Ray’s Place

I’ve come for a few years and in the beginning the service was hit or miss so I didn’t come all that often.
More recently I have only had good service and I really like the flavor of the curry so I tend to come here for lunch or dinner when I can; The curry sauce has a slightly smoky curry flavor that is pretty unique. One thing to note is the curry comes with oyster or fish sauce, so if you are vegan you have to request no fish sauce in your dish. I don’t think much of the fresh rolls; the rolls are mostly filled with cabbage, and although the sauce is made in house I think it’s a little boring.
All in all, I would recommend. Only gripe is the small parking lot. There is another lot across the way, but if you don’t have ice walkers it’s a death march to get to the front door.

Food was good… not the best spring rolls I’ve ever had, but good. The Phở was delicious, not to salty like some places I’ve been to in the past. I would definitely give the Phở 4.5 stars.
Appearance/​environment:
The place was interesting… would recommend a cleaning of the window sills and removing the items that looked like someone was hoarding behind an unusable bar — weird.

Ray’s Place is one of those non-​descript restaurants in Anchorage that boasts a somewhat sad exterior and as a result I simply forget is there. But obviously I need to start tying that proverbial string around my finger to remember because the food there is good. In fact it is one, if not my favorite Vietnamese restaurants in Anchorage.
Located off of Spenard Road close to Fireweed it boasts a very small parking lot that can fill quickly. In fact everything about Ray’s can fill quickly so it is advised you get there early in order to get a seat and not have to wait for long periods of time for your food. If you find the front parking lot filled a helpful hint is there is overflow parking located behind the Texaco station across the side street. Just don’t park at the Texaco station because you would be towed.
I happen to meet a friend there for lunch on this particular day and was lucky in that I arrived early. And as a result I was able to grab the last spot in the front lot. Because of my experiences I texted my friend A and told her I had arrived and would meet her inside to grab a seat. As I went in I noted they were seating a very large party of 10 and rather groaned inwardly. Large parties can usually mean substantial delays when it comes to «a quick bite to eat.» Okay who are we kidding. There is no such thing as a quick lunch when there are large parties in a restaurant. I was greeted and seated in the last table in the front dining room. My friend arrived a few minutes later and went to work looking at the menu. I had already known what I wanted — spicy chicken with brown rice, while she ordered curry.
The server at the time was very friendly. It’s a family owned business so she mentioned at the time she would slip our order in before the large party across from us so that we would not be waiting forever. I was very appreciative of that fact given I was covering the office that day and just had snuck out for some good hearty food.
Our order arrived about 15 – 20 minutes later and I warned A to let it cool down a bit. Food at Ray’s is not sitting around for long periods of time under a warmer. It is made to order and is brought right out to you often piping hot. Unless you want a burned mouth I suggest waiting for a few minutes before taking your first bite. The spicy chicken was as good as a remember it. And not overly spicy. Large slabs of chicken tossed with sauce and vegetables. A bowl of rice, easily big enough to serve 3 people or more appeared a few seconds later.
Having tried a variety of food at Ray’s I can say there is nothing I haven’t enjoyed. Sure there have been times in the past where it wasn’t the best meal ever but it seems like they are over that bump in the road. Because every experience I have had since that has been top notch. I have had the phở, fried rice, sauté noodles and many of the chicken dishes. The food is well seasoned and fresh. They have a wide array of options including vegetable entrees. If you are vegetarian be sure you ask which entrees count as so because they do use egg, broth, fish sauce and oyster sauce in some of their dishes.
They also serve beer and wine for dine in. Hours can be limited so make sure you check before going! And they are closed weekends.
Love my times at Ray’s Place. Because the food is just that good.

Amazing food, family atmosphere and friendly service…
This place is my fave Asian restaurant in Anchorage.
Their fried rice is out of this world!
They make the best chicken in town (spicy chicken with cashews) because they grill their chicken thigh instead of boiling or frying it.
The one bad thing about this place is that they are closed weekends and every minor (and major) holiday.
Cmon Rays, PLEASE take my money! Stay open on Saturday at least!!!

Best phở I have ever had (and I had a lot of phở from many different parts of the states). Really good fried rice as well. Super friendly service. Great prices – i don’t feel as guilty eating out here so often at Ray’s Place as I do at other restaurants. This is my favorite restaurant in Anchorage and I recommend it for a casual but delicious dining experience.
Con: Always closed. Do double check the hours and any random holidays before driving over!

Great restaurant. Food was amazing both my wife and I enjoyed our food. I enjoyed it so much that the following day I told some of my co workers they had to try it too. Definitely worth trying.

What a great, relaxed friendly place! Great service! The food was amazing! My husband had the spicy lamb and said it was the best lunch he’s had in a very long time. I had the phở… delicious broth, tender meats and not too many noodles… perfect! Wish they were open on the weekends.

Hand down, best Vietnamese in Alaska. Could go here everyday. The food is fully of flavor and filling. Perfection comes from this kitchen.

For a cold day I was looking forward to a nice bowl of delicious phở. The choices for the phở were limited. I didn’t find a dish that included my favorite ingredients (tendons, flank and meatballs) however I wouldn’t dock a shop for that if the broth was amazing. The broth tasted watered down in comparison to other places. The local that recommended this place doesn’t ever order the phở so I’m sure the rest of the menu is very good.

