Big Trouble in Little China. Google it. What made it feel more surreal was also because it was 9:30 on a Tuesday night and the place was empty and with what seemed like hundreds of pink laced tables. The hostess is this older Asian gal who waved her hand to let us in like she was guiding us towards a mystical Asian waterfall with butterflies fluttering on cue. I digress. Anyway, the eggrolls were crisp, the crab rangoons were rangoony, the rice was white, and the cripsy aromatic shrimp was aromatic. Service is good. Prices are fair. But seriously, you have to go just for the decor at least!
(4)JP B.
Empire Garden is a standout in my 20 years of doing dim sum in Chinatowns from Montreal to D.C. When I go out for dim sum in Manhattan's Chinatown I'm often left wishing Empire Garden was located there, instead on three and a half hours north of my home. This is the real deal, folks. One more reason to love Boston's Chinatown.
(4)Nancy Z.
First of all people, this is CHINATOWN we're talking about. It's not exactly fine dining. So before we compare this to L'Espalier or even Bertucci's, please throw away any clean preconceived notions you have about the Empire Garden. With that said... onto the review! Whenever there's a family gathering for dim sum, you can be sure that I'll be here. What's not to like? Plenty of tables, quick seating, cheap prices, quick service, good food! Don't bother asking the same waiter for a particular dish that you can't find or anything else because it's likely that you won't be seeing him/her for a while. Just flag down anyone that's in a vest walking around and you're set. It's loud, it's chaotic. People are having conversations over finger foods and hot tea and that's how it's supposed to be. "Dim Sum" means to touch the heart. This place always does *love*
(4)Helena Q.
If this were the only dim sum place around, I would go to it. Prices are ok, food is ok. Unfortunately, the one item I /expect/ to be done well at any dim sum place, shrimp dumplings, had really gummy wrapper. OK tasting, but just not right. With better options nearby, I don't see why you would come here.
(3)Ellen C.
This is my go-to Dim Sum restaurant. It's huge, in an old theatre, and they put up with me even when I don't have an Asian person with me! It's always quiet enough to talk. The food is always tasty, it's reasonably priced (last time we paid $9/person. Though admittedly, I don't eat a ton). The one downside is it can be awfully hard to get them to give you your check so you can leave. I wouldn't go on my way to an airport, but overall, great place!
(4)Cassandra M.
I've done a whole lot of dim sum in the past few years, and Emperor Garden (aka Empire Garden) takes the cake. However, I'm not too big on their regular dishes outside of Dim Sum. Top 5 treats: 5.) shrimp noodle (big thick rice noodle with yummy sauce on top and shrimps inside) 4.) chinese broccoli (as it seems, dipped in oil, squirt of same yummy sauce as shrimp noodle.) 3.) all types of shumai (shrimp, pork, beef ball, taro inside rice pocket) 2.) BBQ pork buns - steamed (clouds of rice flour buns with BBQ pork inside) 1.) PORK DONUTS - Don't be disgusted by the name. (BBQ pork inside of a flaky, slightly sweet flour pastry.) BUT, don't forget to eat the sesame balls, chicken buns, Malasian sweet bread, hot, silken tofu with sweet, ginger sauce, anything made with taro. Because we've been coming here for years, I think the staff is finally starting to recognize us. I could be imagining things though. Don't be afraid of their seemingly brash attitude, its nothing personal, just a different culture. You've got to ask questions and flag them down to get the food you want. They're totally warm people when you get talking to them.
(5)Justin S.
Decent food, had better. Good staff and very nice dining room. I am sure they have "off menu" authentic Chinese food, if desired.
(3)Christine L.
1. Only go there for Dim Sum- end of story. If you want to be "adventurous' and eat dinner there you will be disappointed. 2. If you have anxiety about any of the following don't eat there: a. Death by suffocation of too many bodies b. Theaters c. a lot of screaming asian people, young and old, male and female. 3. If you are easily miffed by racial profiling, do not eat there. If you are non-yellow, you WILL be served a fork (sometimes two if you are over 6 feet tall, like my boyfriend), and a glass of water. 4. If you love dim sum, theirs is comparable to Hei La Moon, China Pearl. The food is better than Chau Chau's and Peach Farm, in my opinion. Ordering tips: three basic stand-by's, hard to go wrong with these 1. ja leurng- fried dough wrapped in rice noodle. The common counter part is "Ha Cheurng," which is shrimp wrapped in rice noodle. 2. Ha Gao- Shrimp Dumplings 3. Shu Mai- uhhh it's a type of cylindrical dumpling For me it's all about the experience. The dim sum places that don't use carts, yeah, that's a big heck no from me. Empire Garden is HUGE; therefore, there isn't as much of the megaphone shouting of numbers in english and chinese like at Hei La moon. Also, when they reach capacity in the large room, they have a side room that has a lot of windows, so that's a big differentiator from Hei La Moon's creepy basement. That's pretty much it. Do it.
(4)Te R.
emperor's garden (or empire garden) has one of the best dimsum in boston. for me, the discriminability for dimsum goes down once it passes the threshold. the thing i love about this place was the decor. it used to be a theatre!!! so it felt like you're dining in a fancy expensive chinese restaurant. i went there for dimsum dinner once. it was pretty quiet so the service was particularly attentive unlike most chinese joints. i came here couple times for dimsum brunch during weekdays, and it was fairly crowded. every time i came the cost was little below $15, which is awesome.
(5)John A.
Why can't Atlanta have places like these? I suppose there isn't enough foot traffic as this place has sitting in Boston's China Town on street level. Okay, so you have to walk up the steps (or use the elevator) to enter this old looking building, but the dining hall is HUGE. The ceiling goes way up, making it look like it may have been a theater at one point. You sit down and you wait for the first dim sum cart to arrive. Sadly, even though I'm Azn, I couldn't understand what any of them were saying, so I just took one of everything from every cart :D I was in heaven. There was quite a bit of baby shrimp in a lot of the dishes, but there was enough of a variety to satisfy me. There's a parking garage half a block to the left of the of entrance (when facing it) that will let you park there for $10/all day if you get it validated.
(4)April M.
