Imperial Inn

This place is historic. My family and I have been coming here for the past 20 years — it’s family-​owned, with many staff who have stuck by for decades. They know what they’re doing and treat their guests like family!
If you’re in the mood for dim sum, go earlier in the day on the weekends. The carts are full of steaming hot plates with the basics — har gow, cheung fun, har cheung, cha shu bao, law mai gai, etc.

This place looks 100 percent like a set from the movie Big Trouble in Little China. Philadelphia comedian Jon DelCollo ordered a Miller High Life and a Budweiser (both in bottles) at the same time and our waiter smiled big AF and said, «Party?» The bottom line is, go to this place. And if you can, make it around midnight with Jon DelCollo.

First time I went to the Imperial Inn was when a female coworker asked me if I «want to dim sum» which I took for some new sexual activity, so I agreed. She laughed and explained it was a restaurant in Chinatown we were going to. It is about 45 minutes from my house in Jersey, but we still go twice a year. The food is circulated on carts while you sit, they open lids and show you all kinds of food and place what you want on the table then check off on your tab. They offer complimentary tea and have beverages for sale. When done, they total up your check and you pay on your way out, the same older man has been there for the 10 years we have gone there. It isn’t cheap, usually $ 30 – 40 for two people at lunch depending on what you eat. Add in $ 12 for parking and the $ 8 bridge toll with gasoline for the car and you are looking at least $ 50 for lunch. Go there for the Dim Sum and enjoy.

I love this place for 3 things: Hong Kong Wonton (shrimp wonton soup), FANTASTIC eggrolls (best in the city, imo), and delicious Roast Pork Fried Rice.
The atmosphere is so/​so – what you’d expect from a Chinese restaurant that’s been around 20+ years, and the service is good. Not over the top, but friendly enough.
They are super fast with phone order pickups!
I drive all the way downtown from the suburbs just to get Chinese food from Imperial for dinner at least once a month!

The food was okay but the service REALLY sucks for Dim Sum. My boyfriend and I were there for Dim Sum on Sunday noon, and I do understand it gets busy on Sunday. However, whenever I requested for certain plates of dim sum, the waitresses always tell me it’s in a different cart. We waited for half an hour and nothing was coming. No carts whatsoever. I got a little impatient and asked one of the waitresses again, and she rolled her eyes at me and walked away. I exchanged a look with my boyfriend and decided that was it. We took the check to the counter, and one of the old ladies asked the other lady why we ordered so little food in Cantonese. The restaurant wasn’t giving us food and the waitresses were giving us attitudes. We can spend our money elsewhere. I don’t want any disrespectful service.

Good Chinese food in the heart of China town. They were able to seat us right away. The service very good. The place is a little dated but it was clean.

I loved this place. Went by myself the night before a long race, and it was dark and cold and I just wanted a Chinese restaurant like the kind I used to eat in as a kid.
Since I was alone I had only the Hong Kong wonton soup — shrimp and vegetable, no pork — and shrimp chow mein with pan fried noodles, which was really pan fried noodles, shrimp, mushrooms and Chinese vegetables. And hot tea and water.
Service was fantastic. They were excellent at checking on me and refilling water, etc. Not charging for tea or soup noodles.
Food was equally satisfying. Yummy. I ate so much I thought I might not be able to walk back to my hostel, and I couldn’t finish it all, but oh did I want to. I was so full. I don’t know the last time I have felt that stuffed. But it was so good. They did the pan fried noodles exactly right, the vegetables were fantastic. The soup was wonderful.
I would come here again the next time I’m in Philadelphia. I can tell why it’s been so many years going strong!

We had dim sum there last weekend. Quality of the food is better than a lot of other dim sum in China town. Inside the restaurant is kinda dark because there are no windows. That’s a small negative. Price is reasonable also.

Much better than last time but that is likely because I am more used to the type of cuisine. Lots of variety and several really good options. Service was very good. I want to try other dim sum options in the city though.

