08/19/09

A great atmosphere, but the food was nothing special

by BennyS

The location really is great. Its right on the water (although there is essentially no outdoor seating as the restaurant is set back from the water, with a small garden that you can walk around inbetween the restaurant and the water. Inside the bar had a great Jazz area.

I ordered the steak and it was quite overdone. My wife got lobster and she loved it though. The sides were good, but nothing special and the service was top notch.

It is pricey, probably not worth the price, but the atmosphere should impress if you are gongi no a date.

• Pros: Unbeatable atmosphere in side and out
• Cons: Seafood was great, steak was not, quite pricey

08/16/09

Horrid experience at Ray's on the River

by ToniDore

Horrible . . . Absolutely disgustingly Horrible!! There were 7 of us - three couples and a single woman. My husband from the first moment told the waiter we wanted separate checks. When the first course came, the waiter asked ' who ordered what'. The salads got all confused. We had to wait for bread and were told 'they were making more'. We had to ask for water. When the appetizers were through, no one cleared the table and when the main courses appeared again, who gets this?, who gets that?. And we still had dirty dishes on the table from the appetizers. The attitude of the help was 'we don't care.' Now, mind you, we had several restaurant and advertising people amongst this group. Our daughter and son-in-law own and are the Photographers for FLAVORS Magazine. Another young lady works for the Sunday Paper and formerly had spent 20+years at Creative Loafing. Her husband owns "The Flying Biscuit'. And yet another lady owns "The Entertainment Guide'. We WILL be in touch with the owner and our friends.

One of the entrees had three flimsy pieces of asparagus as a side order which cost $8.00. When we spoke with a manger, he said, 'oh'. No one came to the table to ask if we were satisfied. There is much more as to how poor the service was, but in the end we all had only one bill. Not separate bills as we requested. We all had many different prices of meals. But, in order to alleviate us having to decipher who had what, the three men just split the bill three ways. We ended up paying $25 more than we had ordered just to accommodate the evening. WE WILL NEVER, EVER go back to Rays again. And, we will certainly follow up tomorrow with more complaints to the owner who is a very good friend of one of the gentlemen at the table.

• Pros: Nothing
• Cons: EVERYTHING

04/24/09

Please kick it up a notch.

by veronicawrig62

My co worker and I went to Ray’s on the River after work several days ago. I just love their views of the Chattahoochee River. However, the service was only fair. The wine was great; however you get a little more then a quarter of a glass of wine for $15.00 a glass. At Houston’s I get double the amount of wine I was give for $11.00 a glass. The service was fair. My main request is to pour the same amount of alcohol your competitors pour. For the amount of money I spent they would have to make some serious change for me to come back.

• Pros: view, interior
• Cons: slow sevice, & stingy with the wine

03/27/09

Nice Atmosphere/Excellent Food

by DennisnAtlanta

We were here the first week in March. This was my first time at Ray’s, although I have know about it for years. The food was excellent. Perhaps some of the best I have in Atlanta.

We had reservations, but still had to wait about forty-five minutes before we were seated. The bar area where we waited was nice and the time flew by. However, I was still a bit perturbed that we had to wait so long. The extended wait interfered with our plans for the remainder of the evening.

We had the seafood tower for four to begin. It was great. Filling but not to much. I had the steak . It was also excellent---as good as any steak house I have been to.

The atmosphere, overlooking the river, was exceptional. It was very relaxing.

The main problem I had was the service. Our server was preoccupied (or perhaps had to many tables). It took about fifteen minutes just to order drinks.

It appears that each table has a "junior" and "senior" server. The "junior" servers were young guys who would have done a much better job if the "senior" server would have allowed them to. It was obvious that the "senior" server was trying to impress each table. He ended up doing just the opposite. He was slow, not attentive to our needs, and got in the way of the other servers who were much more efficient. At one point the “senior” waiter was very rude to the “junior” waiter and interrupted him when he was answering some of our questions about the menu. We ended up tipping the "juniior" waiter separately in cash.

I would go here again, but make sure I did not have the same server.

• Pros: Food
• Cons: Service

03/19/09

Great patio!

by HP9679

Ray's is a great place for a romantic dinner of drinks after work. During the week, they even offer 1/2 price appetizers which are amazing--the shrimp is delicious & they are absolutely huge. They aslo have phenomenal martini's! The ambiance is also great with live jazz music & the view of the river is the perfect setting for drinks on a pretty spring afternoon. Last time I was there, I think that I saw Patrick Dempsey & Jett McCay having drinks at the bar...wow!!!

