Gray’s Papaya

When coming home, this was my favorite spot.
I’m so sad this location has closed.
The juices here were amazing on days I didn’t feel like a hot dog, but who am I kidding? It’s Gray’s! Of course, I want a hot dog. No, I want a recession special.
I will be in mourning for a time now. Sigh.

Boy oh boy… this is truly sad. Gray’s Papaya on 8^th Street and Sixth Avenue is gone. Perhaps the last bastion of what made this area great. Gone are the dozens of shoe stores that lined the block between Fifth and Sixth. Gone is the Barnes & Noble. Gone is Jefferson Market in the form that we knew it. Gone is Balducci’s.
This one hurts. Late at night I would pull up and park at the hydrant on 8^th, right in front. Never a ticket… the cops understood. Wait in a quick line and two perfect, snappy dogs with their incredible mustard and kraut would be waiting. Two were just right… the third was overkill.
Manhattan as I know it is quickly slipping away. I’m sure their rent was astronomical… or maybe NYU bought another building on their way to maniacal Manhattan domination. Whatever it is, it’s sad.
I’m sure you will see a 7 – 11 there soon… or some Dunkin/​Subway swill. Gray’s Papaya was an essential part of true Manhattan nightlife. Sure their 72^nd and Broadway outpost survives, but that wasn’t a nightlife area, and the Village is.
Once you had Ray’s Pizza on 11^th and Sixth, and Gray’s Papaya. Ray’s tasted incredible after an excessive night of drinking and dancing. Walk in there at 3 pm and it was another matter. But that was never the case with Gray’s Papaya. Incredibly consistent, the right spice, snap, bun and taste. Walk over and pump their incredible mustard and you were satiated.
Five-​bucks in my pocket they were always my friend. And usually enough left for the bus or subway. A friend to the student, homeless, hungry, wealthy and average Joe. I can’t tell you how many times I bought a homeless person a dog who was languishing outside. It was a great meal to gift… Two dogs and a drink for under $ 3.00.
It was substantial and Gray’s Papaya was a substantial part of the West Village. Perhaps the only other staple left in the Village is Joe’s Pizza, albeit more expensive. Let’s just hope they own their building.
Let’s raise a cup of Pina Colada and toast our lost friends at Gray’s Papaya 6^th Avenue.

Wow so sad a sign of the times. Came here with my friend Sebastian before they closed. He demanded they have mayonnaise for his hot dogs they didn’t have it.
I did have there recession special 2 dogs and a Banana Daiquiri drink. I must say when the bun is larger than the hot dog times is tough.
Well sad to see it closed but many memories on 8^th street. Life goes on in this dog eat dog world. But this hot dog has seen its day. ;-)

«I can’t tell ya baby what went wrong
I can’t make you feel what you felt
So long ago, I’ll let it show
I can’t give you back what’s been hurt
Heartaches come and go and all that’s
left are the words I can’t let go
If we take some time to think it over baby
Take some time let me know
If you really wanna go
Don’t know what you got till it’s gone
Don’t know what it is I did so wrong
Now I know what I got
It’s just this song
And it ain’t easy to get back
Takes so long»
I’ll miss the fries, the dogs and of course the papaya juice to wash it all down. Damn you, West Village. You’re becoming too trendy.

Grays! Noooooooo!!!
What will become of the «Polite NYers»?
So many (ratchet) memories. You will be sorely missed, my friends.

BEST «I drunk too much, I need a carby/​fatty slice, I only have a dollar on me» place. Seriously, awesome dollar slice, open 24/​7, you can take your drunken butt there and scream that you want the biggest slice for you buck and you’ll be a happy camper.
When you wake up the following day, you can go back and call your «drunken slice» your hangover cure :)
I think it’s more of an institution than an actual delicacy slice, but it’s always good :)
If you walk by at 10 am, you’ll see people eating pizza and you’ll think, wow people really eat pizza at 10 am on a Wednesday? Why not, it’s NYC after all…

Cheap eats alert for sure! y
Hot dog, papaya shake, a great way to start a late day in NYC! Anthony Bourdain wasn’t wrong saying that this is a tasty place to get a hot dog…
Not a huge fan of the papaya shake, but the wife loved it!
My only complaint is that they didn’t tell me about the recession special, where I could have gotten one more hot dog for only 50 cents more… I mean c’mon, help a customer out already!
Oh well! Still a good deal, and a decent hot dog!
Verdict: Four stars, mostly because of how cheap this place is and the quality is decent for the price!

