A lot better than I remember! My family used to get takeout here a long time ago before the remodel, but stopped after the quality went down. After dining here in-person for the first time in like 10 years, I can honestly say the whole experience was excellent. We had the Peking raviolis, garlic shrimp and scallion pancake. All were great and flavorful. Our waiter was kind and attentive, and the new(ish) inside is lovely! I'll have to come back for drinks and sushi.
Ana M.
Love their beef teriyaki we have to order double! Favorites are the chicken lo main scallion pancake boneless spare ribs.. Food is always fresh! Fast service too
Jeff johnston
Gotta say that I was pleasantly surprised by this place!This place has the best crab rangoons I've had in years! They don't spare the filling! My only regret is that I didn't order MORE!They don't spare the filling, it's texture is good and the evidence of the ingredients is unmistakable. Not just the cream cheese! You have to try them! If you want sweet and sour sauce you need to request it, some places serve duck sauce with them.The restaurant itself is nice. They have a bar area that seems popular and has a decent size crowd. The whole place is well maintained, plenty of parand clean.I also ordered beef teriyaki and eggplant with oyster sauce. Everything was delicious. I was not into the eggplant dish, but it was the first time I tried it. I know it was good, done right, but it just wasn't what my taste buds wanted.The staff was friendly and very helpful. Customers were also very friendly and that helps to let you know what the customer base is like.I have been in a lot of Chinese restaurants in my travels, rays is at the top of my list.I will be eating there again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef Teriyaki, Crab Rangoon
CherRiotAct CcherTvZadeh
Friday night is karaoke pretty good singers and the DJ is pretty cool. The food is beyond
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Slitel
Went for lunch special. Like almost 20 choices and I think all were under $15 with choice of soup. Good lunch special! Have not been here for lunch ever but always has been good old school chinese food for dinner. If in the area for lunch as Arnold said "I'll be back"
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Boneless Ribs, Hot and Sour Soup
Richard Thompson
Great hidden gem sports bar! The $6 sushi special on Thursdays is fine should you need to save $on sushi. Be advised: Fish is customarily delivered to restaurants fresh on FridaysVegetarian options: The usual veg delight and tofu dishes, veg sushi availableParking: Street parking available, in addition to the parking lot
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Crazy, Spider Roll
Chuck Libbey
We have been getting take-out from Ray’s every week for the last 2 months.Come from Natick to Needham for their excellent food.In addition,whatever we order online or by phone is exactly what we receive;no surprises.Well worth the visit!
Food: 5
Joe Healy
Atmosphere, Amanda behind the bar was extremely friendly and personable. Atmosphere was modern and nice. The food. I'm pretty confident in my pallette when it comes to food, especially Chinese food. Their hot and sour soup was amazing. Old school flavors, wood ear mushrooms, golden needles, tofu among other delicious fillers. Not only did it have perfect flavoring but it was traditionally garnished with sesame oil. It also had a good amount of heat. This soup should clear your sinuses while maintaining a strong flavor foundation, this totally does. Another highlight is the chicken wings. Most places have down the crispy and the juicy part. These also had a nice full flavor. Probably a five spind blend. It also kept the flavor when reheated. The egg rolls are made on location and pass the can you eat them without duck sauce test. Also delicious! The beef teriyaki was a red marinade but had more of the traditional flavoring. Very tender, and flavorful. Highly recommend! I thought the chicken fingers, boneless ribs, and crab rangoons were solid. Crab rangoons had a little sweetness. My only complaint, I liked the lobster sauce, but it was extra salty. I was able to use a duck sauce and some hot mustard to cut the salt.Ray's New Garden in Needham overall gets my initial stamp of approval on places that should be checked out. If you're a fan of hot and sour soup this could transport you back to one of your first times having it. I will definitely get back!
It was late at night and I wanted to eat so badly. Most of the restaurants were closed, but we found this hidden gem. I asked the crab Rangoon appetizer, the Ray's burger, and the fried rice with pork. The food was delicious, but the crab Rangoon was the best of the best. To drink, I asked a Virgin piña colada, and it was ok. Prices are reasonable and the atmosphere is very good. The waiter is kind and patient.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
E B.
The food is hit or miss. Sometimes we're really happy and other times it's mediocre. Usually we stick to the Chinese side of the menu, but I recently got a spicy tuna roll which was really good. I got chicken lo mein recently and it was pretty terrible - not sure if it was just a bad batch (which is totally possible considering like I said it is hit or miss in general) as I don't usually order it and just had a craving. The gau, rice, beef and broccolli, crab rangoon, peking ravioli are all usually good. We placed an order to-go on New Years Eve and walked over early to get a drink while we waited. They required $5 / person to be allowed in the bar for a 10 minute drink even knowing we were waiting on a to-go order. We didn't pay and just had to sit in the lobby while we waited. Turned down our $40 unless we'd give them $10 - not a good business model. I MIGHT understand a cover if people are there to participate in karaoke, but even then it's still Needham and people wouldn't typically pay a cover to be forced to listen to karaoke....but because they've already made their way over and it's off the beaten path, they don't really have a choice. Every person the guy asked "Are you here for karaoke" said no LOL.
