Famous Ray’s

Famous Ray’s 6^th Avenue & 11^th St was the BEST PIZZA in the world!!!
I always told anyone going to visit NYC to go there for a real slice of NY pizza.
It is cheesy NY deliciousness! I prefer a plain cheese pie or slice with lots of crushed red pepper.
I was sooo sad to see newspapers on the window last October when coming there for a slice or 2. :-(
I was in shock & almost cried. I even posted a photo with comments about it on facebook. It’s been around since the 70’s or 80’s. I went there as child for a pie & Italian Ice when I lived in Chelsea. Great memories that span many years!!!
R.I.P Famous Ray’s
After doing research about my beloved pizza place I found out that they had been sued over using the name Ray’s. They have opened up a new place nearby called FAMOUS ROIO’S. I can’t wait to try it when I am next in NY!!! I hope that it’s the same pizza & that they persevere. Go try a slice or better yet pick up a whole pie. :-)

A) Yes, this is the REAL Ray’s.
B) Yes, the slice really DOES need that much cheese
C) Whadda you lookin’ at?
The most essential thing to recognize about Ray’s is that is a venue to purchase slices — not whole pies, not anything in addition other than the obligatory soft drink.
On that basis Ray’ still rates quite high. The voluminous mounds of fresh real cheese and generous perfectly distributed high quality toppings (should one be so inclined) make each slice a meal.
There is one truly unique aspect to a Ray’s slice that has been noted over the decades — they re-​heat better than any other slice on earth. Most left over slices from other places are certainly edible for a couple of days, some even border on delicious. There is something about the confluence of molecules in Ray’s sauce that manages to successfully transcend the all-​important sauce/​crust to toppings ratio.
And now, apparently, it is gone. So consider this my culinary eulogy to what once was…

I am in mourning! I do not eat Pizza often (the digestion thing) but Ray’s has been one of my favorites since I was a teenager! I can’t believe it is closed! Why???
Sorry I did not give you 5 stars the first time! What is NY coming to?

Excellent with extra cheese… or with pesto sauce… still one of the best pizza ever tried.
Too bad they are gone

Goodbye Famous Rays. This place is closed. So I’d not recommend eating here.
Giving it five stars in tribute to the fact that they had good pizza even though their service sucked. Now they’ve gone to that great pizza hut in the sky.
(Since I wrote this update it has reopened under a new name.)

The pizza at Famous Rays was okay. For a New York pizza place, I wasn’t wowed. The dough was a little bit too rubbery and there wasn’t a great deal of flavor although the flavor itself was very good. It just wasn’t rich or strong enough, I guess. It’s more of a 3.5 than a 3, but it’s more of a round down than a round up. I’d go here again, but eh.
That’s about it. Instead, I’m going to review the bathroom. Originally it showed up on my «Have2P» app on the iPhone, which is a really great app for those that pee. It said Famous Ray’s had a bathroom, but when I looked around the store, I couldn’t find one, and clicked «no» when the app asked me.
Rest assured, worried urinators, that Famous Ray’s does in fact have a public bathroom, but to get to that public bathroom, you have to ask permission to go through an «employee’s only» door, navigate yourself though a narrow maze and find yourself at a tiny restroom. The bathroom hasn’t been updated since 1885. There was graffiti on the wall and fuse boxes where one could presumably play around with the air conditioning while seated. But for a populated public bathroom it was as clean as it could possibly be. It’s more of a 3.5 than a 3, but it’s more of a round down than a round up. I’d go here again, but eh.

Returned for 2 delicious cheese slices. They were given to me hot, cheesy and with a crisp crust. pizza perfection in my eyes.

Just because something is original does not make it good. Yes, this is the actual Ray’s Pizza on 6^th av. and 11^th for which all the hundreds of other Ray’s Pizzas have ripped the name from.
As to why you would want to take a name from a place that serves up pizza that’s only standard is beyond me. Guess that’s why we have a million places in this country named Crab Shack.
The pizza here is good enough but falls short of great. The cheese is really good and boy do they pack a lot of it on a slice. Pizza practically melts through the plate and sits in your stomach like a brick just to let you know you’ve eaten something. The sauce is pretty nonexistant but the bread is where it falls short. Bread is kinda stiff and not too tasty.
Yes, this is the original and also famous, but rule of thumb: If you want great pizza don’t get it from a guy named Ray.

I love Famous Ray’s, and usually get a pie delivered. The crust is how NY pizza crust should be, the pepperoni is crispy, the sauce is flavorful, and they just really pack on the cheese. Some people complain about this. I on the other hand welcome and embrace this abundance of cheese. Unfortunately though, if I eat more than 2 slices, I feel beyond full, so try to limit yourself.
As far as slices go, they aren’t that bad for the reheated dilemma we all find ourselves in. The ricotta and pepperoni reheats nicely, so I’d recommend that.

