Papaya Island

BEST. BAHN MI. EVER!!!!!! me and my friend decided to give this place a chance.. and it was even better than we imagined!!!! the garlic fries were HEAVEN. my friend said that their pho was 10/10– and they are PICKY!! the service was only rated that because the male waiter who runs cash register didn't give us menus until i got up and requested them! its cool though :)

Soft opening. First day of opening on Tuesday 1/2/24. Only maybe less than 8 people in the whole restaurant around 12 in the afternoon. Looks more clean and bright than when it was Turtle Tower. Service: 1st day and really needs improvement. Servers were very slow and didn't know the menu or rather I ordered the Beef brisket or the curry. My friend ordered the curry w/ chicken and I ordered the brisket. We ordered 2 thai ice teas and needed straws. Had to literally ask 3 different servers before someone brought us straws. By that time, I had already used a chopstick to mix the Thai ice tea. Food: $15.50 for one order of curry or brisket, $5 for thai tea, $10.50 for salt and pepper wings. Salt and Pepper wings- full of flavor and nice and hot, 6 wings given. The curry chicken and red brisket were both delicious and worth the price. This was my first time and I will be back again to try other items. Hopefully the service will get better.

I ordered through Uber eats to be picked up on a Tuesday. It was estimated to be ready by 12:17pm and when I arrived at 12:20pm, I was told to wait 2 minutes. The restaurant was 90% full. I did not get my food until about 20 minutes after. I stood there watching as they were catering to the diners first. I ordered the roast duck pho - $18 and the pork vermicelli bowl with imperial roll - $16. The duck itself was good. Though I'm not sure if it was made in house. The broth, seemed out of place. I'm not sure what bones they used for the broth. It looks like chicken and it did not go well with the duck. There was no pho seasoning flavor whatsoever. The star of the meal was the pork vermicelli with imperial roll. It's a large portion with generous amount of grilled pork. The imperial roll was crispy and had lots of filling too. I would definitely order this again.

Wow!!! Really really great pho. This neighborhood has been missing great pho and I'm really glad we have a new restaurant. The fresh pressed sugar cane juice is super delicious and really great. Rare to find outside of San Jose. Service was excellent!!! Highly recommended. Great for a date night

Papaya Island was formerly the space that held Turtle Tower, so to have another Vietnamese joint fill the space is a tall task. I ordered myself a Vietnamese Coffee and the Duck Noodle Soup. Coffee was good. The noodles were also good. You can always tell a lot by the broth of a Vietnamese restaurant and PI held its own… I would say that the condiments were a little sparse though. As for service, it was on the slow side, but they are in their soft opening phase, so hopefully that’ll get better over time. I’m just glad there’s a dine in option near the Hall of Justice.

Generous portions. Affordable prices. Friendly service. Tasty food. What’s not to like? If you haven’t checked out Papaya Island yet you’re missing out!

got the tofu/eggplant bahn mi!! honesty and 8/10! comparing to bahn mis i got in hanoi and da nang so my expectations are high lol. $11 for thr vegetarian bahn mi

Papaya Island is outstanding! Got the duck pho and wings and absolutely loved both. Duck skin was perfectly crispy and very flavorful. Wings were as good as you could ever ask for with a delicious lightly spicy rub. Service was friendly and attentive. Will be adding this to our regular rotation of local restaurants!

We recently ordered takeout from Papaya Island, and I gotta say we were really impressed! I tried the chicken pho, and the fresh noodles were perfection. I much prefer these type of noodles compared to the traditional noodles most places serve because of the softness and chewiness of the noodles, much more satisfying. They included plenty of chicken and it was cooked perfectly for this bowl of pho. The broth was satisfying and tasty. The trick for takeout pho orders is to heat up the broth when you get home. Even though it was still hot, having it extra hot elevates the bowl as close to getting it in the restaurant. Bonus points for including extra hoisin and spicy sauce packets. We also got an order of their fresh shrimp spring rolls, and they were delightful. The peanut sauce for dipping was creamy and was a must dip with every bite. Definitely a spot we'd go to again when we are craving pho!

