Jasmine Deli

I've been visiting Jasmine Deli for over a decade. It was 5 stars when I first reviewed it in 2008 and it's still 5 stars today. For the record: they make the best banh mi in the United States, especially for vegans.This hole-in-the-wall is a staple for quick, delicious, inexpensive Vietnamese dishes with numerous vegan options. They don't label their vegan options, but do call out the vegetarian dishes (most of which are vegan, but ask questions to be sure).The deli revolves around their delectable banh mi. For vegans, you can get a tofu, mock duck or curry mock duck sandwich (mock duck is seitan from a can); just make sure to specify "no butter" and you got yourself the best vegan banh mi in the United States.The tofu banh mi ($4) is ridiculously cheap but oh so good. The tofu is fried and lightly covered in a savory soy-based sauce; the carrots, cucumbers, cilantro and daikon are fresh. And the bread---oh man, this is the best Vietnamese baguette around. It's light, flaky, warm and delectable. The vegetarian (vegan as long as you get rice noodles) noodle soup ($8) is hearty, savory and delicious.I've been living in Southern California for the last 7 years and there's no shortage of banh mi in this area. But none of them match the one in Minneapolis.

I was disappointed with what I received here compared to other Eat Street Vietnamese options. The good things: very inexpensive, the roast pork in the pork banh mi is juicy and flavorful, and the bread is on point, a perfect baguette.So why three stars? Taste and volume! The banh mi was like 75% bread by volume -- I had to hunt for my pork to make sure it was in there. But even the veggies were less than I'd expect, and they tasted more like raw shredded carrots/daikon than pickles. There wasn't a good balance of filling to bread, nor was that beautiful contrast of fat, acid, crunch, and sweetness that IMO defines the proper banh mi. Similarly, our fresh spring rolls were solidly sized, but they were primarily filled with noodles and bean sprouts -- with no mint or basil! I have trouble understanding a spring roll with zero herbs in it.If this were the only option in the neighborhood, maybe, but with Tau Bay and Lu's right next door, this will not be my go-to.

Glad to see they're open again, sorry to see this Kung Fu beverage thing taking up so much space. I hope it isn't long before they bring back the full food menu and a few more larger tables for eating in. Besides the good food, what I've liked the most is that the place is small and cozy.I got the spring rolls on this visit. They are as good as ever.

Parents and I make the visit to Eat Street at least once a month to indulge in good cuisine, whether Middle Eastern, American, or Asian. For Asian food, specifically Vietnamese cuisine, we have tried all of the restaurants around the area (besides Jasmine Deli). Yes, in my 22 years, I have walked past this place but have not tired it despite hearing good reviews and raves from my American friends. And so we ventured off to try Jasmine Deli. To sum it up, it seems to cater particularly more to Westerners, though the food is somewhat authentic. I ordered the bun thit nuong cha gio and thought it was fairly good. Portions are a bit low and prices a little higher, which could be the two points that may sway others to near by Quangs or My Huong. My parents had the pho and enjoyed the broth. However, there were barely any noodles in the dish. All in all, Jasmine Deli is a good Vietnamese restaurant. Is it the best in Eat Street? No... but it would be a hit if located in the uptown/downtown or even the suburbs

Sometimes a restaurant is a low-key place that just quietly turns out a consistently high quality product at a super-reasonable price. Those in the know will point to Jasmine Deli as an example of such a restaurant.When Jasmine Deli opened, the now ubiquitous Bon Mi Sandwich as just about unknown in Minnesota. However, despite their increase in popularity, Jasmine Deli remains at the top of the list. The combination of a PERFECTLY crunchy outside/soft inside French bread with impeccably fresh vegetables plus choice of meet (I'm a fan of the roasted chicken), makes Jasmine Deli still the place to go for Bon Mi.But this is not a one-trick pony Vietnamese place. The Pho, noodle salads, spring rolls with peanut sauce and crispy egg rolls are equally high quality and super flavorable. Bonus points for a super-friendly family-run restaurant that is always welcoming and treats you like a long-lost friend.

