Ray's Ny Pizza — Restaurant in Virginia Beach

Some background to start: I lived in NYC for 10 years. I know great pizza. I'm also very discerning in my taste and the decor.

I ordered their lunch special 2 slices of pepperoni and a fountain drink for $5.06 to go. This is what I thought, in the order of my experience.

Decor: Shabby at best. Table edges (I noticed) looked like they've been around the block for years. Dirty ceiling tiles. Stained floor tiles. Smells like piss/cat piss when you walk in... Maybe they should throw the walkway carpets out?

Food: Reheated slices with tasty pepperoni and an extra sprinkling of cheese on top. The point end of my slices were dripping with grease. Maybe a fresh pie would be better? Whatever crispiness my slices had were negated by the grease to give off a soggy texture. Cheese layer was too thick- I like to fold my pie in half lengthwise when I eat it, and thus the cheese thickness became more noticeable. The slices were decently fresh enough, but the above stated cons took away from that pro. Also, I couldn't help but wonder if I could taste the smell of the restaurant in my slices. I did appreciate the fact that they kept their ground parmesan condiment in the freezer and not in the open.

Service: I don't really care for service in general. Either the food is good or it's not. But for the masses that do, the phone service was decent although the lady picking up seemed to need a little motivation when it came to telling me the lunch special prices and there wasn't anything out-of-the-ordinary when I went in to pick it up. Nice enough. She was extremely patient with a customer before me who had special needs when it came to food choices.

Conclusion: Would I go back for their pie if I had a choice? No. Would I go back if it was the only place open? Probably not. Was it the worst I've had? No. Did their decor take away from the pizza experience? Definitely. My belief is that if you are lacking in one department you should more than make up for it in another. Somewhat, but not too much...

I can attest to the quality of their slices and slice pies, as well as their 'Bianca' (white pizza). I've had about 40 different NYC style pizzas outside of NYC throughout several states and about 4 or 5 different authentic, in-NYC examples. I'm by no means an expert, connoisseur or accredited food critic but I love me some NYC pie. Ray's is my personal favorite. For me, this is the best NYC style pizza I've had outside of NYC. While it's probably impossible to recreate the real thing without actually being in New York (there is something in the air that you just can't get anywhere else and, yes, that has an effect on the flavor... and, yes, it might be the pollution, but it's still special and delicious) - Ray's gets the recipe right from a realistic perspective. I highly recommend their slices or slice pies. I'm also a huge fan of their 'Bianca' pie. I don't go around sampling those like I tend to with NYC-style good ol' plain cheese pizza, but I do like their Bianca even better than the plain stuff! The flavor has some surging, savory pop to it that keeps you craving the next bite, but remains balanced enough that you are neither parched nor pungent after the meal. Lastly, and these days increasingly important and increasingly rare - it's consistent. It's the same every time. That is not often easy and even tougher with pizza. Knowing where to look and what to expect for a slice or pie?...

Food was good! Went there for the first time today, I didn’t know they had specials so I went to order our food, cashier rings up my order it comes to $98 and some change. A CUSTOMER in the restaurant waiting for her food said, excuse me, did she say $98? I said yea, the CUSTOMER says oh they have a special for $30. So I asked the cashier can we do the special, my price went down by over $20. The exact thing I ordered was in the special and the cashier didn’t even offer it to me and when we walked up I said this is our first time here. I was kinda upset by that due to the fact that they are already expensive. If we go back I’ll be sure to look at the board for a special before I order my food. Also didn’t offer us fountain drinks and we dined in, instead she charged me for 5 bottles of soda. Smh. Ridiculous! If it wasn’t for my kids wanting pizza and being hungry after leaving the beach I wouldn’t have gotten anything from there but we was already...