Ray's Boathouse, Cafe & Catering Review

Classic Seattle seafood house. Best view from the Beach Cafe upstairs.

It was excellent. I had halibut it was phenomenal. The wife had a filet perfectly cooked and tastes of perfection. Service was great and friendly. We will definitely return. The views are beautiful don't miss out on this gem

More than just a boat house. You can eat and drink there. It's good but costly.

Wonderful dinner on the patio watching the sunset. Good food, great service, terrific experience!

The food was cold the alcohol drinks were horrible. My fish was very dry no taste.
The waiter did not bring bread and did not come to ask about how was the food or fill the water glass. I was disappointed in this restaurant. I will not recommend to anyone.

Pleasant atmosphere. Reasonable seafood prices. Friendly attentive staff. Well stocked bar and knowledgeable servers.

This is where my husband and I met the very first time, so my opinion may be biased. For me this place is my go-to for a simple tasty meal and drink in the bar. For the whole family we eat in the restaurant upstairs. For once every 10 years very special occasions we eat in the fancy restaurant downstairs.

Awesome food especially the crab and clam dip. Chilled but delicious. Amazing view at sunset.

Took my sister for her birthday. The tables were crowded to close together. The food was good.

Fantastic view of the sound and the Olympic Peninsula accompanied by friendly staff, great drinks and delicious seafood.

Stunning in every way.
Great vistas, food & service.

Great restaurant! We enjoyed the meal thoroughly! Everything was great. The calamari that we started with was amazing, and the 2 styles of preparation for the Sablefish were superb! You will not be disappointed with either of them!

Excellent service and food! The atmosphere is laid back but mid scale, and the view is breathtaking.

How do you say "Not the best signature dish nor sevice". Week night wasn't very busy. With a small group for a business meal. Won't be back.

Excellent service and wonderful food, the meals for our event were served promptly and discretely so we're could play attention to the speakers. One of the best venues i have been to ever.

Sure it's crowded and expensive, but THE VIEW! Food is always good, wait staff friendly and accommodating. Best spot to meet a friend for drinks and sunset, and they have blankets and heaters if the weather turns chilly.

Great view. Amazing service. Excellent food! Thanks.

Love this place! We've been here multiple times over the last three years and never had a bad dish. We mostly eat in Ray's Cafe upstairs for the great view and reasonable prices. Whenever a friend has family visiting Seattle and asks for advice on where to take them, I always recommend Ray's. It shows off the city views and holds true to the reputation for excellent seafood.

Pricey except during happy hour. Great view that you pay for. Valet parking sometimes mandatory...

Always reliable with outstanding food, great service, congenial, efficient staff and a view like nowhere else.

The scallops were good, the view was lovely if you were near a window, and the crowd was loud enough that it was hard to hear my companions. I must be getting old.

Cool friendly staff. Nice round menu options. A little on the expensive side, great views of the Sound @ Shilshole

Pleasant spot on the water. Food is very good old-fashioned fare. I like the atmosphere, and the view.

Fantastic fish and chips a nice light panko breading that was light and delicious good fries and a cup of awesome chowder I highly recommend it

Good food and service. Pretty view. While it's certainly a seafood restaurant, I wish they had a little more variety of vegetarian offerings (more than 1 pasta dish). Many years ago they had an amazing smoked tofu dish then that went away and nothing equally as yummy has replaced it.

Excellent view and delicious food. They need to work on their customer service.

The food that good. The service was ok. The view was fabulous.

Perfect food. Great view. Salmon, chowder, Apple salad.

Wonderful service, high quality food and what a gorgeous view! I booked "the best table possible" for our anniversary dinner around 8:45pm so sunset would hit around the time our entrees arrived. How perfect it worked out! They gave us the corner table with glass on both sides facing the water. Highly recommend!

It's always a wonderful experience here. Great food, ambiance and surroundings. I love this!

Quite expensive and fancy place with awesome seafood (the Ahi Tuna Poke is to die for) but the view and the food are well worth it.

Got in to sit at the bar for Christmas. Great food, fair price, very great staff!

Food was very fresh and tasty. The service was very good too. Next time I will try the more expensive dishes cause they looked that they deserve their value.

One of my favorite restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, great food and fantastic service.

