- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Green Papaya Thai Vegetarian Cuisine - CLOSED
Categories: Restaurants Thai Restaurants Vegetarian Thai, Vegetarian [Edit]
2016 Shattuck AveBerkeley, CA 94704
Neighbourhood: Downtown Berkeley
(510) 845-1658
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
137 reviews for Green Papaya Thai Vegetarian Cuisine
Review Highlights
-
"I really enjoyed the pumpkin curry." In 20 reviews -
"I highly recommend the cashew nut tofu." In 5 reviews -
"Fried Corn -- my favorite appetizer." In 9 reviews
Loading...
- A Yelpy Insight: Vegetarians go nuts for this spot. See more places they like.
137 reviews in English
-
Review from Lee T.
Berkeley, CA
1/6/2012 1 photo
As of January, 2012, Green Papaya will no longer be vegetarian only. The sign in their window (see photos) reads:
"Dear Customers,
We apologize for the inconvenience, due to low volume of Vegan/Vegetarian consumers Green Papaya will not be able to stay open. After New Year of 2012 [2011 on sign, but I'm sure they mean 2012] we're renovating this place into a non-vegan restaurant. Although we're changing things up a bit here; we will still offer Vegetarians our selective menu and no worries our utilities such as pots, pans, and ingredients for Vegetarian will most definitely be separated from non-vegetarian. Hope to see you guys again once we re-open our new restaurant!!!
Sincerely, Green Papaya."
I found Green Papaya's food to be excellent, and assume it will remain so when they start selling a more "diverse" menu. -
Review from Pook M.
Berkeley, CA
Updated - 1/16/2012
Their "low volume of vegetarian customers" probably had something to do with word getting out that they repeatedly lied about their "vegetarian" food containing shrimp paste.
I hope they go out of business shortly after reopening. Dishonest business owners don't deserve ANY customers.2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
-
3/14/2011
Damn. It.
This used to be my favorite Thai place but now I can't be bothered to eat here because of… Read more »
-
-
Review from Shru S.
North Oakland, Oakland, CA
12/30/2011
Terrible service and mediocre food!
When I politely expressed my dissatisfaction about my order, the manager, started being extremely rude. I tried explaining my point and she pretended not to listen and started rolling her eyes. The other waiter who served me was also extremely unhelpful and inattentive.
Clearly, they don't understand the concept of customer service here. No wonder there was only one other customer there even though it was dinner time. I usually patronize vegetarian places but I discourage all Yelpers from eating here. -
Review from Lara W.
9/22/2011
Downtown Berkeley has a lot of restaurants that look boring but taste great. Green Papaya fits into the category of another place that looked like fast food from the outside, but is actually a legitimately yummy place.
You will immediately notice that the menu is huge so its not a bad idea to get a few things to split.
The fresh veggie rolls were great, with two types of roll and two types of sauce.
I really enjoyed the pumpkin curry. So much so that I ignored the second tofu vegetable dish (it was #22) and barely had room/time to eat it before running off to see a play.
I wouldn't call Green Papaya a destination, but when Downtown for a performance, or coming home from BART, this is a good dining option. -
Review from Kat W.
Berkeley, CA
9/8/2011
I decided to give this place a try for a late dinner after yoga tonight.
The lady at the counter was polite, but when she wrote my order on a ticket and tried to hand it to one of the chefs, I realized both of them were half asleep on some chairs beside the counter. She had to speak loudly to get their attention, and a female chef sulked over and took it. I tried to express my sympathy for how tired she was, but she just sort of glowered at me and went into the kitchen. It was an hour before closing time, by the way.
The fresh rolls were pretty good! Kinda heavy on the mushrooms, so more chewy than other spring rolls I have had before. Good peanut sauce.
But the real kicker was that the larb tofu salad (which was almost $8) was inedibly salty and strange-tasting. The tofu was very limp and gooey. I have had that dish at other thai restaurants and loved it - especially at Sa-Wa-Dee - and this was just altogether gross. SO much saltiness. Also it even looked really gross.
I won't be returning to Green Papaya... there's so many good thai restaurants in the area, so why bother? -
Review from Nithin R.
