Ray’s Café

Ray’s is a Seattle icon, as is Ray’s Café upstairs.
This review is primarily for Reilly, who coordinates seating at the Café.
She’s consistently friendly, helpful & professional~

The happy hour menu is great. Superb view and excellent service. The rest of the food was decent but over priced. We got the happy hour tuna twice. It was that good.

The view here is fantastic!!! We opted for the deck for a get together with the girls and the amazing views of the water and sunset cannot be beat!
Service was also great– attentive and patient even with a few changes to our group size and table changes. Very friendly and accommodating!
I had the mussels and their seafood salad. The mussels were very tasty and I loved most aspects of the salad except for the smoked scallops (personal preference).
While the food is good the real showstopper here is the views so try to get a deck or window seat to really get the experience here.

Another cocktail and dinner evening at Ray’s and the food continues to be good. Tonight we had clams as an appetizer; so good we ordered a second order. We grabbed dinner of fish & chips and a Cesar salad with gulf prawns. Both were great. Service continues to shine, and the view is among the best in the city. Ray’s has become a mainstay for us.

Had dinner last night with a couple of friends. It was a pleasant experience with an odd waiter that created a couple of awkward moments. He didn’t offer us bread because it’s Seattle and he assumes everyone is gluten free… he also told us he was starving and wasn’t allowed to take breaks… It was at times difficult to differentiate if he was joking or being serious. Service aside, I had the rockfish with mango coconut sauce which was amazing and my fiancé had the fish fry which had a great crispy batter.

Location: 4 stars. Food Quality: 1.5 star. Service: 3 stars.
Location and Service: Came to enjoy a nice dinner with the wife on a Friday night on ⁵⁄₂₀. The location is really nice and we got a window seat, but it is a bit on the louder side in terms of ambiance. Minor thing, but our window was dirty, so the view wasn’t great. Service is on the slower side, unless you have a large group it seems.
Food Quality: However, I cannot recommend if you’re looking for good seafood. We ordered the rock fish and fish & chips. Neither impressed. Both tasted freezer burned and most definitely not fresh. What’s worse, my wife didn’t even eat half her meal, it had a weird taste to it, and then had really bad food poising later that night.
We called the restaurant to let them know, but they did not bother to do anything about it or even apologize. I’ll give them credit that they actually called me back, but of course they said it was an «isolated event» and they can submit a note to some food governing body, but otherwise see you later. Just a caution to others expecting fresh safe seafood.

Went during restaurant week. Not to be confused with Ray’s Boathouse which is the nicer restaurant that is downstairs. The café is upstairs.
I made a reservation a head of time but it wouldn’t have been necessary on a wednesday night. It wasn’t too busy. They have outdoor seating when it’s nice but the weather wasn’t that great so we sat inside near the windows. They have a really great view of the sound.
I started with the caprese salad which was fresh tasting. I had the flank steak and mashed potatoes for dinner. The steak was perfectly cooked however, the potatoes, stole the entire show. They were blue cheese mashed potatoes. AS in, blue cheese mashed into the potatoes. Incredible. I wanted more of them for sure. Dessert was a lemon cake that tasted store bought but not bad.
Excellent service, full bar, helpeful staff, good parking lot, good food. If it wasn’t restaurant week I probably wouldn’t have gone but I may go back the next time around!

The mussels in coconut red curry broth are very tasty and perfectly cooked. My coworkers got the artichoke dip and salmon sliders which also looked great.

While we’ve had fabulous meals here before, our last experience missed the mark. The ambiance was lovely, the views amazing, and the service was quirky and a little annoying, but well-​timed and attentive (but maybe stop calling your clients «darlings», «dears», and «lovelies».)
However, the food was just wrong. My crab cakes had several pieces of shell in them, and were oddly paired with a crisp and somehow chewy chorizo polenta. Nothing went well with the crab — not a good paired taste, consistency or even size. Just wrong. The asparagus was cooked just right., but was also mismatched taste wise to the crab and polenta.
But at least my meal had some highlights. My husband ordered the RR Ranch sirloin steak and is still mad about it 4 days later. As he discribed it, «overpriced, grisly, tasteless $ 30 steak that was cut with the grain.» The sides went together better, but the caramelized acorn squash was mealy, the corn sauce was almost non-​existent, and the potatoes tasted like they were reconstituted. He should have sent the whole thing back, but was too «polite». Sigh.
I see a weekend of grilled steak coming my way… Luckily, my hubby knows what to do with a steak, unlike Ray’s.
While we were waiting for dessert, I looked around the restaurant and realized it is just a year or two from looking hopelessly dated. I recommend they strip it out and replace all the furnishings with an updated color palette and more modern furniture. But start with removing the chef.

