Imperial Palace Teppan Yaki
I have to start this review by saying that I wasn’t intending to write this review. Having eaten in the place, I’ve changed my mind because it wasn’t how I was expecting it and I really rather liked it. I want you to do me a favour. The Imperial Palace Teppan Yaki, situated in Beggen (on the outskirts of Luxembourg City) is, as the name suggests, a Japanese restaurant. These are not common in Luxembourg, and those that are there tend to be rather on the pricy side. It must surely be only a matter of time before a Wagamama-style modern restaurant opens here, and when it does I’d wager it would do very well, credit crunch notwithstanding. In fact, a branch of Wagamama itself would be great.
The Imperial Palace is an entirely different proposition. In other reviews I have mentioned that certain venues have the feeling of someone’s living room. The Imperial Palace is a living room, just with sofas removed and replaced by large grill plates. In total, the restaurant can serve about sixteen people at any given time. It is not big, and nor do I imagine it’s ever especially busy. This is a shame because the food is very good and portions are generous. The diced Teppan Yaki beef is a particular highlight but the overall quality is admirable and one of the plus points about this style of food is watching it being prepared in front of you, enjoying the sounds and smells of the cooking process, even if this particular chef was not as theatrical as they sometimes can be. On the downside, the wine list is very limited, sticking to local whites and standard French reds. The other interesting point was the service: because the Imperial Palace sticks to the Japanese principle of several smaller courses in lieu of two or three larger ones, it could feasibly take longer to eat there. As it happens it doesn’t, and the breaks between courses were if anything a little short. Furthermore, once finished, plates were removed with almost breathtaking speed. Nobody likes to wait too long, but this was an extreme in the other direction. If I was a gossip, I’d share my fellow diner’s observation that the waitress was “a bit neurotic”. Thankfully I’m not a gossip so I’m not going to do that…
The restaurant is quite accessible from the city centre, both by public transport and car, and there is plenty of parking nearby. As I said, I hadn’t planned to write a review of it, but it was pleasingly idiosyncratic and I had a good experience. I would like to go back, so please go. I don’t want it to close down or anything. It has been there for several years though, so it clearly does something right.
Imperial Palace Teppan Yaki, 309, rue de Beggen, L-1221, Luxembourg City.
Tel: 42 23 95