Green Papaya Bistro

A Vietnamese restaurant run by Japanese people?
I came here many years ago for lunch with my co-​worker, and I could have swore… this place was run by Vietnamese people…
Well it’s now year 2016, and when the gf calls you & asks you if you want to join her for dinner… the correct answer to that would be — «YES, and I will be there in a Jiffy!»
Threw away the pork chop I was frying at home, and washed up the frying pan & dishes… Jumped into my car, & headed down straight to the Chinatown area.
The Green Papaya Bistro is located in a very small strip mall, which I think is called «Kingsgate Plaza Shopping center», the same place where the Jiffy Lube & Jollibee is located. If you’re not familiar with the little strip mall… it’s just across the street from Mayor Wright Housing.
Upon arriving in the evening, I noticed a few unsavory looking people hanging out by the front of the restaurant… I walked right past them, and went straight in and found the gf waiting patiently for me at a table.
Upon getting seated, we ordered a seafood phở & vegetarian garden roll to share.
What can I say about the seafood phở? It was a tad bit salty for my taste, but I guess it doesn’t help when you use the various dipping sauces.
The vegetarian garden roll was delicious tho! Nicely done, and it comes with a peanut dipping sauce.
The décor of the restaurant has seen better days… but they seem to do okay, as there were quite a few people eating here at night.
The parking lot is pretty big for the strip mall, but it is shared by a lot of other businesses.
Careful when coming at night to this strip mall… I must say there are some characters hanging out here, Lol!

nice fish. solid phở. not sure more to say about that then that. the people tre were reall ynice an i likes the phở and meat and such. the parking was nice and they had amples stialls when i went, but i dont know if it was worth the trip. there are other loactations out there. thanks gagain!

Such poor service. Takes awhile for the server to acknowledge you when you’re seated. It’s sad there’s only one server taking phone orders and seating customers while the owners are in the back cooking. Shouldn’t they hire more employees?

Here’s another shot at this review. Hopefully this goes through unlike my previous one.
This location is my favorite place to go to because its closer to home and its a quick stop for Vietnamese food when I’m craving phở or summer rolls. It is located in the plaza where Jolibee sits; at the corner of Liliha St and Dilingham Blvd.
PARKING:
Parking is ample here but you can easily find one. If you can’t find parking on the street level, there is the basement parking and you can go down from the ramp by jiffy lube side. Please do not leave any valuables or anything in your car that can be stolen and always lock your doors. The basement parking looks really sketchy (not joking).
AMBIANCE:
Green Papaya is located at the corner of the building by Top Barber salon. Its a small restaurant, definitely a mom and pop style and is ran by an elder couple. Very comfortable (and clean) inside and they let you sit anywhere. Nice lighting too. However the doors are hard to open and are very heavy so don’t trip lol.
FOOD:
It’s always a different experience with the food because sometimes the broth will be good and other times, it would be bland. I usually get the Combination Phở and you can choose three sizes for it. Their small is LITERALLY SMALL. like a kids size. Their medium size is what a small bowl usually look like at other phở places, and their large is Large.
Service:
Service is good. They’re very attentive and will constantly refill your water ask if you’re doing good.
I know there is also Ha Long available in Kalihi but since they’re always busy and have a very small establishment, I end up going here because its the closest Vietnamese restaurant I could think of and I get too impatient when I’m HANGRY. HAHA

Phở was good but the bun with egg rolls and grilled pork was below average typical Vietnamese restaurant – taste somewhat homemade which as in plain and tasteless.
Phở One right off Kapiolani is alot better and authentic if you are into Vietnamese.

Green Papaya has been around for a long time. Food and service never disappointing and never leaving you feeling for more. My experience this time was a bit frustrating with the poor parking situation. In the world nd the great service and food won me over.
Phở is always inviting, even on a hot summer day. Spring rolls call your name, very meaty and crunchy as hell.
All I have to say is watch out for that satay sauce. Very deceiving in spiciness. Yet satisfying in the flavors.
Enjoy!