I was afraid to go to Joy Tsin Lau due to the GI outbreak that occurred there last year (ironically, after a lawyers’ association get-​together) and I have already been to Ocean Harbor for dim sum, so I decided to check out Imperial Inn. It’s a mystery restaurant to me because the wooden doors are always firmly shut. Why don’t they open the doors so you can peek in?
Sadly, the limiting factor here is really the service. We came on a late Sunday afternoon so I understand that it’s the end of the the lunch rush and being Chinese myself, I understand that service at Chinese restaurants is usually bare bones (aka non-​existent). Case in point here. There seemed to be all of one person with a push cart, and it seemed like he/​she would just circulate the same cart of food repeatedly. There was a gaggle of school-​age boys who seemed to serve as busboys/​semi-​waiters but they seemed more intent on staying clustered at the back of the restaurant and talking among themselves rather than actually collecting dirty/​empty dim sum dishes from one’s table.
The food wasn’t bad but I was probably on the hungrier side at the end of the meal. If you do ask for a menu and don’t want Americanized cuisine, make sure you ask for the Chinese menu– there’s a separate one altogether. I would contemplate giving this place another try but I’d probably come back a bit earlier in the afternoon because the dim sum and service were definitely winding down during my visit.

Been coming here since I was a kid.
Def my go to place when it comes to dim sum
The shrimp ball. Shu Mai. Shrimp dumpling. The shrimp steamed rice rolls are my favs
I love the taro fried rice cakes. The chicken feet. The tripe. Braised short ribs
Idk it’s all just good haha
Def go during the weekends
Sometimes during the week it’s slow and the food might not be as fresh

I cannot understand the low rating. I went here with a few friends and was sincerely pissed that I had waited so long to indulge myself in this Chinese culinary immersion. The service was on point, the food was phenomenal, the price were low, and the atmosphere authentic. I can’t recommend this spot enough.
Ever piece of food I ate was superb. Despite having a vast selection of edible wonders, this place is able to instill a unique flavor experience into each. This isn’t high Chinese cuisine, but it doesn’t pretend to be. Expect Shrimp Balls and sticky rice. And expect utter ecstacy.

Ok — this place can be hit or miss, but they’ve been pretty good the last few times I’ve been here. If it’s a weekend, don’t come until after 12pm, otherwise, they’re still going to be ramping up the dim sum selection.
Most of the time, the dim sum is quite good. I personally like the tendon, the pork rib meat (can’t recall the proper name for it right now), some of the fried dough offerings, and the shrimp balls (they have awesome shrimp balls when they are hot/​fresh). The shrimp chang fen and meat balls and shu mai are not bad. The chinese vegetables are hit or miss. The yellow steamed cake is great, the cha shao bao has gone downhill. My husband likes the chicken feet and
For dimsum, I personally prefer going upstairs. You get the carts more frequently and there is also more elbow room. There is very convenient $ 10 for 3 hours parking right across the street (literally). Also, you can order dishes off the regular menu during dim sum, but just tell your waiter early and order directly with them.
The staff are often pretty helpful and even friendly (and they are all working hard instead of playing around), but you know the one or two to avoid by the sour look on their face.
Also, if paying with a credit card, be wary, they (sometimes) apply a credit card fee — might be easier to just pay cash.

I only come to Imperial Inn for their dim sum. It is usually crowded, but they’re always accommodating and the wait is never longer than 10 mins. The staff is super friendly even though it can be hard for them to understand me sometimes, but they try! I usually pop in a little late for dim sum but the staff will take our order before they stop serving dim sum to make sure we get everything we want. I’ve never had a problem here and definitely recommend you try their dim sum!
Favs: pork xiu mai, fried shrimp balls, shrimp dumpling

This place is my favorite place for dim sum. I go here for their calamari. Some other dishes you should also try: pork buns, chicken feet, shrimp dumpling and egg tart. The atmosphere is dark and dim. This is a good place to bring a group of friends or come with family. The service here is pretty good as well. My drink was alway refilled with me needing to ask

Meh. I always appreciate an old school Asian restaurant, because usually the food is pretty good. Here, not so much. I only ordered dumplings with the intention of ordering more if I liked it…
I am all about complementary won-​tons with dipping sauce! It a good snack while waiting for your food. The pan fried dumplings came out and smelled delicious! They pour the sauce on the plate with the dumplings, so by the time you eat the next one, its soggier than the previous one… Not incredibly flavorful, I didn’t even finish them.
Keep in mind this is all I ordered food-​wise (I had a piña colada too) and I was disappointed. There are many others in Chinatown to choose from, I will try another spot if I am in the area again.

