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*4.75 stars...or maybe even 5*
I much prefer getting a Ray's burger here in the bistro or bar rather than at Ray's Hell Burger. Loved the potato croquettes that came with the burger, although would have liked more than just three. The burger itself is just as good as in Arlington. Great place for dinner before seeing a movie at AFI across the street.
Overall I like this place! They can cook the steak the way you want them to, free yummy sides (I LOVE the garlic mashed potatoes), and we got free desserts because it was my birthday! So what's not to like?!?
We had reservation at 8, but didn't get seated until close to 8:15 because the table was not ready. A 15 minute wait is acceptable, but any longer would have been a big no no in my book.
I thought the wine choices were kinda expensive...no real solid choices under $45...we got a bottle of cabernet for about $46, it was a decent choice. The crab bisque was very good. I just had a taste, but wish I had gotten a cup for myself. The rib eye I got medium rare was just perfectly cooked and tasted great! Most people at my table got the filet mignon and all had no complaints about the doneness of their steak. The hanger steak looks like at great value at $19.95. I think I will try that next time. The complimentary creamed spinach was very popular amongst my friends, but I was just in love with the garlic mashed potatoes (we didn't really touch the regular mashed potatoes) and we helped ourselves to a lot of those.
For dessert we got key lime pie (so very very very good) and coconut pie (the couple that ordered it finished it so fast we didn't get a chance to taste, but I assume it means it's good :) and berry and cream. I would go back to have the key lime pie alone (maybe with a side of garlic mashed potatoes, haha).
Overall, Silver Spring is just too out of the way for us, but I would definitely go back and try the bar area's fixed price 3 course deal. You can't beat that!
Let's get this out of the way at the beginning - one of the best burgers I've had. Period.
Apparently they only serve the burgers in the bar, which is why we sat in the bar. They grind them in-house, and they are fucking delicious. And huge. Thick, perfectly cooked 10oz patty (that's been well salted before cooking), dripping with deliciousness, plenty juicy, incredibly flavorful, and great texture. They've got a bunch of options of toppings - grilled onions, blue cheese, sauteed mushrooms, blackened, etc. I went with just the classic (with grilled onions) to get the real taste of the burger. And damn, it's good. And a mouthful! It's served on a big brioche roll, just the right consistency to stand up to the burger juice without being too chewy.
The bar makes reasonably good cocktails, but nothing to really write home about. They're fine. But the burger... THAT's worth writing home about!
Last Saturday night I took my girlfriend out to dinner at Ray's with a movie to follow. It was my second time visiting and our server (Greg?) not only remembered our names but my favorite drink (grey goose martini, dry and dirty with two olives). This time I had to try the burger. I'll only say this- believe the hype. 12oz steak burger with all the condiments for 8 dollars. Amazing- I'd pay 10 and leave feeling like I robbed them. I had my burger devil style and it had just enough kick without detracting from the flavor of the beef. My date had the marinated sirloin and to be honest, we weren't impressed. Last time we had the hanger steak which blew the sirloin out of the water. Not to say that it was bad, but the other cuts are just that much better. For desert (which we got for free with the bar special!) was the dark chocolate mouse. Very rich and served with whip cream just the way I like it.
Excellent service. Before we left, the bar was entirely full but Greg still found time to catch up with us. The food is spectacular and one of the better values in Silver Spring. Ray's is no longer the best kept secret in town so if you want a good table make a reservation. Five stars all day.
This review is for the bistro/bar area, although we've also been to the restaurant side a couple of times. First off, we get here on a Saturday evening at before 6:00 PM to beat the rush. We sat at the bar and had a couple drinks waiting for our party to arrive. The hostess said we couldn't sit down yet until at least four out of our six showed (one being a high chair).
So our party arrived and we sat down. They put two tables together where four people would comfortably fit, but they stuffed five adults here and the high chair on the end. We had a stroller and the hostess gave us a rude tone on how we can fold the stroller. Can you give us a few minutes to settle in and sit first? My goodness. So our server came and took our drink orders and eventually our food.
Now for the food. Personally, I had the crab bisque and the famous Hell burger with grilled onions, heck sauce, and a slice of swiss. The bisque was very tasty, although a touch salty, but definitely enjoyed it. I threw some pieces of their complimentary herb bread and the flavors meshed well together. Timing on our main courses were good. My 10oz burger came out and man, it was something I did not expect as far as size, pretty ginormous. I cut the burger in half and took a bite (no heck sauce yet, wanted to taste it straight up first). It was dripping with wonderful burger juice and very moist. Their brioche bun was good and made it delicious. However, I have to say the burger had a slight "beef" taste to it, but it was not a dealbreaker, I didn't expect it. Finally slathered on the heck sauce (homemade thousand island) and it was most excellent. Their potato croquettes were good, something a little different vs the typical fries.
