Ray’s in the City

Had dinner here for a business meeting. Great place for drinks and apps or for the full meal deal! Service was excellent. Food was outstanding and atmosphere is a great combination of modern meets old school. Almost all of the menu is sourced from local Georgia farms.
Word of caution. If you’re coming with a big party, make a reservation well ahead of time. We walked in without one and got lucky with only a 20 min wait on a Tuesday @ 6 pm. 1 hr. later the wait was aver an hr.

Not sure about the rest of the items but the sushi was below par, the rice was cold, the service slow. Waiter was friendly and apologetic. Order came out wrong.

My husband wrote a great review so I won’t try to compete. One last comment is to try requesting to sit in the back dining room. The front one felt very crowded.

Ate here for dinner with the wife tonight and we both agreed on 4 stars. If the food wasn’t as good as it was it would have only been a 3 star review.
For starters, we got the calamari appetizer and it was really good! Probably the highlight of the meal. I’ve never seen it done before but Ray’s throws in some sliced jalapeños to the batter and frys it all up together and it works really well. The calamari comes with a marinara sauce and a white sauce that we thought was some type of creamy ranch; it made sense with the fried jalapeños, and a half of a grilled lemon. The dish already has a splash of lemon juice so I think if you were to squeeze the lemon juice from the grilled lemon it would probably overpower the dish. This dish alone was 5 star and probably the best calamari either of us have had.
For dinner I got the parmesan crusted scallops on a bed of lobster risotto. The risotto was amazing as were the scallops. You get 4 large scallops on this dish and I was a little disappointed one of the scallops was about a ¹⁄₃ of the size of the others. (My disappointment was solely because I wanted more as the scallops were so good).
My wife got the chefs special pasta dish. It was a creamy white sauce with large chunks of artichoke hearts and grilled chicken tossed in shell pasta. The sauce tasted of heavy cream and butter and was very rich. Almost too rich.
For sides we picked the cast iron mac and cheese, the fried Brussel sprouts, and the mushrooms. Of these three, the Brussel sprouts were our favorite.
The mac and cheese had a nice thick layer of cheese on top and the noodles were soft and sauce creamy underneath. We both agreed that if it had some type of topping it would be spectacular. The 3 cheese blend they used works well together.
The Brussel sprouts are cut into halves or quarters and fried. They came topped with salt, pepper and parmesan cheese. They were really good and not greasy at all for being fried. I also think there was some thinly sliced pieces of bacon thrown in too but I could be wrong; it was really good.
Lastly the mushrooms. These came in a cast iron skillet too. Their were supposedly 3 types of mushrooms but we could only identify one. The sauce they we’re cooked in tasted like it had a touch of worcestershire maybe. Overall they were just ok and the fact that they were swimming in a brown liquid is probably the reason.
It should be noted, also offered as a side was the same lobster risotto that came with the parmesan crusted scallops. This would have been the best side if we would have ordered it and if we ever return on a future trip to Atlanta it will be a side we definitely get; there was just no need to since we got it on one of the main dishes.
Ray’s also brings to the table a bread and butter basket. The loaf bread was nice and still warm and paired great with the churned butter. Their were also some large bread chips or crisps that were topped with a black pepper or sesame seed; this wasn’t that great and was kind of odd and out of place in the basket.
Lastly was the service. We had 2 wait staff for some reason. Not sure if Ray’s always does this or if it was due to the large party next to us. We were introduced to a female waitress who took our drink order and then our appetizer order. She also came back to take our dinner order. The second waiter was waiting on the large party of a dozen or so next to us. He brought us our food and filled up our drinks from time to time. He was very busy with the large party so I assumed we would have seen more of the waitress but no. It was almost as if she had other tables in another part of the restaurant. She came by only twice when she was not taking our orders and one was to fill up our water glass and the second to say we needed refills and that she was going to get us some but never returned for over 10 minutes. We didn’t hold the bad service against the waiter who also had the large table but the waitress should have done better or shame on the managers if she had other tables in the back portion of the restaurant too.
The food made this experience 4 stars, if it weren’t for that the service would have made it a 3. If the service was in line with the food, I’d be hard up not to give Ray’s a full 5 stars. However, if I’m going to spend over $ 100 for dinner for two, I at least expect to not go 15 minutes for a refill or seeing waitress.