Was one of my favorite phở places to go to way back, with the new owner I am not liking it that well. The service here sucks during dinner hours. I feel like you guys need employees. Been waiting for an hour and a half just to get my food.

Small size phở is aprox. 6″ that’s pretty small for 7 $.
We’d advise anyone who wouldn’t mind another $ 1 difference for a medium bowl.
Had better Phở but this is pretty decent for cravings. :)
Picture shown is a medium. The size of this bowl was much more satisfying. :D
Basically one person would spend about $ 10 for a filling or partial filling meal.
Lol My brother had a Spring roll dish and paid $ 10 for four pieces cut in half with palm size vermicelli noodles and cucumbers. He said they were pretty good.
Service was decent, and the cook was nice about upgrading our small into a medium.

I use to eat here years ago with old mgt, but now new owner made this the worst place every! Phở had no taste meat ball had old taste and girlfriend had bug in phở lady said ohh cause it’s summer… wtf kinda answer is that. I would give this place 0 stars if I could

Always great service. Both husband and wife owners ate really nice. They know what we want and it comes out fast. We love there food!

Dinner at Green Papaya Bistro was the absolute best meal I’ve had eating out in years. The food was fresh, tasty and cooked perfectly. We ordered the green papaya salad which was a generous portion topped with shrimp, sliced tomatoes, fresh Thai basil and the green papaya salad sauce. We also ordered the soft noodles with beef and vegetables and kalbi with shrimp with rice. The portions are generous and even though I skipped lunch, I couldn’t finish my soft noodles with beef. My husband normally finishes what I can’t eat but today he was satisfied with what he had already eaten.
The orders arrived quickly and the service was friendly and cordial. I think this restaurant may very well have become our new favorite place to eat. My husband was so happy he gave the owner and cook a $ 20 tip for a $ 35 dinner order. Totally worth every cent we spent there. We got there early, around 5:00 and there was only one person there so that is a good time to go if you want your food quickly. We are very happy with our experience at Green Papaya Bistro and highly recommend it for anyone who likes Vietnamese or Thai food.

This place was a solid 3 stars. The prices seem a bit high for the area, but it was a healthy choice amidst all the fast food spots. Parking was also ample, which is nice in that area bc the struggle is real!
Went in around 2pm on a Saturday afternoon, and we’re the only 2 in there. Ordered a rice noodle combo with bbq pork and spring rolls, a shrimp papaya salad, and 2 ice coffees– total was $ 29.06. Gave $ 30 cash and received no change until we asked for it. As if the extra change was assumed to be the tip (pet peeve).
Take out was ready in less than 10 minutes. The bbq pork was super thin but tasty. The spring rolls also very thin. Hubby said it was ok but probably wouldn’t order again.
The papaya salad was HUGE, but lacked flavor without the spicy dressing, even after the sweet dressing was added. I had some ingredients in my fridge I added to «soup up my salad»… Avocado, red onion, more tomatoes from my garden, and mint. The papaya salad only had basil, peanut, shrimp, carrot and tomato on top. Pretty plain for a $ 10 salad.
Probably won’t go out of my way to return but if it’s a choice of that or the Jack in the Box across the street (see my review on that debacle– 45 minutes for drive thru?!) I’m going to get some phở instead!

Decent Vietnamese place. Big menu. Parking is ok but neighborhood is bad. Service is so so. I would return.

Of all of the phở chains on island, this one always brings a smile to my taste buds. Their beef is always lean, cooks easily and quickly, their veggies are always plentiful and fresh. The spring rolls are the crunchier I’ve had anywhere in Honolulu.
We use this broth as the measuring stuck against all other phở restaurants.

