Mr. Papaya's Kitchen in Fresno is absolutely worth the visit. We came as a large group on a really busy day, so the wait to get seated was long... almost an hour, but honestly it wasn't a big deal. There are plenty of interesting stores around the area, so the time passed pretty quickly. Once we were seated, everything went uphill. Our server was AMAZING. Even with how busy it was, he was everywhere, serving tables, helping in the back kitchen, running back and forth, and still made sure we always had drinks and checked in on us. Huge shoutout to him because he truly went above and beyond and deserves way more credit. The food was absolutely delicious. Super flavorful, and the papaya dishes were especially good. You can tell everything was made with care. The only downside is that the restaurant felt a bit cramped since it's on the smaller side. Also, it's cash-only, but that wasn't an issue because they do accept Zelle and Venmo. Overall, great food, incredible service, and definitely a place I'd go back to for Thai food. 1/2 Had more than this to eat but didn't get all the photos. read more

See all

We decided to eat here instead of eating at the Hmong New Year and I am so glad we did. The food did not disappoint at all. We ordered the purple sticky rice, beef larb, papaya salad, crispy pork belly, pompano, shrimp pineapple fried rice, and pork belly with greens. Everything was fresh, flavorful, and absolutely delicious. It was very busy and we had a long wait to seat our group of 11. Service was a bit slow and they seemed understaffed, but it was understandable given how packed it was. Our server was kind, patient, and very apologetic about the wait for our food, which we really appreciated. Overall the food more than made up for the wait. read more

See all

This is a no frills southeast Asian restaurant. We came here on a busy day in December and ordered bites and noodle dishes as well as some boba smoothies. We were impressed by how fast the food came out, and how attentive they were even though not everyone ordered an entree. We basically ordered small bites and eats and were happy with the various options. The pad se ew and fried rice was delicious. As was the pad Thai. The papaya salad was also delicious and medium heat as we requested. Overall, we were very impressed with this place. It's been open for several years at this point and is a local staple. Definitely recommend for some nice southeast Asian dishes. read more

My daughter and son in law loves pork belly here so we came by for lunch before they headed home. It's been a while since we've gone here so I wanted to try a few entrees. They're all delicious with good portion but the pho is not it. Broth tasted plain even after I added the condiments. Highly recommend the pork belly, beef laab and cucumber papaya. If I ever come back it'll be strictly for these items only. Reminder: Have cash otherwise they take Venmo, Zelle and PayPal read more

See all

Delicious! Papaya salad is my favorite also the kao piek! I just wish they stay open late lol

This restaurant is located in a plaza so there are ample parking. The inside of the restaurant is small so if they do get busy I can see it being very crowded. We ordered the pork belly with purple sticky rice, Thai boat noodle, and papaya salad. I love pork belly, but I didn't like the texture of their pork belly. The skin was super dry (like a staleness texture). It was very hard to chew. I did like the pepper sauce that came with it. It was spicy but also a bit sweet. My friend didn't like the sweetness but it's all a preference. The Thai boat noodle was not flavorful and a bit disappointing. I liked that they added pork belly in the noodle, but the broth was not rich. The broth lacked some seasoning. The papaya salad was probably the best that I had here. It wasn't the best that I've had, but I do like the freshness of it. I think if you're just super craving Southeast Asian food and have no other option then it's a decent restaurant. read more

See all

Decided to give this place a try since I've heard so many good things about their papaya- and it's in their name! I'll let y'all know fr, it's the kind of Asian place where you're not going to get the best service. You can walk up and order for take out or there's a seating area for you to sit and have them take your order. There was a kind younger fella who took our order and was very sweet to ensure we had everything we needed (extra bowls, food and etc). The restaurant itself is small and crowded. Seems to be very popular as people were constantly coming and going. We ordered the pork belly which was CRISPY and dry... wasn't very juicy imo. Seems to have been sitting for quite a while. Tried the purple rice which was ok, could've been softer. The ka Poon came out quick but wasn't hot at all. Temperature was similar to the kind that are prepackaged. AND it's on the sweeter side! NOW FOR THE PAPAYA. I just realized we weren't given any cabbage lol but that's probably why the portion was huge. It was so much papaya! The flavor was there and it hit so good. Get the Lao style y'all!! I did knock down 2 stars because the food didn't taste fresh except for the papaya. The service was typical Asian service in exception for our younger server who took care of us. The service is a bit slow since we basically finished everything and then the papaya came out last. Overall, if you're craving Hmong food then this will def hit the spot. I'd come back but just wouldn't have high expectations on service since it's always busy! read more

