Ray's Cafe is the perfect vantage point for savoring our postcard view of the Puget Sound with a micro brew and a bowl of clams. With a casual and lively atmosphere, the Cafe offers a wide array of menu options featuring world-class seafood dishes. Open for lunch and dinner everyday, the Cafe is the perfect place to kick back and relax!
Our outdoor deck is the place to be on a sunny summer day. The new addition of our heated, covered patio space makes outdoor dining comfortable on even the grayest of Seattle days. If the weather starts to turn, cozy up near one of our two stone fireplaces and you'll soon forget about the chilly weather outside.
Ray's Catering is Seattle's preferred caterer for a beautifully executed event! We provide full-service catering in our own waterfront banquet room (see Banquet Facilities), as well as full-service off-premise catering for all size events from intimate gatherings and sailing receptions to extravagant corporate galas at Seattle's premier event venues. From professional event planning to chef-designed menus and exceptionally polished service, Ray's makes your event both a pleasure to plan and attend! Please contact rayscatering@rays.com customized proposal.
Well, I was a frequent Ray's customer back in the Russ Wohlers' days (the 70's/80's), so when we looked for a place to eat after shopping for my daughter's bridal gown in Ballard, I suggested Ray's. I must say the overall experience was pretty disappointing—our server was very personable, but the gumbo that my daughter (who lived on the Gulf several years!) ordered was so spicy it was almost inedible for her—she was amazed that there wasn't a warning issued in the menu or by the server! My oysters were over cooked and didn't resemble "pan-fried." it was so loud it was hard for the 5 of us to hear each other. Certainly not the Ray's experience I expected!
We enjoyed the sunset view, the food, and the service this evening.
Took my son to a Friday afternoon lunch a few days before his return to college. February afternoon, relatively quiet at the restaurant - gorgeous views over the water. Excellent service. We told our waitress we were going to split the Seafood Louie and the Crab Cakes, and she offered to split the plates for us (most restaurants give you an extra plate and have you go at it) - instead we each received beautiful individual plates of the salad as the first course and the crab cakes as the second. Just a really nice touch. Both were excellent. The Seafood Louie, with house smoked salmon and scallops is so good.
Our server was very good. My seafood salad was excellent. Unfortunately, my husband's halibut was dry and hard because of being over cooked. Not how you would expect halibut to be cooked. It was a pricey disappointment.
A mixed day at Rays. Service was weird, drinks came after the meal showed up (he forgot until I flagged him down) It was somewhat cold in the restaurant, something I've never experienced at rays. Our surroundings were plain dirty. I understand that Sunday's can be busy but food all over the carpet is not acceptable.
Beautiful view, fantastic service, yummy food. We plan on more visits in 2019.
The entire staff are phenomenal. Very friendly, kind, welcoming & make you feel comfortable.
a Christmas Day dinner must for us, Ray's never disappoints. good food, great warmth and comfort, on the water, and close to home. plus, Olympic Mountain Creamery ice cream.
We were thrilled to learn Ray's would be open for Christmas dinner. Our expectations were more than met and we had a lovely dinner, great menu, enjoyed our bar choices, and were made to feel very welcome by all staff. We will do this next Christmas if we are given this opportunity. As well, I am bringing another friend here for lunch next week. Can't beat Ray's Cafe or Boathouse.
As always, a great holiday lunch at Ray's. The blackened salmon sandwich and calamari were excellent.
Birthday celebration. Even though on the reservation they don't recognize bdays, not even with a window seat. Kinda sad, been coming here since I was a kid. Did get a cozy table by the fire though and the sunset views can't be beat!
Great experience from the moment I walked in the door until we left!
Wonderful experience. Great food and view. Definitely recommend!
I hadn't been to Ray's in years, but our son moved to Ballard, so we thought we would give it a try. It was lunch, so we ate at the café upstairs. Great view, excellent service. The food is acceptable, but not what it should be for the prices. My fish was slightly overcooked.
I wish they had a regular green salad. Caesar isn't my favorite.
Outstanding food. Great service from very friendly staff. And you can"t beat the view!
We had a great evening with the fireplace going, a clear night/view of the water. Service was warm and friendly and the food was as delicious as usual!
The food is just ok. It's expensive for the quality. The service and staff are wonderful. We went at night, so the view was not an asset.
Might be worth it on a summer's day, to sit on the deck.
