Imperial Buffet

Restaurant review
I wish Champaign could get as much buffet restaurants as Bloomington normal. Unlike our dirty Chinatown buffet this place puts it to shame. There’s so much different selection here that you have to see it with your own eyes. Asian foods ranging from chicken to fish and beef. I feel that I can’t do it service by describing the type of food here. It is still buffet foods that will raise your expectations too high it just that the selection is immense and the restaurant appears to be very clean. I did try the sushi and it’s a little bit better than Chinatown buffet but still very below-​average quality. Else have ample amounts of desserts. I don’t remember the price but it is relatively inexpensive. If I lived here I would try this place for dinner as the pictures show multiple types of seafood dishes
Pros: AYCE restaurant, clean, friendly service
Cons: Buffet quality type seafood
Hidden deals:
Unknown
Health code rating: B. It looked cleaner than the restaurants here in Champaign.

Upscale Chinese buffett that is clean and most of the food is above average. My favorites are the Hot and Sour soup, peanut chicken, pepper steak, and for dinner they have crab legs and prime rib. Prices are 9 bucks for lunch buffet and 14 for dinner higher than some but good deal for the quality. Sushi is usually fresh and they have a mongolian bba area. Wait staff is usually prompt as well refilling drinks and taking dishes. One area that is always subpar seems to be their fruit the cantelope, pineapple, and musk melon are rarely ripe and hard. Disappointing as those are my favorite dessert items vs the sugar filled cakes and pastries. We keep coming back for the good stuff here.

This buffet is located in Normal, Il but there isn’t anything normal about. Solid variety.

Love this place. Truly. It’s a gem. I am also really psyched on the lights above the buffet changing color. Ok… yeah, I admit that may just be me.
You walk in and are seated. The waitress takes your drink order. Then… it’s buffet time.
Now, most people are simple «get a plate and eat» people. They pick out the few things that look good and if still hungry, they go back to try something else. It’s called «buffet prioritization» and it will serve you well here, grasshopper. Learn from it.
Sometimes you run into the «I have to try a little of everything» type person. Don’t do it! I am warning you now, you will surely explode. Literally. No one wants exploding entrails on their plate of sushi so please, just calm down. Pace yourself. You can go as many times as you want. Strategy is important.
Sometimes you run into the «yes, I know it’s a buffet but I only want this one thing. I can do that. I paid for it». This customer, observed in his native habitat here, is almost always seen with crab legs. I refer to this type as the «hunkered down eater». They usually sit in a rather hunkered down position over their plate of crab legs, as though some brazen crab leg bandit is going to zip by in an attempt to snatch the aforementioned food and said eater is in a position to provide resistance and defense with his elbows. My theory is that if you eat a pound or two of crab legs here, you save money than eating the same amount at someplace that specializes in seafood. On the other hand, eating crab legs takes some effort and perhaps their doctors told them to get exercise and this kills two birds with one stone, so to speak. Who knows. I observe. I don’t judge. The crab legs are quite excellent though.
Another type of diner is the kind I find most amusing. They are people who walk by and say «what is THAT!?!» OR «eww, what IS this?!?». Now, there are signs above each and every dish but perhaps the person cannot read. Sometimes, there is just a «nope, nope, nopity, nope, nope, nope» and the person moves on. Inevitably this person fills their plate with roast beef, mac and cheese, baked potato, shrimp cocktail etc etc. This is the «I am a Midwestern eater who does not stray far from moms type of cooking» customer. No shame in that. I know many. Imperial covers you and children as well.
Now, the final kind of buffet eater is the «What in the hell is that… let me take some». This is me. I have learned I love frog legs. Octopus dunked in cocktail sauce. Crawfish I do not care for and sushi is grand. I am addicted to their jalapeño chicken, coconut shrimp and string beans. I also dig mixing their Jello and ice cream (it’s an Irish thing, leave me alone). I have discovered though, quite by accident, that one should take teeny tiny bites of the cakes. I once snarfed down a piece of cake I thought was caramel (they are tiny pieces) only to discover it was butterscotch and I am terrified of butterscotch. The resultant facial contortions and wild gesticulations caused a server to look on in concern, then ask if I was ok. Scraping my tongue with a butter knife and rubbing ice cream on it like salve did little to help but the server was nice to be concerned. Her continued monitoring of me was comforting though ok, proof I am a little over the top in my reaction to butterscotch. My buddy who loves butterscotch though said it was great (the cake… not my reaction)
In short, this place is well done, has good service, has food for the picky, the stubborn, the child, the explorer etc. You will not leave hungry. Your drinks never run dry (the servers are Johnny on the spot)
On a side note, when my father was alive he loved this restaurant and we would bring him in his wheel chair, my mother pushing him while I dipped his plate. It was very easy to maneuver him around inside the restaurant. I often see wheelchairs at the buffet so this place is truly wheelchair friendly.

