Empress Pavilion
(213) 617-9898
988 N Hill St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Near Chinatown and Central LA
0 recommendations
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The special fried rice is amazing.
The special fried rice is amazing. The place is really clean and the people is very nice. I would suggest you to try the spicy chicken.
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Insulting service, blah food
Provided by Citysearch
I will never visit this establishment again. The dim sum was sub-par. The BBQ pork was cold. The atmosphere is very Holiday Inn conference room. But the deal breaker was the poor service. Our server was exasperated by having to bring us beverages (which we were paying for, by the way - it's not like we were running him ragged for water). He made a rude, insulting comment about our soda consumption, apparently forgetting that a) it's his job to bring us things and b) we're paying for those things, which is what keeps the restaurant in business. We weren't demanding or rude; we were actually very patient customers. I don't want to dine at a place where my ordering things is seen as an imposition, so largely because of this server's actions, I will never go to Empress Pavilion again. I'm also telling friends about the rude service and disappointing food. See what happens when you treat your customers like crap? I harbor no illusions that this review will affect their business, but if enough people have experiences like this we'll see how busy it remains.
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it's just getting worse
Provided by Citysearch
This is my second time here, last time about 10 years ago, a friend took me there, I really forgot what it's taste like, but no bad memory, after today, I don't think I will go back there. Everything just taste not that good, I can see most people eat there is not Chinese. You can find much better, real chinese taste dim sum places in Monterey Park, Alhambra, San Gabriel. I know what really good chinese food is taste like.
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More than just Dim-Sum!
Provided by Citysearch
This is one of the best Chinese places I've ever been, and I know everyone is crazy about their Dim Sum, but their dinner is just as good. The Peking Duck is almost too good. By far the best Peking Duck, I've ever had. We're talking close-your-eyes, melt-in-your-mouth good. I was headed to a Dodger game when I stopped in and the duck was so good I decided to forego a Dodger Dog at the game. That might not sound that crazy, but it is. Great Chinese food, there's a reason this place has 5 stars.
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Great dim sum, other dishes pretty good too...
Provided by Citysearch
Brought my parents here for a weekend lunch. They're not much into dim sum like I am. We had the sizzling beef plate (very tender), the lemon chicken (best I've ever had), prawns (a little small, but delicious anyway) and chicken fried frice. We did pick some BBQ pork buns and mini custard tarts from the carts. Another weekend, my fiancee's aunt and uncle, and they're into dim sum. Shrimp har gow was excellent! Seaweed wrapped pork, rice noodles, chicken feet, all as good as anything in Monterey Park (or better!) Service was attentive. Parking is pocket change after a validation.
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Shark fin?
Provided by Citysearch
I noticed the extensive menu items with shark fin and have to comment on the inhumane act of slicing off shark's fins and throwing them back in the water. They drown because they can no longer get oxygen through movement in the water. Please consider removing this from your menu. Our shark population is on a rapid decline and shark fin buying and selling is the culprit. Please help save this endangered species.
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Delicious dim sum, really great experience
Provided by Citysearch
OK, everyone complains about the service. I don't get it. We got a table on a Saturday afternoon dim sum service in about 10 minutes. We sat down and within minutes we were offered so many different delightful dim sum: baked pork buns, shu mai, dumplings, steamed buns... It's actually overwhelming how many options there are. Everything was extremely tasty. I loved a sweet sesame concoction with bean curd. Even if you don't get the best service, who cares? This isn't a 60$ steakhouse, people! This is a very fun, economical, tasty experience!
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Great but expensive
It's one of the more expensive restaurants in China Town located off the 10. Great food and healthier than what's in the area. It's always packed with long lines at night. If you want to go there's a separate shop next door for take out. If you're in the area, I recommend a stop here. Plus there's a market and small shopping center in the same complex.
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terrible !
Provided by Citysearch
I used to go here about once a month... But the service has degraded and so has the quality of the food. I'm utterly dissapointed with Empress.
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Avoid at all costs!
Provided by Citysearch
I hate to say it, but I certainly concur with the negative reviews after my husband and two sons tried the Empress dim sum on Friday December 28th. Things started out okay, but after receiving some 5 dishes, the carts just stopped coming to our area! After about 40 minutes I went and politely spoke to a 'manager' (one of the people in the Black, formal suits) to point out that no one had been to our area in quite awhile. Then I nicely went back to my seat, but nothing happened! Half an hour later, still no one had come to our area. No one offered us a menu or suggested that we could order a dish to supplement the dim sum that was apparently no longer coming around to our area, though there appeared to be carts in another part of the dining room. I complained again, not quite as calmly, to a gentleman in a black suit, and he was rude, saying that we had gotten all the dishes there were to get! So perhaps this is a problem, but 5 dishes is certainly not the variety one expects in a top notch dim sum restaurant! Actually, when I lived in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, our one local dim sum restaurant did better than that by about 3 times! This was a very unpleasant, rude dining experience! My husband and I were actually in disbelief that it could be so bad. We have been to dim sum in Boston, New York, Vancourver, and as I say Hamilton, Ontario, and never experienced anything like this. We live up the coast from L.A. and are open to any suggestions of dim sum in L.A. that will take away such bad memories! Awful!!!