Empire Garden (whose sign also says "Emperor Garden") is like a family tradition for me at this point. Every-time my chinese fiancé's mom comes up to visit, we make a morning dim sum trip to EG and it's just glorious. Been doing it for 7+ years and it never gets old. You WILL get faster, better seating if you are with a chinese speaking individual. It's great walking in, going right by the group of white people sitting outside waiting for a table, and directly into the middle of the room, where there are multiple tables clearly open that could easily accommodate the poor saps in the hallway...oh, the perils of not having an asian friend! So the way dim sum works is, you are seated, you are given your white card (which will serve as your bill - not to be confused with a green card), plate, tea cup, chop sticks and napkins. They roll carts of pre-cooked food around the large dining room, table to table, and the cute old asian ladies try their best to convince you that you do, indeed, want the item they are serving from their steamy, wheeled cart. Once you agree to the item without actually realizing it, they will leave the dish, grab your card, stamp it, and move on with a smile. Dim sum is made to share as a table, but greedy, naive white people don't always realize that, and they end up ordering entire dishes for themselves. Unfortunate. I love eating here, and half of that is because I'm with people I love every time I do. The other half is that I enjoy eating authentic chinese brunch when I'm hungover (which half of the time, I am). Definitely give it a try. Bring your chinese friend along. Be ready to share. Be ready to have more food on the table than you can likely finish. Be ready to not quite know what's in the food on your table. Be ready to enjoy! Best of all, the price is super cheap for what you get! They validate parking for Archstone ONLY!
(4)Stephanie L.
I went here with my family a year or so ago for dinner. Ordering off of a menu, it shouldn't be that hard to order vegetarian, right? Most places nowadays have tofu dishes, right? False. We had to special order an eggplant dish without the beef (that was supposed to come with it), and it didn't even taste great in the end. I think we got charged the full amount for it. thumbs down for having a limited menu ... it might have changed since then but I wouldn't know, since I've avoided this place ever since.
(2)Tammy L.
I used to love Empire Garden. There was a point in my life when I was madly in love with their shrimp dumplings and their pork buns. But I think I started disliking their food a few years ago. Everything started to taste bland and definitely not fresh. It's the same situation for dinners and banquets. I've been to at least three banquets here and maybe a half a dozen family dinners. Let's just say that if you're hungry and you just need SOMETHING to fill your stomach, then come here. Otherwise, I'd advise you to go walk about two blocks to Hei La Moon. But I give this place three stars because I do have a soft spot for their interior decor and their chicken feet.
(3)Simon L.
Surprisingly good dim sum service. I was on my own today but was ushered into a side room that I did not even know existed. Within 5 minutes, the room was packed and out of no where 5 carts of different steaming delicacies are pushed around the room with tops removed and fillings explained. By the time I had finished ordering, I had 5 different kinds of dim sum on the table: chicken, rice and egg steamed in grape leaves, shrimp soup dumpling, shrimp shu mai, chopped pork knuckles with beans and pork meatballs. The flavors were multitude, textures varied and service polite. As others have noted, the place is enormous and high noon is literally just that - everyone seems to show up then for dim sum on Sundays. With a beer, the entire bill was $20.
(4)Camille C.
This place has terrible service! They wouldn't serve me a drink because I didn't look my age(?) when we were leaving they chased my friend to get her credit card because they thought she wasn't going to pay! Ohhh then they ran out after us asking why we didn't tip!! Seriously who does that? They actually asked for a tip...
(1)Dan G.
I thought the sign clearly says Emperors Garden? Maybe Im blind...So I went today and I love going here because it feels like you are at a huge wedding reception. Its really a huge and amazing looking space. Soooooo...I hope I don't get kicked in the head, buuuuuut...I've only been for dim sum and of course everyone hopefully knows that like 80% of the dim sum dishes come frozen and can be bought in any asian market? They all taste the same from dim sum restaurant to dim sum restaurant. Well ok back that up...Im sure they make their own fried deliciousness and vegetables and soups. I love bringing first timers to this place because its just so huge, and I have only waited once, for about 10 minutes, but even before you sit down on a busy day you are attacked from every direction with pork buns galore to shrimp dumpling dreams. You really don't need a translator, I mean, seriously? Half the fun of dim sum anywhere is the lack of communication you have with the lovely cart ladies. You ask them what it is and they struggle with it, and then you have to make that quick decision..try it or not?. I mean unless you are allergic to a lot of things, whats with the need to know everything about it? One of my favorites is the..I dont know what it is, but its sticky rice filled with sausage, duck and vegetables wrapped in banana or lotus leaves (not sure which) and its just really delicious. A second favorite is the white fluffy pork bun, but not the one that looks like a glazed dinner roll. Its cheap, its good and its abundant..have some imagination when you go for dim sum.
(4)Jason L.
We walked in and froze after stepping in...... amazed at the decor. Our group, (and the birthday boy) were stricken by the theater decor and grand stage. Awesome high curved ceiling. We were pumped and hungry for some dim sum. Onwards to good eating?? Sat in the lower seating area, at a table with dirty tablecloth. (Hey, you know, its Chinatown, oh well, at least we're in a f***ing theater for lunch right! awesome) We were immediately surrounded by carts and eager servers! Fast service, and quickly landed 7 dishes. I threw some mandarin/cantonese at them, and the server was kind enough to have the kitchen make us rice rolls with fried dough (Za liang) since they don't have any. Onto the food: Oh wow, everything was average / below average. Barely tasted bamboo in the Har gao , the xiao long bao were kinda a disaster, no pork in the bbq pork turnover we got. Sticky rice was ok....ive had better. Shu mai was similar to the frozen ones I get from 88. The only nice and hot item was the za liang, which was made to order by the kitchen, which was actually really good. (My friends, which don't eat much dim sum, were fine with it, thought it was good). For $10/person, china pearl/winsor is much better quality. I love dim sum, and always go nuts in hong kong, but wow have not been so disappointed in a while. However, the decor is worth going to see. .... [but just once]. Food (4/10) Decor (5/5) Service (4/5)
(2)Lea G.
