Ray’s Grill

Not understanding the negative reviews! This place uses fresh ingredients made from scratch… It is a bit overpriced but in my opinion it’s worth the extra dough. The steaks are great and the atmosphere is on point.

We desperately want to like this place. We live out in the county and are locals. We’ve gone probably 2x a year for the last 5 years… and each time we say never again. The food doesn’t scream excellence and service is poor once we are seated. The prices make it worse.
The place is showing its age, and could use a coat of paint to cover the blackened walls near the ceiling vents above the window tables. The table accessories (sugar holder, salt/​pepper) could use a general scrub too. The state of the property and food quality doesn’t reflect the prices on the menu.
My general opinion is that the workers show up and do their time but there seldom is management on the site.

Ray’s serves the finest, freshest locally sourced produce and meats. My husband enjoys the delicious steak and lobster dinner, while I prefer the chicken fried chicken with country-​style mashed potatoes and gravy! And, you CANNOT leave without having the Molten Lava Cake & Crème Brûlée! Simply Delicious food & never disappoints!

We ate at Ray’s on a calm Sunday afternoon and man were we impressed. First off the server gave us excellent service and made us feel welcomed and comfortable. Second their food tastes amazing and fresh. They bake their own bread and they also try to use all local and organic ingredients for their dishes. We loved their wine selection too! Will definitely return and try their desserts next time.

This is one of the worst service I have received. Probably top 10 of bad
service experiences. We had a table of about 9 people for lunch. There was only one or two other tables besides us and our server did not put in one of the orders. He didn’t get his burger until everyone was almost finished with their meal!
Food: DO NOT get the caesar salad unless you want two huge chunks of lettuce. They did not cut it up into bite size pieces. It was more like a wedge salad but with romaine lettuce. I had the chicken fried chicken sandwich and it looked pretty good until I realized most of what I was seeing was extra fried fried batter that was hollow and no chicken! Their sweet potato fries were pretty good but that was the only good part of our meal.
Service: Our server never checked with us during or meal. We even had to flag him down to bring our checks. He did not see us though and one of us eventually had to walk to him to get our checks. The checks took about 15 min to get back!
This was just one of the worst experiences and I would not recommend this place to anyone. Also the food is pretty pricey and not worth the quality of the food and not to mention the horrible service!

Over priced and not much to choose from on the menu. We ordered the jumbo bacon wrapped shrimp and they were not jumbo. They were very tough and not fresh. The restaurant is nice inside overall.

Yes they may be a little pricey but WELL worth it!!! The servers are great and the food is gourmet prepared fresh local and organic. If your worried about the price then this isn’t the place for you but if you would like a place to take your better half outside the hustle and bustle of the big city then I would HIGHLY recommend it. Oh yeah I almost forgot you can’t leave without trying the bread pudding!!!

Stopped by for a quick dinner, not very familiar with the area. Decided to try the lamb shank and was pleasantly surprised. the shank was seasoned well, braised tender not overcooked. I did glance at the menu and i noticed a few dishes that i will be back to try. the wine list had a good selection to pair so next time i will give myself more time to explore the menu.

Overpriced and underwhelming. How else to explain that? One star only because I have to.
Too many other good places to eat in Fulshear than this place. Dekkers is the cats meow until Anthony opens his new place in Simonton.
By all means, skip rays… unless you have disposable money and poor taste buds.
Update, Unilocal removed my initial post so I am reposting. The food was BLAND (meaning NO flavor), the service was POOR (meaning SLOW and inattentive), and our experience was BAD (meaning we could have cooked for ourselves and had BETTER food and experience). PASS on this place unless you have POOR taste buds and DISPOSABLE income. Hopefully that provides more context, detail, and tips so Unilocal can understand. For those reasons I say pass on this restaurant as it is overpriced and underwhelming!
BT Justice

I love Ray’s! It’s always such a treat. Their wine list is impeccable and the food is incredible. The attention to detail is evident throughout the restaurant, from the top notch service to the delicious coffee and unique art. I have been coming here for years and I can’t wait to visit again soon.

