Ray’s Original Buffalo Wings

At first I didnt know what to expect. I assumed that the business lemon drop and rays wings were one business. But that is untrue.
I walked in and noticed the lunch hour crowd piled in. I sat down and awaited my friends arrival for lunch. Wasnt greeted by the bartender that I thought was the waitress. I sat there patiently waiting when finally a cook from the back asked if i was ordering lunch and i let him know i was waiting for a friend. No offer of drink. Probably a good idea to hire a waitress to take care of patrons while your stuck in the back cooking orders.
I think first impressions are a must. I think the bartender could have at least notified me of how things worked since she too is trying to promote the bar. But i guess not. Oh well, not my business not my problem.
My friend came in and ray came out from the back and started chatting with us. Thats what this place was missing the whole time. I ordered 12 bourbon Sriracha, a sauce ray has been working on and also 12 wings hot. House made sauces.
Bourbon Sriracha had a great flavor. The bourbon taste was there just not the spicy kick of the Sriracha. I notified ray because he asked me for my option. The house hot sauce was also great. Spicy but not over powering.
I didnt see the whole menu but noticed they do more than just wings. Closed Monday’s and Tuesday but open the rest of the week. Lunch and dinner.
Ray mentioned that he was voted best wings in Omaha last year. Awesome award to have. Im thinking Unilocal bbq wings group had a say in that!
All in all i was pleased after the ruff start. Ill be back and spread the word. Rays a great guy and has a great vision for what hes trying to accomplish. Good luck

I imagine that if I was in Buffalo this is how authentic wings would taste like. Big portions great fries and mushrooms. Quick service good prices

If you are looking for a restaurant that rents the room connected to a bar then this is your place lol. The set up is slightly awkward, but do-​able. You can sit in the bar but must walk through a door and order from a counter in the next room. Very much a dive bar, which is not to say that is a bad thing, this is just what you can expect. Other reviews brag about the wings however I found them standard. What I did like however were their queso-​rangoon. This was a fantastic combination of flavors that I would surely recommend. The queso filled appetizers are spicy and surprisingly mix perfectly with the sweetness of the «Rangoon style» dip. Another item I would recommend is the bacon-​wrapped deep fried hot dog. If your stomach can handle the grease it is a good buy. The next item I have on my list of foods to try from this radiant is the deep fried bologna and bacon sandwhich, I saw pictures here on Unilocal and it looks amazing. This is not a place to go to for a fancy meal or a nice date, but would be perfect for a day spent watching the game at the bar and enjoying some good food in the process

I’ve heard about Ray’s wings for quite a while and it’s pretty well-​known in the ‘wings’ circles here in Omaha.
I went with some coworkers, one who went to school with Ray, last week. I got 6 traditional, medium BBQ wings. They were good, but nothing mind blowing. They were crispy, meaty, and the homemade sauce was pretty good. I had a couple fries from my co-​workers order and they were pretty good. The wings were a tad pricey at over $ 1 a piece.
The service is definitely top notch with Ray, his son, and the bartender all being super nice and accommodating.
The décor takes a page from a dive-​bar; a lot of off the wall decorations, but all with a charm.
Overall, the wings were good, but nothing super special about them for being over $ 1 a piece. I would like to come back and try their burgers and/​or famous bologna sandwich.

Best wings in Omaha! So. Damn. Good. Great selection of sauces, cooked to perfection. Just the right size, not tiny, but not the huge steroid looking wings.
Every time I have family or friends in town, I always bring them to Ray’s and they are always impressed!

We stopped in after a recommendation from a friend and I’m SO GLAD we did. Wings, drinks, and football… what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon? Super tasty wings (ordered the garlic parmesan and medium heat original… YUM) and the bartender was super friendly! Loved this experience, will definitely be back!

Fantastic service! You order in the back. Had no idea bc it was the first time my gf, buddy, and I had been there. The guy working came up to us and nicely informed us you order from the window in the back. Food was phenomenal — wings were big and full of flavor. Chicken finger sandwich was killer. Homemade ranch makes your mouth water — really creamy. Buddy who built the kitchen w his dad went to hs with me and even hooked us up w free fries (which were also great). If you are looking for a «hole in the wall» wing/​beer spot, this is a hidden gem! You guys have a good thing going on — keep it up. I’ll be back.

So happy to see that Ray’s is back. I would frequent the old establishment with my family as it was down the street from our house. When it closed I never found another wing place that came close to Rays. Today I ordered 6 wings (received 8) of the hot variety. As soon as the wing came close to my mouth I immediately remembered the smell. Everything I remember was the same. Best wings in Omaha hands down.

These are some fantastic wings. They recently added a Caribbean jerk sauce which I highly recommend. The fried bologna ala Rhonda is a must as well as the deep fried bacon wrapped hot dog. As a person who cooks professionally, it was nice to talk with Ray. There’s a look I also have when feeding people that I saw in his eyes. You can genuinely tell he’s happy you’re happy with his food. I used to work at The Lemon Drop years ago before there was a kitchen, and I don’t know if I should be happy or sad about that! On one hand I’d have been grateful for great food at work, but I know I would be twice my size if Ray’s would have been there, because I would’ve been eating non stop!

