Ray’s Café

Got to Ray’s with just enough time to get a bite to eat before closing– there’s always friendly faces and good service whenever I come to this little hole-​in-​the-​wall place.
Ordered the prime rib special and it really is such a great deal! A serving of salad comes included with the order, which is nice. The cut of steak was so thick and tasted SO good. I’m never disappointed whenever I get prime rib here and despite the small location and limited seating, it’s such a great place for local foods and lunch plates.
The owner chatted with us briefly and was even kind enough to get my dad and I some cake, on the house.

From their filet mignon to their crispiest chicken… ONOLICIOUS! Steak was the tastiest so far and was tender too! Chicken was crispy, tender inside and tasty… I recommend it…

The first visit to Ray’s was not a disappointment. I ordered the prime rib medium rare. It was cooked perfectly. The au jus sauce was one of the better sauces I’ve had.
The next visit was for breakfast and that was also good. Had the loco moco.
Im here now… waiting on the steak and fried oyster. Verdict is still out until later but I’m sure it’ll be good too.

The fried chicken plate is yummy! Came here just for that and it was as good as it was described on Unilocal,thanks reviewers. Gets kind of busy and there are very few tables so takeout is a good option.

Awesome food. Excellent quality and HUGE portions. Only thing is that parking sucks.
We got a dinner that would have been over $ 150 at Ruth Chris for only $ 35. Such a great deal.
I would recommend doing takeout just since it’s a small space.

I don’t know why I keep giving Ray’s a chance, but it’s probably because it’s been easy to forgive Chef Felix, and the portions here are generous hence two stars. However, I was disappointed with my recent visit to Ray’s. It was a blazing hot afternoon, and I decided to drop by Ray’s to pick up some dinner. I made the mistake of not placing an order over the phone since I wouldn’t mind waiting. My biggest mistake.
The waitress looks like she’s obviously on her lunch break since she’s occupying a table with a plate full of food in front of her. She glances at me a couple of times, with no acknowledgement whatsoever. I wasn’t sure if I had to place my order with her because she was busy eating, then again, she was the only employee there.
A few minutes later, I’m still awkwardly standing in the middle of that small hot resturant with my hands full, sweating and nowhere to sit. At this point, my patience has run low, so I asked her, ‘are you ready?’ I mean, she was still eating. I asked her about their fried chicken, so she points at the sign behind her. I had more questions I wanted her to clarify but I didn’t bother with it since she seemed disinterested and continued to ignore me. At this point, I didn’t even place an order. I ended up walking out and going to another establishment where I was greeted and got my food literally within minutes. I’ve seen customers barge into their kitchen because no one was out there taking orders or the server was too busy, which is understandable when you’re in a rush and your car is parked in a tow away zone because there’s nowhere to park…
I’ve opted for phone orders before, but language barrier can sometimes be a challenge, so the person on the other end usually passes the phone to Chef Felix lol. If you want a good experience coming from Ray’s Café, I suggest you order over the phone and opt for take out so you don’t have to deal with all things unnecessary at this establishment.

Amazing mom and pops place!!!
If you are looking for a home cooked meal this is the real deal!
The prime rib was to die for it was better than lawrys and if anyone have been to lawrys knows that’s one of the best places to get their prime rib fixed!
Mac salad was omg!!! Amaze ballsssss made to perfection
Fried chicken was very well breaded and cooked to perfection!
Breakfast was as amazing as well!
Place is small but so worth the food!
One of the best place we found in oauh
Service– well it’s a moms and pops
Hahah so suck it up food is well worth it!

Located on North King Street in the heart of Kalihi, Ray’s has been my ‘go to’ for a real plate lunch. Menu items include prime rib, ribeye steak w/​or without lobster, shrimp and more.
I tend to eat healthy. My usual is the sauteed Ahi. Usually a giant ¾ inch slab of fish with 2 small scoops of rice and a side salad (lettuce).
I’ve also sampled their rack of lamb. One of my absolute favorites for under $ 20 bucks. That too comes with two small scoops of rice and a side lettuce salad.
My favorite for value. Giant portions.
BYOB

Maybe I’d feel differently if we ate in and got the prime rib. But that’s the only reason I didn’t give this one star.
My wife and daughter waited an HOUR today to pick up three plates to go: the chicken leg plate lunch, the chicken wing plate lunch, and the fried shrimp plate lunch. None were well-​seasoned, and the latter two looked like the store bought stuff you find at Costco. That’s not automatically bad, but there was nothing to commend it. The chicken legs were the best of the bunch — four pretty meaty pieces, two scoops of rice, and a surprisingly palatable mac salad (I generally hate mac salad) for $ 6.50.
There was no parking, so my wife went in and my daughter waited in the car for the hour. She said later that she would have parked a quarter mile away and walked had she known it was going to take so long. Service was friendly enough, but when you wait for an hour, that’s never going to please. Cash only.
I may try to make it back (during the day only) to try the prime rib. Huge chunks of meat. But I’m thinking it’ll be a while before we’re willing to brave this again.

$ 15 for prime rib. And very good prime rib. And a nice thick slab of it as well. No frills here, just great meat. And an au jus that is just to die for.
Prime rib is only served on the weekend with limited quantities. If you wanna seat inside, come early!
If not just do as i do, call in your order ahead of time and pick it up when you get there.

As much as I want to root for the little guy, sometimes the little guy is just disgusting! Decided to come to Ray’s for breakfast because of the great reviews the restaurant had. Fellow Unilocalers haven’t let me down frequently, so I figured why not.
I arrived with a small group around 10am for breakfast. The restaurant is small, only a few tables, and actually quite dirty. I’m by no means a stickler for cleanliness, but the place was not clean at all. It took about 10 mins for the waiter to come greet us and take our orders. We had a few coffees and water… simple enough you’d think right? Well, we were treated to a surprise when our waters came out. DISGUSTING grime and food bits were in our water! Are you kidding me Ray? We then made a breakfast order, a simple order of eggs and sausage for me. After a short wait our food came out and it was completely underwhelming. For a 4+ star restaurant you’d think they would be better than Denny’s, but sadly they couldn’t even compare.
To say I was only disappointed would be an understatement, I was DISGUSTED… the high price for disgusting water and below average food? Ray, you can do better.

This is a place to go if you’re hungry. THE Portion size and the quality of food speak for itself. If you’re looking for a fine dining and fancy service, this is not the place to go. But if you’re looking for somewhere to get a big bang for your buck this is it. You hit the nail on the head. The service is a little less than desired, but the food makes up for it. This is a mom and pop type of little hole in the wall that you will come to over and over again.

When your lobster tail is just as huge as your prime rib you know you’re at Ray’s café… but don’t let the other reviews fool you. .this place does not have the biggest prime rib…

Do not come here for quick service or anything fancy. However if you want great food from Ray then give it a try. The prime rib is very popular for a reason. He is generous with the portions and Au jus is so flavorful. Everything I have eaten has been darn good, I’ve been coming periodically for over 20 yrs when it was located in Chinatown.
The parking can and is a challenge so keep that in mind. There is only room for about 15 people to sit but you may see 20! AC is running, no check that it’s not running that well if they do because it is warm in there. Again, it’s the food that makes regulars come back.

I couldn’t get in to Paul’s 8^th shindig here and he buys out the place so we decided to come on our own. They were closed early last night so we decided to give it another try. We got here and couldn’t immediately find parking. I got out of the car and stood in line. It was small seating and a long line. I stood there with the workers scrambling and the phone ringing off the hook. Darcie found a parking in a shady part of town and met me in the restaurant. 5 minutes later a table opened up and we are able to sit down. What luck! I saw a Sheriff leave through the back door with nearly 20+ plates. He didn’t have a problem with parking. Lol.
Earlier I opened the door for a handicapped lady. The patrons yelled at her to close the door. She said, What? You guys no like flies on yo’ food? LOL.
There was a pretty big menu. No time and space to try it all! I ordered a T-​bone with shrimp and Darcie ordered the fried chicken.
The staff was large today! There were 5 minus a female worker. Boy were they moving about though. Some folks were sharing tables. I noticed two Japanese tourist sitting next to one local dude.
So about the food. We didn’t get salad with our meal because they forgot. The rice scoops were really tiny. They looked like quail eggs. The fried chicken was alright but nothing special. The T-​bone was pretty good. I ordered shrimp but by 12 they had run out of shrimp. The price WAS unbelievably cheap.
I’ll come back someday; maybe at Paul’s UYE.

