Palais Imperial Chinese Restaurant

We came for dim sum on New Year’s Day. It was delicious. We were late arriving so we had to order off the menu. This was disappointing at first, but the food came to our table fresh hot from the kitchen instead of being rolled around on a trolley. So that was good! First time we come here. We usually drive to Mandarin Ogilvie. So we are super happy to discover that this restaurant is related but within walking distance for us. We will return. I’ve always heard good things about this place. We concur!

I have to say this is the best dim sum I’ve ever had in north America. The food is great, prrice is reasonable, and service is great as well. Both the food and way of service are traditional canton style. I would recommend this place to my friends.

We decided to go here as both my dad and brother were craving Chinese food. The location was easy to find (right in Downtown Ottawa). I called ahead to make a reservation as we were six and they gave us their best table so just for that I was already pleased. The server was very courteous and the food was delicious. I am a huge fan of hot and sour soup and it was one of the bests I have had as I can’t handle too much spicyness and was just right. Food arrived hot and on time. My favourite was the sweet and sour pork, crispy on the outside yet tender and well cooked on the inside. If I lived in Ottawa I would sure visit them more often. Also it is a good price for the food. We paid $ 150 for 6 people tax and tip included and we tried many different plates; not bad Hey? Considering parents had beer and we all had pop. A must visit if you are in town and if you come with a large crowd make sure to reserve ahead of time as around dinner (at least) they seem jammed packed. I was sure happy I called ahead to reserve a table!

Came here for dim sum and left very unimpressed. The service was spotty with the same carts coming past us while carts with different dishes missing us altogether. We also ordered tea when we got there but it never came and when we got to the end of the meal the server apologized and asked if we still wanted it.
Unfortunately the problems weren’t just limited to the service. I found the food mediocre at best and a number of dishes were dry and over cooked. The only dish that I thought was above average was the spring rolls and that certainly isn’t enough to bring me back.
While it may be the only dim sum in the market I would recommend either making the trip to Somerset or deciding on something else to eat.

You must try their chicken fried rice, so good! Also, their Dimsum menu is quite good too! Probably the best Chinese restaurant in the Byward market!

Of all the Chinese restaurants I’ve been to in Ottawa, this one beats the other restaurants in Chinatown. It is priced a little bit more but I think the difference in price makes up for the quality and the cleanliness of the plac. e

Out of all the Chinese restaurants in Ottawa I find this one consistently the best though there seems to be a high premium for this.
I find the dim sum really fresh (though my friend had a bad experience recently) and things taste home made. A few other places taste like store bought dim sum that has been heated in the restaurant.
The carts seem to come very slowly and in spurts but the food is decent.
They recently had Royal Thai move into the same space. I think they have the same owner.