I was in town for business and wanted Phở. I had tried anonther Phở place in Anchorage and it was ok but wanted to try another so Ray’s place it was. We have many great Phở places where I come from so I am always on the look out for Phở when I am traveling. I will agree with the other reviews that mention the Phở /​broth being watered down and not very tasty. There is limited selection on the meats, and the service was not very good. I don’t know how their other dishes are so I cannot coment on those.

The employees are very sweet and nice. Otherwise I was less than impressed. The phở broth was not bad, it’s okay, a little salty. The Vietnamese coffee is pre-​made and had a weird taste that I cannot explain. I didn’t come out in an individual french press over a cup of condensed milk. We did not finish the 2 orders of coffee. The Banh Xeo was bland, the pancake was cooked on its own then had cabbage, chicken, and shrimp thrown in. I’ve never had cabbage in banh xeo growing up, when visiting Vietnam or in other restaurants. I should have meat, shrimp, herbs, onions, bean sprouts, and flavor.

Now, this is a story all about how
My foodie palate is much happier now
That I’ve found this place of Ray’s, so just sit right here
I’ll tell you how Ray’s is the king of Vietnamese fare
In south Vietnam, I lived for almost a year
Spoiled by the food that’s not easy to make here
Noodles and phở and fresh veggies to eat
A spicy type of flavor that’s so hard to beat
Whence upon my return to the U S of A
I lamented the loss of the food I had each day
Then one night I went to a place on Spenard
I saw it, I loved it, I fell for Ray’s hard!
The place is only open for five days a week
So sometimes finding parking isn’t always on fleek
But if you can manage to find yourself a spot
You know you’ve arrived at a place that’s real hot
Quick service, yo this is great
People say «Welcome!» and you don’t have to wait
Unless the place is crowded, cause it usually is
But it’s totally worth it, you know it’s the shizz
You gotta know that the food is really all that
Honestly the place for the Unilocaling cool cats
I do think so
You’ll see when you get there
I hope you’re ready for the king of Vietnamese fare
Well, their options are many, as you will see
They’ll even make things vegan if you’re «animal-​free»
I highly recommend you try Hue beer
Straight from Vietnam, it’s almost like you are there!
You might need to whistle for a cab cause when you are done
You’ll have so much good food, you’ll weigh close to a ton
If anything I could say that this place is so rare
Cause you know what I say — this is the number one fare!
You can’t go wrong with whatever you choose
Everything is great — you really can’t lose
Behold, the true kingdom of phở and curry
What are you waiting for? Go to Ray’s, and hurry!

Rays rocks. And if you don’t think so your an idiot or own another
Phở house. The service here is overflowing human kindness and the food is authentically fresh and delicious.

This restaurant has consistently great food and great service.
My absolute favorite is the curried vegetables with chicken. It is delicious! It is THE best curry I’ve ever had anywhere.
The wait staff is so pleasant, friendly, and welcoming it almost makes me feel like family.

The food is really good, I just wish they were open more hours than they are. We drive out from the Valley and it seems they’re never open when we show up. When we have been lucky to get inside, the food was great. Nothing tasted off or bland, it was all flavorful and the wait staff was polite, but maybe not attentive as I would have liked – I don’t like having an empty glass of water when I’m eating spicy food, but the food more than makes up for it.

Our first experience at Rays while visiting Anchorage and wow! What a great meal! David took good care of us and recommended their famous fried rice! We also sampled the spring rolls-​delicious and the rice noodle soup. All three were delicious and definitely the fried rice was the best we’ve ever tasted-​we had the combination fried rice with chicken, pork and shrimp – the service was excellent and very quick! Will definitely go back next visit to Anchorage!
Randy and Sue-​Wasington

BEST FRIED RICE EVER! I’ve been to a lot of places, but «Ray’s» fried rice was by far the best I’ve had! 5 start chicken and tuna salad also amazing!
This is the place I recommend to everyone!

I read the reviews and really wanted to like this place. And I was STARVING when we went but it didn’t help. I feel bad leaving this review, but it was that bad!
The outside is just not attracting. It’s a block from my house and I’ve passed it a million times without any perk of my intrigue. The inside is nice and big and clean. The service was very fast and friendly.
I ordered as I was handed the menus and food was in front of me in merely a few minutes!
Wonton wrapped shrimp — only edible. The sweet and sour sauce was very thin and tasteless. But oh well — still starving!
Shrimp Sauteed Noodles as recommended by other reviewers — doctored up Top Ramen. The veggies may have been fresh but they didn’t taste like much. In fact the flavor broth was pretty weak and tasteless. A Top Ramen flavor pack would’ve tasted better. Ate it just to fill my stomach.
My husband got the Veggie Fried Rice with Curry. It wasn’t great.
$ 35 later… Regret.
The leftovers made the car smell like crap. Not really inspired to eat them.
Great place. Awful food. I just don’t understand the other reviews.

You’ve got to try the Sautéed beef noodles– it’s an awesome flavor bomb (without goopy American-​style sauces) that transported me to the Hong Kong noodle houses. Great seared flavor on the thin beef & broccoli + delicious black pepper punch.
Very prompt & courteous service for take-​out.

I’m not as wild about the Phở as I previously was, but I’m really digging the sautéed noodle dishes. Very reminiscent of the noodles I grew up with in Hawaii. My new «go to» item here.