El Imperial Mexican Restaurant

Usually we don’t come here but our go to Mexican place was jam packed tonight we have never had to wait there before. Any ways we came here and I wasn’t impressed. I had the enchiladas mole and they were bland absolutely no flavor. The ride and beans were good thought. That wasn’t the only problem though. When we walked in we were seated but then wait quite a long time before anyone asked about drinks. Which came out quickly but that was the last thing to come out quickly. To order food another very long wait but we finally ordered and then asked for drink refills which never came and we didn’t see a waiter to ask for them. Finally when most of the food came out we asked again for refills and got them. Some people at the table had played with tacos and stuff come out with everyone else’s entrée which if normal. But then for everyone who’s entrees came out and the second plate of food for those that had one coming to still not be out was unacceptable. Like I said the food wasn’t great bad service this will not uproot our normal Mexican food restaurant any time soon.
Did I mention the cheesy live music they had?

Don’t go here if you’re limited on time. The service was extremely slow. People can’t Wait 30 mins just to place their order when they only have an hour for their lunch break. The wait staff was unfriendly and didn’t seem to care about hospitality. The only good part was the food itself.

Good service and décor, but the food is just okay for TexMex. I’ve had better at many other places. Usually I’ll also base a good TexMex place off of their flour tortillas, and it’s very obvious they’re store bought, or someone made them taste like they were store bought. If you don’t ever eat flour tortillas, or very good TexMex, then eat here, otherwise just drive on by.

i love your food and drinks and your people

Love this place! Waiters always remember my order & owners always know what we want & even our favorite table. Geronimo is an amazing server, everyone else is great, but he always goes above and beyond.

Wife and I are weekly regulars. We have been eating here for 20 years. She never varies but I change my order every time. The food has always been great and service is top notch. The owner always greets us and they know our drinks before we even sit.

So I recently moved to the 1960 area and I’m simply obsessed with Mexican food. Did a lot of research and decided to try this place. Unfortunately I wasn’t impressed. I honestly wanted my money back. I ordered the chicken Fajitas and the chicken was bland and dry. Salsa was below average. The service was decent so I still left a good tip, but I will not be going back.

Good salsa! Live music on Friday nights and killer margaritas! Enchaladas suizes was fantastic! The green verde sauce was muy bien.

My family eats here every weekend for lunch. Have been going here for several years now. The waitstaff is awesome. Food is good and the waitstaff just makes things that much better.

This place gets 1 star for the house Margarita, it was the only good thing about my first visit. My husband ordered the sangria I ordered the house Margarita. One waiter took our drink order but a different waiter brought them to the table my drink was right my husband’s was wrong, neither of us understood the waiters response when my husband told him the drink was wrong but he took it away and brought the right drink back a few minutes later. We waited more than 30 minutes for somone to come back to take our order but no one ever came my husband literally had to flag down a 3^rd waiter to order a appetizer. The queso with fajita meat came out pretty quick. It was just «ok“my husband said it tasted like cheese from a can to him. After another almost 30 minutes a 4^th person dressed in street clothes finally took our order. I ordered the enchilada al carbon plate my husband had the master chef plate with beef fajitas and shrimp the guy did not write down our order and when the food came to the table of course it was wrong. Instead of al carbon I was served ground beef. He took it back and brought the correct plate back almost too fast. The food looked delicious but I’m sad to say it tasted like my shirt. Yea that bland! This is including the strip of beef fajita I took from husband plate as well as the rice and the refried beans. Prices are reasonable and the restroom was very clean but the under seasoned food, slow service and the obvious language barrier… no we won’t be back.

Returned. Sorry to report but food not even close to our 1^st visit. Owner unfriendly with an attitude like she is doing you a favor — food not fresh.

Holy Cow. What can I say about this place? It is fantastic! I’ve been coming here for at least 20 years. The fajitas get better and better every time I eat there, which sounds impossible but true, although the first one I had there was as good as the one last week. Huh? You get the point. Try it, you’ll love it.

