Imperial

Just amazing overall An amazing Chinese restaurant is the kind of place that hits you with mouth-watering aromas the second you walk in, like garlic, ginger, and sizzling chili oil teaming up to ruin your self-control. The food arrives steaming and generous, every dish bursting with bold, perfectly balanced flavors—savory, spicy, a little sweet, and deeply comforting. From silky noodles to crispy dumplings and rich, fragrant sauces, everything tastes like it was made with serious care and tradition. It’s the kind of meal that makes you slow down, steal bites from everyone else’s plate, and already plan your next visit before you’ve even finished. 🥢 and the general tso chicken that will make your mouth do a dance fav Chinese spot in Hagerstown come here and they have good portions and prices

I have to eat gluten free and wasn’t sure what I could eat. The waitress was SUPER helpful and guided me to the Mei Fun which is rice noodles and no sauce. It was good! Service and atmosphere are great also.

As I continue on my journey to find the best Chinese food in Hagerstown, I decided to give Imperial a try. A lot of people have claimed that this is the best spot to go to. The sauce on the General Tso's Chicken was super good and tasted like it was made in house the correct way. The chicken pieces were really big, but disappointed the lunch meal only came with 5 after tasting how good they were in the sauce. High quality chicken and overall a good restaurant. I got take-out, but this spot looks more like a sit down restaurant with a very inviting atmosphere

The waitress was very attentive and checked on us several times, which I appreciated. Unfortunately, the atmosphere was uncomfortable — the owner was loudly yelling at another person (I believe her husband) in Chinese, which made the dining room quite noisy and tense. I ordered the Kung Pao chicken, but it was very bland. The egg roll was extremely dry and tasted like paper. On the positive side, the tea was excellent — very hot, just the way I like it. Portions were large and the prices were reasonable. While the service from our waitress was good, the food and overall environment were disappointing. I won’t be returning.

This place was astonishing. Truly one of the best chineese foods I've had in 10 plus years and to say the least I'm VERY picky. This place is so good you couldn't pay me to say a bad thing about it. If your wondering if you should go.. do yourself a favor please and just go. Just amazing 👏 😍

The food was quite delicious, which is the most important thing! The service was also outstanding. Our waitress was kind and attentive. I feel as though the atmosphere could be brightened up, and the music could more reflect the mood. These are minor things, though, and I will certainly eat here again.

New to the area, really picky about Chinese food. This place is exceptional. Went here based on reviews. Staff was friendly and helpful. Shrimp toast and egg rolls are fantastic

I remember really enjoying this place years ago, but the take-out we just picked up was extremely lack luster. First, the online menu was apparently not up-to-date when we tried to order. An item showed as unavailable, only to see someone else picked it up when we arrived. We were told that they don't know the last time they reviewed that... the soup broth had the most taste out of anything. The wontons, general tsos, sweet and sour pork and crab rangoons had barely any taste (so little we were wondering if we had COVID). There was no spice in anything and not even the cream cheese of the crab rangoon was coming through. On top of that the sweet and sour sauce was completely gelatinous and there weren't even any pre-packaged fortune cookies to save the day. Extremely disappointed and sad we ended up throwing out the entire meal.

Imperial Chinese Restaurant is by far the best Chinese restaurant in the tri-state area. The general chicken is 100% white breast meat, juicy and delicious. It's all chicken and no breading that other Chinese restaurants use. Edamame is fresh, Shrimp spring rolls were hot & slightly crispy perfect with hot mustard. I highly recommend and even when using DoorDash the food is perfect every time. Whenever I visit the servers provide excellent service and the atmosphere is perfect for a casual dinner with friends. I am not a huge fan of Chinese food, but I am if it comes from imperial Chinese restaurant it honestly is the best.

I eat here all the time and have the same dinner every time. But tonight the beef and snow peas didn't cut it. The meat was extremely slimy and wasn't the same. The owner made it a second time for me and it was still slimy. I decided not to have anything else and the owner still charged me for the meal which I don't think was proper. I eat here all the time in a regular customer. I will no longer be dining at this restaurant if ever again.

I didn't care much for the dish I ordered. It was bland and the rice was dry. My husband wasn't pleased with his either and he ordered fried rice. I'm not sure how Asian people cannot product good fried rice!!

Don't fall for the five star ratings. Most of those are made by people with no previous ratings. In other words, fake reviews.