Went here for a lunch date earlier this week and it was one of the best meals I’ve had in a while. The service was great, friendly staff, meal was delicious. We started with the seafood gumbo (a little spicy, but I love spice) and bbq shrimp for appetizers. Jumbo lump crab cake & blackened seafood platter for the appetizer. I think my date could have gone without the scallops, but everything else was great!

Amazing meal with fantastic service. The stake was aged for 40 days and was the best I have had in my entire life. Lonnie was our server and felt like family by the end of the meal. I even hugged him on my way out the door. Definitely a high end meal, and definitely worth every cent.

Bran, Sone, & I paid a visit here last month. The hostesses were very rude & was all too confused on who did what & what tables were avail. We decided to grab the bar to make our trip worth it. Kasone & I decided on the Seafood Sampler. $ 75 but it was great. The bar tender seemed irritated that he was there serving. All in all, our experience sucked w/​the exception of the seafood platter we ordered.

Rays used to be my fancy work lunch go to spot. The service my first few visits was excellent and my food was always good.
On our last visit, the service was very poor, they messed up our orders (not bringing our appetizers — then halfway through the meal asking if we still wanted them, and seeming annoyed when we said yes). They also seemed to have changed their rules about seating people because my colleague was first to arrive and the hostess wouldn’t seat her alone, even though we’d been there the week before and they seated a lone member of our party. Also the server brought horseradish instead of horseradish ranch and nearly sent my colleague into a coughing fit when he bit into it on his salad.
Food wise, the crab cakes are good, the sushi is good.

Had dinner here recently. Menu choices were super.
We shared a lobster salad entrée as our salad. It was outstanding. Nice ingredients and portion size was generous.
Seared ahi appetizer was superb.
Steaks were good — but nothing to write home about. Oscar-​style was well worth it. Generous portion of lump crab meat along with a yummy hollandaise sauce (steak purists might avoid this)
Roasted cauliflower was also delicious.

Ray’s is terrific. On Fridays they have live music. As a writer for Cabaret Scenes missing the city, I was delighted to find Ray’s because two men vaping on the street asked me about my small KBox (Kangertech’s version of the iStick).
I had a simply horrendous experience at the Marriott Marquis after two blissful nights at the Georgian Terrace and dining options were few: Hooter’s, some Tex Mex place that didn’t look awful but certainly not promising or relaxing, and Ray’s.
My shrimp cocktail was large and wonderful! I also had sautéed spinach with garlic and olive oil. The bread was good and on Friday’s they do a Tito’s special martini for just 7 dollars.
The bartender (Melissa) was terrific and I enjoyed the musician, who gave me her CD. The week or two in LA between Atlanta and New York move was crazy so I haven’t listened to the whole CD but I brought it with me and will email her when I get settled.
Everything I saw (including entrees) looked excellent. Entrees aren’t cheap but if you stick with happy hour and appetizers, this is a fun, classy, but not stuffy place to drink and get a bite with or without friends. If I ever find myself in that part of downtown Atlanta again, I would absolutely return to Ray’s.

Very classy atmosphere. Waiting staff very attentive and were able to recommend some fabulous choices. Went here with a friend for lunch today. It was empty I’m assuming because of the rain.
Had Calamari. The flavor just surprises you as soon as it hits your mouth. Ordered the seafood platter. It was underwhelming because the portion size was small however every piece was moist, flavorful and melt in your mouth good. Deep fried Brussels Sprouts as well as the Macaroni and Cheese were a hit with me. The Crab cake was all meat no filler, flavorful and not over cooked.
The restaurant has A+ service. More than one person serving you. Your glass is never empty and I didn’t have to ask for anything.
Will definitely visit again.

