Imperial Garden in Plymouth

Second visit here last night for NYE. Fabulous food and amazing service. Looking forward to our next visit already. Thanks and Happy New Year to you all.

The best Chinese food in Plymouth

The best Chinese vegan restaurant ever. 好吃(hào chī)

When we booked in advance, they told us to give them our order over the phone. To find the menu on the website there are 2 ways, one which gives you the takeaway menu even when you ask for the sit-down menu (shown in the images attached), and one that displays it correctly. We unknowingly used the broken takeout part of the website to order. After finishing our food, we received the bill to see that it was nearly TWICE as expensive, when we asked they told us we had looked at the wrong menu, and that it's our fault because the website is "under construction". They did not disclose this to us when we came in nor in the multiple emails exchanged when booking. I don't know what to call this other than a scam, a ridiculous price for mediocre food. We paid our outrageous bill without a fight and politely left, but will not be coming back.

Good food. Okay service. Massively overpriced to sit in person. We had a large group and had to pre-order. The meal was nice but when it came to pay we discovered the website displayed the wrong prices for Eat In and were overcharged by almost double. We had no reason to check the menu when we got there as we had pre ordered looking at the online Eat In menu. We were very disappointed.

Just had my first takeaway from here. Very flavourful meal, good portions and a fair price. Overall excellent

Ordered food at 1735 arrived 1950 Not good chicken was bland final bill was more than said over phone Won’t go back

Unfortunately, one of the more underwhelming dining experiences I’ve had in recent memory. My wife and I had heard good things about Imperial Garden, so we decided to give it a try. While nothing we ate was unpleasant, it was all rather unremarkable. The meal started on a disappointing note, with a long wait for our starters. When they finally arrived, they were fine but forgettable. The noodles we had as a main course were probably the best dish of the evening, but even they weren’t particularly memorable. The roast pork rice, on the other hand, was poor; edible but of low quality—bland and lacking in flavour. All in all, the experience was distinctly mediocre. Nothing we tried was outright inedible, but nothing stood out as good either. I wouldn’t go back, though I have had worse meals elsewhere.

Very good place to visit and customer service of li is excellent

The beef noodle soup is amazing! ! ! !

Tried here for takeaway delivery tonight and it was fantastic. Food was fresh and hot and not at all greasy. This will definately be my new go to Chinese takeaway!

Best Chinese takeaway Iv had in ages. Really tasty and arrived very hot despite us being quite far away. Will definately order again

food very nice and the boss was so nice🤩 student don’t lie to students ✌️ Chinese don’t lie to Chinese 🫰

This is the best Chinese meal I have ever had. The food is not greasy, and clearly made fresh. It came out quickly, and tasted amazing. Me and my family got chicken balls, crispy seaweed, two house special fried rice, chicken chow mein, chicken in Peking sauce which came to around £60. A little on the pricey side but well worth the money. Although none of us are Vegan, there was a large range of vegan meals at the back of the menu. Thank you for the lovely meal experience ! X

Vikki was very kind and humble. Vikki was very helpful. I visited with my friends and greeted us with a smile and had a pleasing personality. Food was also tasty. Definitely recommend this place and if you visit this place just wish Vikki will serves you.

Easily the best Chinese Restaurant in Plymouth! Fantastic vegan range!

Exceptional food, arrived quick and fresh! Black pepper udon is a must! Quick service also, will be celebrating my Dad’s birthday here next week!

My fav Chinese in Plymouth. Amazing vegetarian options

I came here for the beef hor fun but realized that it was made with thin rice noodles and not wide noodles, which is typically how it is made. But even then, they didn't get their order of thin noodles in, so had to order something else. I ordered the Crispy Chicken in Honey Chilli Sauce, but it was just sad and small pieces of chicken. Nothing special. Overpriced Chinese food. Service was mediocre. Waited quite a while for them to take my order, and once I ordered, took a while for the dish to arrive.

Since when a restaurant Chinese late 45 minutes in put your food on the table?? We walk in, Saturday night, almost empty the restaurant.. Just waiting people for delivery. We choose the menu of £26 each one minimum for 2 and , very poor food, very poor starter, late 45 minute to serve the main, the bosses Chinese woman they were so happy eating fruit on the table, my partner had to go to ask for another drink!!! This place is better take away and I have my doubts!!! And of course only cash to launder money and they are more uptight and the bosses more operated than the baroness.... Never more🤗.

