We have been going to the Mini Restaurant for almost 4 years. Pre-covid we made the trip from Birmingham on a regular basis. During and post-COVID we have not made the trip to Windsor due to concerns about the timing of border crossing checks. We went last Saturday. It was an easy drive and were second in line at both the Canadian and US border checks. While the crowd was less than before, the food was as good as remembered. We ordered our all time favorite spring rolls over rice noodles - it's so good. We also ordered special pepper shrimp and shrimp pan fried vermicelli. All very good. And my wife would like to add the Vietnamese Coffee is also an item to included. Hope you are able to enjoy. read more

The mini has been around for a very long time and it is FANTASTIC!! Best wonton soup, Best shrimp rolls! I travel almost an hour from Amherstburg for pick up. I moved here from the Niagara region over 30 years ago and have introduced The Mini to many of my family who all request it when they come to visit. My favourite restaurant! read more

I've eaten here off and on over the 25 years or so and tonight I had a delicious dinner with my friend. So glad we went here! This place is legit. It's Asian Fusion, Vietnamese and Southern Cantonese. Everything was fresh and flavorful! I had fresh roil and a really good Bun (bbq pork/added shrimp) and a fresh roll. My friend had Deep Fried Crispy Noodles with chicken (Birds Nest) and it was fantastic! (I'm going to get this the next time). My friend really liked it and I took a few bites as well. Service is fast and friendly so don't let the casual appearance throw you off. read more

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Have been back two more times and again very good. Got the Winograd's chicken, it was a nice mix of fresh veggies and some ginger type chicken. Very gingery FYI, but this contributes to a very fresh and zesty flavour. I have also gotten their house special pho. Had all kinds of meat including tendon- first time trying this but was probably the best part! If you are going to eat right away, ask for the pho all together so it has time to tenderize and cook in the broth (takeout) read more

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The pho is so flat. It felt like water with salt and pepper. I asked for the pho special and there was no tendons or anything else. The after taste was like cough syrup slim. Avoid this restaurant at any cost for pho. We spent $52 and we barely touched our pho. The floors were sticky. We barely touched our pho and left within a few minutes. If I could give this restaurant zero rating I would. Avoid!!! read more

This place has great fresh tasting food. We have been many times over the years, and I am glad it is still around. I like the BBQ Squid dish with noodles, but everything looks great--soups, rice dishes, bun, etc. Good variety, with veggie and vegan choices too. Note--you don't go here for the ambience (service is fine but basic), but the food is top-notch, and value is good too. read more

I had the roti and it was the best I have ever had. The veggies were all fresh and it was more food than I could eat. I am looking forward to coming back. This is the type of place you come to for the food not the atmosphere. But I assure you the food will not disappoint. However I have absolutely no complaints about the service, cleanliness, or atmosphere. I consider this place a hidden gem! read more

Dined at "The Mini" yesterday for the first time. Apparently this place is an institution for Windsor-ites but I'd never heard of it. The location is very nondescript on University Ave between downtown and the University. Not the nicest looking area.. Walked inside and grabbed the window seat which is raised up like on a stage. Weird but eventually I got used to it and enjoyed gazing at the combination of students, cops, homeless and cigarette pack litterers (party store across the street) that passed by during our pleasant dining experience. Inside was cute but not somewhere you would go for a fine dining experience. For an Asian restaurant it's pretty nice. I ordered the BBQ tofu and mixed vegetables over fried noodles. She ordered the spring rolls over salad with rice noodles and sweet and sour sauce. Literal naming of dishes is helpful for the uninitiated. We also enjoyed a half litre of the house red which was the perfect amount ($10). Food was very good, fresh tasting a bit different since I'm not super familiar with Vietnamese cuisine. The tofu was AMAZING. Really good flavour. Her spring roll dish was awesome, perfectly fried with a hint if vinegar to the spring rolls. The portions were more than enough and we got out of there with a $34 bill and that included the deep fried banana dessert. The place was dead on a Thursday night. C'mon fellow Yelpers grab yo passport and show this place some love! It's great. read more

Mini Restaurant - BBQ Tofu Mixed Vegetables over Fried Noodles. - Vietnamese Near Me - Windsor, Ontario

Probably one of the best. Service is stellar. Decor is lacking a bit. But the congee is wonderful and the noodle dishes are great. There is an appetizer we have every time we head across the river. It's the vermicelli with spring rolls . Wonderful. read more

Friends bring us food and we love it. Was there in person and sat down. Put it this way. It could have used some febreeze.

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. read more

For starters, if you're looking for some hip and flashy place for dinner this isn't for you. In my experience, the best ethnic food restaurants always look like holes in the wall and The Mini def. fits that description. That being said, it's probably one of the best restaurants Windsor has to offer. Tom Yum Soup? You will die. It's that good. I find the menu a little confusing: is it Vietnamese, is it Thai, is it fusion? Who cares. The food portions are huge and ridiculously flavourful. I crave this place whenever I'm out of the city for extended periods of time. Do yourself a favour and explore this hidden gem. read more

I love this restaurant. They have the best dishes, everything is fresh, the presentation is great as is the service. While the décor is plain the place is clean and the servings are enough to share. Great noodle dishes. Best Vietnamese food I have had in Windsor. read more

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 Yelp, others who have been recently will review it as well. read more

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. read more

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

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. read more

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. read more

I've been taking my friends to the Mini for years. Great flavors, fresh ingredients. Really a Windsor Gem.

after seeing all the 5 star reviews, i thought that this place would be amazing. maybe it was my fault for having such high expectations...but the food was cold. the vermicelli bowls were overloaded with lettuce and contained only a handful of noodles. the pork and shrimp were all grounded up, everything seemed processed and bland. the fried wontons are okay, something new and different but a little too big to bite. almost too large that it hurts to bite. also the rice rolls...the pork that's inside is a weird, cold, gray piece that was honestly so awful. this was the worst part of my order. all in all, i wouldn't recommend ordering from this place. maybe it's better as an in house restaurant..i don't know. it's just not something that i would suggest to others. read more

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. read more

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 read more