I’ve eaten at Ray’s Café twice now, and it’s a solid four star restaurant.
If you want a relatively expensive lunch with a great view, Ray’s can’t be beat.
If you want an excellently priced dinner with out of this world sunset and evening views, Ray’s is one of the best around!
The café gets pretty crowded during really nice days. Plan on waiting about 30 minutes.
The primary reason to stop by is the view. If you’re not dying of hunger, consider waiting the extra time to get a seat on the patio, but even inside, you’re treated to amazing views of the Sound with a lot of water traffic because the Ballard Locks are nearby.
The service is ok, but nothing to get too excited about either way.
Get the chowder. Skip the fish and chips.

There are many things about Ray’s café that make it unique. The view is like no other and the water here is so serene and calm and the ambience is enjoyable that one trip down to this place would make you fall in love.
The service is really good, the place is nicely designed and is just how it should be. I love love the wooden chairs, the bar right at the front, the deck outside where you can sit and order a drink.
I have only been here once, but hopefully it will be one of so many more times that I am planning to go. I can imagine it could be a perfect spot in hot summer afternoons.
I had a salad and a salmon sandwich. The food was too spicy for my palate and could have been less greasy. I had the blackened salmon sandwich and the pineapple salad which also had a blackened salmon on top of it. Did not like the way the salmon was cooked much, but really enjoyed my time here.
There were limited items on the menu and it was hard for me to choose something I really like. More choices would have probably been better.
Overall, I liked this place, definitely coming back sometime during the summer.

We had dinner last night at Ray’s Café. The service was very slow. We got our drink orders about 45 minutes into sitting down and our starters about an hour in. We chose to order from the Seattle Restaurant Week menu, so perhaps Ray’s decided we aren’t paying enough because the food was meh. The flank stake, while cooked to a nice soft medium, was tasteless. Zero herbs, spices or flavor. Had to resort to table salt. The Lemon Pound Cake and Chocolate Brownie deserts looked and tasted like plain old muffins. It was such a disappointing visit. The only thing that was really awesome and Ray’s couldn’t mess up was the sunset.

Skip Restaurant week at Ray’s! Is it «clean out the refrigerator week?» Stale chips and soggy bread, «off-​tasting pork and old-​soggy Cole slaw» what a disappointment.

Ray’s Café is the go-​to place for us when we have visitors from out of town. The food will be good, the service efficient and the view sublime.
Our most resent visit include a family of 5 from France and it was as it should be. The food was what we always expect and the servers weren’t stressing about the kids moving about. My favorite is the Ray’s Seafood Salad with those yummy smoked scallops and smoked salmon. Always a delight.
Next time you have those guests and you want to show them what Seattle is all about, remember Ray’s Café.

Celebrated a family Valentine’s Day with my 8 year old and SO and had high hopes for a spectacular dinner right in our own neighborhood of Ballard. Sadly was disappointed.
I ordered the King Salmon medium-​rare and was served a very medium cooked fillet. Easily could have been minutes away from being overcooked. The sauce was very bland and tomato heavy. I love tomatoes but this sauce tasted like it came out of a can with a few extra spices to keep it interesting. Not impressed. Also the salmon was served skin-​side down right on top of the veggies and sauce. Gasp! Beautiful grill marks on the top yes, but if you’re going to serve a fillet with the skin on, serve it skin-​side up so the crispy skin doesn’t turn into a soggy mess!
SO ordered the steak medium-​rare (sirloin if I remember right) and was shocked to see it was served pre-​sliced! Cook on the steak appeared to be right. Nicely browned with a juicy red center. Taste and texture however told us all we needed. Tough and extremely chewy. Whatever cut of beef they serve, it is not high quality. Side items were ok, but for the huge plate of food the size of his steak seemed out of proportion. Again, not impressed.
Kiddo was happy with his grilled cheese. Fries were plated in a mini fryer basket with the grilled cheese «sticks» on the side.
Dessert we shared the crème brûlée and the tangerine sorbet. Sorbet was nice, smooth texture, tart and sweet. Crème brûlée was very basic, quite thin and light. I was hoping for a dense creamy custard but unfortunately, was not impressed. The one winning quality though was the spicy chipotle tuile cookie on top. Nice touch Ray’s.
Overall a very basic dining experience. Would I go back, yes. Even though our visit was at night, I could see it being a fantastic summertime spot with its patio seating and views of the water. Hopefully next time will be better!