Couldn’t rave about this place enough best Chinese I’ve gone to by far and I have been to a few around uk , and I couldn’t say anything bad about the service it was top tier especially from the boss li and not to mention the variety of vegan options makes it so much easier to take the whole friend group out

Best Chinese ever!! First of all, the food is delicious. It is cooked perfectly and all food is fresh. The wait time isn’t too long either. Around 10-20 min. Staff is also very friendly. I would definitely recommend.

Ordered a takeaway last nice. It arrived on time. It was fresh, hot and delicious. Highly recommend

Waited for over a hour for reheated food was not fresh so why did it take so long I live 15 minutes away rice was a block of mush and chips were so dark and dry could tell they had been re fried do not recommend

Fantastic vegan options! Pages and pages of solely vegan menu at this place with imaginative dishes (not just tofu!). One of the best Chinese restaurants I have been to as a vegan. Staff were very friendly and the restaurant itself was really lovely to eat in. The only thing I will say is that is it quite expensive - it's obvious why though! Very happy! Just don't forget they only take cash - no card payments.

Worst Chinese I've had in plymouth

First time here on a Saturday evening and honestly on the same level as any restaurant in London’s China town…the crispy roast pork and duck were incredible, won ton soup was packed with flavour and chilli oil packed a punch! Would highly recommend and definitely be coming back 👌🏻

We had dinner there on 5th and 7th May... and it was so lovely there the food was great. The staff was really nice and the boss lady..We Will come back when back in Plymouth..well done

Always tasty and efficient delivery. Their crispy seaweed is my favourite!

Had an amazing time here last night! From the kung po special to the chicken chow mein, every bite was perfect. Friendly staff, quick service – will definitely be coming back soon!

Ouite possibly the worst Chinese takeaway I have ever had ,and I have worked all over the Country, Avoid at all costs, 37 pounds totally wasted

Travelled up from Noss Mayo holiday especially for the vegan food :) Very rare to find such a choice. Had vegan s and s chicken balls which were perfect, as was the vegan special chow mein. Others in party enjoyed their non-vegan food.

Best beef green pepper black bean sauce with ho fun. Share the recipe?!

i woke up. that was the start of my day waking up in my silk sheets and pondering for food. so i prepared myself for the day and set out for food. i then stumbled upon this restaurant, normally i enjoy the finer foods in life but by golly was i SHOCKED this food smacked hard and fast by Imtiaz Dharker Paper that lets the light shine through, this is what could alter things. Paper thinned by age or touching, the kind you find in well-used books, the back of the Koran, where a hand has written in the names and histories, who was born to whom, the height and weight, who died where and how, on which sepia date, pages smoothed and stroked and turned transparent with attention. If buildings were paper, I might feel their drift, see how easily they fall away on a sigh, a shift in the direction of the wind. Maps too. The sun shines through their borderlines, the marks that rivers make, roads, railtracks, mountainfolds, Fine slips from grocery shops that say how much was sold and what was paid by credit card might fly our lives like paper kites. An architect could use all this, place layer over layer, luminous script over numbers over line, and never wish to build again with brick or block, but let the daylight break through capitals and monoliths, through the shapes that pride can make, find a way to trace a grand design with living tissue, raise a structure never meant to last, of paper smoothed and stroked and thinned to be transparent, turned into your skin. thank you for reading.

The food here is always great and ready quickly. Highly recommend!

Truthfully, the best Chinese in Plymouth. I like Chinese food a lot, probably my go to takeaway food choice. Since living in Plymouth I've tried a lot of different chinese takeaways and generally they all are somewhat comparable. As is takeaway food in general. Some being better some being worse, slight variation in preparation style etc Imperial Garden just does something better. Nearly across the board I find that their food is a substantial jump in quality from other places. I have only one point of contention and thats the starters in their set menus only includes one of each described starter. I don't know about anyone else but one piece of prawn toast/rib/spring is not enough and for the price of the set menu I'd appreciate an extra of each. That being said, the rest of the set menu I get is well worth it and I'm always amazed how nice the food is. In general, if you want Chinese food, settle for nowhere else.

Amazing vegan Chinese food, this has to be the best available.

A delightful, cosy place serving truly the most delicious Chinese food. Was there celebrating a special occasion with friends, and staff went truly above and beyond for us - refilling drinks, providing recommendations and making the night wonderful. Highly recommend their peking duck, minced pork aubergine and Singapore noodles. Cannot rave enough about this place and one I will certainly be returning back!