See all

I have always go in for Thai Boat...Price is okay. Fast service but no customer service. No greets at all. Inside is clean but no AC or air ventilation where it's stuffy. While I ate Thai boat, and found baby caterpillar in my bowl. I stopped eating. :-( read more

Mr. Papaya Kitchen - Baby caterpillar - Thai Near Me - Fresno, California

Wanted to give this place a second try! But it's always the older lady who hates to see my husband coming for some reason . First disappointment was putting our noodle plate sideways . Now no pork belly whatsoever! $20 and something change just to not get our order correctly!! Super mad . We love this place but ever since they took over it has been a nightmare with that lady up at front!! read more

Mr. Papaya Kitchen - Asked for a long cheng combination - Thai Near Me - Fresno, California

8/22/23 Getting lunch! Two small chicken pho and shrimp spring rolls. The worker said it would be ready in 15 min. I went in to get it! Pretty congested restaurant. The order was ready. The worker wasn't kind. Oh well! Hopefully the food isPaid for the order and left. Lunchtime! Chickens pho was really good! Really like how they make it easy to put it all together and enjoy! Fresh veggies including lots of hot peppers to spice it up and make it better! Tasty noodles! They include a spicy hot mix to add and thst was really good too! Tasty chicken as well! Shrimp spring roll was really fresh and tasty! It had a different kind of sauce than the peanut sauce and it was a nice change! Mother said hers was good and everything tastes fresh! Good amount of food! Lots of leftovers. Good lunch! Wish the service was good. read more

See all

Me and my family came to this restaurant and none of the workers greeting us and when my daughter ordered 15 and 19 I thought one of the workers forgot the pho and the pad Thai noodles didn't even look like the actual noodles and she was so disappointed and it said that it was a Thai cuisine but the pad Thai noodles didn't look like the Thai noodles. I do not recommend coming here. read more

Needed to have some pho while in Cali and was recommended to come by Mr. Papaya's. We were greeted and seated promptly. Needed a minute to look at the menu since it was our first time in a veryyyy long time. Our waiter was probably an owner or manager because he was super attentive and cared about our service. Though slow, and we had to remind him of some dishes, he didn't hesitate to apologize and run back into the kitchen to make things right. He also stated that, that day for some reason was an off day for the kitchen and they're usually on point. We ordered the house special pho, crispy roasted pork, very fresh rice rolls, and papaya salad. The pho is more Lao style than Vietnamese. The broth isn't as flavorful as I'd like but all the toppings and condiments were a huge plus. They also had a jar of shrimp paste at every table too! If you know, you know shrimp paste has gone up in price so that was amazing for me to see. The rice rolls, or banh coun, were so fresh they actually came out fluffy. The wrap was delicate and had a great bite. Though the filling was a little lacking. To be fair I don't care for much filling in my banh coun but I care when the wrap thick. Roast pork was definitely a favorite. Went great with the pepper sauce that came with. Sticky rice does not come with the pork so you will have to order that separately. We know how sticky rice tastes so we didn't order any. LOL Papaya was a little disappointing imo. It just didn't hit the mark for me. I ordered lao style. Portion was generous and came with a side of cabbage as well. Overall we left full and happy. Had to pack some leftovers to go. Ate the leftovers the next day and they were still very yummy! read more

See all

Kopiak tastes sweet. Noodles are all different shapes and broken. The broth taste like beef pho instead. read more