It took no less than 5-7 minutes from when we ordered to the bowls of soup hitting our table. The stock for the pho nam gau is phenomenal, it's feels like such an honest bowl of noodle soup. Normally I feel heavy when I eat pho from other places, but here I have never felt that feeling. The brisket was sliced thin and flavored so well. Phong's bun bo hue used skinny rice noodles, and was my favorite of the two. Great amount of spice and the flavor of the meat and broth were fantastic. It's honest and really REALLY good food. Would come back again!

"Pho ga" was disgusting. Taste like they made a soup base off Costco's rotisserie chicken Absolutely disgusting

I ordered through Uber eats to be picked up on a Tuesday. It was estimated to be ready by 12:17pm and when I arrived at 12:20pm, I was told to wait 2 minutes. The restaurant was 90% full. I did not get my food until about 20 minutes after. I stood there watching as they were catering to the diners first. I ordered the roast duck pho - $18 and the pork vermicelli bowl with imperial roll - $16. The duck itself was good. Though I'm not sure if it was made in house. The broth, seemed out of place. I'm not sure what bones they used for the broth. It looks like chicken and it did not go well with the duck. There was no pho seasoning flavor whatsoever. The star of the meal was the pork vermicelli with imperial roll. It's a large portion with generous amount of grilled pork. The imperial roll was crispy and had lots of filling too. I would definitely order this again.

Nice to have this location filled. The katsu was very crispy and paired well with the curry. My guest enjoyed their wonton soup. Portions were much larger than I expected. Making the higher prices seem more reasonable. Sugar cane juice was a nice hit in the nostalgia. Has been a long time since I've had it. I think they are still working out service kinks. We didn't have any issues, but saw a handful of people around us with different mix ups or general confusion. One guest was trying to explain that he had ordered something else but just gave up and ate what they made for him.

It was a department lunch outing, we were craving for Vietnamese cuisine. This restaurant was walking distance- PERFECT! The restaurant was spacious, servers were friendly. We ordered a Papaya Salad, Imperial Roll, two bowls of Pho (of course!!) and a plate of Curry Chicken with Rice. The Papaya Salad was refreshing and loving the crispy and chewy Imperial Rolls (thumbs up!!). The bowls of Pho, it was flavorful and rich... taste the hard work pull into it. As for the Curry Chicken (you get an option of using breast or thighs, which is such an accommodating gesture!!) with rice was aromatic and light at the same time, it was a tidbit on the sweet end for one of us.. Definitely give this restaurant a try when you're in the area. The Bryant Flower Market is right across the street- stop to shop, stop to EAT!

Soft opening. First day of opening on Tuesday 1/2/24. Only maybe less than 8 people in the whole restaurant around 12 in the afternoon. Looks more clean and bright than when it was Turtle Tower. Service: 1st day and really needs improvement. Servers were very slow and didn't know the menu or rather I ordered the Beef brisket or the curry. My friend ordered the curry w/ chicken and I ordered the brisket. We ordered 2 thai ice teas and needed straws. Had to literally ask 3 different servers before someone brought us straws. By that time, I had already used a chopstick to mix the Thai ice tea. Food: $15.50 for one order of curry or brisket, $5 for thai tea, $10.50 for salt and pepper wings. Salt and Pepper wings- full of flavor and nice and not, 6 wings given. The curry chicken was hot and had right amount of red curry but very little shredded chicken. The brisket w/ tomato sauce had right amount and balance of beef and vegetables w/ sauce. Beef was chewy but not overcooked. A item I would definitely order again. This was my first time and I will be back again to try other items. Hopefully the service will get better.

