Papaya (Ealing)

Wow what a little surprise in the heart of Ealing! My sister had booked this place for an anniversary dinner for my parents who love Sri Lankan food. We're local to Ealing but had never tried this place out.

We booked on a Saturday night and when we arrived at 6pm the restaurant was already busy. Despite that the staff were very friendly and accommodating and our food arrived promptly.

We opted for mainly Sri Lankan dishes and I went with the Beef Colombo, Lemon Rice and Sri Lankan roti. The dishes were excellent - well flavoured and not too spicy although we were given the option to get them hotter if we were feeling adventurous (which we weren't!)

The restaurant had a stylish decor and a great family-friendly atmosphere. My parents liked it so much they're going back there this weekend to try another of the plethora of dishes!
Comment on this reader review

Faiza Hussain
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, November 07, 2011

Mr friend booked Papaya for a birthday celebration and having read the reviews on L E I was a bit dubious, but at the same time did not want to upset my friend as it was her birthday choice. Being a regular she was insistent we could have a long relaxing meal and enjoy the ambience......in total there were 4 couples.

Well may I say I was more than pleasantly surprised. The Manager was very friendly and attentive and insistent "no rush" and we were allowed to have the dishes catered to our needs ie. hot/mild and so on.

The waiters were helpful and polite explaining the various dishes and saw to all our needs. More importantly so the food was delicious - my favourite being the fish curry.

Really glad I took the chance to make my own mind up and was most definitely not disappointed.

I am now looking to book Papaya for catering facilities for an upcoming family event in the New Year.
Comment on this reader review

Karen Marchant
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, December 06, 2010

Full disclosure: I'm a regular at Papaya Ealing and love the food. With that out of the way let me tell you why I'm a regular in more detail. Good service, friendly staff and a manager/owner who is always at hand to offer his advice on what dishes may delight whichever guests I have with me for the evening. I've taken many many friends to Papaya Ealing for the first time and they've always walked away with clean plates whilst being thoroughly impressed with the decor, ambiance and of course the food.

As a regular I can be their harshest critic expecting my dishes to meet the same high quality week in and week out. Thankfully that's always the case and I've never had cause for complaint about the food and if I did you can be sure the owner would be hearing about it!

You can ask for your food to be as mild or spicy as you want it so make sure you do as the flavours are worth the trip alone. My favs are Sri Lankan style chicken curry on the bone, fish curry, lemon rice, coconut sambal and a very special soda drink imported from Sri Lanka called Portello - make sure you try it!

Wholeheartedly recommended.
Comment on this reader review

Adrian Keen - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Thursday, November 18, 2010

We had dinner at Papaya last nite. Food was decent. But the service amazingly tardy and laid back. We had to ask multiple times just to have a waiter come to our table. The starters took about 45 minutes.
Comment on this reader review

hesper Almeida
6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Sunday, October 17, 2010

Wow! We tried the new Papaya & Chicken curry today and couldn't believe how amazing it was. Washed down with a pint of Cobra from the cold tap couple with the great service - you couldn't ask for more. I will be definitely be taking my family again.
Comment on this reader review

Adam Foley
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Really great food and served with efficiency and enthusiasm. We had starters of Mutton Rolls and Mini Dosa followed by Chicken Kothu (noodle version) and Sri Lankan King Prawn Curry (hot) with a couple of Roti's, all washed down with Lion beer. Each dish was cooked to perfection, there was no separation of oil and sauce in the prawn dish, the dosa was crispy with a light filling and the mutton rolls were a revelation. We had not been there before and just turned up on Saturday night because we liked the look of it. The decor inside was subtle and a nice mix of customers, young and old, English and Sri Lankan. The bill came to around £50 including service. We came about beaming knowing that we had found a real treasure, this is going to become a regular haunt.
Comment on this reader review

Al - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, October 05, 2009

i have never tried srilankan food before.this was my first time to try srilankan curries at PAPAYA.the whole experience was awesome.

i went there with couple of my friends.As we didnt had any knowledge about the food,one of the staff recommended us some nice dished as devilled chichen,prawns dry stir fried stuff really amazing....... vegetable curries like madura manga kalan aubergine are nice to go along with some of the meat curries.and then you just order some mouthwatering lemon or coconut rice or breads like egg rotti or coconut paratha.

and do not forget to ask for srilankan beer lion lager.

service is very prompt and efficient.

surely i am going back there again and again.
Comment on this reader review

10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, August 11, 2009

We have been quite regular (every few weeks) here since it opened. Until the last couple of meals the vote would be for pretty good food (and I compare to Sri Lankan places like Palm Palace in Southall). The last 2 meals, however, were disappointing. The food had dumbed down, less flavour than before, and heading more (still some way off) in the direction of a standard curry house. Previously I had noticed that Chicken Tikka Masala had crept onto the lunch menu; we had a conversation with the staff who said they were thinking about adding "Mediterranean" options to the lunch menu.

I remember having a conversation with the owner when they first opened, pointing out that Northfields and Ealing generally have plenty of dumbed down restaurants, some of which started very well, where they had allowed themselves to be influenced by people who seem to have a problem with flavoursome, genuine food. Some people complained so they changed their food and in the process lost what they were about. Needless to say they eventually lost both the people who originally enjoyed their cooking, and the people who complained (they had no shortage of other bland establishments to go to).

In a sentence - be what you are; people who appreciate you will come from from far and wide, and ignore those who don't - they have plenty of other options.
Comment on this reader review

CoffeeM - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Friday, July 24, 2009

This place is a little gem. We are frequent visitors and the food is ocnsistently excellent.

Fabulous devilled dishes, tasty sri lankan curries all washed down with a nice bottle of Lion traditional imported beer. Also highly recommend you try the coconut paratha - delicious!

Staff are really friendly and happy and always make us feel welcome.

An excellent 10 out of 10 local restaurant.
Comment on this reader review

Mr Boyle
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, June 24, 2009

This has fast become not only our favourite curry house in Ealing but our favourite restaurant in Ealing.

The dishes are wonderfully fragrant, fresh and varied. They are also very light in comparison with most Indian restaruants where a lot of the curries are oily and make you feel bloated afterwards.

The menu is large but surprisingly easy. For the devilled dishes or curry dishes, just pick your meat (or veg) and select how spice you like it - simple! I recommend the devilled dishes, it is a dry dish but the spices are really fantastic.

The range of rice and bread available is also very impressive

Anyway, I have a 8 o'clock reservation tonight and I haven't eaten in a while purely so I can try as many new things as possible.

Price is reasonable too.
Comment on this reader review

Steve
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Saturday, March 21, 2009