Disclaimer: Tried & True Dim Sum place - not for those of you who think Chinese food = PF Chang's...not that there's anything wrong with PF Chang's =) I was really happy to find this place in Chinatown. We were not craving a big lunch (as we planned on eating mini-meals the whole day). We decided to have some dim sum. We went up the stairs and to our surprise it was a giant banquet hall with pink round tables and numerous dim sum carts being pushed about. We immediately felt like we were in Taiwan and eagerly followed our host to the next available table. We watched the carts being pushed around and because my friend had never experienced real dim sum before I looked for the safe bets: barbeque pork buns, shrimp shumai, shrimp filled fried wonton and turnip cake. The food is fast and good. My first time dim sum'er was VERY happy. She doesn't scare easily so I know she would enjoy it... I live in San Francisco and travel all over Asia so this was a very nice find for me in Boston.
(4)Raoul C.
If I'm going clubbing in the city, I love starting my night here. As mentioned by a few already, the cocktail selection here is hilariously strong, cheap and fruity. Lots of rum-based stuff, pineapple juice and an umbrella tossed in almost every drink. At $6 a piece, you can't go wrong. Suffering Bastard and Zombies are my favourite. The description on the menu? "This is it." Can't vouch for the food, but the decor is all kinds of awesome - you're getting drunk in an old theatre with dragons eying you up. Bring friends and laugh at how uncomfortable the waiters get when you ask for 6 zombies.
(4)Amanda N.
You can't beat lunch for two costing $18.10, and being completely stuffed when you leave. My favorites are the steamed pork buns, steamed dumplings, and the sticky rice. Oh yeah, and get the egg custards if you are a fan, they are fantastic!!
(4)Theresa J.
I went here today for the second time and I am not really sure I will be back. There was nothing specifically wrong with any of the dishes I ordered. I just felt like there was a lack of good service and the food was nothing spectacular. Yes it was edible and yes it was decent but there was nothing I had that would make me rush there again in a hurry. I'll stick to Winsor when I am in Chinatown and want dim sum.
(3)Mia F.
Whenever i'm in town visiting my sister and need a good sunday brunch we always end up here..... I've been to dim sum here countless times, and this was the first place i really felt comfortable knowing exactly what i was ordering and there wasn't a sneak attack of baby shrimp in every item (like i've seen in the place across the street) i'm not saying i'm against baby shrimp, it just doesn't need to be in everything! I definitely have some favorites that i must always get: pork buns, turnip cakes, that steamed chinese vegetable that looks like asparagus, but tastes like broccoli, but isn't quite either vegetable & of course dumplings galore! I'm a dumpling fanatic. I've been quite adventurous there, but within reason...nothing blatantly fish head fishy and no chicken feet or organ meats.....unless there's some of said random personal no-no meats inside the sticky rice square that does happen to be filled with various delicious mystery meats. In this case - ignorance is belly bliss. The service is standard dim sum, the sea of carts on a busy late morning is entertaining, as well as the decor of the old renovated theater. I like to look around and see what huge families order. An overwhelming feast for 2 is usually less than 15 bucks per person. The bathroom is pretty standard not clean. If you're in a pinch it won't kill you immediately, but if you've got stellar plumbing control i'd opt to hold it. Conservative 1st timers: go with someone (semi)-seasoned Adventurous 1st timers: don't mind sampling whatever may be wrapped in rice noodle inside those cute little bamboo containers? Get some! *Remember there are chinese doughnuts and there are also chinese doughnuts with pork in them. Both are surprisingly tasty.
(4)Lauren S.
This place is amazing in terms of atmosphere and deliciousness level of the food. The only problem I see is that if you have any food allergies or preferences against shrimp or pork you shouldn't eat here (for Dim Sum) because they will tell you it's one thing and it may very well be another. They don't speak much English. ...But if you're like me and enjoy all things Chinese and Dim Sum, with out regard for specific ingredients, then DEFINITELY EAT HERE.
(4)Eric S.
The food is sometimes decent and sometimes not-so-decent. With all the other choices around chinatown, I'd skip this one although it does have a charm to it since it used to be a movie theater.
(3)Stephen K.
"That guy spit in my food so many times but it doesn't matter." That sums up the view of about half of the 15-person group that went to Empire Garden tonight, though I was unfortunately in the other group that kind of felt sick and underwhelmed at the end of the meal. This place is 2.5 stars, though I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt for my satisfied friends. When we got there and sat down, we almost left because the place was basically empty, other than a tourist family. After reading some Yelp reviews on my phone, we decided to stay. As others have noted, the decor is a little odd. It almost certainly used to be a theatre, and I'm sure the atmosphere is pretty cool when it's full... but not so much at 8 p.m. The food was okay. The guy from Hong Kong said it was pretty authentic. The people that got the dim sum were most satisfied, but I and a few others ordered off the menu. They had an extensive list of cheap drinks, often with fun names. My favorite part of the evening was when someone asked the waiter what was in the scorpion bowl and he said (imagine an extremely stereotypical thick Chinese accent), "...the lime... and the juice." Another drink was described as "the alcohol... and the juice." Probably won't go back, but it was an experience, if that counts for anything.
(3)Hilary C.
Despite the novelty of them having gutted an old theater, I was not impressed by the dim sum here. I would sooner to to China Pearl or Hei La Moon for Dim Sum. Prices are comparable to most places. I found the frequency of the carts and the available variety to be a shortcoming. That said, it's not like they have bad dim sum. It tastes good and whatnot, but the full dim sum experience is missing. Also, if you're going here, request to sit on the main floor, not in one of the higher level seats, as there is a problem with cart circulation.
(2)Kevin H.
this place my wife took me to for the first time and it was incrediable the food was hot the hot tea made you calm down after the hustle and busle of the city the staff was great and the food was hot and well cooked defanetly a in the cut eatery
(5)Merri L.
I had dim sum at Empire Garden in Chinatown Boston MA on Sunday morning. I had been there once before, a couple months ago. This place serves dim sum all day, but it's different after 3. The first time I went, it was 4 or 5. We sat in a very girly white and pink room with pink flowers everywhere and chinese AAAhhhh aahhh music going on in the background loudly. It seemed like the same couple of songs were playing on a loop. In the afternoon, they don't get that many people, so you order off of a dim sum menu, instead of carts. The food was kind of cold, and not that good, plus some things, they were out of it. All of this combined to not a great meal, and so I hadn't gone back. This place always got good reviews though, so on Sunday, we went back, but at peak time this time. Now, we got to sit in the main room. This is an old theatre, so the main room is HUGE. We got to have the little carts coming around, they way they should, and the food was very good. There were no grossly girly cake looking decorations or annoying music. So it was a big improvement. The only problem I'd have is that, probably because the room is so large, the people didn't come around with carts often. We were starving for a long time, waiting for more food. Eventually, we ate a lot, and the bill was very cheap, only $40 something for four hungry people. You should check this place out. I'm not really sure which I like better though, this or China Pearl. Going on the taste of the free water you can get, take this place. added note: going back a few other times, we hardly got any food and it wasn't as good, so i would reccomend trying someplace else.
