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Green Papaya
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
10 reviews for Green Papaya
10 reviews in English
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Review from Audrey L.
Toronto, ON
5/8/2012
I come here often during my layovers, more out of convenience (as well as my love for Thai food) than anything else. Most of the food is average, but the coconut rice & the Nuer Takai (crispy beef) are pretty good here. Don't expect great service; it's not bad, but it's not great either. It's sort of on the pricey end, as far as Thai food goes, definitely over $10 for your meal, even for the lunch menu.
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Review from Chris Y.
5/11/2011 1 photo
I gotta agree with "Archie J" ... this place is pretty awful.
The food is probably average, and the ambiance is not bad, but the service and the price are just *out-of-control bad*.
I ordered one beef dish, and the waitress asked if I wanted chicken or shrimp soup, so I thought it was included with the meal... it's NOT. $6.75 extra. It's just a tiny cup of soup. Not even good-tasting soup! I also thought that plain steamed rice was included, but that was a $3 charge per person, too. So my $12 plate ended up costing me $26 (kinda surprised they didn't charge me for the water, too... ::rolls eyes sarcastically::).
The food portions were small, and mediocre-tasting at best. Oh yeah, and if you are wondering why your food is taking so long, it's because they don't give the order to the kitchen until *after* they've cleared away the soup.
It's a clever business plan:
1. Set up a semi-upscale restaurant in a downtown location adjacent to a bunch of hotels.
2. Gouge all the tourists and business-people for all they're worth, combined with bad service.
3. Don't worry about repeat business, 'cause there'll be more tourists and business-folk to gouge every day!
Hopefully my Yelp review will help cancel out this shysty business plan.Listed in: Food, eh?!
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Review from Krsna V.
8/7/2008
This has become the standard against which I judge all Thai restaurants. There is nothing like it. I tells ya, nothing. Maybe in the mother land of Thailand, but not anywhere else.
This is what real sticky rice tastes like... the coconut rice is plain orgasmic. You can order anything from here and cannot go wrong.
It is right next to a gay bar. You can get your eat on and then go dance next door.Listed in: Ottawa - love at first sight
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Review from Doug C.
Toronto, ON
12/2/2009 1 photo
I'll preface this by making a couple points: I try my best to be fair here and other places while writing a review- I hate that most people are spring-loaded to give out either 1 star or 5. And, secondly- although I eat the curry and gyoza at Thai Express quite often- I'm not exactly a connoisseur of Thai food.
The food at Green Papaya (Queen loc) was basically good, but there were a few things about my experience which disappointed me.
First was the limited hours of operation. I'm an airline pilot and I don't always have the luxury of waiting around for things. I'm in a 24/7 business but I have to wait 'til 17:05 for you to answer your phone? Okay- once again- not their fault that my expectations don't match their service, they have a business to run and maybe that's the only way they can be profitable...
The second was the attitude. I forget which reviewer above made the comment, but I must have had the same waitress. She didn't crack a smile during my whole transaction (takeout) and was not overly pleasant on the phone. I'm spending $25 bucks in your establishment, not a lot- but would it kill you to be nice to me?
The last was price. And here- maybe this is more my fault because I should know better than to expect take-out prices from a sit-down restaurant, but I can get the same quality food from Thai Express in a foodcourt for half the price. But again- to be fair- they have a business to run and it's my fault that I didn't take the time to enjoy the beautiful restaurant that was included with my price.
Okay- so the food... Chicken Satay with peanut sauce... is this supposed to be so well-cooked? Like I said- I'm not a Thai expert, so I'm not sure what to expect but personally I would prefer it still tender and juicy. It was kinda tough and dry. I think I'll pass on this appetizer next time.
Green Chicken Curry- quite nice. I enjoyed this but at $13.50 + 1.95 for rice, was it twice as good as Thai Express's green curry?
No. Only marginally better. So maybe I'm just a food court guy, afterall and I should save a place like this for when I have a hot date. Decent-enough place but customer needs and service provided weren't a good fit. -
Review from Ryan R.
Ottawa, ON
12/3/2009
Overpriced to the extreme.
$14 for curry.... a dish which consists of curry paste, coconut milk, some meat and vegetables... a few dollars worth of ingredients. Rice is not included shockingly enough, forcing you to spend 2-3$ extra for a small bowl of rice.... a value of pennies.
