Awful. This place has been hyped up so much, and I cannot understand why. Every experience I've had here has been disappointing. The employees are rude, including the current manager. The worst time that comes to mind was when my boyfriend and I sat there for nearly 20 minutes at the bar just waiting for our check. Since no one bothered to acknowledge our existence, my boyfriend suggested leaving. I still put money down, but even then no one said anything. Drunken girls climbing over the bar... Stupid loud guys everywhere. Always super packed to the point you can hardly move. Food selection is limited and pretty much sucks. Would love to understand what's so great about this place. read more

I just absolutely love this place. It's in an old authentic building that is classic downtown Kent. I used to love coming here late nights when I was a college student, but now that I am older, I come here sometimes for dinner and a beer just because the atmosphere is very lively and it is fun. The food is good and it is REALLY cheap. Love love love this place. read more

Great gathering place, I sit next to the open window looking out across the old brick road towards the old railroad depot. The place was filled up when I got there and also when I left. I had the Wiskey Peppercorn sauce steak with steamed vegetables and salad, it was very tasty. Service was fantastic, I never had to ask for a refill. read more

We now live in Columbus and took a trip to see Kent State's wonderful matinee production of Side Show. Of course we had to stop by Rays Place as we have not been there for a couple of years- IT IS STILL GREAT. I had my burger which is better than any I have tasted in Columbus and my wife had the Mustard Seed sandwich which I believe is new and is excellent. Ray's Place- we miss you- the food, the atmosphere and the friendly service. Kent State students and locals- you are lucky to have this institution; certainly Ohio State in my opinion does not have anything close to Ray's. read more

I love Ray's place it is a great place to eat, it is a great place to go have a drink late at night. The burgers and beer selection are amazing. When in Kent this is the place you have to go to. read more

There's Rays upstairs and Rays - the original downstairs. Have had over 30 years of good experiences downstairs - but upstairs a whole different ball game. Apparently as I was told by the manager Pat , "Next time you decide to go out on a Friday night with a group of ten you might want to reconsider planning better. ". This was said after we balked at only getting $ 40 bucks off our ridiculously late food order. Ok wait- 5 of us got our meal in a somewhat timely manner. The next 4 of us got ours after the first 5 were done eating. Then our tenth guest who happened to be the birthday guest of honor got his food when all 9 of us were done eating. Yes true story. Because I told Pat when asked how our food tasted- and I replied it was good- that was his sole basis for giving the $40 bucks off. When I said well what about the fact that you have totally ruined the ambiance of our birthday gathering thus is what I was told- never go into the restaurant management business because obviously you will not be able to handle it.... say what????? Are you kidding me? No he was not. I never asked for a free meal. I asked for a total of $60 off rather than the $40 of a $200 bill. The waitress even said " the one time I take the ( food) order the way the tell me to and they screw it up. " she was referring to taking our orders in two phases which seemed bizarre to us but we did it. The explanation we were given for the whole screw up was a pneumatic tube - clogged tube issue due to the orders being sent down from the top floor. Ok - so I have to say- so, so deeply disappointed in the experience and the manager Pat. Shame on you. read more

Great food. Fast service. Reasonable prices. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a nice meal.

We love this place for its fries, burgers, and chef salad. Also has a great drink menu. Best bloody marys around and the servers are really friendly and make us feel welcome. (Jocko is our favorite. ) read more

Normally my husband and I have no issues with Ray's in Kent. The food and service is always good. On Sat 1/28/17 we stopped for lunch. After we finished our meals the server took away the small plates we had not used. We did have a couple dirty napkins placed on top of them. I saw the server take the plates to the cart by the window to the kitchen. He threw the napkins in the garbage then looked at the plates. He put the bottom plate with the clean dishes. He inspected the top plated after removing the dirty napkins then decided to put that it with the dirty dishes. He almost put it with the clean ones. Hopefully management will coach the newer employees on how to handle dishes from the tables. Please wash them.... read more

''We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone." Must be the motto of Rays, sadly we wear planing to come on Friday night the night before homecoming. We wear with one person under the age of twenty one and we wear turned away from eating dinner. I asked the door person if she could just let are waiter know we wear just coming in for dinner. Sharply she said No, and I then proceeded to ask for a manager and she said that was what she was told no one under the age of twenty one allowed. I then said really you are going to turn down are business, she replied with a smile yes we are. Sad you can't hire waiters with the mental capacity to ask for ids. read more

This is the Cheer's bar of Kent. If you want to run into KSU Alumni or even Drew Carey when he is in town stop here. They still have the shot wheel for those that are turning 21. Last year they fixed downstairs with many HDTV's, windows that open to make a more open air bar and a generally more pub feel. Before 10 pm this is a good restaurant. I suggest the burgers or the mac and cheese bites. The food is good for a bar. After 10 pm is when the Geeks show up, mostly upstairs with Alumni downstairs. read more

My boyfriend and I stopped in one evening as we were passing through. The place was packed so we sat at the bar. We really enjoyed the atmosphere and the food. One of the best french onion soups that I've ever had! Great deal on Wednesdays, all you can eat spaghetti for $2.99 WITH salad and garlic bread. I'm severely picky about spaghetti sauce and Ray's was very good! Huge selection of beer! Servers are great! We will be back for sure! read more

This is a really fun place with good food and good beer, but even though I've been there many times I have never had good service. The servers make mistakes and they're way too informal. Sometimes uncomfortably so. I like the food, but Ray's is never my first choice for dinner out on Kent. read more

Went for lunch an had great service from walking in the door, had a double bacon cheese burger am the jerk fries which were amazing. The burger was cooked right which was a medium. Price was about What i expected out to be recommended stop when you come threw town. read more