Ray’s boasts some great wings at reasonable prices. I haven’t been in Omaha long enough to know the history of when Ray’s was it’s own establishment but the current location in the lemon drop bar is a great symbiotic relationship of yin and yang– food and booze! I cant think of a better partnership. I only tried the wings on this visit, and I liked them a lot. The buffalo here has a slight sweet tang to it, and it’s different when compared to your run of the mill bar and jarred buffalo sauce smothered on fried wings. The queso rangoons, although I was apprehensive at first, turned out to be a great treat.
I certainly would suggest the original to any newcomers. Don’t worry, you’ll like it enough to come back and try more flavors.

Classic Buffalo Wings. Rays is located inside the Lemon Drop bar. Basically a Buffalo, NY native putting out some classic Buffalo Wings from a small kitchen (
). When you are ready to order, head to the back, put in your order, and they will bring out your food steaming hot and ready to devour. When we were there Ray was was a one man show and very friendly.
The menu is pretty much grilled and fried normal fare, but he does have some out of the box items like a grilled bologna sandwich. The stars of the show are the wings though. Nothing fancy here like crazy sauces, or char finish, just straight up Buffalo Wings in hot sauce with a variety of heat to choose from. Meaty wings, fried to perfection, so the skin is crisp, and the meat tender.
Great wings in an unassuming bar that you should try out!

Wow, if you want some of the best Buffalo wings in town, Ray’s is the place. First off, it’s located inside the Lemon Drop Bar — two separate but equal businesses sharing the same space. Naturally, Ray’s serves as the kitchen and Lemon Drop serves as the bar/​dining room.
Anyway, you head to the back and place an order with Ray himself. I highly recommend sticking to the traditional sauces — either mild or hot — and experience the reason why chicken drumettes and wingettes are currently one of the most popular foods in America. I ordered six mild wings and, needless to say, they are now the wings I will judge all others against. Who needs fancy Asian fusion sauce this and char-​buff that, anyway?
Wings aside, I also tried the fried bologna sandwich. It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like — a thick cut of bologna topped with cheese and other fixings fried up between two slices of bread. It’s greasy, decadent and good. Not something I’d order every time (need more room for wings!), but I have no regrets.
Ray’s has great wings — possibly the best in town — and more. I will for sure be returning and bringing all my friends.

Today was the 3^rd stop on the UYE wing tour and I AM HOOKED. Simply the best wings I have had (so far) in town and possibly the best I have experienced across the country. I went with the tradition hot buffalo style and the wings were SO traditional and the sauce was perfect and what I would expect (though rarely get) when ordering hot. We also shared some «queso ragoon» that was AMAZING (thanks Ray for sharing the story there too).
Such great service and Ray was very engaging (evening remembering this was the Unilocal stop even though we had a small turnout).
I hadn’t made it to this part of South O so I was glad for the experience (mental notes for some future stops) and I look forward to going back for more wings.

Not a place to go on your lunch break. Takes a while to get your food. Not open Mondays or Tuesdays. Specials Wednesday –Friday (see picture). Lives up to the other reviews! Awesome wings and fries! My experience with servers was great. I’ll definitely be back.

First timer. Recommended by a friend who used to go to the original location in the 90’s. Tucked away on 36^th and T in a small bar.
There were six of us so we tried a variety of wings. The wings were very good with the highlight being the sauces. I tried the «challenge» wings which were extremely hot but still maintained a great flavor. I would recommend the BBQ sauce over the traditional buffalo sauce. Another surprisingly good wing was the garlic/​Parmesan. The sauce was thick and tasted like a combo of italian dressing, garlic and Parmesan cheese. We also got a couple of baskets of onion rings… which were also good. Another protip… try the blue cheese dip for the wings. This isnt your normal blue cheese dressing but tasted like a combo of ranch with fresh blue cheese crumbles. Mild but with a little blue cheese bite.
Service was great and Ray came out and talked to us. Seemed like a super friendly guy who really enjoys his wings!
Would definitely recommend to any wing lover. Only drawback was that is was a little bit pricier than I would have thought.

Welcome back Ray.
Great wings. His hottest sauce is hot but personally I could stand some more heat. His Curly Ques are crisp and hot with a generous amount of seasoning salt.
The chicken fingers are just that tender and the mild BBQ sauce has a slight touch of heat.

Lemon Drop Bar with Rays Wings is terrific! Where has this place been hiding? Friendly people, GREAT food, and excellent prices on food and drinks. Neighborhood bar with a good vibe.

Our good friend brought us here to try some wings that he has anxiously been chasing since 1999 when they closed. Recently re-​opened in the kitchen at the Lemon Drop bar in S Omaha. Ordered the x tra hot wings which were true to form. Also tried hot which were perfect temp, spicy but not overwhelming, and mild which had a really pleasant tangy taste. Sauce is definitely homemade and wings were high quality chicken. Onion rings were great too. Will def be back. Original owner’s son now runs a lot of operations and was funny and attentive.