On the bistro/bar end, they got a special 3-course prix fixe going on and it's a rather good deal in my opinion. Wifey had the new england clam chowder and boy, this had tons of good stuff in it and wonderful smokey bacon scent, well done. However her bacon wrapped scallops were not so good. They must've added more salt to the scallops, it already has bacon (not recommended). The finale was chocolate fudge cake, which was so-so. Overall, good deal for $23.95 and you get creamed spinach and mashed potatoes. Our companion had the diablo strip cut, good stuff here too. Moist, tender, basically what you expect from a ny strip.
The bistro/bar area got a little crazy when approaching 7:00 PM. I recommend going early on a weekend night. Service gets hairy, but I can expect it because we weren't on the restaurant side of the place. For the service, a 3-star, my burger and sides were a solid 4-star. I will definitely be back to the SIlver Spring spot for their burger. Can't beat a starting price of $7.95.
In A Nutshell:
*Organized a room reservation for a recent business trip to the D.C. area. Great coordination from Joseph!
*The menu was great, $40 bucks for a 28 oz. Cowboy Steak and smoked salmon w/ caviar appetizer. You can't beat that price!!
Overall, the food was amazing the service top notch and prices are perfect. 5 Stars easily!!!!
A dinner for 6, we opted to sit in the bar area, because a few of us wanted to try the Hell burger. I think it's dumb to only offer it in the bar area. So it's fairly empty and they decide to seat the 6 of us in a table made up from two toppers?!?! At first we went with it, but quickly realized that it wasn't going to work, we barely had any elbow room and we were planning on ordering a lot of food. There was a whole free table that they just needed to add to one side. So I ask the hostess if we could do that. She gives me this scared look and says that the manager didn't want to take up another table. What?!?! (I was about to get all old skool Silver Spring on his ass). I asked to speak to the manager and just at that moment he went outside to take a cell phone call. Anyways, our waiter finally came up and saw that it was too cramped and started to add another table without even being asked. He saved this from being 2 stars. Overall, we got great service here after the table incident.
The nut mix and the warm bread to start were delicious. We ordered the diablo strip steak, the hangar steak, 3 rib eyes, and a hell burger. Guess which was mine? The diablo! Ordered medium, it was closer to medium rare but that's fine. The seasoning was delicious with a slight kick, the portion was huge! I tried a bit of the hangar and found it to be alright, it wasn't that tender. Also a bite of the hell burger, again, nothing to write home about. The mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and mac n cheese were delicious and we had plenty of food to take home. So there's some value there.
For dessert, I had the chocolate mousse, it was light and super chocolaty, so I couldn't finish it all, it started to taste heavy after a while. But the rest of the table helped finish it off. We also had the key lime pie which was pretty decent.
Overall, the food is decent, it's not the best quality steak, but they make up for it in their sides and portion sizes.
Pretty plain decor, but great and relatively inexpensive food. Free creamed spinach and mashed potatoes, lots of steak stuff, great broccoli, etc etc.
I never would've gone in here given the way it looks from the outside without being told about it, but I'm glad I did.
Like Patrick and Joel have said, the bistro/bar area (no reservations) offers 1) the full dinner menu as well as 2) Ray's hell burgers, 3) a $24 prix-fixe menu AND 4) another $18 prix-fixe kinda menu. Unbelievable!
I was a hell burger newbie so I decided to take the $8 plunge. Au poivre with garlic, mushrooms and Ray's heck sauce, medium. This burger is HUGE! The patty is probably the biggest I've ever attempted to eat, and I only got through half of it (definitely not Ina-sized portions here). To be honest, the burger was really good, but not so easily the best burger in the DC area.
My favorite parts of the meal: the service and the potato puff thingies. Our server was quick, friendly and professional. And the potato puff thingies came with the burger and tasted like deep fried mashed potatoes! How can you beat that?
And the $8 burger qualifies Ray's the Classics for my All About the Hamilton's list! :D http://www.yelp.com/li...
There are several things that Ray's the Classics does better than Ray's the Steaks: there's an… Read more »
JUST A NOTE: Ray's Hell Burgers are available in the Bistro side of Ray's the Classics. If you don't want to wait in line at the Arlington location, there is rarely a wait for a table at RTC or you can sit at the bar and snarf wantonly on the complimentary spiced cashews.
Better still, the entire dining room menu is available on the Bistro side, which means, if you want a Hell Burger and creamed spinach, or mashed potatoes or seared scallops... have at it. They also feature a pared down but rather pleasant bistro menu at sharply reduced prices.
Oh, and by the way, the Hell Burger...Incredible! But you already knew that.
I suppose the comparisons to Ray's the Steaks are inevitable and I certainly won't be immune to it… Read more »
I love this place! The food is so worthwhile that the occasional blip is forgivable -- like a little scar on a beautiful woman's nose -- just the right amount of imperfection to make it real (I hate perfect weddings, too).
We went Saturday and had a wonderful dinner. The service was nicely attentive except for the evening's blip. The crab bisque is out of this world, and frankly, is worth the trip by itself. I had the 16-oz Strip. My wife had the House Special. One daughter had the Diablo and the other had a 12-oz Strip. I love the way they do steak. It's coated in peppercorns, and mine came with a mushroom sauce. The Diablo was apparently somewhat spicy, which my oldest daughter enjoyed, but not over the top (my wife said the flavor was great). The youngest just likes steak, so she looooved hers.
