Green Papaya

This review is for Paradise (the new management) ~
I was soooooooooooo incredibly disappointed when Green Papaya sold to new management. My friends and family were coming here practically every other week (and we don’t live anywhere near PB) JUST to come and eat their Bo Luc Lac. It was the BOMB. Tender steak cubes sizzling as they bring it out to you. Damn I miss that dish.
We didn’t know they had changed management the last time we went in (which was a loooong time ago). But we were already there, and decided to order our usual dish anyways… and assumed it would be just as good, right? — WRONG. ugh.
Before: the dish was well marinated steak cubes, sizzling with onions. plain, simple, yummy.
After: the steak cubes were not marinated well, and came out sizzling with onions, bell peppers and a ton of starch, which created a thick sauce. hmmm… NOT the way Bo Luc Lac is supposed to be at all.
We never came back after that. =(
I agree with the others that the place is quite over-​priced for Vietnamese food. There are plenty of other places that serve more authentic Vietnamese food at realistic prices. Considering the location, I think this place is more or less trying to target the American customer who doesn’t know any better.

I’ve eaten here twice. They food is good but waaaaaaaay to overpriced. Give me my big bowl of cheap ass phở any day!

The menu isn’t quite standard for a Vietnamese restaurant but the food is good. The phở is solid and we were pleasantly surprised by the fried tofu. I’ve had better Vietnamese but I’ve had much worse. The lady that runs the place is extremely pleasant and even remembered us from a few months ago.

When this was Green Papaya, I ate there once a week. The phở was outstanding and the service was great. They had a grilled beef dish that was so good, but now under new management, the beef dish sucks.
Although they claim the food is the same under the new management, I think it’s not as good anymore. I won’t go back.

This place is under new management, and is now called Paradise Restaurant. I am 100% Vietnamese and found it to be pretty decent. It’s not your typical Convoy or Linda Vista Vietnamese place, but pretty good for PB. Much better than Phở Sao Bien down the street for Phở. If you’re looking for decent Vietnamese food in PB, stop in. The service is decent, but you can tell that they don’t speak much English… so based off of my experience in other Viet restuarants, it’s pretty comparable.
My Bf and his brother had the Ga Luc Lac (Chicken w/​garlic and butter sauce) and Bo Luc Lac (Beef variation). Both pretty good although the beef version is much more expensive.

Under new management and servers, now called Paradise. Menu is new, with lots of choices, and you can still order off of the old one.
Bun (Vietnamese Vermicelli Noodles) was decent. Food came out quick, but though it’s petty the service was mediocre. Dude spilled tea on the table as he was filling up my water. Left it there. Few minutes later I asked if he could clean it up, he apologized and did. Now it was streaky tea as the rag must have been soaking wet. Petty, yes, but it’s common sense, even hear on the beach. The service didn’t match the nice décor. The previous guy, who was awesome, wouldn’t have done this.
don’t base my one experienced on the place, I’ll surely return, with i’m a hoping better service…

I am 100% Vietnamese and have had to grow up with a grandma, who is very well known Vietnamese caterer, this place isn’t a traditional Vietnamese Phở Restaurant.
Their food is very overpriced for Vietnamese food. Normally a bowl of Phở should cost around 4 to 5 bucks here its 7 to 8 bucks, depending on what meat you get.
The reason why I do somewhat like this place is that they do have a lot of vegetarian options. Normally, the Vietnamese culture isn’t adapt to not eating meat.

I’ve been coming here ever since it opened and I was fortunate enough to have lived practically next door but I have2 major issues…
1 I no longer live in PB so in all likelihood I wont be going here unless I happen to be in PB.
2 My friend owns Phở Sao Bien, which is maybe a block away, on the same side of the street and I’d rather support his place.
Come to think of it, the first issue apllies to Phở Sao Bien also.

I have tried many Vietnamese restaurants in San Diego, and this one by far has the best décor.
Food-​wise, it was as good as other cheaper ones. (nothing special…) For noodle soup, they offered only large and extra large bowls. I ordered a large one and was disappointed at the size when I saw it… =(
The price was not bad. I think this place is maybe a dollar or two more expensive than others. But, it’s in PB…
I guess this is the place to go if you plan to take your date for Vietnamese food or if you are craving for Vietnamese noodle while in PB.