This is not the prime rib you are looking for. Those are not big moist king carb legs. Move along, move along.
How does a friendly little hole in the wall have some of the best prime rib and crab I have ever eaten, all at half the price the big guys charge? Best of all, my rare prime rib was actually rare. Yea!

This is not the prime rib you are looking for. Those are not big moist king crab legs. Move along, move along.
How does a friendly little hole in the wall have some of the best prime rib and crab I have ever eaten, all at half the price the big guys charge? Best of all, my rare prime rib was actually rare. Yea!

I had good oxtail stew. The place is a dive like none other and the guy who took our order was hilarious, he kept saying I don’t work here, and I’m fairly certain he didnt!
There is only a couple of tables so either order takeout or prepare to wait.
3 stars because they were out of the prime rib and we were there for almost 2 total hours. My coworkers got the reys special, which looked ok, and the other got the opakapaka which looked nothing special. I enjoyed my stew, it was really good.
I will come again cause I want to try the prime rib and watch the show again. By show I mean the guy taking orders and yelling in the back and telling people eh, you been here before you know what you want yet?
It was a good experience total, I just hope next time they don’t keep forgetting our order. He said that our chicken kept getting cockroached, which means the guy filing the takeout orders was taking our chicken for them. We did see a ton of takeout orders be picked up while we were waiting.
Will update the review later when I get the prime

I’ve seen the numerous pictures of Ray’s prime rib and I finally got to try this place. This was by far the biggest cut of prime rib I’ve ever had and it’s crazy that it’s only $ 16. To get a cut this size at a different restaurant, I imagine you would have to go to Vegas and pay $ 40+. Although the prime rib was huge, I think it could have used a bit more flavor and spices. Another favorite at Ray’s is the hamburger steak and fried chicken combo. For $ 8, this was another great deal. The hamburger steak was just alright, but the fried chicken was juicy and the skin very crispy. The fried chicken was one of the better ones I’ve had.
The one real big downside is that there is only street parking and it can be hard to come by. The restaurant is also very small with only five to six tables. I think it’s much easier to call ahead to get takeout.
I recommend Ray’s Café if you want to eat a humongous piece of prime rib or for some quality fried chicken at a great price point.

My family and I have gone to Rays numerous of times, and several words come in mind:
1. Fresh food
2. A great meal is coming
3. Great deal
4. Consistently awesome
Owner and chef Felix is like a magician; provides hotel quality food in Flinstone proportions for a small price. To this day, my family and I have no clue how he stays in business, but we are not complaining.
The restaurant location and parking may not be ideal, but this is easily overlooked once the food comes. The dining room is always clean and each table have a load of condiments. Everything (we tried almost everything on the menu) is always fresh, not fried and refried, cooked to perfection and comes in huge portions.
Go early because the daily specials sell out quickly.

Best hole in the wall place ever!
Parking sucks… it’s super small so good luck getting a table and theirs no AC so if it’s the summer time order to go for sure buuutttttt the food is BOMB and the portions are huge for the price!!!
As long as you can look past the esthetics of the place I promise you won’t be disappointed
I need to make it back when they have the prime rib tho!

Great food at a unbelievable price. If you are in the kalihi area craving for some thick steak, this is the place to be.