San Francisco, CA
11/2/2011
Had their lunch special which consisted of a generous portion of yellow curry and rice. It also included a salad and an appetizer. All for around $9. The food was good though a little salty and not spicy. My co-workers thought their dishes were on the sweet side.
I would come back. -
Review from Rinky N.
East Bay
Updated - 7/9/2011 6 photos
We probably eat out far too much but when you have dozens of great restaurants that you love--less than 5 miles away--it is hard to resist eating out.
We hadn't eaten at Green Papaya for a few months. The last time was in April when we got to meet one of my favorite favorite Yelpers, John S.
We are both from the San Gabriel Valley which already makes us kindred spirits. I've always loved his reviews and I think we both get each others sense of humor.
And yes he does look like his profile shot. I had him turn his head sideways. But I got to see his profile when he tossed his head back when he laughed, a trait I adore in people.
I also felt (see John S's review) that having a meal with him was indeed like eating with a long time friend.
We have countless great meals here and today was no exception.
We started off with the fried spring rolls. Yummy---but your talking to the Queen of Fried Foods.
I had the cashew nut tofu with brown rice--flavorful with a nice mix of tofu, zucchini, carrots, onions, peppers and cashews in a subtle brown sauce.
Huzby had the red curry combo with brown rice, salad and tofu satay.
The son had the yellow curry combo with the same side dishes.
Both combos came with broccoli,carrots, tomatoes, onions and peppers.
They both devoured their lunch specials---so I'd say it was a thumbs up from them.
Green Papays continues to be a favorite place to meet friends and have a great meal with friendly service in a comfy atmosphere.Listed in: My Favorite Vegetarian (and…, Restaurants that are so good, New Places in the East Bay to…, UPDATES GALORE!
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
-
6/4/2010
We have now worked our way to our 7th visit or more. We have come here with many different friends… Read more »
-
-
Review from Wish W.
Berkeley, CA
7/3/2011
NOT VEGAN, they put shrimp paste in their food.
Been here several times in the past and unfortunately did not know this. I hate it when restaurants try to profit off of Vegans/vegetarians and lie as to what is in the food.
Vegan = No animal products (no fish paste, no fish oil, no shrimp paste, no whey..etc.), no exceptions.
I will not be able to trust them again.
This is my first yelp review and I am sad that it is a negative one. I will write a positive one soon. -
Review from Corinne C.
Walnut Creek, CA
9/22/2011 3 Check-ins Here
Good lunch specials, particularly the combos! My office places a large lunch order here frequently. I've always found the staff to be really nice and helpful. Here's what I recommend:
* Lunch Specials: your choice of salad (house vs. cucumber; I like the cucumber salad!) + appetizer (fried roll vs tofu satay) + main dish, all for under $10.
* Fried rolls: AWESOME. Fresh crunchy veg and a sweet dipping sauce. The fact that they're vegetarian negates the unhealthyness of the deep-frying, right??
* Pumpkin Curry Tofu: SO good. It's a huge portion of fragrant red curry with chunks of veggies, pumpkin, and tofu. I always split it into two meals. This is my absolute favorite dish here.
* "green" noodles: my vegan coworker loves the green noodles here. It's not on their regular menu, but it's written on the chalkboard right inside the door.
Add'l Info/Tips:
* They have the option of organic tofu for an extra buck. Not many places offer that option, so it's cool they have it.
* I LOVE their house special brown rice. It's an extra $2, but it's so good. It's not the American "brown" rice, but more of a gorgeous purple rice mix. It's chewy, fragrant, slightly nutty, and goes perfectly with the aforementioned pumpkin curry.
* Someone in a previous review seemed put off by the "crusty-spongy" fried tofu in the curries. Perhaps that person isn't as familiar with asian-style tofu? That's my FAVORITE kind of tofu! I love the texture and it complements the thick curries. However, if that's not your thing (or you want to be super healthy), you can request fresh tofu instead of fried. -
Review from Sarah S.
Oakland, CA
2/7/2012
I am really disappointed that Green Papaya is now serving meat. They have lost myself and my husband as customers. We will not be eating there again.
-
Review from Jenna L.
Berkeley, CA
6/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
I've heard really great things about this place, but I never ventured in here until today... when I was desperately looking for somewhere to grab food near my class.
