Just Ray’s Restaurant & Creative Catering

I am sad to say this restaurant has been closed.
I used to go to Ray’s 2 – 3 times a week for their early bird breakfast specials.
Paying under $ 5 for a full breakfast (and sometimes getting an extra coffee in a to go cup) was worth it.
The staff was cordial and helpful.
The menu and specials list was extensive.
I especially loved their friend chicken and pancakes or on the other side of the coin their healthy breakfast platter with egg whites, turkey bacon/​sausage/​and linguica and buckwheat pancakes.
I hope someday they will open back up again.

Very good breakfast, homey atmosphere and fast service. Definitely coming back.

«Exceptionally Mediocre»
I hate coming on here and burying a local business. In fact I support the local mom and pop places as much as I can. With that being said I decided that this is a review that I had to write.
*Enter Ray’s Restaurant and Catering*
A quaint, clean little place located on main street in Fairhaven, MA.
The décor is small/​hometown diner mixed with a little bit of backroom burger joint. Ray’s seating is well spaced and it has all of the fixin’s to be a pleasant surprise in the making. Perhaps that is where I went wrong.
Ray’s is… unspectacular in every sense of the word.
The service is quick but inconsistent due to multiple servers, The first server (the one taking our order) actually took our order from BEHIND me… no word of a lie… I had to TURN AROUND to look at her while ordering. It wasn’t a problem for my spouse but I found it to be kind of strange and uncomfortable. Maybe she was new… who knows. She wasn’t rude or mean or… anything for that matter. She was a blank slate. While this is not a HUGE deal it is something that should be addressed by the owner.
Our 2^nd «server» was the woman bringing my order. She was kind, polite and had a wonderful sense of humor. Cracking jokes about cooking and wisecracking to everyone around. Talk about night and day! Now, I’m not sure if this lady was the owner or «one of» the owners. and I don’t know if this person taking my order was «new» so… I don’t want to harp on them too badly. But, it does come into play with «Tip time» comes up. How do you go about that?
Where my problem lies (and I do believe this is the crux of the matter) with Ray’s is, the lack of love that goes into their food.
I had blueberry pancakes that tasted like a box mix with some blueberry pie filling in them. Served with a scoop of butter and bad maple syrup.
They give you a generous amount of bacon but. it is thin, limp and just not cooked properly. Their eggs were made well but under seasoned (which isn’t a huge deal) and their home fries were… well. bland.
In fact Ray’s strikes me as «Old folks home food».
I hate even writing this review.
I’m so sorry to the owner but, if I could make some constructive criticism I would say.
Show more love!
Pancake batter is not hard to make add a little lemon zest in there to freshen it up, give it a zing. Something that makes it pop.
The butter on top could be something special if it wasn’t so bland.
Fresh blueberries are not hard to acquire.
Use a better quality maple syrup and don’t give as much (they give two decent portions of the crappy stuff) and if your customers want extra (which they probably won’t due to your pancakes having a fresh wonderful taste) charge them .50 cents for more to make up for your cost.
Use two pieces of thick cut bacon instead of 6 pieces of paper thin, limp, horrible bacon.
Do something that feels like there is a heartbeat in this place! Everything felt like it was once in a box on a warehouse shelf. I left disappointed. Not offended or angry just. wanted to shake my head and say. «What a shame»
My apologies to the owners, maybe I caught them on a bad morning but, there is a lot of things that need fixing. That is rarely a coincidence.
To try to end on a positive note.
Their food is on the cheap, and that woman who brought our food out is the star of the show. If she is an employee the owners need to take note and make her management. If she is the owner, she needs to find more people like herself to work the place.
Also, I went for breakfast. Hopefully their lunch is better.

The fried waffle is why you want to eat here, so don’t dick around with the rest of the menu (nothing else is really as good as it sounds) and just stick with that fab fried waffle. With strawberries, even!
I like the people who work here, they’re very sweet, so I won’t nitpick the rest of their dishes. Just take my advice, get the fried waffle, and your belly will be happy.

The menu is very creative (look to the walls for inspiration), though we were on a daytrip, so I opted out of the more dramatic options like the fried waffle or brownie pancakes in favor if the bacon, tomato and swiss omelet. It was good, but I’ll be back again for their more creative dishes and a review update. Service was very friendly.