First time here was a little disappointed. The place is really nice and i like the way it looks inside.
The service was very slow. Took a while to great us, took a long time to get our drinks and we were ready to order for 10 minutes before our order was taken. But a nice guy though.
The food was also just good. Maybe my expectations were too high. I started with a caesar salad and was shockingly small. Very tasty but small. I ordered the pork chop and a side of Mac n Cheese. The Pork Chop was good, not great. The mac n cheese was not very good, which was disappointing. My date ordered the grouper which she said was pretty good.
Overall i might come back, but for this nice of a place and for the pricing i was expecting a little more.

My good friend and I decided to visit during Atlanta Downtown Restaurant week. The menu looked scrumptious. We made dinner reservations. It’s downtown so parking must be paid for at a lot then a short walk and you’re there.
We were seated promptly upon arriving. The ambiance was nice and inviting. We were greeted by fairly pleasant servers. Our server seemed a bit dry and uninterested but was still a nice gentleman.
We ordered some cocktails: she had their Mai tai and I had their raspberry jalapeño margarita. Great drinks!
We ordered our 3 course meals. She has the sushi sampler, beef tenderloin medallions, and raspberry mousse chocolate cake. I ordered the ceaser salad, horseradish crusted grouper, and raspberry mousse chocolate cake.
Ceaser salads are my favorite but can be hit or miss. This one was a miss. I just didn’t like it. My friend really enjoyed her sushi.
Our main entrees: Let me just say that we scraped our plates clean! The presentation was lovely. One of the best pieces of grouper I’ve ever had! And my green beans still had a bit of crunch.
Dessert was epic. And I’m not a huge fan of chocolate.
Overall, a good experience and I would definitely return in the future to try other dishes.

I decided to take my friend here for a birthday dinner and it happened to be Downtown Restaurant week so that made it even better. After making a reservation on OpenTable, we were immediately seated when we arrived. Parking in the area sucked but the parking lots are within a block. The server was professional, cordial and recommended some great dishes. I had the parm scallops and he had the seafood feast platter, everything was flavorful and delicious! My scallops were cooked to perfection and the lobster in the seafood platter was really tender. Although, we did not choose any restaurant week menu options, they offered some great deals. This place is perfect for a dinner date or family style dinner. It’s sheek, fresh and just has a nice ambience! It was a great night!

Two friends and I dined here for restaurant week. Our waiter disappeared after bringing us water for quite a long time. He apologized once he finally showed back up.
Once he took our drink orders they arrived very fast. My wine had cork in it which none of the wait staff noticed, but that sort of thing happens so I got it out with a knife and carries on.
My friends and I all ordered different appetizers and entrees so we could sample and share. The sushi sampler was hands down the best. If I ever return I will not leave the sushi menu period. Calamari was good but nothing spectacular. The crab soup was good but Legals is way better.
The steak Oscar was very good. The seafood pasta was good. The salmon Oscar was awful. The salmon was so salty I couldn’t eat it. We all took one bite and that was it. I order salmon frequently and I’ve never had it taste salty ever. Gross.
We finished with the blueberry dessert which was just ok.
All and all the meal was good. Mine wasn’t worth the price since I had the salmon but the others were good. Lesson learned was just eat the sushi.