The mashed potatoes are okay. I freaking HATE cooked spinach. HATE IT, I tell you. I have eaten two versions of cooked spinach that not only didn't turn my stomach, but made me dive in for seconds. One is available at Ray's the Classics, and comes free with your meal. Cool. I should probably thank my wife for making me try it, but I won't.
In a previous visit a couple of years ago, I had wild boar. It was served with a mustard sauce over kraut of some sort with apple wood bacon -- it was very, very nice. I wish they would bring that back.
Okay the Saturday blip. They forgot one of our appetizers. I'd mentioned the crab bisque to the kids ahead of time, so both ordered it (as did my wife and I), and I had read that the "devilishly good" eggs were good, so I ordered those, too. As our entrees were being placed, I asked about the eggs, and they had apparently forgotten, or had some sort of mix-up -- whatever. They brought them during the meal, and apologized profusely -- no harm done. I rate service not based on the mistake, but what you do to fix it. They did fine. I'll be back.
This restaurant is rated as not good for kids. I sort of disagree. Mine are nine and 13, and it was all good. I'll grant the point that there were no coloring books, which get on my nerves anyway -- I want to talk while we're waiting for food, not watch my kids color. The wait staff engaged the kids, and seemed to know how to deal with them. I was not at all uncomfortable having them there.
This is easily one of my favorite restaurants in the DC metro area.
Went to Ray's last night (Saturday) and had an excellent meal for a great value. Sat at the bar and ordered from the special bistro menu. Spicy cashews, rosemary bread, crab bisque, hanger steak, and chocolate cake - all for about $24! The cashews tasty, the bread fine, the bisque VERY YUMMY, creamy, with sweet tender crab chunks, the steak perfectly cooked (med-rare), flavorful and juicy. On the steak, I tried the pirana sauce (cilantro and halapenos and olive oil - a little zingy but very good). Choc cake was a little dry and tasted a little stale, but whipped cream and strawberries helped cover it. My SO had burger but found the sharp cheddar overpowered the burger and thought the cheesecake didn't taste that fresh either. But I will still definitely go back. I want to try the burger myself. Seemed like most of the patrons in the bar area were ordering and enjoying them!
P.S. We arrived around 5:45. Service was attentive for most of the meal, but got really slow towards the end.
I'd heard from some that Ray's the Classics wasn't as good as the original Ray's the Steaks, but if this is lesser...can't wait to try the other.
Everything was tasty, starting with the spicy cashews. I had the petit filet which was fork-tender. The garlic-laden mashed potatoes and creamed spinach were the perfect accompaniments. Two of my fellow diners had the crab entree which was also great. Wish we'd had room for dessert, because the post-dinner peanut butter-y fudge was rich and delicious.
My only complaint was that I ordered my filet medium and it was medium rare, hinging on rare. I'll eat beef on the rare side so long as it's not still cold or purple in the middle, but I know many people would've sent it back.
Will be back to try the bistro offerings!
Incredible value. Any minor critiques I have are outweighed by value: the what-you-get for what-you-pay.
We sat in the bistro and ordered off of the bistro prix fixe menu. I would like to try the restaurant at some point because that's where the ribeye is! But you cannot beat the bistro offer, 3 courses for $24. There was a steak and salad offering and a petit bistro offering (salad or soup, 10 oz. strip steak, dessert), both for less than $20 as well.
The clam chowder and crab bisque were excellent. As others have said, the bisque was chock full of fresh, sweet, lump crab meat. The chowder was smoky and hearty. I had the Diablo strip steak. In all honesty, it was under-seasoned and not seared in a hot enough pan. But this is a minor complaint. My partner had the bacon wrapped filet-- which I didn't try. But he was happy. The spinach and mashed potatoes were delicious. For dessert, we had the cheesecake (which was admittedly a little less than fresh tasting) and a decadent, eyes-roll-back-in-your head, dark chocolate mousse.
So, a couple flaws. But we took home a huge take-out box of leftovers which will surely feed us through the next day. Two people, a 3 course meal and a drink each-- $66 before tip. Unbelievable!
Service was pleasant and minimalist-- which is just fine. We'll definitely be back to try out the other facets of this restaurant, i.e. burgers at the bar and ribeyes in the restaurant.
While I have been to both Ray's the Steaks and Ray's Hell Burger, I feel that I cannot compare Ray's the Classics not only because I haven't been to the new RTS location but because RTC's dining format is merely different and still comparable. With that said, the husband and I had an amazing dining experience here.
If you're lucky to get there early (or on a slow night like when I went) I would opt to sit in the first-come, first-serve bistro/bar area instead of the main dining room. The bistro includes a menu that includes Butcher Burgers (a more limited offering than what you'd find at RHB) and a prix-fix menu.
