I'm so happy to find some yummy dim sum! I loved the variety of food there was and they had a lot of the typical dim sum dishes that I know and love! The food came pretty quickly and there was a point we were having trouble fitting everything on the table. My friends really enjoyed the Beef Rice Noodle w/ Black Bean Sauce which is also one of my favorites in general. The beef was cooked very well and didn't have to naw at it at all. The food all tasted fresh and was very hot. I love the atmosphere of dim sum places with all the food and enjoying everything. There was not one dish that stood out to me at all as I enjoyed all the dishes I ordered. Definitely a great spot in Chinatown and perfect to get some yummy food! read more

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Be aware. When line is long, so many customers know the owners here and shamlesaly cut the line while others waiting for hour.

Food was amazing! Some choice's looked stacked in the photos which they weren't in person.... Service and menu really dropped the stars for me. Service: I have ate at a-lot of places but these place has such sour waiters and service. Just asking for utensils or even questions just seem to bother them. Maybe it's based on the language barrier (They spoke english fine) or maybe because of my ethnicity (I know pulling the racial card is reaching but you can feel the vibe once you eat here) Menu: It's simple but lacking drinking selections (maybe even lacking more since they lacked all the drinks) they even get a upset when i asked about something on the menu, flipped the menu with such attitude. Overall the food is amazing, everything I ordered was great! Just the service really puts me off.. which sucks since their food is superb. read more

Imperial Restaurant - Honey Roasted BBQ Pork - Dim Sum Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great things about Cai: good service+, prices are decent+, they are very accommodating with the seating situation (I put my name down but then told the lady up front that only part of our party would likely arrive by the time she said the ticket would be called-- they were able to easily accommodate some members of our party coming later)+++, good variety of dim sum here (some uncommon dishes are served, although the classics here are good as well)++, great hours (you usually don't find dim sum served at such a wide spectrum of hours)+++ Dim sum is pretty decent here, stand-out dishes would probably be any plates with shrimp in them (they use large pieces of shrimp-- will have big chunks in each bite which is nice). Otherwise, pretty standard. read more

Imperial Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

There are so many good dim sum places that it really takes something special to rise above the pack. This place has all the traditional dim sum fare. They taste and look like all others, with the exception that the rice roll stuck to each other, which is not normal. The place is roomy. The service is good. read more

Our favorite Dim Sum place. All dishes ate delicious. The only thing is always crowded.

Great selection of dim sum to choose from. The dim sum desserts were especially good. Food came fresh and hot. Everything arrived at a good pace. Service is a little slow if you need water, napkins and condiments. However, all servers were doing their best with service. Everyone was polite. Great experience overall. My uncle took us here when we were in town. As a chef himself, I trust his food recommendations. I believe this is currently one of the best or better dim sum spots. read more

Imperial Restaurant - Great selection of dim sum to choose from. - Dim Sum Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Restaurant is located on the second floor, formerly known as Cai. Great dim sum, big portions, and priced well. Service is average but we're here for the food. They have a handful of vegetarian options for dim sum which is nice! read more

Very standard dimsum in Chinatown with 20-30min waits on weekends. Has a fairly priced dimsum selection with photos. It's a big upstairs venue with no non-sense servers who sometimes disappear after food is ordered (though I've only been here during primetime).Ambience is what you'd imagine the inside of an authentic dimsum palace would resemble (dressed-up servers, wooden chairs, and gold embellishment. What brings down the rating of this place are the servers. I found it especially difficult to get ahold of our servers to request for chili sauce, inquire about dishes, or to add extra orders. I also noticed a big language barrier between the servers and my group with some servers only speaking Chinese. A few times our orders were forgotten and when we reminded our servers, they told us they were out of "x" dish. Highlights: the standard shrimp dumpling, shrimp crepe, shrimp rolls, and sui mai were authentic and good. Don't get too creative if this is your first time. Parking is validated $2 for 2 hours in the parking lot nearby. Be wary of the #VEGETARIANDUCK. I don't know which member of my group wanted this, but it was a strange indescribable taste with artificial dye. I don't think I will order it again. I think some meats are meant to remain as they are without being made into a substitute. And like someone else on here mentioned, everyone has his/her/their favorite dimsum palace in Chinatown. They're all the same with minute variations. read more

