Ray’s Food & Walking Tours

As former New Yorkers, my husband & I were looking for a tour with additional insight to some neighborhoods. We thoroughly enjoyed this tour and learned some interesting facts we hadn’t known before. We enjoyed the scenery and food as well. It was nice that the tour ended up being small. Our tour guide Mike was friendly and had lots of information and historical photos to share. Even though the weather was extremely hot, the tour was well paced and allowed us to stop into several cooler food establishments on the way. Thanks for a great experience!

Perfect afternoon for out of town guests and Seasoned Brooklynites! Ray took us to historical sites we had never seen, had great information and stories to tell and kept us snacking on delicious Brooklyn food the whole way through!

I highly recommend Ray’s Food & Walking Tours! In April 2015 I went on Ray’s Hip, Hispanic, Hasidic Food Tour of Williamsburg. The tour was a great balance of history, fun sights and eating. Ray himself was our guide, and, as a native Brooklynite, he is very knowledgeable about the neighborhood. We learned about the Hasidic community, Latino Immigration to Williamsburg and the growing hipster population. He also brought up some current issues and changes that the community is experiencing. Our group was a great size — about 12 people — so that being able to hear Ray or keep up was not a problem. He also supplemented the tour with additional images and articles. There were two kids on the tour, and the guide kept them involved by referencing sites that are relevant to A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, which they were reading. I have lived in Brooklyn for almost 4 years, and have hung out in Williamsburg, but I was still able to learn new things! This is a great tour for visitors from around the world and New Yorkers, too. He pointed out landmarks and interesting sites that I hadn’t even noticed before. There were also ample opportunities to take a moments rest from walking and use the restroom. The food was delicious, and I will definitely be going back for more Colombian tea and cupcakes! Ray even threw in a stop that highlighted an example of Williamsburg street art. I will definitely be taking another one of his tours.

Ray is the most friendly tour guide we have ever toured with. He really knows how to make you feel at home in a huge city! His tour was great with lots of variety.

I think a trip to New York would not be complete without taking one of Ray’s food or walking tours. My husband and I just returned from visiting New York where we had the pleasure of spending two hours with Ray on a tour of Greenwich Village. There is no way that we could have learned even a fraction of the history of Greenwich Village if we had simply done the tour on our own. We had the good fortune of doing the walk with two native New Yorker’s; not only are they knowledgeable themselves about New York but they also marveled about the new things they learned about their native city. Ray is personable, funny, knowledgeable and a lover of New York and all of those things combined make for a delightful NYC experience.
Don’t miss out on this great opportunity for learning!

I’ve been on two tours now with Ray, and loved both of them. The first was a walking/​food tour of Williamsburg, and the second was of DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights. Both of the tours were equally fascinating, and very different.
I loved learning the history of the areas, including some quirky legends in Brooklyn Heights. Ray is extremely knowledgeable and is able to answer nearly every question thrown at him!
For his food tours — expect a variety of specialties from well-​known establishments and well-​kept local secrets.
The walking pace is good, and while you cover a lot of ground, Ray keeps your energy up the whole time.
Have recommended this to family before, and will continue to do so!

We took the food tour of Williamsburg last Saturday with Chris and it was lots of fun. We started out on a busy corner in a pleasantly diverse part of the neighborhood learning about the history and enjoying a Morir Sonando, a Dominican drink. We walked through different parts of the neighborhood talking about the changes taking place over time and eating our way through them as well. Chris was enthusiastic and friendly. He was interesting and clearly loves food. We’re planning to take another of Ray’s tours on our next trip back to NYC. We’ve heard that Ray gives a great tour, and Chris was fantastic, so you won’t be disappointed if you book one of Ray’s tours.

I went on Ray’s Food & Walking Tour in the Lower East Side last January. I was so impressed by his professionalism and overall pleasantness. He is really passionate about what he does and it certainly showed through during his tour. I grew up near the Lower East Side and he still was able to present me with all kinds of cool information I didn’t already know and my boyfriend (a foreigner) still raves about the experience! I highly recommend that anyone with a passion for food and life take the time to try out one of his tours. Even though it took place in January (anyone who knows me know I loathe the cold) Ray was conscious of the fact and made sure that the sequence of his tours included lots of warm food/​drinks and the sights were all pretty close to each other. Also, the price of the tour was so reasonable I got to spend my extra cash on these amazing pickles he showed us (and I loathe pickles!)
Congrats Ray, I can’t wait until the next one!

I attended Ray’s Lower East Side and Williamsburg food and walking tour, they were both excellent, well documented and well organized. Ray is very knowledgeable but never boring, he always has very interesting facts ans stories to tell. The food stops are delicious and related to the area historical background. I definitely recommend Ray’s tours to everyone, tourist or local, who wants to learn about NYC.

