Papaya, HA2 7LX
- 15 Village Way East
Papaya Rayners Lane was the second branch of Papaya, a Sri Lankan restaurant in Ealing. However, as of early 2011 the premises are occupied by another Sri Lankan restaurant called Papay, which appears not to be associated with Papaya Ealing.
The information below is retained for people who want to know what it was like as Papaya.
The ambience inside is smart and modern. Dark brown banquettes line the walls, echoing the colours of the square dark wood tables. White walls lighten the room, and paintings in muted colours add interest.
Kake visited on a Thursday early evening in May 2009. When I arrived around 6:30pm the place was empty, though a few people came in for takeaways while I was there, and a party of three turned up shortly before I left. Chillout music was playing, not too loud.
I started with malu miris (£3) photo; two large chillies stuffed with a fish and potato filling then deepfried in a breadcrumb coating. I liked the chillies — just the right amount of heat for me — and the filling was fine too, though the breadcrumb coating was a little too thick for my taste.
My main was beef kothu rotti (£7) photo, which is basically shredded flatbread stirfried with eggs, beef, spices, chillies, etc. This is usually eaten with a curry to provide some sauce, but since I was on my own I didn't want to order a whole main-course curry portion; I asked my waiter for advice and he was happy to provide me with a small dish of "gravy", which turned up on the bill at a very reasonable £1.50.
Service was very friendly indeed, with the waiter happy to chat to me about Sri Lankan food and how it differs between Sri Lanka and London. He also had no problem packing up the remains of my main course to take away; in fact he suggested it before I had the chance to ask.
As advised on the menu, you can have your food cooked with mild, medium, or hot levels of spicing. I chose medium, and it was exactly right; just below the top of my tolerance level. bob, who ate my leftovers when I got home, is already excited about trying the "hot" version at their Ealing branch.
Accessibility: Step-free to get in, it's all on one level once you're in, there's a reasonable amount of space between the tables, and the ladies' doubles as an accessible toilet.
See also: