Jasmine 26's long, foodful happy hour

Many, many happy hours

​Jasmine 26
8 E. 26th St., Minneapolis
612.870.3800

Hours and Details:
Daily, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.-close
$3 selected beers
$5 martinis and cocktails--cucumber martini, ginger fizz, margarita, pom bomb
1/2 off all wine and sake by the glass and bottle
$4.95 appetizers--tempura yams, chicken wings, chicken pot stickers, pork egg rolls, and more
$4.95 soups--pho, curry, wonton, and beef stew
$7.95 entrees--curry noodles, lemongrass noodle salad, Vietnamese noodle salad, sriracha fried rice, jasmine garden, grilled plate

There are hours and hours of happy at Jasmine 26, so the Hot Dish went to Eat Street to check it out.

Curry soup with yams

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Venue: The decor is swank, and everyone loves the adult bubble teas and contemporary Vietnamese food. At Jasmine 26, the happy hour spans multiple hours every day. We stopped in one afternoon and found it mostly empty, with a few pleasantly chatty folks at the bar. The happy hour runs through lunchtime and into the afternoon and features everything from cream cheese wontons to a Vietnamese pad Thai to the expected standard, pho. The entrees are $7.95 which is more than the usual happy hour offering, but certainly less than the dinner pricing.

Bless this happy hour

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Verdict: If you are smart about this happy hour, you can eat and drink well without breaking the bank. Enjoy a $3 beer (there are many choices--Bell's, Tsingtao, Sapporo, Stella, etc.) or 1/2-price glass of wine and then try one of the soups, which are plenty big for $4.95. Or try the $4.95 ginger fizz with house-made ginger ale and save a few bucks on the chicken pot stickers or mock duck spring rolls. Our only turnoff is the price of the entrees, which seem to just be lunch-sized dishes. However, the ambiance and tasty soups are too good--assuring that we'll be back for the Jasmine 26 happy hours another time.