Imperial House Continental Restaurant

I had planned an evening home a few Saturday nights ago and a friend really wanted me to go out. I told her I’d be up for something as long as it was mellow and different than what we usually get up to so she suggested Imperial House.
I’ve lived in Bankers Hill for 2 years now and had actually never heard of this spot, next thing you know she was at my door step and I hadn’t even had time to look it up.
It’s below an apartment complex and you’d never know there was a bar inside. We got a seat no problem, served a drink very quickly and got food menus. This particular evening there was an amazing pianist who was fabulous. He played so many great tunes while we sat back, drank, ate, relaxed and enjoyed the music.
Now we were hungry and one thing I do have a weakness for is French fries. But if I’m going to eat them they must be good, I’m talking piping hot, not burned and ketchup must be a given. I will say these French fries which were actually truffle fries were to die for, they completely met my standards and the sauce that came with them was absolutely fantastic! I also had the coconut shrimp which tasted like any other coconut shrimp dish I’ve had and my friend had the sliders which she said were good.
On this particular evening they also had Happy Hour at 10pm where they offered $ 1 off of the glasses of wine and several discounts on food items.
So overall my quiet mellow night I wanted to have turned out perfect with a comfy seat, food, wine, music and a nice atmosphere.

I used to love going to this place but now I would not go back unless it has different management. The manager was drunk, the service was the worst we had ever experienced anywhere. The manager threw a drink in my brother’s face, we couldn’t believe what was happening. Do not go here you might end up being thrown out or treated like garbage. Terrible service, and we had our drinks served in soft dixie cups which we only could have 1 drink because the service was so bad the waiter never bothered to check on us again. I repeat, do not go here

When the manager stands in the middle of the dining room the entire night with his arms crossed while servers run around the room, you know there will be a problem. They did not have enough servers to handle the 10 reservations they had so we sat for about 20 minutes with no drinks or menus. Luckily, the conversation was good so we didn’t complain or bitch at all. My gripe is not with the server but management is a joke. Why would you stand around with your arms crossed watching your staff run around and not even lift a finger? I think he may have been boozing as he did come to the table when he saw us all standing there watching him to greet us. He said, «Sorry about the delay but I hope everything was good enough.» Good Enough?! He was slurring his words a bit and his tie was off with the top few buttons undone.
GET NEW MANAGEMENT.

Stopped in for happy hour and tried the sliders with truffle fries. My fiancé had the coconut shrimp. The drinks were as tasty as the food. Francisco took care of us and the service was on point. Great whiskey selection for a decent price. Worth checking out if you’re a local.

I’m pretty sure Imperial House has been on my bookmark list for YEARS and I finally used my impending birthday as a reason to gather some peeps and head over there.
When we arrived just after 8pm it was still pretty quiet, but by about 10pm things were popping! I suspect that the close proximity to December Nights activities is the cause for how busy it became.
Overall I’d say that my Imperial House experience was just okay. Our server was working his butt off, running around like crazy, but that did mean he occasionally ran off before our entire group had had a chance to request another drink. The lounge was SO crowded that it was hard to move around and it actually was quite hard to hear Rick Lyons sing *or* play the piano. Also, the bartenders were apparently following different drink recipes. A couple of my friends ordered chocolate martinis and from one round to the next, they were basically two different drinks (one had cream, the other didn’t).
I’m glad I finally went, but I’m not sure that I’d rush back.

Stopped by this place on a Saturday night after December Nights in Balboa Park. The place was poppin’! Dude was Jammin’ on the keyboard, had the place real live!
I unfortunately left my girlfriends hand made green beanie that was made by a blind person in the bathroom. She bought it as a Christmas gift for her younger brother. When I came out of the place after going back to look for it, she was devastated (I don’t think her being on her period helped any). She cried on the car ride home and sobbed «you suck!». Now I’m laying here in bed, feeling like shit, thinking of all the ways I can get this message out to as many in the universe to fulfill a Christmas miracle! Green beanie come back to me!
I asked one of the workers (looked like a manager) in the restaurant upon returning and he told me with an unhopeful look on his face, «Sorry Homie, that beanie is gone. Call back tomorrow just in case.»
I suck, but the ambience in this bar seemed quite the contrary.
I would definitely come back to this place… In search for the green hand made beanie.
If you have any info on this beanie please contact me at

