Imperial Garden has average Chinese / American food at acceptable prices. The quality is fairly reliable, but the temperature, portion size, & service are quite variable; this is true of both dine-in and carry-out. The restaurant is clean with well-kept decor.
We were excited to maybe have a new sit-down restaurant to frequent when meeting up with friends and family. High hopes after seeing *all* the Best of Madison awards festooning their entryway. Quite disappointing Waited an hour after ordering to get food. When food came it was cold as if it had been sitting around. I ordered beef with shiitake mushrooms and found no mushrooms in my whole dish. There was a lot of breading and little pieces of beef making everything taste like flavorless mush. Really bland even though I asked for extra spicy (large dried peppers just tossed on top). Way way over-hyped online Kind of underwhelmed
The Imperial Garden is a West Madison tradition. While it doesn't serve truly authentic Chinese food it does serve very yummy American-Chinese food that most mid-westerns love and are comfortable with. It's a great place for either a quick bite alone at the bar or with a party of twenty for a celebration.
Definitely some of the best Chinese in the Madison/Middleton area and you can confidently order the seafood dishes as they get fresh fish from the adjacent Chinese grocery. The restaurant is a fun and kitschy throwback that takes you on a "trip to the orient." The only bummer is that they don't offer delivery, which is little mind boggling with all the delivery services in the Madison area.
The food is delicious!! Seating is usually fast and the wait staff is excellent. They do have take-out service which I’ve used. I highly recommend the Imperial Garden.
This place was okay. They have a great looking menu, but some of the food was pretty bland. The service also was not the friendliest. I would skip another visit, but if no other option then i would begrudgingly return.
It's always been very good. I fully enjoy the food and the visit. They have so many things to choose from. 👍
If you like 1960s time-warp vibes, you are going to be SUPER into this place. The interior is amazing-- definitely a throwback to when going out for Chinese food was exotic and upscale. The food isn't the greatest or most authentic Chinese I've had in Madison, but the great atmosphere and service makes up for it. The shrimp rangoons were fantastic, and they have some impressive cocktail options. It's definitely a solid date-night option for when you want to pretend you're in an episode of Madmen. 👍👍👍
There's no better place in the Madison area for Chinese food. We've tried other places, don't waste your time this is the only place for Chinese! All their food is outstanding but we especially enjoy the Chicken Fried Rice, Egg Rolls and their hot mustard sauce will definitely awaken the senses!
Always delicious Chinese food, and the service is outstanding! Imperial Garden is the sort of nice place you might want for a graduation or rehearsal dinner. Not trendy in a foodie way, but lovely and wonderful food. Also, the landscaping is very cool.
Great Chinese food in a nice atmosphere. I've never ordered something I didn't love.
I don't expect much from Madison Asian restaurants, but this one is overpriced for the quality it puts out, which is comparable to cheap take-out places. The dishes were all over-salted, over-sweetened, and overly below average. I would have given this place 3 stars, but the service was also terrible; it took us 20 minutes to get the waiter's attention to bring the check and another 15 minutes waiting for the card to be swiped. The only redeeming quality of this place is the atmosphere.
If you're looking for cheap Asian food, look downtown. If you're looking for quality sit-down Asian dining (which this place attempts to emulate), look elsewhere.
I was unhappy with their handling of waiting lists. Two women were waiting already. Then I came in and was put on the wait list.The staff person said "it will be a few minutes" then left and never returned. I waited about 10 minutes. Then some guy came in, said something to the bartender, and was seated in the bar. No ladies who were already waiting were offered to be seated in the bar. It looked like gender bias to me so I left. Vote with your feet ladies.
So fresh. So light. So delicious! I forgot how amazing sweet & sour chicken can be until I had theirs again after years. Everything here is great, and there's a very broad selection. Staff is very polite and atmosphere is appropriate for anything from a casual dinner out, to a date night or graduation celebration. Highly recommend.
Excellent as always. Requested extra spicy and it was perfect, just the right amt. of spicy. Perfect food (all 3 dishes ordered), perfect waitress (Maddie) and perfect atmosphere. Traveled over 15 miles for this meal.