The husband and I opted for the prix-fix menu, which includes selection of appetizer, entree and dessert. My husband's diabolo steak was large in portion, very tender, and with a spicy yet almost sweet marinade. Very flavorful and not overwhelming the taste of the sirloin. My hangar steak was absolutely amazing - tender, well salted and well seasoned. Sides include creamed spinach (just the right amount of creamy butteriness) and mashed potatoes (flavorful and not too garlicy as some places can make it). Appetizers and desserts were good (I like key lime pie and you'd be in bad shape if you mess up salads) but the steaks were the main event and they blew our minds away.
Sure there's no filet mignon or other fancy cuts in this menu, but for $23.95, it's definitely a steal for the amazing quality meal you get. And what's even better - the prix-fix menu is offered every night as long as you can get a seat in the bistro. Definitely something to think about if you want a bargain steak at Ray's and it's not a Sunday night in Arlington.
As for the ambiance, the bistro has a modern classic yet not too pretentious feel. Dark wooden furniture with ostrich-leather chair cushions. Staff was attentive and very friendly throughout the entire meal.
A dining format that showcases all that the Ray's restaurants has to offer, but the quality is overall top notch. A great place to enjoy steaks cooked amazingly well without the pretention and without the ridiculous price tag.
In my mind, I am going to say that I went on a off night or I may have not ordered the right things. In which, I will be back because I'm determined to like this restaurant more because of all the good reviews from yelpers.
A friend and myself went here on a Friday around 5 PM. They did not have an happy hour, which was fine with me because I am not a big drinker, but my friend was surprised they did not have one.
I started off with the crab bisque and she had the bacon ranch wedge salad. My bisque was okay...I have had better. There was barely any crab which was disappointing. My friend's salad looked like your typical wedge salad, but next time I will order that instead. For dinner I had the Hell burger with Vermont cheddar and diablo style. My hamburger was falling apart a lot. I was almost done eating the burger when I must have hit the diablo because all of a sudden my mouth was on fire. Next time, I will not get the diablo sauce and just try it plain. My friend had the sirloin and that was good. It was juicy and cook to perfection. However the creamed spinach was not that great. Oh and the potato croquettes that came with my sandwich were not a favorite of mines either. Dessert, we both had the chocolate fudge cake. That was okay. Tastes like a cake found at a local bakery in Hyattsville, Md. I can say the best part of my meal was the peanut butter/chocolate fudge they brought out. Now that was good hahha.
The waiters were very attentive. The second you were finish eating your last piece, they were there to take the plate away. The minute your glass looks like you took a few sips, they were there to refresh it. Our main waiter never really came around our table, but the other individuals were there every second we needed something.
I will go again, next time for the steak.
After having eaten in both the bistro and the dining room, I feel I can finally give an appropriate review of Ray's the Classics. The verdict? Really, really, REALLY good, but a couple of snags hold it back from being truly great.
First off, the bistro, which is most notable for serving the now-legendary Hell-Burger. You've heard plenty about it, and yes, it's true - this is the best burger in the area, especially at the price. If you're not in the mood for a burger, the entire dining room menu is available, as well as the three-course $24 bistro special, which is an absolute steal.
Don't be mistaken, though - Ray's isn't a one-trick pony. The dining room menu features a variety of steak dishes. On my visit, I had the much-lauded hanger steak - a cheaper and tougher cut of meat, but holy heck, it is definitely flavorful, and at $20, a fantastic bargain. My companion had the 12 oz. NY strip, which was also fantastic. The complimentary sides of creamed spinach and mashed potatoes were a nice touch as well. We finished with the coconut cream pie, which is an absolute must-order. I've also had the Key lime pie, which is also great.
So, why just four stars? The biggest issue was how the steaks were cooked. I ordered mine medium-rare, and my friend's strip was ordered medium. When they came out, mine was definitely medium, and the strip steak was on the rarer side of medium-rare. Now, we didn't send them back, because mine was still tender enough, and my friend actually preferred her steak cooked the way it was than the way she thought she wanted it. However, it's still a pretty egregious offense, especially for a steak, and I can't in good faith give full marks for missing on both counts. Also, while I enjoyed the flavor of the mashed potatoes, the texture was odd to me. There were the lumps that you enjoy in mashed potatoes, but the rest of the mash was oddly thin, at least for my tastes.
All in all, Ray's the Classics is a great experience, and the food is top-notch. There are some things which hold it back from being, in my mind, an elite dining experience, but it's still one of the best restaurants in the area, and if the steaks had come out cooked properly, I'd have easily given this a 5-star rating.
So, tell me how this place is different from Ray's the Steaks? Oh I know, bad service.
I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the Ray's the Classics and Ray's the Steaks menus. I thought the Classics was supposed to have chops, fried chicken, stuff like that? No, just steak, and some seafood dishes, but isn't that pretty much the Rays the Steaks menu? I thought so.
