Imperial kitchen and bar — Restaurant in Seattle

we arrived with no reservations, were greeted warmly, and seated quickly. the atmosphere is strange, it feels like a sports bar on account of the enormous screens but it seems like there is some construction going on as there is an enormous black temporary(?) wall up. the wall makes the place feel small and dark. the music they were playing wasn't unpleasant, just kind of out of place. we were starving, but if we were any less hungry this altogether would have made us leave.

got the tokyo old fashioned, an order of shumai, and the crispy sichuan half chicken + a side of rice and stir fried veggies. the old fashioned was... meh. on paper it sounds complex and delicious but it tasted mostly of water. the shumai was tasty but it is a tiny order of 4. service loses some stars largely when it comes to the chicken.

when placing the order, it seemed like there was a lack of clarity regarding what we wanted as our server asked me twice. he suggested an order of the tofu. i declined and clarified (half chicken, side of rice, stir fried veggies), he nodded and left, we waited.

a couple of minutes later, the rice and veggies come out. there was no indication that anything else was coming as, when the plates were dropped off, our waiter didn't give any sort of update. when our waiter leaves, my partner and i decide that if nothing else comes by the time we're done with the veggies then we're just getting the bill and leaving. the veggies were cooked well and very tasty, and it was a good bowl of steamed rice. we were nearly done with the veggies by the time the chicken arrived, which at that point was a shock because it had been at least 10 minutes since the veggies got there.

the chicken was presented beautifully. it was fried crispy, well salted, and the dark meat was juicy. it seems like they fry the half chicken altogether though, so the breast was very dry. the sichuan part of the dish was a bowl of ground sichuan pepper and salt that we were supposed to add ourselves. we sprinkled, we dipped, we decided not to continue. it was overwhelmingly salt with no sichuan pepper taste or tingle at all.

we wanted to try the french toast but after the chicken incident, we asked what the wait was and were told it'd be about 15 minutes. it ended up being 70$ after tax and tip. maybe we came at a weird time but that's a lot of money to spend to leave dissatisfied....

We went on a Monday night. We wanted something new and in all of our years we have put off checking out Imperial.

First we noticed that the space was much brighter inside than you would believe by walking by. We both love how well lit it is in there.

We immediately could tell that the place was remarkably clean. Even down to the black and white floor.

The Chairs weren’t the most comfortable. We sat at a high top table which is the majority of what’s available. Nearly all the chairs we checked felt a bit unstable. They could all use a good tightening.

The music was just too loud to be inviting. It could have come down about 3 to 4 notches and it would have been just fine.

The overall setting is just a bit wonky. I believe this place a few years back had a bar that was more themed to fit the French quarter in New Orleans. It feels like the space still has that vibe baked into it and not much was changed when it became imperial.

The host and server both gave recommendations and I’m glad they did…. I like when a new (to me) place tells me what the best items on the menu.

I did the sizzling rib eye steak with rice and a black pepper sauce. My partner wanted the crispy chicken burger but that was sold out (which seemed very strange for a Monday night) so he went with the regular burger which is not on the menu.

For drinks my partner ordered a lychee martini and I had the house red.

The martini was great. The bartender even did one of those smoke filled bubbles. It took 3-4 tries but he got it. The wine was fine.

The wait for our food was really dragging and the server proactively offered us cocktails to make up for it. We aren’t ones to turn down a free drink. Another lychee martini and a Tokyo old fashioned later the food finally came.

The burger and fries… pretty standard. Tasty burger and well seasoned fries. Nothing exciting but well done overall.

The steak (medium well - by recommendation by the server…not my first choice) was quite delicious. Tender… with a great sauce and perfectly cooked egg on top.

I would certainly go back but I’m not in a rush.

Price wise… about what you’d expect for this part of Seattle. $15 cocktails are just so hard to swallow. It’s...

After a very long day and night, and not having an appetite since the morning, my boyfriend and I happen upon this place when we left a show early to eat. We ended up accidentally walking 4 blocks the wrong way, so we got here within 10 minutes of their end time for serving food. The place looks amazing with all the neon signs, and the Host greeted us as if we were arriving during normal business hours (no rushing to serve before the cut off, just normal welcoming atmosphere and a genuine willingness to interact.) He immediately offered us a drink and the menu (we had reached our drinking limit by then and let him know. He understood completely.) After we order, the host tells us about their events and drinks, and we even got into a conversation about Gin (it's my favorite spirit). He showed me the Gins he recommends for next time. My boyfriend takes out his phone and starts translating the signs with Google, then we chat with the Host about the origination of the signs and their plans to get more Sports themed signs to entertain sports fan Patrons. The food was perfect and just what we needed, and we are definitely looking forward to coming back and trying more meals.

As an Entrepreneur myself, I recognized the very apparent 'Pride of workplace', impeccable customer service, and salesmanship this host had. I was very impressed and they reminded me of some other owners of a restaurant in International District, who are similar with their pride in their work. I absolutely admire fellow young Entrepreneurs/ business owners; I'm in my mid 30s but have always been an Old Soul since I was forced to grow up fast. All I ever wanted to do was work and have responsibilities, and now I'm accomplishing those goals. It's so refreshing to finally be meeting younger professionals—for a while I didn't think they existed! Please support these amazing gentlemen and their...