Have had Chinese before from here years ago thought we would give it another try as it seems across the city the quality of Chinese takeaway has gone down and prices have gone up!. What a disappointment 2hrs and 20mins we decided to call it and cancel, yes it’s a payday weekend and yes it’s out for delivery apparently! ,enough is enough.Never again. I can’t comment on the quality of the food as it never made it to my door.

Honestly, very disappointed. We have been recommending this place by a friend, however, it's not a very good experience which we’ll never come back to again. Reasonable price. Nice atmosphere at dinner time. But the service is so bad. 2 young girls try their best to serve which a lot of customers waiting to be fed. Our food comes after a long wait and it's wrong. We had requested NO land meat and only seafood in our order which comes mixed with minced pork and seafood. Can't be bothered to argue with the lady boss. The chef is too busy to make us a new one and they deny there was fibrous meat inside. Therefore we paid and left with empty stomachs.

A Chinese restaurant worth eating in Plymouth. The proprietress can speak Chinese and also has a vegetarian menu: you can order Sichuan tofu, and the rice noodles and egg fried rice are must-try. Will come back during my time here. There is a parking lot next to the nearby slope (ParkingGo App, requires phone SMS authentication and credit card online payment, or prepare change to insert coins and put the receipt in the front window)

I have tried several restaurants in Plymouth of this type, this restaurant perfectly suited my palate, each meal was perfectly seasoned and suits my taste.

I visited this place late January for a takeaway. As I live a few miles out, I asked if my food could be double bagged to keep it warm. They charged an extra 10 p for a flimsy plastic bag, as if they don’t charge enough! The salt and chillie chips were soggy, and my chicken was cold and tough. Not very good . Will not be back

Good Chinese food, lovely service, just a shame that the mark up on wine is so high, £27 for a very basic bottle is over the top and does feel excessive.

Easy 10/10. This place is excellent.

Use to be the best in Plymouth, gone down hill massively imo. Ordered twice recently, both times over £40 sharing. Disappointed with all really

Had a wonderful time at this restaurant as a weekend staycation in Devon, close to the Barbican and served the best chinese food. My whole family loved the dishes and staff were excellent at recommending dishes (double cooked pork belly, roast duck, house special noodles). Restaurant was also busy with lots of chinese people (always a good sign) and they had an expansive Chinese vegan range - something I have not seen before! Will definitely return when I am back in Plymouth again.

Booked reservation to celebrate my daughter's 12th birthday. Staff were very accommodating and allowed us to decorate the table beforehand. Food was nothing short of fantastic! We pre-ordered several dishes as it would be a busy Saturday evening. The Peking duck was very tasty with a lovely crispy glazed skin. Staff could not do enough to ensure the evening was special and had even went out their way to get a sparkler for the birthday cake at the end of the meal. Thank you all!

Only used as a takeaway so far (home delivery). Great staff, friendly and helpful. The food is fantastic, far superior to others we've had. Generous portions, too. Would definitely recommend.

We have been here before with a large group for dinner. It was spectacular. Last evening we went for a takeaway. The staff were friendly and helpful. The service was excellent. The food was freshly cooked while we waited. At present, all customers are paying cash. We were sat comfortably while we waited and we didn't have to wait for long. We arrived home in 15 minutes and the food was still hot. We both had hot and sour soup to start and it was excellent. My husband had pork with ginger and garlic and I had pork belly. Both dishes were amazing. The fried rice was fluffy and delicious. We shared some meat pancake rolls and some prawn crackers. Everything was really good and we will definitely be going back for more.

I visited with my boyfriend tonight, whilst we are on a long weekend away in Plymouth. I'm not the biggest fan of Chinese food but oh my god this was delicious. Food was piping hot, good portions, came out fast & tasted EXCELLENT. We were served by Vicky who was so polite & friendly & did a wonderful job. They had evidently been busy earlier on in the evening & we were one of only 5 tables. It felt like it was the slower time of the evening (only around 7.30pm) so was a little quiet. We had a slight mishap with a couple of items on the bill, however, this was quickly resolved & the team were apologetic. We would DEFINITELY come back! Thanks for a great meal guys! ❤️

Lovely food. Just a shame is cash only which can be a pain if ordering for delivery. I would rather pay extra and be able to pay by card. Great vegan options

I have always given this place 5 stars as i have never seen such an amazing vegan menu, and every dish has always been spot on... However this evening we were sent actual chicken balls rather than vegan, which we obviously didn't notice until we bit in to them... Very upsetting. Called up and was rectified very quickly along with apologies, which we cannot fault. Just worrying that this can happen... what if it was an allergy? We will still order from here as the food is so tasty, but will be more wary from now on. Also, with what seems to be a large price increase, unfortunately we won't be able to order as much as we used to.