No problem, I'm always in the mood for steak, and as expected, it was fantastic. My rib eye was perfect, as well as my girlfriend's NY Strip Au Poivre. So why not 5 stars? Well, it's not that the service was BAD per se. It was a bit too... methodical. Everyone knew their role, but it was more annoying than helpful. Waiters would wait around until they were sure your plate was clean to quickly take them away. Hovering might be a better word. We never got the personal attention a good restaurant can give. We got a handful of waitstaff, rushing to make us happy mind you, but ridiculously annoying and intrusive. How do you complain about fast, good service? I dunno, I can.
Another major downside was the dessert. Chocolate cake was stale and dry, and the ice cream was overly creamy. Nausea inducing.
Ok man, fast attentive service, extra creamy ice cream... are you serious? These are bad things?
Yes.
Taking the hint of other yelpers, I came here to devour the popular ray's hellburger (8 bux at the bar). Incredibly deelish. Perfectly cooked. I liked the potato things that came with it, too. Really friendly bartenders, too (esp considering we were off our tits from Piratz grog and I'm sure we were obnoxious). I had my burger au poive (wonderfully peppery) with swiss - YUM! Next time it's blue cheese for me tho. The mac in cheese is totally awesome, so definitely order a side of it. Washed it all down with the champagne of beers...ahhhhh.
I was hoping for more variety in dishes since this one doesn't say "Ray's Steaks". Unfortunately, all you can really get is steak. The cheapest dish is vegetarian and it changes each day. I didn't like the one they had for the day, and that left me with the salmon dish. It was okay, but nothing that tasty. The sides are so-so. I've definitely had better creamed spinach and mashed potatoes.
I tried my boyfriend and his brother's steaks. They each had a different sauce, which, by the way, they charge $1 for. I don't get why since the sauces are nothing fancy and imo should be included in the cost of the (already pricey) steaks. Both steaks were okay, but I've had much better at home and at other places.
The service was fine, and they followed the meal with little shots of super thick hot chocolate (yum--but not enough to add another star).
Red neon lights in retro font display the restaurant's name. Here, in the heart of reimagined "downtown" Silver Spring, lies an upscale take on DC foodmark Ray's the Steaks.
Ray's the Classics seems to envision itself as a bourgeois restaurant reliving the 1950's. Booths are diner-esque, but feature darker and more muted tones for a classier feel. My companions and I made reservation for 7pm on a Friday night. The restaurant was somewhat full. We arrived fairly early with only half our party but were promptly escorted to our table.
We waited for a while for our last friend to arrive but the wait staff did not mind. They were accommodating. Our waiter was fairly attentive, friendly. He even suggested we cut our own cake (it was a birthday party) to save on the $2.50/plate fee for the restaurant to do it. The service falls short of what you may expect from higher end steakhouses, but definitely a step up from your casual dining server.
My steak was pretty good; though in general, after trying other dishes, I've concluded I've had better in terms of taste and quality. My ribeye was cooked to a perfect medium-rare (which is quite a feat for some restaurants). The steak was tasty; seasoned simply and seasoned well. I tried a bit of the Filet, which had a strange texture to it, can't put my finger exactly on it. It came with a creamy sauce which was good. I had a bite of the crabcake. Very good. Decently portioned dish with large soft chunks of crab. Friends ordered some steaks with bleu cheese crumble, though they admitted the cheese became a bit too overpowering after some time with the dish.
Mashed potatoes were soft and creamy, though not very thick (which is a personal preference of mine). The creamed spinach was a bit lacking. Both are free of charge and served family style. One "pay-for" side was ordered, macaroni and cheese, which probably isn't worth it especially considering the no-cost options.
Many of the steaks on the menu are attached with a condition that they are only available from rare to medium. Which tells me they love their steaks, but also tells me they don't cater to the customer. The restaurant does offer its own unique cuts for well-cooked items, if you insist. Though If you dislike this rule I would suggest a non-red meat item.
What you get at Ray's Classics is good steak and good service. Not great though. In the end, having not tried the original yet, its just another gut-wrenching teaser for Ray's the Steak. Classics just eeks into 4 stars.
we visited Ray's the Classics for their famous hell burger....it satisfied! the burger is available in the bistro section of the restaurant (~30 seats + 10 across the bar). the burger is 10oz of sweeet sweeet beef. here's what i ordered:
hell burger with raw onions, mushrooms, and ray's heck sauce... au gratin with white cheddar.....medium.
no need to order fries! your burger comes with fried mashed potatoe patties, a pickle, and a slice of tomato.
here's the kicker....the low, low, low, low, low price of $9!
since the dining area is small, make sure to call ahead.
move over fuddruckers, burger king, and mcD's....ray's the classic's burgers is tops in town
I live by Napa so I'm used to pretty darn amazing food. My standards are quite high and I don't give out 4 stars liberally. On my first night in the DC area, my pal took me to Ray's. This place was pretty darn good, and pound for pound, based on taste and cost, I'd say that this is one of the best steak places I've eaten - dare I say that it's better than Cole's Chophouse?