Terrible food general Taos was completely different from any I had elsewhere not crispy strange dark sauce fried rice had no veggies in it spring rolls overdone and strange filling inside was hoping. To find a nice eat in place in town this definitely not it waitress was nice that's the one got thing I have say

Under new ownership and not as good as it once was. Also they raised prices a good amount BEFORE Covid and then again along with other restaurants so since my review in 2017 there's been a significant price increase. Lower quality food at the same price or better quality food at the new higher price would have kept my review around 3.5/5 but with both negatives I'm dropping this to a 1.5-2 / 5 (giving a range here because the food varies. Sometimes it's better than others)

Lucked into Imperial while driving to the eastern shore. All food was good and service attentive. Highly recommend the shrimp drunken noodles.

I went for lunch today. I ordered the Orange Chicken combination plate. At $10.50 you cannot go wrong. The place is clean and the service was good as always. I do wish the fish was spicier than it was, but that may be a personal preference.

A hub city favorite. Fresh and fast food. Big portions. The lady who answered the phone and rung us up was very friendly. Love this place. They should use extra form tofu so that it comes out crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

We had not been at this restaurant for a few years and was disappointed last night. My order of Hot and sour soup was unlike any I have had anywhere. It was almost gelatinous and had no zing. The General Tso's chicken had had no broccoli and no heat, unlike any restaurant in China Town, in DC. My wife's sauteed vegetables with chicken was cold. They had no options for people that need to be gluten free. Our guest had Orange Chicken and had the same experience as I with the General Tso's chicken. It almost seemed that the meals were designed for a western palate as opposed representing the ethnicity that I went there for.

I am from Denver and wanted some good seafood so I ordered the lobster in ginger sauce special. While waiting I also ordered the egg drop soup. I enjoyed having the soup because the egg was plentiful and the sauce was not too salty or overly thick. The ginger sauce was flavorful and tasty, but disappointed with the size and taste of the tail in general, (kind of chewy). The fried rice I ordered was dry, with very little egg and chicken.

Ordered take out ordered 2 spring rolls got one, not good first impression. Will not order again

Our takeout tonight was a mixed batch, some was great some was horrible. The Fried Rice and Lo Mein was excellent, but everything that was fried had that old oil (rancid oil) taste and made the crab rangoon and sweet and sour chicken inedible. Had high hopes for this place as our usual chinese restaurant was closed and it's always good to have a back up.

order took 2 hours, online estimated 25 mins. when woman at front was questioned she was beyond RUDE! WILL NOT RETURN!

Not the worst but definitely not the best. Dumplings are all soggy dough - do not get them. Some were undercooked and almost none had any real filling. General Taos chicken was a fail. Sauce tasted like fish, the meat was chewy and no spice flavor at all. Very sweet. Oh, and they don't know what Chow Mein is... I ordered Chow Mein as I wanted the fried noodles w veg. As far as I have always known, "chow" and "lo" refers to the cookery of the noodle. "Mein" being the noodle part of the equation. Yet upon receiving my order it was a couple hunks of gray beef and large chunks of celery and white onions in a thick sweet sauce. I called to correct the issue and the woman literally laughed at me on the phone yelling that this is what I ordered. It was not. Second guessing myself, I looked online and lo and behold, no where on the internet did I find Chow Mein to be the dish I received. So I brought it back to the restaurant with an image of the Chow Mein I am familiar with. The same woman came out and said that it was in fact Chow Mein, trying to convince me I meant to order Lo Mein... I showed her my google searches that showed images depicting Chow and Lo Mein, definitions of how it refers to the noodle etc. I scrolled and showed her how what I was served was not a Mein dish! Yet she was convinced google, and all of the resources I showed her, were wrong. She said that Chow Mein w noodles is a west coast style and they don't do that here. However, I've never eaten west coast Chinese food...I've only ever eaten it at home on the east coast and let me tell you THERE ARE ALWAYS NOODLES IN CHOW MEIN. Thankfully, she made us a lo mein to replace it but the weird part was the chef came out and demanded to know who ordered the chow mein. When he saw me and my bulky bf he backed down but it was extremely aggressive and completely inappropriate...especially since the same woman said "people make mistake all the time, you want lo mein noodle not chow Mein vegetable" --if so many people make the mistake maybe it's not them! And maybe you should inform them when they order it! The ONLY reason this is a 2 star and not a 1 is because one of the servers came up and apologized even though she wasn't taking care of us. She said they do it differently and she always checks with her guests because no one knows how they do it. Makes sense. I wish I could've tipped her purely for her consideration.! We will never satisfy our occasional Chinese-food-cravings here again.

