Jasmine Orchid

Located at the East bank of the U of M, it’s the most underrated Thai food around Minneapolis for sure. Having tried True Thai and Taste of Thailand, this place kicks ass. Alright alright, you might have to shell out a little more than your average Thai place, but then, the food is definitely more than a notch better than your average Thai place. To kill it, get the PHANANG CURRY with your choice of meat. It’s an absolute delight. It has the light blend of spices to make merry with your palate. Another extremely good thing about this place is that you can let them know about your spice preference on a scale of 1 to 5. All their curries have decent portions for atleast a meal an a half. The Tom Kha, which is a Thai soup, is also delicious. I’ve had a few kinds of fried rice over there and none of them has disappointed me. Though, I was left a little wanting on the bang-​for-​buck as far as the fried rice was concerned. The staff is extremely gentle and would love to help you with extra rice.

Two words: not delicious
Two more words: unfocussed menu
I have to admit that my reviews tend to be harsher when I find that the establishment lacks style, focus, or… style. This restaurant lacks all of those things. The menu has Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, and whatever Asian food you could think of on it. The thing is, if the food were delicious, I would have no problem with this. However, the food here is just SO mediocre if not bad.
The prices here are good and the location is great (right by school). Other than that, I think this place should seriously consider having some focus and have at least ONE speciality item on their menu to make itself stand out. Seeing restaurants like this makes me sad.

Fantastic yellow curry with seafood and, even better, the grilled eggplant with seafood.

Jasmine Orchid is my go-​to spot for lunch at the U of M. There are a lot of Vietnamese and Thai restaurants nearby, but I prefer Jasmine because of its relaxed atmosphere and reasonable prices. It’s great for sit down or take out. Service is fast so you can usually get in and out under an hour if you need to get back to the office or class. The menu offers a lot of familiar dishes but splits them up between Thai and Vietnamese.
They have the cheapest Bahn Mi’s around at $ 3.50 (compare that to nearly $ 6 at Bun Mi down the street) or go for a huge bowl of curry for around $ 10 – 12. Pro tip: they list their «Phở» as «Veggie Rice Noodle Soup». Same flavor as any of the phở places on Eat Street.
Food wise, everything tastes good and I like that they have healtier portions. I never leave feeling way too full the way I do after a Village Wok lunch special. But as I said, compared to the other options in the area, I prefer the atmosphere at Jasmine Orchid.

Nice place to grab both Thai and Vietnamese food by U of M.
I went here out of curiosity because my party and I were craving both Thai and Vietnamese food. I should have ordered a Banh Mi Sandwich, but I opted to get a plate of Pad See Ew (Thai stir fried noodles with sweet soy sauce and seafood) I also had the Spring Rolls as an appetizer. The spring rolls were very average. In my opinion, I found them a bit bare and a small portion – especially since they were cut in half. The peanut sauce was very good though. As an avid Spring Roll maker, I felt like I could make a comparable spring roll. My pad see eww was delicious and I especially liked the array of seafood in my dish (mussels, shrimp, squid, etc). The people in my group bought beef phở and didn’t think it was spectacular by any means. I found the broth too look a little too brown (even before adding hoisin) when i saw it. Overall, this is a good local find.

Bad service and overpriced.

Absolutely delicious! Just got a banh mi sandwich (mock duck) and some veggie egg rolls. Could not have asked for a more delicious cheap lunch that filled me up. It all cost about $ 7.50. The employees were kind too. Definitely coming back for their noodle dishes.

I go here all the time for lunch and dinner. I think it is one of the best cheap resturants to go to. I have not had a bad meal here.

yummy and cheap. veggie friendly. weird hours. the healthiest tasting vietnamese i have had in mpls. a lot of places it tastes fatty or oily.

Stopped in to get a bowl of phở after a long day at work. I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, but I wasn’t amazed either. The broth was extremely salty, to the point where it covered up other flavors (or the lack thereof, as the case may be). I usually get a the chicken/​pork/​seafood phở, and the soup stuffs were pretty typical, but the broth was just okay. It did it’s job that day, when I was feeling too lazy to drive somewhere to get soup, but if I was willing to, I can think of lots of places that serve better phở at a cheaper price.

I came to Jasmine Orchid to specifically try their banh mi. I have a serious obsession with them that stems from Bun Mi. I decided to expand my horizons and try the place down the street that boasts banh mi’s for $ 3. Bun Mi starts at $ 4.50 or so. So I tried to save a dollar and walked further down Washington.
Jasmine Orchid’s banh mi happens to be pretty good for $ 3 worth. The beef was juicy and delicious. I would’ve liked a little more pickled carrots & daikon though. That is the best part of a banh mi!
I came at an odd hour so the place was dead. I took a seat and watched the staff thoroughly cleaning the place. I love to see businesses keep up with their hygiene. It makes me feel more comfortable eating there.
All in all, Jasmine Orchid’s banh mi was decent. I just don’t think I can let go of my Fried Tofu Bun Mi!

