Am I the only one who thinks this place is a joke?
If you are from the Detroit area, then by all means eat and enjoy these tacos. (you don't know any better, and thats okay)
For everyone else (west coasters) do not be fooled by these look alikes.
This is by no means a traditional taco shop!
The carne asada tacos were Horribly over cooked, and disappointing.
The two stars are for the hot sauces, and the guacamole, which was actually pretty good.
How can anything wrapped in bacon be bad. The hot dogs are great. I got the bakersfield sonoran and the paso robles sonoran (no beans). Both were excellent. Like other people have said, the menu is a little tiny. So if you dont want a hot dog or tacos you may want to pass on it. I also got the chips and frijolios with chiziro minus frijoloius. Very good, but I would recommend mixing it up a little because it seems to be layered.
I will be trying this place again.
Giving this place a solid 4 stars. No nonsense service and a GREAT drink menu filled with Tequila goodness. Hard to find a place that has more than 1 Tequila drink (with that being a margarita). If you love Tequila as much as I do you would enjoy this place.
Considering I was intoxicated after their extensive tequila menu, I couldn't really tell you how the food was, but my boyfriend who was a sober sally told me that the food was very good. Tacos are small, don't order 2- get 3. Really trendy spot, maybe I will head back for their brunch which had decent prices and bloody mary's on Sunday's and write this place a better review of 5.
What's great- tasty food, friendly wait staff, food comes out super fast, awsome drinks, and the bar also has a great look
Not so great- the femal bartender. I try to avoid her by sitting at a table but sometimes can't and from now on I will not eat there if It means sitting at the bar. She proudly wears a shirt with the writing " Life's a Bitc$ So Fuc$ It" She has the actual words on her shirt but I am unsure if I can post them on here.That sums up her attitude when she waits on you.
The meat was lukewarm on a slow Thursday afternoon. The bartender and servers were more concerned about their "2:43 pick me up" as we wiped our fingers off on bar naps rather than napkins. For having as many people working, service was lacking. Hopefully their "pick up" helped them get through the rest of their day as their jobs were clearly very difficult.
Review Source:I'm torn on how I actually feel about Imperial.
Things I LOVE:
- Their happy hour
- Black-eyed pea taco with kale (this should be on the menu all the time!)
- corn
- Imperial Margarita
- guacamole
- prices
Things that I don't love:
- It's always SO busy and super loud.
- I would expect this fun, hip place to have personable bartenders. The several times I've been and sat at the bar, this was not the case. One time, I wasn't even greeted with a "Hello," the bartender just stared at me, waiting for me to give him my order. He seemed annoyed when I responded with, "Hello. How are you?" Super disappointing.
- The tacos are missing something. The meat (with the exception of the al pastor) is bland. No amount of salsa toppings will change that.
Reasons I will return (on off peak hours - either lunch or early happy hour):
- prices
- booze
- all the things I love (above)
- outdoor seating
- I haven't tried the hot dogs that people rave about.
Went here for the first - I'm sure of many - time the other night with my wife. The food was delicious and the drinks were good. This is my first yelp review and I think when reviewing restaurants, I'll focus on the food. I should say that the service here was excellent and the prices were good.
Since it was my first visit, I ordered a lot. We started with the chips and had a flight of salsa and guacamole. I liked all three salsas they served - all very flavorful - but my favorite was the chipotle (spiciest). The guacamole was delicious and chunky like I like it. Nice and cool.
I then had the best ear of corn I've ever had. They roll it in a grated cheese/dried chilis mixture which makes it quite a substantial side. The pulled pork torta was amazing...looking at the menu I thought it might be a little messy, but the bread held everything together well and was yummy in its own right. One of the top 10-15 best sandwiches I've ever had.
Then I had the special of the week duck confit taco. It was also incredible. Of course the duck confit was super tasty, but all the flavors blended perfectly.
Next I had the Papas Con Rajas taco off the regular menu - chorizo, poatato, queso fresco. Also very, very good.
Finally I had the best hot dog I've ever had - the Bakersfield Sonoran. I've never had a bacon-wrapped hot dog before, and now I'm not so sure I'll ever have a non-bacon-wrapped one. But seriously, like the sandwich and the duck confit taco, the many flavors blended perfectly.
