Dim sum is fantastic. Shrimp won ton soup very bland. Only 4 won ton?? Not worth it

Despite multiple drawbacks, they still earn 4 stars in my book just for having delicious Dim Sum in my neighborhood! Pea Sprout Dumplings, Sesame Balls and Egg Tarts are all A+, and we've even gone in JUST to pick up desserts to have later in the evening. Fried Rice and Chow Mein were both super yummy on multiple visits. The biggest drawbacks we've experienced are 1) the wine list is terrible, especially the BTG offerings and 2) the service is usually spotty, very slow, or just downright awkward (or all of the above). We've definitely sat for 20 minutes with no service, or received all our dishes at once with none of the accompanying sauces and no waitstaff to be found, OR there was the one time we got sauces ASAP before we ordered a single item BUT it took 20 minutes for someone to bring us glassware and open our bottle of wine for us. Either way, we've adjusted our expectations and will continue visit for the food, not the frills. read more

I came here during a Napa day trip and it pleasantly surprised me. I wasn't sure what to expect since there doesn't seem to be many Chinese restaurants in the area but I really liked the decor from the Tang Dynasty esque wall paintings to the outdoor Chinese pavilion, it's very suitable for the atmosphere. The food was quite good as well, there were some typical American Chinese fare but also quite a good selection of different regional Chinese cuisines from Sichuan boiled fish to Uyghur big plate chicken to Peking duck to dim sum. I think the dim sum is quite pricey compared to usual dim sum restaurants and the quality is ok but I understand due to the location and such a variety of offerings that it's like that. I really liked the other dishes I got, the dan dan noodles, string beans, calamari and walnut shrimp. The dan dan noodles sauce was sooo good, although a bit too spicy for me, and the first three were all loaded with Sichuan peppercorns and lots of flavor, loved them. Walnut shrimp was fried crisp and the sweet sauce is lighter than what I usually see. The table next to us got this HUGE plate of fish fillet, looked pretty good as well. I think in general this place is pretty well priced because the food portions are decent and sometimes huge and the ambience is great! (The Chinese food in Bay Area is getting pricey too). Some of the food lean a bit towards American Chinese in that the dan dan noodles were kind of sweet, but I liked the new combination and think it brings authentic Chinese to the American palate. read more

So glad to see a good dim sum option in Napa. The food was very good just very pricey. I'm thinking the prices must be raised due to COVID. If that's the case I'm happy to pay a little extra to support a local business right now. I'm looking forward to dining and exploring more of the menu once things get back to normal. read more

We went here twice. Once during happy hour and again for dinner. Both times we really enjoyed what we ordered. The menu is very very limited during happy hour but there's still some delicious, small things to pick from. For dinner we got several different dishes to share including the dim sum sampler which was delicious!! The spice beef and Dan Dan noodles were also quite tasty. The cocktails were spot on as well. read more

I had an amazing experience there. The staff was extremely attentive and knowledgeable. One of the owners came out to greet our table! The food and service was impeccable. I highly recommend! read more

The food here is top notch!! We were there at 4:00pm. They have a limited menu between 3:00-5:00, so we decided to give it a try. We ordered Honey walnut shrimp, calamari, pork buns, and shrimp and pork dim sum. Everything was excellent!! The service was exceptional as well. Probably some of the best authentic Chinese food we've ever had. Can't wait to order from the main menu. Will definitely be back! read more

Absolutely amazing dim sum and atmosphere. Top notch service as well. Very clean place, dishes were tasty and servers attentive

Nah. The service was horrible. Our food didn't come in time. A very small portion of a $17 fried rice is only good for 2 person. Our server missed our very 1st order of the spicy fish. They should serve food in order, like fried rice 1st, then the main course. Not recommended. read more

Amazing restaurant. At the first blush from the highway it looked deceptive but once we entered the restaurant the ambience was welcoming. Our waiter Amin was such a delight to work with. The food was utterly delicious. Every single dish was awesome. Comparable to Spices in SF read more

I had a Delicious lunch today. Food & Cocktails out of this world. Our server Deanna was Fabulous Professional and Friendly. I highly recommend Empress M read more