$30 entres should not come 10 minutes after you order them. It was also so cold I had to wear my down coat the entire meal.
Disappointed they no longer serve the crab and shrimp warm with melted butter on the Thanksgiving Buffet. Especially since they went from $45 per person to $65. My daughter is 16 and hardly eats enough to make it worth it. I at least expect warm crab.
We are in town visiting our U-Dub grad student son, and planned an early dinner here right around sunset. The food was excellent and our server did a great job. Even though the weather wasn't great, we enjoyed a wonderful view before it got too dark to see out the window. Really an enjoyable dinner.
Wonderful service and ambiance. My Poke Salad was lovely but the seared portion was not great. Will omit that in the future. The raw Ahi was fabulous and should always be the star of any Poke! Mahalo, Ray's!
Our server went above and beyond for helping us share our dinner.
Great time for my daughter's birthday! The food was great and as always the service was exceptional!
Ray's cafe does not disappoint! Smoked salmon chowder is the best; the favorite main course at our table was pasta with scallops. Their smoked scallops are worth a separate order - add them as a side to your salad. I wish they'd have mentioned various variations on the Irish coffee theme that they do before the dessert menu - I'd have saved space!
Staff was wonderful. Cocktails were pretty bad. Food was ok but nothing too special. Not much style, effort or special touches. For the money, I would not recommend nor return. Not a value in any way.
I LOVE Ray's. My daughter was being Awful and as we whisked her out of the restaurant, the staff was extremely helpful, friendly, and understanding. Every other time we've been, the food has been excellent with impeccable service. We take all our out of town guests here - it's a favorite.
Food was good. Service was disappointing. We'll try again next time we're in town.
Great view, very good service. Food was good but nothing special. Restaurant was vibrant and loud. We had a fun night.
We always enjoy our meals there. This is especially good to bring visitors to our city. Every one of my friends from out of town or overseas love the place. Good seafood also especially the Sable fish which is black cod.
Ray's was lovely for its view, good food, and cozy setting. The outstanding part was their clam chowder! I've never had a spicy clam chowder but they nailed it. I'm still craving more.
The view is unbeatable, but everything else has steadily gone downhill for years. It had been long enough since I was there last to forget how truly mediocre, if not disappointing, the food is.
There is nothing better than a table for sunset dinner at Ray's. Our waiter was efficient and friendly. The food was outstanding. We shared the calamari and it was so tender. We also had the mussels/clams appetizer. It was a substantial serving size and delicious. Our entrees were the scallops, the sable fish, the salmon, and pasta with mussels. All were cooked to perfection and delicious!
Stunning sunset along with tasty food and friendly service. Only wish they had more vegetarian option.
Our meal was disappointing. It is usually very good, but this time not so good. Halibut was dry and tasted old. Never got bread.
We have been to Ray's many times over the last 27 years & have never been disappointed. Until now. We waited for about 30 minutes for our server to show up. Then he forgot to take my husband's order & we had to call him back. When the food arrived we were warned about the hot plates for the halibut, which my mother & I had gotten. Sadly, the plates were hot, but not the fish. My mother had to send hers back to be heated up. My husband had ordered the crab cakes, which he always loves, but that night he stated they were dried out, barely warm & unappetizing. There was no sauce to go with the crab cakes. The asparagus was barely cooked & cold. He was extremely disappointed. The only person at the table who was happy with her entree was my son's girlfriend- and she had the beef fillet! Hardly a recommend for a seafood restaurant. My mother, 86 years old & visiting from Missouri, was paying for the meal as a thank you for having her out here for 3 weeks. I felt so bad that she paid over $300 for a meal that was terrible! And she has eaten at Ray's on previous trips out here & enjoyed it very much. I don't know why one of our favorite places was so disappointing. Maybe just a bad night? But needless to say, we will not be going back anytime soon. And we will certainly not be taking guests from out of town. If the bill had been for what the meal was actually worth, I would not have paid $50! We don't go out for expensive seafood meals very often, but we will be taking my mother out to Salty's later this week so we make sure she has a chance to have a good seafood meal.
My three brothers and I took my mom here for Sunday lunch. We were celebrating her 95th birthday. I had email communication with Darla when making the reservation. She came to introduce herself and wished my mom a hsppy birthday. The service and food were excellent. We splurged and had four different desserts and all were wonderful. I enjoyed the casual atmosphere yet it was slso a special place to relax and enjoy lunch.