My one criticism would be the price of drinks, but the prices of food was so reasonable, it really is not a big deal. I don't normally get mixed drinks - and perhaps I'll focus on the beer list (which looked decent) next time - but thought I should try a few my first time here. My favorite was the Ring Of Fire - habanero orange infused tequila with grapefruit. I like the margarita and my wife - who is more of a margarita fan - said they were really good.
By the way, I saved half the torta and hot dog for breakfast the next morning and both were just as delicious as I remembered them.
This place is a nice joint if your in the mood for something a little different. Its not authentic and I dont think its trying to be, but they do what they do pretty good.
The menu is very streamlined, and you wont find combo meals other than what you make yourself. Tacos were around 3 ea, and I went with two of their vegetarian tacos minus cheese, and the special black eyed pea with kale taco.
I definitely prefered their normal vegetarian taco, and the person dining with me agreed. Its flavored well and pairs nicely with a few of their homemade hot sauces they bring to your table. The Black eyed pea taco was too wet and the tortillas were soggy when i got to eating it, so i was mildly dissapointed, but it wasnt that bad in terms of flavor.
Perhaps my biggest dissapointment was in their chips. I found mine to be a little stale tasting and didnt seem very fresh, but the guacamole was flavorful and delishous.
Overall, I enjoyed my meal and our service was pretty good on this particular occasion, but the place wasnt that busy as we went during off peak hours. Price was ok, if a tad high.
First Imperial experience was this past Friday and I will definitely be returning... for the food. We got there around 7:45 with a group of 8, so of course there was a wait. Â The host said an 1.5 hours and took our name. The sheisty part is that you cant make reservations-- so go early if you are in a large group. Came back about 40 minutes later and they were able to seat is with in 10 minutes, NBD. Nice size booth for a group, otherwise family style dining, which would have been cool to, if for no other reason than to bask in tacos collectively with strangers.
PROS re the foodz: Â The tacos were simply amazing. Very fresh, excellent flavor match-ups, we indulged in:
Sides: The Chip and Salsa Flight, Guac & Chips-- Â bright, acidic and correct! Â One of the salsas was super hott, but still full of flavor.
Tacos: Carnitas, Al Pastor, Tinga Del Pollo, Carne Asada, Chorizo and a Lamb taco with mango salsa. Muah! Â I think I had every Taco in this piece! Â They are palm size which makes you feel like it's a taco famine when you are blowing through them like potato chips. Â My favorite was the Chorizo, which was ground with potatoes and had the perfect amount of heat. Soo good. Â Crowd favorite was Carne Asada.
Sauce: Some kind of lime-cilantro-ish sour cream business. It was an amazing compliment to any of the tacos.
Churros: overdone, but had potential. Â Busy = extra crunch Churro. Chocolate sauce is just plain chocolate sauce, so dont have your lips primed for any ancho-excitement.
CONS re Foodz:
-Tacos are 2.50 a go-- 2.75 or 2.95 for "specials" (Lamb). My brother reminded me that this was only a few cents more than Chipotle-- for 100x better tacos--so OK. Dont go if you are starving or with a group of hungry mans.
-Everything is served family style-- which is wretched for tab splitting, when all your tacos arrive on the same platter and it's a taco free-for-all. Watch your check.
-Everything is ala cart- including the tasty lime taco sauce
-There is no sour cream-- I mean I get it, but still.
CONS re the libations: I ordered a Lavendar Sidecar-- the flavor of the Lavendar overpowered the rest of the drink, so I cant say I enjoyed it. Â Almost like Str8 Lavendar Bourbon, with a sprig of Lavendar for garnish. Â I would not recommend this drink.
Next I ordered a "West Coast Swing" it tasted like muddled strawberry and nothing. Â Just to make sure my Birthday Girl palate wasnt depleted from knocking back 4 margaritas in the party bus beforehand, all 8 people in our party stuck a straw in to try it. Everyone agreed that it tasted like muddled strawberry water. This drink was not on the menu, so I'm not sure if was the bartender's specialty-- but I guarantee there was nothing special about this drink.
As a last attempt to embrace this Mexcian dining experience, I tried the house margarita-- PASS. They need to step their game up in the cocktail department-- nothing doing here either.
Honorable mention: There were flat screens and they were tuned in to local sports. Not a lot of standing room by actual bar. Very Clean bathrooms.
Parts I liked:
-The food is good
-The drinks are good (and strong)
-Our waitress was happy to split our bill, but can sometimes be a hassle at other places
Parts I didn't like:
-I came with a large group. Â When we all placed our orders, the food came out on three large platters instead of everyone getting their own plate with their own items on it. Â We had to sort through the tacos and figure out whose was whose.