I was there several weeks ago for lunch, the service was great and the food was wonderful. I was very excited to go back with my husband; sadly, the experience was very disappointing. To start, the potstickers were not good, they tasted like they came from the frozen section of the grocery store. I specifically ordered a small plate, the calamari, for my entree and my husband ordered the lobster. My calamari came to the table, but not my husband's dish. While we waited for his food, we ordered a round of cocktails, and we waited, and we waited, and we waited. Finally, we mentioned to the runner, that we were waiting for our drinks, and he mentioned it to the bartender. The drinks finally arrived at the table, as did my husband's meal, meanwhile, my dish is stone cold. I mentioned this to the waiter, he quickly takes it back to the kitchen to be replaced. My husband's dish looks good and he offers to, share as I'm still waiting for my calamari. Since my food didn't arrive, we ate our shared noodle dish and his lobster. We were done with dinner and had asked for to-go boxes for the left over lobster and noodles, when the waiter showed up with the calamari! Whatever, we got a box to go for the calamari, again it will be cold before I get to eat it. The runners were very attentive, the waiter and bartender, not so much. Most of the food was good, but not worth the $$$. I'm usually forgiving on slow service due to employee shortages, but they appeared well staffed. I don't think I will back, at least not for dinner. read more

I really had high hopes here because of the beautiful website and the menu looked very upscale. (and not inexpensive) The location is in an industrial area with zero ambience. Nothing like what is depicted on the website. The service was excellent by Juan The food was absolutely terrible. I should have known when the potstickers, egg rolls, and pork buns came out barely 1 minute after they were ordered. The eggrolls were dry, overcooked, and tasteless and could have been frozen. The potsickers were cold and tasted like they were cooked several hours ago. The pork buns were gooey and tasteless and i could not eat them. The Dan Dan noodles were overcooked and tasted like slop. Gross The steak with the noodle dish was disgusting. I grew up in the Northern NJ area where we had wonderful Chinese food. Even San Jose has decent Chinese food compared with this place. Don't waste your time or money. read more

Pretty good for Napa! They actually have a Wood Ear Salad, a Chinese delicacy which I love. Great mushroom dumplings and potstickers but the noodle serving was so small! I realize the to-go containers aren't that big but for the price u should get 2 containers!! $70 plus for 4 items-lunch for 2 people, seems like a lot. read more

This restaurant is amazing! They have the best pork buns I have ever had. The pea shoot dumplings are awesome, and they have egg custard on their dessert menu which is great. And their eggplant dish with ground beef is out of this world. I would love to try everything on their menu to see what is all like! This is a great place to have dim sum and Chinese dishes. I highly recommend giving it a try! read more

We did takeout for lunch on the weekend. Fried rice, pot stickers, broccoli and dim sum. The food was excellent -- authentic and delicious. Ambience was very cool, particularly the courtyard, which we'll look forward to trying for dining-in soon. read more

Highly recommend!!!! We had Empress M last night and it was some of the best Chinese food I've ever had. The quality is top notch and worth every penny. We got a few orders of dumplings, the spicy beef, Silk Road chicken, eggplant and Chinese broccoli. Every dish was exceptional! I am super impressed. Thanks Empress M! read more

My friend and I decided to try this place again and It was just horrible in my opinion, I ordered steamed shrimp dumplings that came stuck to the bottom of the bamboo steamer . Service was really lacking ,asked 3 times for a wine cooler and never came . 34 $ for a small pot of stringy chicken , the sauce was ok . We ordered one more wayyyyy overpriced entree ,and it seemed really greasy and just not good . 36 $ for three of the greasiest , chewwey ,over seasoned lamb chops I have ever not eaten. Well , that night later ,I was running for the........ , well I won't go into details . Also I really hope they are running a clean and sanitary kitchen . And practicing good hygiene . read more

While they are still working out some kinks ( pick up window was 30 minutes late) the food was well worth the wait. Ever since I moved here I wanted good Chinese. Now at last it is here. Everything we ordered was OUTSTANDING! Can't wait to come back . read more

My friend and I met for lunch last week and sat outside on a beautiful, sunny day. This was both of our 1st times at this newly opened restaurant. OMG, I truly love Dim Sum, and honestly, this was, by far, the best Dim Sum I have ever eaten! They are firm but incredibly delicate and so flavorful. We split several kinds, including the Pork and Shrimp Shumai, the Mushroom Dumplings , Har Gow and the Wu Gok Taro Puff. To top it off we shared the Wood Ear Salad and I had a draft Blonde Ale. It's a bit pricey but well worth the quality.....and the service was incredibly attentive, thanks to Amin. The owner, Tom, visited with most of the customers to welcome us to his restaurant, as well. I wish them wild success!! Go, you won't be disappointed! read more

