Gray's Papaya
Hot dog restaurant · Upper West Side
2090 Broadway, New York, NY 10023, USA
Highlights
Iconic NYC hot dogs & tropical drinks, a no-frills classic
Iconic NYC hot dogs & tropical drinks, a no-frills classic
"The quintessential Upper West Side snack is not a slice of pizza. It’s a hot dog from Gray’s Papaya. The iconic counter-service spot opened in 1973, and there’s always crowds of people outside scarfing down dogs. You can get a singular, snappy, Sabrett frank for $3, or go for the Recession Special, which comes with two dogs and a drink for $7.50. Wash it down with a neon-orange papaya drink, make sure you don’t have any lingering mustard on your face, and then move on with your day." - bryan kim, willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah
"Papaya King might be gone forever. For the next best thing, head to Gray’s Papaya. Truthfully, the Sabrett dogs here taste like they do at most other places, but the food is only part of the appeal. The main reason you come to Gray’s is to bathe in 1970s nostalgia while you lean against a counter and eat a sub-$10 meal that consists of a few tubes of pork on soft buns overflowing with sauerkraut. It’s not officially summer until you get some foil-wrapped food at this UWS institution." - bryan kim, willa moore, sonal shah, molly fitzpatrick
"Snappy, all-beef hot dogs and gritty-but-somehow-refreshing fruit drinks are the hallmarks of this Upper West Side old-timer founded by Paul Gray in 1973. It also reflects a distinctive New York City frankfurter that originated a century earlier in Coney Island. Topping choices are limited to mustard, sauerkraut, brown-stewed onions, and ketchup, though true New Yorkers never use the latter." - Eater Staff
"A popular hot dog restaurant in New York City, known for its affordable and delicious hot dogs, featured in 'You've Got Mail'."
"I grew up on 10th Street. There was a Grey's Papaya on the corner of Eighth and Sixth. For years, whenever I came home from college, the first thing I would do is go and get a Grey's Papaya hot dog. To me, it is really the taste of home. Now I live on the Upper West Side and I'm very lucky: there's one on the corner of 72nd and Amsterdam. I like mine with just the onion sauce and mustard on it. And I actually do drink that papaya drink, which I know is all chemicals. But I think if you're a New Yorker, you love that taste. I'll sometimes just walk over to the Hudson and walk up, eating my hot dogs and drinking my ridiculous papaya drink. I really do love that place." - brennan carley
