I was a little skeptical of trying out a Chinese joint in Bishop (a.k.a. white no-man's land), but curiosity got the better of me so off my family and I went to Imperial Gourmet for dinner. To be fair, I will not be comparing the food here to places I've tried in LA, SF, NY (heck, even in China and Hong Kong!), since it's situated in a small town along the 395 and doing so would be totally unfair. Authentic isn't the point here (and I wouldn't say gourmet is the right adj to have in the name), but the food was what I'd expect of Americanized Chinese food -- nothing more, nothing less. The place was full on Thursday night, but we waited only 15 minutes or so to get seated. As we should, we ordered a number of dishes to share family style: - Three Flavor Sizzling Soup: the portion for four people adequately fed all five of us. This really hit the spot, especially considering how cold the weather was that night! - Pork Fried Rice: the rice to pork ratio was a little off, and it seemed like the pork was thrown in as an after-thought, but okay nonetheless - Mongolian Beef: not enough vegetables, so they ended up being saturated in the sauce. The meat was tender and juicy though. - Lucky Family Special: a tad salty, but bearable if you ate it with the small bowl of fried rice that accompanies it. Not a fan of egg drop soup, so didn't have a taste, but I'd suspect it tastes like egg drop soup from any other Chinese take-out joint - Spicy Shrimp: my favorite dish of the night -- then again, I'm biased as (1) I love shrimp, (2) I love water chestnuts, and (3) I love spicy dishes. The service was prompt and polite. All in all, with two hot sakes and the dishes up above, the bill came out to about $100 not including tip & tax. A bit more than I'd expect to pay for what could be satisfied with take-out Chinese, but as that's not readily available in Bishop... Imperial Chinese gets a rounded up 3 stars out of 5. read more

I've been to a lot of busy, popular restaurants over the years, but few have been more happening than Imperial Gourmet in Bishop, CA, on Christmas Day, 2014. Like everyone else there, my family was driving from L.A. to Mammoth, and every other restaurant on our way seemed to be closed. This was my first Chinese restaurant Christmas, and I guess it's true what they say--I doubt this place sees this level of business any other day of the year. I remember going to Imperial as a kid, when it was upstairs in that big strip mall. I remember eating mushu pork, maybe for the first time, at one of the big lazy susan tables. This was my first time at the new (probably not new) location. It felt like a standard Chinese restaurant, with some small attempts at atmosphere, but mostly just cozy and easy to deal with. There was a bar where we hung out while we waited until the manager opened up a back room to keep us all seated instead. We sat for most of our wait, and it went by painlessly, with pitchers of Sierra Nevada. The manager, by the way, was awesome. Very funny and friendly in a way that kept us from getting impatient. Service was good once we were seated, too, about an hour later. Food came out quickly, in any case. Our party of seven did have to split up into two tables, but we were right next to each other and even shared food. The food--a few things were good, most of it was mediocre. I wouldn't come to Imperial Gourmet if I had any kind of choice in Chinese food. The menu was very much take-out standards, and for the most part, I thought it tasted inferior to Panda Express (granted, I kind of love Panda Express). I did really like the steamed dumplings, which seemed to belong to a much better restaurant, and the BBQ spare ribs, which were flavorful, tender, and satisfying. The aromatic shrimp was also pretty tasty. Most of our food was acceptable but forgettable. In this category: egg drop soup, orange chicken, Mongolian beef, cashew chicken, ma po tofu, chow mein, Szechwan style string beans. We probably did right to order all of these dishes, but none of them really hit the spot. Also, we got both steamed and fried rice, and the fried rice was some bullshit, like white rice with a pale layer of seasoning and a couple vegetables. Finally, the crispy duck was terrible, almost inedible. That one was a mistake. At the end of our dinner, we all got fortune cookies, and the fortunes seemed weirdly half-assed. I doubt I'll be back to Imperial Gourmet any time soon, but as long as it's the one Chinese restaurant in Bishop, I also doubt I've had my last meal here. It's an L.A.-to-Mammoth staple, if not a particularly good one. It is, at the very least, a warm and friendly place to eat. read more

Great food in a barren area. The quality of ingredients and the taste and price are all worth it when you consider that Bishop, California is a couple of hundred miles away from restaurant-grade grocery outlets. By the way, the Chinese food served here is more American-influenced, meaning orange chicken and sweet sour pork and the like. Staff is friendly and willing to help people out for all matters. Full bar with great bartenders who craft quality cocktails. They carry some nice spirits as well. Finally, the interior and exterior design of the restaurant is very surprising considering it's again a distance away from big cities. The interior and exterior has major Chinese-architectural influences. There is a great bronze door as the entrance and dark wood lines the majority of the interior.There are even red lanterns hung above the booths. read more