I ordered a Thai Tea and a Pad Kee Mao (spelling?) and both were `disappointing. Something about the Pad Kee Mao was off... not to the point where I couldn't eat the meal, but the flavor just didn't taste like the usual Pad Kee Mao. The Thai Tea was disgusting though... I had to force myself to finish drinking it throughout class.
I would never come back here again, although the lady that took my order was very nice and helpful. -
Review from John S.
San Francisco, CA
4/2/2011
Green Papaya is where I had the pleasure of finally meeting Rinky N. and her wonderful husband. These meetings-in-person can be awkward, but this one wasn't. It was like spending time with friends I hadn't seen in too long. All in all, a truly pleasant way to spend a rainy Friday evening. (My umbrella broke on the way home, so it's good that Mr. Rinky had recommended a particularly indestructible umbrella. I'll get on that eventually.)
The food is really good. Since that first try, I've been back a couple of times for lunch. Thai food is usually pretty vegetarian friendly, but it's really just a joy to come someplace where I can eat literally anything on the menu. And there's so much. I'll have to be adventurous for dinner in the future, but so far, what I've enjoyed most has been the pineapple tofu friend rice, larb tofu, and pad see ew (not surprising).
The lunch specials are really good deals, which isn't always the case in Downtown Berkeley. They're cheap, and they don't give you a lunch-special or takeout serving; everything is full size.
The service can be a little bit faltering, but the servers seem really nice, if a little bit shy and/or unsure of themselves.Listed in: Consider the Past
-
Review from T L.
American Canyon, CA
3/15/2011
First they said the restaurant was all vegan. Then they said the restaurant was vegetarian. What made it not vegan? The s-h-r-i-m-p p-a-s-t-e in the curry dishes. Well, last time I looked, shrimp (like fish and chicken) is not a vegetable. They seem to tell customers what we want to hear "it's all vegetarian" or "it's all vegan" or "we no longer serve the shrimp paste" or "we never use shrimp paste"...
So, at this point, I don't what to believe about the ingredients in Green Papaya dishes... only that if I truly want to eat a vegetarian or vegan dish, I would not go to GP. -
Review from David D.
Berkeley, CA
Updated - 4/26/2011
Oh, Green Papaya. How you've tumbled so. Gone are your days of tasty food and good service. In their place are lukewarm, oddly seasoned dishes (the Pad Thai is especially bad) and waiters whose attention is extremely difficult to attract.
The restaurant itself remains clean, and prices have been stable, but the bad food and worse service is no way to keep your customers. In fact, I have no desire to return here after recent sub-par experiences. My quest for good vegetarian Thai food begins anew!
P.S. I've heard rumors about fish oil/shrimp paste/whatever, but I haven't been able to substantiate the claims. That's a huge accusation that shouldn't be made lightly. Unfortunately the food is so bad these days that I won't bother coming back to find out, but if you visit, do ask to make sure.1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
4/8/2010
Green Papaya is a solid addition to the downtown Berkeley dining scene and a welcome new choice for… Read more »
-
-
Review from chrysta g.
Berkeley, CA
3/21/2011
WTF!
Why are you telling me that you are vegan and then you put shrimp in my food!!!!!!!
I've been a regular here but after I found out about their LIES, never again! -
Review from Brian W.
Oakland, CA
Updated - 3/15/2012
Now known as Thanu's Kitchen.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
2/28/2010
Delicious and different. Vegetarian takes on traditional dishes (tofu and/or gluten), plus things… Read more »
-
-
Review from Andrea K.
Oakland, CA
2/26/2011
SHRIMP IS NOT A VEGETABLE
Hello Green Papaya: I love you....but we have a little problem.
I love your food, I love the warm people who work at your restaurant...but I do NOT love that you continue to knowingly serve SHRIMP based curry paste in your presumably "Vegetarian Cuisine" only restaurant.
Several months ago, my friends learned that you had shrimp paste in your red and green curries. When we returned this past week, we asked your staff if you'd corrected the problem: no such luck. You're still serving shrimp in both red and yellow curries. What's going on here? Can we fix this little problem and make up? I'd love to remove this post and give you 5 stars for being an amazing VEGETARIAN restaurant. -
Review from Alex Y.
