Green Papaya - Mariemont — Restaurant in Columbia Township

It really doesn't look like much from the outside or on the inside. That might be the only reason I didn't give 5 stars, and I'll reserve that 5th star for future visits. I don't even live here anymore, but will definitely come back to this restaurant!

My sister read some good reviews specifically on the items we chose to order. It's a big menu and we didn't know where to start, really. They boast of Thai, Sushi, and Asian cuisine. We each ordered a bowl of Coconut Soup (with chicken). The menu says it's made with coconut milk, mushrooms, galanga and lime juice. CRAZY delicious!

We each ordered a "Special Roll" so we could share. Each would technically be an appetizer and we weren't sure if it would fill us up, but it did. The Green Papaya Roll is Shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, mango, cream cheese wrapped with green soy bean paper. Topped with spicy mayo, crab stick and tempura flakes (from their menu description). From my picture, my sister had already dove in so it's the same size as the other roll. Ridiculously good! The Lover Roll is Soft shell crab tempura, cucumber, cream cheese wrapped with pink soy bean paper with spicy mayo, crab sticks and smelt roe. That was my favorite and the Green Roll was my sister's favorite. But if my stomach were twice as big, I'd eat them both! So fresh, but the flavors were amazing. Can't wait to bring my husband back.

Our waitress was very helpful and friendly. It wasn't crowed at at all. Easy parking. No problem getting in and out in time to see our movie. ...

Living right down the street, my wife and I have wanted to try Green Papaya for a while now. My wife has never had Thai food, so I wanted to make sure her first experience was with a restaurant with high integrity and good local reviews. Since this spot also happens to be just a few blocks down the road, we decided to head to Green Papaya.

Maybe it was the high expectations, but I didn't come away impressed with my entree. The service, cleanliness, and our appetizer were all top notch, but the Pineapple Fried Rice, which I had been looking forward to all day, just came up short.

Every prior experience I have had with Thai food has been highlighted by the flavors in the dish, along with the spiciness. When asked how spicy I'd like the entree to come, I was asked if I wanted it 'Mild' or 'Hot'. Fearing a meltdown in my mouth, I opted for Mild. This turned out to really mean 'not spicy at all'. A few more options, maybe a 1-10 scale, would benefit Green Papaya's customers a great deal.

Besides the heat problem, the dish just wasn't very tasty. Don't get me wrong, the meat, rice, and veggies were all nicely cooked, but the flavor was severely lacking. My wife had the same reaction - it tasted like something we could have made at home, not using any of our herbs or spices.

The table behind us got sushi, which looked amazing, and when we come back we'll probably opt for that side of the menu. Overall, my experience at Green Papaya was positive, if a little lacking in...

Very strange experience. We were seated immediately. Party of 2, my wife & me. It took about 5-10 minutes for someone to come take our order. We ordered drinks, appetizer, and entrees at the same time. When our app came out we weren't given plates to go with. OK, nbd. We made due and split our mixed tempura. When the entree came out my wife was immediately repulsed by her entree. Not because it was wrong, but because she did not realize what she was ordering. It was not appetizing to her at all. She didn't want to send it back, because it wasn't their error. I would have like to have eaten a few bites of my Pad Thai but I didn't have any chop sticks. We sat at our table with our untouched entrees in front of us for about 15 minutes. No one checked on us or noticed we weren't eating. I eventually flagged down a waitress, and asked for 2 boxes and the check. Only then did the gentleman who took our order and brought us drinks come and ask if everything was OK. At that point, it wasn't, because I felt totally neglected. I thought it was so weird that we sat there so long without even touching our food and no one could be bothered to even notice. The gentleman was taking care of the table across the aisle from us, but never turned back to look at us. We boxed, paid, and left. I did get some chopsticks...