AWFUL EXPERIENCE WOULD NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE USE THEM FOR CATERING OR EVENTS!!!
Had my wedding catering done through Imperial House. The venue was their sister company La Jolla Financial Building. The venue has stunning views and it was a packaged deal with the catering.
Despite the beauty of the venue we had too many issues with the venue/​catering manager who also runs events at Imperial House Restaurant.
We had several walk throughs prior to the wedding day. He was late to one of them by 30 minutes. He showed up and complained about his personal issues as well as issues he was having with Imperial House.
He was difficult to get answers from. We would have to send multiple emails over several weeks to get a response. When we called he was always very short with us.
His demeanor throughout the whole process was so unprofessional. For example… when we asked to try the flat bread that would be served at the flat bread station his response was «well ya know, pizza always taste the same…» We were shocked to hear this from someone who went to culinary school.
The day of the wedding (and during walk throughs) he was chain-​smoking cigarettes. He smoked in the area of the Patio where food was getting prepared. Smoke was blown onto our guests, some of which have respiratory problems. Guests were disgusted that there was smoke over their food and one of our guests actually had to leave early because of their respiratory issue.
We were told that many people did not get a full meal and that the fish and meat ran out after about half the people were served.
During our ceremony a tray of glasses were dropped and broken. Everyone heard and looked over. It took away from our very intimate ceremony.
I was told by my day of coordinator that the servers were so disorganized that they did not know what to do. My coordinator and her assistant had to personally remove dirty plates off tables because no one else was doing it.
AWFUL EXPERIENCE WOULD NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE USE THEM FOR CATERING OR EVENTS!!!

You either get this place and love it, or you don’t.

The owner of the Imperial House restaurant also owns the La Jolla Financial Building at 1200 Prospect Street. In order to use the La Jolla Financial Building Patio for our daughter’s wedding, we had to use the Imperial House for food service. It is a sham. Months before the wedding the catering Mangager quit and we were assigned another manager. The new manager had never been in catering and had never catered a wedding. We knew it was risky but my daughter loved the venue and we had no choice of caterer. It was a nightmare. We paid for labor for 200 ppl and had 160 so I expected good service. The caterer hired temp workers just for the day. He informed me as the reception started that two cooks did not show up. Not my problem. He should have hired responsible workers. Guests saw the bartenders he hired, taking our liquor and wine down in the elevator – yup, stealing our booze. The caterer did not serve all the items that were on our menu and what he served was sloppy and cold. He also forgot many things and spent more time running around for items he left at restaurant, than supervising staff. He did not stock bar with enough glasses and bartenders served wine in blue solo cups. It was appalling. My daughter’s wedding gown was soaked on the bottom. The caterer did not provide proper receptacles for the ice and as a result there were huge puddles around the bars.
This was suppose to be an elegant wedding and it was sloppy. The caterer was unprepared. Our wedding planner had a full list of complaints and said he was totally incompetent. I submitted a two page list of things that went wrong to the owner and he declined to speak with me and said the catering mgr was in charge. The catering manager lied and said he did good job. He is clueless. He also refused to refund any of our money for the stolen liquor and food not served. The venue was great but don’t use it if you have to suffer with Imperial House catering. They charge your credit card for the full amount but then don’t provide what is in the contract. It is truly a scam. It was an important event for our family and I am sad that our guests were subjected to sloppy service and cold food. The staff were unqualified and simply hired for the day with no experience or training. They had no idea how to cook, serve or bartend. It doesn’t surprise me that we had theft.

This place is great! I love the old school charm and the keyboardist definitely takes things up a notch. Cocktails were well made and worth every penny. I will definitely be back.

Had the best night ever! Great show, fabulous food, wonderful show! It was awesome … great surprise date!!!

My boyfriend and I had a date night at Imperial House last night and we both loved it! The atmosphere is very old school. Leader boots and white cloth on each table. We shared escargot, spinach salad flambé prepared at our table, as well as its famous stake Diane. Both appetizers and our stake were delicious. For desert, we had bananas flambé. This is its signature dessert and it was outstanding! Warm bananas in a whiskey sauce pored over vanilla bean ice-​cream! Yum! Service and our personal chef/​waiter were outstanding! Will definitely go back!