Been here quite a few times and will continue too. my son always wants to go on sundays for the all you can eat brunch read more

Not quite as much a fan as the rest of the reviewers- it was decent (and OK, what do you expect in Bishop?) but had a few downsides. The appetizer platter was so-so- Egg Roll (OK), Rib (Dry and Subpar) and a fried shrimp (OK). For main dishes, I had the Kung Pao Shrimp (Bland and not spicy) and Noodles with Pork (best part of the meal) The downsides: The fried rice was completely bland and the worst I've ever had, they didn't have steamed rice, and service was on the indifferent side. Would only go back if absolutely craving Chinese.... read more

I come here once a month as I pass through Bishop. I very much like the duck, tangerine/orange beef, and the won-ton soup in particular. The food is consistently quite good, comes out hot, and even when they are crowded I usually get it fairly quickly. Service has always been friendly and they are good at keeping my iced tea full. Portions are large which means you can always take some to go. read more

Imperial Gourmet - All dishes were tasty and very generous for two people - Chinese Near Me - Bishop, California

Not what I was expecting. And that's not a good thing. Service was atrocious. We walked in and actually had to flag down the staff in order to get seated. That means not one of the 7 people who were walking around or restocking table ware and condiments noticed us. If you walk in and see how small the place is, you will be aghast by this action. We sat down and got the menu. Now, right off the back we all knew that something was off, as we only got water and no hot tea. No hot tea in a chinese restaraunt? The good: Food came out, and it was quite good. Especially for a town so far away from any local Asian influence. The bad: We were never given the lunch menu, only the full dinner menu. And we watched our neighbors eat lunch deals at better prices very similar to what we have ordered, but at full price. Honestly, it genuinely felt like someone was taking advantage of the visiting tourist while the locals got better treatment. The ugly: The service. Or lack there of. The only real person who attended us was the guy who walks around with ice cold water. And you don't want ice cold water in the peak of winter in Bishop, you want hot food, served fresh and fast, as we were weary from the road. Seriously, the service here was terrible. Even the guy setting the table after our neighbors had left was bad, as he took a long time setting up spoon, fork, knife, and napkin. As if he had never set a table before. And the actual Chinese owners.... I'm very familiar with the practice of getting people to sit down, eat, and rush them out so that more people can sit down and the owners profit from the volume. This place was the opposite. I don't know what they were on about in the back, but it surely wasn't customer service. One of my friends had to stand up and walk towards the bar to get a to-go box, and it was only after she started walking back that the waitresses remembered they were running a business. Aiii-yaaa! You can do better, as I had excellent service and excellent food at other Bishop locations. read more

this place is the worst chinese food i have ever had in my life.! everything was plain! I'm a vegetarian so i got the tofu dishes and even though the dishes had sauce in it the sauce tasted like plain old water. the hot and sour soup had beef in it when the front guy didn't mention any beef in it when i asked what was in the soup. i wasted almost 10 bucks on that soup.... i will never eat here again and i don't recommend anyone eating here. read more

I've always just passed through Bishop on the way to Mammoth, but Mammoth was booked so me and my buddies had to settle in for the night in Bishop. We kind of stumbled on to this place cause it was right next to the hotel we were staying at. Maybe it was our day at the slope, but this was one of the BEST Chinese food I've had in a long time. Old Style Chinese American, but not Chinese Fast Food like most places have become. Had Orange Chicken as recommended by our server and the hot and sour soup was "hot and sour", crispy duck was hearty and finger licking good. Food quality was very good considering most places load their food with salt and oil. This place is not exactly authentic Chinese, but this is the Eastern Sierras not Southern California or Bay Area. read more

Addicted to the Orange Chicken... I think Imperial Gourmet is very good Chinese food, but especially for Bishop! Fresh veggies - even Asian veggies. Tasty food, good soups, a nice (if small) ambience, good service, and full bar. They bought and remodeled this place and did a great job on it, IMO. Prices are not cheap, but are reasonable. Parking is way in the back, which is a bit of a pain for my husband who has a disability, but walks. It's a bit far for him to walk. But it's good, solid Chinese food that we enjoy whenever we go. read more

Ordered take-out: Mongolian beef and egg rolls. Came home and discovered that they forgot to put rice with my order. Discovered that this was Mongolian MSG. Discovered that eggroll is comprised of 98% oil and unknown substance inside. Final Cost: $19 what?????? read more