Ordered a take away and food was very quickly prepared on a busy Friday night. Tasty and hot, massive portions, good value for money. Will.eat here again.

Best vegan Chinese I’ve ever had! I’m originally from Plymouth, but now live in Brighton, and it’s still BY FAR the best vegan dishes I’ve ever had. Couldn’t recommend more!

Amazing choice of vegan food on offer with an extensive menu. The food we had was tasty. We were offered complimentary prawn crackers but refused as we don’t eat them. The food and customer service was faultless. A couple of downsides though: the restaurant is cash only so although we took cash out beforehand we had to go back to the cash point for the sake of £1.40. The restaurant felt devoid of any real atmosphere. I’m not really sure how to resolve this but it wouldn’t put me off returning.

Have never seen a Chinese place with such an expansive range of vegan dishes! Delicious food with great flavors - recommend the vegan house special rice, vegan chicken kung po vegan Singapore rice noodles. Great staff and atmosphere too. Wish I had a place like this from where I live! Highly recommend

I rarely leave reviews but I have to with this one. The food made us take a moment and go “wow”. The container was full of succulent chicken and all the sauces were just the right amount of everything! It really was brilliant. Friendly staff also!

Just the best! So good that you won't find them on the delivery apps (they do deliver though) Great chinese food with a marvellous vegan selection.

Old food reheat for next day. Smelled really bad. What a disappointment

Great vegan options available! Reasonable prices as well. Staff cheekily took the service charge (over 10%) without checking with us though - would’ve been fine but service was a bit bit and miss at times.

Cannot believe such a little gem that is tucked away on the corner street has delivered the best chinese I have had. Real authentic flavours in a lively, busy atmosphere. My favourites were the double cooked pork belly, Singapore noodles and Peking duck (although I am told this sells fast). Manager Li was super helpful and friendly. Fast service and piping hot food, cannot ask for anymore. 10/10

Excellent food, friendly and quick staff and delivery. Great restaurant overall

I regularly drive in from the north of the city to get food from here its that good. Their vegan options are nothing short of amazing, the food is always fresh and delicious and th staff are really helpful and friendly

Very welcome,, reasonable prices,,, delivery if required,,staff friendly...well worth a visit

Fantastic first time experience - big portion sizes at great value! Ordered set banquet meal for group of 4 with some extra dishes on the side. Staff were very friendly and keen to give recommendations. We were offered containers to take what we couldn't finish. The mandarin crispy chicken was one of my favourites dishes. Will definitely be visiting again when in Plymouth. Thank you all for the wonderful evening!

Had a chewy beef less chow mien which was very dry. Don’t know when they cooked the spare ribs, but it wasn’t this week. Staff very friendly though Also, cash only, says a lot.

Been ordering food from there since few months now. Though delivery takes time every time I have ordered food tastes fantastic and so delicious. We are vegetarian and they do have some nice vegan vegetarian food options. Prices are very competitive with huge portions. Total value for money, thanks. One disadvantage they only take cash so I especially get money withdrawn only to pay them. Thanks for amazing food.

Visited Imperial Garden after many years. I use to study in Plymouth for college and University. I use to eat there at least once a week until I finished uni. The food here is sensational. You can tell it’s prepared to order and not just reheated or batch cooked. I’m in hospitality myself and own a few restaurants so I appreciate the work the owners put in. Every time i have been in they have been working (wife out front and husband in the kitchen). I use to order something off the menu and spiced up a little. Going in i was hesitant because I didn’t know how to explain it or what to ask for. And much to my delight the lady recognised me after about 5 years and knew exactly what I wanted. Brilliant touch.

We have ordered from here many times, but after waiting for nearly 2 hours the food came and it was so tasteless and luke warm. My wifes spicy prawns were anemic and tasteless, probably the worst prawns shes ever had. The chips were supposed to...

Ordered Vegan chicken balls and was given real ones which I didn’t notice until the chicken ball was pulled apart to reveal veins in the chicken. Definitely make sure to check your order when ordering anything vegan!

Very nice chinese highly recommend

Delicious, Good value meal. Booked at short notice but we had delicious, freshly cooked meals served by attentive staff.

