Rays on the River is one of those restaurants that gets better with time. It’s located in Sandy Springs right off the Chattahoochee River. This is one of the oldest location the chain has, which started in 1984 over 30 years ago. What an impressive timeline. Has been renovated once. Don’t let this deter you as the location is still in its prime.
Rays on the River specializes in steaks and seafood. They receive all their steaks from the Midwest and dry age them in-house for 21 days. Seafood is flown in once a week. Plus they have their own fish house where they store their fish at a specific temperature.
I decided to go for dinner with my sister for a belated birthday dinner. The lobby is very neat with stored wines covering the wall and a water fountain outside. The bar area has live music after 5 pm from Wednesday to Sunday.
My sister and I were seated toward the end of the restaurant facing the Chattahoochee River. Our server Christina was very nice and helpful.
For drinks, my sister ordered the WhistlePig Old Fashioned, which consisted of WhistlePig Rye, Honey Syrup, Orange Peel, and Luxardo Cherry. I sampled her drink. It wasn’t bad. You can taste the cherry and honey syrup blended together.
I ordered one of their popular drinks the Ray’s, Mai Tai. It consists of Pyrat Rum, Remy Martin VSOP, Cointreau, Pineapple Juice, and Cranberry Juice. It’s light, refreshing, and strong. I can see why it’s a top seller.
My sister and I couldn’t decide on one appetizer so we went with two. First, we had the Crispy Point Judith Calamari. It was lightly breaded along with some fried sweet peppers with San Marzano tomato sauce, lemon aioli. This was one of the best Calamari I’ve ever had, and the Lemon aioli sauce was fantastic.
Christina couldn’t stop talking about the Rays-Blue Cheese Chips. I was scratching my head for a second. Blue cheese and chips. Boy I was wrong. It consisted of House-made potato chips, Statesboro blue cheese, scallions, tomatoes & bacon. Once it came out I was surprised. The chips were thinly cut and light. The blue cheese and bacon made it taste like you’re in food heaven.
Before we selected our Entrees, my sister and I elected to get the field green salad. It consisted of mixed local baby lettuce, candied pecans, dried cranberries, blue cheese, and house made roasted onion balsamic vinaigrette. Oh, my. I am not a huge salad person, but the Artisan Field green salad was amazing! I never had a salad so light and rich with fresh ingredients. It’s a salad you don’t have to add meat to for it to be great.
Last was the Entrees. Knowing my sister, she always goes for the seafood. She selected the grilled Day Boat Jumbo Sea Scallops topped with lemon capers, tomatoes, parsley, and brown butter with seasonal vegetables as a side. I sampled her plate. The scallops, the capers, and lemon blended well.
I was debating over steak or fish. Another server Mike made my decision. I ordered his favorite: the Horseradish Encrusted Black Grouper. It consisted of a grilled grouper crusted with horseradish with Rainbow Swiss chard, Yukon gold whipped potatoes, orange vinaigrette, and balsamic reduction. The crusted horseradish gives the grouper a little kick, which is nice.
The verdict…
I was very impressed…Christina was excellent. She was also very patient and attentive with my sister and I. The beautiful view of the Chattahoochee River makes it more of a destination restaurant for dates, anniversaries, and birthdays. The overall environment of the restaurant is very casual but laid back. I will definitely be back again!!
