Green Papaya

Reviews

• Tris W.

  star star star star star 27 May 2026

  My favourite restaurant in London, without any exception. The best Vietnamese food perhaps in the entire country. And service with a smile.
  Oh, and it's really really cheap too. Get a variety of dishes to share and you will not be disappointed. For me, their best dish is bahm tom, which I have not seen anywhere else in the capital (and when I ask for it, I get shrugs). It's basically shredded sweet potato surrounding some prawns (as though the potato is a nest), which is then deep-fried. It is the most exquisite thing I have tasted. I tend to pig out on these big time. Their rice is lovely and sticky, and their giant garlic and chilli prawns, OMG! Mark, who runs the gaff, is also a wonderful host.
  It's cheap, it's cheerful, and it's been running for years and years. Also a bit of a celebrity haunt. I once saw Chris Smith MP with his boyfriend Dorian there, while he was Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Do you need any more endorsement than that?

• Jack R.

  star star star star_border star_border 26 May 2026

  Went there after seeing great reviews and recommendations. The food came incredibly quickly, like faster than me and my girlfriend managed to use a toilet. Service was good, atmosphere was quite busy but nice. Food, it was ok, nothing special. First time trying Pho so maybe I don't know that well but my Asian girlfriend does know. Didn't try the Xi'an menu, so maybe that's where the proposition lies. Not great, not bad. A-OK.
  
  Oh, almost forgot. Bloody metal chopsticks! I'm tempted to decrease the score purely because of that. I'm not a great chopstick user but even my Asian girlfriend found eating with them quite tricky.

• Jennifer S.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 18 May 2026

  Bland, bland food. I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would rate the food so well. This is where I come to think "thank God I know good food as a NYer and it's not this." My friend and I went here last night based on previous positive reviews. We started with the summer rolls, which were fresh and decent, served with a small bowl of sauce. She ordered the red curry with chicken but was served the green curry instead. I got the stir fry pawns with tamarind sauce and sweet basil, although I was tempted by the baked salmon in banana leaf. Well.... maybe I should have gotten that instead. My friend said the chicken was too chewy and isn't a fan of green curry that much. Like my dish, she said the overall flavour was lacking. My dish was sweet with the tamarind... but that's about it. Overall flavourless.
  
  We got served straight away and it was relatively uncrowded at that point (6:20 pm.) It got more crowded as the night wore on.
  
  Won't be returning. I'll wait to return to NY for amazing Thai food.

• Kaitlin S.

  star star star star star 13 May 2026

  Love this place. The  Xi'an menu was a nice surprise, very happy to have good Chinese food within walking distance from my flat. Everything tastes home-made and not dissimilar to how I might tackle the same recipes at home (as opposed to an overly greasy/salty restaurant version).

• Paul L.

  star star star star star_border 8 May 2026

  This is our go to spot for Viet take out. Always go for this be chicken thighs and the slow cook pork belly. The pho is also consistently solid.