Went there today for a bussiness lunch and had the dim sum It was ok nothing outstanding. Sure the building and decor is nice but the food is not outstanding at all. It was expensive also and most of the items were very greasy. I was hoping to have lots of seafood but there was not much on the menu or the trays that they got us. The deep friend squid was good but again it was cold. Parking is also a problem in the area so be prepared to pay good money for parking. The restuartant was busy but mostly Canadian rather than Chines people. I don't think you get your value here. THere are many other dim sum places that one can try.

The Imperial Restaurant was set in an upmarket building but the decor and style of the restaurant was very poor. It is hard to believe restaurants like this still survive. Our table was broken with the flat top uneven due to a piece of wood sticking out. Although it was covered with table linen, most quality restaurants would not allow this.
The food was very poor, we had wonton soup - the worst I've ever had offering no taste or flavour at all. We could not eat the wonton balls because they had the most unusual flavour and texture. We also had dry ribs, and they had almost no meat on them. Sizzling beef was edible but not presented very well. The table opposite had the same ribs and recieved water bowls to wash the fingers but we never recieved them. We accidently ordered egg fried rice, but this cost $16 and was enough for six people! Surely the waiter could have used common sense and told us! Also, the egg fried rice did not taste good and small pieces of diced pork in there looked and tasted old. Overall the food was not presented well and any takeaway chinese could do better. Don't make the same mistake we made! The final insult is that this restaurant is expensive but only offers poor food and poor service.

The Imperial is one of the original Chinese Fine Dining restaurant in this city. There are many that has surpassed its stature in the city. The last time I was here, i had a very memorable dinner. The service was first rate. The servers stay by your table or room to attend to your needs. And the food was very good.
So I though I'd give it a try for dim sum as there were some favorable reviews. As soon as I get seated the servers bring food out on a serving TRAY to select from. Ummm... isnt the food gonna get cold really fast like this? I did not understand why a place like top gun can make dim sum to order, but a high end place like this decides to serve its food cold. By the time the food touches my mouth everthing will be room temparature. As this is exactly what happened.
They did offer fresh juices which is a nice touch. Had some watermelon juice which was refreshing. And there was banana and shrimp crepe thing that I'd never tried before as well. Most of the food tasted good but nothing stood out. Maybe because the food was served at room temp. ever tasted cold har gow? :-P

it was a dissapointing experince for me this time. not sure if i'd choose here for dim sum.

I've never given a place 5 stars before and I doubt I will again, but ICSR deserves it. I went for dim sum with the gang last weekend and I was extremely impressed. Michael the new manager greeted us when we arrived, and gave us a great table. Then came the dim sum. Yes it costs more than some places in Richmond, but you get what you pay for.

We had a selection of dim sum standards, including all the usual suspects, along with my personal favourite, fung zhou, and Mrs. C’s top choice, sticky rice in lotus leaf. We also had the environmentally dubious but still delicious shark fin soup. All were excellent.

The service was very good, and the room was well appointed with a good view. The view is only slightly diminished as a result of new construction in the area. Of course I checked out the w/c and found it to be very clean. I really looked for something to find fault with for this review, but it was as nearly perfect an experience as is possible.

Over the last few years I have eaten at ICSR once in a while and I never had a bad experience. That said, I never considered it to be outstanding before. What really impressed me was that the restaurant has suddenly gotten a lot better. My companions and I left with happy smiles on our faces and contented stomachs. What more could you ask?

Recommended!

The prices at this restaurant are outrageous. I've been frequenting this establishment since I was a little girl. My parents brought friends here mainly for the decor and the grandeur, not the food.
Not much has changed since then. The service is passable at best. For the price you pay, the food should be outstanding, but it's not. The dimsum is ridiculously expensive.
I suggest going to one of the cheaper places strewn around Vancouver proper instead of visiting Imperial. If ambiance is all you're looking for, then you've found the right place.

I went there to have dim-sum, my expectations is that the food will be good, but it turns out the food is plain, not that great, and it takes so long for the food to come.
I think the food and the price doesn't match, I pay too much for the food.

A friend and I went there for lunch today. We were thinking of using this restaurant for a few charity dinners we are hosting. The Service was so bad, we will never go again.

When we first sat down, we were told by the blue jacket waiter that we should ticked off what we want and for sure the kitchen will send the right food over.

We ordered stuffed eggplant - it was cold; where it should be freshly pan fried; most likely it was sitting for a while.

Our Beef balls was given to the next table over (it was plopped down before the guests said they don't want it) We told the server that it was ours and she said that since she had served it to the next table, she will have to get it from the kitchen.

After that, all our food that we ordered was sent to the next table first and the guests there told the servers that it was our food. The server keep claiming that it was the waiter's fault for writing the wrong number down. They never asked before plopping the food down.

Then we ordered some spareribs and there was a long human hair in the dish. We told the black jacket captain and he just shrugged his shoulders and said it was our hair. He won't even take away the dish.

We have had it with the food and service so we asked for the bill. We were given a small adding machine tape clipped to our order form. You would expect that from a smaller home style restaurant but not for such a fancy restaurant.

As we were leaving the servers knocked over a teapot and iced water off the table on the other side. She was flustered since she is still holding the platter stacked with food and NO ONE came to help her. The guests that got the hot water spilled felt sorry for her and started cleaning up. This type of incident is not supposed to happen in fancy restaurant.

It was such an Oxymoron that this restaurant won the Zaget award and a bunch of other restaurants awards.

We will never go there again even though its a beautiful location.