Wow!!! Really really great pho. This neighborhood has been missing great pho and I'm really glad we have a new restaurant. The fresh pressed sugar cane juice is super delicious and really great. Rare to find outside of San Jose. Service was excellent!!! Highly recommended. Great for a date night

Pluses & minuses. Bun bo hue + Rich broth with some viscosity from the oxtail. Most the flavor went to the broth and the meat was flavorless and overcooked. -poorly cooked meat. Brisket falling apart / disintegrating. -oxtail was hard (one piece), other piece was too soft. -poorly trimmed meat: oxtail had all the fat on the exterior not one bit of trim attempted Pho ga Absolutely PATHETIC. the worst pho ga on the continent. chewy breast, tasteless broth. Bring back turtle tower with their free range broth and dark meat. Pho Way too salty. Does nobody taste food here?

This is no longer turtle tower! Had chicken pho today the noodle was not fully cooked chicken was super dry ..my friend order the duck pho .. duck is obvious from the day before as well dry!!! .... will not come again ... they kept it the over price imperil roll tho $10.50 for 2!

Only open for 5 weeks. They have excellent bahn mi for around $11ea. The duck is the best, but grilled chicken and pork options are also quite good! I don't normally like crab rsngoons because they are so much cream cheese but these had done nice imitation crab in them. Great dipping sauce too.

New Vietnamese restaurant which took over the Turtle Tower spot on 6th. They offered Pho Ga and since my kids were craving it we ordered the Pho Ga to compare to what was once Turtle Tower. The kids said it's not the same but still very tasty and they ate the whole thing. I got the beef brisket in tomato sauce (basically Bo Kho) it came with rice instead of a baguette but that's fine. There was a lot of brisket in the bowl which was great! Usually you get 2 cubes of brisket there were probably 4 huge chunks of brisket I couldn't even finish it had to take it to go. The place got a facelift and the furniture and fixtures are new and clean.

My boyfriend and I went to Papaya Island for lunch as we were in the area and wanted a quick bite. This place has a casual vibe--it occupies the same location where Turtle Tower used to be. The menu, while limited, features mostly Vietnamese and Vietnamese fusion food. I ordered the vermicelli noodle bowl, and my boyfriend ordered the roast duck banh mi. Both dishes were very good. The vermicelli bowl was refreshing, with the grilled pork being nicely juicy. The roast duck banh mi was particularly impressive. While duck isn't a typical banh mi ingredient, it was flavorful and juicy, leaving me craving more. The owner was very nice and friendly. She noticed my boyfriend and I sharing food and kindly gave us an extra bowl and extra fish sauce without us asking. We also chatted with her for a bit, and she generously gave us some spring rolls on the house, which was very sweet of her. I definitely plan to return for the roast duck banh mi. I'd love to support the restaurant, especially given how sweet the owner is.

Papaya Island was formerly the space that held Turtle Tower, so to have another Vietnamese joint fill the space is a tall task. I ordered myself a Vietnamese Coffee and the Duck Noodle Soup. Coffee was good. The noodles were also good. You can always tell a lot by the broth of a Vietnamese restaurant and PI held its own... I would say that the condiments were a little sparse though. As for service, it was on the slow side, but they are in their soft opening phase, so hopefully that'll get better over time. I'm just glad there's a dine in option near the Hall of Justice.

This place is super yummy!! Authentic Vietnamese food like back at the homeland. Truly comfort Vietnamese food when you got the cravings for it. I am in love with the Roasted Duck Pho!! The broth is so rich and the duck is consistently delicious every time!! Also, the owner here is the owner of Pho De Nguyen out in San Bruno. ‍‍‍

A papaya island review in haiku form: What big shoes to fill. Turtle tower RIP. But food's still good here!

Quick overnight trip to SF with friends ended with us grabbing some pho on the way out of town. This place is a cute little spot with an Inviting atmosphere. The service was really good. The one person I saw working there was on top of everything and very attentive. The place appeared clean and well taken care of. Now for the food. We each had a different variation of the beef pho and I typically am not a meatball fan but these were actually amazing. The broth was good too. We did have to ask for extra sauces (typically spots will have a little basket of goodies to give you to doctor it to your preference) but they brought us everything we requested it just felt odd that it wasn't a standard. I ordered a banh mi sandwich for my hubby to go and he enjoyed it as well. Overall it was a good experience and I would go back. Oh one thing I forgot to mention was they serve your pho with these little ladles (not the typical oblong spoon) and I thought that was a great idea because it made eating the soup way easier.