If you're craving Chinese food, give Imperial a call! We ordered carry out on a Friday night, and though the food took a little longer than expected to be prepared, it was worth the wait. Stars of the meal were Kung Pao chicken and Moo Shi chicken, both full of flavor with flaky chicken and tender vegetables. Spring egg rolls were packed with chicken, shrimp, and veggies and crunched perfectly. Homemade almond cookies are a don't-miss for dessert! The one dish I wouldn't order again is the chicken lo mein. It was okay but I would have preferred it to have more veggies.

The food was great the service just was the perfect touch I went in and got my food in only 5-10 minute wait the food was nice and hot the whole place was clean the vibe inside was chill and not hectic at all it was a amazing meal to have

I've been coming here for years and despite some of the negative reviews when new owners took over, I was pleasantly surprised by my order. I chose my go-to order of hunan chicken combo with pork fried rice and shrimp spring roll. The sauce was delicious and lots of it which I appreciated and they were careful to package my to go order so it didn't spill. I ordered about 30 minutes in advance and my order was ready, hot and fresh. Sadly I was not happy with the shrimp spring roll, that recipe has for sure changed and not in a good way. It was excessively greasy and the veggies inside were huge and not tender. I also didn't see one shrimp inside . I would absolutely visit this restaurant again soon! thank you

The absolute worst chinese food I have ever eaten. This evening I ordered takeout from this restaurant. I ordered two of their combination plates. The egg rolls were very over cooked and extremely greasy. The wonton soup was served cold. The portion size was laughably small. Plus, I was overcharged. This is NOT the same Imperial Chinese Restaurant that I had enjoyed for many years. Not even close. Don't waste your time or your money. I'll never go back!

This is by far the best Chinese food in the area. I think I've tried just about everything and it's all so good!

So disappointed, I ordered the General Tso's dinner combo for $17 Chicken, fried rice, egg roll and wonton soup. The Chicken had a tangy bbq taste, there wasn't a crumb of broccoli, the chunks were big, I will say that. The friend rice didn't have any peas, carrot or onion, I saw one piece of pork. Didn't notice any egg. The won ton soup was typical, yummy enough. The egg roll was flavorless. Everyone raved about this place, I just don't see it myself. I could have bought a nice dinner for $17 many other places. I'll keep looking for decent Chinese food.

What happened? Get take out every time I'm in town for work at Imperial. Usually 4 out of 5.... now the last 2 times.... poor quality. General Tso's, the standard for all Chinese restaurants in US, sauce was fine, a good portion of chicken was dry and chewy, and no vegetables? What Tso doesn't have broccoli? Top it all off, carry out bag stapled shut, got home and no eating utensils or napkins! Rice was fine.

Chose this place because it at least had 3 1/2 stars. Typical for take out Chinese. Please be careful with this one. Nice enough staff at the window. That was the best part. Fried wonton was just a dried out deep fried wonton with no filling. Crunchy mess. Not sure what it was. Sichuan chicken and beef & broccoli was the same flavorless, thickened soy sauce. Soggy and salty. No Veggies in the Sichuan except bean sprouts. The B & B was almost serviceable but for the sauce. The fried rice was decent though. But this is clearly the most awful take out Chinese I have tried. When. In a strange town, it is always a bit of a crap shoot. But never this bad elsewhere. Roll the dice again and try some other place.

Been going here for 15 years, but no more! Not sure if they're under new ownership or got a new chef, or what. Got carryout last night, awful! Half inch of oil in bottom of fried rice container, hot and sour soup is a whole new recipe (not good), vegetable spring rolls had a paste-like filling, not discernable veggies. Bad experience!

We have loved Imperial for years. We always get it for Christmas Eve. Something has changed. The quality of the food has really plummeted. The people in there are the same and great. They are also very nice on the phone when you order to go. Maybe they have new cooks? Our food was cold even though we waited an extra 45 min in the lobby to pick it up. We always tell them that my husband has a fish/shellfish allergy. We've never had a problem until this order. Thank goodness my son ate an egg roll before my husband did because they gave us the ones with shrimp.