I went to Ray’s in the City last night for the first time for a «Ladies Night Dinner» with two of my girl friends. Surrounded by Hooters, CVS, and the Hard Rock Café, I didn’t know what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised with how beautiful the interior was– dim lighting, fresh white table clothes, and a giant blue fish tank (reminded me of Italian restaurants in NYC in the 90s).
Upon arrival, the first host told my friend she couldn’t get in, as a bit of her mid-​drift was out. We offered to go to CVS and buy her a blouse, but a second, kinder host, said all she needed to do was pick her pants up and cover her mid-​drift completely (which is what she did.)
After that ordeal, we took notice to how handsome the second host was. Who greeted us with a smile, and was told it would be a bit of a wait, as we didn’t have a reservation (although we didn’t mind the wait– we had excellent eye candy! Haha) After about 15 minutes the host came over, and told us our table was ready.
We sat in the front of the restaurant, on the right in a booth, right next to the live music (which was a talented acoustic guitar player accompanied by a smooth jazz singer). Our server, Andrew, came over and greeted us with a huge smile, and even made us laugh quite a bit. We ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio (they have a list of ½ priced bottles on Sunday), and shared plates for the table. We ordered Andrew’s appetizer recommendations, as he had excellent menu knowledge. Steamed Mussels (served in a white wine garlic broth sauce), and the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake (creole mustard beurre blanc, roasted corn relish) — both dishes were mouth watering! We also ordered three different sushi rolls– Bagel Roll, Spider Roll, and Crunchy Roll. Everything was presented beautiful and was simply delicious. We weren’t able to finish our second bottle of wine, but Andrew kindly packaged it up for us. After two hours of delicate music, crisp wine, flavorful appetizers, and a more than welcoming staff, who all went out of their way to make sure our experience was enjoyable, we were on our way out.
We all agreed, this may be our Sunday Ladies Night Dinner, EVERY Sunday!

Second time here and the food was fantastic. My friend and I shared a plate of sushi and some edamame-​all of it, superb.
The service was a bit slow, but everyone was courteous and knowledgeable. We managed to get a table at 5pm on a Friday, but the place was packed within 30 minutes so I highly recommend reservations.

I thought I wrote an article on this place for last week. It was a last minute random event but let me tell you the food was worth it! On Tuesday thru Saturday they have a ½ off raw seafood bar. With Colossal type shrimp, fresh crab and sparky oysters with that chewy texture. Some of my favorite reviews have been inside the walls of the Pearl…
The ambiance at this location is prime! Seated at the bar your have two of the sweetest bartenders that tend to needs and desires. They make perfect Sangria and they are generous with there offerings. The bar also has a series of flat screens so if you are a Golden State Warriors fan, it’s easy to watch them smoke the Cleveland Cavaliers in living color, yes I said it. And although I am not partial to any sport, the fact that I grew up in SF, I practice my bragging rights when the need is fitting.
The music at Rays is classy! It’s live, it’s jazzy, it’s good vibrations and smiles. You can’t help but want to tip the musicians as they unwind the piano keys over your eyes to the end of your smile. In short it’s just a great place to go and hang out when you have a desire to dine well and in good company. Parking is located at a few garages on west peachtree street. No validation though for Rays. Check out my pictures

Yet another upscale restaurant.
I was fooled from the outside. It said sushi and I automatically just knew it was gonna be like a sushi bar. No but I’m not mad about it. It’s like an even fancier pappadeauxs.
I ordered the Georgia Peach Martini. When you can drink an alcoholic beverage like its water, you made me the perfect drink. It hit me 10 minutes later. Please order this if you like girly drinks. One more thing I thought was cool is they also serve 5 ounce cocktails so you can have two drinks for a littles than actually ordering two individual drinks
The person I came with was under dressed so I ordered a spicy tuna roll to go. The freshest sushi I’ve had ever. If it’s fresh it’s best. Remember that guys.
I wish I could’ve tried more because everything on the menu sounded great but I was pretty damn happy with the sushi. I bet you all the other sushi is superb too.

I was told about this place from a local. Being that I was in downtown ATL, I tried it. And wont try it again.
I ordered the jumbo lump crab with a glass of persecco because its better with bubbles. The crab had no fillers with had a fishy taste, which lead me to believe it was old. It was lightly breaded and not greasy. The asparagus was crisp. The sauce was good but there wasnt enough to satisfy my pallet. The whipped mashed potatoes were too much for the meal. This lunch was right under 18 dollars.
This place has excellent reviews but the crab cake didn’t get one.