Kuya! Manong! Kamusta? His reply? «Jowa mo?» Wahahahahaha. I love these Filipinos. As much as I love their hotdogs. Best drunk food. And I. Do. Not. Like. Hotdogs. Or get drunk. Lol.
No, Kuya, not my «Jowa» lol

I bought this purely for the fact for its reputation. I had a filling lunch but decided to try a few hot dogs here. The recession special was perfect for me because I could try the drink and get a hot dog for my friend who also wanted to try a hot dog too.
On the positive side, the hot dogs were cheap since they were so small and the piña colada drink was alright. The hot dogs were crispy and snappy as many others have described. On the negatives, I asked for onions but wasn’t aware that the onions were part of a slurry of onions and accompanying sauce. It was super strong so I had to go back and scrape that off my hot dog. After doing that, I enjoyed downing the rest of my hot dog.
I recommend getting the hot dog plain if ordering here and avoiding the onions.

Decent little place near NYU that’s good for a quick bite. No seating so it’s kind of an eat and go place. It’s open late night so just drop in anytime.
They got some good fruit juices here especially the papaya drink. Their dogs are a little expensive not really but a decent tasting. Don’t get fries because they are lukewarm and just nah uh.
$ 1 pizza too if you can get over your fear of possible illness from cheap pizza.

Recession deal is the best! 2 hot dogs + a drink for less than $ 3?! and in NYC? Unheard of, except for at Gray’s.
Standing room only but the hot dogs are pretty good, especially for the price. By no means gourmet, just simple, delicious hot dogs. And all beef which is such a rarity. Quick, efficient service too!

The layout of the place is so fruity and they only sell 3 food items: Franks (hot dogs), pizza, and french fries.
The papaya drink was good and their slice of pizza tasted a little better than 2bros (pizza sauce was not bad). This spot is probably one of the few low budget/​drunk meal places to eat in the West Village. The hot dog was okay to me. I don’t think the flavor of the hot dog really suited the taste that I like from hot dogs (spicy or savory with relish and chopped raw onions). The sauce for the hot dog was sweet and I guess I wasn’t looking for that the night I had Gray’s Papaya. But still A-​OK.

Gray’s Papaya is definitely a NY institution. It never gets old. The location is so prime right on the corner of 8^th street and 6^th avenue. It’s a block from the 9^th street PATH and every major subway line goes to W4th. I used to go here a few times a week when I worked nearby, but now it’s more like once every few months. So when i do get to stop by, I make it count.
Most of the time I get the recession special right under 5 bucks which gets you two dogs with sauerkraut and/​or cooked onions as the free toppings plus a juice (anything except pineapple) with ketchup and mustard to put yourself at the counter. Recommend the famous papaya juice or the piña colada as the close second. The dogs almost always have that snap with each bite on the outside and tender on the inside. You can easily eat one in 3 bites because it’s just that good. I haven’t had the extra toppings for a white, but would like get a chili cheese dog the next time I’m around the area.
I recently just tried the cheese fries here and it’s really good as well. It’s a cup of fries that’s just slathered with gooey melted cheese all over. You can’t go wrong with ordering anything here based on my experience. Everything is great including their dollar pizza. Service is super fast, there’s always a line but it moves quickly.
While some people have faulted this place for lack of a restroom, I don’t think I’d want to do use one if they had one anyhow and it would be pretty scary because of all the volume of people whether inebriated or not that journey through this place any given night.

So, do these hotdogs magically taste a thousand times better to people because they’re cheap? Are Unilocalers compelled to rate them no less than four stars because they’re a New York institution? Do dirty water hotdogs taste so awful that they make these look like God in a bun by comparison?
Whatever it is, I don’t get the hype. This emperor has no clothes. The hot dog was tiny, rubbery and oversalted, and the bread was dense and dry. At least the counter service was friendly.
By all means, fellow tourists, come here because it’s on every must-​try list or because you saw it on Sex and the City, but do not come here expecting anything to taste good.