Mr. Papaya Kitchen - Kopiak is too sweet. It honestly tastes like they just put pho broth in with kopiak noodles and cut up chicken. - Thai Near Me - Fresno, California

This is #1 go to spot in Fresno . Number 12 with a side of fresh crispy pork belly . Always serves with a smile and very quick to get our order to us . The service is amazing . read more

Mr. Papaya Kitchen - Number 12 - Thai Near Me - Fresno, California

Came for lunch with a big party five of us total they gave us the big table which was kind big enough to seat 9. It was empty inside. The utensil container was dirty. All the spoons were dirty. you can see the grime/residue on the soup spoons. Our food came out a long while after the two pho bowls ordered.. almost expected so I'm not mad about that. What gave me the cringe was everything was dirty from the serving spoon in our soup to finding hair in our fried food platter food. Containers were dirty, Completely ruined our appetite. They cooked a new order of egg rolls since the first one had hair on the serving platter. The feedback I got from the pho was that it tasted fine. What we ordered was a curry and what traditionally comes with curry is potatoes so again I was very disappointed.. red curry came out like yellow curry. There was flavor but just not the traditional type we wanted. Once it was time to pay, I walked up to the cashier and then had to walk to the side swinging doors where the servers come in and out of to say I'm ready to pay. It was just totally ridiculous for it being an empty restaurant. & cash only I won't recommend, very disappointed! read more

Mr. Papaya Kitchen - Not sure why anyone would bring out a dirty serving spoon, but this is disgusting. - Thai Near Me - Fresno, California

Went here with family of 6, ordered 6 thai boats. 4 came and 20 minutes went by 2 of my siblings still didnt get theirs. Finally arrived when 4 of us finished. The hot food on the side was pretty decent though, would rather go pho 559 or the next door pho place next time (have not tried pho 9 though). read more

I've been here a couple times and the food is really good. I loved both of my orders, the Thai boat as well as the ginger chicken. The customer service is ok, the lady can be rude especially since there is a language barrier. The food is always out fast and good quality ingredients. read more

Mr. Papaya Kitchen - Thai boat - Thai Near Me - Fresno, California

My kopiek had no flavor and the chicken looked old and for the price u might as well go to a better Lao kitchen

A bowl of rice is $12 dollars, ripoff smile. Deep fried spoil fish. My first and last time. read more

Mr. Papaya Kitchen - Thai Near Me - Fresno, California

They make "Hmong style" papaya which is vegan friendly. That's what they've called it to me since even with the previous owners lol. Probably my favorite place to get papaya salad on this side of town. Cash only! Check your food though before you leave to make sure it's right. I'll keep going back for papaya salad. Sis feeds her family from Mr. Papaya Kitchen daily that they know her orders. read more

Delicious!! Highly highly highly recommend the Laos style papaya salad!! One of the best I've ever had. A wonderful mom-and-pop type of shop. Forewarning: they take cash only. Solid service and very quick :) wish I could have gotten more read more

The recent (newer) reviews really made me think twice if I wanted to give this place a try but the image of the thai boat look tasty so my partner and I decided to give it a chance. CUSTOMER SERVICE: the waitress (young girl) was nice and soft spoken. So glad I didn't meet the mean older lady like some customers. THAI BOAT: Water down. Almost bland. Suggest to cook: put less water. BEEF LARB: Bland. Thumbs down. SUGAR CAN DRINK: Yummzzz! Purple rice: It's rice. Good portion. Could be more purple in color. read more

See all

Portion size was big and food was good. Although there wasn't a lot of waiter/waitress the food came out at a decent pace. Definitely recommend to go if you want good food. read more

GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE compare to the previous owner. Come here at least once every 2 weeks. Service are fast and quick. Food are good. Highly recommend if you haven't come by yet. read more

See all

My family has dined in and takeout food from Mr Paya for many years. Just down to earth comfort food. We've tried just about everything on the menu over the years. Thai boat pho and fried pork belly with sticky rice are my usual go-to. Wife loves papaya salad; daughter daughter loves the egg rolls. read more