Quality of food is decent... If a simple curry dish is worth $17 (typically a $6 dish)-this is the place for you. -
Review from Archie J.
5/4/2011
Expensive, SLOW service, small portions, mediocre food, surly waitresses, and "miscalculated" on bill.
I will try to just state the facts, but I will say this is the WORST dining experience I've ever had. Here's why:
1. Waited over an hour for food. got there at 6:15pm didn't eat until 7:30pm. Young waitress brought our soup out at 7pm or so, and then said she would tell the cook to start our food. But that was 45 minutes after we'd already ordered!?
2. Charged $6.75 each per tiny cup of Tom Kha. I asked for family style, and the young waitress just said "we only do single servings", but that also means they charge you per person which equaled to almost $42 per soup. Didn't say "individual servings" on menu. Btw, curry is 13-14$ a (very small) serving there.
3. Charged $18 for a bowl of rice (served 6 people). They justified it by dividing the sum into 6 individual checks at $3.00 a person.
4. The young waitress tried to steal from me! We all paid cash for our divided tabs. I gave her a $20 for a $7.63 check. She gave me change for a $10. I told her there must be some mistake, b/c I paid with a 20. She refused to admit that I paid with a 20. My friend next to me finally chimed in and said "I saw it, she paid with a $20". After some attitude, the waitress brought back correct change. Just a small point...I talked to her twice about the details of our check and she was totally rude about it. It's hard not to take the "miscalculation" personally.
Here on business from California, USA. We dined at the Queen Street location. -
Review from Tsou D.
8/11/2009
I'm traveling in Ottawa these days and I read other people's excellent reviews so I thought I'd try it out. Plus, it's really close to my hotel, so that was a bonus.
The shrimp spring rolls were pretty good, but at $5.50 for 2pcs, I thought it was a bit pricey. For the main course, I got the red chicken curry. That wasn't too bad either, but I had to pay $2.75 extra for coconut rice. Okay, I'm a bit harsh, but where I come from (California), that's considered expensive, even with the recent exchange rates. Okay, okay, it was pretty tasty and I might even come back if I'm staying downtown.
What reduced my star rating, though, was the younger waitress. I don't know what her deal was, but can you say a-ti-tude?? From the moment I walked in, there wasn't a greeting, but just a gesture to sit right by the cashier (empty restaurant less 3 parties). The sign said they closed at 10pm, but she was closing the kitchen by 9pm. Did I read wrong? And then, a big one less star for her finger tapping on the counter (passive aggressive??) I paid the check and left. -
Review from Amanda A.
Toronto, ON
6/8/2009
I completely agree with Krsna.. Green Papaya is amazing. I am not sure if I selected the right location because I don't remember anything about a gay bar.. But if there was a big park place next to it then it's probably the same.
Prior to coming here, I was told countless of times from other flight attendants to try it. Amongst flight attendants discussing Ottawa restaurants, all you hear is, "Green papaya this.. green papaya that.. go to green papaya.. i love green papaya.. yum papaya yum." I basically had no choice! I was peer pressured!
From the outside it just seems like this tiny little place, but when you get inside it's much, much bigger. We didn't have to wait around much, which is always nice because when I'm in Ottawa it's always a rushed date sort of deal. They had a little fountain when you are walking in, and the bathrooms were really clean and had a constant stink cleaner sprayer thinger!
For this date we picked something near my hotel because we weren't up for the parkplace search down at the market.. or the ten hour wait at every restaurant because everyone in Ottawa is just too lazy to cook. BAAAAM. The food was soo good, the rice was good, the appetizer was apparently the best (boyfriend said so).. They were these tiny little spring rolls with only a prawn inside them.
I had the green curry with chicken and bamboo shoots. I really loved the fact that they didn't go cheap on bamboo shoots or chicken like so many restaurants do. They had an abundance! Yummm! It was creamy and and spicey, and sweetish at the same time..
Total Thai bliss! -
Review from Sarah M.
Ottawa, ON
12/15/2009
The food is really good, but seriously overpriced. If you don't mind paying high prices then this is the Thai place for you!!
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Review from Ashley S.
Ottawa, ON
12/24/2009
Really good pad thai and spicy coconut milk soup. Not too much variety on the menu but all the basics. It's super busy during the week from 12-1 so try and get a reservation or avoid that time slot.
