Mini Restaurant

I hadn’t been to The Mini in a few years, used to love it, ate there on 8÷28÷15, what a disappointment. Nothing was good, not even mediocre– appetizers, entrees, even the Vietnamese iced coffee was terrible– weak, room temp.

The bbq chicken rolls with peanut sauce is everything I’ve been getting them for 10 plus years haha

We have eaten at the Mini for many years. Perhaps the cook had Saturday evening off? The food we seven were served was a huge disappointment. Once upon a time I had the most lyrical meal at the Mini but not this year. None of us will ever eat there again. The service was good, the restaurant has peeling paint, sticky menus and years of finger prints on the doors. The music was loud, annoying and inappropriate.

Very friendly staff, probably the closest good Vietnamese place to Detroit. I ordered a vermicelli dish that looked bigger than my stomach could handle but it was so good I ate every. last. bit.

Have not been there in years — have many fond memories — The wait staff always had good recommendations. The Congee soup was very memorable. The house made almond cookies were great. Hope to get back this week

YUM! I’ve been dining at the MINI for over 20 years. I start with the house soup which is close to a chicken noodle but also includes beef, pork & shrimp. I love the slice of lemon that floats on top. Then a pork roll and hoison sauce. If we are with a group, we’ll get the tofu fried balls. Anything dipped in hoison is wonderful. What for dinner? A couple favorites are: special pepper chicken, special pepper mushrooms, bbq chicken over noodles and the cold cabbage salad with chicken. I love this place and I’m lucky enough to have a husband who works in Canada and will get take out on his way home to the USA.

There’s an Identity Crisis for Mini restaurant…
Mini restaurant calls themselves a Vietnamese restaurant but they’re really just like a decent asian fusion place. It almost seems as though there’s more Chinese takeout items than authentic Vietnamese dishes. Mini is located right across Sir Cedric’s on University Ave. It’s a much bigger place on the inside than the outside will have you believe. They do have some interesting items but I couldn’t even tell it was a Vietnamese place.
Since I didn’t really know what to expect, I just went with the beef stew and rice. Also wanted to try a shredded pork roll and a shrimp roll. These rolls are summer rolls which are the Vietnamese versions of egg rolls, but they use rice paper instead of spring roll or egg roll wrapper, which is a clear tasteless wrap. The filling is typically filled with rice vermicelli and mint leaves with bean sprouts and the meats. The pork roll and the shrimp rolls were good and they had a nice amount of meat in them.
The beef stew and rice was good. The beef was tender, but there was a heavy amount of sauce. This is great for some people, but it was a bit much for me. The sauce was flavorful though and there was a good amount of meat and vegetables in the dish as well. The rice was great and the portion was pretty large.
Overall, food was pretty good and the service was nice. If you want real Vietnamese food, I would probably go elsewhere. But for pretty good food at decent prices, Mini isn’t terrible, but I wouldn’t say it’s the best place.

So I just moved to Detroit and of course I am craving some vietnamese cuisine… as I am vietnamese. I am rarely impressed by a vietnamese dish just because I’ve had such a plethora of vietnamese food in the states and on three trips to Vietnam. Mini provided that experience on top of a wonderful drink that is so simple and delicious… iced vietnamese coffee with kahlua! How can a mix be so simple and brilliant, nothing like caffeine and alcohol to start off dinner.
This was my first time in Canada since I was four, so I only ordered one dish for my gf and I. She is half-​vietnamese and is also very discerning when it comes to vietnamese food.
House special pepper scallop. A abundant amount of scallop lightly battered and fried till lightly golden, tossed in a spicy sauce with garlic and bell peppers. Served with jasmine rice and topped with spicy vietnamese dipping sauce.
It also comes in shrimp, chicken, and calamari form. The waitress said her favorite is the calamari so I am going to have to try that soon.

This was the best place and only place at the time, to get Vietnamese food in the Detroit area in the mid to late 80s. I am proud to have been one of the first to eat here when the owner came from Vietnam. My friends and I ate here at least twice a month, feeling compelled to keep him in business. It was a tiny place but with food we had never tasted before. I still remember the barbecue shrimp appetizer and «chicken fried noodle» dishes with sauces that I have never tasted anywhere since. I hope that now that it’s on Unilocal,others who have been recently will review it as well.