Davis, CA
7/21/2011
My friend and I were having a late lunch and stumbled upon Green Papaya. It was a casual Thai restaurant, and we were the only ones seated. This could have been a foreboding sign, but fortunately, it was not. The food was delicious and plentiful!.
We both ordered the lunch special, which had a number of options, including but not limited to yellow curry, red curry, green curry, and pad thai.
I got the yellow curry lunch special, and it came with a large (read: HUGE!) bowl of yellow curry with veggies, a small side salad, several pieces of fried tofu, peanut sauce, and a mound of rice -- a surfeit of food for lunch. Awesome! I can never say "No" to an excess of consumables. The curry was tasty, but not as spicy as I would have liked it to be. I asked a little bit of extra spice but could have done with a bit more; I'm glad they asked though! In the end, there was more curry than necessary for the amount of rice given, but the curry was so good that I just drank it like soup. $8 for a lunch special - not bad! -
Review from Tiffany L.
San Francisco, CA
6/22/2011
I'm a super meat lover but this place...is super worth it.
The food is super fragrant even without the use of meat!
And if you are a mushroom lover, I would definitely try everything under the mushroom section!
It is so good!
The price is relatively decent too. -
Review from Jenny Z.
2/14/2011
Since I recently became vegetarian, my friend and I decided to visit Green Papaya Thai to experience their creative offerings. I think one will be pleasantly surprised to see there are many options offered that cater to a range of Thai dishes: pad thai, noodle soup, curries, stir fries, salads and etc. Each item bursts with flavors, leaving you satiated.
We ordered the Pumpkin Curry and Tofu Eggplant Stir fry. Each entree was accompanied by rice. The portions were perfect in that we were both able to finish our plate without being left in a food coma'd state. Service was mediocre, although we did get our water refilled often. I would come here looking for good, vegetarian, thai comfort foods.
I would recommend trying Green Papaya, even if you are not vegetarian. -
Review from GAYA G.
Berkeley, CA
3/8/2011
Organic tofu, check! Awesome to note that you can replace the average tofu with organic tofu for a buck. Wish they offered organic veggies.
I ordered the rice noodle (organic) tofu soup, and other than being overly salty, which says a lot from a southeastern transplant like myself, it was quite good and full of greens.
The restaurant is in an accessible location near University and Shattuck, which is great. I also like that they offer a vegetable noodle alternative. Progressive. Next time, I will try this.
* Please remove the shrimp paste from your restaurant dishes, as you are using false advertising by saying you are vegetarian, meaning the absence of animal products. Thank you.Listed in: Restaurants
-
Review from Mercy D.
This place was alright. Good, friendly service and the food was pretty good. I'm not vegetarian or vegan so I can't attest to their authenticity to each concept...
1) I had the fresh spring rolls - awesome.
2) I also had the See ew - not bad. The vegetables were perfectly cooked - they had the right crispiness I really like (not overcooked!) and the noodles were also cooked very well! My only complaint about this dish was that it smelled like it was drenched in soy sauce! Thankfully, it didn't taste that way.
There was a bunch of stuff I wanted to try on their menu so I'll definitely be back to try them. -
Review from Jonathan L.
San Francisco, CA
4/9/2011
Finished my night class around 9pm and I was starving. On my way back to the BART, I saw this place and decided to try it out.
AMBIANCE: Lot of bright colors. It was late so it was very very quiet. BTW, I got my food to go so I can't really comment much about the ambiance.
FOOD: Ordered some cashew nut tofu with brown rice. It consisted of bell pepper, carrot, zucchini, cashews, onions, chili, mushrooms, and tofu. You'd think with so many items in the dish that things wouldn't taste that great but the overall flavor was nice. The ingredients individually tasted fine but didn't really balance each other as a whole.
PRICE: ~$10 for the food. An okay price considering I had to pay extra for the brown rice. Portion sizes are adequate.
SERVICE: I was the only customer so service was excellent. Even though I ordered to go, the waitress brought me a glass of water while I waited. Very thoughtful of her.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Not too shabby. While I'm not a vegetarian, I definitely don't mind a lack of meat in my meals. The food is pretty good but nothing over the top. -
Review from Adrienne G.
