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It’s time for Copper River Salmon & Oregon Pinot Noir!

Beaux Freres Photo

With Copper River salmon season upon us our Wine Manager Chip Croteau has put together an incredible list of Oregon Pinot Noir to pair with it in the Boathouse and Cafe! The bright fruit flavors and acidity of Pinot Noir is the perfect complement to Copper River salmon. Ask your server for their recommendation and try something new and exciting from our wine-growing neighbors down south!

Angela Estate Pinot Noir
Yamhill-Carlton, OR 2013
15 gls / 58 btl
Ken Wright oversees production on these estate grown bottlings.  Smooth and supple, the fruit a mix of ripe raspberry, red plum and cherry jam, with a gentle touch of chocolate.  Seamless and delicious.
Beckham Estate Vineyard
Rosé of Pinot Noir
Chehalem Mountains, OR 2017
14 gls / 51 btl
A pale blush color, mouthwatering acidity and notes of apricots, honeydew and grapefruit are featured on this lovely estate grown Rosé named after the winemaker’s youngest daughter, Olivia.
Rex Hill Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley, OR 2015
16gls / 62 btl
Aromas of violets, iris, ripe raspberries, dark cherries and wild strawberries all emerge from the glass followed by more savory aromas of wood smoke, cured tobacco, earth, sandalwood and cinnamon.
Sozo Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley, OR 2014
15 gls / 58 btl
With fruit sourced from Lange winery, and a portion of the proceeds going towards WEC’s People for Puget Sound program, this wine exhibits intense and complex aromas of black cherry and cranberry with elegantly textured flavors of dark strawberry and pomegranate.
Evening Land Pinot Noir
Seven Springs Vineyard
Eola-Amity Hills, OR 2014
25 gls / 92 btl
30 year old vines planted in the iron-rich, volcanic Jory soils of the Eola-Amity Hills create this stunning wine flush with rich dark cherry, briary blackberry, raspberry and lush tones of rose and lilac.
Big Table Farm Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley, OR 2015
26 gls / 95 btl
This wine is very expressive of smoky espresso, cacao, oak-spiced raspberry and cherry aromas, along with hints of vanilla and cola. Sweet and penetrating on the palate, offering vibrant red berry and floral  flavors of hibiscus tea and rosewater that deepen as the wine opens up.
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Copper River Salmon Returns to Ray’s!

Copper River 80s_Russ

Copper River salmon season kicks-off today at Ray’s! This year we’re celebrating 35 years of serving this coveted seasonal fish at Ray’s with a look at ‘Copper River Through the Decades’!

Copper River salmon has had a long history at Ray’s. Starting in 1983 we were one of the first restaurants in Seattle (as well as the lower 48 states) to serve Copper River salmon to our guests! Continuing into the 90s we partnered with Alaska Airlines on its “First Fish” cook off events, and celebrated each season with Copper River salmon and Oregon Pinot Noir pairings. Today we work directly with local Alaska fisherman and families to bring you the very first of the season, from the icy waters of the mighty Copper River.

This year we reunited with Alaska Airlines for its privately held, annual “Copper Chef Cook-off”! In true Copper River fashion, the fish was flown straight from its home in Cordova, Alaska to Sea-Tac International Airport. Upon arrival, Executive Chef Paul Duncan and two other local chefs had 30 minutes to prepare and serve their salmon creations to a table of judges. Though we did not come in first, we had an incredible time being there to receive the first fish of the season and cook up a gorgeous crispy skinned salmon with a Washington asparagus salad!

As we continue to celebrate this beloved fish, we also want to take the time to reflect on their strength and agility, as well as the robust Copper River. A few things to note:

  • Copper River is 290 miles long and is the tenth largest river in the U.S.
  • Copper River salmon builds muscle and fat just to run the rugged river. This is the reason for their juicy, fatty goodness.
  • Besides Copper River salmon, you’ll see bald eagles, sea lions and bears along the river; all coming to life after their long hibernation.

We look forward to showcasing Copper River salmon through the decades with you! Follow along the next few weeks on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for fun photos and facts.

Make your reservations for the Café at 206.782.0094 or online; or in the Boathouse at 206.789.3770 or online to enjoy fresh Copper River salmon starting today!