I beat myself up every time I come here.. why? Why am I at a hole in the wall without air conditioning, challenging parking, and in an undesirable part of Honolulu?
Many of my friends gave a 5-​star rating because of the awesome Chef Felix, his generous portions, and warm hospitality. They rave about the taste and texture of the Rack of Lamb, Prime rib with au jus, Fried Chicken, Mahi mahi, Pork chops, etc. But there are other things to consider. I know that I’m going against the grain, but this is what I experienced…
Inside the old fashioned restaurant, there are 6 small tables that can be rearranged to suit your party’s size. Restroom is outside. .I’m too afraid to go, so I can’t tell you how it is. Service varies according to who is working. I saw a waitress try to give a customer the wrong meal. Another time, the waitress walked away without our telling her our complete order. During our previous private events, the chef or our friends served us — during those times, the service was good.
This time, I had to wait for a table. The place is so tight that I had to move away from the door dozens of times because customers were going in and out. I stayed by the door for the ventilation. However, I felt sorry for the customers whose tables I maneuvered around — yikes! I understand that this is a popular place, but I felt like I was so uncomfortably close to the diners!
When my friends arrived, we still had a bit of a wait. When we got our table, we started out with a fresh green salad. I laughed out loud as we poured out the excess water from the salad bowl into our water glasses! We had called in our order for two servings of Rack of Lamb. I was reassured that it would be held for us — not like last time when I drove all the way there just for the Lamb and they had sold it to someone else. WHAAAT? This time was almost a repeat. They had sold one of the Rack of Lamb orders. I was ready to leave and let Dear Daniel have the Lamb, but he gallantly gave up his Lamb so that I could have it. ARG! I know it’s just business, but when the order is called in and you know the customer… um…
They say that the prices are reasonable for the amount of food served. The bill was $ 55.00 for the 3 of us. If the Prime Rib was $ 16.75 and the Pork Chops were $ 9.75, I guess the Lamb was about $ 26.50? Okay — I’m just stating the facts. I prefer eating elsewhere, thank you. If friends from out of town want an adventure, I’ll bring them if they ask!

Mmm… thiick, soft, juicy and ooh so succulent… PRIME RIB! I know this place is in Kalihi but get yo’ mind out the gutter!
I have had Ray’s Café set in my sights for awhile. I am born and raised in Kalihi, how did I miss this gem?!
A bunch of us Unilocalers decided to set a day to visit this little café, when we weren’t able to get into one of Paul C’s infamous Ray’s Café UYE. When I got the call on the time and day, I was all in baby!
I got there at around 545 for a 6pm dinner meet up. A few Unilocalers were already on site as well as other patrons who were waiting to gain access to a table. We were lucky and got two tables, perfect for all those attending. They had sold out on a lot of the specials, it was a Friday so I expected such. Fortunately the prime rib was still available as well as their rack of pork chops.
I decided to forego the famous prime rib and try the rack of pork chops. Chef Felix does not mess around with portions! The pork chops were huge! Two thickly sliced, breaded pork chops PERFECTLY seasoned and cooked to perfection! Fran C was so generous and let me have a piece of his chicken with the skin on! Who does that?! I don’t! I would let you try the meat by the bone. Touch my chicken skin and I’m biting your finger! I have to say as I’m not a chicken fan, it was delicious! We decided to come back in a few days since they were having rack of lamb.
I was strutting my stuff with the beat of ‘bow chicka bow wow’ playing in my head as I got to Rays on my second visit… just straight struttin’ because I knew I was about to partake into some deliciousness. Unfortunately, they had ran out of the rack of lamb. In place I got the prime rib! We all shared food once again. I got to try the mahi mahi and opakapaka. Everything was fantastic! Being here twice I have tried 5 dishes (thank heavens for wonderful sharing Unilocalers) and haven’t been disappointed. Chef Felix is so friendly and extremely humble, sincere and a genuinely great man. He reminds me of my papa and I already have a place for him in my heart.
I will definitely be back soon. In fact this lucky boricua got into Paul C’s upcoming Ray’s café UYE! Ay Papi!!!