I love this place so much! The owner grows her own sugarcane and squeezes them fresh if you come here you must get the juice! The pho is also the best!!! I love that they have shrimp paste and fresh chilies for you to eat on the side. Yummmmm. My mom loves Thai boat noodles. I love the original pho. I crave the food here all the time. read more

See all

Maw and Paw spot. Very sweet people/owners but they definitely need their son to kick rocks. Dude is rude to customers, he must have alot of insecurities to act mighty behind that register. Can't even setup a network for digital transactions for them. Haven't see him once help his parents cook but sit his butt down yapping his mouth. Just go in knowing what you want and keep it short. read more

Mr. Papaya you are great! First time here today and I am totally stuffed with satisfaction! This little restaurant is located in a plaza along with other small restaurants and businesses. Finding parking isn't a hassle so that's a good thing. This restaurant is small with a decent amount of seatings. Tables and chairs are really close to each other...one down side is that the floors are really dirty. Seems like it hasn't been mopped in days :( Anyways...menu has appetizers, soup dishes, rice plates, salads, fish dishes etc. They also offer bobas, Vietnamese sandwiches and hot to go foods! I came here with my husband, son and brother so we ordered quite a lot. Lao style spicy papaya, Thai boat noodle, raw beef bitter larb, thai BBQ pork rice plate, sticky rice and beef pad-see-ew. Papaya salad...Delicious!!! Not every place that I've been to makes good papaya salad, but Mr. Papaya you did a great job!!! It was sooo good and I was very pleased! Thai boat noodle...this is actually my first time eatingThai boat noodle...so I'm not quite sure how it's suppose to taste like, but it was good. The broth was nice and I especially loved the fried pork belly that came along with it. Yum! Raw beef bitter larb...I don't eat this often, but when I do I am always delighted. I thought it could've used a little bit more seasoning, but either way I still enjoyed it. Pad-see-ew...When this plate arrived I automatically thought it was going to be bland, but I was wrong! It was yummy! The noodles soaked in the sauce nicely and the green vegetable still had that nice crunch to it that I like. Sticky rice...I thought it was just going to be regular white sticky rice, but I was excited when it turned out to be Purple sticky rice instead...I don't think there's any difference between white and purple sticky rice, but the purple one just always seems to be more fun to eat. I'm so used to Bay Areas portion (very small) that I ordered two plates of sticky rice and dangggg it was a lot hehehe. Thai BBQ pork rice plate...this was my sons plate. Although I didn't eat this...I can say that the portion was big. The amount of rice on this plate was a lot..which is good though haha...he enjoyed it so I'm happy. Overall, I had a very good experience here. The people who work here are very friendly and nice...If I'm ever in town again...for sure I will come back..especially for some papaya salad, which is always one of my favorites! read more

See all

Wow oh wow. I had to adjust my rating big time. The quality of the food has plummeted faster than the Apollo 13 and I feel so bad for the family that owns the place because the mom and dad seem so nice! On the other hand, the son is a such a piece of work and has effectively ran this place into the dirt. Prices have gone way up and customer service has fallen. Sticky rice is almost always undercooked and there so much lacking compare to before. I had frequented this in the past and cannot see myself going back anytime soon. :( read more

Mr Papaya always hits the spot!! When your craving that down home, authentic, yummy in the tummy kind of Pho Soup get down, LOOK NO FURTHER!! Have been coming here for PHO for YEARS!! Its always hearty in size and portions, delishes aromas and upbeat staff make it such a treat when you walk through the door!! I have never walked away hungry and never have i ever paid more than expected!! Pricing is fantastic btw, MASSIVE bowls for $9, $10 and $11 dollars... check out my last picture, it's called Thai Boat it's a potpourri of yumminess, seasoned and spiced for you by the Master Chefs in the back.. BOMB.COM X1,000,000.. I will be back and I 110% recommend Mr Papayas for all your PHO Needs!! Yuuummmmmmyyyyyyyyyy... read more