San Francisco, CA
11/2/2010
Looking for an early-ish meal to hold us over until the Gorillaz concert & Green Papaya Thai was open!
Friend is a meatosaurus & was pretty disappointed to find this place was veggie-only but she was willing to keep an open mind
Started w/ the Taro Cakes & they were very interesting w/ shredded taro, beans, egg & a wrap of some sort of soft yet sweet thingamabob that was gewd - thumbs up from us both here!
I opted for the Pumpkin Curry & was extremely pleased - pumpkin was tender & just a bit of heat from the curry - accompanied green beans & red peppers. Brown rice super nutty & a bit sticky which is exactly how I like it!
Friend opted for the Pad Thai w/ Tofu & she decided she didn't like tofu - so she ate the noodles which were really sticky & pretty dry. I had a bite of hers & while I wouldn't say it was bad, I've def had better Pad Thai
Glad I got the Pumpkin Curry! -
Review from Eunhye K.
Oakland, CA
12/28/2010
Usually I love this place but tonight the rudeness of the waitress was unbelievable. Luckily, the four other times I've been here were great or else I would Never! go back to this place.
I thought maybe we weren't understanding each other or something but she wasn't so frowny and cold to any other table. What was it about our party of two quiet, respectful, good tippin diners???
I'm sad I'll have to think twice before I come back... -
Review from Nuri K.
Berkeley, CA
10/17/2010
Green Papaya may not have a rolodex-sized menu like its neighbors Thai Noodle and Tuk Tuk Thai may have, but what it lacks in options it makes up in execution. The clean, consistently sublime flavors offer a surprising look into what a very distinct cuisine can be like without some of its signature ingredients.
Without the help of fish sauce, Green Papaya somehow still manages to conjure up the strong, assertive flavors of Southeast Asia. Many of the stir-fried items hone in the power of mushrooms for its distinct flavor. Their mushroom seasoning sauce, whatever it may contain, packs such an umami punch that you will most likely not miss the distinct flavor of fish sauce. Cashew nut tofu is probably my favorite dish here and is chock-full of sweet, salty mushroom flavor. The tofu is always cooked perfectly, crisp on the outside and spongy-firm on the inside.
The curries are pretty special, too. I haven't yet tried the pineapple, since I usually get it with prawns at other Thai places and I admit I haven't been brave enough to put my faith in Green Papaya's ability to work without a seafood base for this dish. But the pumpkin curry is aromatic, sweet, richly coconutty and packed with tender-crisp vegetables, giant chunks of kabocha and meaty pieces of tofu. Big tip: order your curry take-out because either the people at Green Papaya are incredibly generous altruists or they're not yet wise to the fact that if you fill up the to-go container to the top, you're giving your customer a butt-load of curry. Like, four meals' worth of delicious, sweet, complex pumpkin-y curry for about $8 and change.
Appetizers haven't proved as amazing as some of these entrees. The taro was a bit mealy and lacking in flavor, though I really enjoyed the bean curd skin it was fried in, as well as its dipping sauce.
Though Green Papaya may be lacking a little in options, the things they offer are by far some of my favorite Thai choices in Berkeley. I'm definitely jazzed to try the delivery (I think there's a $30 minimum?). I hope that more Berkeleyans will open themselves up to trying amazing flavors in sacrifice of some gristly cuts of meat/fish they would normally get elsewhere. -
Review from Kat F.
9/21/2010 1 Check-in Here
The Pumpkin Curry has everything that I love in it, and nothing that I hate. For once in a curry I don't have to specify no onions, no green peppers and no cilantro. It has none of those ugly accoutrements in it. What it DOES have is everything I heart in spades: huge chunks of pumpkin, other upscale squash, tofu, lightly steamed green beans and red peppers, and the pumpkin broth is nice and tasty (though it could stand to be much spicier). Fork up an extra $1 for brown rice (which is actually some sort of Bhutanese red rice, and it's the N-U-T-S). One platter of this for $9 is far too much food for one person/sitting, so you'll have leftovers.