(2)Alyssa N.
Cool setting, the old theater is shabby but grand. The food a bit on the greasy side, at least for my stomach. Cheap and decent food, efficient service.
(3)H T.
The dim sum at this place is good. It's not as crowded as China Pearl, but the food is not as good as CP.
(4)Jeffrey R.
I don't know why but the sign and front door of the Emperor's Garden have intrigued me for a while now. Finally, my girlfriend and I went for dinner last Friday night. Walking into that odd, vacant, elegant downstairs lobby immediately told me I was on to something. We walked up the stairs and the contrast between the beauty of the place and the sheer ghost town-ness of it all made my girlfriend question the legitimacy of the place. This also further solidified my excitment for the Emperor's Garden. When we finally made it into the ballroom / dining hall, I was amazed. Such a cool place, so bizarre, so grand, so insane. The staff was really attentive, the food was good. They've got i think One Million cool drinks (headhunter, Mai Tai, Rum Runner, etc). And I just couldn't get over how cool the place was. I think they need to have some type of concert or party in this space...The Emperor's Garden After Dark.
(4)el e.
entrees were pretty nasty -- got the chicken mushroom and something else. dim sum was great -- radish cakes and some shrimp dumplings (if i recall correctly, which i probably don't). still, no excuse for nasty entrees that are somewhat cold.
(3)Rochelle R.
My quest to check out the Chinatowns of major cities started with London's Chinatown. It was so different from the Chinatowns in the US. It was clean and the buildings were very English. I have also checked out San Francisco's Chinatown (the best so far) and of course LA, so I was curious how Boston's looked like. I was very disappointed. It was rather small area and it looked like there were more Vietnamese restaurants than Chinese restaurants and I didn't even see 1 boba shop. Strange. Since I didn't Yelp for a restaurant in the area, I just went old school and looked for a restaurant that had potential of being good. The place was huge inside, it looked like a old theater they converted into a restaurant. I felt like I was in some Wong Kar Wai film. I ordered my usual....siu mai, chasu bao, etc. The waiter was impressed that my friend and I could use chopsticks and didn't need forks. Maybe that was indication that way too many tourists come into this joint. There were alot of Asians eating here, so it looked promising. The siu mai was okay, but the bao was flavorless. The sweet tofu was good since the broth had a hint of ginger, which was a nice touch. This was the only Chinese restaurant I tried in Boston, but I have a theory....the best Italian food stateside is on the East Coast and the best Asian food is on the West Coast. My friend who lived in Boston for a few years agrees that the Asian food sucks in Boston.
(2)Gaby S.
This place has the worst service. We were seated as they were putting a tablecloth on the table, but the tablecloth had a huge stain right in the middle. We waited about 20 minutes before someone came to take our order. We ordered dim sum from the after hours menu and a drink. The waiter brought us tea, but never brought our drink. We noticed that the table that came in after us, however, was quickly waited on and received their drink order before we did. We tried to get the attention of the waiter and manager on several occasions, but they did not notice. After waiting for another 30 minutes, we decided to leave. I don't know how the food was, but if it anything like the service, I'm sure it's lousy.
(1)Michael G.
This is a huge restaurant with gaudy Chinese decorations on the wall, but that's not why you come here. Instead, you want the dim sum. Coming here on a weekend for lunch is like going to any other crowded dim sum place. The food is good, though not incredible. You might want to bring someone who speaks Chinese, though, to understand what in the world they're pushing around on the carts.
(3)Esther L.
This is my favorite dim sum place in Chinatown. It used to be an old theater, and they converted it into a Chinese restaurant, so its pretty inside. When you walk in, it smells funny-greasy sometimes. But the food is really good. It gets busy on weekends, so go early for dim sum. Food at dinner is pretty standard Chinese-fare/ nothing special about it.
(4)Danae K.
This is your average Dim Sum restaurant. Whenever I go with a Cantonese speaking friend, the service is slightly better and faster. Which makes sense :) The ceilings are very high, and it must have been a theater in the past since the entire ambiance is that of a "grand" past era. I have never liked the fried rice they served, but standard great options include steamed pork buns, shrimp shumai and the tofu. It's location is great since it's right off the corner of Boylston and Washington st. Pretty average and well priced!
(3)Alice S.
This place was better in the late 90s early 2000s. Their food was better and it seemed much more popular. I remember how I used to love coming here because the interior was so beautiful. However, the quality of their food has deteriorated. Dishes are hit or miss, and food is best described as just okay. The last time i came here, the restaurant was relatively empty, and I almost felt lonely eating in such a large space.
(2)Sozi N.
I have been here many times for weddings and what I really like about it is the ballroom it's beautiful, art works on the ceiling and walls and with the right lighting it's magical, it's the only dim sum restaurant in Chinatown that can hold 500+ people, I recently went back this past weekend for another wedding and I am very disappointed with the service. Workers are rude and don't do their jobs. You ask for something and they pretty much ignore you. We had a 7 course meal for the reception, the first dish was a mix appetizer which I thought was pretty good, the food came out pretty slow gradually everything starts to the taste the same. Overall the venue is beautiful but I wouldn't come back to eat
(2)PV D.
