Imperial — Restaurant in Ferndale

I went to Imperial for the first time this weekend with a friend. I will say, the tacos were amazing! However, I had an issue with management. My friend decided to order a drink that was not on the menu, as the establishment has a full bar. When he mentioned the name of the drink and the waitress was not familiar with it, he offered to look up the recipe for her online and give it to her. However, she declined and went to the bar to have the drinks made. When she returned, the drink my friend ordered did NOT taste how it should have, as he’s had it multiple times before. My friend is truly the sweetest person and politely told the waitress the taste was off. The waitress was very understanding about it and went back to the bar. I followed the waitress to inform her of what my friend wanted instead, and the manager at the bar had the WORST ATTITUDE towards me. Her name was Amanda. She told me that my friend needed to take the drink back because they made it for him, and that she wasn’t taking it off the bill. I explained to her that he’s had the drink before and it wasn’t made properly, and she continued to give me an attitude and proceeded to tell me he was paying for that drink and whatever else he wanted to order instead. I’m sorry, but her attitude towards me was unacceptable. I understand that sometimes there’s only so much you can do. I actually used to be a waitress myself, and I understand there are certain policies you have to abide by. However, there is certainly a better way to go about doing it. You can politely tell a person a policy, instead of being rude and interjecting it wasn’t being taken off the bill when I hadn’t even mentioned anything along those lines. Super rude. Very poor customer service. That is exactly how you prevent a customer from coming back. If she had been nicer to me I would have certainly been back. However, I’m not inclined to do so anymore after the poor attitude...

I'm giving it 4 stars only because of my recent visit to Honcho in Clarkston. If I hadn't been to Honcho first, I probably would have given it 5 stars.

Their chips and salsa are similarly priced to Honcho's, but none of Imperial's salsas even come close to Honcho's cream-based salsa. Don't get me wrong, the salsa are good -- but if you've been to Honcho then you know what I'm talking about.

As for actual food, I do appreciate their vegetarian options, but I do wish there were more of them. I had the Vegetarian Sonoran at MoPop Festival, and although it was messy, it was delicious. I'd gladly order it again in the actual restaurant, where I'm sure it would be even better. We also got the Elote at MoPop, and there it came in a cup -- my boyfriend said when he got it at the restaurant previously it came on the cob, which I'm obviously thankful I didn't have to deal with while walking around a dusty and crowded festival. It was easily the best Elote I've had, and I loved the Cheeto crust on top.

For brunch at the restaurant I ordered the Chilaquiles Verde, made vegetarian by keeping off the grilled chicken. It was a good amount of food, and the pickled onions and jalapenos sealed the deal. Plus it was loaded with queso fresco and two runny egg yolks so... Yeah. Would recommend.

I will also add we ate on the patio, and the coffee-table-height tables were less than ideal. It was pretty awkward to hunch over and eat with a napkin under my fork to avoid egg yolk stains on my dress. There are a few bar seats out there, but they were taken. I'd really only recommend the patio if you're able to sit at a bar seat or if you're only there for drinks/chips & salsa, and not a full meal.

I was in no way disappointed with Imperial and I would gladly come back, but Honcho does offer more veg options and it's...

Popped in last Sunday since my partner and I were craving Mexican-style. Had lower expectations being more of what I thought was a 'bar' or sort of hipster hangout, and... it IS both of those things, but WOW! The food blew me away. The nachos were a large portion and loaded with high quality toppings - the cheese sauce might've been my favorite, but the cotija cheese, fresh jalapeno rings, black beans and pickled onion weren't far behind. And DON'T MISS the chipotle salsa... quite honestly probably the BEST SALSA I've ever had. Not TOO hot but smoky, sweet, robust. Just perfection. My partner's barbacoa taco and chicken tostada were equally delicious. I had one bite of each and was fully impressed and almost ordered my own but had all those nachos to get through. Aside from the great food, the margaritas were delicious and perfectly strong... and the service was attentive and friendly. If I had to choose anything to nitpick I might request added smaller tables instead of long picnic style ones or that the booths be available for 2 tops (they save them for 4 or more) but I understand that this place is generally for 4-or-more and gets very busy on weekend nights. That said we were plenty comfortable at the side rail or could've sat at the bar if we wanted, so there's ample seating. All in all, we CAN'T WAIT to go back & I think I'll be ordering some of that amazing salsa to go next time... and maybe 1 more of everything on the menu....