Imperial Restaurant - Shrimp Dumplings - Dim Sum Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I came back primarily for the Peking duck. It comes in 2 courses: duck skin tacos and duck lettuce wraps. The duck was the star in both dishes and I found that I like them both best with just a small amount of the sauce added on (ask for it on the side!) Other highlights were the xiao long bao and egg tarts. The egg tarts were soooo flaky and sweet. I saved half of mine to eat as a dessert! The steamed egg yolk buns were not great. The inside seemed separated and just tasted like granulated sugar and oil. Would not recommend. Both the menu and the dim sum menu are huge, so you're bound to find something you'd enjoy! read more

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If I could give zero star I would . I own business myself. I never treat my customers like this. No explain how it work with menu. When we call and ask question they seem get mad. Customer service is horrible from the person who wear white shirt to red shirt . I don't know what differences but they are rude. Tea pot is dirty too. read more

Imperial Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

4-stars for the dim sum and pan fried noodles. Everything was delicious and well prepared. As for service, staff was polite and tried to be helpful. There were so many mishaps because the dining room was at capacity. Confusion all around. I heard they're newly opened. So, maybe give them a chance to settle into a rhythm. Be warned when it's a full dining room you cannot hear each other sitting across from each other on a large round table. They should put up something to absorb the noise. This was the loudest Chinese restaurant I've ever been to. A lovely dining room with unpleasant acoustics. read more

This used to be Cai but now has a new name even though they still use plateware with the cai name on it. Food was decent but service was poor. No longer have the dim sum carts but have to order off a menu read more

The worst experience ever! Servers are very rude and impolite. Everything about this restaurant is really dirty. I smelled cigarettes inside the restaurant the whole time I was there. Asked a server to refill our teapot and she splatted hot water and tea all over our table. Overall BAD BAD BAD! Oh! To top it off, server waited at our table while we were leaving waiting for his tip. Ummm no sir, no service no tip. read more

Had a party with 3 tables of 10. We brought in the shrimp sashimi and piglets while the rest was from this establishment. Timing was pretty precise and service was attentive. The fish was 7 ilbs each. read more

Imperial Restaurant - Heads of shrimp sashimi, nothing goes to waste - Dim Sum Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Came here on a quiet Thursday night at around 7:30 PM and the place was pretty empty. My party of two was placed at a table probably too big for the both of us, not that I minded at all. I wanted some dim sum so I asked if they were still serving at this time. Luckily, they were. Score. I was in. ATMOSPHERE/ARCHITECTURE: 8/10 Nice interior design that is upscale with a spacious dining area. There are a variety of table sizes ranging from large circular tables that can seat groups of 10-12 to smaller 4 person tables. The restaurant can likely seat 80+ people. SERVICE : 7/10 It was a slow day so we had basically 3 people helping our table of two in terms of service. They were attentive, however, I felt a bit awkward like they were watching us too closely. Sometimes in terms of service, I'd prefer them to take a step back too. Also they missed one of our dishes on our original order which was eventually fixed. FOOD: 8/10 Crystal Duck and Oyster Steam Roll - This was a new dish that was offered as a part of the dim sum menu. It was duck and vegetables with oyster in a steamed rice glutinous flour gel. The flavor was interesting. I like the duck inside but I don't think it went particularly well together. Tofu and Spinach Rice Roll - This was good with the sauce. The tofu had a good flavor and the rice roll was done well. BBQ Pork Steam Bun - Classic steam bun with BBQ pork in the middle. The bun was soft and not overly chewy as it sometimes can be. I found that this place's BBQ pork steam bun was one of the better ones that I've had. Shrimp Shumai - Shrimp filling in a wrap and steamed. I enjoyed it, but the shumai here was not particularly outstanding. It was about average. Pork Belly - Now this, dish, THIS is the one that carried the entire meal and it wasn't even a dim sum dish. The pork belly here was cooked and flavored perfectly. Not too salty and the meat was nice and soft. The pork skin was seasoned well. I though this was basically perfect. Red Bean Dessert - Gelatin with red bean inside it, I was kind of disappointed. It was not as good as I was hoping it would be. Definitely a hard pass on this if I came here again. PROBABILITY OF RETURN: 7/10 They have a TON of menu options so I'd be inclined to come back here to try some of their other offerings, but probably not before I tried other things in the area first. TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT: Worth eating here. I don't think the dim sum is particularly outstanding, but that pork belly. Worth everything. Please try that if you come here. OVERALL: 7/10 read more

