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Mimi Garden

4.6 (93 reviews)
Open 11:30 am - 9:00 pm
Updated 1 month ago

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MIMI GARDEN ATMOSPHERE

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Outdoor seating
Dogs allowed

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Recommended Reviews - Mimi Garden

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Salt and Pepper Tofu
Emily J.

What a great find! Had lunch here and we were only 1 of 2 parties dining here on a weekday, which I cannot understand. Everything we ate was so good! I'm guessing Mimi Garden is fairly new and word must not be out yet. We ordered xiu long bao, pan fried dumpling, spicy wontons, cucumbers, salt and pepper tofu and sesame balls. The food rivaled Din Tai Fung! My favorite fish was probably the tofu. So crispy! We had a ton leftover, which made the price tag worth it. Service was great too. Mimi Garden is a hidden gem, and I highly recommend checking it out!

Lorelie C.

We were happy to be recommended this place especially around the holidays when most are closed. The menu sure does remind us of another place with the popular Xiao Long Bao. Just smaller & no queue to get a table! We love the cucumber salad in the other similar place so we ordered two of those. However, it is not quite the same. This is a little bland, and even just the look is not as appetizing. But still good enough. We also had the Kurobuta Pork Soup Xiao Long Bao and Kurobuta Pork Spicy Wontons. They are again delicious but not quite as good. I believe they both come in 8 pieces each. The Bbq Pork Buns(char Siu Bao) which come in three are good as well. And I also enjoyed their chicken fried rice. There were not a lot of people then. However, it was still hard to find and grab the waiter's attention when we wanted to add more to our order. We finally did & it was another waiter. He took the additional order but we never got it. The place is nice, clean and bright. The food is good enough if you don't have want to deal with the long queue at the other place. But the price is almost the same, if not the same.

Kevin D.

They couldn't serve us. They said the hot water needs to be 100 degrees it was only 98 degrees so they couldn't serve due to health codes. Whether that's the case or not, food was still coming out to seated guests. Probably not a good idea to serve food to the others there if factual. Very odd and kinda sketchy so we had to leave. No worries we won't return.

Menu cover
Rob C.

Think of Din Tai Fung but no lines. Not as good but good enough. They have the xiao ling nap with soupy inside, spicy wontons, and a host of other dumplings including desert. Chicken fried rice was good too! Service not as attentive but decent enough as this place is small. Decent alternative to the other famous place and would recommend as such

Pork and black truffle XLB. I definitely recommend.

Went here for my moms birthday and everything was PERFECT! Oliver and John were our servers, they did an amazing job. Compliments to the kitchen! We got a handful of different items and nothing disappointed!

Brittany V.

This is my second time coming here with my boyfriend! We discovered this cozy spot near my workplace, and it has been amazing! The food is as good as Din Tai Fung & Paradise Dynasty, but the price is fair and affordable! We love the Xiao Long Bao, Black Pepper Beef Tenderloin Fried Rice, Hot & Sour Soup, Spicy Shrimp & Pork Wontons, Garlic String Beans, and BBQ Pork Buns! Service is quick and servers are always friendly and attentive! Will definitely be coming again!

Fish and shrimp dumplings
Denise H.

Plenty of free parking, service is friendly, and food rivals that of Din Tai Fung. My mother in law is Taiwanese and she is a mean cook. For her to say she likes the food here is like winning a michelin star. There are only chinese guys in the back cooking... so it's authentic! We have tried so many dishes here and everything is delicious! I particularly love the sauteed string beans, spicy wontons, XLB, sweet and sour chicken, and the fried rice. Basically, anything you order here is going to be fantastic. This is such a great new gem in the neighborhood and I hope everyone gives them a try and keeps coming back! We need Mimi Garden to stay!! Mimi Garden offers perks if you sign up for their insider email. And I just have to give a shout out to Mimi Garden because they celebrate holidays!! They had a huge skeleton dog outside the restaurant for Halloween and buckets of candy for everyone. Who doesn't love a staff that gets into the holidays?! Mimi Garden had a cute halloween themed kids meal that our daughter loved & devoured. They hosted a costume contest and we were shocked that our daughter won $50!! It's small things like this that really set them apart. Mimi Garden is here to build community in Newport and I give them 5 stars all around!!

