Ray’s BBQ

Good bbq. Great price. One big knock is that they are a BBQ place with no banana pudding.

This place has the best smoked half chicken money can buy. The ribs are hit and miss. I’ve had excellent ones and ones that were just ok. Their prices are high, but all good BBQ comes with a price. Their home made Mac n Cheese is hands down the best I’ve ever eaten. The help behind the counter can be a prissy at times, which is odd because I know the owners and they are great people.

It’s always nice when an employee sends a message after the fact from the restaurant and calls you an ass for leaving a bad review for a complete lack of service and rudeness. Thanks piece of crap Bbq place that I was never going to go back to anyways, I will still be eating at other places when you are closed for good and the good of your customers!

I don’t know if my standards are excessively high, or this place is fueled by nostalgia, but I can’t help but say that this place is all hype. My meats were bland, dry, and overcooked. Sides were under-​spiced. Atmosphere was like that of an old Pizza Hut… I’d recommend Rudy’s over this.

Amazing BBQ! We have several BBQ restaurants in Norman and it is, hands down, the BEST! Awesome family too, they always make you feel like family too!

Coming from Denver, I would say this place is about average. Limited parking and small dining area but the food is good. It was crowded and the lines were long so I expected it to be absolutely amazing. Lots of OU fans around as well! when we got our food (brisket sandwiches) I put a good amount of sauce on it and it was good, meat wasn’t dry at least. The staff were nice and the tables were cleaned, might be difficult to find seating on Saturday for lunch (that’s when we went). Not sure this place is worth coming back to for us but others have said differently so come try it out for yourself!

Decided to give this place a try while in Norman for lunch on a Saturday. Place was really busy when we got there and I’m pretty certain we got the only table available at the time. I had a combo dinner (ribs and bologna) with cole slaw and mac and cheese. Wife had the Ray’s The Roof sandwich with a side of beans. To be honest, we weren’t that impressed. Nothing was bad, but very little was exceptional. The ribs were a bit bland. The bologna was good (but how do you mess up bologna anyway?). The Sandwich was by far the best thing ordered and I would order it again. I prefer non-​hot hot links and these had very little bite. The cole slaw wasn’t nearly creamy enough for me and the mac and cheese was barely room temperature and not too great. The beans were very good. I’d go back if others insisted, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat there again.

Very, very yummy! My friends and I have been here a handful of times and love it. Food is tasty and staff is nice. The atmosphere is very calm and relaxed. Nothing too upbeat about it. Kinda in an unsuspecting place, but worth the drive. Yummy!

Not as good as Memphis but dam near close…

We’ve traveled the US extensively tasting BBQ along the way and I must say Ray’s is right up there with the best of the best! Besides serving great tasting, perfectly-​prepared food, the service is friendly and efficient, the dining room is comfortable (open, roomy, tastefully decorated) and the location is handy to the I-​35. By the way, there is a photo of one of their lunch baskets showing a piece of plain, white bread as a side. That is no longer valid. The toasted garlic bread they serve now is ‘a thing’ in itself! So good.

This place is right up the street from the OU campus so it’s definitely a Boomer Sooner spot, however, I was expecting more. Being a BBQ aficionado I expected it to better than what it was. The ribs are meaty and fall off the bone but there is no flavor or rub to them at all, and the same for the brisket. The BBQ beans are delicious and so is the sauce, but that’s about the highlight of my meal. If they can add some flavor to the meat, another star will be in order.

Best BBQ I have ever had.
Everything is good. Seriously. The brisket falls to pieces in your mouth, same with the ribs, sausage, turkey, pulled pork… name it.
Yes, they know sides too.
Great beans, baked or green, fried okra, all fantastic. The owner seems a nice bloke and is there every time I have been.
Nice to see a family business doing well and their hard work paying off. After eating at his restaurant three times now, it is certainly well deserved.
Thanks for the great BBQ.

Best BBQ in state by far. Any of your meat choices are above average for BBQ, turkey and Ribs being my favorite. Always consistent, good smoke, never dry, always good flavor.

My fave at Ray’s is the sandwich and side meal. I love the pulled pork or the brisket sandwich, and fried okra or beans. Smoky, savory, salty, juicy, and sweet. So good! Sauce bottles are provided to you to smother your meats at your own discretion. I recommend dousing a half and half concoction of the sweet and the spicy. Your cup will runneth over.
Ray’s was my go-​to bbq joint while a student at OU, supplemented by many a student coupon deal (thank you Ray’s!). The staff are seriously the friendliest folks, always there to greet you with a smile. I’ve also sampled the ribs, which were very good, but I always go back to my bbq sammies.