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Despite the slow down in visitors and business in Chinatown (as mentioned in the media) in the recent weeks, the dinner dishes we ordered were very good. Peking duck prepared into two separate dishes, walnut shrimp with toasted walnuts, beef chow mein, pea pod tips with fried garlic & sprinkles of Goji berries in a soup base! Tonight the restaurant was not crowded but staff was attentive. There's a large parking lot across the street. If you ask your wait staff for a subsidized parking ticket, that will reduce your parking to $2.00 for 3hour park time. As a result, as you exit, insert the initial park ticket you received as you entered the lit, followed my the subsidized ticket and lastly, insert your credit card to pay the balance. BTW, the dim sum at CAI is excellent too! read more

Imperial Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Dang, Cai's Dim Sum is pretty good! As a American Born Asian, I'm quite critical of Dim Sum, especially since I live in California, where there are a lot of Asians. However, I quite enjoy Cai. This Dim Sum spot is pretty up there in my book. The price is reasonable, the servers are joking and friendly and welcome when I spoke Chinese, and I enjoy the quality of the dim sum. I quite like their Tripe, from what I can remember. Remember, the thing with dim sum is, you don't want to order too much!! read more

Honestly, i feel like most dim sum places are the same, it's just a matter of finding which one you like the most. I only ordered pick up from here, but when I walked in it was pretty much dead. I ordered shrimp dumplings, siu mai, steamed creamy egg yolk bun, deep fried spring roll with taro and chicken and the baked green chive puffs. Everything tasted delicious, it didn't differ from any of the other dim sums places I've tried. I liked the chive puff a lot, even thought it's pretty much fried wonton with shrimp bits and chives. I ate those while waiting for the train, bc I knew they were going to get soggy by the time I arrived home lol. The only thing that was disappointing was the creamy egg yolk custard bun. It wasn't that creamy and the texture of the bread was like this hard soft texture. It's kind of like when you microwave it, but it's not fully heated if that makes sense. Overall, i enjoyed my experience, there was a couple of other things that im interested in ordering, so I'll definitely come again. read more

Walked in got a line number for two. While I understand they being larger group ahead for most of their bigger tables. But the older lady would also prioritized 4 people ahead of us. This is ridiculous way to treat customers. They kept doing this pattern and forgot us as our number left out on the top of the scratch book. Then worse happened when they brought in another 2-person who came later than us. Anyway, we ate after long wait and the dim sum were very moderate in quality. From a very disappointed customer! read more

Cai is one of my favorite, most frequented dim sum spots in Chicago. They have a great selection and the food comes out fairly fast - even on busy Sundays. Warning: If you go for lunch on the weekends and have a big party, make reservations! My favorites: Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings) - the soup broth is great and the noodle is thicker, so it stays together better than Hing Kee's Xiao Long Bao. Definitely poke a hole in the top and let some of the steam out before eating! I've seen too many people burn the inside of their mouth pretty bad by trying to pop the whole thing in their mouth. Once it's adequately cooled, these soup dumplings are amazing and melt in your mouth. The meatball in the middle is tender and flavorful, especially with the broth and the thicker noodle gives it a nice contrast of texture. Try them and you won't be disappointed! Super Har-gow Jumbo Shrimp Dumpling - large shrimp meatball on the inside encased with a thin noodle on the outside. It can be a little hard to eat as it can fall apart, but totally worth it for any shrimp lover. Beef w/ Enoki Mushroom (the rolled noodle, #31) - if you're adventurous and are down to try something with a different texture, you'll like this. I love these noodles! They're thicker and a little gummy (think a thicker version of what Vietnamese spring rolls are wrapped in), but delicious. Make sure you dip it in lots of the sauce! Egg Tarts - thick flaky crust encasing the sweetened custard on the inside. They come out hot and fresh so eat them right away! I'd recommend getting an order of these at the end, as they're more of a dessert. Service can be a little hit or miss. Make sure you know what you ordered and be vocal if they give you something you didn't order. You also might have to ask for refills on your drinks. This is something I've come to expect with a lot of Asian restaurants in Chinatown. Overall Cai doesn't have the prettiest food, but the taste is definitely there and is consistent every time I've been. It's great for larger groups, just make sure you make a reservation on the weekends. read more

