Imperial China

I visited this restaurant on a friday night with a friend and i must say the only thing that was any good was the decor. We arrived promptly but waited an age for a drinks order to be taken and also had another wait for our food order to be taken.

The starters were ok at best, definately nothing to write home about. The mains were slightly more apetising, but I will add the thing we enjoyed most was the stirfried noodles with beansrouts, although they were black. The thing thatreally annoyed me was half way through my main course the waiter thought it would be a good idea to take the plate that i was using away and put another in front of me. I have never been interupted in this way at any of the chinese restaurants I have visited and thought this rather rude.

On reflection I wouldnt recommend this restaurant to anyone, unless you wanted to hire a room as apparently they have a karaoke room too, fantastic to overhear when your trying to enjoy a meal with a friend.
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Lisa Crane
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Friday, July 18, 2008

Pleasant initial impression - you could hear the sound of the water feature where carp were also swimming; the dining space was airy, whilst still allowing for some intimate dining; the atmosphere also escapes the hustle n bustle of usual Chinatown restaurants (although that could be considered part of the charm and comfort of these other places). But there emerged a more morbid reason for this quietude. The good impression was dispelled from our heads as soon as we were seated and we realised the restaurant experience did not go beyond its gimmicky aesthetic efforts. All three sets of our crockery were encrusted with dried rice and orange sauce stains. Although this was not service with a smile, that's never been a reason for my choice of restaurant, so no complaints there because food arrived (rather too?) promptly. Main and most fundamental issue was with the food; some of it was really, really poor quality. The taro croquettes were really good - made with real taro and stuffed with a meaty, flavoursome fulling, but ALL the steamed dumplings were either overly soggy or really rubbery and the beef & pineapple ones contained some indiscernible jelly-like filling which I suspect was corn-starch and which rendered the dumplings inedible. Portions were also small and the pork and preserved egg congee was a disappointment - lacking in both flavour as well as preserved egg. Would not recommend this place unless you're taking people who are unfamiliar with real, high quality Chinese food and who are easily impressed by visual gimmicks.
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wai lam
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Friday, June 20, 2008

Four of us went to Imperial China on a Saturday night on the strength of these reviews and we ordered the set meal for 4. It has to be said that the restaurant decor and service are top notch. However, the food was extremely disappointing. Small servings, reheated in some cases and I would say worse than average. Would neither go back nor recommend
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Kevin Smith
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 5
Thursday, June 12, 2008

We visited the Imperial China April 08 - the overall appearance is very nice and so was the food & service. We would definitely go back again.
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Wendy - London
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, April 21, 2008

We visited this reataurant on the strength of these reviews, It sounded nice; it was in the middle of Chinatown. It was Chinese New Year though, and they had organised things a little differently for the ensuing rush.

First: NO reservations. It was a case of first come, first served. We got there at 12 midday on the dot, and it was pretty full already. (By the time we left at 1:30 the queue was out of the door, and way beyond!!)

The waiter left both a menu and a card on which the dim sum, fried rice and noodle dishes were printed. You had to tick the dish you wanted. We chose from the card, but ordered an egg fried rice from the menu.

The steamed pork buns were extremely good, as was the chicken ginger rice. We HATED the cheung fun....but that's a matter of personal taste! What the heck is going on there!! Apparently it is steamed rice noodle batter, it looked more like a dead jellyfish pancake.... but other than this little glitch we were very happy with our visit, and we found the recommendations very useful. It has lots of space, a nice little garden area, and a huge dining space on the third floor for big parties.
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Lesley
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, February 15, 2008

I have been to Imperial China several times, both for dim sum during the day and for dinner in the evening. I think it is a top quality chinese restaurant, certainly by far the best I have tried in Chinatown, and good value for money. The atmosphere is lovely - the tables are well spaced out so you don't feel like you're crowded or claustrophobic (like you do in most other chinese restaurants). It's also very airy and the natural light comes in through the large windows on one side. There's a little coy carp pond just outside and a wooden bridge over it - the kids love the coy carp. The dim sum is excellent - go with a big group of friends and share as many as you can get. The prawns you get here are always very big and juicy - this is especially noticeable in the "har gao" (steamed prawn dumplings) and "har cheung fun". The "char siu bao" (bbq pork buns) are definitely the best I have tried, and I have tried a lot!! The buns are very soft and fluffy and the pork filling is very generous. Most evenings, there is a piano player which creates a very good atmosphere. It is usually quite busy in the evenings, especially weekends, so it is worth booking. Their fried beef fillet on the dinner menu is amazing - so tender and tasty - and I also love the filleted stir fried dover sole. You can also get filleted dover sole which is stir fried with vegetables and served in the deep fried fish carcass which acts as a plate - delicious and very impressive.
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Claire
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Sunday, December 30, 2007

I recently booked one of the private rooms for 16 people out at Imperial China for my birthday having had such a fantastic time at a friend's do shortly before. Both times, I have absolutely loved the evening and despite having high expectations for my birthday do, I was not at all disappointed.

The staff were extremely friendly, leading up to the event and on the evening itself and are very flexible with what they can provide food wise if you have any special dietary requirements.

The food was excellent and not too expensive bearing in mind we were paying for the privilege of the private karaoke bar in the menu price.

All in all, if it's singing food and / or booze you are looking for, I highly recommend this venue.
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Woody - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Sunday, December 23, 2007

Oh dear ! The Dim Sum used to be something special.

Now the Dim Sum menu's being drastically reduced and is rather mediocre.
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, November 06, 2007

I wouldnt say the dim sum is the best in London, but its pretty good and the restaurant itself is nice and relaxed - a lovely way to spend the afternoon grazing! It's particularly welcoming for westerners, despite there bieng plenty of chinese diners (always a good sign in my opinion) and is very reasonably priced.

Overall, very good indeed.
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Tony Roberts
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Saturday, November 03, 2007

I went to Imperial China on a busy Saturday night to celebrate my birthday. My friends had suggested going to a restaurant that also did karaoke and this place was suggested. After reading some of the reviews there was a degree of trepidation about choosing this place but I was not disappointed.

I had initially booked a table for 12 but at the last minute needed a table for 16 - no problem the private room was easily big enough. One of my friends could not eat red meat - alternative dishes were given for her even though it was a set menu and I did not give any prior notice. One of my friends was arriving late but they kindly kept her portions aside and warm.

There are better Chinese restaurants but the standard here was better than a lot of the other restaurants in Chinatown. The service was top rate and extremely friendly staff. The drinks came quickly and I adored the cocktails - especially the Mojitos. The £32.50 5-course set menu was good value with plenty of duck and lobster in their respective courses. The desert could have been better but then I find Chinese deserts generally quite disappointing.

The karaoke that came with the room was perfect. You could have the sound proofed room from 7pm till Midnight which is far more generous than a lot of other places. It was very addictive and we all stayed until our time was up.

Although I cannot comment on the remainder of restaurant if you want to have food and karaoke I would highly recommend here.
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AD - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Sunday, September 16, 2007