On either side of Highway 395, Imperial Gourmet has been a Bishop dining landmark and one of our family traditions on the drive to and from Lake Tahoe. Originally situated in the now-shuttered Cottonwood Plaza, the restaurant has moved across the street and set up shop in what was formerly a Thai and American eatery. The decor has been updated to Sino-American modern with booths, tables and the traditional round banquet table with a Lazy Susan. Our party of four ordered the biggest family-style dinner, which allowed us to choose entrees from the two lower-priced options as well. After the sizzling rice soup, everyone enjoyed more than their fill of beef, chicken and pork entrees. Since we were on our way home from Lake Tahoe, there would have been no safe way to transport the leftovers home (::sigh::). We skipped dessert because our rooms at the Creekside Inn included evening cookies but there's always next time. read more

The only reason I'm giving this place two stars is for the friendly service. The food on the other hand deserves ZERO stars. After a long day of fishing at Pleasant Valley we thought we'd get some takeout before heading up the mountain to our camp site. We ordered three items: Pork fried rice. If your going to dice SPAM in the rice call it SPAM fried rice NOT pork fried rice. Ginger beef. Had so much ginger in it even the green onions tasted like ginger. Worse Chinese dish I've ever had. Cashew chicken. Best dish out of the three but the sauce was generic and tasteless and the chicken was rubbery. Like I said earlier,the service was great,very friendly and helpful but this was the worst Chinese restaurant we've ever been to and it wasn't cheap. Will not return and I honestly don't know how they stay in business with such lousy food!! read more

Had a good time with the nieces here. We came too late for the bakery so we decided to meal it up. The food was good and the service could use a little sprucing up. (I got a drink refill only after I got my check) I found the place to be quaint as we had just arrived after they had opened up for dinner. The place filled rather quicky and as I was told, it's one of the better places to grab a bite to eat in Bishop. We shared an order of fried rice, orange chicken, teriyaki and some wontons. Fed 2 adults and 2 children easily enough. The teriyaki and fried rice were both kind of small. Only 4 pieces of meat for the teriyaki and the fried rice was the only thing I had wished we had ordered more of. At the end of the meal all of our plates were empty and then the wait for the check began because it was crowded. Still would say that this place is worth a try, if it's later on in the day. read more

We came to imperial during our weekend to Bishop, we ordered the crispy duck, and the bok choy with mushrooms and garlic sauce. The duck was not bad I would give it a C- since the meat was definitely lacking in flavor, which resulted in heavy use of the duck sauce. My girlfriend and I both felt that it was the most bland duck we have ever had. Next the bok choy, it was meant to be in a garlic sauce, but when we received the dish we realized that what was supposed to be garlic sauce, was actually just water from the veggies not being strained properly. It literally tasted like nothing. Mush. For 11 dollars that's what we received. *disapproving nod* The best part of the meal was the fortune cookie. I give this restaurant 1 star instead of zero because 1) I can not give a zero star rating, and 2) the employees were polite and friendly and the vibe of the restaurant was ok. 3) they may have other dishes that actually have flavor; I will never know since I won't be returning I am not exaggerating, there is nothing I love more than to give a restaurant a 5 star review after a great experience, but I want to give everyone a warning before spending your money and time here. read more

If you go there on a Sunday before 1, it's buffet only. They called it a buffet but it is the smallest buffet I have ever seen and at almost $20 a person, I expect more selection and better tasting food. Staff wasn't friendly and management was a joke. As I read the other reviews online, I'm seeing a big issue with management. There is a Japanese restaurant and a Thai restaurant in Bishop if you are interested in something else. This place definitely needs help. read more

This was our last dinner before we left the next day back to OC. So I wanted to make sure we did not make the mistake we made the first night by going to a crappy restaurant like BBQ Bill's-Oney's. I figured you cant go wrong with Chinese. We walked in and it was pretty packed and the space was a bit small. So being that we had our son with us, we decided to take it to the hotel and eat there comfortably. (Chinese just taste better when you take it To-Go) First the service there was excellent which was unexpected. Most Chinese restaurants are not exactly known for kindness. But the guy at the front counter spoke perfect English and was very service oriented. I ordered General Tso's Chicken (one of my favorite), House Chow mein and Mongolian Beef. We waited about 10-15 min for the food. My wife and I were very surprised at how good it was when we starting digging in at our hotel. It was not too salty, not too sweet but perfect. The hot sauce they give is a hot pepper oil which is extra spicy. (It goes great with the Chow mein) The portions were enough for us to put leftovers in the refrigerator in our rooms and heat it up in the microwave for lunch the next day right before we left. It even tasted good the next day. So even though we messed up big time going to BBQ Bill's-Oney's the first night, we managed to enjoy the rest of our trip with good food thanks to Yelp~ read more

