Fabulous traditional pub. The rooms are neat, clean and affordable. The staff are friendly and accommodating and the bar has a great variety of beers available on tap. The bistro has tasty well portioned food available with plenty of seating. The pub is in a great spot with the river walk behind and easy access to central Maitland shops and restaurants. I had a great stay.

Popped in for dinner, food was generally good, but highly over salted, why do pub cooks think that a diner can't put salt on their fries, steak themselves???

Dropped on Friday for a quick beer after dinner. The bar has had a makeover since I was here last year. Service was quick, friendly, and efficient as always - the level of staff skills has always been high, in my opinion. Enjoyable visit I will be back!

The service at the imperial was 10/10. My husband and I were extremely impressed with the manager and how he went out of his way to ensure we had a good meal.
Food was delicious and well priced.

Absolutely enjoyed a family dinner . Our meals were delicious and the service impeccable! Will definatley return .
Nick and his staff were so outstanding from the moment we walked in .

We recently had a reservation here to celebrate our daughters 21st birthday with 12 other family members
Upon arriving were told that we had to move because of the loudness of the trivia night.
Then when ordering our food it was either cold, served too early, or way over cooked.
When we asked for medium to well done steak, with sald and chips, the chips were frozen, the steak came out way over cooked and burnt, hard and cold.
The chicken schnitzel meals that were ordered were also way over cooked crispy hard dry and very Un appealing.
When staff came to collect plates or glasses they only collected one or 2, didn't do a round .and collect all dishes and left the dirty dishes on our tables
They were quiet abrupt and rude as well.
When we mentioned our meal wasn't pleasant, we tried to return it and they only rebooked the chips which burnt amd weren't fresh hoy chips.
The meat and schnitzel were very burnt and over cooke, small in size for the price.
When ordering a schnitzel it is supposed to be a full chicken breastfeeding that is butterflies not look like a rolled up piece of kieve that is burnt to a crisp.
A steak is supposed to be cooked to perfection, not taste like leather and hard that you can't cut into it amd is the size of your small palm.
Very poor quality of service and disgusting food quality for a local that has and always had a good name.
It needs to improve food wise and staff need to learn to be taught about cooking and manners towards customers

A bit disappointing. The menu has changed since the last time I was here (less than two months ago). There is no lunch menu now and the prices are not good. Eg. $5 extra for a tiny basket of chips with a burger. $2 for a tiny dollop of tomato sauce. And one of my friends had a tough over-cooked rump steak with curdled and split seafood sauce on it. I dont know why they didn't notice that the sauce had split before they brought it out. My steak was also tough. It either was a cheap cut or not cooked proficiently. My salad was limp and lifeless as well. I wouldn't recommend this place anymore. Maybe other items are better but it was a disappointing lunch.

Always get great service here from the staff. Always friendly and helpful. If there's a mistake with your order, they're only too happy to fix it up. All the seats and tables are comfy with a good size screen for the footy. 400gm rib eye is the biggest steak. Always cooked perfectly. Definitely get the hot roast potato salad for your side.

Netty. Was. Here. Impressive Midweek $15 lunch specials. If you are sick of the classic regulars, come check out the modern eastern style lunch specials here at the Imperial.

Unlucky for me on the day they did not have any Soba Noodles left; but I opted for that Pub Classic Steak and was blown away!

For the cut of meat and my preference for medium rare meat the chef DELIVERED my order to perfection ??'? did I just get that for $15? Impressive! Extra bonus points for having the tastiest Dianne Sauce with the proper amount of tang!

A menu that looks like it changes seasonally you won't get tired of the usual specials if you come here for Lunch Midweek.

Enjoyed my stay at the imperial hotel. Although an older style pub the room was clean and fresh with a good size tv and a wash braid in the room. Shared bathroom was spotless and not a problem for me.
Self service breakfast and a shared kitchen and dining room
Staff very friendly
Eat in the pub or there are several good places to eat nearby

Was a Sunday night so nice and quiet in the room except the rubbish vehicles that had me awake at 5am !

Easy parking behind the pub in a large car park

Worst NYE experience. Arrived and was greeted with terrible customer service. We were told they couldn't find our booking, that we made two weeks in advance and that they couldn't do anything to accommodate us. We have been going there for NYEs as a family for the last 15 years. We won't be back.

Great menu, delicious food. I enjoyed that it was more than just your typical pub snitzel type menu.
Some dishes didn't come out and sides were missed, but they were very friendly and helpful. I'd go back for sure.

Haven't been there for at least 12 months. Tonight - FANTASTIC and FLAWLESS. Meal brilliant ??'?
Steak cooked to perfection... Pepper Sauce... one of the best ever. Keep up your amazing work. Do you have a new chef????

Passing through Thornton for business. Called in here for a steak and Guinness pie. One of the tastiest pies I've had. Rick flavour, lots of meat and a large meal.

The guy behind the bar also a great publican. A lady left her lighter behind, so he gave her his own lighter to keep.

I'd recommend to others to pay a visit.