Okay. So. Two things we ordered didn’t show up, but everything that did was so effing delicious, I’m not even docking a star. Heck, once they saw my table tear into the dim sum, they probably decided to try to save us from our selves.
Must eats:
Steamed pork bun
Shrimp dumpling
Steamed custard bun
…okay, okay. Everything. Just, order one of everything!
Makes me wish I lived in Philly.

This place brings back memories! I used to live in Pennsylvania for 12 years until my dads job relocated to San Francisco, Ca. We used to go to a Chinese restaurant that looks similar to this. I remember being about 6 years old and I wanted some tea. I wanted to pour it myself. My mom was being a mom and telling me no! I bitched and screamed and acted like a total brat until she gave in. I took the tea pot from her and ended up spilling the hot tea all over my arm! I remember her saying that I should have learned my lesson! Ever since that day, I’ve never acted like a spoiled brat ever again!
Well my uncle from Pennsylvania took me and husband here with my auntie and my younger cousin, Lourdes! We didn’t have to wait long for a seat. The restaurant was a little too quiet. We could hear other people’s conversations from a couple tables down. So catching up with my Uncle I had to talk really low so our neighbors don’t have to hear us.
My uncles family is way too generous! We are a party of 5 and we ordered 7 dishes.
We ordered hargow, which are steamed shrimp dumplings.
Pork suimai. I was excited they serve this dish during dinner time. This is manly a brunch item.
Steamed and Fried Rice.
Tofu with mushrooms and greens.
Broccoli Beef.
String beans.
There was nothing special about the taste. The food here tasted like any other restaurant in china town. My memories of my childhood will definitely bring me back!

Imperial Inn is the favorite Chinese restaurant of my family in the area, so when we came to visit, this is where we had our last dinner together.
The restaurant is typical of the stereotypical Chinese restaurant. The décor is a bit out-​of-​date — the carpet has been better days, there are the usual Asian touches to be found here and there. In short, it looked legit from the get go.
The food was delicious and plentiful. The seafood items my uncle ordered came with a lot of seafood as opposed to plenty of vegetables with a smattering of seafood. Every single thing that we had was not overly salty, which is a pretty common occurrence in Chinese restaurants. I am not sure if this is due to my uncle being a regular for more than 20 years that he knew which dishes to avoid, but we were all very impressed.
The service was also quite pleasant. For our party of 8 and a baby, it seemed like they assigned us our very own waitress. She was there to refill our water pitcher the moment it was emptied, she was quick to remove the plates that we have emptied, and she went above and beyond when my nephew needed to have his diaper changed — she offered my heavily pregnant cousin, who may have difficulty maneuvering in the restroom, a table (which was hidden and was therefore not used by customers) and giving her plenty of the table paper to assure her that it is clean. That was very much appreciated.
I could understand why my family loves Imperial Inn even though there are other restaurants in the area. I know I probably will become a regular, too, if they were near me.

Cannot believe I have never reviewed this place. This is my Chinatown go to. Dad started bringing me here when I was 14. He would get chicken and cashews and I would get sweet and sour chicken. We would split fried wontons and head back to work. It’s something only he and I had. And it was great. Now I take my kids and we get Dim Sum (12 – 3) and it’s something they treasure.
This is e kind of place where nothing ever changes and I think the servers nevere age either. I know the guy who I pay behind the bar has been there for 30+ years. So don’t expect anything crazy or edgy. This is where everyone comes for comfort Chinese. So embrace it. Enjoy it. And create a tradition of your own.