Ray’s Tour was recommended to me by a good friend!
And after atending his tour I can recommend it as well!
You can tell that Ray is a local and an enthusiast for his work.
The athmospehre during the tour is fun and relaxed due to small groups and Ray’s passsion and also you learn a lot!
After the tour I needed to rest my feet but it was 100% worth it.

Amazing and unique tour. We did the Greenwich Village walking tour on a chilly December day and I learned a ton about the area in just two hours. Ray has all these quirky facts about hidden gems that one would never be able to find out or read about on their own. The other 3 people on our tour lived for years in the area and they were blown away by all the new things they learned about their neighbourhood. Ray’s passion for history and the city is evident and makes the tour so engaging.
Make sure you wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather because you will be covering a lot of ground!

Ray was great! Very personable and just all in all, a nice guy. The tour was informative and interesting — visited places I have passed by on my own but never thought to go into. I liked Ray’s anecdotes and his personal view of things. We went on a day with bad weather and he waited for us (we were late) and made sure to message beforehand to let us know the tour was still on. He was also very patient in the process of making the tour booking as there was quite a bit of back and forth (my fault). The only thing that brings down my rating was both myself and my husband thought this was a little expensive. I got a Groupon which made the price reasonable for me but if I had to pay the full price, I’m not sure I would have felt that I got the full value’s worth.

I had an exceptional time on Ray’s tour. You know it’s a good tour when you’ve grown up in New York and learned an incredible amount. Ray’s knowledge and enthusiasm is contagious. Apart from the fact that it was pretty cold outside and I had forgotten my warm coat, this was easily the best tour I’ve ever been on. Looking forward to the next one!

Ray’s tour was fantastic. He was very knowledgeable about all the history, facts, etc. of the West Village, but he made the tour interesting at the same time. He also listened to what we are interested in (architecture, history, etc.) and tailored the tour our interests. My wife and I would definitely go back for another tour with Ray.

We tried the Brooklyn Heights/​DUMBO walking tour I got an indepth guide of the area from Ray. He was knowledgeable and friendly. I really had a fabulous time and learned a lot. The Walt Whitman poetry by the park ready was a highlight of mine! Go on one of his tours you won’t regret it!

I’ve now done two of Ray’s tours with two very different groups of people. Ray’s outstanding at tailoring his tours to his audience and accommodating different groups. His tours were well thought out, well planned, taught me a ton about Manhattan and Brooklyn, and (for the food tours) introduced us to some great spots to eat.
One of my favorite parts of Ray’s tours are the anecdotes he shares throughout. Because he’s a born and bred New Yorker, he has amazing stories from his family and friends that span across different generations of New Yorkers.
I’ll definitely recommend Ray the next time any of my friends visit NYC.

I had a fantastic time on the Ray’s Williamsburg Food Tour. Who knew there was so much to know about pizza ovens! Ray did a great job pointing out the different ethnic neighborhoods within Williamsburg itself. I recommend Ray’s Food and Walking Tours for anybody who is looking to get a sense of the ‘real’ Brooklyn.

Ray’s walking and food tour is a must for locals and for anyone visiting New York. His love of the city and its history is apparent in every story he shares and every detail of his tour.
I absolutely would recommend anyone in town to take advantage of this awesome opportunity to learn more about New York City from someone as knowledgeable and likable as Ray.

I was in New York visiting some friends this past weekend and, looking back on the trip, the time with Ray was definitely the best part!
We went on his Williamsburg food tour. I’d never been to Brooklyn before, but had been to New York on a prior trip. Boy did I learn a ton! As a native Brooklyn-​ite, he had a ton of knowledge that he had gathered from his time as a child, his family’s experiences and from what I assume is a lot of other local knowledge. It was great that he had visual aids and local secrets that really made the tour special.
And then the food! The food was incredible. We enjoyed New York Pizza, authentic mexican tacos, incredible chocolate and more. Ray surely knows how to pick em! It was great having such an incredible Brooklyn tour with such a laid-​back, genuine tour guide. Whenever I return to Brookyln next, I will be sure to take another one of Ray’s tour. You’ll really miss out if you don’t! Highly recommended.

I had a friend coming to visit and we decided to go on one of Ray’s tours based on recommendations from friends.
It was great! Our particular tour focused on the West Village, and going into it, I didn’t think I would learn anything new. I live in Manhattan, walk everywhere in New York, and pride myself on knowing a lot about various parts of the city. That said, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Ray showed us parts of the village that I’d never even heard about.
Ray gave us a sense of the neighborhood as a whole — both how it used to be and how it is now — as well as a more in-​depth tour of details that you’d miss even if you walk around there all the time. I left the tour feeling like I had gained some kind of secret insight into some of the hidden landmarks of the area. Ray was fun and easy-​going, even in the 90 degree heat! After the tour, he directed me and my friend to what turned out to be a delicious coffee shop, and recommended a few books about New York City and the Brooklyn Bridge. I cannot recommend Ray highly enough!