I was on Oak & Washington and in need of a quick bite, and remembered I now had two bahn mi options in the neighborhood that I had never tried. Bun Me was actually further down the street (apparently I had walked right by them without noticing), so I dipped into Jasmine Orchid.
The interior was the least pleasant of the Jasmine empire (26, Deli & Orchid), and they were in the midst of their lunch special, so everyone was picking out piles of slop from their cafeteria style setup. Scoop of rice, scoop of something, maybe an egg roll, etc. I was worried I had stumbled into a generic hellhole chinese chain, and the negative reviews I had seen here seemed more plausible.
Grabbing a menu, though, I found they still offered the bahn mi (and still for only 3.50) and ordered the mock duck curry. I had to wait a few minutes, but it was worth it to skip the styrofoam plate lunch special. I watched an employee bring more entrée like orders to customer’s tables (on real dishes!) and those looked a lot more appetizing.
Finally, my sandwich arrived and I had to duck out the door. Settling in to a nice sunny table outside Macnamara, I dug in and confirmed it was still the same, great bahn mi. Perhaps even a little better than the last one I’d had at Jasmine Deli, the curry seemed to have a little more flavor and the slices of jalepeno really snapped.
Navigated carefully, Jasmine Orchid can do you right. I wouldn’t drive across town to go to it (like Jasmine 26), but if you’re near the U it can be worth a stop.

Jasmine Orchid is owned by the same people who run Jasmine Deli and Jasmine 26, two of the best Vietnamese restaurants in the Twin Cities. The food at Jasmine Orchid, in my opinion, was nearly identical to what you’d find at Jasmine Deli (and all at the same prices) — mock duck banh mi, broken rice plates, noodle soup and simple appetizers.
However, unlike the Deli, Jasmine Orchid also has a selection of Thai dishes, all of which are significantly more expensive than the Vietnamese dishes.
My friend and I split a herb-​basil spring roll with tofu ($ 4.50), which was spectacular. The basil was fresh and the thin, translucent rice wrapper allowed you tantalizing peeks inside the rolls, which were fill with golden-​friend tofu, carrots, cucumbers, bean sprouts and basil. Spring rolls are usually not my favorite, because they’re so easy to mess up in one way or another, but Jasmine Orchid pulled them off with grace and artistry.
We also shared a curry mock duck banh mi sandwich without butter ($ 3.50), which could have used more mock duck, but was otherwise tasty and the same quality of what you’d find at Jasmine Deli on Nicollet.
Finally, we split a mock duck and tofu noodle plate ($ 7.25) which was decent, but nothing special. It was served semi-​cold and lacked a good sauce to give it flavor (this was the only dish that deviated in quality from Jasmine Deli). Also, I thought they skimped on the tofu and mock duck they provided with the dish.
All in all, this is a good restaurant and I’m glad it’s in an area that’s otherwise lacking solid vegan options. Kudos to Jasmine Orchid for accepting credit cards, which is a point of difference between it and Jasmine Deli.

When I was staying in Minneapolis near the U of MN campus I was expecting some delish restaurants to be nearby, especially a great Thai place, but I was sorely disappointed with the Jasmine Orchid. It was WAY overpriced for the portion size, not to mention the poor quality. Anne M. is correct when she says the food is lukewarm. I always ordered to go, and thank goodness because the atmosphere was terrible — it was super small, cluttered with junk and the beverage station seemed dirty. Also, I ordered a mango tapioca drink and expected fresh purreed fruit and ice with large tapioca balls but instead got a powdered-​mix with tiny tapiocas — similar to tapioca that’s found in pudding. It was awful and did not taste like mango at ALL. I only ate here because it was convenient and every time I regretted it.

I love the Jasmine Deli and Jasmine 26 so it’s hard to believe that this place is owned by the same people. The lunch specials are awful. The food was only luke warm, not hot (can you say bacteria?). If you order the lunch special, you get your sucky food quickly, and if you order from the menu, the service is slow, but the food tends to be a little better. The fresh spring rolls are usually pretty good, but the last time I ordered them, it was all rice noodles and a half of a shrimp. The last time I had a good experience here, I ordered the papaya salad — it was fresh, light, and a delight to look at. I used to visit this place more often because it’s close to work, but I’ve stopped going here because of the slow service and the lousy food. It’s a shame really because they could be make a killing from the U of MN crowd.