Every time I come here I sit at the same table, with the same server (who I love!) and order the same thing. It's wonderfully consistent, though if anyone wants to join me next time to mix things up, I'm all ears. -
Review from Dustin B.
Berkeley, CA
2/20/2011
As a recent vegetarian convert, I think this ranks pretty highly on my experiences so far.
I'm not saying I'm a food expert, but I'm certain when food makes it's way quickly up or down. Therefore, I'm rating this as an inexperienced Thai food consumer and current vegetarian.
I ordered the Pad Thai. Pretty large entree for one person. Tofu and good noodles. I also tried the Pumpkin Curry everybody raves about. However, I'm not a huge curry fan. It was alright though. No food orgasm for me that night. Good place for dinner overall, I suppose.
Check it out. I'll be sure to go there once more. I think I have to go one more time in order to round out my feelings for this place. -
Review from AccioSoyMilk ..
Richland, MS
9/30/2010
Pretty good. One of the few places (it seems) that's open on a Sunday evening here in downtown Berkeley, I'm glad I tried it. I'd seen it around and meant to stop in, but this was the first time I could.
Decided to have the tofu salad, and it was pretty tasty. The lettuce, onions, and tomatoes were all fresh tasting. I thought the tofu was kinda skimpy, but they tasted pretty good with the generous amount of peanut sauce. I think I will definitely come back for more!
There's a good amount of seating, although it's really for couples or small groups. I imagine they could combine tables, but it's really aimed toward one or two dining companions at any given time it seems.
The service was friendly and polite. I will definitely return!Listed in: For the hungry Berkeley…
-
Review from Nina Y.
9/2/2010
I've had quite a few Thai places around Berkeley and this was amazing for being vegetarian. I rarely like vegetarian food because I like my protein, but I really didn't miss it here.
I ordered the See Eew Tofu. It has mushrooms in it which I personally don't like but it was pretty good. The various other vegetables included celery and broccoli. The noodles were delicious as well. The tofu was actually surprisingly really good. They fried off their tofu nicely and so it gave it great texture that I was not expecting.
The service was great. I know they probably were not expecting a girl like me walk in and sit there for a couple minutes before my friend showed up, but they took our orders quickly and got the food out pretty quickly. They also filled our waters before they were even empty which I like! The waiters were really nice and I loved it!
Prices were similar to how much I would be spending at a fast food Thai place like Thai Basil. I know that I paid a little more since I was served and what not so it wasn't bad in pricing.
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience and I feel like my friend did as well. We had some great conversation and good food. Would I go back? I would go back with some vegetarian friends if they wanted some good Thai food and great service, but not being vegetarian myself, I'll stick with my Thai food with meat. -
Review from Ariel M.
Berkeley, CA
12/24/2010
After eating here a second time, this is officially my favorite Thai place in Berkeley. I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm willing to forgo my chicken satay for food this good.
I've really only had a handful of dishes, but I have simple tastes and they've all been delicious.
I think their pumpkin curry is sublime-perfectly spiced, with a variety of vegetables and tofu. Green Papaya salad is very balanced, with the right textures and flavors. Ginger tofu was great, as was the appetizer I had (shitake and pumpkin dumplings?)
With a hot mug of thai tea, it's really an awesome meal. -
Review from Salsaboy S.
Oakland, CA
Updated - 7/3/2011
The pad thai sucks.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
8/6/2010
More appropriately, 3.5 stars.
I've eaten here a few times. This is not delicate, nuanced Thai;… Read more »
-
-
Review from Hana Y.
Davis, CA
1/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
My brother and I picked up some things to go.
It was absolutely delicious and the girl who took our order was very friendly and offered drinks while we waited. The food was DELICIOUS and was ready very quickly.
My brother had a spicy tofu salad. Not sure what it's called, but it was delicious. I had a lunch combination with pad thai. It was really yummy. A liiiiittle too sweet but overall, really great.
Can't wait to come back and try more things! -
Review from Bill H.
6/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
I dropped in here late one Saturday night for an after-movie dinner. The food was decent, but I didn't find myself loving either of our dishes (pumpkin tofu and eggplant tofu). Service was just okay, and the place was kind of dead (very dead, we were the only folks around). Maybe it's a popular lunch-time destination?