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Fresh NW Halibut & Sablefish at Ray’s April 9-22!

Alaskan Halibut

Join us as we celebrate the fresh Washington halibut and sablefish (black cod, butterfish) season from Monday, April 9 through Sunday, April 22 in the Boathouse and Café!

We’ve partnered with Northwest fisheries to bring you an abundance of halibut and sablefish from Washington’s coast. Enjoy new preparations below in both the Boathouse and Café during this time only!

Make your reservations for the Café at 206.782.0094 or online; and in the Boathouse at 206.789.3770 or online to enjoy these limited seasonal specials.

Café Specials

  • Crispy Smoked Sablefish and Pork Belly braised greens, miso glaze 42
  • Halibut Fish and Chips cilantro-red onion coleslaw, batter dipped fries 26
  • Sablefish Cheeks green papaya-apple salad 8
  • Halibut Bouillabaisse Alaskan king crab, mussels, tomato-saffron sauce, grilled bread 36

Boathouse Specials

  • Sablefish Two Ways seared with sesame crust and hot smoked with shoyu glaze, jasmine rice, pickles 44
  • Sablefish Cheeks green papaya-apple salad 8
  • Pan Seared Halibut king oyster mushroom, pomme puree, pea vines, currant beurre blanc 45
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Ballard Beer Awards Returns April 16 – May 11!

2017 Ballard Beer Awards Winner Lucky Envelope Brewing
2017 Ballard Beer Awards Winner Lucky Envelope Brewing

Beer lovers rejoice! Ballard Beer Awards is back at Ray’s Café and it’s up to you to crown the victor in the battle of the best Ballard beers! But… in true Ballard fashion it’s more like a friendly neighborhood competition.

How it works: from Monday, April 16 to Friday, May 11 the Café will feature one beer on tap from each of the following Ballard breweries: Stoup Brewing, Reuben’s Brews, Lucky Envelope Brewing and Maritime Pacific Brewing. Each purchase of one of these beers (any size on our menu) counts as one vote for that brewery.

On Monday, May 14 we’ll announce the winner and along with bragging rights, they’ll receive a dedicated tap in the Café for one year!

Bonus! Every Wednesday throughout the duration of the contest a different brewery will host a happy hour from 4-6pm in the Café where you can chat with their team and learn more about your favorite Ballard beers. Here’s the lineup:

Wed., April 18 – Reuben’s Brews

Wed., April 25 – Stoup Brewing

Wed., May 2 – Maritime Pacific Brewing

Wed., May 9 – Lucky Envelope Brewing

Share your Ballard beer photos with us on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by tagging #BallardBeerAwards. Cheers!!

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Celebrate Mother’s Day at Ray’s May 13

Spoil mom with delicious, fresh seafood and stunning waterfront views this Mother’s Day Sunday, May 13!

Reservations are highly recommended. Please contact the Café at 206.782.0094 or online; or in the Boathouse at 206.789.3770 or online today!

Café
Buffet
We will be serving a gorgeous Mother’s Day buffet from 9am-2pm, featuring a variety of fresh salads, appetizers, sweet and savory breakfast fare, and decadent desserts. Plus our Carving Station with house Smoked Salmon and Raw Bar with Oysters on the half-shell.

Price is $65 per guest, $32.50 for children 5-11 and includes unlimited soft drinks like coffee, tea, juice and soda along with your meal (prices exclude tax, gratuity and beverages).

Dinner
Our regular dinner menu will be served in the Café starting at 2:15pm and available until 9:30pm. Happy Hour will not be available on May 13.

Bar
The Cafe Bar will have the same menu offerings and hours as listed above for the buffet and dinner but is on a first come basis with no reservations taken.

Boathouse
Enjoy a special seasonal holiday menu from 10am-3pm with seasonal fresh seafood, appetizers, salads and more!

Dinner
At 3pm the Boathouse will be serving its entire dinner menu with dishes like Pan Seared Sea Scallops, Wild Northwest Salmon, Crab Legs and more until 9pm.

Bar
The Boathouse Bar will have the same menu offerings and hours as listed for the Boathouse above but is on a first come basis with no reservations taken.