Went here for a wedding and the good and service was horrendous!! I asked the waiter for a napkin and he yelled at me to sit down and he will bring one. All this in Chinese and I don't speak of Chinese. All bc his Racist ass think everyone who's asian is Chinese. And did he ever come back w a napkin? NO I asked the bartender for a heinekin beer and he said they only have corona. He then shoved a corona in my face and says it taste just the same. Who the eff is he joking with? And then came the food. It was a 10 dish menu and 6 was aight. Couldn't recall but they taste like typical Chinese food that would only taste good if you were wasted drunk. The other 4 dishes were so dry. The shrimp rice was flavorless, tasted old and had so little shrimp. The noodle tasted the same except it was even more dry. The mushroom soup was the worse. The texture was slimy and it tasted like slime. Seriously, it tasted like someone threw a bag of salt into it. What was a major disappoint is that I'm always a fan of Chinese crispy skin chicken. Except here, the crispy part was soggy. Like the soup, it had too much salt. And if you're thirsty, bring your own water bc the waiter was no where to be found most of the night. Bad food, horribe rude staff = shotty venue for a wedding
(1)Jessica B.
I really love Dim Sum on a rainy Sunday morning and Empire Garden Restaurant does not disappoint. The key is to show up around 10:30, beat the crowd, and get first dibs on everything. I was hungover, so this was no mean trick, but well worth it. There were five of us today. One of my friends' parents run a Chinese restaurant, so he is good at getting the good stuff. I mainly had shrimp dumplings, steamed Chinese broccoli, a Cantonese barbecued pork bun, Taro cake, and Jin deui, for dessert, which is dough filled with red bean paste, and covered in sesame seeds. All were quite good. The building is pretty cool, lots of interesting art. It feels like it used to be a theater, and I've been told more recently it was a strip club. The servers were friendly and all the good stuff came by our table. Do note that you can't order off the menu during Dim Sum. The price was awesome. We all pigged out for $13/head including tip. If you park in the garage next door, Arch, the restaurant validates, so it's $10. I think I may prefer the atmosphere here and the food at Hei La Moon, but I like them both a lot. Invitations to Empire Garden Restaurant will NOT be turned down.
(4)Stella S.
Love this place, one of the better dim sum places I've tried.
(4)CC W.
Served us some very old dumplings...easily been sitting outside for hours.....gross! The worse dim sum experience ever!
(1)Jennifer G.
One of my favorite dim sum places in Chinatown. The restaurant is decently sized, unlike most other restaurants in the area, so there usually isn't a wait. You get your standard dim sum pushed around in a cart -- my faves are the shrimp dumplings & anything shrimp really! You get a pretty good meal for around $10, sometimes less. If you haven't had dim sum before, it's like tapas style Chinese food. Definitely worth it!
(5)Frances N.
Come here for dim sum at $10/person as long as you can handle the stern/grouchy service. FOOD - 3 stars ===== Great for the price. If this is the best dimsum Boston has to offer, I'd be disappointed. SERVICE - 2 stars ======= Pretty lackluster service, even during the midafternoon low tide. The waiters and manager here won't pander to you: if you disagree with how they run things, they will stand their ground and snap right back at you! I complained in Mandarin to the manager that they didn't tell us they'd charge $0.50/person for the tea and he angrily retorted that that was the case in all of China/Japantown. OK, that's fine, but smile, please, ATMOSPHERE - 3 stars ============ The restaurant is decorated like a funky, kitschy version of a Chinese opera auditorium? Clean bathrooms, though. We didn't go at a peak time, so I can't speak to how busy this place usually gets.
(2)Katie Y.
The food is okay and the decoration, from the days when it was an opera theater makes it look splendid. The lighting is pretty dark (like when the show is about to start), and the service is okay. Sometimes, the people would just park near the kitchen but we would just walk over there and choose what we like (woohoo fresh steamed batch). It's not the best but it's okay. The food improved compared to a few years ago so if you know what to order, you'll be okay.
(3)Linnie T.
Worst place to hold a wedding reception. My table was served a half raw steam fish. Butchered wedding cake that was not cut properly but mashed in a pile on a plate. Every dish that came out was wrong. Flavoring is off, orientation is not presentable. Terrible service.
(1)Jing M.
My boyfriend suggested dim sum together, so we went to this place. I trusted his choice, so I didn't check how good the restaurant is beforehand. This place is huge, with lots of seating in the hall. It was almost packed when we went. We were seated at a small table around the corner, which is not ideal, as it's too close to the kitchen and the chairs were a bit shaky. We ordered shrimp dumplings, shrimp shumai, pork buns, leaf wrapped chicken with rice, and some vegetables. I like the shrimp shumai, but not very into the dumplings. It's possible that we've waited a bit too long before we started trying the dumplings so they were a bit dry. I also think the wrap could be thinner so that we can taste more of the shrimp. Having tasted better shrimp dumplings in HongKong and even a small town like Ann Arbor, I'm a little disappointed at what they have. The wrapped chicken with rice was just OK, not moist enough either. The service was not satisfying, which was expected in a busy Chinese restaurant. We had to wait quite a long time to get the shumai as the person was moving too fast. I think for whichever Chinese restaurant, they should probably start thinking about how to provide better service for customers.
(3)Yen D.
Atmosphere is great (super cool old theatre with Chinese music in the background), food was not so great, service was fine. We got some har kao (shrimp dumpling), lotus buns, shu mai, "crystal pork-taro buns", and shrimp in the wide noodles topped with sweet soy sauce. The wrappers on the har kao and shu mai are just too thick and glutinous for my taste- they detract from the filling. The filling on the har kao is actually really good, with actual pieces of shrimp instead of ground up shrimp paste, but it fell out of the wrapper and I just ended up eating that. Lotus buns were a bit dry. Shrimp in the wide noodles, which is one of my fav dim sum dishes, again suffered from being too glutinous. This is the problem with ordering off of menus instead of carts (we didn't go in the a.m. but they serve dim sum all the time)- I thought I knew what I'd be getting with the pork-taro, but what came out was just super greasy with diced taro and not the light fluffiness I was hoping for with ground taro. It was $10 for each of us, and we needed to eat something fast before the opera, so this did the trick in speediness. I also ordered the fried turnip cake but it didn't come out (though he did repeat the order to me)- oh well, they didn't charge us for it. Definitely prefer Hei La Moon, if only for the thickness of the wrappers.
(2)Bruce D.
It's one of those places where the huge sign outside says "Emperor..." Yet the sign on the door says Empire. Couldn't decide? Might as well call it, "Beware Of No English and Inconsideracy." Three stars? More like one or none. Besides food being DECENT, service wasn't to brag about. The dishes they gave us were a tad dirty. The tea pot provided still was a bit brown the spout and all around. The fact no one speaks English here. It's also the fact that the wait service cleaned up our table while we still sat there. Thus, discarding the lid to my baby sisters milk and her muffin she was still eating. Talk about being considerate. Three stars might be a little modest.