I thought the pizza would be better!!! I went by the other day and had my first bite, the garlic balls were great, but I was surprised that the pizza was already made and a little old. They just put the old slices in and reheated them, so much for fresh!
Sure enough tho, the pizza tasted pretty good for reheated and both slices were cheap and BIG. Id recomend for a late night bite.

This place hasn’t let me down since. It’s been awhile since ive been here and i’ve been going here since I moved to NYC. The slices are always huge and filling. I’m lucky to work a few blocks away from here.

I never really appreciated Ray’s until it was gone (by me moving to the Left Coast and being subjected to horrid, sometimes even gluten-​free vegan, slices). There really is something magical about their plain slice covered in the fabulous four free toppings: parmesan, garlic salt, oregano and chili flakes. I love the reheating method which makes an even firmer bottom that can stand horizontally from crust to tip (…‘cuz I’m no a folder). Just enough splattering of sauce and loads of cheese! As a Manhattan alumni, it was a much anticipated destination. When I lived in the city, it was a reliable meal for times when you had less than a New York minute to grab something and eat on the run.

We grabbed a few slices of pepperoni + ricotta, pepperoni + sausage and cheese pizza for dinner and had it heated a little bit longer than usual to make it extra crispy. Yummy!!!
This place looks older and simpler than the other Ray’s closer to Times Square but we were already in the area. I mean, how could you go wrong with pizza?

A bit *TOO* cheesy for my taste actually. This place has been here for YEARS… It’s edible, but there are many many better slices to be had in the village!

A nice cheesy slice to fill the stomach before two friends talk business.

Yes, the original one. They are the ones that spawned dozens of imitators and helped to make thin, tasteless, mall-​style pizza at $ 3.25 a slice fashionable. Think, Sbarro’s without all of the oil. I suffered through two slices of this generally bad pizza, and all I had to show for it was nausea and a Duane Reade receipt for Tums. Pass.

This is the ORIGINAL RAYS, don’t be fooled by all the copy cats. This is IT! Best pizza in new york. Hands down!

An
Above
Average
Slice for above
Average price at the best of the Rays.

I was freaking starving waiting for the Halloween Parade to start, so I used Unilocal Mobile to find nearby pizza. After navigating the inexplicable maze of police barricades (thus walking about 3x as far as a direct path would have been) my friend and I arrived at the promised land… aka this pizza joint. (By the way, thanks to the friendly local who helped circumnavigate all the barricades to get here, whoever you were!)
As there were hundreds of thousands of people in the area for the parade, it’s no surprise there was a line at Famous Ray’s. But thankfully it moved quickly and before too long I had a huge slice of sausage in my hand. I wanted pepperoni, but it wasn’t ready and I wasn’t about to wait any more. Considering the crowds I can overlook this…
So it was hot, fast, fresh, greasy, BIG and reasonably priced. It was pretty much all I wanted.
Now this place isn’t going to win any awards for décor or cleanliness; it’s pretty divey. And I witnessed an amusing argument between a customer and the staff (including a presumed manager) about using the restroom. The staff insisted there was no public restroom, and the customer insisted that a) he’d used the restroom there before and b) he wasn’t «the public» he was a customer. This went round and round a few times and eventually the customer gave in. I just hope he didn’t pee his pants.

Absolut göttliche Pizzen. Dieses Famous Ray’s Pizza ist das älteste mit diesem Namen und befindet sich in Greenwich Village. Man sollte beachten das es sich bei Famous Ray’s Pizza um keine Kette handelt sondern um eigenständige Lokale die gleiche Namen haben.
Auch wenn der Laden von außen etwas schmuddelig aussieht sollte man sich nicht davon täuschen lassen denn die Käsemischung auf der Pizza ist eine Wucht und der Teig sucht auch seines gleichen!
Also ein absoluter Geheimtip und man sollte auf jedenfall mal vorbeischauen wenn man schon in New York ist :) es wird sich lohnen!
Es ist des Weiteren auch der älteste Laden mit dem Namen.

ok I’m 25 and born and raised in Queens and had a wide variety of pizza everywhere really except Staten Island. Pizza, also to mention, is my favorite fast food.
i’ll go out on a limb and say pound for pound, this is far and away, the best pizza I’ve ate. Period. End of story. Game over, thanks for playing.
This place might not be the cleanest, might not have the best seating, etc. but if your about pizza, do yourself a favor and stop by. There have been times I’ve driven from where I’m at in Queens to Ray’s (with traffic 40 minutes one way), with my best friend, just to get a few slices… yes, it’s that good.
I don’t care about if this is the «original» ray’s, the parking, the décor, the cleanliness of the place and what not. The pizza is amazing, leave your house now and go get a slice.