Rick Lyon, bitches!

Rick Lyon is the best in the business. A classic bar with great cocktails and even better entertainment. Be sure to order a Dirty Shirly and you’ll have a great night.

I’ll start by saying it was valentines day. So I expect it to be busy and the staff to be a bit stressed. I did not expect this.
Many years ago I swore off going out on valentines day for dinner. Tonight has reconfirmed it all over again. After encountering two groups of people commenting about our «diversity» as a couple… We eventually shrugged it off so that we could enjoy our dinner. We were seated. As we waited we noticed other tables had napkins and bread. We finally asked for ours. The waiter seemed annoyed and didn’t say much all night. «Here’s the special menu for tonight. What would you like». That’s about it for the entire evening. However he was more «chatty» with other tables. We had to ask for a wine list. Our drink order was finally taken after the second course had come and gone. My medium prime rib first came out well done and tough. Then it can out raw and then the third try came out as pictured. Still not medium. Oh and the third try came out on a side plate without the potatoes… Service was just as bad as the rest of the experience. Not what was expected for $ 50 per person. Luckily we have a gift card so that helped ease the pain of a $ 120 bad experience.

Came for happy hour on a Thursday.
I ordered a burger– forgettable and probably frozen patty
Fiancé ordered sliders– also forgettable.
Friend ordered potato skins– got food poisoning
I might be back for the legendary Rick Lyon, but that’s about it…

Love, love, love this place. I’ve taken friends and family here. The décor is like the old Mr. A’s with the oversized red leather banquets and it’s very clean and charming. No dress code. Dress up or dress down. You’ll feel comfortable. I have fun dressing up a bit to go there because of it’s ambiance.
I’ve been here a lot and I’ve only had 1 mediocre meal. I e-​mailed my comments about that meal through their website and they responded to my e-​mail and sent me a gift certificate inviting me to come back. Very respectable of them and totally unexpected by me.
All of the meats and seafood my friends, family and I have had (even the escargot) have been great. Their warm spinach salad is great. I suggest to tell them to go easy on the dressing and get some more on the side in case you want more. The mashed potatoes are the best side dish. The veggies are bland but I’m not going there for the veggies. I can make veggies at home.
Once I had slow service but they were much more busy than they expected for that night based on the reservations they had and the day of the week. I’m personally very forgiving of those situations. Especially since they are very generous with their martinis.
The piano lounge is an absolute gem. The music is all the piano lounge staples you’d expect. The last time I went with 2 girlfriends and we had a blast dancing.

Came for a early dinner. Had the
Groupon. Got a table by the window where I could see the nice park I’ve taken my nieces to and the skyfari from the zoo.
Got the clam chowder Which was delicious if a little on the salty side.
For my entrée I got angel hair pasta frutti do mar. Which had a delicate and light flavor with shrimp, calamari and clambs.
For desert we had the banana flambé which remained me of a adult version of banana foster.

We came here for the Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre Show and it was fabulous! The food was okay but the show was a hoot! It’s super cheesy but at the same time, you can’t help but laugh at the jokes. We selected the beef option and the portion that we got was quite small. I was a little hungry after. However, the cake dessert was delicious! I highly recommend getting a Groupon or Livingsocial deal and trying out the Murder Mystery!
Parking wasn’t too bad. Instead of paying for parking across the street, we easily found some street parking around the neighborhood.

The atmosphere is five stars in my book. This place is a blast if you’re in the mood for a trip back and time. I can’t imagine finding any place in San Diego with the same style of live music and dancing (see Unilocal reviews for Rick Lyon). The bartenders make great old fashions and the crowd there to have fun.
I hadn’t thought about dinning here but, I saw a Groupon for dinner and figured why not give it a shot? The food is two stars at best. I will say it’s a great option for bringing your grandma or grandpa that don’t like to have anything added to their meal besides salt and pepper but, if you’re a foodie prepare to be disappointed and underwhelmed by the blandness.