(1)Robert C.
Wow. This placed sucked. Plain and simple. Waiter was soooo rude. Food was terrible and the drinks completely watered down. Trust me people. You do not want to come here. Be warned Update. So I went to Q just a few steps away. Drinking a real Mai tai and enjoying the great wait staff. This just reinforces the above review of how bad empire is! Holy crap that place sucked!
(1)Nancy F.
Loved it. Gotta be the most special place for dim sum!!!! Seriously awesome. Best yee shee gow I've ever tasted. There's even pink tablecloth. So classy. This is a true gem. Reminds me when I was a child when I went to chinese theater! So awesome!!
(5)Brynn S.
If I could leave negative stars, I would. People need to be warned about this place. The staff is incompetent. The servers were unresponsive when we brought my friend's severe allergy to their attention. I love a good Mai Tai as much as anyone. These cocktails were gross. The food is greasy but not in a good way--a horrible reflection of the amazing food Boston's Chinatown has to offer. Avoid eating here at all costs. It's seems like kitschy fun; it's not. There are pictures of the owner, David Wong, all over the place... rubbing elbows with Boston celebs. Empire Garden is Wong alright, totally Wong!
(1)Serena P.
I went here for an awards ceremony and never knew such a huge Chinese banquet area existed in Boston! I guess I haven't been to many but my friends took me to the China Pearl once for Sunday brunch and I thought that was huge! There's detailed paintings and moulding work. You might think you're at an opera house. I enjoyed the authentic Chinese dishes they brought out - or so I presume authentic since I don't typically eat the food at Chinese restaurants. It was fresh, tasty, and service was good!
(4)Moe Y.
Came for dim sum because the zagat said it was one of the best places in Boston. We were seated pretty quickly and we got served by the shu mai cart in seconds. That was about it. We didn't see another cart for a long time. Even when we waved one down, they acknowledged and then went the other direction. It took other people at another table to tell them as well we wanted the cart before they came back. Total of three cart came by in the span of one hour!!! Very slow for average food and mediocre for a place that came up as a top place in the zagat. Guess I better follow yelp reviews from now on.
(2)Lisa L.
I have been coming here ever since I was a little baby cause of my parents. Our service and food are alright, nothing to boast about really and nothing too problematic so I brought my friend who was a desi and never had dim sum to try it. The service and food were alright, again nothing to boast and nothing to cry about. I came here again today with my friends, desi and white, because we missed a movie and we were hungry. Our service was horrible. Food was alright. Service absolutely horrendous. We are in high school so they probably thought we needed some "guidance" to eating dim sum. Which we honestly don't. We were sat down and they would not stop bombarding us with food that we did not ask for and that we did not want. They also gave us a pitcher of iced water with some yellow foamy stuff on the pitcher mouth. Absolutely gross and disgusting but I said nothing. They did not ask us what kind of tea we wanted. Like really now? I had dim sum before, atleast ask us what kind!!! Which they didn't, and gave us an unknown tea that I forced them to take back. They charge the tea .50$$ per person and none of us wanted it. So we got the gross pitcher of water. Food were also most likely from the day before since one of the cart lady (This cart lady was really nice compared to the others, except it could be due to the fact that we got dishes from her cart and not from the others.) went somewhere and brought it out. What really bugs me was the fact that they kept on muttering stupid stuff like "she doesn't know how to eat" just please excuse me for not having the same taste buds!! Also the waiter was really rude, he kept staring at us after we paid and we were getting our stuff to leave. He then leaned over and said "you need to pay tip". Sorry, but I don't NEED TO PAY TIP. It's common COURTESY TO. I don't HAVE TO if I don't WANT TO. Their attitude did not deserve tip. Especially after saying that I have to give it. Please keep in mind that I can speak Cantonese and English so I understood what they were saying. We also came here on a morning. I will not be coming back here even though I grew up eating here. My lazy butt will be eating at other places that I grew up with.
(1)Patricia N.
Bad bad bad service!! By far the worse one in Chinatown!!!! They are not friendly, and rude!! If I want self service I would have eaten at home!!! Maybe these chines folks should think more of customer service!!! Cuz they are not going to get business from me.. I don't need them to butter me up or kiss my ass, I just need them to be at least decent and do their damn job right!!!
(1)Michael D.
From the outside it doesnt look appealing like a run down gimmicky restaurant. But untill you sit down you get complimentary oolong tea. The restaurant is an old theatre and if you want just chinese food instead of the other mixes then this place surprised me and was very delicious got a few appetizers and the meal overall was very affordable! I was really happy I went in and shouldnt of judged it by its cover I will be back again!
(4)Brittany D.
This is the best chinese ive ever had. Its never busy here and I dont know why, but I cant complain since on both dates Ive had here it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. The tea is hand rolled loose leaf, general gaos and szechuan dishes are amazing, as are the peking raviolis. Love this place, dont let appearances fool you!
(5)Corey W.
This review is based on my experience of their food during a wedding I attended in their ballroom. Bottom line their food was very hit or miss. I can't say much for the price because it was some one else's wedding. We ended up getting served an 11 course meal! I powered through and tried a little of every course. My biggest problem was with their seasoning of their food. It was very inconsistent. One course would be well flavored, and the next would be completely bland, without any spice, salt or pepper to be found. The other thing that was a negative is while there is nothing that jumps out, and the place has a lot of character being an old opera house it "feels" sorta dirty. Then there is a very faint subtle "off" smell that is off putting.
(2)Carolyn L.
Dimsum at an amazing price, but I've definitely had better. Maybe it's because I've been spoiled by the infamous Koi Palace? But the food didn't knock my socks off. There were plenty of waiters pushing the carts and I liked how nice they were! Everywhere else I've been, if you didn't want what they were offering, the servers would actually take offense and act kinda pissed. One of my favorites was this sort of fried taro piece that I'd never seen anywhere else. Perfect amount of crunch! The xiao long baos are so-so; I wouldn't order it again. The giant rice noodle with shrimps inside was a favorite at our table. We ended up getting two more orders! Disappointing was the fried taro skin with shrimp inside. It was more of a mashed up shrimp goop and did not look appetizing. The baked taro ball dish was just meh; it arrived room temperature :( There was a sweet ginger/honey/tofu dessert though that I really really enjoyed! That was probably the highlight of my meal. But what I looooved about this place was the PRICE! We all left stuffed and only paid $10 each. Not bad. Especially because I'm used to spending $20! I'll probably try out other dim sum restaurants before I come back, but it's definitely on my list because i love the price and the food is decent overall.