Spectacular view. I went here a while back, the view is absolutely amazing. The food however was not as memorable. I mean it was not bad i just cant remember what i had. Fish for sure but the view is just so good. Oh and make sure you got in business casual. If you go just casual, you’ll be under dressed but anything formal, you will be severally over dressed. I would recommend just on the view

My husband and I hosted our Rehearsal Dinner at Ray’s Café. I could not have asked for a more pleasant experience.
I worked with both Rebecca Lee and Emmett Niland. My husband and I toured the space early on in the process and were unsure of how much room we actually wanted. By the time that we decided we wanted the whole private dining area (Fireside room + Top Deck), the cost had gone up. (I totally understand forecasting changes.) I reached out to Rebecca and told her that that the increase in cost was not within our budget and she worked with us to help bring the cost within our budget. I was so grateful that she was willing to talk through everything with us.
A month before the event, Rebecca and I went through all of the details to make sure that my husband and I knew what Ray’s needed from us and when. She followed up on our menu and was able to provide recommendations for passed appetizers (vs stationary) and even accommodated a last minute request to come in earlier than originally contracted for. We found out last minute that our rehearsal was going to end earlier than anticipated. Rebecca and Emmett ensured that everything was set up before we arrived.
Finalizing the menu with Emmett was a breeze. He was able to accommodate off menu appetizers (mini crab cakes — so tasty!!!) as well as appetizers from both the Café and Boathouse menu (they have separate kitchens).
Emmett was our during event contact, but Rebecca also made herself available. Emmett introduced himself as soon as we walked in (we did our initial walk through with Rebecca only). He personally made sure that both my husband and I were able to enjoy our appetizers and entrees and saw to it that we both had drinks when we wanted them. He quickly was able to tell us where we were in our budget ensuring that we didn’t go over. I really appreciated that attention to detail. Emmett also helped our party transition seamlessly to the bar area after our event was over.
All in all, I highly recommend Ray’s for your next event. The whole team was a pleasure to work with.

The BEST Blackened Salmon Tacos ever! Seriously the best fish tacos I have ever had! The delicious looking picture that I took of these tacos doesn’t even do justice of how amazing they tasted! If you ever are in Seattle you have to go get these tacos! You will thank me later!

Nothing but great things to say about Ray’s Café. Definitely a more casual setting than the Boathouse on the main floor, which is more my style. The view was great and heat on the deck, it’s worth sitting outside even on cool nights or at minimum enjoying a beverage out there.
During our visit we sat in the bar, our waitress was awesome. She was attentive but didn’t hover, kept a smile on her face and she was open to engaging in light conversation.
The food was absolutely perfect. My company had scallops, which were cooked to perfection. Before we went I peaked at the menu to get an idea of the options and immediately knew what I was going to order, the seafood fettuccine. Down side, it wasn’t on the menu, which they change regularly. But this didn’t stop them, they were happy to and insisted on making it for me anyway. Although ordering something off menu can cost a little more, it was worth every penny. I’d highly recommend it if you catch it on the menu.
I’ll definitely be back.

Seafood right on the water, what more could you ask? Personally, the atmosphere was nice and I enjoyed the outside seating view, but the food was more expensive than it’s worth. Basic sandwiches, salads or some fish with smaller portions, but you’re paying for the atmosphere. If you have a special birthday or something, check this out for the overall feeling, but if you’re looking for a nice, hearty meal search elsewhere.