Why should you eat here when there’s a perfectly delightful Phở place just a block and a half to the east?
Because you feel like sitting in a cozy booth in an open, light drenched, atrial room, and you want more variety than your average Phở House usually offers. And of course, you can’t make it out of the confines of PB.
To make up for the lack of street side windows in the corner unit, light is provided from above though a faux turret that’s the landmark of the strip mall. The rent at this spot has to be high, so don’t expect prices to be as cheap as you’d find in a hole-​in-​the-​wall Phở.
Being well after the lunch hour when I was there, it seemed that only the busboys were left to watch the floor. So, as is expected at any eatery in PB, the service was inattentive and amateurish. If this place was on Convoy, I’d probably knock it down a star for the poor service, but when at the beach, you can’t be choosy.
So on to the food. The Egg Rolls were not undercooked. They’re long and slender, nearly Lumpia-​sized, as opposed to the short, chubby type I was imagining when other reviewers complained of rawness. I think this is a nice size to match the lettuce leaf wrap and I approve.
Another highlight was the Calamari Appetizer. Long, well-​tenderized strips of the squid steak were rolled in Panko crumbs, fried to a perfect crisp, and served with a spicy mayo for your dipping pleasure. I’d go back just for that, and I suspect I’ll have to alert Warren W. of this dish, if it’s not already on his list.
Everything else was average. Also the layout is average or below. Some of the seating could be better arranged to take advantage of the space below the skylight. This could make things dicey if it ever got crowded here.
So, if you’re in PB on a cloudy day or chilly evening before dark and want to eat someplace bright and not outside. This is a good choice. Better than the all-​you-​can-​eat place across the lot if you want your food prepared fresh.

I tried the food at Green Papaya yesterday. It is very good. The atmosphere is great. Very good effort from the owner to introduce Vietnamese cuisine to Pacific Beach area. I live in Ocean Beach.
Some reviews for this place i saw are 1 star with some bad comments in a very mean ways. Are you really that sick? JAKE T, VALARI N? IF there was any truth to your statements, you already made a complaint to the Health Department (or sue the owner already.) Or the health department already shut them down. Please don’t try to ruin a nice Vietmanese restaurant in San Diego. My neighbors loved the food and so do my friends.

This placed looked real nice inside and out too bad the food wasnt all that. It trys to be a little too americanized I guess thats what people like in this area. I found this spot on Unilocal because i was on vacation here in san diego last weekend. I needed my PHO fix but didnt know where to go and i decided to check out Unilocal to find me a spot near by. I read all the reviews and alot of people liked this place. So i had to try it out for myself. All my friends had some Phở or Phở Ga the chicken phở. I ordered the number 27 BUN the cold verimicclli noodles with 7 course beef in it. I thought it was pretty good. The flavor was there and the nuoc man (fish sauce) was also good. I tasted my buddies phở ga soup and it was not so good. I told them no bean sprouts in my dish but it still came out with bean sprouts. I hate bean spouts, if i wanted to taste nothing i just wont eat.
Food: Ok
Sevice: Ok (When your customers speak vietnamese to you dont be afraid to speak it also.) Sellout
Parking: Plenty
3 Stars for the Green papaya

GREEN PAPAYA ALMOST RUINED MY SAN DIEGO TRIP!
We came to San Diego for vacation so we’re not really familiar with the area. We found this spot on Unilocal and decided to go here because according to the reviews, it was a great place for phở. We were curious because the name was a little «fancy» for a phở spot. From all the reviews, we expected something great if not good.
Not true at all… The phở made me so sick, I couldn’t hold it in. I ended up yacking in a cockroach infested alley. And it wasn’t just me. A few of my friends also felt sick from their food.
The only thing that was good about the place is the cleanliness and décor. The service sucked. How one waiter manages to mess up 7 out of 8 orders is beyond me. The bowls are too small for the big price. I normally wouldn’t complain about the price if the phở was good, but it wasn’t worth one cent.
It wasn’t just the phở. The eggrolls were still raw and pink. The fish sauce was disgusting. The vegetables didn’t look fresh and the fried rice is nothing special even though it looked really good.
Anyone who has given this restaurant any more than 3 stars doesn’t know what good Vietnamese SHOULD taste like.
Even though I want so badly to give this place 0 stars, I give it 1 star for the interior because it was a nice looking place.