Great food, views, and enjoyable experience. Seated at the bar as a lunch walk-in. Fast service, knowledgeable staff, fast service made this meal very enjoyable...

Ray's Cafe service is great even when busy. I've never had a bad experience there.

Whenever my sister and I visit our hometown we go straight from the airport to Ray's. It's become a valued tradition! Personally, we will wait any amount of time for a table on the deck - there is just no substitute for that experience. Taking in the sea air, stunning views of jagged mountain peaks, boat traffic to and from the Locks, while noshing on high quality food... no place does what they do better. If the weather is iffy, go anyway. They have installed wind barriers and overhead heaters... they even provide lap blankets! It's pretty fun to bundle up and "do Ray's."

Beautiful views and great food served by nice people. Very special place.

Excellent views upstairs. Great appys in the bar and good choice of beer.

Food was bland and service not that great. The view made up for the subpar food.

The pre-dinner bread and butter melted in my mouth, and the Caesar salad with anchovies was a great warm-up to the mussels. I left feeling very satisfied and fancy.

Great seafood, get there early for amazing specials!

Phenomenal food, breathtaking views and top-notch service. Though the prices are a little high, in my opinion, the food is totally worth it!

I chose Ahi Poke (tuna), and I kid you not: it was such a remarkable combination of flavors! Absolutely lovely.

If you re coming here for dinner, I d recommend making a reservation ahead of time.

Great food and views, although service was very slow this visit.

Did the whole event tasting menu thing and it was fantastic. The steak was just as good as the seafood... Highly recommended this place for an event and it's right on a beautiful cove...

The view is amazing, the food is great but if your budget is not very good, then is expensive. Main dishes are $40 and $60.

My personal favorite is the black cod. I don't think anyone prepares this fish as well as Ray's.

A nice dinner for four. My scallops were okay, a little underdone but edible. One was under cooked on one side, not sure how they can miss that. Crab cakes were a hit with my daughter, a second year in a row...everyone was happy, but personally, I'll try somewhere else next time out. Absolutely nothing made me desire to want to come back. Server was really good, but did not come back to see if everything was good, instead the bartender helped out and he was a sour faced pill. Maybe those talking it up so much set me up for a lot more than we received at Ray's. So many places competing out there, I'll keep looking for a favorite, this definitely wasn't it.

Same menu upstairs as the "fine dining" downstairs but half the price!
Fine views of Ouget sound and very attentive and courteous waitstaff. Food, good but nothing to rave about. It's a good thing they have a valet cause the parking in prime time is a bear.

Beautiful blue sky day added to the wonderful atmosphere and service here. Too many good reviews, so the only extras I will add are: Peter was a very welcoming, knowledgeable server. His detail-oriented nature made it easy to choose my halibut and saba dressed entree.

What can you say about Ray's Boat house. It is a nice restaurant with a very relaxed atmosphere and a great view of the water. The service is very good. My wife and I were at dinner there and we heard the waiter at the next table help the guest by letting them know of the amount of food that they had ordered and suggested they order the same salads but only a half order of the salads because the salad are very large. The guest we're very appreciative of the suggestion. The food is wonderful. We have not had a bad meal when dinning there.

Beautiful location right on the water in quiet area of busy Ballard. Inventive menu flavorful fresh food..
Omg and the rosemary bread is delightful yummm

Went there for a wedding. Serving staff was friendly. Fish was undercooked badly. Bartender had no personality.

Love dining outside on deck. Great food, good selections of beverages and excellent customer service. One of my favorite places.

Had a party of 4. Had great service. Had excellent food. And loved the view from our table outside. Thank you Ray for a very nice evening!

Delicious seafood, and excellent service. The prices are Seattle seafood prices, but it s well worth it!

The food is good, the service and attention was nice, and it has a beautiful view to the water. I enjoyed coming here for lunch.

Food and service both excellent! Highly recommend this place. Right at the entrance to the lock entering Lake Union.

Excellent fish; le sablefish is marinated one night and very tender and tasty. Le h
Ahi tuna is excellent too. Service is friendly, and the view great.

The food is overly fancy (too many fancy touches ruin what could be tasty) and the waitress was unfriendly, rude, and inattentive. The menu is minuscule and the sunset view nothing special. In short, save your money and go some place else.

A very beautiful place that I would recommend for special occasions