I sat at the bar (hooray for the spicy cashews!) and had the $24 pre fixed menu: Crab bisque, Diablo steak, and the root beer float. The soup was just a touch too salty for my liking but this did not stop me from eating the entire cup. The lumps of real crabmeat were delightful. With so many places switching to imitation crab these days, I was glad to have some real crab in my bisque. I ordered my steak medium rare but it came out more medium. The sauce was quite spicy and flavorful. My favorite part of the dish was actually the chunks of garlic and grilled onions. The entrée came with sides of creamed spinach and mashed potatoes, which were quite decent, but not the best I've ever had. I didn't finish my meal since there was still dessert to be had (there was so much food that I ate my leftovers for TWO separate meals!). My friend and I had the dark chocolate mousse and root beer float. We were so full from the other two courses that we couldn't finish our desserts, which were good. The mousse was delicious but again, not the best I've had - I'd probably try another dessert before I order this again). Serving a good root beer float isn't saying much. You'd be hard-pressed to mess it up. At Ray's, it's simple, traditional, classic and just what I was expecting in a root beer float.
While I wouldn't say it's better than Cole's (it's too early to be so bold), Ray's is a great place with AMAZING prices (I basically had 3 meals for $24), and I'm definitely returning to try some of the other items on the menu. Overall, I'd give this place 3.5 stars, but the price and atmosphere (ok, and the cashews at the bar) most definitely bumps it up to 4.
The bistro prix fixe menu is an awesome deal. For under $25, you can get a three course meal at a quality that would be much more at other steakhouses. I had the crab bisque which was a bit salty but had a great flavor and wasn't too creamy. My entree, the bacon wrapped filet medallions were perfectly cooked medium well to my liking. The mashed potatoes were good though I'm not too big of a fan of the creamed spinach in general. Dessert was included and you can choose from everything that they have. The chocolate cake was a nice way to end the meal. This is a great neighborhood restaurant and I wish that I came here more often while living in downtown Silver Spring.
I thought it wasnt very high quality meat. I found my filet was dry and it had a looseness to it, not like a quality dried steak - just old meat. Almost made me wonder whether they had cooked it for a long time at low heat to make an inferior cut of meat seem "tender." The meat at Sam & Harrys, Smith & Wollenskys and Mortons was, in my opinion, far, FAR superior. This place was closer to Bobby Van's than any of the aforementioned places - not a good thing.
The ambience here is lobbylike. Very, very limited wine list for a steakhouse, although the wine prices were very fair, especially towards the high end (around $135 for silver oak).
***1/2
I was one of the very first customers at the original Ray's the Steaks in Arlington - well before all the hype that he has received over the past 7 years or so. So, I was pleased to see him do well and open up Ray's the Classics a few years ago (followed by Hell Burger last year). My wife and I had been meaning to make the trip up to Silver Spring to try Classics out, but the geographic inconvenience kept us away until just now.
Ray's always gets a lot of flak for his bare-bones decor, which compared to Steaks in Arlington is actually not bad. The dark wood trim and dim lighting are just fine, even if there's a lack of art on the walls. I'd always heard how the service at Classics was the biggest disappointment, and while our server was ok, I could see where people would have room to complain. He got the job done, but left a lot to be desired: empty glasses waiting for refills, odd recommendations, and when removing my appetizer plate he took the dirty steak knife off my plate and re-set it at my place - he couldn't get a clean knife?
The bright spot at Classics is the cuisine - both apps and mains. Everyone ordered appetizers, all of which were universally enjoyed. My bacon wrapped scallops were a meal in themselves and the onion chutney that came with it was excellent. The steak tartare/deviled eggs were also excellent. Everyone at our table ordered steak and were very pleased. My Steak Diablo - slices of NY strip with a spicy sauce - was excellent: tender, flavorful and SPICY!
The only disappointment on the food side was dessert - totally skippable. My fudge cake could've been two weeks old. My wife's key lime pie was ok, but everyone left most of their dessert on their plates - not worth the calorie investment.
Overall, Classics was ok. If Ray (Michael) could fix a few things - service and dessert - Classics would be a star.
Definitely deserving of 4 stars. Food was delicious. The meal was not without its flaws but the meat was excellent.
I had the peppercorn crusted 16oz NY Strip, medrare. Excellent, huge hunk of beef. Brandy cream mushroom sauce was excellent too, not overpowering at all, a perfect compliment.
Those who have criticized the potatoes and spinach as nothing special surely miss the point. They are very good, and the perfect complement to the meat. If the potatoes and spinach upstaged the meat then i'd be worried. Have not been to Ray's the Steaks and would have appreciated a bit more variety than this Meat Heavy menu but once again my steak was awesome.
Service was a bit odd (the waiter took one drink order, filled it, then took the next one--for our party of six!--hilarious actually). But we were never rushed and our food came out quickly enough
Deviled Egg/Steak Tartare appetizer a bit disappointing. Meat was served nicley chilled and super fresh but otherwise flavorless and overpowered by the egg it was served in. Desserts disappointed as well. Not an original idea in the bunch and execution just ok. Choices we samled included berries and whipped cream, chocolate mousse and a coconut-y pie. don't waste your time.