26 relatives take Hawaiian airlines and are fed a breakfast sandwich smaller than what your elementary school student gets fed for school breakfast and when they land at Honolulu International, they are starving like a pack of hyenas a week into a low calorie diet. (Shame on you Hawaiian Air — separate review to follow) so what do we do? Well one smart fella of the group pulls out the handy dandy Unilocal app and looks for where the locals go. Unilocal says go to Ray’s Café so three vans go to Ray’s in a district that isn’t plush and fancy and if it were Oakland would likely be sketchy. But we pull up and lo and behold a line is built around the café. Does this detour us? Yes, one van leaves (and misses out) and I convince the rest to tough it out because Something in my soul tells me it’s worth it. I engage into friendly food-​related conversation with a couple locals who do nothing but rave about Ray’s. I’m given tips about the prime rib and the oxtail stew. I’m told about how crackin’ this place is and how people wait for their orders patiently because they know they will be rewarded. So I practice my hang loose sign and my annunciation of «brudah» and try to figure out what I want.
This place is small. By my count, seating is limited to 25 at a time. But what it lacked in seating space it made up for in serving size. These servings are gigantic (explains the size of the locals here… please don’t come after me, I mean this in the most flattering way possible). By the time we order the prime rib and oxtail stew are gone (insert sad face). But my pretty lady and I order up a storm for our table. We do the chicken cutlet, rack of porkchops, mahi-​mahi, and Ray’s specials (hamburger meat steaks and fried chicken). The service is spotty because it’s limited staff. But they bust their as-​es and with this large a group not one order was missed. Everything that came out was «OMG Goodness». I want to come back for that prime rib and oxtail stew so wish me luck. Felix came and checked on us a few times and then randomly gave us a couple t-shirts…score!!! This place defines dive but I love it and it will be a go-​to. I will continue to wish Felix and family and Ray the best and hope that they continue to get both local and tourist patronage. Places like this need support because it’s just good ol’ folks trying to make an honest living by giving you a very affordable and delicious product. Check out these pics and you will want to try it yourselves. It’s a place that made me feel the word «ohana».

So I FINALLY get to try this place called — Ray’s Café. And I must say, this place is legit Yo!
My Unilocal buddy Judy C. & her hubs invited a few of us down for din din tonight, and I want to extend all of my MAHALO’s to ya!
Ray’s Café is located in the heart of Kalihi… just a few doors down from another great eatery Island Style BBQ Corp.
Ray’s is a small hole in the wall place… kinda reminds me of the Ono’s Hawaiian Food in Kapahulu, where the restaurant is very small, and tons of people are waiting outside to get a table to eat here.
Upon arriving, I meet up with a few cool Yeeps — Jerrae R., Jeana P., Doug, Judy C. & her hubs, and one of Judy’s friend. Lucky for us, we were able to secure two tables… and upon sitting down, guess who we run into? Yes gang, the KING of Ray’s Café — Paul C. the hostess of the mostest for the UYE Ray’s Café parties. He was there with his beautiful ohana tonight.
As we sat down, a lady comes out to take our order… and for me, I came her for just one thing! Frrrrrried Chicken! Yes gang! I am a hard eating Frrrrrried Chicken man!
A few of the gang ordered Prime Rib, Pork Chop, & I think my friend Judy C. ate a Fried Chicken combo with Opakapaka.
What can I say about Ray’s Fried Chicken? Gang look at da pics… and the pics will tell you it all! While eating I think I had a Chickengasm! The Fried Chicken was very plump, juicy, and flavored just perfectly! Not too salty… just perfect I tell you!
I also managed to try Jarrae’s Pork Chop, & Doug’s Prime Rib. I gotta tell you folks… chef Felix is a master chef, as the Prime Rib was so soft and flavorful. It can easily rival any fine dining Prime Rib I tell you! I will have to come back here another time just to eat prime rib! Noms! As for the Pork Chop, it was very plump & juicy too… the chops had some kind of light breaded seasoning to it. Perfectly done…
There was so much people here this Friday night, and business was just a very steady flow of people… lucky the service is efficient, so they turn the tables quickly, cuz everyone who is waiting outside wants to eat!!!
Parking is the only bummer about this place, as there is no private parking lot. You will have to roll the dice, & look for street parking if you want to come here.
Last of all… the food prices are really reasonable! (Cash Only)
My Fried Chicken plate was just a mere $ 7 bucks, but I left chef Felix a good tip, as I enjoyed his grindages so much!
If you’re ever in the Kalihi area… you gotta check ‘em out gang!