Linda L.

Excited to have Mimi Garden open in Newport on Balboa peninsula! The pretty and cozy restaurant is elegantly designed, comfortable and clean, serving comfort Northern Chinese cuisine from juicy dumplings to noodles. The menu is similar to Din Tai Fung but you don't need to go wait at Southcoast Plaza. This is a good place if you crave Chinese food and can enjoy nice weather on Balboa. Due to soft opening, every table received a bamboo basket of steamed pork dumplings - they were steaming hot and juicy. We also tried the rice cakes w mushrooms and shrimps (chewy like mochi and excellent in flavor), glutinous rice wrapped in leaves, cold seaweed salad appetizer, spicy Dan Dan noodles (beware this has peanuts and is super spicy w numbing kick). The service was excellent as they even made another order of noodles for us without the spice. We will be back! Thank you!

Beef noodle soup
Yonnie C.

Came by here today for lunch and was pleasantly surprised by the quick service and delicious food. Ordered the braised beef noodle soup for $16.95 and due to the grand opening, I received an order of pork soup dumplings on the house! Woohoo. Both items were tasty. Noodles were chewy and broth was just the right flavors. Only had enough stomach space to eat one xiao long bao, but it was nicely done. Menu is smaller than that of din tai fung, but the interior is modern and quaint. Service staff were friendly and quick to bring my food out. No complaints on opening day, glad they got their kinks worked out before more people come! I'll be sure to recommend to others!

Pork Soup Dumplings
Michelle F.

Delicious dinner of Dim Sum with green tea and cold beer. The service was impressive and everyone was so kind. Very relaxing meal and we got a table where we could watch a chef making the truffle dumplings from a clear window.

Scott M.

New spot on Balboa. Open kitchen concept. Friendly and polite service, although a bit slow. Food was consistently salty over several different menu items, but overall was a positive experience, in a nicely decorated space. Kung Pao chicken & cucumber salad were our favorites. The broccoli & beef tasted fine but were similarly soft making it hard to differentiate which was which. Be warned that entrees do NOT come with rice and must be ordered as a side.

9/2025 Soft Opening and they're kicking it out of the park~ a wonderful first visit for me
Jen S.

Lengthy- but worth noting for anyone curious enough to spend the time to read this. I ramble, but their service is just that impressive. First- I am so sorry to your staff that my family is so picky and can never seem to just order directly from a menu- But your restaurant is so exceptional and have given us the most impressive customer service I think I/we may have ever experience when it caters to our order modifications. Your staff and your restaurant are the FIRST restaurant experience I've had in a very long while, where service truly goes above and beyond the standard customer service. Just absolutely blown away at a recent experience we just had this evening and worth a note. I've been enjoying trying more of their menu selections. They have a delicious array of my family's familiar and comforting dimsum items and entrees. On a fix right now for the black pepper udon noodles, almost 3-5 times per week now. With our picky and detailed instructions on the order, the udon dish has been especially well enjoyed lately And with how much of a hassle it must be to hear our picky list of instructions, I always make sure cash gratuity is $10-$15 extra, on top of the card transaction's gratuity. I've worked in the restaurant service industry and it's not easy to make sure diners' requests are heeded as it can get confusing sometimes to check with an already busy kitchen. I imagine it may be a hassle too, of having customers like my family who make these requests and modifications "extra sauce, no vegetables, extra noodles (for added cost of course) boil the meat and please keep on the side and please no seasoning on the meat- you get the idea- and yes it is embarrassing. (I give the meat to my pets as a treat throughout the week) - So tonight, the server missed my saying no vegetables. So I called to mention the mistake and Vace's first and immediate help was to have the correct order delivered to me - WOW- just- WOW of course not necessary, but amazed that they'd even offered!... Having further spoken to Vace,, the situation is remedied and I am beyond content with returning for a remake of our dinner item at a later time. So while it makes me self conscious now to have to request this on the next visit, I sincerely appreciate their offering to remake it. So thank you again, really , to your staff, your kitchen, for making this delicious udon dish and catering to my family's whim on these requests. We sincerely appreciate that the chefs make these modifications for us and I hope I am compensating enough for this request each time. I can not express enough how much we appreciate it. ... WOW!... Your Staff, Vace, you're ALL BEYOND EXCEPTIONAL AND you give us a truly one-of-a-kind dining experience! Thank you so much.