-The service wasn't the best. Â We sat there for a good 45 minutes with empty drinks because our waitress just never came back. Â I'm not sure where she was. Â By the time she came back, we just wanted our bill, which took another 45 minutes.
-The acoustics in the place are such that it's loud. Â Don't come with a large group of people if you want to talk to each other without yelling.
Overall, I would go back - just probably in between meal times so it's not busy.
I cannot say enough good things about Imperial. I fell in love with Imperial over the winter (2013). Their Tacos (traditional street style) are to die for and so awesome that you buy by the taco. You can try one of each and go back for your favorites. The service is always super fast so I frequently order two or three then order a few more 20 minutes later and so on. And don't get me started on the Churros. I could eat those all night! Imperial has a fantastic selection of beers and their signature cocktails are divine. I'm not usually a margarita fan but theirs is worth trying, for sure. Aside from the fantastic food and drinks, the atmosphere is perfect. Very unique layout which adds to the fun - not like any other place around here. And the staff (and owner) sport the best ink in the city ;) Â Recently I discovered a new, seasonal perk: Â the whole front of the place opens "garage door style" and there is a terrific patio out back. Â I highly recommend the Imperial and do frequently.
The reason I was inspired to Yelp? I showed up there last week with a group of ~20 people, no notice. Not only were the staff and owner not irritated that we showed up unannounced with a large group of people, they were thrilled to have us and worked their a$$es off to accommodate us. They even tried to get us out on the patio (primo seating) at our request. We ended up commandeering a corner of the inside which worked out great and we decided not to move outside. We were a bit of a handful (I must say;) never rude or over served but we were a bit scattered and spread out which kept our server hopping all night. She was never snarky or irritated, in fact, she was delightful.
There are very few places that have made me feel like they were genuinely glad I was there. This is one of them. They are coming up on their first anniversary. Celebrate by checking them out and keeping them around. They've earned it.
Pretty good! Â Nice little street taco type food. Â Have been here a few times and most recent last week Thurday for a few drinks and dinner. Â Gets busy quick after work so be prepared to snuggle up next to who ever is sitting next to you. Â Not for a private dining experience if that is what you are looking for. Â
Tacos are small so order at least 3-4 but they are yummy, guac is really good along with the different salsas. Â Drinks are SUPER YUMMY! Â MMMMMM. Â Kinda on the pricey side but really good.
Nice looking and very comfortable- everyone is friendly, even the patrons since you are basically sitting on each others laps with LONG tables. Â Fun though!
Sorry, not a lot of time to write a proper review.
First and foremost, if you've never been in here, make sure to stop in. Pseudo-authentic mexican food, overpriced drinks... your typical Royal Oak-style restaurant/bar/social venue.
Food is excellent... very tasty. I'm a big fan of the Al Pastor and Chorizo tacos. The social element of the seating (benches, you'll be close to other dining parties) is great when controlled, but when things are packed it can be a little overwhelming if you're not interested in knocking elbows and being super outgoing with your neighbors.
Service is "meh" to ok/good. If they're busy, expect to wait often for someone to stop by... they DO understaff a bit. Typical trendy attitude/treatment... don't expect the "personal touch" unless you know someone there.
Facilities are good. When the weather is nice and you can sit outdoors in the front or in/on the patio in the back, it's a very fun experience. Indoors is just loud and crowded... but you may be into that.
All in all, usually it's a good dining experience at Imperial... if you know what to expect.
I recommend checking it out at LEAST once!