Most amazing little family run restaurant in Minneapolis. DO NOT miss the sesame balls for dessert at $1 a piece. I love the vegan soup with fried tofu, and the spring rolls are to die for. The prices are so cheap with any vegan entree not being over $8. You can call ahead for pickup, or enjoy the small quaint restaurant. I've brought coworkers, friends and family and we all love it! Not to mention, the family that owns the place is great!

A local friend gave us recs to get banh mi from Jasmine Deli, and we gladly obliged. I was a little surprised that so many banh mi were already prepared and available on the counter, though I have seen that at other Vietnamese quick-food restaurants before.The price was definitely on point, under $5 per sandwich.However, I was bit bummed once I ate my mock duck sandwich. I've had much more filled, abundant banh mi before. Also, the meat seemed a bit skimpy for the volume of the sandwich. There were one or two hot peppers in the sandwich, which made for uneven mouth-on-fire moments. Lastly, while the flavors were there, the richness from a spread on the bread was missing.All around, I was not impressed, but I am glad I gave it a try.

We came here this past weekend to try it out.Weren't that hungry, so we only got the spring roll with pork and noddles within it and the pork bahn mi sandwich.Spring roll was ok, not the best I've had, not the worst. The bahn mi sandwich bread was delicious. It looked thick but it really isn't. The top is super crispy, the middle part of soft, perfection. (Bread was better than Lu's sandwich). The contents were great as well, but as I am a meat eater, I just wished there's more yummy pork stuffed into the sandwich. just wished there's an option to "add more meat for $1" or something like that.Service was good and prompt, I will definitely come back for the bahn mi sandwich again and will try something else on the menu the next time.

Hands down my favorite place for banh mi. The veggies are fresh, the meat is perfect, and the bread is perfectly crusty. Their egg rolls are delicious too, perfectly crispy.

My buddy and I hopped on the 18 down Nicollet down to 25th St. to a place I had seen on Yelp after visiting a few Vietnamese places on Eat Street.The establishment was empty when we walked in and it looks a lot larger on the outside. There are about 12 tables, but there were plenty on pre-made banh-mi sandwiches on top of the counter, so I am guessing it is pretty high on the take out menu for workers around here.The menu is pretty large with a bunch of options for pho, banh-mi, the noodle salads, and egg rolls.I ordered a combo pho bowl with egg noodles and my friend got the pork egg rolls and a banh-mi sandwich.We sipped waters and discussed life and about 8 minutes later our food came out. The bowl of soup looked huge and had some bean type sprouts on the side and some HOT! jalapeno pepper slices.I tore up the peppers into the bowl and dumped the additional veggies in as well. Everything I touched for about the next hour or so burned from the the pepper slices. I mean everything. Ahem!The broth was perfectly salty and I added some Sriracha sauce to it. This was some spicy soup after that. My eyes were watering half the time. But a good type of water. There was a big shrimp in there and a couple of hunks of fresh calamari, which had a wonderful rubbery texture. There was also some kind of pork ball I think, cut up in there and slices of pig as well. With the egg noodles, it was a solid bowl of pho. Not the best I have had, but it was pretty darn good. My only complaint was that the noodles were all stuck together, so it was a little tough to eat. #EdinaProblems.I tried a slice of my friends fried egg roll, and it was a solid 10. Super flaky and lots of protein. Good stuff. He also stated that his sandwich tasted healthy and flavorful.The service was awesome and our check was about $10 a piece after tip. Not too bad at all. Very fair.While we were waiting, the place filled up and patrons were swiping banh-mi off the deli counter. Seems like this is a popular place for a great banh-mi $4 take out sammy.Great lunch place to stop on a Tuesday afternoon during lunch. They got us in and out in about 35 minutes. Gotta love that!