This review is for accomodations only. When booking I asked for a quieter room and I was assured that I was being placed in a quiet room towards the back. Instead I found out I was lodged beside a drinking balcony and directly above the 'quiet' band that would be playing 'only to midnight'. They were not and they did not.
So if you're into trying to sleep while grown men do their best impression of mentally handicapped people till 11pm on the balcony as a cover band bangs on past midnight beneith you in a 'non smoking room' that smells pervasively of cigarette smoke with a special corner near the bed head smelling specifically of body odor THIS IS THE PLACE FOR YOU!!

Went to the imperial hotel (shenanigans) for dinner for Father's Day, not nice meals, very over priced, for what you get, wouldn't recommend. Five people all agreed, not one good meal or side. Should have stayed home and cooked our own. Won't be back

My friend and I enjoyed schnitzels here for lunch and they were delicious. The hotel is in a convenient position close to 3 hour free parking a short walk away. The meals were cooked beautifully and the staff were efficient and friendly. The facilities are very clean and the dining room seating is cosy and fairly private. There is more casual seating just down a few stairs and larger tables are catered for. They have specials nights throughout the week so it is worth checking their online menu and entertainment details online. Our meals and many of the others on the menu were reasonably priced and good sized serves.

Went for trivia, looking forward to the steak special but sold out. Ordered the battered cod but sold out. Ordered a deconstructed lamb kebab burger. Lamb was beautiful. The kebab part was disappointing or maybe the kebab was that the lamb was on a skewer.... chips were also a little disappointing. Mrs had the chook Kiev, no not supporting the Ukraine... bit dry and didn't have that spurt of garlic butter. Her salad was good and chips also disappointing. This restaurant can do a lot better, they have the ability.

Disappointed with our meal tonight! As a local, we often eat at this venue. Reluctant to go back. We ordered the rump steak cooked medium. Was served up burnt on the outside and bloody in the middle. Accepted the offer for a replacement steak. After about 15 minutes was presented with another steak which was also burnt on the outside, but covered in sauce to disguise it. The second steak was bloodier than the first! Waitress was apologetic and agreed it was worse. Asked for refund and left. Management need to review their chefs capabilities.

Food was extremely over priced and disappointing.
Paid $20 for nachos that was pretty much just corn chips wouldn't have even been a decent spoon full of meat. The seafood basked was tiny. Could have gotten more and better seafood basket from a fish and chip shop.
No bar staff husband stood at the bar for 5 or more minutes before someone came over.
Most certainly won't be back.

Food was great however, our garlic bread came out with our main meal. After a wait of 50 minutes I would have liked to have seen the garlic bread come out before the main and a little quicker

I booked at the Imperial Hotel for 2 nights as I was getting my car serviced and thought I would take a mini-holiday in the lovely township of Maitland, instead of wandering around aimlessly, all day while waiting on the mechanic to call.

The Imperial Hotel was a nice surprise. It has been delightfully renovated but still retaining the ambiance and warmth of a traditional Victorian era, Australian Hotel. The accommodation was clean, comfortable and affordable. The bistro was reasonably priced with a delicious traditional menu. I will definitely visit again.

Huge servings, delicious food, some of the best pub food I've ever had!

Delicious food. Quick service. Good music. Parking was scarce but that is just town.

Avoid if you are going with the hopes the vegan option is actually vegan. The menu online hasn't been updated and the only vegan option is a burger that is served with beef fat coated chips.... go figure!
Go elsewhere there are businesses happy to accommodate.

First timer... ordered the pan fried barramundi extremely good. Highly recommended. Very clean ?

Had the BEST roast pumpkin salad I have ever had. Thoroughly recommend it.

This place has had renovations and is fantastic. A pub where you can hear and have a conversation! Beautiful food and the staff where absolutely fantastic. Bar staff were great too.

The staff were quite rude, the food was ordinary and over priced.

The night before we are took our relatives there (who had a room there that night) and the bouncer was EXTREMELY rude, this older gentlemen with 5 teeth in his head had no reason to be such an arrogant pr*ck, we were sober, my family were sober, we were doing a COVID check in and he made it extremely difficult for us to get into the establishment. The day after was my wedding day and we decided to go for a few drinks after the reception, the staff again were rude to me and my family. I will NOT be returning to this establishment. I was extremely disappointed.

The waitstaff were great, the bar staff also amazing. The food was good, dessert portions a bit small for the price that was attached to them. The atmosphere is always welcoming

I remember the Imperial from many years ago, it has had a number of rebirthing s, however, this the best one. Food, drink & service has always been a hallmark of the Pub & I'm pleased to inform that this, also has gone up a notch or two.If you enjoy a proper steak the the Imperial is the place to head to. We had the weekend lunch scotch fillet and it was the next best to the most outstanding steak I have ever eaten. Beaten only by a whisker by a blue rib eye fillet in a famous steakhouse in Vancouver Canada (Gotham Steakhouse & Cocktail Bar). The flavour, size and cooked exactly how we asked for it (1 X medium rare & mine rare) made the meal pop.Oh did I mention how perfect the service & servers were? Outstanding, to go with the meal.Highly recommended and a must for any steak lovers.

Great pub food at reasonable pricesStaff were friendly!

Great pub, pork belly is outstanding

Great staff, Amazing food, family friendly atmosphere. Trivia is a fun night out.

The special, Pork cutlet with Brussel sprouts was amazing. Delicious!Hope its available next time