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Authentic chinese dimsum?!?! Ummm.....no
Provided by Citysearch
China town restaurant that is very average. I am from Hong Kong and must say that the dim sum is marginal at best. The service is poor, but then again generally restaurants in Chinatown had mediocre service. Still looking for a better dim sum restaurant.
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I won't go back to this place again!
Provided by Citysearch
After reading many good reviews about this restaurant, I decided to give it a try, and I was very disappointed.\r \r I ordered seven dishes, and one of them was spoiled. I complained this to the manager. He just crossed this item out from my order form and took the dish back to the kitchen, without offering any apoligies to me. I then compalined to the lady who tended the food cart and served me this dish. She just said that I needed to report this problem to the manager. Interestingly enough, nither the manager nor this lady wanted to check if dishes on this food cart were spoiled also. Instead, they just keep serving these dishes to other customers. I think that having dim-sum at this restauant is very risky for anyone who cercerned about their health.\r \r Additionally, my waiter (his name is Dennis) did not seem to care about what his patrons needed. I asked him for spicy oil, and he simply ignored my request. Also, he never refilled the teapot nor collected dirty plates. He also did not ask me how the dishes were. So, I got a very ignorant waiter, which makes eating in this restaurant a very unpleasant experience.\r \r Finally, the air conditioner is not working in part of this restaurant. So, if you go there on a hot day like I did, you should be prepared to sweat a lot while eating some hot dim-sum dishes. After a while, you won't be able to enjoy any food on your table.\r \r In conclusion, Empress Pavilion is one of the worst restaurants I have ever been to and I will never go back again!
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A Great Place To Eat With Others...
Provided by Citysearch
I think the best way to dine for dim sum is to take along a boyfriend or go with friends, that way you get to try more! I went to Empress Pavillion with my boyfriend who was a first timer. He was really 'wowed' by all of the waitstaff pushing carts of different foods. We ordered tea, bbq pork rolls, two types of shrimp shu mai, meatballs (kind of weird, i wouldn't get them again), strawberry pastries, and my favorite....the chicken and pine nuts.\r Everything came to our table in 5 minutes and we chowed down right away. The bill was only $17 for two of us. The experience overall was fantastic. It was a really fun interactive way to dine. My boyfriend and I talked about it all day!\r Someone on here said that the service is terrible. I do not agree. There are men dressed in maroon and look like butlers who walk around and it's their job to take the check and fill your water. There are tons of them...you just need to wave them down. If you sit there and don't make eye contact, they will not know that you need to be taken care of!
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what? Good Service? Best? hmm... don't think so..
Provided by Citysearch
I don't really understand why this place got high ratings because \r -WHERE IS SERVER?\r - where is all choices of dim sum \r - as well as terrible service \r -You have to wait and wait to get food also even for someone to tab out your bill. \r -Stay away from this place!!!!!!!!!!!!!\r \r \r
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Bad Dim Sum
Provided by Citysearch
I've gone to Empress Pavilion a few times. And everytime I went there, I hated it. It's huge, so service isn't that great. It's crowded! Don't go on weekends, you just end up waiting for atleast an hour just to eat. The food isn't that great. Last time I went, was about a few weeks ago. They ran out of shrimp dumpling (which is my favorite), they don't fry the turnip cake good enough, and their food is bland. OH! And the service. Woah! -10 POINTS!! The same dimsum carts are always around you, so you really don't get a variety of food. One of the dim sum ladies made my 60 year old father fall. He fell on his bum and knocked his head right on the HOT dimsum cart. And to top it all off, they gave us the wrong check. I rather go to ABC Seafood, which is in the other side of chinatown. It may not look as nice as Empress Pavillion but it sure taste much better.
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bland food
Provided by Citysearch
i arrived at 1:15 on a monday. i was seated quickly but the food turned out to be extremely disappointed. most of the stuff tasted bland (pork and thousand-yr egg congee, radish cake, shu mei) and the steamed bbq-prok buns were over steamed so the bun part was soggy, altho the filling was very tasty and not fatty at all. altho it wasn't that late, they had run out of a lot of basic stuff like tofu-skin wrap with meat inside and shrimp chun-fun. mango pudding was premade with the condensed milk already inside, it was too light and fluffy reminding me of mousse type yogurt and also bland. the almond tofu was above average but a little too sweet. overall, a very disappointing experience. i will not be going back again.
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Great Food, Service and Price
Provided by Citysearch
This restaurant is a Dim Sum favorite. The food is delicious, the choices are endless and the service is quick, once you actually get a table. The line to get in is so long you'll wait at least an hour, but there are lots of great shops to browse during that time. Great for large groups. The price can't be beat - so inexpensive you'll do a double take.
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Go elsewhere for chinese food and dim sum
Provided by Citysearch
Food is no better than any Chinese restaurant that costs half its price. If you want some ""normal"" dim sum, Sea Harbor in Rosemead is a far better choice
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This Dim Sum place is sub-par!
Provided by Citysearch
Don't know why this place gets high ratings because this place has very limited choices of dim sum as well as bad service (which is saying a lot since it is a Chinese restaurant). I went with my mom a couple of weeks ago and we had to wait twenty minutes just to get someone to tab out our bill. Stay away from this place if you can.
