Ray’s Sports Bar

I feel conflicted. The people working here are nice, and being that they reserved space every Sunday for our Oakland Raiders booster club, it’s hard not to be biased, but I sadly have to be honest here. Ray’s needs a lot of improvement.
We brought in a large crowd and they did their best to take care of us. Sadly it was easy to see that Ray’s wasn’t going to last much longer once the NFL season was over. The kitchen was slow, and if you weren’t getting your beverages right from the bar, you would go thirsty waiting. This was to be expected when the place first opened, but not having been resolved by the final week of the season was inexcusable. Service moved at a snails pace from the wait staff to the kitchen. If you wanted to eat while watching your game, it was best to order in the first quarter. If you were lucky, you would be eating by halftime, but more often than not, you got your food in the fourth quarter. Sometimes you even had to harass the staff to find out where it was. It was like the wait staff forgot to place your order. That, or the people working the kitchen were just slow and lacked passion. Either way, the food went from decent to rather average over the length of the season, so I gave up and ate before I arrived to watch the game.
Speaking of watching football. One huge complaint I have is the lack of any volume on the TV’s (Other than the big screen). I know I’m at a bar, but I still want to hear the game. I have a problem with bars that claim to be a sports bar, then don’t have decent volume for all the games no matter the sport. To make matters worse, they had a DJ blast loud music during the commercial breaks on the big screen. Is this a sports bar, or a nightclub?
Not to pile on, but the restroom was entirely too small for such a large venue. Then to make matters worse, upon arrival one would find liquor bottles and beer bottles strewn around the parking lot, as well a cigarette butts all around the entrance way. I know they are attached to a hotel, and it probably was the hotels responsibility, but if I owned a bar, I would send one of my employees out to clean it up. First impressions are everything, and that sort of litter leaves a bad impression before you even get in the door.
Sadly I here Ray’s has closed it’s doors, so I guess the HRRC will have to find a new home. Despite the negatives, I still had a great time, so a big thank you to the staff at Ray’s Sports Bar. We know you tried your best, and that’s what truly matters.

Had food at the bar and saw bugs crawling on bar… nasty food service. Drinks were awsome! Enjoy the dj. just watch out for the bugs at the bar

Rays Sports Bar is a nice place to come out and watch a game. Their biggest problem is the Kitchen is as slow as molasses. I have been here several times during busy nights and slow nights the Kitchen still moves the same slow speed. Don’t come here Hungry!
I’ve waited atleast an Hour to get food each time I’ve come here.

Never have I been to an establishment that treated its patrons so poorly. I thought this would be a great place for nightlife in Newport News, but sadly I was mistaken. From the time I arrived their was confusion at the door from ticket holders vs. paying at the door, 5 cop cars parked outside waiting for something to pop off, and the rudeness of the security to women and men alike was appalling. There was a little rain, and you would think that security would quickly try to get every organized into lines and inside, but no waiting outside must take place because…“I said so”! Then, Giving the ticket in the vestibule was fine; however, this huge security guard angrily points at the cashier for me to pay up. Me: «I gave the women my ticket sir». Oh, ok. Waves my by. Whatever! Music was pretty good. Bought a table and was introduced to the VIP security, but when I went to the dance floor and came back to our section I was met with «sorry there’s too many people». What?! Excuse me! I bought a table. Perhaps the staff and the owner needs better training on how to treat upscale clientele looking for a upscale experience in Newport News.

Awesome place to hang out and watch NFL especially with Oakland Raiders Fans! Whoohooo goo Raiders! The food is delicious and reasonably priced as well as the beer. The waitresses are attentive and we did not have to ask for refills they asked us and was par on! The food, atmosphere and all was on time. Our first time here proved to be a spectacular time and we will be back to enjoy our Oakland Raiders family with good food and drinks!