Let me start by saying that I never popped into Imperial for a long time because by its name, I always assumed it was a Chinese takeout restaurant. Â Silly, yes. Â But I have my favorite Chinese and Thai places that I always go to, so I never made an effort to go to Imperial. Â Well, just to clear up any confusion, Imperial isn't a Chinese takeout joint (much to my surprise), it is an amazing taco joint. Â
Anyplace where I can order by the individual taco tends to make me happy because I am a fan of variety, Â I have a tendency to over-order so I can try many different things. So after looking at the menu I was pretty confident that I was going to enjoy Imperial. Â Let's start with chips and dips. Â Their guacamole is great and I am a very picky guacamole person-I usually find it too bland and just adding more onion doesn't help. Â Imperial actually adds spices to their guacamole so it is still smooth but very flavorful. Â Next the salsas. Â I would classify them as fancy-salsas because they are fruit forward flavors and not normal salsa-esque. Â However, they were good (though I do enjoy a great cheap dirt-floored Mexican restaurant salsa:)
The tacos. Personally I find the chorizo super salty, so I stay away from anything with it. Though my friend loves the potato/chorizo taco. I highly recommend the Al Pastor, Adobada, and Carne Asada. Â The Al Pastor is my favorite by far. Â
The final thing about Imperial that I adore is the people.  We have never had a bad experience.  Also, we threw a curveball at them once which they took completely in stride.  We were on our way back from Eastern Market  with a lot of pork (yum) and it was nice outside.  Thus we didn't want to leave it in our car while we had lunch.  We called Imperial and asked if we could store our pig-meat in their fridge while we had lunch.  They were completely awesome about it, not as surprised as we thought they would be, and let us use their fridge while we ate. Â
Great place, great food, and great service. Â No doubt that we will be back again and again and again.
I wanted to give a bigger star, a brighter one, but I can't. Aesthetically it is a great place, and I am sure the drinks are great, so if that's what you are going for, then 4 stars. However, I have had many an amazing authentic, inspired, and downright amazing west-coast taco. This, my friends, is not it. The vegetarian taco I have tried on two different occasions, both times (hoping for better) they were dry and disappointing. We tried the 2 chicken tacos, one was stewed and pretty good and the other was (I believe) a chicken lime-something-or-other, which was dry and boring. The guac was okay, the other people at my table thought it was good though. The vegetarian dog was alright.
The biggest bummer of the meal...the street corn. If you are from the WC or Mexico, don't expect to be taken back to your roots. Expect bland corn, mine was watery and not hot enough. I wish it were amazing because we are within walking distance and I would love to go back again and again. The salsa is good. Mexican coke made my day, but that's not saying a whole bunch.
If you want a vibe, this one is cool. If you want good ass mexican, nope.
Imperial gets 5 stars despite the high noise level. I can't take away a star because it's popular and has an energetic atmosphere. I know I sure as heck get loud and excited when I'm around good food, drinks and friends. I've been here about 6 times now and the food is delish, cocktails are creative, and even when they're super busy, the service has always been excellent.
You really can't go wrong with any of their tacos, they are all sooo good. The special of the day I tried once was lamb shank with fig and cucumbers and it was crazy good. I definitely recommend the vegetarian; the "meat" is incredibly deceptive and savory. Also there is a really good one with pineapple in it that I was initially skeptical about, until I tried it. Of course, the bacon-wrapped hot dogs are a must try, and the guacamole is fresh as tasty as well. Each salsa in the flight of salsas is so delicious that my boyfriend was tempted to ask for a to-go container to mix the tiny bit that we had left over.
If you come here on a weekend after 6, it will be crowded and loud, but it is completely worth it.
I happen to love this place. The vibe is way cool. You wouldn't guess its a beer and taco place from the outside but it is, and it's good.
You sit where you want -- booths, the bar, large tables where many parties sit. Wherever you want. You'll get handed some salsa stained menus by the "too cool for school" looking staff. Thats a compliment, by the way. The tatts, the great hair, the chill atmosphere...its all part of Imperial's charm.
The beer list is pretty good. Something for everyone, but nothing too unique. I recommend ordering the salsa flight, too. The chipotle salsa is killer.
Now on to the goods. Are the hotdogs good? Hell yeah. But that tacos are stars in my book. I've tried every one on the menu, and they are good. Stupid good. I'll mention, too, that Imperial is a "order as you feel like it" kind of place. You can order food as much as you like, and the tacos are smaller, so its easy to try a lot at one sitting. And try the Elote Especial - the corn on the cob side dish. It's unreal. I've actually researched where to find its toppings just so I could recreate it at home.
Go here, people.
When I think about my experiences at Imperial the first things that come to mind are: clean atmosphere, some adorable waitresses, & strong drinks. You have the option to sit in booths with just your pals or at big tables with other patrons, which makes it ideal for huge groups or making new friends. The tacos are crazy delicious and never take long to make.
The food is 5 stars, but I've been here a few times when the wait staff has been less than stellar. And I don't mean inattentive, I mean rude. Once we were charged twice for one meal and everyone, including the manager tried to act like there was absolutely nothing to be done about it. Â
All in all, I'd say try it out! Hopefully you'll have good service.