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Easter Egg Coloring Party at Ray’s Café Mar. 31!

Get Egg-cited!

On Saturday, March 31 the Café will be hosting its first Easter Egg Coloring Party on our covered patio at 11:30am. This event is all ages and includes hard boiled eggs and a PAAS dying kit for each table to create festive Easter eggs. The full Café menu will be available for purchase.

A $10 donation to Mary’s Place is the price of admission per reservation, which will be collected upon arrival. Reservations are required and can be made by calling the Cafe at 206-789-3770.

We can’t wait to see all of your Egg-cellent creations!

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Celebrate Easter Sunday at Ray’s Apr. 1!

Mother's Day Buffet 3

Spring is in the air at Ray’s! Gather your friends and family for a beautiful, waterfront Easter Sunday brunch or dinner this April 1, 2018 in the Boathouse and Café.

Reservations are highly recommended. Please contact the Café at 206.782.0094 or online; and the Boathouse at 206.789.3770 or online to reserve today!

Café
Buffet
Enjoy our signature brunch buffet from 9am-2pm (last seating) featuring a Carving Station with House Smoked Wild Salmon, Raw Bar with oysters on the half shell, breakfast fare, salads, sides, desserts and much more! (full menu options below)

Price is $60 per guest and $30 for children 5-11 (prices exclude tax, gratuity and beverages).

Dinner
We will reopen for dinner at 4pm and our regular menu will be available until 7pm. Happy hour will not be available on April 1.

Bar
The Cafe Bar will have the same menu offerings and hours as listed above for brunch and dinner but is on a first come basis with no reservations taken.

Boathouse
Brunch
A la carte Easter brunch, along with a selection of guest’s favorite appetizers, salads and entrees from 9:30am-3pm. (full menu options below)

Dinner
Spring-inspired three-course menu with choice of appetizer, entrée and dessert for $60, alongside the Boathouse’s full dinner menu from 3-7pm.

Bar
The Boathouse Bar will have the same menu offerings and hours as listed for the Boathouse above for brunch and dinner but is on a first come basis with no reservations taken.

 

Café Brunch Buffet Menu

 Salads

  • Grilled Panzanella salad
  • Spring mixed green salad white balsamic vinaigrette
  • Toasted fregola pasta & olive salad
  • Classic chopped Caesar salad
  • Soba noodle salad, sesame, sweet soy, ginger, peppers, edamame
  • Antipasto assorted meats and pickled vegetables
  • Caprese salad
  • Roasted Beets with French Feta, Hazelnuts, arugula and sherry vinaigrette
  • Assorted fresh fruits and berries

Raw Bar

  • Chilled peel & eat prawns
  • Oysters on the half shell
  • Snow crab legs

Main Course

  • Eggs Benedict
  • Scrambled eggs
  • Brioche french toast
  • Uli’s breakfast sausage
  • Hempler’s Bacon
  • Pan seared true cod, broccolini and lemon caper beurre blanc
  • Sautéed garlic prawns
  • Grilled herbed chicken breast, green bean and cherry tomatoes
  • Crispy breakfast potatoes, old bay, scallion
  • Penn Cove manila clams & mussels
  • Three cheese mac n’ cheese
  • Bay shrimp mac n’ cheese
  • Green beans with walnuts and lemon
  • Washington spring asparagus
  • Whipped Washington russet potatoes
  • Roasted cremini mushrooms

Carving Board

  • Roasted RR Ranch prime rib of beef
  • House smoked wild Alaskan Salmon

Dessert Table

  • Gluten free vanilla crème brûlée
  • Gluten free Brownies
  • Gluten free almond cookies (contains nuts)
  • Gluten free blood orange bars
  • Magic bars (contains nuts)
  • Cranberry oat bars
  • Lemon bars
  • Shortbread cookies
  • Chocolate chip cookies
  • Mini carrot cake cupcakes (contains nuts)
  • Mini vanilla cupcakes
  • Chocolate mousse tartlets
  • Horchata panna cotta
  • Peanut butter tartlets (contains nuts)
  • Pecan tartlets (contains nuts)