Pretty good place, though a bit Americanized for my tastes. That being said, I’m a purist and get offended by English menus, so I’m just weird. The banh xeo (curry crêpe) was one of the better ones I’ve had in San Diego, and the goi cuon (summer rolls) were quite good. Servers were nice, the interior is definitely a step above what you find elsewhere, for sure. A good choice…

I was referred to the Green Papaya by Kimmy N. whose review is below! My boyfriend and I tried it once and that was all it took, this place rocks! So close to our house too so we take the dog for walks for pick up.
Their chicken Phở is the best in town I’ve had.
Everything Kimmy says is true!

I randomly saw this place while driving on Garnet, and decided to come here with one other. This place received pretty good reviews on Unilocal,so I thought that this wasn’t too much of a gamble.
Note: I ate here at around 3 PM.
The service was decent – the workers were friendly, that’s a plus.
Now for the Phở, I noticed that it was about a dollar more than most other Phở places I’ve been to, and it had the sizes of large and extra large (basically a normal bowl and then a large version). The Phở overall was pretty BLAND, the broth was bland, the meat was bland, the limes were even cut in a bland fashion (small so I get less lime juice with each piece). For the most expensive Phở I’ve had in San Diego, I’d expect it to somehow be worth it, but sadly enough, it wasn’t.
The other person ordered a Pan-​Fried Vegetable something (it had chow-​fun) and she was disappointed with it. I had some of her tofu since she «finished» it quickly (didn’t want to eat any more of it) and it tasted basically like «nothing». Maybe it was the time, but it was like they kicked some random chef awake and told him to quickly make these meals and he forgot to use any of the SPICES.
Basically, I’m not quite sure why this place has gotten such nice reviews (maybe its nice for dinner?), but I would not ever come here again for lunch.

Wow, not bad! I seem to be now running into more new 4-​star places in PB than ever before! I usually cannot pass up having Phở when I walk into a Vietnamese restaurant, but the photos on the menu just looked to good! I got a rice noodle shrimp and veggie stir-​fry dish, rice paper spring rolls, and an iced green tea. Not too shabby! The more Phở places in PB the better, in my opinion! Will return and try the Phở for a review update…
Update 9÷30÷07: Yep, the Phở was delicious as well.

I have to say excellent food and pricing.
If you like Vietnamese food or like other types of Asian cuisine and want to try something new … go here and they’ll walk you through the menu. We eat here at least once per week since it opened. For the amount of food, the service quality and $ 20 for two people, you can’t beat it.
If you’re a big fan of Phở try the large #21 …

Hungry and not wanting to go too far, my bf and I decided to give the Green Papaya a try since it’s only a couple blocks away from our place. The only other time I’d tried phở before was in Boston and though I remember it wasn’t the best experience I couldn’t remember why.
Upon walking in, the place is nicely decorated, and I especially like the working water feature at the host station. The ceiling, though painted to look like a blue sky with clouds, is indeed cavernous and takes away from the rest of the place. We decided on take out and ordered the fried calamari and green papaya salad for appetizers, I got the seafood phở, and Michael got the well done steak phở for entrees., and a Thai iced tea.
We got home and assembled our phở dishes and I was excited to give it a try. The phở was decent, though I’ve decided phở isn’t really for me. It doesn’t quite hit the spot nor fill me up satisfyingly. I had the seafood phở and while the squid in it was good, I was very disappointed with the crab sticks — they seemed like they were not fresh at all and kind of rubbery. Rubbery is also a good way to describe the calamari appetizer. It was sticks of calamari as opposed to rings and they honestly were not that exciting… esp. when I found a hair accompanied with them. Yuck. I didn’t know what to expect with the green papaya salad because I’d never had it before, but it was pretty good — tasting crunchy and fresh topped with pork slices and shrimp.
Will probably give them another try, but not any time soon.

Fresh, clean, Vietnamese food.
16 kinds of Phở
Very good noodles, fresh seafood, crunchy veggies done right.
2 kinds of tea, Boba, and everything else you would expect to find at a good Vietnamese place.
Servers are very friendly and easily available for add-​ons, refills, change-​ups– all those things that happen between the food arriving and the bill.
Only one complaint. The atmosphere is nicely decorated and cozy LOOKING. Nice warm colors and lighting, but the room is cavernous. The walls and floor are cold and hard. (nicely painted concrete floor) It really wrecks the overall FEEL. It’s echo-​y and chilly.
Most of the people in here are wearing sandals and swimsuits under a hoodie, and more than a few were sitting on their feet to keep them from turning purple.
Portions are good. Prices are nice so try an appetizer. Healthy stuff.