We've been coming here since I was in utero and Imperial never ceases to amaze me. Every dish is distinct and chock full of flavor. The food oz amazing and with service to match. Never had to wait more than three minutes for a table. The staff are professional, humble and always in a good mood even on their busiest of days. It's so obvious how much they care about their restaurant and I cannot recommend Imperial Gourmet enough. They are the apotheosis of what it means to be a local business. Dine at Imperial today, you will never regret the experience of Chinese food in the Owens Valley. read more

I'm Chinese from the Bay Area and this place did well for my expectations in bishop. Beef with Chinese broccoli Chow mein String beans All the sauces were great and flavored very well. Ingredients fresh. Kind of on the pricey scale but the decor and atmosphere was on the fancy side. I didn't try it but they have a full bar read more

My husband & I were in Bishop on a long weekend. Our hostess at our B&B suggested Imperial. We are so glad we took her advice. We had an absolutely wonderful dinner. We did the 'A' dinner deal. We got 3 appetizers, 2 entrees & fried rice. We selected the Beef with Broccoli & the Orange Chicken. Fantastic! the flavors were rich & layered, nothing was greasy & everything was fresh. Next time you are in the Bishop area & feeling to Chinese, Imperial will truly be a wonderful meal! read more

This was a find for us. Chinese in far out places is usually pretty sketchy. However, this place was great. The decor is very high end for Eastern Sierra. The paper wrapped chicken was made with ground chicken, ginger, green onions... very good. Pan fried pork dumplings were delicious. The sizzling rice soup was so good that we finished off every drop. Mu shu pork was good. The ultimate test -- there was an Asian family eating at the table next to us. They appeared to be regulars. Always a good sign. read more

I'm only offering 3 stars. The food and service were good, but little to no vegetables and everything was sold a la carte. Rice is extra. I also ordered a soft drink and it came in the tiniest glass I've ever seen - maybe 8oz? It was 2.95. I know things here are expensive, but come on. This place gave me the impression that whomever is running the show is way more interested in profit than substance. They claim to be gourmet, but this is the same food you pay a third for in the city with twice the portion size. I'm here for the next 6 months and won't be returning. read more

Mediocre food- salty and pricy for the small portion size. Dumpling is good but all dishes are very salty.

Friends and I were staying in Bishop over the Christmas holiday to ski/snowboard at nearby Mammoth. We were tired after a long day on the slopes, so ordered takeout from Imperial Gourmet. We ordered different variations of the Kung Pao dish (beef/chicken/tofu) as well as their eggplant dish. The food was SO sub-par, and definitely not worth the price. It must be lack of supply (i.e. other quality food choices) that jacks up the price, because my friends and I were all sorely disappointed. Very little flavor or spice in the dishes and we were so disappointed after having read positive Yelp reviews. The Kung Pao tofu was overloaded with peanuts and skimped on the flavorless sauce. The one positive thing I can say is that the food was delivered to our hotel room in a timely manner. But unless you like below average Chinese food, I suggest you consider other options. read more

You can taste the freezer burn on the Kung Pao Chicken. I'm not picky when it comes to food, I've never even written a negative review about a restaurant. But if I wanted to have a frozen dinner I would've just went to the grocery store read more

Great! Had vegetarian options. Open until 10pm. We stopped there on way back from camping and it was fine.

Inconsistent food quality but generally very average food. The interior is nicely decorated and spacious. I love the Kung Pao beef but the rest of the dishes are not that good. Service is attentive. Given the paucity of tasty food at Bishop , this place is worth a try as long as you don't expect gourmet. Skip the hot and sour soup since it tasted more like vinegar. read more

This review is for delivery-- We ordered orange chicken, beef noodles and hot & sour soup. Delivery service was great-- both the lady on the phone and the man who delivered the food to our hotel room were very nice. The orange chicken was delicious and a little spicy, and the beef was tender and flavorful. The delivery was very quick and the food arrived hot and delicious. I'd love to order from Imperial Gourmet again the next time we're in town. read more

The taste is ok but the environment is very good! I'm really surprised that they have a traditional Chinese restaurant here in town. The Chinese style taco is good but they wrap the meat for u instead asking that's kinda unexpected. read more

I've tried three different dishes this week. Each one was very good. Prices seem reasonable however, they do not take American Express

This place is unbelievably bad. Small, very very small portions. No taste. No ranks. No noodles. Barely any vegetables in the Mushu vegetables. The portion size for an entrée was smaller than a good appetizer should have been. My best suggestion is to stay away from this place. Stay very far away. Do not eat here. Do not think about eating here. Make believe there is no Chinese restaurant in Bishop. Eat in the hotel room. Eating a pizza place. Do not come here. Waste of time waste of money. Horrible. read more