(3)Idy T.
I was craving for some dim sum after walking around Newbury St. This place is couple steps away from the subway so it is really convenient, especially on a rainy day like today. The decor of this restaurant looks like an old theatre. There's high ceiling and it looks kind of old-fashion. It definitely gives me feeling of a dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong. I came here with my parents and my sister and we ordered: Har gow Shu mai Beef rice roll Egg tarts Pork ribs and chicken feet rice Turnip cake and chestnut cake Congee Sweet Soft Tofu (total comes out to be $28.15) Everything is alright. Each order is categorized as small, medium, large, and special. The Har gow (shrimp dumpling) kind of tasted funky. I like the egg tarts, pork ribs and chicken feet rice, and sweet soft tofu. I hate how it gets super hot here! They don't turn the a/c on so I was sweating as I was eating here!
(3)Alberto C.
Worst place ever.... I've been to way better place. The food is alright but the service here SUCKS!!! When I finish the tea in my pot, they look at it and don't even do anything about it... I have to ask them to refill my pot.. seriously? come on!! I wouldn't want to say anything until I got my bill. The pricing was alright but they told me that I have to give them more tip. I gave them 20% already and they said it's not enough.. really now? Tips? Come on...
(1)Rick B.
Love it for what it is. A fast paced inexpensive authentic Dim Sum restaurant in one of the most unusual settings in China Town on the fringe of the Combat Zone. The food is good, the service is fine if you're cosmopolitan & been around and the atmosphere needs to be experienced.
(4)Tina H.
For a first time dim sum-er, I followed my fellow yelpers on what to try. I chose the steamed pork and steamed pork with peanut. I liked the normal steamed pork better only because the wrapper was sweeter and complimented the meat better than the peanut one with had more of a chest spring roll wrapper on it. The dim sums are big~ each order comes with 3 pieces and they are the size of large ping pong balls. They also give you a big pot of REAL tea~the leaves are brewed in the pot. A little dish with some spicy sauce came with the dim sum and it was good to try with and without on the dim sum. The place was empty except for 4 people, which made me hesitant but it was also 5 pm in the middle of the week. The almond cookie and fortune cookie at the end was a nice touch. The fortune cookie seemed a little stale but the almond cookie just magically dissolved on my tongue. I also loved the old theatre look to the place. The carvings and gold leaf look original. I would like to come back here if I am back in the Boston area to try some of the other kinds of dim sum.
(4)Charlie M.
After a long day of touristing, We wanted a short walk for dinner. Empire GArden filled the bill well as an unexpected surprise. We had shrimp with vegetables and pork fried rice. The shrimp was very good and the rice was excellent. Quantity of food was enough to fill us. Decor was pleasant. The restaurant is the balcony of an old movie theater. Much of the building's original charm remains.
(4)Victoria P.
First off I want to say that the service here was out of this world. I've always expected poor service at dim sum places because that's just the way it usually is, but empire provided better service than most 5 star restaurants. I felt like I was in some kind of alternate universe. The actual dim sum was decent, nothing spectacular, but not terrible. But the service alone tempts me for a return trip.
(4)Cassy H.
Came back here for dim sum again and decided that actually the food isn't so bad. It's better than last time, but definitely still not up to par with CA dim sum restaurants. What was really amazing with today's meal was the egg tarts (see photo)... it was so flakey; I loved it so much. Each order comes with 3 egg tarts, and I probably could have had all 3, but refrained. Must get egg tart if you are dim sum-ing at Empire!
(4)Diana L.
Been here three times now so I think it's time to declare it my top choice for dim sum in Boston. Everything is always hot, the carts come fast, the ambience is bar none totally the best. I can never get into winsor dim sum cafe because of lines but this place is DEFINITELY better than hei la moon, for suuuure. I love this place it is everything I want from dim sum. Bring your friends here when you want to impress them with how cultured you are.
(4)Vicky H.
This is one of my "goto" places when I want dim sum. The ambience is just unbelievable. It used to be a theater before it was converted to a restaurant called "Grand China". In the mornings and on weekends dim sum is served. Often Asian folks book this place for weddings and other functions. It's a very unique place and experience. Sometimes the service is a little lacking by American Standards and seem a little off-standish or cold, but that's just how it is and I don't come here for that. Today, my daughter and I ordered quite a bit: 2 orders of Har Gow - steamed shrimp dumplings in a chewy-like wrapping. As always this dish never disappoints unless the wrapping is bad. It's just full of Shrimp inside with a little bit of ginger. 1 order of (I don't know what it's called) mixture of mushroom, pork and shrimp, rolled into a ball and set on top of a mushroom, steamed. This was an amazing dish. I don't know why I didn't order a second one (oh right, because I ordered others and was so full). 1 order of Har Cheung - shrimp wrapped in flat and wide rice noodle. It's steamed and served with a soy sauce. This was awesome really good. 1 order of sticky rice - made with peanuts, chinese sausage and a few other things. The rice is raw cooked by stir frying until it's cooked. The rice itself is the sticky kind so it isn't ordinary rice. I usually don't get this because it makes you full but my little lady wanted it and she's a picky eater and loves this. 1 order of steamed clams - i don't always like this because there can still be sand in it and often the meat falls out so you get a lot of shells. This time, it was really good. I liked it a lot. Service today was nice. I asked for Ice and the waiter misunderstood me and thinking it was just WATER WITHOUT ICE... and felt embarassed and chuckled a little and came right back with the ice and apologized. He was young so i let it slide... hahaha... It was a good experience today. And before we left, we ordered 2 eggplant dishes for my friend to go, and they made it fresh and it was so hot still. By the time I took it to her, which was 3 hours later and it was still very warm. She loved it!!!
(4)Betty C.