Horrible experience… again. Service was horrible. He didnt know the specials, waited 15 minutes for our first drink but wanted to take the order… got our appetizer order and still waiting for a drink and then 10 minutes later wanting to take the main food order. Said I would like my drink order and then still waiting and then got my husbands wrong. Waiting 15 minutes for every single drink order is unacceptable when youre not extremely busy… watched my drink order sit there for 10 minutes while he poured a wine sample… waited, delivered another order and then poured the wine bottle order for the neighboring table. Ridiculous.
Food was somewhat cold, not very good and just plain medi-​ocre. Very over-​priced and just plain blah.
We ordered drinks, bottles of wine, appetizers, salads, entrée’s, desserts… spent a LOT of money here hoping the service, food and experience would get better as the night went on but it didnt… you would think after saying «well im waiting on my drink» when asked if they want to take my order for the 3^rd time it would get better… or they would get the hint… something…
Our second trip here hoping maybe it would be better than the first but ended up being the same… horrible. Will NEVER go back. Over priced and the service is pathetic.

Worst experience ever… Drinks took forever, food took forever and was completely undercooked then a lady slipped on a huge puddle of water on the floor that the hostess spilled and don’t clean up after watering the plants. No one even came over to apologize to the lady or make sure she was ok. I will not be back ever

I stepped into Ray’s over the weekend on a whim, and I’m glad I did. I was able to get seated in promptly. There is a good range of dishes to cater to a lot of people as far as the appetizers and the entrees go. Ray’s Grill has wild game meats, which I didn’t venture into.
I got the hummus appetizer and I’m so happy I did. I love hummus and have had hummus from multiple restaurants and this is probably in the top three for me. I also got the sesame seared ahi tuna as my entrée, and it was perfectly cooked. I normally don’t like wasabi, but the wasabi mash it came with was not overpowering. My boyfriend got the zinfandel braised lamb shank and he loved it. He wants to come back to try the wild meats since the lamb was cooked so well.
I was told to come back for the Sunday brunch, which seems like what a lot of other people on here are talking about. I will definitely come back!

First time to try this place, server is nice. Food is just OK, nothing catches us attention, we ordered lamb shank and pasta, I would give 3 – 4 star based on the flavor. May come back again to try something different

My wife and I loved our first visit to Ray’s last night, and we will definitely come back.
We had heard reservations were necessary so I found their site through Unilocal and was surprised to find available seating the same night at the time we wanted. We were promptly seated near the kitchen at a taller table, which we both loved.
I loved the atmosphere. Everyone at Rays was warm and friendly. Our server was particularly attentive and fun. She checked in regularly to make sure we were well serviced.
We started with the jalapeño queso, which was delicious, but not spicy enough for my taste.
A cook saw us ogling a tile fish dish he had just plated and told us all about it. We decided to try it, and it was heavenly. This was my favorite part of the meal — fresh, moist and flakey, and paired with a delicious risotto.
We shared a delicious crème brûlée at the end — I think it had a hint of mango which was really nice.
While there, we met Ray, the owner, who was gracious and welcoming.
While there are several less expensive options on the menu, our meal was a little pricey ( Unilocal should probably make this one a $$$?), but for a special night out it is well worth it. The burgers were priced right and look fantastic — can’t wait to go back and try one!

This time I tried Ray’s oft described Brunch. Much like Ray’s dinner, brunch. was a wonderful experience. We were greeted first by the hostess and then by the manager who explained the brunch buffet including some of the ‘off menu’ items. He then began to ply us with Mimosa’s and after salmon and bagels (with accoutrements), mussels and a quinoa salad had the chef prepare Eggs Benedict with perhaps the most flavorful
Hollandaise I have had the pleasure of. That was followed but Lamb, Roast Beef and Venison Sausage all exquisitely seasoned and prepared. For dessert it was a warm blackberry crumble finished with an excellent cup of coffee. In case it doesn’t come through to you along with drinks the cost is less than $ 30 a plate although albeit just slightly less. Come with your appetite.