My family drove here from champaign for sunday dinner, a bit pricey but definitely worth it! We paid $ 15 a person but you get unlimited sushi, seafood, steak and everything else! Sushi itself is worth what we paid. The restaurant was clean, updated, nice and bright! All the food was fresh and a big selection! We definitely will be coming back!

Really love this place. Service is always excellent, and the food is always fresh. When I visit the buffet area, they always have multiple items I can eat. And it’s good food, too!

Will not recommend for taking your guests there. The management is pretty rude. We entered way before the dinner time started and towards the end of our meal while we were still eating with some business guests, one of a senior management member came to us and told our guest that next time when we come we will not be allowed to eat blah blah thing from the buffet as its a dinner item.
We are embarrassed like anything. If that particular item was from dinner menu they should not have placed it there.
Horrible experience. Noisy china in the kitchen. Ok for casual eating definitely not for talking guests along.

Food is fine:
Sushi a little dry, the other food is like in regular China Buffet exept they have a big choice of tasty fruits.
Interior is great:
Everything is new and neat.

Ok place considering this is in Normal, IL. Nice dining room, and the usual suspects in the buffet area. Price is right and next time I am in Normal I may come again.

Good hot and sour soup with great flavor. Two different types of fried rice, amazing sesame chicken, super sweet and tangy. Buffet has almost everything you could want on a Chinese buffet, even a few things you wouldn’t expect. Sushi is ok, about as good as you can get for an all you can eat sushi section. Has a pretty good Mongolian array as well. LOTS of deserts to choose from. My wife would suggest we eat here every time we ate out if Bloomington/​Normal didn’t have so many restaurant options.

New to town, so first time to try it out, I was so glad we went. The food is really good, variety is impressive. Will be spreading the word about this place at the office. About 200 are already here for the pipeline and alot more coming in a few weeks (crews) this place will be packed. This is really the best Chinese Buffet in town. You have to go to see it for yourself. Well worth the trip…

Maybe I just came on a bad day, I don’t know. The staff was nice, the place was clean, the price was good, the place looked very nice, and there was a large variety of food.
Despite all of that, In feel like the food was mediocre at best. Everything seemed dry and bland.
I felt like the sushi didn’t have enough rice vinegar in it. The lo mein tasted like it was frozen, and the sesame chicken was FLOATING in sauce. The teriyaki chicken was crispy in a «has been under the heat lamp for hours and not replaced like it should’ve been 2 hours ago» kind of way. On top of that, I couldn’t even taste anything. It just tasted like. Like dried up chicken. It was very sad. The coconut shrimp didn’t taste like coconut shrimp either. It tasted like celery and cleaning supplies. Which was concerning. The crab Rangoon wasn’t even sweet :(
In my opinion, the best thing to eat there was the drinks and fortune cookie.
But then again, maybe I just has a bad day because everyone seems to like this place.
I gave it 3 stars instead of 2 for good customer service, good atmosphere and cleanliness, and good variety.

This was a very nice departure from the typical Asian Buffet Restaurant. Probably the nicest interior décor I’ve seen for such a restaurant. The staff was extremely polite and attentive to us. They have a large selection of fresh Sushi, including not just rolls, but fish also. The Sushi Chef, Hang, was very nice and provided us with a specially requested item. There is a large Mongolian BBQ selection that they will cook to your preference. All of the usual Chinese fair was there, but it seemed to be of a much higher than typical quality and very flavorful and delicious. They also had several items I’ve not ever had before. Several American style items were also available. The dessert bar was stocked with the biggest selection I’ve ever seen. Try the Green Tea ice cream! I enjoyed every aspect of this dining experience and will come back next time I’m in the area.
Mahalo!

