Green Papaya
(503) 248-2112
1135 SW Morrison St
Portland,
OR
97205
45.5205
-122.6834
Neighborhoods: Downtown, Neighbors West - Northwest
Reviews & Ratings for Green Papaya
39 reviews
What users are saying:
Showing 1-10 of 39 reviews
When a happy hour review begins with ' FROM WHAT I CAN REMEBER I LOVED IT' - you must have.
by meadowmeal
September 20, 2007
..and that's really how this goes. It was on a whim that we decided to go to the Green Papaya. Someone had told someone at one point to check it out and on a not so distant Friday night we did. The food was incredible.. and luckily when you're only paying $2.00 per dish you can really try whatever you want - twice. The Absolut Thai is also insanely delicious, which is pleasantly deceiving as I was sober.. and than I wasn't. The wait staff was helpful - when you wanted them to be -they didn't lurk around. The DJ was playing great songs.. if you think rap and hip hop is great -regardless of era- which I do. Now it is true that when we went it wasn't packed. In fact there weren't many people there at all... I think only two other tables... but it didn't appear as a negative. It gave you the feeling you had really discovered something amazing, that no one else had.
I'm going again tonight. If i think it's horrible this time.. I'll say so but I really doubt it.
i wish i read everyone elses reviews of this place before i went there
by pdxGOhybrid2
May 26, 2008
I went to the green papaya a few weeks ago during a saturday night. there was hardly anyone there when the dj was playing music, and i completly understand why. firstoff the drinks and the bartender werent that great. I'd rather go to a place where I welcome and the barteneder doesnt have an attitude. food wasnt very good either, but the one that takes the cake is the so called "entertainment" the (dj) some of the worst selections of music, seems like he doesnt know what he is doing, and maybe he is too overweight to get a real job,doesnt seem to have any higher skills to be a good dj at a decent club, my advice to manangement is save money dont pay the dj, just turn on xm radio, a lot better music for the money. dance floor is a joke.
- Pros: downtown portland
- Cons: dj, food, bartender, dance floor
Yucko!
by pearlfoodie
May 23, 2008
My first visit to this restaurant was 2 years ago and the service and food quality has gone steeply downhill ever since. The service is non-existent. A 15-20 minute wait for a bowl of pho and only 2 customers in the restaurant. The food is DISGUSTING! Tastless/bland, dried-out salad rolls, slimy lettuce and bean sprouts. INEDIBLE. DO NOT EAT HERE and DO NOT ORDER THEIR FOOD FOR DELIVERY.
Worst place in portland to go to!
by bonapetite55
May 21, 2008
Wow i have never been so disgusted with food from a restaurant. I really feel like this food should be illegal because it is soo terrible. the food was cold and blande, the service was very rude, and i saw the cook and he looked very dirty. i would think this would be an authentic vietnamese restaurant, but how is that possible when the cook is not viet nor is he clean. i think the health departmenNT needs to check this place out. DONT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY AT THIS PLACE!
- Pros: NO PROS
- Cons: FOOD SERVICE COOK CLEANLINESS
Horrible for the 2nd time.
by asianjo3
May 20, 2008
So I didn't let it get to me after the first experience dining in, but the 2nd one took the cake. The waiter (I can't even call him a real server because the guy needs to get a new job) wasn't attentive, took 15 mins after we sat down to receive water and we had ordered pretty much the worst bloody mary's in our lives. It was really killing me how the restaurant was poorly managed. I had brought in 4 of my friends with and we all agreed on all of these key points. To top things off, our food was pretty much microwaved pho. the taste, texture, everything. The Motherland and I are pretty disappointed. For a $8-9 dollar bowl of pho.. please. I'd rather go to the Vietnamese food carts.
- Pros: What Pros? Besides ambience
- Cons: Well... Everything.
Don't waste your time or money
by unsolved
April 20, 2008
I should have known that it wouldn't be great based on the fact that after walking by it about 30 times during my one week visit to Portland, I never once saw a soul in the joint. Very sub-par food. I tried one of the chef's specials that was almost inedible. The chicken tasted like it had been sitting around for 4 days and microwaved. Sauces were nothing special. My spring roll would not hold together at all. It was like a 4 year old American kid tried their hand and spring roll folding. Veggies were also hard and cooked improperly. Honestly, I don't think I've had worse Asian food in my entire life and I eat more Asian food than I could tell you. Stay away!
Only plus was that the hostess/waitress was very friendly and sweet.
- Pros: Friendly and pretty
- Cons: Horrible Food
great hangout on weekend nights
by sincereboy
March 27, 2008
Came in for the $2 happy hour, didn't realize they had dj music on fri and sat nights. Can't believe how much fun we had even though there weren't many people in there. Don't understand why because it was good music and good people. Supposedly they just put in a new dance floor and lights which makes the place look completely different. It's a lot different than the other meat market clubs and I didn't have to worry about someone trying to attack me because I was looking at someone the wrong way. The food was awesome, can't believe how much you can get for $2. The bartender working there definitely had some flare and suggested some interested drinks that my gf and I have never had before. My girl definitely like the ecstasy drinks (big recommendation for your gf to have before heading home to my fellow guys out there) :). No cover charge either big plus.