(More like 2.5 stars)
Was super excited to try Ray’s after reading so many good reviews and hearing about the bomb prime rib! We arrived between 4 and 5PM on a weekday and were fortunate (very very very fortunate. only had to spin around once) to find street parking nearby. Note that parking and location are TERRIBLE. And there was NO PRIME RIB. Granted it was almost closing time, but the no prime rib part was incredibly disappointing :(
Given that our initial first choice wasn’t available, we went with a steak plate and a steak & shrimp scampi plate. The lady who took our order was NOT friendly AT ALL and seemed to want to ignore us the whole time. However, we were taking out, so service wasn’t such a huge deal. Both plates were reasonably priced, but the steak wasn’t anything to jump up and down about, and apparently the scampi was 60 or 70% as good as Giovanni’s. Meh.
Aside from the ok food, the place itself seemed pretty dirty. The kitchen especially. Was really hoping to try the prime rib, but probably won’t eat here again because of the food and overall atmosphere.

Food was tasty, service horrible. Maybe they don’t like tourists supporting their business? Or maybe Ray is racist? He acknowledged everyone around our table (only 5 small tables) and gave other tables free food. When he looked our way I tried to make eye contact with a smile and he just turned away.
Don’t go here if you would like to be treated like a human.
I would rate this higher if Ray was not a jerk. We did read the previous Unilocaler that said Ray is a butt hole, so I guess we were warned ha.

If you’re looking for cheap eats and you’re on a budget, this is the place to go if you ever in the neighborhood of kalihi. Definitely one of them hole in the wall places but as they say never judge a book by its cover. And to my surprise this little place is generous in prices and food portions. I’m one of those that like to spend money on food that I get more for my buck.
It’s located on the main street off of King St. so parking is quite limited around this area so we’ve always gotten take out. As always we do a phone order first before coming here so we could tag team and have someone in the car waiting on the side and one go inside to pick up the order. The place is small so there’s only a few tables to dine in and it can get hot inside so that’s why we rather enjoy our food at home.
No matter what everything may look on the outside and inside, the food and reasonable prices is what keeps customers coming back for more. The infamous prime rib is the most popular choice from here. I don’t eat meat much but I have to agree that it’s really good and you get your money’s worth with it compared to buying it at restaurants. I believe its around $ 15 for a big chunk of prime rib that is so filling and flavorful.
As for me who’s not a big fan of red meat, I always get the chicken plate which is so crispy and delish! It’s one of Ray’s signature dishes as well and combos are available that will only cost you less than $ 10 a plate, totally worth it! Most of the plates I’ve gotten here always had to eat it in two sittings because of it’s portion sizes. The last time I went here I tried something new which was a lobster omelette. It was about $ 12 but worth it considering it’s seafood, always gonna cost more due to market price of lobster also. It was really good and not your usual typical omelettes that you can make at home.
Definitely one of those food places in kalihi that’s always worth going to when you’re feeling like having a quick bite to eat for plate lunches. BRING CASH!

«Familiarity breeds contentment»
Ray’s Café is an institution in Kalihi as it once was in downtown Honolulu Chinatown. I have been going to Rays since the 1990s when they were located on Smith st. near Beretania. I can honestly say for a spot-​on meal at a great price, you cannot beat Rays. It was a sad day for downtown workers when Ray’s Café left but a cause for celebration for Kalihi town.
Rays has been very consistent over the years and very friendly to customers. Felix is always courteous to everyone and really makes you feel special. Forget «mom’s» home cooking diners, it’s Felix’s Café that is King.
Just like the old downtown location, it’s strictly on street parking but for this Kalihi culinary gold mine, «where there’s a will there’s a way». You will find a way to park to get these ono grinds.
Fresh fish, lobster omelets, a terrific hamburger steak, humongous prime rib cuts on the weekends, surf and turf combos, da best fried chicken in Honolulu, the list goes on and on…
Fellow Unilocaler Paul C. has a UYE dinner offering there several times a year– something everyone should be on the look out for as it fills up really, really fast!
So for a slice of local kine offerings with a pinch of nostalgia for the hole in the wall cafés of years gone by, you gotta try Rays. Great food and friendly service that won’t break the bank.