Once a theater for showcasing popular Chinese movies, is now the largest banquet dining go to in the Chinatown area. Dim sum is available daily, busiest on the weekends.
(3)Kim F.
Service was really poor/rude. Dim Sum was average. Gnats were bombarding us and in general the place was dirty. We walked in excited because the location is fun-looking and reminded us of a Dim Sum restaurant in NYC. But the look was the only similarity.
(1)Sam L.
Went there mostly because it is the biggest in Boston. Food wasn't okay though the service could be better. We had to keep reminding the servers to cut larger pieces for us to share with the group
(3)Jenn B.
For all the BRIDES out there - Empire Garden does not honor deposits. I am hoping that by writing this review,, I may save a future bride from the devastation of my wedding day. I had booked Empire Garden as I had a very large party (~500 guests) and there aren't that many Asian banquet places in Boston that can house that many. I booked 16 months in advance and put a deposit down for my June wedding date. On a Friday evening after work about 7 months before my wedding, the owner David Wong calls me up and tells me I no longer have the date. I said that I already put the deposit down, but he claimed that I needed to find another date because my date was taken. I asked "how can this be?" You told us that the date was free and you cashed our deposit. He then told me that the date was no longer free, and I needed to find another date. When I got upset, he stated that I had come into his restaurant over the weekend and changed the date from a Saturday to a Wednesday. I informed him that I did no such thing, but he kept to his false story. I think I would remember if I physically went somewhere the past weekend as it is my OWN self, but David Wong kept deluding himself that if he could make me believe I had changed my date purposely. When I started to get really upset, he hung up on me. I called him back again, hung up on me again. This happened yet a third time. I called him a fourth time, and he picked up the phone and said "I told you not to call me, i don't want to talk to you.", and of course hung up. At that time, I took matters into my own hand and drove to the restaurant to confront him. I cannot lose my wedding date in June. Where else was I going to find another place to house 500 guests on such short notice? He could not do this to me. I found out that another party booked my same date 4 months after I did, but David Wong had wanted me to cancel. He first asked me how many tables I had, and when I said 45-50, he confirmed " no, sorry you don't have the date. You have to find another date. Talk to my lawyer on Monday. I don't need your business. I don't want your business." I had never had a vendor act to rude to me, but I was desperate for the date because my photography and other services were already booked by that point. It was such a nightmare to work with this restaurant, and I would never do business with them again. After three weeks of battling with the lawyer, I was able to get my deposit back. They felt that they could just give me back my deposit - no harm, no foul. But now I am out of choices for a vendor. In the restaurant business, ,there are two things you never mess with - weddings and funerals. I thought that was a known fact. David Wong has turrned what should have been a happy experience into an extremely stressful one. I'm thinking about taking this to the BBB and Attorney General. Therefore, BRIDES beware!
(1)D E.
We come here twice a year. Service is hit or miss. However the good tasting dim sum is why we always return. Have tried others in Boston and not as good. Just be very patient and the carts eventually come. The place is showing age. If you didn't know the dim sum was going to be so good, the front entrance may send you away.
(4)Beka O.
Probably my least favorite out of Hei La Moon, Winsor Cafe and China Pearl. Pros: easy to get seated even during peak hours, very inexpensive Cons: difficult to get food you want-especially if you're sitting near the stage area, food quality not as good as other dimsum restaurants
(3)Alexander L.
There are generally regarded to be four main Dim Sum places in Boston. These places serve Dim Sum on carts. Hei La Moon, China Pearl, Chau Chau City and Empire Garden. Right now Empire Garden is the best. Indeed you'll notice the place packed with Chinese and Chinese-American families eating together, which may be correlated with quality and authenticity. Things to notice: Har gow: Full of real shrimp, not frozen mush (like Hei La Moon) Char siu bao: Full of lean slices of Char siu, not fat. Lo bak gou: The delicious radish cake is actually fried in fresh grease (this is a serious plus, and is opposed to other the recycle grease from one day to the next) If you're looking for the best Dim Sum in Boston (still nothing compared to HK or some places in SF or NYC) then go here, for now. In the next six months, it may be different. But Empire Garden holds the current crown.
(4)Julie V.
There was definitely a point last year when my boyfriend had just discovered Empire Garden that we went back three Sundays in a row. Perhaps one of the most enjoyable things about Empire Garden is the bustling atmosphere if you come in on a weekend afternoon. Almost all the tables are full of people, carts are scattered throughout the huge dining space, and you know that the dimsum is going to be as fresh as it comes. Service is insanely fast if you get there during the peak hours. This is also probably the tastiest food you can have if you're on a budget -- whenever I visit, it usually comes to about $10 a person and we all end up totally stuffed.
(4)Meredith D.
Nathan and I are very blessed to have loving family and friends who know that we have neither the time nor the money to go home often, so they come visit us! And we repay their kindness by taking them here for a good ole "overwhelming of the senses." We have taken every single visitor to this restaurant. It's the perfect way to introduce Southerners to Boston. Their senses are saturated: sight by the beautiful opera house surroundings, sound by the cacophony of other patrons and clinking metal carts, taste/smell by the food in the air, and tactile is occupied with fumbling chopsticks. Everything is loud and fast - a waitress comes up and tosses some dim sum on the table. They ask "what is it?" The waitress, IF she responds, says "YOU EAT" and zips away with her little cart. For our slow-paced, friendly Southern visitors, it's the best way to break them in for their visit. They're more tolerant of the chaos because it's clearly another culture - something they don't consider New England to be. This is our way of preparing them for the inevitable encounter with an abrupt Bostonian (who Southerners often misinterpret as being rude.) We take them as soon as we can during their visit. We've noticed it significantly diminishes their culture shock, and minimizes questions like "how do you live here???" The food is good, the prices are fair, the service is terrible, the surroundings are beautiful, and I love it.
(4)Rasien I.
Dim Sum cravings strike when I'm vacation too... While roaming around through Boston's Chinatown, I looked up and saw the giant sign that said "DIM SUM - EMPIRE GARDEN"... I knew i had to walk in and have brunch here... I think that this place was once a theater because there was a large stage in the front and had the perfect layout for tiered seating... Anyhow... Dim Sum was average... nothing too unexpected, but it satisfied my craving. :)
(3)