- Pros: good drinks and great atmosphere
- Cons: beer too cold
New food on menu big plus
by raptopcamaro
March 27, 2008
I have been going here since they have gone through three different owners/management. Everytime they've change management the transition doesn't seem to go so smooth but the food quality and service has stayed the same. Recently, they have added new specials which are absolutely pleasant to the palette like the shrimp noodle soup definitely one to try. They've been in dire need of some "foodlift". Looks like they are under new management again as everyone looks like a new face, but I have noticed a big improvement in quality customer service. I tried a new drink called sinful saigon coffee, don't know what's in it but it was killer. I would definitely recommend giving this place a shot.
green papaya CUSTOMER BEAWARE BAD SERVICE
by Foodlover12345
March 22, 2008
I used to love this place! I was a regular lunch customer because i work at one of the office buildings near by. As of late they have tried to change things around, which really has no effect, its a cheap impersonation of a remodel. First off, it took me 5 min to be acknowledged when i walked in 2nd it took 5 more min to be seated when there was no one else in the building! the waiter was rude and did not give me good service at all. i ordered the papaya salad which was one of my favorites, f.y.i before the papaya salads were served with a mountain of shredded papaya and was well worth the money, the papaya salad i received the other day looked like a handful of grass, i felt ripped off! i told the waiter and he was rude and just said" thats the way it was always made." I have ate that salad about 30 times before and i am an expert on the menu and service, i knew enough to know that he could not have been working at the green papaya any more than a couple of weeks, so why challange me? the customer is supposed to always be right!. It is really hard for me to leave a bad tip, in the case i left NO TIP, it was not deserved. bottom line i will never come back and i recommend you try to eat somewhere else as well.
- Pros: parking not! papaya salad... oh wait
- Cons: EVERYTHiNG BAD SERVICE BAD FOOD
what happened here?
by eatout4ever
February 26, 2008
We used to come here frequently for happy hour - the apps were good, as were the specialty cocktails. We hadn't been in awhile and went recently - it seems there has been a major change in kitchen or management - maybe both. The bartender/server (different from the one we used to see all the time) took forever to take wait on us, even though there was only one other table. I ordered the same specialty cocktail I've had many times and it wasn't nearly as good as the one made by the previous bartender. Also, while some of the apps were as good as they always have been (coconut shrimp, garlic eggplant), others were way below par from several previous visits. The salad rolls used to have tofu, carrot, basil leaf (although I think that sometimes they used mint instead) and rice noodles. This time they were STUFFED with rice noodles and the eensiest sliver of tofu and nothing else! They even served it to us without the peanut sauce (which is delicious) and we had to ask for it. The salmon was also not up to par, smelling and tasting fishy and the sauce was not as flavorful as it used to be. We also had one person in our group who couldn't drink, but the total drinks ordered for the table ended up being more than one per person and WAY more than their $3 minimum per person, yet the person who couldn't drink was still charged $3 for water. Bad customer relations - what difference does it make to them if, of the six drinks ordered by a four-top, all six are consumed by only three of the people instead of all four? That was the icing on the cake that convinced us that Green Papaya is no longer a preferred happy hour spot for us. We won't be back.
- Pros: peanut sauce, coconut shrimp, garlic eggplant
- Cons: new-ish lotto machines, food quality has gone downhill, drink minimum rules
Bad Service and Managers
by kalea2005
December 31, 2007
My husband and I decided to try this place after checking out the reviews and were so disapointed. I am not sure where to begin. We arrived in with a good feeling, thought the ceiling was cool, warm tones on the wall and seats it was Friday night about 6:30 ish and there were 2 other tables and we asked for a booth they sat us in the corner booth with the coat-rack squeezed between the booth and the wall. The ambiance of quiet and low key was lost when we could see the dark bar, atm and lottery machines. We ordered drinks & salad rolls after 5 minutes of looking at the menu. The salad rolls came out (from another lady) and she set them done and quickly left they had given us regular salad rolls not vegetarian like requested so we flagged down our waitress to get vegetarian ones. There was a sliver of tofu, carrot and cucumber, 1 mint leaf and a TON of noodles served with a tasty peanut sauce. The waitress brought my wine and filled us in that they are looking for sweet & sour for the long island, she then took our order. About 10 minutes later she said her bartender went to grab some from the store as we already figured as it was akward when the he was getting his jacket from next to us. We made a suggestion from a lady who picked up our plate (20 minutes later) that the salad rolls could use more veggies and tofu and less noodles. She told us that is how they are, how they have always been and customers like them. After this we felt a little uncomfortable and still have not received the Long Island or more water and getting hungry. So we decided 5 minutes later to pay for the wine and the salad rolls then go elsewhere. The waitress felt bad and charged us for the wine only. We never got our dinner. They have some neat ideas for decor but random things that seem to be thrown in (i.e. ATM in corner of restauraunt) Would not recommend from our experience.