As nearby residents, we were thrilled to see a new restaurant take the place of long-time local favorite Turtle Tower, which abruptly closed during the 2023 holiday period. The new restaurant is super delicious with a small, courteous staff and moderate pricing. Today we enjoyed the duck pho -- perfect for a rainy day! Last week we shared their red curry chicken and beef brisket stew. The menu also features rice plate lunch specials. Be sure to check it out!

Papaya Island's food is amazing! It's not worth going to SF these days because of their issues with crime but if I'm gonna risk getting my car bopped it's gonna be because I went to Papaya Island. Everything tastes so fresh and made with love. I honestly can't even describe it. You'll just have to go for yourself to see what I mean!

The soups are amazing! Ever since it changed ownership, the soups have been so much more flavorful. I'm so happy there's a good pho place in the city.

Papaya island had big shoes to fill after taking over Turtle Tower. Lemme say that they did not disappoint! I was excited to find out that this is under the same management as Pho De Nguyen, my go-to pho spot in the Peninsula. They brought the same recipes and everything is *chef's kiss* My new favorite item is their imperial rolls. The skin is crispy and thin, and the filling is piping hot and juicy. They do not skimp on the filling because each roll was nice and plump. I am excited with this location because it's close to my work so it's more convenient for me to pick up food! Don't sleep on this place!

Glad I came to try out their food. Their chicken pho was tasty, my partner had the pho dac biet and it was solid. Felt cozy, good service. I appreciate that they have a lot of vegan options, will take my vegan friends here!

Great vegetarian options, highly recommend the tofu/eggplant noodle bowl. Filling, reasonably priced, and served fast even in a lunchtime rush. Easily the best part of a day of jury duty.

I had no idea that they serve some Vietnamese dishes here, which was surprisingly really good! Came for Thai food and ended up eating viet lol. We both ordered the beef pho with the flat, wider rice noodles - it was super hearty with a rich beef flavor and the meats were really tender. Their menu is a little smaller and that might expand since they're still fairly new, and I hope they're able to stick around! FYI they close on Sundays

Ok ok, you've made your point!! lol. We ordered from this place last month I think and were not impressed. We spoke to owner and he said things were changing. I had the pho ga recently and was pleasantly surprised. So today i ordered the imperial rolls, banh mi pork and some pho ga and let me tell you, they back!! This food was ! It was so depressing seeing Turtle Tower leave, but this is so much better. Thank you.

At the heart of this tasty island are the owners and team. They do everything with pure love and you can taste this warmth goodness in every dish. Grab and go crunchy fresh Banh Mi is a must if you gotta bust a move. Deep fried imperial rolls are a total must have if you love fresh fried goodness and absolutely Pho sure treat yourself to Pho Vit aka savory roast duck Pho'nomenal noodle soup! Always consistent yummy cozy comfort taste if you're feeling extra love pho yourself : ) Mouthful of words for a tummy filled with goodness on every bite guaranteed.

I order pho from this place regularly - usually the pho tai bo vien. I actually prefer the pho better now than when this location was Turtle Tower. I've had a number of their apps (egg rolls, etc) which we quite enjoy as well.

Came here on a Monday for lunch and there was plenty of seating. My friend and I shared the veggie eggrolls and salt and pepper chicken wings which were perfectly crispy and not too spicy, and the vegetable red curry which came with a side of rice and was quite tasty. Everything came out hot and fresh. We will def come back to try their sugar cane juice next time as the weather's getting warmer!

Very friendly service and nice and clean restaurant with wonderfully delicious food. So far I had the fresh shrimp rolls, chicken katsu plate and the chicken vermicelli bowl with great crispy egg rolls. Fresh ingredients too!!

I went here on Friday, January 26 for lunch with my wife. Ordered the standard Dac Biet Pho to see if this place was worthy of replacing turtle tower. 24hrs later me and my wife have food poisoning and i'm writing this review miserable in bed. New owners are nice... quality control and taste are an issue. Try this place with caution. I'm paying the price now. i don't typically write reviews let alone bad ones but I don't usually get food poisoning either..