First time to Ray's Place and I won't go back...not because the burger's weren't good but the service was lacking. The waiter took 8 minutes just to make contact and another 12 minutes to get our drink order-not bring it, take it. I asked if the breaded mushrooms were breaded on site and was told yes (no, they're not). He never came back to refill our drinks and never asked how the food was...didn't even ask about the uneaten mushrooms that were cooked so hard I couldn't break through the breading...but when I asked another person there about it, he said "Sorry, we hire the handicapped". No, they didn't offer to take the nasty things off my bill and how dare they imply that only handicapped people make mistakes. Being thoroughly disgusted we paid the bill and left and I assured him I would try my best to stop anyone from going there. Obviously they don't care about customers not satisfied. read more

This place was FANTASTIC. We went as a big group one evening and hung out at the bar - which has a wonderful selection of craft beer - one night until we decided to get a table upstairs. That night, I had the pulled pork (incredible) and my fiancé had the chicken parmesan (delicious). Between the atmosphere and the staff, we liked it so much that we went back the next day for lunch! We took more family then and they loved it too. If you try anything, get the jerk fries, pulled pork, and a cold draft beer! read more

I've been coming to Rays for over 30 years and it has continually improved and upgraded its offerings. The staff has always been attentive and hustles to accommodate their customers. It can be extremely busy so avoid peak times or you may have to wait a bit for a table and food. The beer selection is great - diverse and always changing. If you're looking for health food such as a kale salad, this isn't the place. That being said, the food is delicious and filling - think mofo burger and meatloaf sandwich. The specials tend to be lighter and the salads have gotten healthier so Rays isn't afraid to evolve. read more

Came here on Saturday with a small group. The server only placed half our order to the kitchen, resulting in two people being completely unserved. When we addressed this, the server offered to buy one guy a beer to make it all better. The manager came out to explain that one ticket went missing in the kitchen -- a situation that seems completely understandable -- and the missing entrees would be on the house. All was well and good. We ended up picking up the check for the group and, you guessed it, we were charged for EVERYTHING, including the beer the server offered to buy. I guess they thought they could just slip it by us. Instead of going through this whole ordeal again, we just paid the bill and put Ray's Place on our "never again" list. There are plenty of other options in Kent to worry about a place that will rip you off. read more

I love Ray's. It is noisy and slightly unkempt and a great place to go for a burger and a beer. They have a great selection of beers. The wait staff is always super nice. They cater to all ages from families with small kids to college kids to working stiffs who want to chill after work. read more

I am a bit of a regular here. The food is usually pretty good and priced well. The only complaint I have is the toasted subs, the bottom piece of bread is usually soaked when it comes to my plate so I just don't order any thing like that anymore and I have a good time. The beer selection is great! The service is usually decent. The crowd is usually a good mix of people, young, old, hipster, regular joes, you got it all. One of my favorite spots to drink. read more

Was visiting kent on the account my current girlfriend goes to kent. She decided to take me here as she knows I like these kind of places. I ordered a Guinness, the guy pored it the correct way I also ordered the pulled pork and she ordered the meatloaf sandwich. All came out good and overall I enjoyed my time there. read more

Ray's has awesome burgers, delicious fries, an incredible beer selection, and a lesser known winner in their peanut butter pie. Atmosphere tops it off to perfection. I've enjoyed consistently awesome food from Ray's for the last 16 years. Still flawless. read more

Love the atmosphere, great beer list, and good pub food. I got the MoFo burger, which was really tasty, however, when I got it the bottom bun was so soaked from the juices that it fell apart and I had no choice but to eat it with a knife and fork, which sort of killed the experience. Would like some better insulation against that in the future. Still, a place I'd definitely return to. read more

Favorite restaurant of all time, best In Kent hands down! Great atmosphere, staff, beer selection, and food. All around five stars !

Great food and excellent service. It was a bit loud but that was to be expected. Can't wait to go back.

Food is pretty good minus the mashed potatoes. Service is decent. Atmosphere is busy but fine. Love the location.

Good food, awesome beer menu. The atmosphere is just okay but the beer makes up for it.

Ray's Place is Kent. The best bar in Kent, always the place to finish your night. Also, decent snack food at bar time. Haven't had a sit down meal there, though. read more

I like this place. I really do. I love the beer selection. I like the casual, comfy ambience. The food is good, when hot. The prices are reasonable. YET... they OFFER few freaking options with their wing sauces!!! For the record, the Crazy Hot sauce is anything but Crazy or Hot!!! It's a nice sauce, but it ranks on the short side of basic hot. I don't want to cry or sweat when I eat wings, but a little bite, even a lot of bite, is often nice. Crazy Hot? I think not. In general, the wings are very good, but the sauces are a joke. They need to ramp up the variety of sauces. And if they're going to call one of them Crazy Hot, it needs to be at least a little crazy, and at least a little hot. read more

I have been going to this establishment for years. Love the menu with all the great choices of appetizers, sandwiches and entrees, all reasonably priced. There is a huge selections of beers on tap, with the option of doing a flight to sample a variety of beer. The draft selections changes often, so there are new brews to choose from. I especially love the gyro and the chili cheese fries. And if you have saved room for dessert, try the chocolate cheesecake, or the peanut butter pie. read more

Good atmosphere and great draft selection. Typical bar food. Lots of Tvs with games on. I like the upstairs better where pool tables are located, but usually can't find 2 seats up there, probably because others like it better too. read more

Food is great late night and the bartenders ROCK!! We will be back for sure in the future!! It's a spot we like to hang out with our friends in the front corner window!! read more

food was terrific, although teamwork was apparent, our server needed to be much more personable, her personality was very cold, never even looked us in the eyes. read more