The Chef Imperial Woodstock — Restaurant in West Oxfordshire

Visited here for Sunday Lunch (All you can eat buffet). It was to celebrate a friend's son 13th birthday. There were a group of 10 of us, ranging in age from 9yrs to 83yrs.

After reading the very mixed almost polar reviews on here I was rather anxious. To add to that "All you can eat buffet" is usually a byword for poor quality.

I simply cannot understand the poor reviews on here! Did you visit the same restaurant?

First impression; impressed and somewhat unnerved to be the only customers of non Chinese appearance. It was simply packed with around 80 customers, all of whom were large family groups of 8-12. Surely this had to be a good sign, it's something I have never experienced in a Chinese restaurant in the UK before.

I can only say what a fantastic experience we had. Great friendly, attentive service. Lots of freshly cooked and well presented food. Great choice, great quantity. Every dish was tasty, succulent meats, fresh vegetables, lovely rice and noodles. The waiters were so friendly and welcoming, nothing was too much trouble.

They even found a small cake and candle and presented this singing happy birthday to the lad whose 13th birthday it was.

They then offered, almost insisted, that they packed away the significant amount of food we could not finish.

This truly is all you can eat. They encourage and assure you that you can order more as much as you want. We had a lovely long relaxing lunch that lasted from 1230-1545 and were never made to feel unwelcome once.

The best part, this is not self service. This is freshly cooked a la carte, thet courses, with multiple options but with a fixed price of £14.95.

Highly...

Happened on it by chance while visiting Blenheim Palace. Checked the reviews and most one and two stars are from years ago and all the latest are 4 and 5s so we gave it a go. Welcomed by a very stressed server who said there was no space we were led in by another ultra kind server who sat the 3 of us in one of the tiny remaining tables. Place was packed to the brim of Chinese people on holiday that stop here in large groups to eat, clearly organised by the bus or travel companies. This means that the food is cheap but ultra fresh. We ordered a few things and I must say that the noodles and sweet and sour were the highlight of the meal while the honey pork ( a new dish I never tried before despite half of my family was born and bred in the mainland) was very very good despite the cuts were of cheap parts of the animal. We really eat in abundance and all plates were clean in a heartbeat. The atmosphere is that of a genuine restaurant in rural China ( for good and bad!!) so very authentic and not pretentious with fresh flavoursome food. If you expect a sanitised westernised Chinese restaurant please try something else. Everything here felt and tasted of China and reminded me the many times I have been and travelled there. Price wise we paid 36 quid with drinks, 12 quid per head… no more comments needed here. So yes I would go again and suggest you go to if you like...

The worst Chinese food I have ever eaten.

I live very close by so I really wanted this to be good. I went about a year and a half ago and was very disappointed. I ordered takeout half a year later hoping to give it another chance, and then I had a meal today. It hasn't improved.

All the food had a very strong urine smell (like an uncleaned public toilet) because of their liberal use of poor quality bamboo shoots. The menu is extensive, but it seems like all meals mostly consist of the same thing: Lots of urine bamboo, a ton of thick cut undercooked onion slices, and lots of bean sprouts. This means that every dish is an unappealing beige yellow color, with very few specks of green from a tiny amount of Pok Choi, and a couple of blots of orange from very few carrot pieces. They seem to avoid fresh veg at all costs. Other than this, the meal is served with a watery brown sugary yet bland sauce.

I have felt unwell every time after eating here.

And it cost way more than it is worth. I would have been much better going to the coop and getting a microwaveable meal.

I have no idea how this place is still...