• Pros: Patio, live music, view of river
• Cons: None

01/13/09

Not so great, truly disappointed.

by drfunches

First time there, not enough breakfast, dinner or dessert selections. Great view of the river however even on a cloudy day.

11/20/08

Ray's is OK

by FifthGrouper

Yeah, "OK" about sums it up. I have to say that I went for lunch, so take that in to account. I have a feeling this place shines during dinner service, so I'll gladly revise my review if I go back after 5pm.

The place itself is great, but a tad bit sterile. It's not welcoming at first glance - more like a nicely decorated OR. I prefer warm colors, fabrics, furniture, etc. and this place was visually, literally, a sea of grey and hard surfaces.

I sat at the bar and my server/bartender was very attentive and kind (even though he talked about how much he loved Bill O'Reily and Shaun Hannity). Regardless, he was on top of things and service was top-notch.

Started with the fried green tomatoes which were very tasty and quick - they literally came out about 2 minutes after I ordered them. Makes me think they were zapped or premade? They didn't taste like either, so it was fine with me.

Moved on to the special which was fish and chips - delicious. The cod was flakey, light, tasty. The fries were crispy, housemade, gone.

Got out for less that $25 which really surprised me. I thought it would be much more expensive, so kudos! But, like I said, not sure what dinner would be like.

Overall, good experience, although it felt old regardless of the age of the young hostess, server, bartender, etc. It's just one of those established places, i.e. City Grill, Bones, Chops. Maybe it has a jumpin' bar scene at night - I don't know - mature men and younger women mingling in a soup of possibility?

Bottom line - I'd go back. Glad I tried it and look forward to giving it a whirl for dinner.

• Pros: Good service
• Cons: OTP

11/09/08

Overpriced, poor quality food.

by 14cu

I made reservations on Open Table and put in a special request for a corner table and that we were celebrating an anniversary. They were running behind on reservations by 20 minutes. Then we got our food. The calamari was not fresh, and the portions of food were entirely too big. Then the vegetable of the day, broccolini, was so salty I couldn't even eat it. I ordered the $58 lobster - and it was good, but the vegetable should have been perfect for that price. The service was quite good, except the valet, who passed gas in our car...but the food is below average and overpriced for the quality..\

• Pros: Good service, nice bar.
• Cons: Poor quality food and overpriced.

10/13/08

Best Seafood and service ....Ive ever seen.

by JamesVellta1

I would recommend Rays on the River to anyone. The place is beautiful - the minute you walk in the front door. You just know its going to be good. You will be greeted by a girl named Heather, you'll know her once you meet her. She will light up your experience. The lounge area is such a great place to unwind from a busy work day.

Along with the pleasent service and smiling faces, you'll find yourself, going back for that "One favorite dish".

If you havent tried Rays on the River. Try it . It will turn your Restaurant experience -into a good thing.

10/06/08

Terrible service, marginal food

by Qualitymatters

Based on the other City Search reviews we were prepared to have a delightful meal. We intentionally went at a late lunch hour (2PM) to avoid the crowds and the higher prices of the dinner menu mentioned by others. We were deeply disappointed. Despite being assigned two servers, the overall service experience was terrible. No one offering to refill drinks, bread basket that was requested but non existent during our entire meal. It finally arrived after we had finished our lunch (and after our experience we had no intention of ordering dessert so we munched on the bread then). In trying to watch calories, I expressed my dietary restriction to the waiter who suggested the spaghetti squash as an alternative to the mashed potatoes. It arrived drenched in butter and I had to move my crabcakes (tasty but about the size of a half dollar) to my bread plate (which of course was clean because there was no bread). The asparagus (all two spears) was wooden-tough. My husband, who does not need to watch calories, had fried shrimp and fries. The fries were burnt and stubby. The cole slaw at the local grocery store was better. The entire meal was under-sized, uninspired, and over-priced. Believe it or not, the service was what really got us. Our two servers walked by our table a few times, never offering to replenish drinks, deliver the requested items, or notice I was not enjoying my meal. When I spoke up to have them replace the spaghetti squash, I received the same item, floating in butter in a bowl. We gave up. We finished our meal and paid the $45 bill. Never again.

• Pros: Lovely view of the river
• Cons: SERVICE, FOOD, LACK OF CONCERN ABOUT BOTH