Ray’s has a lot going for it, but there are just too many inconsistencies for me to give this more than an A-​OK rating, particularly since it seems to want to tout itself as a fine®-dining establishment. In the interest of full disclosure, we came for restaurant week, and that can always be a bit of a hit-​or-​miss proposition, but I think the issues run a bit deeper than that.
First, the good stuff. The savory dishes were mostly quite good. The chicken fried steak was humongous, and the breading was crisp, hot and flavorful. The mashed potatoes were outstanding. Appetizers were decent, with the french onion soup standing out over the crab cakes and the popcorn shrimp. Service with genial, if a little inexperienced. Beer selection is small but very interesting.
On to the stuff that needs work. Although the service was friendly, they were ridiculously understaffed. Two young guys were literally running from table to table to try to get everyone’s order in while also filling up waters/​teas and clearing plates and greeting folks at the door with menus. This slowed down service a ton. One more server, a host/​ess and at least one busser would have helped these poor fellows out immensely.
We usually order wine, but the wine prices here are extremely high (about 2.5x to 3x retail for most, with some stretching to nearly 4x retail. Ouch). Although they boast some «rare» wines with high scores, I can’t really take seriously a wine list that misspells Pinot Grigio on numerous occasions («Pinot Gridgio»).
Desserts were also a bit of a miss. My Grand Marnier (another menu misspelling… «Gran Manier») Crème Brulee was decently creamy with a nice crackling sugar on top, but it was decidedly lacking in flavor. The flourless chocolate cake was a leaden brick — way overcooked. The peach cobblers were unremarkable.
All in all, I would say this is a decent place to go for HUGE entrees. Stick with those and a nice beer, put yourself in a casual state of mind, and you’ll probably have yourself a good time.

We really liked this place!
Food was on point. Came on a Friday night at 6 and didn’t have reservations. We got a table without and issues. The place started to fill up an hour later as we were leaving.
Menu was prettt good. Good variety. Not a large menu since the place is small. But who wants a large menu? Streak, burgers, chicken, seafood, salad all on there.
They have different menus different nights of the week which is pretty cool. They also serve brunch.
Drink selection is decent for wine and mixed drinks. Have a handful of Texas beers on tap and the lame beers in bottles.
Service is outstanding too!
Cant wait to go back!

Last night my husband and I ate at Ray’s and I cannot stop thinking about it. It was our first time there– we had a gift card and were excited to use it. We made reservations however the restaurant was not as crowded as we had expected for dinner on a Friday night. Our waiter was very knowledgeable and personable and he, and the atmosphere, greatly enhanced the meal.
For appetizers my husband chose the boar dumplings and I chose the highly recommended mussels I white wine sauce. while we waited we were given slices of fresh white bread with an herb butter, which was excellent.
I wasn’t as impressed with the boar dumplings as my husband was. They were good, but I wouldn’t get them again. The mussels, however, were amazing and the white wine sauce was delicious.
For our entrees, my husband ordered the chicken fried ostrich ($ 18) with red russet potatoes and I had the surf and turf. The presentation was beautiful– my surf and turf ($ 34) was a tower of the best food I have ever eaten. A bed of risotto mushroom rice, a filet minot with a pat of herb butter on top and topped with a lobster tail. I enjoyed every single bite. My husband also greatly enjoyed his meal– the ostrich had a similar taste to chicken with a tougher, chewier texture– not gamey at all.
The meal was amazing– no words could do it justice. We were excited to learn about lunch and hope to try it sometime soon, since we no longer have a gift card to take advantage of.
Overall, absolutely amazing food, beautiful presentation, romantic environment and knowledgable staff. Can’t recommend it highly enough.

Trendy restaurant with a great atmosphere. The menu is «creative».
3 to 3.5 stars.
The food is good, the portions of the entrees are small and the prices are just a bit high for what you get. Two people, 1 drink each, app, entrees, no dessert $ 65 per person including tip.
The Oso Buco was delicious, but half of it was fat and bone. Thank goodness for the mountain of mashed potatoes (which were just okay) and the 6 green beans on the plate, otherwise I would have left hungry. The Oso Buco was cooked perfectly and the sauce that accompanied it was very good. This dish had great potential, but at $ 29, it missed the mark.
The Pork Chop was thick and cooked nicely, but at $ 26, one medium sized pork chop was a disappointment. By the time you carved the fat from around the edges and removed the bone, the edible portion was too small.
Drinks here are pricey at $ 12 per cocktail.
Is the food here good? Absolutely! The issue is that Ray’s is a bit too pretentious for what is coming out on the plate and from the bar. This probably explains the why we walked in on a Friday night and were immediately seated, when Dekker’s (around the corner) has a long waiting line. For example, the Pork Chop at Dekker’s is slightly bigger, cooked perfectly, and costs $ 8 less.
Ray’s is limiting themselves to the «special occasion», or the «Dekker’s line is too long to wait in» diners. Adjust the prices or the portions a little and this place would be packed.