Chinese restaurant is four times Devon's best

EATERY EVEN CATERS TO VEGANS NOW TOO

- WILLIAM TELFORD

PLYMOUTH has several Chinese restaurants but there is one that stands out from the rest.

The Imperial Garden only accepts cash, closes on a Wednesday, and has won more awards than the movie Anora did at the Oscars.

It's famous for its vegan menu and its meat dishes too. And it's possibly the only one in the city with a giant dragon wall frieze.

Li Zhuang and her husband Cheng Guo have run the Imperial Garden, in Ebrington Street, since 2007 and have transformed it from a small takeaway into a serial award winning restaurant. The haul includes being named Devon's best Chinese restaurant four times at the South West England Prestige Awards and receiving plaudits from Tripadvisor and ThreeBestRated.

Animal welfare organisation Peta UK included the Imperial Garden in the top 10 UK Chinese food outlets for vegan meals. It was also a finalist in the Vegetarian and Vegan Awards.

"We have been very lucky," said Li and Cheng's daughter Jenny.

"For several years now we have been named the best Chinese restaurant in Devon."

"Yes, we go for quality," said her mother. "Everything is fresh. We want the customers to come back."