Very cool atmosphere, music for you, good food, polite and respectful service, I recommend it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Dan Haggerty
# 1 food is great,,,, service is right on,,,,, very friendly atmosphere, highly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sarah Napadensky
This restaurant is hiding on a small street off of Chestnut in Needham, lovely place, big space, delicious Chinese and Japanese dishes. I had the moo shi , and my kids got the sushi, everyone was happy with their selection.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Gary G.
First visit to Ray's New Garden (Needham MA), walkable from the heart of downtown Needham but off the beaten path. Convenient parking lot. Japanese and Chinese. Bar area has high tops and many large TV screens playing sports. Weekend lunch visit had only one server (the bartender), but she handled the crowd admirably. Egg Roll: Available at $4 each (no need to commit to two), an easy bar snack or combo add-on. Big props for this. Very crunchy, somewhat moist, and generously loaded with bright red roast pork crumbles. Good flavor even without duck sauce, but the duck sauce helped the moisture along. Solid. Combo Plate: These are available for lunch daily and include soup, but also available after 3pm for a $1 upgrade and no soup. Reasonable. I went with the boneless ribs and beef teriyaki combo with pork fried rice and hot and sour soup, adding on an egg roll (c'mon, a no-brainer). Details follow: - Hot & Sour Soup: On the thin side texturally but strong of flavor, bringing the sour and the peppery of the peppercorn and vegetable kind. Piping hot and tasty with dense vegetable inclusions. - Boneless Ribs: Thin-cut, very bright red, very well coated, very moist (juicy even), and very tender. Taste and texture about as perfect as can be. Zero fat or gristle, zero dry spots. Only lightly charred, but flavor was still there. One of the best I've ever had. - Beef Teriyaki: Definitely moist, definitely not bland, and none of that elephant skin texture nonsense you fear (okay, maybe not you, but I fear) when you order beef teriyaki. Tender too. Only thing though--and it's not necessarily a bad thing--is that the lacquer was the same red stuff as on the boneless ribs. So it might not hit that beef teriyaki ideal, or it might not be best paired with ribs, but a solid showing. - Pork Fried Rice: Simply put, this was good rice, but more in the rice pilaf realm for flavor and texture than the classic old school New England Chinese Food variety, so a bit of a letdown, but doable. Decent pork inclusions though. Singapore Noodles: Vegetarian wife ordered these with the vegetable option. She's generally not a fan of suburban Chinese but raved about how fresh tasting and surprisingly non-oily they were.
Bruce W.
Great food and service. Nice atmosphere. Easy parking. I would recommend this establishment for dinners and events.
A lot better than I remember! My family used to get takeout here a long time ago before the remodel, but stopped after the quality went down. After dining here in-person for the first time in like 10 years, I can honestly say the whole experience was excellent. We had the Peking raviolis, garlic shrimp and scallion pancake. All were great and flavorful. Our waiter was kind and attentive, and the new(ish) inside is lovely! I'll have to come back for drinks and sushi.
Love their beef teriyaki we have to order double! Favorites are the chicken lo main scallion pancake boneless spare ribs.. Food is always fresh! Fast service too
Gotta say that I was pleasantly surprised by this place!This place has the best crab rangoons I've had in years! They don't spare the filling! My only regret is that I didn't order MORE!They don't spare the filling, it's texture is good and the evidence of the ingredients is unmistakable. Not just the cream cheese! You have to try them! If you want sweet and sour sauce you need to request it, some places serve duck sauce with them.The restaurant itself is nice. They have a bar area that seems popular and has a decent size crowd. The whole place is well maintained, plenty of parand clean.I also ordered beef teriyaki and eggplant with oyster sauce. Everything was delicious. I was not into the eggplant dish, but it was the first time I tried it. I know it was good, done right, but it just wasn't what my taste buds wanted.The staff was friendly and very helpful. Customers were also very friendly and that helps to let you know what the customer base is like.I have been in a lot of Chinese restaurants in my travels, rays is at the top of my list.I will be eating there again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef Teriyaki, Crab Rangoon
Friday night is karaoke pretty good singers and the DJ is pretty cool. The food is beyond
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Went for lunch special. Like almost 20 choices and I think all were under $15 with choice of soup. Good lunch special! Have not been here for lunch ever but always has been good old school chinese food for dinner. If in the area for lunch as Arnold said "I'll be back"
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Boneless Ribs, Hot and Sour Soup
Great hidden gem sports bar! The $6 sushi special on Thursdays is fine should you need to save $on sushi. Be advised: Fish is customarily delivered to restaurants fresh on FridaysVegetarian options: The usual veg delight and tofu dishes, veg sushi availableParking: Street parking available, in addition to the parking lot
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Crazy, Spider Roll
We have been getting take-out from Ray’s every week for the last 2 months.Come from Natick to Needham for their excellent food.In addition,whatever we order online or by phone is exactly what we receive;no surprises.Well worth the visit!