Well, I've been to Imperial at least 15 times since they've opened, with the ABSOLUTE LAST TIME being last week on Tuesday, 4/2/13.
I arrived around 5 pm with three others, and the place was nearly empty. We chose a booth to sit in, as we'd be going over some business details while waiting for dinner. An extremely awkward guy came over - Â the only male server in the place that day - and asked if we wanted drinks -- from about 5 feet from the table!! Also, he didn't wait for us to finish speaking before starting to leave... Really?! Same with our food order. He just started walking away while one of us was still talking. Then, when he came back he appeared upset when we would request another item. While eating, the server actually stared at us from across the room, and one from our party held up his empty glass (had been empty for quite a while) - the server made eye contact, and turned around and walked in the opposite direction, then made his way back to our table about 15 minutes later so that we could ask for more drinks. Getting the bill was also a hassle, and getting it split took one of us actually getting up and chasing him down after another 10 minutes, and that was met with an eye roll.
All of the times that I have been to this establishment, the food has been fine. The drinks have been fine. The SERVICE?! I have no idea how these people stay employed. If I acted the way that these people in the front of the house acted (snooty to patrons, texting while on the clock, unfriendly, bad attitude), I'd be fired immediately.
To the owner/management - take a good look at who you have working for you. I work at a small business across the street from you. When customers ask me, "Where's good to eat at around here?" I cannot recommend your establishment.
Haha...HOT DOG!!
This place has some STUPID -))GOOD((- hot dogs! Â For real... Julie C. and I were in heaven when we stopped in on Saturday night! Â The one we were literally giggling over had chicken, pineapple and a sweet BBQ sauce on a dog wrapped in bacon...BACON!!!!
We also had the Detroit Tart, a margarita, that's glass is rimmed with salt & SUGAR! Â Brilliant!
A must try!
I like stopping by Imperial for a quick bite/drink .. they have a great space, large bar, and I rather enjoy their option for cafeteria style seating, sitting with other parties.
I've tried both their kinds chicken tacos and the vegetarian - my favorite is the vegetarian! It's very good. Don't pass on the hot sauce - there is one that is a sort of apple flavor and it made the tacos significantly more tasty, and not dry. For some reason I always wish the taco's here came out hotter - is that weird? I don't know if taco's are supposed to be really warm or not but I feel like it would make them go from good to great.
Definitely order chips and guac -- the chips are UHmazing, and the guac has large avocado chunks in it you can tell it is very fresh.
The service is one of the best parts of Imperial - I've been impressed every time by the bartenders and wait staff .. extremely kind, attentive, knowledgable and seemingly happy.
They have a good selection of beers and also have some unique housemade infused liquors which i look forward to trying.
Tacos are cheap - get 2 or 3 and you'll be full and wont hurt your wallet.
Absolutely delicious. It doesn't hurt that the environment is super cool, modern, contemporary, and Zen like with all the wood seating and flooring; totally my kind of tranquility.
I've never been one to really like going to bars, but Imperial is really different. The layout is open and comfortable. Even with all the people in there and the noise factor being loud, it isn't overwhelming to the point where you get uncomfortable or claustrophobic. What really helps is really the slate blue walls with cool black and white racing cars photography and the light interior.
But I'm not here to just rave about the decor of the place. The food was fantastic!! Tacos were definitely mini, but they give you a TON of meat for the size of tortilla (FYI, they are about 4-5" in diameter), and the flavors are so on point. For $2.50 each, we got the carnitas, carne asada, and al pastor. Perfectly marinated, and the accompanying salsa verde, jalapeno onion relish, and red pepper salsa in the three tacos were complementary and oh so smooth and spicy! We sampled their homemade corn tortillas and salsa flight, and that chipotle salsa was out of this world tasty. The salsa verde had a great tang from the tomatillos, but the chipotle salsa was the clear winner. All three of us couldn't get enough of it, and I surely loved the light and NOT OILY/GREASY tortilla chips. :) Guacamole was great too with plenty of lime juice, but wish there was more red onion mixed in.
The only thing that was meh was the churro. That was not worth the $2, as it was tiny and fried too long. It crumbled when i picked it up, so I probably wouldn't order that again. Also, not food-related, but the bathrooms were so untidy! Toilet paper everywhere, and wet spots all over the place, it looked like a bunch of animals ransacked the place. Luckily I didn't have to use it more than once.