So I decided to stop by and give this place a shot on my lunch break. I arrived right at noon, and the place only had 6 tables seated for lunch. I ordered the lunch beef enchiladas with charro beans and rice. I got my food at 12: 35ish and I was served shredded chicken enchiladas with refried beans, the total opposite of what I ordered. I refused the wrong dish and gracefully walked out without eating anything fit lunch… I will not be returning, nor will I recommend this place to friends or coworkers

I used to come to this place as a child and the food was awesome. Now it’s gone completely down the drain. Me and my husband ordered a Chile con queso and when the server brought it out it looked like it came straight out of a can and heated in a microwave. It tasted very grainy. The meals came out second. The meat tasted like it had been frozen and reheated. It was just horrible. Won’t be coming again.

I’ll make this one quick and to the point!
Their food is very, very average and their tortillas are NOT homemade… call me a tortilla snob all you want, but if I enter a full restaurant like this one supposedly calls itself, it better have homemade tortillas and not some bland Kroger bought selection.
So what do you do when you HATE a restaurant’s tortillas? You order something that doesn’t necessarily need tortillas to be a good place… I give this place 3 stars because it is one of the better restaurants in a five-​mile radius.

Food Poisoning! Not just sick but 1 of my co-​workers was sent to the ER, and the other two may still go to the doctor.
We work very close to the restaurant and my co-​workers and I were excited to try El Imperial because we love good food! Well, to be honest, I have a desk job and you can tell I love good food. :)
The six of us ordered different combos which included their chicken quesadilla, chicken enchilada, chalupa, beef taco, beef burrito, Tacos Al Carbon (beef), and their accompaniments. With the exception of 1 person, we ate as soon as the food arrived and the travel time between the restaurant and our office is 2 minutes or less so the food was’t sitting out for a long time.
Of the six of us — I got busy and put the food in the refrigerator, «R» had no issue, «B» got sick, and «L, G, and S» all got food poisoning. Of those that got sick the common thread was the charro beans. Apparently the beans have pork sausage in it and we think the sausage was the culprit. «R» didn’t get sick because she didn’t eat the beans.
«B» had a little bit of it but, she thought it tasted odd she didn’t finish it. She was sick that night but not nearly as bad as the other 3.
The next day (Thursday) I looked at the reviews and they were good but on the older side. But I prefer independent restaurants to chains so I was hoping I would love it.
Normally if I had bad service or the food wasn’t great, I would try again just in case it was a fluke. As much as I would like to try again, I can not chance getting sick like that.
Bottom line: It may have been something that will never happen there again but I will never know because there is no way any of us will try El Imperial again. On a positive note, I have been informed their margaritas are great.

Really enjoyed this restaurant. Was looking for something close by and NOT a chain. This fit the bill. Had to work with them a bit in getting my mango margarita a bit stronger but they came through. Big time. Enjoyed the enchiladas!

This Mexican food restaraunt is a great tasting experience with a full bar, friendly staff, karaōke and a fun casual atmosphere.
I ordered the Tampiquena and she ordered Quesadillas, both were served hot and tasty.
The bar tender got our drink order wrong, but we were quickly compensated and the correct drinks served.

Not a fan of El Imperial. Waiter acted like it was a bother to wait on us-​not very friendly. No skinny margaritas. Chips and salsa were good, but the chorizo queso was heavy and seemed to congeal shortly after being served. Can’t speak for the rest of the food as we were there just for a light lunch. Wouldn’t eat here again.

OK. I know 3 stars is the safe way to go, but I just don’t think they deserve 4… well, here it goes:
I went on a Wednesday night to meet up with some of my brother’s friends. When we got there, there was parking right in front of the restaurant (woo hoo!). We went in and it is a very traditional Mexican restaurant. Decorated with traditional Mexican colors and what looked like Mayan art.
We sat at our table and our waiter immediately came over to assist us. One thing that I cannot forget to tell you is that they have frozen margaritas for $ 3 on Wednesday! YES, and they look yummy! I (of course) didn’t have one because I was driving, but next time… It’s ON!
I ordered mixed fajitas, which were good. I just felt that the beef was a little dry. I prefer the fajitas at Lupe or even Chuy’s! One of the people at our table ordered some cheese dish that I did not understand, yet was intrigued enough to want to try it next time. It was just a big blog of melted cheese with some chicken in it, served with tortillas! I have never seen anything like that. I declined to taste it since I had my Fajitas, but I’m thinking of going back soon to find out about that dish. My brother said that was a heart attack on a plate… and I agree, but hey… not everything you eat HAS to be good for you!
Overall a good experience. If not for the dry beef I would definitely give them 4 stars for the service and fun ambience, but the food is very important!