-
Review from Janani S.
Berkeley, CA
8/17/2010
Confession: I am not generally a fan of Thai food. I like it in principle - yummy creamy coconut, hot soups, lemongrass, noodles, ginger, sticky brown rice - but inevitably in restaurants I always end up feeling like everything is too oily or heavy to eat more than a few bites before that weighty pepto-bismol/food hangover feeling takes over. It's like the food is covered in oil for the sake of oil, not for the sake of flavor or need.
But Green Papaya has possibly changed the way I think about restaurant Thai food. So it's not exactly "light fare", but the food is just so delicious it's *worth* that over-full feeling. The first time I came here my friends and I had just accidentally hiked 10 miles (getting lost in the Berkeley hills) and we were ravenous and dying. We stumbled into this restaurant and ordered about 15 things off the menu. The staff were so sweet and accommodating and didn't blink an eye at our scary demands for mass quantities of food. And the food came quickly; freshly prepared, hot, superb, rich, vegetable-y and authentic Thai comfort food that brought us back to the living world.
The food was intelligently prepared, bursting with flavor and full of veggies (which I love - not just a few feeble broccoli florets wimming in a sea of oil and cream), with just the right amount of richness. First-timers have to try the pumpkin curry, which is out of this world. (huge chunks of fresh pumpkin with peppers, mushrooms, tofu if you want in a sweet/salty coconut/ginger/lemongrass base - this dish is the reason I could consider marrying Thai food if the guy situation doesn't work out.) Also, the fried corn cakes are sublime, and there is this dessert which involves black sesame in a rice-based dough served in a warming ginger broth - it's just amazing.
Not to mention, it's 100% vegetarian - no fish or meat-based garnishes to worry about for those with allergies or strict diets.
I've been back, even when not quite as ravenous - and it's still just as good. Highly, highly recommend. -
Review from Wilhelm Y.
San Francisco, CA
2/16/2010 2 photos
I'm a carnivore. I rarely have meals without some sort of meat, but since I went through an entire day without eating meat in celebration of the Chinese New Year I decided to take it one step further, and see if I could go two consecutive days without meat. By tradition many Chinese families eat a vegetarian dish called "jai" on New Year's day. Depending on the ingredients used the folklore behind the dish claims that wealth, prosperity and good health will follow. My family made so much jai on New Year's day that I had more of it for lunch the next day.
The Green Papaya Thai Vegetarian Cuisine restaurant opened up in downtown Berkeley in late December. I have walked by on many occasions, but that one word "vegetarian" in the restaurant's name scared me away each time. That is until I read a stellar review and saw delicious photos posted by my Yelp friend Miz Rinky A. That was just a few short weeks ago, and since I was in my favorite East Bay city for a volunteer project I figured why not tonight!
The staff inside the restaurant are very nice and the service is fast and efficient. They serve room temperature water here too, but I won't take points away for that assuming it's a cultural preference. Based simply by Miz Rinky's review I knew I wanted to try the Deep Fried Taro Cakes. I ordered that, and a noodle dish (don't judge!) being the Pad Thai Tofu. I also ordered a canned soda since I despise room temperature water.
The food arrived quickly starting with the Fried Taro Cakes appetizer (http://www.yelp.com/bi...). The taro root is mashed up and combined with whole red beans, tapioca flour and rice flour which gave it a slightly smooth, firm texture. The taro root mixture is then wrapped in sheets of bean curd and deep fried. On its own the taro mixture was a bit bland, but mixed with the sweet palm sugar sauce with ground peanuts the appetizer took on a nice flavor that aroused my taste buds. The sugar worked very well with the crispy bean curd and the ground peanuts gave it a nice toasty flavor.
Kudos to the kitchen for giving me some time to enjoy my appetizer before bringing me the noodle entrée. The Pad Thai Tofu (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) didn't appear to be as large a serving as it actually was. The portion of noodles in this dish was enough to feed two persons, but nobody has ever described me as a light eater. The vegetables (carrot flowers, broccoli, green onion) in this dish were all cooked firm and crispy. Fresh bean sprouts, slivered raw carrot and ground peanuts were served to the side. Big cubes of deep fried tofu served as the "meat" of the dish. The broccoli had a peculiar yellowish color to it that made me think it was overcooked, but it tasted fine. The noodles, mixed with a tangy sweet sauce, were firm and chewy. It took me awhile, but I managed to finish nearly everything on the table.