Tried this restaurant based on all the great reviews. Not sure where these people ate, but it wasn't here. We made reservations and were seated at this awkward fountain bar/bench thing. I asked if we could move to a table and they cleaned one off for us. We were very confused by their lunch special menu and the waitress stated "Everyone is". She explained it somewhat so we ordered one of their Lunch specials and 2 additional entrees. Diners that ordered after us, were getting their meals before us so we asked the waitress where ours was. She kept making excuses that the kitchen was backed up. There were only 4 other tables, with people, so not sure how they could be that backed up. Maybe take out orders??? When she started bringing our meal out, we had to tell her it was not our order. She stated the kitchen got confused so we received a full order of egg rolls and pot stickers and acted like we should be grateful. The egg rolls were the ones from Costco and the pot stickers tasted the same. We then waited again for the rest of our food, which all came out cold. The honey walnut shrimp was so odd. The walnuts were on the side instead of mixed with the shrimp as other restaurants do. The shrimp tasted like fair food. The beef, in the other entrée, was chewy and fatty. We ordered chow mein but they brought rice. We told them so they brought the chow mein. I took my first bite and was stabbed in the gums by a wire like object. At this point, we were over it and had barely eaten anything. When the waitress asked how everything was, I told her about the sharp object. She went and got a female manager who gave me some excuse about it happens when cooking with a Wok. Really? She then asked if we wanted boxes so I decided to tell her no and that the food was horrible and tasteless. To her credit, she picked up the tab. However, I will never go back. read more

Delicious! Can't wait for the indoor dining to open! Have tried many of the offerings including the bao, shumai, egg custard cups, sesame balls, and vegetarian pot stickers. read more

We finally tried Empress M last evening for take-out dinner. Every single dish we had was delicious! We ordered an assortment just to get a sense of the flavors and different dishes (and truth be told, we wanted leftovers). From ordering over the phone to picking up - the staff was friendly and helpful. The food is excellent and exceeded our expectations. We are already making the list of items for our next order. There is something for everyone on the menu. So excited to have this addition to our culinary choices. Highly recommend! Our order: Har Gow shrimp dumplings; Pan fried potstickers; Sesame balls; Suzhou Chow Mein (w/Chicken); Yangzhou Fried Rice (w/Shrimp); Lanzhou Spicy Beef; and Hainan Pineapple Pork. Each dish was distinct and carefully prepared. (By the way, I had no idea what to expect from the Sesame Balls but oh my goodness. Hard to categorize this yummy and unique dish. Is it savory? Yes. Is it slightly sweet? Yes. Does it have that awesome umami sensation? Uhhh, yes! I knew with my first bite that I'd be craving these things in the coming days). read more

This restaurant just opened, excited there's a local place for dim sum and traditional Chinese food. The menu is expensive, about 2x the price you'd pay at a restaurant that serves traditional Chinese food in the Bay Area. But, it takes 35-40min to get to the closest (good) place from Napa... so you're paying for the travel time, gas, and tolls. Also it's Napa, most restaurants are expensive (but good). We ordered the har gow (shrimp dumplings), chicken feet, egg tarts, taro puffs, spring rolls, bbq pork buns, and the Dan Dan noodles. All the dim sum plates were legit, same quality as you'd find in traditional dim sum places. The Dan Dan noodles were disappointing - rice vermicelli noodles (should be wheat noodle?), julienne carrots/cucumber, imitation beef. Just didn't come together as it should, felt like a rice vermicelli stir fry adapted for this sauce. Overall, still excited about having this local place and will come again, just hoping there's enough business at this price point to keep it open! read more

This is the first time I felt discriminated against in this country in 30 years. We sat there for 2 hours. They served people who came before us and they served people who came after us. They kept saying the dishes will be out in 20 minutes - that they have a point of sale problem. Eventually the manager said they won't charge for the table we sat at and we can leave if we like. When I asked him how much longer - he said another 30 minutes. We were there on our 25th anniversary, pretty happy with where we were at in life. But things like this make me very sad. Thomas Megna - their Director of Operations and Business development was in charge and the waiter informed him about the issue 80 minutes before he said we can leave. I hope the owners read this and take some action because there are several other reviews on Yelp that have complained about the service. You are new in town - get someone professional to run your business - bad hiring decisions can be very expensive but they can be corrected early - it's important - especially in retail. read more