The food was great ! Service was great ! Chicken pho was my favorite meal of all , and the imperial roll was delicious !

Great place for noodle soup!!! I ordered the N10. Phong's Beefy Bun Bo (Oxtails, Filet, Brisket, Shank). It was so good that I am still thinking about it the next day. The broth was so flavorful, no additional sauce was needed. The oxtails were perfectly cooked, you know I gnawed on those bones. I was too hungry to even think about taking a picture. I will have to next time (which might be this weekend). It was a very good sized bowl, plenty of meat and noodles.

I only came here because I had jury duty and this was the closest place. The menu called this "red" curry, but this was just watered down yellow curry. No flavor, had to squeeze in a quarter bottle of Sriracha to have some taste.

Not real Vietnamese food. Everything bland . Maybe for health conscious people but no taste

Tried this new place out and it's delicious! I had the fried imperial roll and roast duck banh mi. Everything was delicious and the service was great.

Service is absolute garbage. Sat down. Used my phone to place a food order at the table and waited 40 minutes before I had to reach out to a server to ultimately tell me they didn't have what I ordered. I left hungry as a result. Do not go there. You will either waste your time or your money seeing as an entree of garlic noodles with meat is also $18 before taxes and gratuity. This establishment does not deserve business. Would rate 0 stars if possible.

I walked in with two other people. Yes they were busy, however I walked over to the cashier. Stood there for five minutes. No hi, no just a minute. I spoke and asked if we can make an order to go. They still didn't give me eye contact, nor responded. They wouldn't get my money.

Worst Vietnamese food I've ever eaten and overpriced for what you get. I ordered the lemongrass pork chop and the amount of pork was almost non existent and the flavor of the pork chop and fried egg was horrible. The only thing edible was the rice. Never going back to this place.

Piping hot pho, perfect size. A great place for Vietnam food located across the street from the hall of justice. Perfect for those working in the area or serving jury duty.

Great addition to the neighborhood! Had the duck soup and loved it. There aren't many places around here anymore, so we are very happy about it as a lunch choice.

The rare beef pho made with filet mignon & the chicken & pork egg rolls were absolutely delicious! One of the highlights of jury duty is eating here for lunch! So yummy!

Food was amazing! I had the red curry chicken and a banh mi sandwich! Waiter was friendly and had great recommendations, and the food was served quickly. I would strongly recommend it if you want some great authentic food!

Vegi egg rolls were generic with a strange dipping sauce which I believe to be hoisin derived. Lemongrass pork chops also generic with a dry overcooked fried egg. Nice server.

This is a must stop for us every time we come to SF, Papaya Island offers an amazing dining experience with a diverse menu. The beef brisket was tender and flavorful, while the pho was rich and aromatic. The staff are always attentive and friendly, adding to the overall positive atmosphere. Whether you're craving Vietnamese classics or exploring new flavors, Papaya Island delivers both excellent food and service!!

I threw it all in the garbage. No shrimp in the shrimp,roll. Crab Rangoon was inedible. The pho ingredients were overpowered by onion and were just off.

Must try! Took the fam so we all shared so we can try more. Every dish we ordered was great. Duck noodle, chicken pho, wings, rangoon, shrimp spring roll, and egg rolls. Honestly everything was so good it's kind of hard picking a favorite. Mouth is watering remembering all this food. Chill restaurant and friendly employees. We can't wait to go back!

I was in town with my girlfriend and we was looking for some Asian food to eat and step upon this hidden gem. Gotta say one of the best authentic food with mouthful of flavor. Will definitely come back next time I'm back in the City.

The prices are very reasonable for the quality and uniqueness of each dish..delicious delicious soup and meats!!! Not enough good things to say about the people that take care of this place 5.5 stars for me

Really delicious food, and very fun vibes. Super friendly customer service! I would highly recommend this place for a family trip or even a nice date.