Simple fast American Chinese food. I called at 8:40 pm & they took my order over the phone even though they close at 9 pm. (You can order online thru their website also). I had chicken with broccoli which was solidly good with even portions of chicken & broccoli. The dark garlic sauce could've been more flavorful. It was good but not a-lot it depth. The chicken was nice sized chunks of chicken & broccoli spears. It came with white rice. I also ordered the fried Spring rolls which were VERY GOOD & seemed homemade. Highly recommend those! It's a very simple little brown ban board almost like a alpine ski chalet building set back from the road. Nothing fancy inside but definitely a restaurant with plenty of seating. No outside seating. I picked up my order & it was ready within 15 mins of ordering so the kitchen is fast & staff efficient. Price was reasonable also. Overall a solid choice for American Chinese food.

This place is disgusting! The beef nd broccoli and chicken dish was swimming in soy sauce. Was not fresh and overpriced for the nasty dishes. Do not eqt there.

Great food, good service & nice quiet atmosphere. Hadn't been there in many years but it didn't disappoint.

Randomly tucked away. Very good food. Hot, fresh and just enough for a lunch size. Tasty, quiet, quick service.

One of the best Chinese restaurants left that have not converted to buffet. Spring rolls are great here as well as chicken with black bean sauce This place is the best in the north-end. if your in the east end it would be fuji for Chinese/asian IMHO. I have been going here for almost 20 years about 1 a month. Also occasionaly order take out for friday lunch at work (is close to stateline). The ChickChow mein and spring rolls are great for lunch special. on the no background music, that is fine, too many have blaring music these days so much that you can't even think. I love the quiet! may all restaurants get rid of the music please! thanks Steve for the times without ti.

This was our first time here. The service was great. The food was delicious. Our 7 year old niece even liked it and she is picky. We had the orange beef, chicken egg fu young, and chicken lo mein. We also got the egg rolls and ahh drop soup. We will definitely be coming back!

An excellent Chinese restaurant! I came in late in the evening, hungry and ready for good food. This place had been recommended to me by my customers here in town. I had shrimp toast to start, which was flavorful, but a bit on the greasy side. For main, I had the beef and scallops in oyster sauce, which was excellent! The scallops were large and tasty, and beef nicely seasoned and tender. The vegetables were snow peas and mushrooms, which complimented the big flavor of the sauce quite well. I will definitely be back when I'm in town next, and can recommend this restaurant.

This is absolutely the best Chinese food I have ever eaten. My wife and I had dinner there last week and the restaurant was extremely clean and the staff are supreme. The food was so exceptional that I went out of my way and made this restaurant my destination for pick up. This has become my favorite Chinese food in the entire area. I recommend this place 100%. Enjoy your relaxing dinner or take out. Great food, good prices, and a great staff.

We haven't ordered from here in a long time and after tonight we will never be ordering from here again!! We had a pretty good size order but the Sweet and Sour Chicken was so over cooked it was like chewing gum. The General Tso was so sweet and saturated my wife could only eat 1 1/2 pieces. If I was in the restaurant all of it would have been going back l, and I'm not one to do that! Will never eat here again. There are a lot of other places in the area for less money and much better food

I picked up an order to take home for dinner. Everything was extra greasy and tasteless. I in particular ordered the combination sesame chicken dinner, with the Wonton Soup. The Soup was extremely salty and the broth was like water, the wontons were old and horrible, The eggroll overcooked/burnt and very greasy, The fried rice was just colored with soy sauce and was also very old. The sesame chicken cooked as flat pieces of steak like pieces dry as cardboard! Not stir fried in a Wok with sauce and vegetables, Disgusting! The soup noodles old and greasy. They ought of be ashamed of themselves actually selling terrible food not authentic in any way.....

We had been regular patrons for years. The General Tso's chicken had real white meat and a great sauce. We had stopped going after a change in management or something but it definitely changed. We were in the area and decided to try again The food was as good as it has ever been. The service was great. We will be back as regulars as it is the best General Tso Chicken combination-platter. The restaurant hasn't changed and that may bother some. I would take good food all day over an updated restaurant. Try the chicken and see what I mean. Real White meat, crispy and great brown sauce. Fried rice and egg roll. Glad to be able to have it that good again !!!!