Met a couple here for dinner outside on the patio on a warm evening. Spectacular view of Puget Sound, Bainbridge and the mountains. Attentive service. I ordered Sablefish which was delightful. In a honey soy sauce, scallion oil, jasmine rice, bok choy. The entrée itself was beautiful. I think I had the best entrée of the four of us. My wife had scallops, which were good but the portion was a little light. My brother-​in-​law had the prawns which were also good, but again, not quite enough of them for the size (about 5 16 – 20’s). His girlfriend had crabcakes. All of the food was good, but my dish particularly so, and the portion was generous.
On top of all this, I arrived an hour or so early and sat at the bar on my laptop while having a fantasy football draft. They were very friendly, accommodating and seemingly genuinely interested in my «team.»

Incredible sunset, great food, nice beer selection!
This was a great place to have dinner when visiting Seattle.

Ray’s Boathouse had a wait but Ray’s Café did not! We made our way upstairs to the patio for an absolutely gorgeous view that only turned more beautiful at sunset.
We were bummed to hear their oysters weren’t very good that evening, but appreciated the honesty. Something about the water making them creamy and weird. No thanks! Instead, we opted to start with the crispy calamari and I followed that with blackened fish tacos, a special for the evening. My parents split another fish special, which they were nice enough to plate on two separate dishes.
Great food, awesome view and, wait for it, AMAZING service. It was cold outside and then it started raining (oh Seattle). Thankfully, they were happy to move us inside halfway through our meal where it was a little warmer, which was much appreciated.
We ended our meal with a peanut butter parfait and cookie bag! Both were delicious.
Overall, a very solid experience. A bit of a drive from downtown Seattle where we were staying but WELL worth it for the view!

I went to Ray’s Café for the first time recently, even though I’ve lived in Seattle now for 4 years, which is just sad! It was an absolutely wonderful experience. We went on a Friday night, arrived around 6pm and easily got a table out on the patio on a beautiful day. Wonderful view. Service was great as well.
I got a caesar salad and snow crab legs. They were great! I will say though that the sauce which was served with the crab, some kind of butter mixture but not just standard butter, had a slightly odd taste to it, but it didn’t ruin the experience and the crab was still delicious!
My husband had the burger and he was very happy as well :).
Highly recommend! We’ll definitely be going back.

Went to Rays to celebrate my dad’s 80^th bday with the entire family and it was awesome!
The service was great — they had 2 servers for 15 of us. The food was great! First time ever my mom finished up a meal! She had the Sirloin Steak and finished it all! My dad LOVED his Pan Seared Scalloped. Several of us has the Seafood Salad and it had major thumbs up! LOTS of fresh seafood and crisp salad and perfect dressing… The biggest hit however was the King Salmon… my family asked for it to be cooked on the rarer side and they accommodated… We also had a slight mishap where they missed one of our cup of clam chowder — and they were making a fresh batch so my daughter didn’t get hers till late and they upgraded her to a bowl to make up for it… the clam chowder was definitely worth the wait — so many clams and it was very tasty…
The only negative was we did get the Calamari and crab dip as appetizers… two full of the calamari — and it seemed still a bit sparse for us — we probably could’ve gotten three each for our whole party… was very yummy just not enough… :)
The view was beautiful — and we were fortunate to have the back room to ourselves… highly recommend trying this place — the food, service and atmosphere was VERY GOOD…

Went in for HH earlier and ordered the $ 6 «Jamaicanmecrazy» cocktail which was devine! Unfortunately Ahi Tuna is not on the happy hour menu as Unilocal advertises however, it was incredible! The sauce it comes with is delish! They don’t offer crab cakes as an appetizer so the only way to order is just requesting 1 or 2 for $ 8 each. They are super yummy and don’t contain any filler! It was really a superb crab cake! The food experience was great all in all.
Service was surprisingly poor. The bartender was obviously very busy but wasn’t personable at all and we felt like a bother :-/

