A long-revered Vietnamese restaurant in Dallas' Oak Lawn neighborhood has resurfaced under a new guise: Called Papaya Kitchen, it's a revival of the former Green Papaya, now open at a new address at 5200 Lemmon Ave. - as a take-out restaurant only.

The restaurant, which opened softly on March 11, is from Alan Mai, who founded the original Green Papaya in 1999, and who is reprising its most popular dishes.

Mai says he was drawn out of retirement by longtime fans and by what he saw as a gap in the market.

"It became apparent there was a void in the Oak Lawn/Highland Park area, as well as a yearning for the quality and taste that defined Green Papaya," Mai says. “Papaya Kitchen seeks to fill that void, with a focus on Vietnamese cuisine."

Papaya Kitchen takes over a space on Lemmon Avenue that was once a Subway and most recently an Asian restaurant called Yumi To Go. The space has a few seats if you want to nosh on-site but it's mostly to-go, due both to the small footprint of the storefront, as well as the challenges of finding service staff in these post-pandemic times.

"Papaya Kitchen has been conceived with the sole purpose of bringing back the flavors and experiences that many have missed, but as a to-go only concept," Mai says. "It's also an abbreviated menu highlighting the best items from the Green Papaya era."

That menu includes the signature green papaya salad; starters such as fried egg rolls; spring rolls in shrimp, chicken, or pork varieties; and entrees such as:

• Charcoal-grilled lemongrass pork, chicken, or beef, with choice of vermicelli or thin rice noodles
• Pho - Vietnamese traditional thick rice noodle soup with bean sprouts, cilantro, green, and white onions and of shrimp, chicken, beef slices, or meat balls
• Banh Xeo - bean crepes filled with shrimp, chicken, and bean sprouts
• Banh Beo Bi Tom - steamed rice cakes topped with velvety mung bean, prawn floss, and fried pork fat
• Ga Luc Lac - pan-seared diced chicken with garlic sauce
• Com Chien Dac Biet - Papaya special with fried rice, egg, green peas, carrots and choice of shrimp, chicken, beef or grilled pork

Entree prices range from $16 to $18.

Mai first opened Green Papaya in 1999 at 3211 Oak Lawn Ave. in a former coffee shop named Java Jones, in a collaboration with Khoa Nguyen, who owned the also-beloved (and also now closed) East Wind Vietnamese restaurant in Deep Ellum. With few Asian options in the Oak Lawn area, Green Papaya drew a following for its fresh food, plentiful portions, and lively bar.

In 2019, Mai felt ready to retire from the industry and sold the restaurant. New owner Dylan Le subsequently converted it to Green Papaya Plant-Based, specializing in vegan and healthy dishes. The restaurant was well received but never hit its stride. (The old space is now home to a newly-opened Asian restaurant called Indochine Bistro, featuring dishes from Vietnamese-American celebrity chef Michael Bao Huynh.)

Mai says he has a "renewed passion" to get back into the business. "I'm back, let's recreate memories again," he says.