Imperial Restaurant - 2 orders of Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings) (w/ crabmeat), 1 order Shumai, and 1 order of BBQ Pork Buns - Dim Sum Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

So much better than the dim sum outings I remember from my college days -- maybe it's because you order it from the table rather than snagging it from a wandering push cart, maybe it's just that I hang out with a more discerning crowd, but things here were generally very good, and the best items were fresh and flavorful. A particular surprise was the crunchy shrimp roll, which looks from the outside like a standard-issue mediocre egg roll, but turns out to be both freshly fried and filled with a shockingly pink, fresh, tasty pile of delicious shrimp. We ordered them for the children, but I ate more than my share. read more

This is our family's go-to restaurant for dim sum in Chinatown! Food is consistently good and prices are cheaper than Minghin. Service is extremely fast, although if you go at peak hours on the weekend (11AM-1PM) there will be a wait for a table. We have been to Cai 15+ times and still love it! Our favorites include the shrimp dumplings, snow mountain char siu bao, and ham sui gok. read more

I'd say come here for the Peking Duck alone! It is served on homemade tortilla-like rounds with veggies and generous portions of freshly sliced duck. The duck is so tender and juicy with the fat perfectly rendered and crispy skin. The sauce is pretty sweet so I recommend asking for it on the side so you can control how much goes on. Another round of duck is served in crisp lettuce cups. The dim sum and noodle dishes were good, but nothing special compared to the duck. I really enjoyed the egg tart dim sum and didn't love the other ones. A worker was vacuuming while we ate which I found off putting. Other than that, I'd come back and just get the duck!! read more

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Food is bussin. Waitstaff are pretty young so they speak mandarin as well as Cantonese which makes it easy to navigate. Get the chicken feet and the custard buns but not the egg tart. Only complaint is that they played the same song on repeat the whole time I was there but tbh it was a banger so I'm not mad. Make sure you learn yumcha or dianxin or dim sum Etiquette before you come (how to place the tea pot lid for a refill, how to fill in order boxes etc) and your dining experience will be smooth. read more

Dare I say Cai is better then MingHin? It probably is a line call but Cai has a slight edge as their dim sum is bigger, pastry crumbly, skins soft, full of taste and cheaper! Cai's venue is not as upclass and ambience is dated. But the food is quality. Service here is above average and efficient. read more

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They have a lot dim sum dishes to choose from but service can be improved. Each dim sum dish was cheap and bigger than what we expected. I think I can eat about 2-3 dished for lunch. read more

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Updating my review: This restaurant recently rebranded from Cai to Imperial Restaurant. The staff, owner and chefs are still the same, the menu and selections are the same, and it appears they forgot to change the business name on the receipt as it was still saying Cai. They offer parking validation at the 2 lots across the street -- you get 3 hours for $2, without validation it's $12. During our visit today, they didn't check our vax cards, we were perfectly fine with just our masks on entering in. I came here today with a friend, and we ordered a bunch of dim sum items -- my favorites: spicy chicken feet and pan fried turnip cakes. My friend ordered the shrimp dumplings, pan fried pork and chives potstickers, sesame balls, and custard buns. We also asked for a dinner menu as we wanted food to take home for dinner -- I ordered some salt and pepper fried shrimp and stir fried baby bok choy in garlic sauce. My friend did a similar order of baby bok choy, did a General Tso's chicken, a bowl of hot and sour soup and crab rangoons. The service was okay, and the food isn't bad at all. I'd recommend Imperial Restaurant to anyone in the area looking for dim sum. read more

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Now called Imperial. Standard dim sum but included a couple dishes I've never seen in other dim sum places like the intestine in black bean sauce and the beef tendon. Their traditional dim sum dishes like chicken feet and hargow are good. Only minus was that the spare ribs and black bean sauce had spoiled meat. The pork tasted slightly sour and off and spoiled some of our appetite. read more

Imperial Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I like to go to Cai for dim sum. It is authentic and food is very tasty. There is a variety in the menu but I have a few favorite must-get items. Servers are attentive and it gets really busy over the weekend especially during 10am-2pm. read more