I love my Unilocal,thanks Unilocaler’s for pointing me in the direction of this joint.
Looking at the outside I was like ummm… should we go in, but inside was very quaint. The food was fantastic. They got the average eggs and toast, pancakes and bacon, blah blah breakfast food. But the cook has specials up daily that are absolutely great. Only been once but they are sure to see me again.
Plus they had a little area where my 16 month old could play. I’m sold
Ray’s just gained a regular!
P. S. I love you Fried waffles

Went to Just Rays again, my first post was the chicken fried steak. Today I had the Portuguese pork chops smothered in pepper and onions in a yummy marinade. Wife had the Chicken and waffles with delicious gravy. Chicken was moist and perfectly fried, although part of the waffle was burnt. It was more than she could eat so she skipped the burnt stuff. The menu and all the special boards make it so hard to decide, everything sounds so good. Next time Cheeseburger, or the diamond steak tips, maybe the chourico or Roast Beef hash. Can’t wait

On the recommendations of Unilocal,I made the 45 minute trek to Fairhaven Mass. Why you might ask. Well, I am committed to the Unilocal cause. Besides, I love going to diners and breakfast is my favorite meal.
So the place is not too hard to find. The parking is on the road. It is visited mostly by the local crowed. Inside is nice and open and the seats are comfy. They can host large parties if needed.
The menu is quite large once you start looking at all of the variation, But I think it is also simple. Basic pancake and then 10 twists as it were.
They have menu boards all over the place with stuff not on the normal menu which does cause you to have to get up and walk around, but not a big issue. On this occasion that had Fried Chicken and waffles, a great southern tradition. This is what I had and it was really good. You can have it with Honey, Maple Syrup, gravy or a garlic butter sauce. I had it with the Maple Syrup. So my only gripe, not real maple syrup. Almost ruined the dish.
Waffles were fantastic, the chicken was made fresh and was not frozen strips, so score there.
So on the menu, they also had Fried Waffles. So now I know the Cook is from the south. No, I did not try it. But they also had Chicken Fried Steak as a breakfast meat which is great news.
So the pancakes were really good. I had a taste of my daughters. The wife had a Greek Benedict. I had a taste of that as well. It was different with a twang. A signature dish no doubt. It was fantastic. The wife is an expert in Benedict’s and really liked it.
So if you are looking for a nice little drive, I strongly recommend this place. It is worth the trip. If you have a gathering of friends, say 10 plus, there is not going to be a place of this caliber in the Providence area that will measure up to this place. Meaning be able to seat them all.
We will be returning and I will follow-​up and we shall see if it is consistant.

Just Ray’s is my #1 choice breakfast place in the area hands down.
This is mostly because of their extensive and creative pancake menu. Morning Glory pancakes are my absolute favorite — carrots, raisins, nuts — almost feel healthy until doused in syrup. The sweet potato are also yummy and if you really want to indulge go for the apple crisp flavor.
When i want something on the not so sweet side I go with an egg white omelette w cheddar broccoli and mushrooms. Their omelettes are fluffy and filling and I love that I can order a side of fruit in place of homefries. (This isnt on the menu but if you ask, they’ll oblige) Another plus is that the veggies are fresh. I hate canned mushrooms in an omelette!
The staff is always super pleasant as well and the wait is never too long… except on maybe mother’s day. A must try!

I love Ray’s! I first heard of them at the New Bedford Chowder Festival. In my opinion they had the BEST clam chowder! after the festival we went to talk and get directions and found out about their breakfast, I was sold.
My friends and I came on a Saturday morning for breakfast. I had a cup of chowder, of course, and the brownie pancakes! omg. soooooo good. any excuse to eat a brownie is a good excuse to me. One of my friends decided to go healthy and had a breakfast sandwich. It was called bikini-​something (cant remember the rest). I was skeptical about it, but it looked and smelled great! she absolutely loved it. my other friend, ordered fruit crepes, over easy eggs, bacon, and pancakes. She loved every bite. OH! and my friends breakfasts came with potatoes, the BEST i’ve ever had.
The service was great and the staff was friendly. It is a warm, fun, family environment. I would recommend to everyone!