Imperial Buffet what a perfect name. The outside of IB (Imperial Buffet) is lovely in its marriage of modern and ethnic oriental architecture. The inside stands on its own architectural merits. Well done.
Now for the food.
Selection: Don’t go expecting your average oriental buffet. Have you ever had asparagus baked in the oven with bacon spiraled around it?
Presentation: Easily 5 Stars across the board. Sushi Bar set up was beautiful with a unique twist with *Hang’s special sushi table; a great place where all of his sushi creativity can be unleashed!
Nice touch with the round Hibachi Grill behind the ‘pick your own creations’ Mongolian Barbecue too.
As you wind your way around the Buffet, each laden tray speaks to you so loudly that you will definitely find yourself placing more selections onto your plate than you had originally intended. How do you walk by a fresh tray of coconut shrimp with the coconut sauce nearly glistening and dripping off of it?
Variety and Creativity: Another 5 Stars
Better than *The Yellow Brick Road, this winding road of deliciousness leads your palate on it’s own unique journey.
Sushi people, you would go if it were just for *Hang’s sushi. He’s good, VERY GOOD. The selection is tasty. Do you want something special? Ask Hang!
Hibachi folks, come try the Mongolian Barbeque!
Chicken dishes, get ready for a few happy surprises along with some favorites.
Ono shrimp dis n dat! [A bit of Hawai’ian slang] It ALL looked good, every single shrimp tray. If your stomach can hold trying everything, you deserve an award and you definitely need to brag about it here on a Unilocal review for IB!
Beef, pork, soups :), salad bar [not an amazing selection, but nice and where else can you get lychee that you peel like the fresh lychee you buy on the side of the road in Hawai’i?!{ They also have a lovely selection of other fruits, some fresh even though we are in the middle of Winter.
Desserts– I couldn’t try them all, but the cheese cake squares, almond cookies (both kinds) and the green tea ice cream are nummy! Drizzle some caramel syrup onto your plate and dip your bites of green tea ice cream into it! Oh, wow! You don’t like green tea ice cream, that’s ok. There are plenty of other ice cream flavors or other desserts to choose from. They also have butterscotch and chocolate syrups if you prefer them to or with the caramel.
A special big Mahalo [Thank you!] to Hang and the Manager for the special Hawai’ian Sushi!
Aloha!
C2C [Sea to Sea]

Very good dish, with a lots of food choices. The fish tastes great! There are plenty of sushi with different flavors.
I also like the fruits, grapes in particular. Also, to my surprise, there are oysters. There are also ice creams!
Highly recommended

This place is the best chinese buffet in town. We drove four minutes here for dinner. They have variety of dishes, sushi, seafood, meat, bbq, even oyster !
Awesome. Fruit is fresh and sweet.

They have pretty good AYCE sushi. It’s not the best but it’s fresh and tasty and AYCE! They open around 11AM for lunch but I recommend waiting until noon when they put out the best pieces of Sashimi. They also have a Mongolian BBQ and great selections of Chinese buffet food. Great for lunch or dinner.

I am not a buffet person at all but this place is truly a gem! They have your normal selection of fried nastiness for the quantity over quality crowd but here are a few things beyond that on the buffet line.
1. Oysters on the half shell. (For real)
2. Pretty good sushi. (Not rolls with a ton of cream cheese and a tiny piece of fish either. Actually pieces of tuna, salmon, and eel on rice)
3. Hibachi grill with your choice of protein. (Rib eye, chicken, shrimp cooked to order)
4. Small but good selection of dim sum
5. Good dessert and fresh fruit selection (sliced mangos)
Ive eaten here about half a dozen times and when im in town its one of my go to places. The restaurant is clean, nice décor/​atmosphere, and the food is always consistent. Give it a try!!!

This is a pretty decent chinese buffet with a good variety of dishes.
While none of the individual dishes are worth writing home about, there are many good options to choose from. When you combine that with the price, Imperial Buffet is a good option when you don’t want the formality/​length of time of a sit down place and yet don’t want fast food.
They have pretty good seafood items too, peel and eat shrimp, oysters, etc

I’m impressed. It’s very elegant dining for being a buffet. The swirling around various goods and the nice dessert table, well doggie what a spread!
I am in Bloomington for a few days and wanted to have a buffet style dinner, I was so glad that I stopped by this location. It is expansive, maybe cause its a College town and they have to accommodate so many students. But regardless, it is big and beautiful with its ornate items of Japan or China, regardless its beautiful.
Although in the beginning the young lady didn’t understand that I didn’t want to be so far away from the main dining area and that I wanted to move, she still couldn’t get it so I ended moving on my own and let the waitress know. She said it was not a problem.
The spread that they offer is exceptional and very well maintained, as they are always replenishing the food so that no one can mention that they ran out of a certain dish. I would highly recommend this spot and will return on my next trip indeed.