Tamrin O.

Great service, adorable little spot with indoor and outdoor seating. Food came quickly and everything tasted amazing. So excited to have a new local spot to go to. I got the cucumbers, juicy pork dumplings, spicy pork dumplings, and pork bun. Can't wait to go back and try new things.

Chinese broccoli.

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13 days ago

Excellent service from Jerry, dumplings are made in house and cooked to order. Overall amazing dining experience.

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6 months ago

Great service and good food! Came here after whale watching and it hit the spot. Good portions!

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3 months ago

This place is so good. Food is amazing. Service excellent. Big fan. Chairs comfortable.

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This place is always busy, and they don't take reservations -- but if you have a large party, you…read morecan call in advance and they will put you on a wait-list ... This helped us get a table much faster than we would have than if we had just shown up and waited. We ordered the large family meal, and there were 12 of us. We also ordered the Newport Lobster, fish fillet with black bean sauce, and an extra shrimp fried rice. Overall, I think the food was good, and the prices are reasonable (except the lobster, which was pricey, as you might expect from anything listed as "market price"). Most of us in the group thought the fish fillet with black bean sauce was the best. I thought it was very good, but not necessarily fantastic. (There are other Chinese restaurants that do it a little better.) The sauce was very good, but the fish wasn't quite as tender as it can be. Definitely a solid 4 stars. Other dishes were good. I think the scallop soup could have been great for some people, but my wife and I both hate cilantro, and there was a ton of cilantro. The pork was also good, and my friends thought the clams were also really good. I found the fried rice a bit bland. And for both the lobster and the crab, they could have made them a little easier to eat by cracking the shells a bit more for us. I hate fighting with my food ... And there was a fair amount of fighting on these 2 dishes. The lobster cost almost much as all the other dishes combined. It certainly looked amazing. And the sauce was very good. But I found most of it a bit overcooked. Maybe it was our fault for asking for a big one. Maybe a smaller lobster might have been cooked a little less. The great sauce (along with the fighting with the shell) might have covered up the fact that the meat was actually a bit tough and rubbery. I don't think I'd order this again. The service was very friendly and pretty fast. And, again, other than the lobster, the pieces were pretty reasonable.

Tan Cang Newport Seafood has been around a few decades. We came here a few times many years ago…read morewhen there was a travel agency next-door. Our family joked around and would say let's go to the travel agency restaurant when we had a craving for Chinese/Vietnamese type of food. I recall the food back then was extra tasty and memorable, leaving me wanting to return again and again. However, my recent lunch outing with my girlfriends changed my mind. Our servers were attentive and friendly. I think it helped that my friend was a familiar customer. We came on a Monday afternoon around 11:30 and It was early enough where parking was still available. We ordered the classic dishes, including salt and pepper fried pork chopsand salt and pepper fried shrimp, but the taste this time around left a lot to be desired. These two dishes lacked the crunchiness and flavors that these fried entrees are supposed to showcase. We found the pork chops to be dry and tough, as if it was prepared a while ago and sitting out for some time before it made its way to our table. The shrimp was not impressive either. At least the shaking beef or bo luc lac was good. The beef chunks were tender, and the flavors were on point. Bonus points for the broth that is complimentary during lunch. Also the complimentary orange slices were a nice touch to end our meal. We'd still return for the lobster and noodle when the occasion comes up.

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