The gratis hot chocolate shot to end the meal was a nice touch though (as were the zingy spicy cashews to start).
Will definitely return and may bring some picky eaters too as I feel the steaks, if ordered wisely (cut/temperature) are worth every penny.
Best Taps with a Butcher burger (cafe side only),
Got one here grilled (not blackened or ....) to max out natural flavor, with hell sauce (trek and oyster sauce flavor), White Sharp Cheddar (took off after one bite, made it too salty), Red pepper sauce topping.
Done perfect with light grill marks, nice and moist.
Thought hell sauce would be spicy hot (like hell), it hid some of the beef flavor, will try without next time.
Marianne and Chelsea had the salmon, Marianne sent hers back for more cooking, later tasted Chelsea's and agreed with Marianne. Their dish came with light fluffy milky mash and excellent spinach.
Thickest choc moose desert, the whipped cream was twice as thick as any whipped cream I've had, the moose was 3x thicker almost like a soft fudge.
Had a clipper city Loose cannon IIpa, They serve 2 kinds of Sil spg firehouse ales, One looks like a Hydrant the other an Axe.
In a 10oz glass.
Big TV on end above bar, easy to ignore.
Closed Mondays
I've been trying to get myself over to Ray's the Steaks for forever and it just never happens. So when my friends and I decided to meet for dinner in Silver Spring, I immediately suggested Ray's the Classics despite somewhat shaky reviews and never having been to the Arlington original.
What I found is that the majority of the reviews I read were spot on. Service was ok, but not special. Ambiance was ok, but also not special. Prices were ok, not really cheap but by no means astrnomical (steaks are reasonable, but salads/appetizers/sides seem to be on a bit of a higher scale). Side dishes were ok (so-so mashed potatoes and creamed spinach, and pretty awful mac and cheese). Appetizer selection left something to be desired and for lack of anything appealing to us, we did not even order one. Wine list was decent and we liked the bottle we chose.
But steaks - the steaks were good. Really good. I had the House Special NY Strip - pepper crusted, brandy mushroom cream sauce, blue cheese crumbles - and it was great. My friends loved their petit filets.
So, I liked it. I'd go back. But I don't know that I would call it a must-try or worth going out of your way for.
Great steaks and reasonable prices. There isn't a bad thing I could say about RTC.
They now serve burgers in the bar portion of the restaurant! That means I can get a hell burger close to home and have a beer with it!. They don't have the insanely long list of toppings that they have at Hell Burger, but the burgers themseleves are just as amazing. The deep fried mashed potato balls that came with the burger were also really tasty. They only had a few beers on draft (maybe 4 or 5?), but they were all good beers, no taps wasted on crappy beers. They also do a 3 course meal in the bar area for $23, which I need to go back and try.
Would definitely round up to 4.5.
Had an excellent meal there. Great steaks, good service, and reasonable prices. Good value for the $$ and none of the service issues others have written of.
This review is due more to very questionable service than to food.
The food quality was definitely decent. If you're a vegetarian, don't come -- there is only one veg. dish, and it changes every night. If you eat fish, the salmon is pretty good -- but not wonderful. The fare is "American," and as someone who doesn't usually eat this type of food (mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, etc), I found it very good. The wine list is nothing special, but it provides a decent variety.
Ok, the service.
We came in around 6 on a Tuesday evening. That is very early, and the restaurant (in Silver Spring) was very empty. However, a huge deal was made about whether or not we could be seated without a reservation. Unprofessional. Our "waiter" led us to the table -- he was boastful, arrogant, and unhelpful. Upon our ordering a bottle of wine, he requested my ID, which he studied for no less than 4 minutes before proclaiming it "good ENOUGH." Ok... (It was a real ID..)
They did not bring us the bread and nuts every other table got, and our waiter came back only to give us our food. No checking on whether or not everything was ok. We ordered dessert, which was terrible (don't get the chocolate cake), and had a huge ordeal making it understood that we didn't want it. We were basically ignored, while other tables were treated wonderfully... I'm not sure if there are racial/gender issues with the service, but it was hard not to notice the discrepancy in quality, or the condescending way in which he pronounced "LADIES" each of the two times he spoke to us.
Overall, the food was decent, the wine was great, and the experience was wonderful due only to the company. Were I alone, I would have been absolutely miserable (or, more likely, spent the better part of an hour complaining).
I will not return.
I will have to say, it's a pretty good steak house and a great value. They have great attention to detail warmed and chilled plates and cutlery. The steaks are pretty good. I highly recommend the cowboy, or the house special. They also throw in free creamed spinach and mashed potatoes with the meal so that's a huge addition. The decor is okay, kind of a mix between local restaurant and high brow. Definately worth a visit
I like Ray's a lot. And I can walk there from my house, which is a total bonus. Mostly, this is just a funny observation from last night. We stopped in and had dessert at the bar and noticed that not only do they not have fountain soda (which isn't that strange) but, instead of Coke or Pespi? They were def. pouring RC Cola and Diet RC. How weird is that?