Better than vans pig stand. Better than Billy Sims. Not over priced and the food comes to you hot. Nothing worse than cold BBQ. You won’t get cold BBQ here. Make sure you order onions and pickles on the smokehouse burger. And make sure you request a drink too because they don’t ask you if you want one… it wasn’t super busy, but we got there before the dinner rush started.

Honestly I think this is the best bbq place in town and I won’t go anywhere else (I have tried other places). I think I have tried everything on their menu and I haven’t eaten anything I didn’t think was great. The staff is friendly, they greet and chat with you like you’re old friends. When the owner is in he walks around and chats with the people eating and makes sure you like your meal. Overall great food, great service, best bbq in town!

Another middle of the road bbq spot in Oklahoma. I will say I am pretty tough when it comes to bbq.
The brisket here is average at best. No bark really to speak of. Small smoke ring. Not enough smoky taste. I think this is another one of those place that could benefit by not serving brisket. As it is hard to get right. If I were going to get brisket in Norman I would just go around the corner to the chain restaurant. Not that the brisket is bad, it’s just plain or ordinary. As well asked for half lean and half most brisket, if you can tell by my pics there is no moist to be found. Boo… guess you should train people to know the difference.
The ribs are a step up from the brisket. Still not the best I have had in the area but not bad. They pulled from the bone and tasted good. Nice Smokey flavor though I though it did lack seasoning.
Both meats benefits from the sauce. Which in most pitmasters book is not a compliment.
The sides here were nothing specail. The baked beans were made from ranch style beans which is different and a nice little suprise.
Overall the place is middle of the road. I can see how some might give it a 4^th star. Just not sure where any 5 stars come from. They must have never stepped outside of Oklahoma for bbq.

My husband, one year old and I ate here tonight. The food was well smoked but not hot hot (I think that might be a New Orleans specialty) —which is good for people you can’t take the heat. My husband got the three choice platter with brisket, hot links and ribs. He enjoyed everything. I had the smoked turkey sandwich and it was very good. It doesn’t come with anything else on it as you have to pay for additional options, but the price was affordable. The sides were really good — especially the collard greens.
All in all, this is a tasty place with affordable prices. It tends to get crowded with locals around dinner time so don’t wait.

I love this place for lunch! Go early, or go late. Between 12:15pm and 1:00pm, it’s hard to find a seat, and it’s so loud you cannot talk. Any other lunch time the noise level is loud, but not too bad. At off-​times it’s really quiet.
Their ribs are great, brisket is lean and tender, smoked turkey is a little salty, but good, and the sausage is really flavorful and moist. The potato salad is the best I’ve ever had (sorry, Mom!), green beans are they way my grandmother made them on the farm with a little bacon grease and onions (YUM!), french fries are fresh, baked beans are sweet but spicy, and the Texas toast is not over buttered. The brisket and turkey sandwiches are also really good. I think that’s all I’ve tried. They have a mild BBQ sauce that’s alright, and a hot one that’s several steps hotter than the mild.
Prices are low. There is a lunch combo (6oz meat, 2 sides, toast, drink) for around $ 8, I think. Dinner plates run about $ 10 if I recall.
Service is really fast, no matter how busy it is. The atmosphere is interesting, with lots of old Norman stuff around, and old pictures of BBQ stands and the like. I’d say it’s your typical hole-​in-​the-​wall BBQ joint, but a little cleaner.
They cater at my work a lot, and are top notch. Always friendly, helpful, and keep the food bins (buffet style) full. The cake they serve for catering is really delicious, the lemon is addictive and a perfect end to a spicy and filling meal.

Ray’s lives up to the hype. Me and some buddies ate at Ray’s on a Wednesday night. It was crowded, nearly full. But, they get dinners out quickly, so don’t be deterred if it’s crowded. I had the 3 meat combo. You get your choice of 3 meats, 2 sides, a piece of toast, and it’s all only $ 13.99. I had pulled pork, a hot link, and ribs for my meats. For the sides, I had fried okra and mac n cheese.
I would order all of the meats again. The hot link was the worst, but I still liked it. I’d say the pulled pork was the best. Juicy and flavorful, and you get quite a serving. The ribs are tender and smoked well. There is a nice pink smoke ring, an excellent rub, and they are very tender. They pull away from the bone easily. You only get 2 with the combo meal, but they are good size. The hot link is decently hot, but it’s not crazy spicy. It’s juicy and diagonally sliced. It’s pretty basic, but it’s still a good hot link.
The sides were excellent as well. The okra is deep fried, but the breading wasn’t too thick. You get a large serving with the meal. The mac n cheese was fantastic. It’s baked, and I got a lot of the cheesy, crusty top. I don’t know if every order gets as much as I got, I’ll be getting it a lot. The hot sauce actually has a little bit of heat and great flavor.
The employees were very friendly, and were constantly coming around to bus tables. I haven’t tried every BBQ place in Norman, but so far, Ray’s is easily the best.