Lovely inviting atmosphere, helpful friendly staff who guided us as what foods went best together. attentive but not so they were a nuisance. Large servings freshly cooked. Well priced for the amount of food .Willbe back Well worth a visit.🙂👌👍👍

Most of the food we wanted to order, they were out of order (sunday dinner), as the waitress told us ‘we had a very busy weekend’. The food we got, they did not really have taste, and it’s cash only. Bank transfer is only available in emergency situations. Very disappointed.

Great restaurant, amazing flavours and wonderful service

VERY authentic Chinese dishes. Stopped by with Chinese biz partners and they said 80% authentic. In walking distance of Leonardo Hotel / Jury's Inn

This was the worst customer service I've ever experienced. We ordered a roast duck but when we got there for collection, we were told that they had sold it to another customer so we got back home empty-handed. Unbelievable. Edit: This is an old review from 2021. I corrected some minor spelling mistakes and Google Maps updated my review for some reason.

Gorgeous food. Went here on a recommend for hubby's birthday. So clean, fresh. All food cooked to order, super friendly staff and decent prices. We'll be back.

Weekend trip away and wife booked a reservation here for Saturday. Staff were very attentive and ensured that the entire experience was top class. Quality of food is excellent and not the standard type of Chinese you see in many other establishments. Generous portion sizes...

This has been my go-to chinese for over 5 years whether its a takeaway or eating in. I was confused to see a few negative reviews on this place recently as every time I’ve been, the food has always been fresh and hot, the restaurant...

Came across this restaurant the other day while trying to find somewhere to eat with my boyfriend. The decor inside is very stylish and cosy. The restaurant and toilets were very clean. We ordered and our food came out at a respectable time, was prompt...

Food was excellent. Service was very attentive.

The BEST Chinese takeaway in Plymouth (maybe the world?) for vegan alternatives. Highly recommend.

The best vegetarian Chinese I've had !

First time I have came here for an occasion and definitely the last!! really bad customer service waited an hour for food when it was preordered for then my 2 dishes ordered to come out 15 minutes apart was a complete shambles if I’m honest...

Highly recommended food was lovely staff were very friendly and helpful definitely return again when in plymouth .

The food is really good and I recommend you kung po chicken. One of the best dishes I have ever tasted. This place is a 10 out of 10. The customers service is really good too. All the staffs were friendly. I would definitely be...

I was having a lovely peaceful meal but this was disturbed by a large group of NHS staff who thought it was ok to abuse the owners and members of staff swearing at them and telling them to shut up,this was disgusting behaviour by people...

Great food! Lovely staff! Everytime we visit we enjoy, well worth the money, thank you imperial gardens

Absolutely disgusting customer service when dining in. Refused to cater for allergies despite advertising that they were happy to do so (wouldn't even answer questions about ingredients, simply said "don't order then"), got angry about having to serve food from the vegan menu, and then...

Absolutely disgusting service I booked well over a month for a big number to which they said they could cater for as it was a leaving meal for a work colleague I was sent a menu which was the take away menu, to only be...

Good for take away food or delivery.

Not many restaurants were opened at 10pm and stumbled across this place with friends for a takeaway. Was completely blown away by the flavours, has to be one of the best Chinese I’ve had. Highly recommend the house special rice, Kung po chicken and double cooked pork belly. Establishment was clean (especially the toilets, got to be the cleanest toilet I’ve ever seen in a restaurant). Service was also fast and staff were friendly!

Not many restaurants were opened at 10pm and stumbled across this place with friends for a takeaway. Was completely blown away by the flavours, has to be one of the best Chinese I’ve had. Highly recommend the house special rice, Kung po chicken and double...

Didn't quite meet our expectations. Overall, our experience felt very rushed, everything was there at the same time and came out like a fast food place and seems a bit over priced for what it actually was upon reflection. The foods itself was okay but...

Good food/service but only takes cash as payment

I have only had take away. But they do a very good range for Vegans. Food was quite nice too.

Box standard chinese, they got the order wrong and have absolutely terrible customer service.

The restaurant was beautifully decorated and very clean. The food was amazing and the men in the kitchen and counter were very friendly. The only thing was there was a girl waitress who had a really short short mini skirt in you could see her butt checks. Stockings and a black vest too with her cleavage and shoulders exposed. She was moping the floor near our table so we could see up her skirt. It felt very awkward as we was on a date and it was all a bit unprofessional and uncomfortable. We also asked if we could have a container and her attitude was not great but everyone else was lovely and amazing. Will love to go back there again as the food was definitely worth it. Shame about the under dressed waitress that looked like she belonged in a club.