Lovely dinner with a beautiful view!
My husband and I went to dinner on a Monday night and enjoyed a wonderful dining experience outside on the deck. We had a short wait (20 minutes) before being seated outside at a table with an expansive water view. We enjoyed watching the sailboats and the 15 paddle boarders heading out were an amazing sight to see.
Our white sangria from the bar was the only downside to the meal. It tasted pretty sour.
Dinner was excellent. We ordered a mixed berry salad that had the most delightful goat cheese and split it. We also ordered the sablefish (after seeing all the positive reviews here!) and it was amazing. I loved the sauces it was served with and enjoyed every single bite. The server made a recommendation on the wine which was terrific with the dinner.
After we finished they didn’t rush us out the door and we were able to sit and enjoy the sunset for a bit longer. They provided blankets and patio heaters to help with the chilly breeze too.
I am already looking forward to another visit to Ray’s Café!

I visited Ray’s Café’s for SRW for their lunch menu. First of all, a big part of why I wanted to visit Ray’s was because I saw that there was a gorgeous patio! And since the day that I visited was a sunny one, we sat outside. Even though it was sunny it still gets chilly if you’re in the shade, and so they have blankets for you to throw over yourself if you get cold. But you certainly do get a beautiful ocean view during your meal and I loved that part about Rays.
Food: I got the shrimp satay and the calamari linguine. Honestly I wasn’t too impressed by the food, they were sort of bland. The shrimp satay was just grilled shrimp on top of some cucumbers/​zucchini with some kind of buttery coconut sauce. It tasted bland. The calamari linguine on the other hand was so salty, maybe because of the olives they put in, but still, it didn’t have much flavor. The bite of the pasta was okay, al dente, however the sauce did not do much for me.
The staff was surely friendly and pleasant, except the waiter that served us ended up mis charging our bills after we’ve asked them to be charged separately. :0 I’m sure it was a mistake, but we did write it on the receipt so that he wouldn’t be confused haha.
TL;DR: lovely patio, nice view of the ocean, but the food is bland. I’ll try again for happy hour.

No problem getting a group reservation via OpenTable, early enough that onsite parking wasn’t an issue, pleasant reception staff, and efficient, unobtrusive wait staff.
Some changes I’ve noted since the café refresh, no more crew photos of year’s past, no open kitchen line vantage point, also some tweaks to the menu. However, nice to see that some other menu offerings still remained as is.
Anyways, I was primarily here for the folks I was dining with. But I’d have to say the classic Olympic Mountains made for a nice backdrop on this sunny spring day. That and seafood are primarily the selling points for Ray’s Café’s longevity.
We were well hydrated with ice water, some had refreshments from the bar, along with the complimentary rolls and butter.
I ordered the Ray’s Café Seafood Salad ($ 16, plus added $ 4 for crispy calamari) which had generous amounts of Alaska bay shrimp, house smoked salmon and scallops, but a smattering of artichoke hearts and cherry tomatoes.
What surprised me was the greens buried under a large quantity of supposed pickled shredded carrots (more like julienned carrots). Where’s the enoki mushrooms, for example? Even the plating looked different from what I remembered in the past. I made sure to eat the seafood, but couldn’t finish all the greens and carrots.
Others I dined with had the apple salad ($ 12) with added avocado ($ 3) and house smoked salmon ($ 4), cup of chowder ($ 5), half starter of calamari ($ 8), smoked scallop salad ($ 13, plus added $ 4 also for the crispy calamari), and a classic burger with fries ($ 14). Felt bad for the dear person ordering the latter item… for that price you’d think he’d get a pint from what’s on tap included.
Despite being full after a leisurely lunch, we just glanced at the dessert menu. That too had changed a bit — no crème brulee but a panna cotta. Our server didn’t seem to want to market any of them fully, so only one of us had coffee in a takeout cup. Actually, our server kind of came across as only peripherally there, kind of vacant. Hardly engaged or genuinely personable which I strongly remembered as strong points from FOH crew members of years past.
I’ve dined many times with friends, family, colleagues, classmates at both Ray’s Café, Ray’s Boathouse, and experienced the wonders from their catering crew attending other off site functions. It was a beloved destination and held lots of memories. As a disclaimer, I was a member of the pastry crew another lifetime ago.
This particular visit simply felt underwhelmed. A wistful sigh. Especially knowing for similar menu prices, one could have had more wow factor at Westward or The Whale Wins, as examples. It would be sacrilege to state, but I’ve actually had two recent visits to Duke’s at Green Lake that had better service and food at a much more reasonable price.
Ray’s Café was our Plan B — just wished schedules allowed us to have partake in the Seattle Restaurant Week dining campaign or other sites weren’t booked. Then we could have more bang for our buck. Overall it would have been a mere two Unilocal stars for meh, but raised it up one (three total) for the quality of the seafood.