The food at Empress M is spectacular (five stars), the service not so much (one star or less). Although there are adequate servers and bus boys they don't seem to know how to function. We had several instances where a bus boy would refill water glasses but not take away used dirty plates and glasses. One amazing item, the chef was watching Chinese TV nearby and so loud that my daughter actually went to him and very nicely asked him to turn it down so we could talk. We waited a long time for the check and when no one returned to retrieve it we walked it into the bar. Also, in the main dining room the chairs are so uncomfortable that you would need a chiropractor after sitting for any time. There are several sitting areas: a bar/lounge with a huge TV (I've never seen that in China or Hong Kong), an outside patio area, a VIP room (? not sure what that is) and the main dining room with the uncomfortable chairs. We might return just for the food but sit in a different, more quiet area. It's not a good Napa destination, not a professional restaurant. read more

Decided tonight to try the new Empress M in Napa. Called for a reservation for two at 6:00 and were told 6:30 or 6:45. OK, Friday night restaurants are short staffed not a problem 6:30 will work. Got there at 6:20 and were shown to our table in a room with 5 empty tables - we were table 6. Wait staff took our drink orders quickly and we checked out the Dim Sum portion of the menu. We choose the pedestrian choices of spring rolls, pot stickers and spare ribs thinking these should be good first choices to try. WRONG. The spare ribs were inedible and the spring rolls and pot stickers were not even close to what we can make from frozen TraderJoe's. Still trying to stay in the moment, we ordered our entrees. And then we sat.......and sat......and sat while the other tables were seated, served, finished and left - ONE HOUR. All semblance of patience and understanding gone, we politely told our waiter to cancel our order, paid and left. $85.00 later, I'm beyond words. I wish the owners well and good luck because they're going to really need it. Never again! read more

My sister and I arrived at "Happy Hour", shortly after 3:00pm. We were greeted by a lovely hostess who explained that the menu was limited from 3:00pm to 5:00 pm. as it was a happy hour menu. We thought Ok and continued in. I must say I was amazed and delighted at the decor change. Absolutely stunning rendition of Chinese ombiaunce at its best. We were seated in the bar area, after asking if we would like to be inside or outside. These owners have done an outstanding job at remodeling the old Olive Tree Inn. The artwork on the walls were breathtaking only outdone by the HUGE, (and I mean Huge), movie theatre type TV on the west wall in the bar. I can only imagine what watching a game would be like from that viewpoint!! The staff was first class as well. Friendly accommodating and ever so helpful. My sister had a drink called. "The Pain Reliever"!! It was delicious. A blend of different alcohols and fruit juices, and I stuck to a vodka tonic. Yes folks they have a full bar. $8.00 for a well drink during happy hour and hers was a bit more. Still very reasonable. We ordered a bit of everything from the "Happy Hour" menu, pot stickers, egg rolls, shrimp dumplings, spring rolls, mushroom dumplings etc. All were savory and delicious. My fave though was the shrimp dumplings! Fantastic!! The owner gave us some history of the place and that was much appreciated. They even have a huge antique apothecary in the main seating area. Just stunning! Do yourself a favor and experience REAL chinese food. Everything was top notch. We will all be back for dinner soon! Can't wait!! read more

As has been said, Napa lacks anything interesting Chinese...still. Despite an engaging website/ online menu, the on-site Empress M server couldn't grasp the restaurant's professional, if not legal, obligation to honor what it advertised online claiming powerlessness to substitute the advertised snow pea shoot dumplings back into the printed lunch special that featured spinach dumplings instead. (How hard is that? New employee?) Add the server's repeated use of "Sweetheart" addressing guests. Add welcomed jasmine tea that wasn't hot. Add nice presentation but a too-large serving plate that, likely, further dissipated the temperature of the not-hot sweet-and-sour soup and the not-hot chow mein. The outdoor patio was nice enough save for the inescapable traffic noise of the busy, immediately adjacent roadway. Price was reasonable save for the problems with the overall experience. You decide. P.S. To their credit, staff was diligent in disinfecting tables between guests. read more