Maybe it’s because I eat out so much, but no one I know gets as irritated by an ill-managed, poorly run restaurant as I do.
Conversely, no one appreciates a well-managed, efficiently run restaurant more than I do.
And it’s been a while since I’ve come across another restaurant managed quite as well and run quite as efficiently as Imperial Chinese Restaurant on South Broadway.
I’ve been to Imperial perhaps a half-dozen times over the past year, and although I’m not always totally wowed by the food, I always feel well taken care of. Imperial’s intelligent, spot-on service is a case study in how an excellent staff can be a restaurant’s most valuable asset.
Because good service, as far as I’m concerned, is just as compelling a reason to go out for a meal as the food.
It begins, at Imperial, when you enter. You’ll likely be greeted by at least one, if not two hosts, one of whom will show you, quickly, to a clean, sparely set table. Water appears, menus materialize, tea is offered, appetizers are suggested.
The staff is polite, professional and personable, never pushy. Efficient, not fawning. Approachable, not imperious. Elegant, not stuffy.
Service is Imperial’s greatest strength, outshining even its food – which is very good and totally reliable.
Sesame chicken has become the modern-day egg foo yong, the ubiquitous dish you order when you’re at a Chinese restaurant and just don’t know what else to get. I’d speculate that most Chinese restaurants sell more sesame chicken than just about anything else.
This makes me less apt to order it when I go out, because I figure the kitchen staff is probably so bored with preparing sesame chicken that they’ll put no attention or effort into it.
Not so at Imperial. The legendary sesame chicken is not only a safe bet, it’s also one of the best things on the menu.
Bite-sized chunks of juicy fried chicken, coated (not drowned) in a sharp, piquant sesame glaze whose heat started in the back of my throat, traveling forward, mildly but determinedly, to the tip of my tongue, even jumping to the corners of my mouth.
Never unbearably hot, or unbearably sweet, or even unbearably sesame-soaked, this dish totally delivered, and I didn’t drop my chopsticks until it was well gone.
Also jumping off the menu, and delivering on the plate, was the Peking Duck, a whole roasted duckling, deboned and offered up with impossibly thin pancakes for rolling. Priced at $30, it’ll easily feed two.
Grilled sirloin steak, stir fried with crunchy snap peas in a light soy sauce, was refreshing and clean.
Pan-fried dumplings, filled with pork, had a nice balance of salty and sweet. These are best eaten hot, so don’t be shy about plucking the last one off the shared plate. Leave it there, and it’ll just sag into inedibility.
Another good appetizer alternative was the vegetable-filled sesame pockets, also best hot.
Skip the onion egg-drop soup in favor of the hot and sour soup, a careful yin-yang balance of a broth that works even when it’s bracingly hot outdoors.
Mu shu is not Imperial’s greatest strength; both the vegetable mu-shu and chicken mu-shu lacked seasoning and panache. Use a little extra sauce on these.
Old-schoolers will appreciate the chicken chow mein, with its delicate astringent flavor and vaguely viscous character, even if the crunchy noodles bordered on stale on my latest visit.
As to drinks, Imperial suggests wine pairings with each of its dishes (Pinot Noir for the Chilean sea bass in black bean sauce, Gewurztraminer for the sesame scallops), which makes for a good excuse to experiment.
There’s also a full bar on site, capable of producing a worthwhile Mai Tai and an impressive scorpion bowl. Plus, naturally, hot tea.
Lunch is my favorite time to visit Imperial, when the room is a bit quieter and lunch specials (pork loin in tangy sauce, lemon chicken, Mongolian beef) run about $10 and include soup and an egg roll.
Imperial’s room isn’t particularly seductive or evocative; rather, it’s friendly, well-appointed, clean and well-suited to the service. Tables are carefully spaced, lights are pleasantly (not depressingly) dimmed, linens are pressed. Interior design awards aren’t likely forthcoming, but you’ll be comfortable.
Besides, with service as good as this, what is there, really, to complain about?
Dining critic Tucker Shaw can be reached at 303-954-1958 or at dining@denverpost.com.
Imperial
Chinese | 431 S. Broadway, 303-698-2800 | ** 1/2 | Very Good/Great
Atmosphere: Casual but well-appointed and spotless dining room. Check out the tattoed fish in the tank.
Service: Efficient, intelligent, attentive, polite.
Wine: A few unremarkable but inexpensive pours. I’ll take beer.
Plates: Appetizers $4.50-$13.50. Entrées $10.75-$30.
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.- 10:30 p.m. Friday; noon-10:30 p.m. Saturday; 4-10 p.m. Sunday.
Details: All major credit cards accepted. No reservations necessary. Parking lot. Great for kids.
Three visits.
Our star system:
****: Excellent.
***: Great.
**: Very Good.
*: Good.
No stars: Needs work.
