Ray's Italian Kitchen — Restaurant in Houston

I have driven by this place many times but never stopped to try it until last weekend. All i can say is the food is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!! I loved that they had the option of building my own pasta plate. I put alfredo sauce over angel hair pasta with grilled chicken......YUMMMM!! My husband got the chicken picatta. He let me taste it. The balance of the lemon in it was perfect! I also want to rave about the garlic bread. It was crunchy on the outside but not to the point that it rips up the roof office your mouth. The inside of the bread was perfectly saturated with butter and real minced garlic. It was soft but not soggy. I need to find out how they do that. The caesar salad was good. I just wish I had asked for extra dressing. I have been back again since my first visit. I got the same thing as before. My husband got what i got, but ordered meatballs instead of chicken. I tried the meatballs and must say, I think I'll order that with my alfredo and angel hair pasta next time. To finish, I had some mint chip Gelato. I forgot to take a picture but I have to mention how it was delicious and a perfect ending to that meal. The establishment was clean and I love the napkins they wrap around the silverware. They look like cloth but are disposable. It gives the place a classy feel. We will be going back there on the regular and...

My wife and I decided to have dinner at Ray's Italian Kitchen based on reviews. When we arrived and approached the counter, we were greeted with a smile and given guidance as to how ordering worked. I ordered the Chicken Marsala and my wife ordered Lasagna. After ordering, we took our place in the restaurant. Our salads and appetizers were delivered timely. Our main courses were delivered to the table timely also. This is where our experience started downhill. The Chicken Marsala was so tough that I could not even cut the chicken with a knife but had to pull it apart. The chicken was so hard that it seemed an eternity just trying to chew the food. My wife's Lasagna was a generous portion but was mostly pasta and cheese with little flavor or ground beef present. When a staff member came over to check on us, I complained about the food. She continued to smile and simply left our table. She must have informed the owner, Ray about the problem because later on, as he visited each table (there were only five tables occupied) to chat with the patrons, he openly avoided ours. He never gave us the courtesy or chance to discuss the problems with him. It appeared that some of the other patrons ordered pizza. We paid our bill, left most of our meal on the plates and left with the impression that Ray's is not an italian restaurant but just another average...

My husband and I were wanting a nice Italian dinner date in the Houston area while we were in town. We chose Ray's based on the good reviews and their menu on their website. However, when we arrived, we felt as though we had been played...

Ray's is a conflicted restaurant - wanting to be fancy/formal with a formal looking website, menu, and dishes (and high prices to match). But you aren't getting the nice, sit-down service you would expect that would come with all that. Instead you walk into what looks like a carry-out pizza place with a few tables for those who want to eat there. You get your own drinks and refills and do not get waited on.

The side salads were a joke. My husband's ceasar salad had crushed parmesan cheese on it (the kind you get out of the shaker at a pizza place). My garden side salad had a very large pit in one of the olives, and the entire thing was drenched in the house balsamic dressing that was far too sour that I couldn't even finish the small portion that was given (and I love balsamic dressings).

The entrees were the only good thing about this place. We both got pasta dishes that tasted amazing and had fresh ingredients. It was just hard to enjoy eating while in that atmosphere and knowing we paid over $60 on meals that we weren't being...