I have to laugh at the people who consider this a "good Chinese" restaurant. LOL. What a joke. Sometimes you cannot trust the reviews on yelp; this is one of those times. Back to the food. The place is okay; it's not great but it's better than Jack n' the box. I got several items. Also, I have eaten here before when I was in college and went fishing at the lakes, nearby. Overall, this place is what it is, it's better than nothing. They have some good items but be prepared for what you get. If you are in the middle of nowhere and want Chinese food then the place is okay. If you can wait until you get to a "big city" then it's definitely worth it to wait, to get better food and much better prices. Other than that, I would recommend that you just go to a Denny's until you can get to a better place. read more

My wife and I stopped in Bishop to gas up for the long drive back to OC when we figured we would have dinner too. Both of us wanted Chinese and just as she said she would look up Yelp, I saw the Imperial Gourmet sign and pulled in. The restaurant was very clean, including the rest rooms, and we were greeted promptly. We decided to have the lemon chicken and chicken fried rice, and we weren't disappointed! The chicken was crisp, fried perfectly and the lemon sauce was equally delicious; not too tart, not too sweet. The fried rice was good, nothing special, but loaded with chicken. The service was fantastic, friendly and fast. Overall we walked out full, happy and satisfied...what more can you expect from any restaurant? read more

After multiple visits, this report relates to the last experience. Food is pretty decent, restaurant is lively and though it's service has been better in the past, this time around it was not so good. Food orders were Peking Shrimp and Mongolian Beef. Both lunch specials were near $11.00 each, tasted okay, and portions were plentiful. Accompanied by Egg Drop Soup it was more than enough. After noon on a Saturday, place was hit with a rush. We were seated quickly. Food arrived fast after ordering. This is where it got interesting. After being carefully attended to before meals arrived the staff ignored us totally in their reaction to the increase in customers. After completing our meal, we sat close to 20 min waiting for a box and our check. That's 20 minutes before we had to flag someone down. Luckily we had been enjoying each other's company. All told we were here for well over an hour on this visit. Note: Only half of the restaurant was full at the time. This place has been fairly consistent over the years. Hopefully there is not a decline in attentiveness. It had generally been a pretty good stop for us while in town. read more

So we were coming down from mammoth to finish up the weekend and were looking for a place to eat besides the delicious Eric Schat's Bakery and decided to try this place out. It looked busy inside so that's usually a sign of something at least edible right? WRONG. The reason it was busy is because this place offers a sunday all you can eat chinese buffet brunch. We walked by the buffet food and it didn't look appetizing at all. We decided to order a la carte to start off. We ordered the won ton soup for four and the appetizer combo for two. The won ton soup was decent quality but definitely had NO flavor to it. At least it was decently healthy but absolutely flavorless. Then to the stomach rumbling appetizer for two. This was a mix of meats and fried foods. Now I know it's supposed to be fried but to the point where it's like eating oil with some food in it is a bit much. The quality was clearly less than going to a bad fast food chinese place. I wanted to like this place and find a new place to stop in Bishop but this was definitely NOT it! The prices were also high and they served low quality food...How does that make sense? My stomach was rumbling all night and this morning as well! Gordon Ramsay....HELP THIS PLACE!! read more

Sad Mongolian beef is all onion, egg roll is all cabbage, orange chicken is gamey, fried wanton are tiny . Mixed Fried rice are meh ,a lil ok with walnut shirmp which $18.99 read more

I've been here a few times on my trips up here and I'm never disappointed. I think the food is delicious. I read someone complained about the price? Lol, this isn't Panda Express! Try it- you won't be disappointed. read more

Been meaning to write a review for a while, as this is our restaurant of choice in Bishop. They have just about any chinese dish you might be in the mood for -- including Szechuan and Hunan spicy ones. Try to shrimp or scallops -- excellent! We like to order extra -- some of the dishes seem even better as next days lunch or dinner. read more

Judging by food, I would've given it 1-2 stars. However, the staff were very friendly and the decor is nice, so I couldn't bring myself to give anything lower. For those who do come here, the wonton soup and most appetizers are okay, but would not recommend the sesame chicken. read more

Not too good, service was okay and there was no wait, but the food itself wasn't very appealing. The chickem was definitely on the verge of spoiling. Most of the meat was overcooked, the fried rice was OK but nothing to write home about. Probably won't return, nothing special here but what do you expect when ur the only Asian restaurant in a mountain town? I guess with no competition you don't have to be good. read more