Great view of the sound with cliffs and constant large boat traffic. Knowledgeable wait staff that makes the whole experience great. Craft cocktail menu is phenomenal. Come for the seafood and view.
Top-class restaurant with exceptional waterfront views. The food was very good as well, but my memories will be more about the ambiance than the flavors. This is a special dining room, and I'll remember it for a long time.
Great atmosphere but my crab cakes w kale and sausage was too heavy. My mom's black cod/sablefish was wonderful! The sunset was amazing and wowed my visiting mom. Service was great too. So we were all happy. One of my goto waterfront spots in Seattle.
Located in Ballard with a beautiful view of the sound. Getting here from downtown Seattle is no easy task, so plan accordingly. Our evening started at 7pm, with the dining room entirely filled on Saturday evening, it had a sense of being a great experience. We met another couple, and our table was a half booth with a view. We started with some cocktails and caught up with our friends, with our server occasionally checking in with us. I started with the clam chowder, and this was one of the best chowders I've had, with the clams steamed in
the shell, it was just so heavenly. My entrée was the wild king salmon paired with roasted potatoes and asparagus. Our wine of choice was Faille Chardonnay, butter went so well with our dinner choices. Dessert a nice Sauternes and chocolate to end the evening which noticeably we were the last table to leave.
I came here for Thanksgiving dinner and the buffet was delightful and delicious! Great service and a beautiful view of the water! I haven't tried their regular menu yet, but I'm sure it's just as good!
Balllad Icon:
All of the great time with this great establishment, we were regular here before and after the fire before we moved and when we come to visit we away come to Ray's
you will never have a bad meal,great views.
Highly recomended
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.
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!
Loved the sablefish and the calamari. Location is fantastic. Try and get a table outside on the patio. We went on a summer evening and the experience was awesome.
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.
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Beautiful waterside, private restaurant that serves a wide variety of seafood and fish. The food is spectacular and the views even more so. The oysters were fresh, and I got to try a little bit of all kinds of fish and they were very good. Great company outing event spot.
Food
I came here with my coworkers and got to try a bite of all different kinds of appetizers and dishes and they were all excellent. I liked the oysters as they were fresh and the fish were all well cooked and not dry. The octopus was also another favorite dish of mine. For dessert, the regional ice cream that they have is better than the cake in my opinion.
Atmosphere
The restaurant is fancy and not too loud. The views of the sound are beautiful especially during the evening to catch a sunset. You are right by the water without any other buildings or boats blocking the view so it’s nice. I came here for a company outing and would definitely come here again for a business dinner.
Pricing
Prices are on the higher end but nothing unreasonable for a business dinner. The quality was good for price paid.
Service
Service was good and the people were friendly. We got good recommendations for our large party to split.
Other
There is a parking lot you can take advantage of since it’s a short drive from the rest of Ballard.
Family went last Thursday to celebrate my brother's birthday, it was first time for everyone but my dad. We tried a little bit of everything, I did the sablefish and it was so good. Family enjoyed their meals of ribeye, Crab legs, Scallops, clams, asparagus and ahi katsu. We were served by John & Airel from the Cafe side both very friendly and top notch service.
A cool boathouse, great view of the water, and you might see a seal popping up its head out and having a frolic, an ideal waterfront dining location. Food itself is good, good variety of shellfish with a local bias for good reason, particularly the sablefish is a standout. Pack a couple of cookies for later, they're a treat as well.
Great dining experience as we celebrated our lovely sister's birthday. Food was exceptional and well prepared. The service was fantastic and prompt. Our entire dining experience was fantastic! Thank you Ray's Cafe for a great dining experience! Keep it up!!!
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Just had a really wonderful meal here. I usually leave long-standing seafood dinner places like this feeling a little underwhelmed or annoyed, but Ray's was just above and beyond wonderful.
Every staff member was doing a wonderful job and greeted and spoke to us with the kindest smiles and attentive service. I was worried coming with our two year old but everyone treated us with such kindness and respect and they didn't make a deal out of it at all. We went later and missed the sunset, but the location is fun at any time and the ambience is really nice just as is. You see the water lit up below and we saw a seal wandering around.
The food was all DELICIOUS with good sized portions. We had fresh oysters, Penn cove mussels, sablefish, butternut squash and grilled salmon. Each dish was classic and cooked beautifully, but had little accents and special ingredients that set it apart and made it memorable.
Thank you so much for the lovely meal and the wonderful service. This will be our go to occasion dinner from now on.
Wonderful food and service! The restaurant had a congratulations card waiting at our table since I had marked on the reservation that my partner and I were celebrating an anniversary, which was a really nice touch.
I wish I could remember our server's name, she was very friendly and made us feel like valued customers right away, and was proactive in addressing my partner's gluten sensitivity, which I had also put in the reservation. She even gave us a recommendation for an ice cream spot nearby with gluten free cones.
For food, we split the sake sablefish and a salad, both of which were delicious but the fish was incredible, perfectly done.
Then, our server and the front desk staff facilitated my now-fiance's surprise proposal with dessert and they brought us congratulatory champagne. The dessert was also very tasty, I think we got the creme brulee and a mandarin sorbet. The above and beyond service combined with awesome food made for a wonderful evening. Thank you, Ray's!
Friend chose this restaurant and said it had an excellent view and atmosphere! When I arrived, I couldn't agree more! And all the dishes were very tasty, highly recommended!
The view itself is worth the trip. We were visiting Seattle for our vacation and picked Rays boathouse as our special night out dinner spot and the whole experience was beyond measure. It’s got the best view of the sunset with Olympic as the backdrop. Occasionally you see a sea lion popping out of the water and some ducks floating by. Simply picturesque! For food, first of all, love the complimentary bread! We ordered fried oyster with pork belly, clam chowder, and Brussels sprout as appetizers and our favorite was the clam chowder and Brussels sprouts. Brussels sprouts were crispy like and well seasoned, while fried oyster with pork belly was a bit on the greasy side in my opinion. For mains, we got crab cake and river salmon. They were both delicious. Great service from the wait staff and lively, light filled atmosphere. Highly recommend!
We had a lovely dinner at Ray's. Chose upstairs for a more casual experience. Views were incredible of the Olympics. Ordered from the Happy Hour menu and a special Seafood seasonal menu. Ended up sharing 3 happy hour aps- clams, muscles and pokè and 2 entrees- crab salad and the squash and ferro. All was tasty, nothing was jaw droppingly delicious besides the oysters which speak for themselves.
Easy to get to, great parking, no wait at 5:30 on a Wednesday evening.
We arrived at 9 PM Saturday and was told by the host the kitchen was about to close. He graciously seated us anyway. We were still served with exceptional service. The drinks and food were amazing too. I had the King Salmon and two Martinis and my husband had the steamers. I’m mad at myself for not remembering our server’s name. Kudos to him!
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