Though this place gets loud, this will definitely be a repeat for us when we're either in the taco mood or in the Ferndale area. Another thing to note - the host was absolutely awesome and accommodating. He was very considerate with informing us our order on the wait list; something that I haven't come across in quite some time.
Definitely a fun place to hang out, and I can only imagine how crazy busy and crowded this place will be when the weather gets even warmer. We will be back and I hope the state of the bathrooms improve!
I suggested to my girlfriend we come here this Friday night, I thought the idea of tacos and maybe a nicely mixed cocktail would be fun. Â I was dead wrong. Â After sitting down at the bar we were asked what we wanted to drink, we started off by asking for water and were immediately treated like customers not willing to spend any money; we had to flag down staff to get anything, even our bill. Â
We sampled 4 tacos, Â the presentation was pretentious enough to wow most gentrified white folks I'd imagine.
The service was fairly fast, in fact, too fast, nothing like being served up reheated meat that was probably prepared during the beginning of the week!
I selected the Carne Asada, and then Adobada De pollo, and my girlfriend went for the Al Pastor and then Tinga De Pollo. Â Lucky for me I didn't get food poisoning from the tacos which looked like tiny diapers with a full load of shit in the middle. Â My girlfriend lost the game of taco roulette and spent the next night and day throwing up and shitting her brains out. Â
The Carne Asada taco which was advertised as "marinated steak with red pepper and salsa" tasted more like gamey raccoon meat marinated in garbage juice during a hot day. Â The Adobada wasn't much better..... Â I am fairly sure two crunchy tacos from taco bell would have been more delectable than the shit slapped on a plate and presented to us. Â I don't know why anyone would eat the garbage tacos from the Imperial; I am assuming most people are drunk out of their skull, because its the only way to really choke down these awful awful tacos.
I'll never eat here again, much less drink here. Â My first impressions of this place were decent, it seemed like a hip place; so unless eating raccoon tacos is hip I don't see the draw of this bar/restaurant/raccoon cookery.
When I hear people say they love imperial, I am baffled. I've eaten there on two occasions. Both times I received dry-ass meat that tasted like Fancy Feast that had been left out in the sun wrapped in a cold tortilla.
The first time I went with a friend and i must say, we were quite buzzed. So anything would have tasted great at that point. Not Imperial's tacos. They didn't even pass the hammered test.
But let's back up to the guac for a second. The portion is tiny and served with a gimundo bowl of chips. I defy anyone to order the guac and not be irritated by the disproportionate ratio of guac to chips. It's criminal.
And i hope you like cilantro because they pile it on high -- on virtually everything. I do love cilantro, but not when it's used in mass quantities (presumably to hide the flavor of the food). It sticks to your lips as you bite into the dehydrated meat, thereby making you want to chug down some water (good luck hailing a server) and cry foul because everyone talked this place up.
The second time I went with my boyfriend. He's Colombian and OCD about his tacos. I mean, seriously OCD. I knew it was risky, but I figured, why not give Imperial a second try? I mean, everyone else says they love it.
Bad idea. Our food was pitiful.
First off, our waitress was incredibly rude -- walked up with a look on her face that said, "Damn, I hate my job." Her vibe sucked so bad I wanted to leave before we even ordered. And she could barely even hear our order because the place is so obnoxiously loud.
Sadly, we did order. And, just like the first time, we got cold tortillas and dry meat, served up with a scowl. After leaving the majority of our food for dead, the server, who must have taken a Xanax from the time she dropped off the food to the present, actually asked us how everything was. imagine that. Despite the dramatic personality change, I still had the urge to sail a cold tortilla at her head, just because.
Anyway, my boyfriend took the high road. He politely mentioned that the tortillas were cold and we didn't care for our meal, but no big deal, we're ready for our bill.
His accent must have set off an alarm in the back that said, "Latino at table 3, we've been discovered! I repeat, Latino at table 3." The manager came over, unsolicited, to apologize for the lousy food and give us a discount. We were pleasantly surprised, because we certainly didn't make a stink. And I never actually threw the tortilla.
Even still, I can't bring myself to give Imperial another star for that.
Afterward, my taco snob boyfriend actually agreed to swallow his pride and make a pit stop at Taco Bell. Yes, Taco Bell. It blew Imperial away. It's the Taco Bell on Woodward, south of 9. The food is better than Imperial and the people in the drive-thru are always friendly.