See all

The food here is pretty good. The soups are good. They give a nice amount of meat. It's a little pricey but it's kind of the norm in Fresno. I especially liked the deep fried pork belly. read more

We come here for the Thai boat. Haven't tried much on the menu but so far Always consistent, delicious, fast, and definitely fast service. read more

New owners took over after previous owners retired. In my opinion food might be better then previous owners. Great portions and reasonable prices. They're known for their Thai boat pho and pork belly with purple sticky rice. Place is a bit small can get busy at times just a heads up. They take Venmo/PayPal and cash. read more

I've been to this restaurant a few times, but this time I was really disappointed. Upon entering, there were no seats available. The waiter asked us to wait while he cleared the table, but he took a while to clear it and by that time, someone else took our table. So we seated ourselves. We ordered the pork belly, but they ran out of it. They have the best pork belly dish, but sadly they ran out, so I ordered the pho. Sadly, the pho wasn't up to par. I also ordered the thai ice team with boba, but they told me they ran out of boba, so I still ordered it. The last disappointment was the thai tea. It was too milky, so I asked for more of the tea, and that still didn't fix the drink. Maybe today was just a bad day? No pork belly and boba for me. read more

I love everything here.. from the pork sausage to the sticky rice to the pad Thai to the rice noodle rolls..everything is Delicious and has been for years! read more

You guys since they switched owner, their steam roll and dipping sauce is not the same no more. I always buy their steam rolls party tray and it's never disappointing. This was my first time order from new owner and the steam roll presentation was very sloppy. The way they roll are not even, some are short, some are long, some are thick and some are thin. They're sauce taste a bit weird, very bland. I will look for new place to order my steam from now on. read more

The place is under new ownership. If anyone who is a foodie and the taste and quality is of great importance then "DO NOT GO HERE" is under Hmong owners and I have not been to one single place owned by them that is good at Vietnamese cuisine. The pho broth is a joke. It's literally water seasoned with the pho powder seasoning. Meat was fresh unlike other pho shops but it's also overly cooked. We ordered Thai tea and Thai ice coffee for drinks and even that was a failed. It's super sweet adding water didn't help. Ended up tasting like sugar water. All this took over 40 minutes from point of ordering to receiving your food. Took way too long for just 4 bowls of pho. We had to add so much condiments to get some kind of flavor but it ended up tasting like combination condiment liquid. Note: don't say I didn't warn y'all. Waste of money. Positive reviews must be from their family or friends. read more

Love this place. Consistent food and great service. Always a pleasure! I love they have fried pork belly in one of the pho I think it's #13 read more

My boyfriend and I are regular customers of this family owned pho restaurant when it first open till now. Great customer services every time we go there. Very nice and sweet owners, who always welcomes us and with a smile. This place can get packed pretty quick thats just to show the food are bomb here for a decent price. This place is our favorite to go spot. Mr. Papaya is best known for their famous crispy pork belly! Can never go wrong with it and always have to get it with a side of sticky rice and papaya salad. They have a great menu selections to choose from and all is very tasty! Our favorites from their menu: crispy pork belly, lao style papaya salad, phad thai, naem khao, roast pork curry fried rice, boat noodle soup, seafood noodle soup, khao piek, #39 a chicken ginger with rice dish, nam vaam, boba, and the list can go on and on. Lol I also ordered party trays (steam rolls, phad thai, and papaya salad) here a few times and it always comes out perfect! Thank you Mr. Papaya for the awesome food and services for many years! Always will be a returning customers! read more

Mr. Papaya Kitchen - Thai Near Me - Fresno, California

See all

Been going here for years but this will be my last time Ive waited almost an hr and a half for 3 items papaya beef larb and porkbelly, a dif guy walks in and barely place his order and since he knows the guy gets his order right away from the server goin back there and making it real quick same order, the server is beyond rude and says if you want fast food go to mcdonalds the larb was beyond bitter like a bitter melon and i will be goin elsewherethe full portion of porkbelly isnt even a full order it is in a side order container super expensive now and terrible everything read more