Imperial Kho Palace

Imperial Kho Palace brings Asian noodle house cooking to South Waukesha Street in Bonifay, a notable change of pace in a town where Southern comfort food and Mexican grills otherwise dominate the dining scene. Locally owned and categorized on review sites simply under “Noodles,” the restaurant fills a niche that few other businesses in Holmes County attempt, giving both residents and passing travelers a distinct option beyond the diners and barbecue joints that define most of Bonifay’s food scene.

As a noodle house, Imperial Kho Palace centers its menu on noodle-based dishes, the kind of made-to-order bowls that reward a slower, sit-down lunch or dinner rather than a rushed drive-through meal. That focus sets it apart from the fried and grilled fare found elsewhere in town, and it has carved out a following among diners looking for something different without leaving Bonifay’s small commercial strip along South Waukesha Street. The restaurant keeps weekday hours, open Monday through Friday from 11 in the morning until 8 at night, a schedule geared toward the lunch and early dinner crowd rather than late-night dining.

Its location places it in the same short stretch of South Waukesha Street as several other small Bonifay businesses, part of the town’s modest but functional commercial core just off the main routes travelers use to cross the Panhandle. For Emerald Coast visitors making the inland drive, Bonifay sits roughly 50 miles north of Panama City Beach, close enough for a day trip but far enough removed from the coast to feel like a genuinely different slice of Florida, built around agriculture, small industry, and the rhythms of Holmes County rather than tourism.

A stop at Imperial Kho Palace fits naturally into a broader visit to the area, whether travelers are passing through en route to Ponce de Leon Springs State Park, Vortex Spring, or timing a trip around the Northwest Florida Championship Rodeo each October at Memorial Field. After a day outdoors on the Choctawhatchee River or exploring Holmes County’s springs, a warm bowl of noodles offers a welcome contrast to the fried seafood and barbecue that otherwise define eating out in this part of the Panhandle. It’s the kind of small, independently run restaurant that rewards curious travelers willing to venture off the interstate and into the heart of a working Panhandle town.

Imperial Kho Palace is located at 503 South Waukesha Street and can be reached directly at 850-658-4803 for anyone looking to confirm hours before making the trip. Locally owned and clearly built around a loyal base of regulars, it stands as one of Bonifay’s more distinctive dining options, proof that even a small inland county seat can offer some genuine variety for visitors willing to look past the obvious choices.

Along with Cancun Mexican Grill, also located on South Waukesha Street, Imperial Kho Palace is one of only a couple of places in Bonifay serving something other than Southern comfort food or barbecue, which makes South Waukesha Street the closest thing the town has to an international dining strip. That variety is a small but genuine perk for visitors spending more than a quick afternoon in Holmes County, whether on a rodeo weekend, a paddling trip along the Choctawhatchee River, or a longer swing through the springs west of town. For anyone exploring Holmes County beyond its springs and historic sites, a meal at this noodle house is an easy, worthwhile way to round out the trip, and a reminder that even Florida’s quietest inland towns have more going on than the highway lets on.