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This is my go to dim sum place. Always fresh and delicious. And my personal favorite is the Xiao long bao AKA soup dumplings. read more

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I don't like seafood, but wanted to try and It wasn't all that. Though it's a personal opinion I asked those who went with me and they weren't amazed at all(they love seafood). The chow mein was more stale rather than cooked (don't know if that's how it's supposed to be). Waited a good 20 minutes as the food was steamed, so weren't bothered. The ambiance was okay you can say, besides the dirty looks of the staff and the emptiness of not having them attend you (there were no people besides a family of 4). read more

Imperial Restaurant - Dim Sum Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Ordered and stir fried E-fu noodle 干烧伊面。 picture looks like having a lot of ingredients. The reality is very upsetting . Only found it when reached home. only just the noodle , tasteless . read more

Imperial Restaurant - E-fu noodles. 干烧伊面 - Dim Sum Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I guess this place goes by "Imperial" now. The teapot we received looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a while. Besides No music and having to listen to a man vacuuming for the first 20 minutes i would say the food is pretty good, definitely worth the money. My gf and i agreed Ming Hin is just better dim sum and better atmosphere. read more

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There's many dimsum places in China town and I would not be able to differentiate the food here from the other places. Don't get me wrong nothing is wrong with the food, all of it is good, selection is great. However, nothing jumps out to me a unique or especially delicious. The dish in the picture I attached was okay, flavor was good but I wish the you tiao filling was crispy, instead it was hard and almost soggy. Not sure if this dish is supposed to be like that, but I'd feel that if it was crispy, it'd be much better. read more

Imperial Restaurant - Chow fun wrapped youtiao - Dim Sum Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

So-so dimsum place. Nothing spectacular but if you're around the area and want some dimsum then could check it out. Honestly, I would not purposely seek out this place to enjoy dimsum but probably will comes back if it is convenience. read more

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Went here for dim sum on Sunday around 11am. There was like a 20 minute wait. They sat us at a table which was very uncomfortable. The chair is like back to back with another chair. We ordered some dim sum. There were some foods that didn't taste good and they forgot one of our orders. So they deducted from the bill. The food is not the same as before. I will definitely not come back here again read more

Minghin is my go-to for dim sum in Chicago's Chinatown, but when they aren't serving dim sum at Minghin, Cai is an obvious choice. Their service is wonderful, there is plenty of seating, the dimsum is authentic and delicious, and food comes to the table fairly quickly. I do think that the dishes are a tad bit more expensive in comparison to Minghin, but Cai itself is great overall. Very clean and a great experience. I've been here twice and I'll definitely be back! read more

Imperial Restaurant - dim sum - Dim Sum Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I love me some dim sum! I was super happy they had dim sum at 5pm-thank you!! I ordered my favorites-rice in lotus leaves, pot stickers, bbq pork crepes, bbq pork buns and some others too. The tea was good, the service fine and the food was delicious. They have a huge space and I appreciated being able to get a seat quickly. I will definitely be back for late afternoon/evening dim sum. Pre-COVID experience and had a draft so wanted to share a place that has quality food with the world! read more

Stopped here on the way out of the city last weekend. Came in with the family on the rainy day around 10AM. They are PACKED. They have a huge lobby but obviously people came early for the Sat. morning for dim sum and tea. Four of us were arranged at a big round 8 people table as none of smaller tables were available. We ordered sesame balls, Shrimp spring rolls, spicy beef tendon, Xiaolongbao, pork with pickled veggi congee, and red bean coconut custard. I liked all of them.Xiaolongbao was juicy in a very thin wrapper. Need to be extra careful when you take those out to your plate. My unexpected Delicious one is the congee. It was slow cooked with pork rib meat and seasoned nicely. Loved it. Kids were voting for sesame balls and spring rolls. All tasted much better than Phoenix for sure. And it was our first time seeing live Alaska crabs. Usually you only see the crab legs at the restaurant or the grocery store. Those were really scary looking in the tank. The services were slow. We planned for one hour but ended up leaving one and half hour later so I had to add more time to the meter park in the rain. I guess this is like a coffee house in a way where people gather together, chat about the week and really spend the time together. The slowness is not a huge issue. By the time we were leaving, there was a long line waiting for the table. read more

Imperial Restaurant - Sesame balls. - Dim Sum Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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