Reviews - Ray's Boathouse
Reviews summary
Ray's offers a mixed dining experience, with some customers praising the excellent service and delicious food such as seafood salad, scallops, and butternut squash ravioli. However, other diners were disappointed with dry halibut, over-boiled oysters, and sharp gum in the meal. The restaurant ambiance varied, with some guests enjoying a cozy outdoor setting with blankets while others found the surroundings cold and dirty. Despite the noise levels and occasional service mishaps, many guests still plan to return to Ray's for the great food and waterfront dining experience. Additionally, Ray's received praise for being open on Christmas Day and providing a warm, comforting atmosphere for holiday dining.
Was Chris at Ray's Boathouse a mag?
This is a first-rate restaurant with stunning views of the waterfront. The food was quite impressive, but it's the ambiance that truly stands out in my memory. It's a remarkable dining experience, and I'll cherish it for a long time. View all feedback.
What Connor Zulauf dislikes about Ray's Boathouse:
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. View all feedback.
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Reviews from various users
Last update : 23.10.2024
Very expensive for basic dished. The servers were terrible.
Fresh food; happy servers; GREAT positive ambiance
Consistently high quality seafood and attentive to individual needs.
Very nice with a gorgeous view. Good for anniversaries or if you have visitors in town. Great for seafood but there are non fish items available as well
Good for fresh seafood. Better book in advance for a good table
Last update : 30.08.2024
Blackened rockfish sandwich was great, the fries were crispy and the Caesar was just right. Didn’t have to wait sitting in the bar, a great view and our server was efficient and friendly.
Love Rays! We go here for all our special occasions. Upstairs or down, the food is great, the service is amazing and the views can’t be beat. Highly recommended!
Love the seafood salad. I’ve been going to raise Cafe for many years. It’s just a great place to sit outside on the water on a summer day and have a great meal.
Good food drinks. Patio seating is great on nice days
Excellent place with superb views of puget sound and the Olympic mountains. Outdoor seating is available. It is as an upmarket place with excellent service and food. The desserts are pretty awesome.
Last update : 12.01.2024
Quality Seafood, excellent service staff, and a great view of Puget Sound? Yes, you will find it Here at Ray's, bountifully so.
I added this place to my Top 10 list without hesitation. The crab legs and shrimp were absolutely delicious - I couldn't get enough. Also, the view was fantastic, making the entire dining experience a definite winner in my book.
Our server was amazing! The whole menu was fantastic, both the steak and seafood are divine. Specialty cocktails were great for all types in our party, and the dessert was phenomenal.
Pretty elite level “true to Seattle” style dining.
This restaurant is fantastic. The food was excellent and the service was top-notch. I definitely recommend Ray's if you're a visitor looking to escape the bad customer service downtown.
Last update : 20.07.2023
Gorgeous view. I love the setting of this restaurant and come here for the ambiance and to celebrate a special occasion. It's on the top floor, above Ray's Boathouse, and is the less expensive restaurant of the two. The views of the Mts and Sound are wonderful, and it's worth it to sit on the deck on a summer day, although it can be windy. Has that docky, marina feel but in an upscale environment. Service is very attentive, and the food is pretty good, especially the desserts. One note I can only comment on the vegetarian options; I just wish they had more of them! Usually only one thing one the menu (not counting salad) that I can eat. My family has gotten salmon and crab cake a lot and have commented favorable on their dishes.
My boss was in town last week so I thought that would make a good chance for us to try out Ray’s Cafe for lunch. We got there right after noon and the place was as busy as you’d expect.
This is a first-rate restaurant with stunning views of the waterfront. The food was quite impressive, but it's the ambiance that truly stands out in my memory. It's a remarkable dining experience, and I'll cherish it for a long time.
First off, the view off the back of the restaurant is spectacular! Calm, serene, ducks swimming single-file across the water. Beautiful homes across the way, boats docked next to them. The surroundings alone will keep people coming to dine at this longtime Ballard seafood institution, but the cuisine wonderful as well.<br/ <br/ My wife and I both started with their Butter Lettuce salad; light, savory, flavorful. She ordered their salmon with asparagus, beets and roasted fingerling potatoes (which she loved), I had the halibut with asparagus and couscous... Equally delicious! We split the Bananas Foster with bruleed bananas, SO GOOD!! Our server was efficient and quite friendly, knowledgeable with excellent recommendations. We had been dying to try this place for years, and it was worth the wait!
The atmosphere was fantastic, but my crab cakes with kale and sausage were a bit too heavy for my taste. However, my mom's black cod (sablefish) was absolutely delightful! The sunset was stunning and really impressed my visiting mom. The service was excellent as well, which made for a very enjoyable experience. Overall, we were all quite happy. This is definitely one of my favorite waterfront spots in Seattle.
Last update : 30.06.2023
This restaurant offers stunning views and is perfect for anniversaries or entertaining out-of-town guests. The seafood options are particularly excellent, although they do not have many fish dishes available.
The prices for simple dishes were very high. The service from the servers was awful.
Great place to enjoy a good meal and sunset! Worth the wait to sit outside, even in the fall when the weather gets brisk. Super cozy blankets to help you enjoy the outside
Fresh food; cheerful servers; GREAT positive ambiance
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!