Mr. Frank said it, Gray’s Papaya has «The best hot dogs in New York!»
You have to come here and order the original, Recession Special. Although, it has gone up in price over the years it doesn’t matter because it’s worth it!
With five bucks, you can two franks topped with sauerkraut and onions, if you please, and a medium drink (except pineapple) but that gives you an opportunity to try their famous papaya juice. They also offer relish, cheese, and chili as add on toppings for 50 cents extra per. Be warned though, they only accept cash… they do have a ATM inside but just bring some with you to make it easier and avoid ATM fees.
I ordered their famous Recession Special and topped my two franks with chili, cheese, and sauerkraut. I normally, don’t eat sauerkraut but I figured I would try it and I actually liked it with the mixture of chili and cheese on my dogs. To wash it all down, I ordered one of their papaya juices as part my deal and even though I have never been a fan of papaya their juice was not that bad. I won’t be getting it again because I just don’t like papaya so I will be trying their pineapple juice next time I go.
You better know what you want before you get in line though because once in line it’s 1, 2, 3, and next thing you know you are paying. Don’t expect to come here and sit, relax, and have a private conversation — The place is somewhat small and only offers a small shelf like area to eat on but at least you get a window view and are able to watch people go through their daily life routine.
They also have 99 cent pizza slices which are pretty good but in the end it’s all about the dog that they serve up!
«Nobody but nobody serves a better frankfurter!»

Basic hot dog with all the fixins available. I got the traditional frank with sauerkraut and cheese. I washed it down with a banana daiquiri. Perfect for a quick, but delicious bite to eat. Maybe even better after a night out on the town :)
Doesn’t get more NY than this.

Keeping it simple.
Hot dogs are great with the kraut & onions.
MUST GET A PAPAYA DRINK!
Recession special, people!!!

I was coming here when the recession special was $ 2.75. Can someone inform the people at Gray’s that the recession is not quite over, what the deal with this $ 4.95 stuff?
Whenever I was in the city visiting family and friends I always made it my goal to pick up two franks at Gray’s. If the traffic report on WCBS said the Belt Parkway was the best way to get out of the city, and I didn’t have my Gray’s, I was taking the tunnel. At least my belly and taste buds were happy as I spent 30 minutes in traffic trying to get into the tunnel.
Now that I am getting older, my wife is really regulating my junk food intake. That means fewer trips to Whitecastle and Gray’s. I don’t know how I am going to give up my Gray’s whenever I am in the city. Since I was allowed this past weekend my brother and I went for the gluttony special. That’s when we both order three recession specials… one for the each of us and one for us to share! Mustard, sauerkraut, and red onions are my standard but once in a while I savor a taste for sweet relish. I always go the orange, once you step foot in the door you really can’t go wrong with whatever you get; except if you put ketchup on your hot dogs.
FYI… stay away from the pizza.

It’s cheap!
And it tastes like a hot dog!

I was told by two people to visit Gray’s Papaya in New York when I visited. Luckily there are several Gray’s Papayas in NYC, including a very similar company with exactly the same kind of food, but with a slightly different name. So the Gray’s Papaya menu is fairly simple; hot dogs, and fruit drinks. And it’s pretty cheap. I think they offer an «economy» meal, which was about $ 5 for two dogs and a drink. The hot dogs aren’t the greatest I have ever had; they taste like a baseball ballpark dog. But they’re pretty good. The buns were a bit dry. The fruit drinks are tasty; mmm coconut.
This is a nice place to hit up if you just need a little snack.

Gray’s Papaya serves a thin BUT VERY TASTY hot dog w/​sauerkraut & onins!
too bad it’s served in a dry, nothing-​special bun
the recession special is the way to go! $ 4.95 for 2 hot dogs & a drink (except pineapple). we opted for their famous papaya drink but it was nothing to rave about
ketchup & mustard pump available on the side! they also serve pizza here for $ 1 a slice but i didn’t try it because it looked dry!
NOTE: standing room only here
as far as cheap hot dogs go, i’m still a fan of Costco hotdogs!