Four of us dined at Ray's the Classics again two weeks ago. Awesome. The wedge salad a thing of simple beauty and the steaks great. Our group enjoyed the petit filet, the house special, the cowboy cut bone-in ribeye and were lucky enough for me to enjoy the sidekick, a smaller version of the cowboy only available when the butcher (Domingo is his name) ends up with a ribeye too small to be sold as the cowboy cut. Perfect size for my appetite. My wife makes sure we never miss the mac and cheese side dish, Don't you!
They save money on decor and unnecessary executive staff and pass the savings on to you in the form… Read more »
While popular Ray's the Steaks in Arlington does not take reservations, Ray's the Classics does and judging from the feverish pace of the host on the Saturday night I was there, it makes sense for you to make one. We wrongly assumed they didn't accept reservations and were prepared to wait. Upon entering the host ran off in the other direction and said he didn't have anything for us but that we could eat at the bar. However the two couples that came after us, also without reservations, were seated in the dining room. Good thing I like eating at the bar. . .
We began with a cup of the onion soup and a Caesar salad. The onion soup had a bit of what seemed to me to be Chinese five-spice powder in it. The entire time eating it I waffled back and forth on whether or not I liked this bit of fusion. In the end I decided that if I had to think about it that much, I probably didn't. Mashed potatoes and creamed spinach are served complimentary with the steaks. Both were delicious. Neither my dining companion nor I liked the fact that our split rib eye arrived already cut into numerous pieces (we like to cut our own meat!) Still, that didn't do much to spoil the excellent taste of the steak and it's really my only complaint about our main course.
An good restaurant in which to have an after-film bite (it's across the street from the AFI Theatre); Ray's is undoubtedly the most interesting of the many exciting eating nearby options which include Chick-fil-A, Red Lobster and Macaroni Grill!
The steak and the sides were delicious but you can get that at most steak houses with much better service. Our waiter was a lazy ass who spent a considerable amount of time catering to the older clientele of the restaurant and completely ignoring us. While the creamed spinach and mashed potatoes were delicious, there was hardly enough for each of us to have a full serving. I asked for another order of each and it was never provided. We ordered our dessert to go because the marquee from the AFI across the street was blinding and giving us all a headache. The waiter asked if we needed anything else. I told him, "Sure, I'll take that spinach to go too." He had no idea what I was talking about because apparently he only pays attention to those with blue hair that are over the age of 65.
Pass on the desserts. Blah.
I will not be going there again. Two stars is generous.
Go to Hellburger or Ray's the Steaks in Arlington because this place is a classic waste of time.
Oh yeah....what's going on with the maitre d' and his greasy, quasi ponytail? Get an appropriate haircut for pete's sake! You work with food!
I was slightly disappointed with my experience when compared to my Ray's the Steak experience. I was looking forward to eating here all week.
The dinner started off with spiced nut mix and bread. We ordered the smoked salmon appetizer and the scallops wrapped in bacon. Both appetizers were pretty freakin' good. I had the NY strip au poivre while my friend had a ribeye. This is where I felt the drop off in quality was. I felt my steak at Ray's the Steak was way better than what I had at Ray's the Classics. It was a good steak, but I was still left feeling slightly disappointed. The mashed potatoes and spinach were the same as the other location.
My take on the situation is this: Ray's the Steak is focuses more on the food, especially considering they have to make up for the lack of space and ambiance. Ray's the Classics tends to focus more on ambiance, something I could not care less about. I got the feeling Ray's the Classics was more about being seen and being slightly trendy. I hate trendy and I don't give a rat's ass about being seen. This is why I gave this place 4 stars and Ray's the Steaks 5 stars.
My meal at Ray's the Classic was perfect for a graduation celebration with the in-laws. The food was incredible, the service was on point (even when my mother-in-law pretended to order from a Chinese menu. . . I didn't get it, I still don't, but the waiter was kind and played along--thus up-ing the tip I left), and the ambiance was lovely.
I had tried to get reservations at RtC a couple of times before but had trouble obtaining "day of" reservations. This time I planned ahead and had no problems securing a table.
The wait staff, as mentioned earlier, was very helpful and engaging. The menu focuses on MEAT but does have a few other options--which are important since hubby and do not eat red meat but the in-laws do. And, given those peculiarities of our party, I can say without reservation that everyone was VERY pleased with their meals. I loved my Shrimp Diablo!
Since this is definitely one of the outstanding meals of the past year, I thought that the price was pretty reasonable. With three courses each, a couple of cocktails, a bottle of wine and tip I believe that we stayed below the $300 mark. Unfortunately, this means that RtC will not be a monthly venue--even though I am sure we could have had a more moderately priced meal but now that I know how good it can be I do not think I will ever want to!
Since the in-laws are not frequent fancy eaters this was a great choice
Silver Spring, MD
Category: Italian
Silver Spring, MD
Category: Caribbean
Silver Spring, MD
Category: Mexican
Silver Spring, MD
Category: Italian
Silver Spring, MD
Category: Steakhouses
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