Thai Papaya Garden

 

15

78

Celeste A.

Bedford, TX

I'm admittedly not a big fan of Thai food. Friends who have done misisonary work in Thailand say while this place isn't as good as food they've had in Thailand for DFW it's pretty dang good. One friend raved over the boba (?) tea.. I think that stuff is just plain weird but they thought it was great so I guess if you like weird chewy root bits in your tea, it rocks.

Food... Eggrolls get 5 stars. Salad with cute carrots cut into stars and nice dressing 4 stars for being chintzy on the serving. I had the "Angry Dish" on hot level 3 and it was quite tasty. Others were pleased with curry dishes, stir fries and Pad Thai. Even though there are cheesy pink curtains and a fountain covered completely with random statuary that reminds you of a garden clearance center, I'd totally go back. Our service was excellent and food was good.

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2

73

Diane T.

Keller, TX

Thai food is my favorite and  I can't believe how many decent Thai restaurants I've found since moving here.  Thai Papaya Garden goes beyond decent, though.  The food we had here was excellent.  While most Thai restaurants I've been to around this area have had a very limited menu, this place has a great selection of soups, salads, stir-fries, curries, noodles, etc.  They also offer their spicy dishes on a 1-5 scale for hotness unlike some others that don't bother asking (BTW, if you're not familiar with Thai food, you're really missing out - it's not all hot, or doesn't have to be anyway).  Last night hubby and I shared the Green Papaya Salad, Green Curry with Pork, and Lad Na Noodles.  Everything was great, but the noodles really did it for me.  Yummy!
We did have just a little bit of trouble finding this place, though.  It is right where it shows it to be on the map, but it's in a strip mall facing away from the 183.  If you take the 183 east to Industrial and turn right (south) on Industrial and then turn right immediately into the shopping center, you'll see Thai Papaya Garden on your right.  It may save you from making the frontage road loop more than once.

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Elite '08

32

185

karin b.

Grapevine, TX

Driving back and forth from Arlington, I've passed this restaurant a k-jillion times, but not being a huge fan of Asian foods, I've given it only a thought of "it must be good cause it's been there a long time".  The number of high star Yelp reviews confirm my thought.

Once in a blue moon, I venture out of my comfort zone and seeing the review from Diane on Sunday, I checked out the menu and decided to give it a try.   I coerced a Chinese food loving buddy to come along, assuring her that she could opt for her personal heat level preference and she could.  Since neither of us are aficionados, I'll naively describe our meals and let others manage comparisons......

Our on-going service was spectacular, beginning with our "primary" waitress, Rita.  She overheard us discussing having never tried Thai, came over and just chatted with us, aiding in our choices, advising what was "boring", and what was more elaborate and varied.  Exceptional service continued through to the end.  

We began with the pork egg rolls (smaller, lighter and flakier than the Chinese variety), but found them bland. Fortunately, 1 veggie egg roll is included with each entree.  It was much more flavorful.

I had the Pad Ruammit - mixed veggie stir fry, chicken added. Served in a bowl with shaved chicken, it reminded me of a colorful vegetable soup in a very light, thin brown broth.  The bowl of rice was on the side.  I chose the 3-pepper heat level, which was fine, but next time I'll probably go with the 2 pepper, just to let the other flavors shine a little more.  This was served with soup of my choice - mushroom chicken Tom Kha; very light and very freshly coconut-y.  Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my meal, however, for my personal liking, I wanted additional saltiness.  But alas!, at the risk of embarrassing myself as would someone requesting ketchup at a 5-star steak house, I decided not to ask for soy or the such.  Next time, maybe I'll sneak in a packet of salt for the just-in-case!

My friend had the Chicken Pralam and here is where the one star deduction came in.  It was served very ornately with baby corn, baby carrots and whole flowerlets of broccoli colorfully arranged around the mound of shredded chicken and crispy noodles.  Unfortunately, the carrots and broccoli were out-of-the-bag-raw - and I mean raw in the Webster's sense of the word, raw.  The chili peanut sauce had distinctive flavors of each, but was very thick.  For my her taste, a little went a long way, but unfortunately, there was a lot of it.  

Based on a review from Guide Live, we closed with the fried bananas in a tempura style batter. These were very bland, with very little banana flavor or sweetness save for the honey sauce served along side.

Even at 2:00 on a Sunday afternoon, a good number of tables were filled, with more diners arriving as we were leaving.  This speaks well for them as they're in somewhat of an obscure part of a low volume strip shopping center.  IF we had those elusive  1/2 stars, this would be 3-1/2, but the service more than made up for the raw veggies and boring bananas so 4 it is.

Note - the online menu shows the lunch menu available only Mon - Fri, but it's actually available all days.   They also close from 3 - 5 Mon - Fri.

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0

6

Jen W.

Bedford, TX

Good green curry chicken. Good Tom Kha. Good bubble tea (though it's made with jasmine tea, so take that into consideration when you order yours flavored...my almond tea was good, but my friend's coconut tea was just plain weird-tasting). And, yeah, better Thai food than I used to get in NYC. Our slightly condescending waitress marred the experience, but only slightly. Overall a real find ... and in Euless, to boot!

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7

61

TalN S.

Euless, TX

Paoaya Garden is so good it even has me finally trying curry again after more years than I care to confess.  Mind you so far only a taste, but every other dish is so good I thought it might be the place to finally find a curry I can eat.  The sauce was good.

My ony complaint with this place is that with 17 pages of menu and so many options my brain is threatening to short circuit tyring to make a decision.

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2

6

Jen D.

Bedford, TX

this place has really great good!  the prices are very fair and the service is wonderful.  You can tell they take extra time in preparation.  Well, that's what I thought!  all the veggies were cut in cute little flowers, all the dishes brought out were so beautiful and delicious!  i told all my friends they had to come and try!
I thought the Tom Kha noodle soup was superb!    I couldn't get enough.  mmmmm.

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25

152

Nadine F.

Washington, DC

This is one of my top three favorite Thai restaurants (the other ones are Sukhothai in Arlington and Mangoes in Plano) in history.  The star dish at this place is the crispy fish with curry sauce.  It's different from anything I've had at other places, and is so, so satisfying.  This is another place that I've been to more times than I can count, and everything I've tried has been delicious.  The service is great, and this is a pretty nice, very clean place, which is suitable for large groups.  The portions are huge, and the prices are reasonable.

They also have good bubble tea that you can order at the table or at the front if you're on the go.

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2

176

Kolya R.

Arlington, TX

As good as any Thai place in the SF Bay Area, this was a serendipitous find in BFE Texas - because it is very close to Trinity High School, where I subbed.    Try the red or green curry dishes (tell them how spicy you want it).   Excellent food, courteous service.   They serve Chinese food also.
5 stars is for value for the money.    I suppose there is better Thai food somewhere, but I haven't had it yet.

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