The food was very good and thanks to the experience that word "vegetarian" will no longer scare me away. Thank you, Green Papaya! I shall return.Listed in: My Asian Noodle Fix, Bear Tracks, Carnivore Practices…
-
Review from Daniel L.
2/2/2010 4 photos
The combination of excitable dishes and media attention about this new Thai vegetarian restaurant has resuscitated the street corner of Shattuck and University Ave. From the outside looking in, the vibrant avocado-colored interior, chocolate hardwood floor and heart shaped balloons by the entrance were alluring enough to draw anyone's interest. Upon entering, the noise level was unlike any of its predecessors as the new vibe was noticeable in transforming the dreaded feel that once was.
Thanks to my good friend Rinky A's review which informed me about their taro dishes, I stopped by for a quick dinner with the desire to see what they are all about. To their credit, bringing savory taro dishes to this part of the world was something refreshing to see, but such fascination was also meshed with unsettled skepticism since taro has been a major staple of my family's diet for generations.
My server told me that they only carry two taro dishes, which was not factual. So I ended up ordering their Fried Taro Cake ($5.95) which came with six small pieces of taro marinated in rice flour and tapioca flour, stuffed with red beans and soft peanuts and wrapped in crispy bean curd sheet deep fried to golden. This dish came with a sticky palm sugar dipping sauce sprinkled with grounded peanuts. The texture of the bean curd was unevenly fried, but the quality of taro was on point with a nice blend of flavors from red beans and soft peanuts. Very creative, I liked it.
My appetizer was followed by Taro Fried Rice ($9.95), which had jasmine rice lightly pan fried with tiny pieces of soft taro, shitake, cashew, basil, celery, wheat gluten, fried tofu, and one mysterious piece of undercooked string bean. I like the concept as all the ingredients tasted fresh, but I would like it better if the soggy rice had been wok fried to dry. I have very high expectations when it comes to fried rice and the pan fried version did not produce the ideal dry-fluffy-smoky texture to meet my personal preference.
The vertically shaped layout was not ideal for those eating by themselves as smaller tables were indiscreetly located smack in the middle of the restaurant, which made me the unnecessary spectacle amongst the large groups that were there. Service was spotty as they catered to the large groups until I repeated my request for a side dish of prik nam pla, which they didn't have. The soy sauce version they brought me with two bites of food remaining had more tang than spiciness, but it was enough to spark a good conversation with the servers followed by much improved service. Overall, there were hits and misses due to their lack of wok style execution and inconsistencies in service, but I would be interested in returning to try their Daikon Patties which has shredded taro, and other items such as fried sweet potatoes and a list of intriguing desserts. -
Review from Marisa R.
Berkeley, CA
7/18/2011 1 Check-in Here
I've only ever had the fried rice here, but it was awesome! You can tell they really care about the flavor of their vegetarian food, and everything tastes fresh and made-to-order. I will definitely be going back!
-
Review from Natalie S.
San Francisco, CA
1/17/2010
We drove by looking for good healthy food in Berkeley and I saw a sign that said Thai vegetarian food. We knew we had to stop in and check this place out!!
They have signs that indicate if you show your 24 or YMCA membership, you get 10% off. They had a lunch special even on the weekends and we ordered a papaya salad (tasty and delicious without any fish sauce), a basil tofu lunch special which came with cucumber salad and some fried tofu and a pineapple curry dish, which is inspired from southern thailand.
Service was great. I'd come more often if this were closer. -
Review from Sonia A.
Palo Alto, CA
3/23/2011
I came here with my friend and we shared two dishes. The first was a warm salad that had eggplant and tofu and other veggies- it was really good! The second dish was the red curry, which was also very tasty!
Reading other reviews here I learned that they put shrimp paste in their curries, which would definitely alter my view on the food since I am vegetarian. However, the rest of the food was really good.
Would I go back? Maybe. There are other Thai places I like so maybe when I get tired of those :P