Brought a couple of friends from out of town to Ray’s for happy hour while watching the sun set. Needless to say, they very much enjoyed themselves. The service was great and prompt without being pushy. We sat at the corner of the bar for two hours and were regularly asked if everything was ok or if we needed anything.
The happy hour menu at Ray’s is all solid. I haven’t had the clams yet, but the ahi, hummus and crab cake were all very good. There is also a great beer selection and my friend said the happy hour rose was very good, which is always a pleasant surprise for house wine at happy hour.
I definitely plan to keep coming back.

Ray’s boathouse, the floor below, has a beautiful view and makes for a romantic, date night. Great ambience and not as noisy as its sister (rays café) upstairs. I always appreciate great service and our server for the night was nothing short of it.
We had to get a half dozen oysters to try as they’re in season and indeed they were delicious! I got the scallops for my entrée which I really liked, there were three big pieces and it was a little charcoaled on the top but once you take a bite, it’s very soft and tender beneath.
Couldn’t end the night without dessert! The crème Brule was torched on top beautifully and the inside was like sweet pudding.
Well done!

Decided to come here for dinner on a Sunday evening because of the reviews we had read on Unilocal.We placed a reservation through OpenTable within an hour of when we were planning on going and had no issues.
We arrived and were seated right away. Our waiter was AWESOME — I wish I remembered his name! He was super enthusiastic and had great recommendations. We all were pleased with all of the dishes we ordered. It is in a great location and I edit we had gone when it was light out because they had a nice outdoor seating area. Flavors of food were great — everyone who has written reviews has pretty much hit the nail on the head — if you’re looking for a great seafood place in Seattle that isn’t ridiculously overpriced, this is your place! Definitely will be back.
I don’t deduct stars because of price, but it definitely was $$$ if you get drinks and a full entrée.

We went here on Christmas Day for a quick lunch. First of all the view is immaculate. You are sitting upstairs and you are overlooking the bight blue sea. It is absolutely amazing.
Since we just wanted a quick lunch, we opted for the Clam Chowder, Mussels, and Fish N Chips.
All three were amazing! The clam chowder was packed full of clams and was quite hearty. The chowder was very creamy with great flavor. It was very nice on a cold Christmas Day.
The Mussels were steamed in a Spicy Thai Broth. We got around 40 Mussels for $ 13. The mussels were so fresh you would have thought they just picked them from outside. The broth for the mussels was astounding! After the mussels were gone I drank the broth like it was soup.
Finally we had the fish n chips. The fish was fresh and delicate on the inside. The crispy exterior made the fish seem much more moist on the inside.
This is a great Seattle restaurant that everyone should try.

We were lucky enough to snag a spot right by the window so we had a nice view of the water. We made reservations though so that’s recommended especially on sunny days.
I ordered the sable fish and chowder… both were very tasty! I had ordered the sable fish at Ray’s Boathouse (downstairs) before, but it wasn’t saltier than I remembered. I can’t remember what my bf ordered, I think some kind of burger — he said it was OK. It was a lot of food and pretty heavy so we had some leftovers to take home.
The café gets really hectic when it’s busy so just be patient.
I think their only parking option is valet, so just as a heads up, you’ll want to have some cash on you for tips.

I was visiting Seattle a few weeks ago to run a half marathon and this spot was highly recommended by a local. Once the race was done, my friend and I enjoyed the patio there all afternoon.
Excellent cocktails and food on the deck. It was a gorgeous sunny, warm, breezy afternoon right next to the water. The sablefish and crab sliders were delicious! Spending the afternoon here on the deck was my favorite part of the Seattle trip. Hope to return here again on a future trip.