When I’m craving for some traditional Vietnamese food especially phở bo this is where I go. I’ve been to a lot of restaurants where they carry phở particularly all around Chinatown and downtown area, and they all taste the same to me and I have the same problem with all of it which is basically their broths are watery or most of the time it tastes watery. But at green papaya their broth is sooooo flavorful that you don’t even have to go ham on the sauces. Which I think is the real reason why people like to put so much sauces into their phở is because they want to add flavor because the broth does not have enough flavor. So if you want some good phở I suggest you come here.
Their other dishes are pretty good as well their salads are very light and refreshing. Whenever I done in here of course I always get my combo phở and I sometimes like to also order their cold noodle dishes specifically their cold vermicelli with BBQ beef and spring rolls. The spring rolls here are the bomb!!! I love to order it with a side of peanut sauce.
However no fear for those vegetarians out there they also have a vegetarian menu so no worries.
I’ve been here for like over 10 years and I’ve always been satisfied and leave happy and full. The owners are great they’re kind and welcoming they like to individually talk to all their diners same to the waiters/​waitresses.
The establishment is very neat, clean, and organize. So it’s great for business meeting or if you just want some breakfast, lunch or brunch.
So if you’re craving for some authentic really good Vietnamese food or phở I recommend you try dining at green papaya.

I absolutely love this place. Good location. Amazing food
Their phở is so great. I suggest having phở with their amazing summer and/​or spring rolls to start off with. They have pork and shrimp summer rolls as options and comes with their super good peanut sauce!!! Too bad for those who are allergic to peanuts, but it’s to die for!
I’ll also get their phở with tripe, steak, meatballs, and tendon with all garnishing on top. Their workers are Vietnamese friendly and serves his/​her customers with a great greeting.
I’ll also recommend ordering their Thai tea, and for dessert; avocado shake!!! Love it their

this is hands down, the best place to eat phở. it is my absolute fav. this is a long overdue review. i used to come here at least once or twice a week for over a year, with my bf. i don’t think i could ever eat phở that often if it was anywhere else, lol.
i like it here mostly because i think the broth is delicious. and comparing to some other places, the noodles are also the best here. i also prefer here since they have more than one size bowl (sml, med, lrg etc). recently i’ve only been trying phở places with only one size! and i can never finish it. i usually get the rare steak phở and he would get the combination.
also, usually get the spring rolls which are also so yummy! and to finish it off, i get a strawberry smoothie. (tbh i would rather go here for a smoothie than somewhere like jamba: p)

My absolute favorite place to get phở
The broth is so flavorful and noodles are always perfect
Usually I don’t like take out phở but this place is my only exception other places take out usually taste like fast food half a** phở to me but this place is consistently perfect
My only negative comment would be about the hours they aren’t open long enough and on Sundays which sometimes I need it the most if u know what I mean but that isn’t enough for me to knock this place their phở is too good and their workers are to nice so 5 stars in my book

When I was new to the islands co-​workers brought us here because it was their thing and if we wanted to get along at work — it would have to become our thing too. OK– let’s try something on the menu — their treat. I’m game.
Low and behold– even this seasoned traveler and Peace Corps Volunteer learned something new. Green Papaya– yes — you can eat Green Papaya. I did not know that. In the country where I was in the Peace Corps — they grew Green Papaya but no one ever would put it in a cooking dish– it is more seen as kids food when it is ripe only. I wish I knew about these dishes when I was serving in the PC as it would be very nutritious compared to many of the islanders diet– that ate very little greens.
Back on track to review. Fresh food. Green Papaya is definitely different if you have never had it and the right amount of vinegar and spice to add to the flavor of any meat — chicken is always a plus. It all seems fresh and looks great.
Sometimes if you are not used to the food as I was then you may think of it as grass with sides of meat– but really it has to be enjoyed and realize that most of the world does not order a hunk of meat to eat with a few sides.
Service is friendly not over the top and wait time is reasonable.
Again– I have visited many times and the food always is consistent and cooked well to taste.

Terrible phở broth in my honest opinion. I ordered a small chicken phở and it was obviously a beef phở broth but with thick slices of tough chicken breast strewn on top. The broth was like drinking anise soup with lots of MSG and no depth of flavor (or even flavor for that matter) whatsoever.
My husband had the lemongrass chicken and grilled pork chop rice which he said was good. The service, in their defense, was very good. Pretty disappointing experience.