Folks, I really wanted to like Imperial. It's practically in my backyard. But never again. Never again.
The 3 salsas for $5 were delicious, but I ran out of chips early on. Â The chipotle one was my favorite. The 'Ring of Fire' mixed drink was fantastic. Thank you for the recommendation fellow Yelpers!
Our server was out there. Â If I came to work in that condition, I would be sent to drug testing immediately. Â She forgot drinks and orders, couldn't comprehend our requests, and disappeared now and then.
The family style taco arrival was a hot mess. I doubted the food runner's descriptions when she pointed at 2 tacos and said they were the same, when they looked completely different, several times. Â We were all a little puzzled. Â I just said f it, and took the last 3 on the plate. Â They were all dry and ok. Not great.
I will be back for more salsa and to sample some more mixed drinks. The 'One Night in Mexico' at the table next to ours looked so damn tasty.
I was in the mood for some tacos and a trip to Rust Belt early this afternoon, so we stopped into Imperial. The atmosphere is really nice, and I can't wait to come back in the summer when the garage doors are open. I was thoroughly impressed with the salsas, especially the verde and the smoky one (I'm not sure if it has a special name). I tried 3 tacos, one vegetarian, one carne asada and one chicken adobado...and each was delicious! The chicken was juicy and flavorful, the carne asada was tender, and the seitan in the vegetarian was incredible! So much flavor! I couldn't leave without trying a churro, which was also delightful, although it wasn't the best churro I've ever had (that bar is set ridiculously high, though). I also had an imperial swizzle cocktail, which was bourbon-licious. I'm excited to go back and try more mixed drinks.
My only complaint was the service....our waitress seemed to have a very limited number of brain cells left. Overall, the whole staff seemed slow. However, being a Sunday with nothing to really do, I didn't mind. I would have happily stayed there all day, hung out, drank and ate tacos. I would have definitely been frustrated if I had somewhere to be.
So, in a nutshell: got time? Get tacos and drinks at Imperial.
Let me start my review by saying that I really like Imperial and I can't add much more than the 135 reviews before me except I can format my review into bullet points for easy reading and a clear presentation.
* Try all of the Salsas, they are very tasty
* Get an infused cocktail. They offer a couple of different kinds, but if you're an infuser (one who enjoys infused drinks), then you will love their offering.
* Food prices are great, beers are normal, special drinks are expensive. If you need a drink and are on a budget then opt for the Tecate or Coors Light ($3). The infuser will pay a lot more for their drink.
* Don't get discouraged on the service. All true Mexican restaurants have spotty service and this place shares that quality, even though its part Mexican.
* If you're coming here for the first time to eat, try coming on a week night because it gets crazy busy on the weekend.
* It's a stop on the Detroit Bus Company route when they do weekend service or special events. Hop off and try it out.
I love tacos and beer so its pretty hard for me to not to like this place. I think you will like it to.
First off, I had no idea this is was a taco place. the name certainly does not give that impression.
Imperial is delicious. The tacos are creative and the salsa are fresh. The beer list is great and the mixed drink menu is well rounded. So why three stars and not more? The price and service are detractors.
I ordered three tacos at $2.50 a piece. The tortillas they were on were about 3.5-4in. in diameter. Essentially a two bite taco. I'll take an El Charo taco for $2.50 over these any day on value alone.
Our server was, to put it nicely, in need of a methadone clinic ASAP. Whatever she was coming down from did not make her seem very bright. She couldn't split our check because they only had two computers. Our table had a fairly lengthy discussion on how that could possibly be what prevents split checks. Apparently each bill needs it's own NASA engineered super computer. She looked like she had just gotten done crying every time she came over as well. Also, they apparently have a very strict hiring policy or not hiring anyone who does not dress/act like a hipster. So many dark rimmed glasses and bangs........
It is what it is and I would have no problem going back but I will be getting the sandwich thing some of my table mates got.
Just a heads up in case you didn't know...
Monday nights after 5:30 they have Swordfish tacos regularly now.
They come as two tortillas with a generous portion of solid Swordfish fillet that's been well seasoned atop them, some pickled onions and orange supremes to accent the profile (I think they change up the citrus option now and then). These are pretty slammin' and for non-seafood lovers like myself these are still delectable and well worth the $3.50 pricetag!!!
You're still killing it Jeff! Looking forward to your next great idea!
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