I usually stop in once or twice a month depending on my work schedule, however when I do walk in, I am greeted by Ashley the waitress and she knows exactly what I want to drink before I can get to my table and confirms my order once I do sit down. Very professional very courteous and most of all outstanding service, food quality is excellent. I highly recommend imperial Chinese restaurant

Imperial Chinese is by far the best Chinese food in Hagerstown. While it is a little bit more expensive than most others: it is definitely worth the couple of extra dollars you might spend! Everything on the menu is fabulous! I have too many favorites here to describe! If you're a meat eater: the General Tso's Chicken is killer! If you're a vegetarian: the Broccoli in Garlic Sauce or the Eggplant in Garlic Sauce are personal favs, but they have a lot of vegetarian options that are all very good! If you are looking for the best Chinese in Hagerstown: this is definitely it!!

Their general chicken is really good. However, I'm not sure about the sesame chicken... it's breaded with sauce on the side. It tastes just like fried chicken.... hmm.. The steamed dumplings are really good also, they taste really good just like the ones I got in China :)))) It's a expensive place comparing to other Chinese restaurant tho.

Used to eat here years ago, read present Yelp reviews and thought Id get some takeout Kung Pao from good memories. Big mistake! Got home, opened box up and it sure didnt look like anything called Kung Pao I have eaten anywhere else. Lots of broccoli, mushrooms, watercress, hardly any ground hot Asian pepper (used to use whole peppers), no green pepper slices or onion, some peanuts thrown on top. Looked a lot like someone didnt pick their call order of in chicken and broccoli, throw a little ground red pepper and peanuts on top, it got recycled as my Kung Pao. Called restaurant back and they ststed this is how they make it, mild and if I wanted it hot, I should have ordered it that way. Not that I was told we make it this way and if you want.....poor stunt to pull on your customers. Pretty bland tasting for "Kung Pao" otherwise--I trusted the good reviews and got burned.

I have never eaten here before, passed it thousands of times on our way up & down Pennsylvania Ave. For the first time in at least a year, the wife & I got a hankering for Chinese. So I decided we needed to try somewhere new. We called them & explained that I was vegetarian, they said they would be more than willing to substitute ingredients that were not suitable for me, for ones that were. Kudos! They were also very polite on the phone. One of the most polite phone calls that I can remember in fact... The wife left to pick up our order. She remarked that they were just as polite in person as on the phone. The place was also reported as being busy. Always a great sign! The food? Great! Not over seasoned with mono sodium glutamate as some places are. Perfect crunch to the veggies... The wife's Kong Pow Chicken was declared to be close to perfect. Their willingness to work with my dietary needs are a huge bonus, that & the tastiness of the food have earned them a repeat customer!

I made it here once. It was very good, hot tasty food with all the standard selections and then some. However, it was so quiet, empty and no background music playing that it felt extremely uncomfortable. I now choose to carry out and can't get myself to dine in. Price is a little higher than the other local choices but so worth it.

Not sure why someone would say worst ever. We find it to be good and consistent each time we are there. The owner is always working and takes care of us. The servers are very caring about the service they bring. We continue to come here because the food is good and they make us feel very welcome.

I got the beef lo mein, general tso chicken, and egg drop soup. The beef lo mein was great, the beef actually tasted like beef unlike most restaurants. The general tso chicken was very well marinated and did not have too much breading which I really liked. However the egg drop did taste a little too much like chicken noodle soup because of the corn that was in it. But all in all highly recommended.

3 stars are for the atmosphere. Linens on the table, wait staff dressed nicely...all those are touches that make this a great place. There is a full bar which is very nice, but they need to update their wine selection. I can't take the nasty wines they serve today. The food is ok, nothing to write home about I've had better tasting Chinese from China Wok in the Longmeadow shopping center, but the atmosphere there is nothing less than ghetto

This is our families go-to place for take out Chinese food. The staff is always very friendly, food is always very tasty and hot, and price is right. When we do dine in the atmosphere is genuine and reminds you of how Chinese food restaurants used to be like before massive updated chains took over. The wait staff is amazing and service is fast. Children are always welcome!

The worst food ive seen or eaten before. I ordered kung pao chicken and double fried pork which can be seen in the pictures posted. I would avoid at all costs

Haven't tried food from Imperial in awhile just because I'm never in the area. Ordered carry out today and could not have been more pleased! General Tso's chicken is real chicken and amazing flavor! I'm already craving another trip! Rest of family had shrimp fried rice and shrimp lo mein - all were excellent and large portions. Support them during covid - you won't regret it!

This restaurant has earned all five stars. Great food, comes out steaming hot and fresh, extremely kind staff, and great environment and feel in the place.