Food: 5
Atmosphere, Amanda behind the bar was extremely friendly and personable. Atmosphere was modern and nice. The food. I'm pretty confident in my pallette when it comes to food, especially Chinese food. Their hot and sour soup was amazing. Old school flavors, wood ear mushrooms, golden needles, tofu among other delicious fillers. Not only did it have perfect flavoring but it was traditionally garnished with sesame oil. It also had a good amount of heat. This soup should clear your sinuses while maintaining a strong flavor foundation, this totally does. Another highlight is the chicken wings. Most places have down the crispy and the juicy part. These also had a nice full flavor. Probably a five spind blend. It also kept the flavor when reheated. The egg rolls are made on location and pass the can you eat them without duck sauce test. Also delicious! The beef teriyaki was a red marinade but had more of the traditional flavoring. Very tender, and flavorful. Highly recommend! I thought the chicken fingers, boneless ribs, and crab rangoons were solid. Crab rangoons had a little sweetness. My only complaint, I liked the lobster sauce, but it was extra salty. I was able to use a duck sauce and some hot mustard to cut the salt.Ray's New Garden in Needham overall gets my initial stamp of approval on places that should be checked out. If you're a fan of hot and sour soup this could transport you back to one of your first times having it. I will definitely get back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crab Rangoon, Chicken Wings, Chicken Fingers, Boneless Ribs
It was late at night and I wanted to eat so badly. Most of the restaurants were closed, but we found this hidden gem. I asked the crab Rangoon appetizer, the Ray's burger, and the fried rice with pork. The food was delicious, but the crab Rangoon was the best of the best. To drink, I asked a Virgin piña colada, and it was ok. Prices are reasonable and the atmosphere is very good. The waiter is kind and patient.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food is hit or miss. Sometimes we're really happy and other times it's mediocre. Usually we stick to the Chinese side of the menu, but I recently got a spicy tuna roll which was really good. I got chicken lo mein recently and it was pretty terrible - not sure if it was just a bad batch (which is totally possible considering like I said it is hit or miss in general) as I don't usually order it and just had a craving. The gau, rice, beef and broccolli, crab rangoon, peking ravioli are all usually good. We placed an order to-go on New Years Eve and walked over early to get a drink while we waited. They required $5 / person to be allowed in the bar for a 10 minute drink even knowing we were waiting on a to-go order. We didn't pay and just had to sit in the lobby while we waited. Turned down our $40 unless we'd give them $10 - not a good business model. I MIGHT understand a cover if people are there to participate in karaoke, but even then it's still Needham and people wouldn't typically pay a cover to be forced to listen to karaoke....but because they've already made their way over and it's off the beaten path, they don't really have a choice. Every person the guy asked "Are you here for karaoke" said no LOL.
Restaurantji Recommends
Very cool atmosphere, music for you, good food, polite and respectful service, I recommend it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
# 1 food is great,,,, service is right on,,,,, very friendly atmosphere, highly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This restaurant is hiding on a small street off of Chestnut in Needham, lovely place, big space, delicious Chinese and Japanese dishes. I had the moo shi , and my kids got the sushi, everyone was happy with their selection.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
First visit to Ray's New Garden (Needham MA), walkable from the heart of downtown Needham but off the beaten path. Convenient parking lot. Japanese and Chinese. Bar area has high tops and many large TV screens playing sports. Weekend lunch visit had only one server (the bartender), but she handled the crowd admirably. Egg Roll: Available at $4 each (no need to commit to two), an easy bar snack or combo add-on. Big props for this. Very crunchy, somewhat moist, and generously loaded with bright red roast pork crumbles. Good flavor even without duck sauce, but the duck sauce helped the moisture along. Solid. Combo Plate: These are available for lunch daily and include soup, but also available after 3pm for a $1 upgrade and no soup. Reasonable. I went with the boneless ribs and beef teriyaki combo with pork fried rice and hot and sour soup, adding on an egg roll (c'mon, a no-brainer). Details follow: - Hot & Sour Soup: On the thin side texturally but strong of flavor, bringing the sour and the peppery of the peppercorn and vegetable kind. Piping hot and tasty with dense vegetable inclusions. - Boneless Ribs: Thin-cut, very bright red, very well coated, very moist (juicy even), and very tender. Taste and texture about as perfect as can be. Zero fat or gristle, zero dry spots. Only lightly charred, but flavor was still there. One of the best I've ever had. - Beef Teriyaki: Definitely moist, definitely not bland, and none of that elephant skin texture nonsense you fear (okay, maybe not you, but I fear) when you order beef teriyaki. Tender too. Only thing though--and it's not necessarily a bad thing--is that the lacquer was the same red stuff as on the boneless ribs. So it might not hit that beef teriyaki ideal, or it might not be best paired with ribs, but a solid showing. - Pork Fried Rice: Simply put, this was good rice, but more in the rice pilaf realm for flavor and texture than the classic old school New England Chinese Food variety, so a bit of a letdown, but doable. Decent pork inclusions though. Singapore Noodles: Vegetarian wife ordered these with the vegetable option. She's generally not a fan of suburban Chinese but raved about how fresh tasting and surprisingly non-oily they were.
Great food and service. Nice atmosphere. Easy parking. I would recommend this establishment for dinners and events.