Boathouse Brunch Menu

  • Avocado Toast & Eggs
    Fresh avocado, red onion, tomato, arugula, two eggs over easy, old bay potatoes
  • Veggie Benedict (Add Dungeness Crab Meat $10)
    Poached eggs, English muffin, spinach, tomato, asparagus, hollandaise sauce, old bay potatoes
  • Filet and Eggs
    Double R Ranch Filet, old bay potatoes, arugula, sweet peppers, balsamic syrup, two eggs over easy
  • Challah Bread French Toast
    Vanilla custard dipped, old bay potatoes, house bacon, eggs over easy
  • Quiche Lorraine
    House smoked bacon, spinach, green salad, lemon vinaigrette, old bay potatoes
  • Two Eggs
    Two eggs any style, brioche toast, House Bacon, old bay breakfast potatoes

**Plus a wide selection of our bestselling regular menu items

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Taste Washington Wine Month at Ray’s Mar. 1-31!

WA State Wines_photo jpg

Since the early days of Washington wine, Ray’s has been a proud champion of local winemakers and wineries. In 1982 we were one of two restaurants to receive and sell Leonetti Cellars’ wine with the release of its 1979 Cabernet Sauvignon… what an incredible and robust journey our local wine industry has had since then!

This March we invite you to join us for Taste Washington Wine Month, celebrating the beautiful wines, talented winemakers, and rich, diverse landscape of Washington wine country. From Thursday, March 1 through Saturday, March 31, we will be offering a curated selection of Washington wines from our Wine Director Chip Croteau in the Boathouse and Café.

The Boathouse will be serving six unique and delicious Washington wines by the glass and bottle to enjoy alongside the best view in Seattle, from 5-9pm daily.

Boathouse Taste Washington Wine Month Menu

àMaurice Viognier Columbia Valley, WA 2016 – $16 / $54
The viognier grape is often used for blending in France but has become one of Washington’s greatest white varietals.  Expressive aromas of peach flesh and orchard fruits lead towards kiwi, quince preserve and lemon. A stunner!

Buty Sémillon/Sauvignon Blanc/Muscadelle Columbia Valley, WA 2015 – $15 / $53
A top Washington white blend every year, Nina Buty’s fresh and bright white Bordeaux inspired blend features sémillon, providing eloquent floral tones and textural richness while the sauvignon and muscadelle lend layers of jasmine, grapefruit and lime.

Savage Grace Grüner Veltliner Underwood Mountain Vineyards, Columbia Gorge, WA – $15 / $53
The classic Austrian white grape finds a lovely single vineyard expression with light aromas of white pepper, lime and herb capped off by hints of honey and wet stone in the acid laced finish.

Hedges Syrah ‘DLD’ Cuvée Marcel Dupont, Red Mountain, WA 2013 – $15 / $55
Dedicated to Anne-Marie Hedges grandfather, Marcel Dupont, this cuvée displays the greatest qualities of low yield farming and the hallmarks of Red Mountain syrah: earthy minerality, rich dark fruits, dried spices, cocoa, leather and smoke.

Owen Roe Cabernet Franc ‘Rosa Mystica’ Yakima Valley, WA 2014 – $18 / $65
David O’Reilly’s ‘Rosa Mystica’ begins with aromatics of ripe red cherries, red bell pepper and sage. This leads to flavors of rose petals, red cherry, sagebrush, red raspberry with hints of blood orange. This is a polished and complex wine.

Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley, WA 2014 – 3oz $35 / 6oz $70 / bottle $265
A tour de force reminiscent of a first growth Bordeaux, this 100-point wine offers incredible notes of black currants, graphite, lead pencil shavings and crushed rocks in a full-bodied, decadent, insanely layered and seamless style. Ultra-fine tannin, no hard edges and a forward, already hard to resist style.

The Café will be serving select Washington wines by the bottle daily from 11:30am-9pm, including:

  • àMaurice Viognier Columbia Valley, WA 2016
  • Buty Sémillon/Sauvignon Blanc/Muscadelle Columbia Valley, WA 2015
  • Hedges Syrah ‘DLD’ Cuvée Marcel Dupont, Red Mountain, WA 2013

Reserve in the Café at 206.782.0094 or online; and in the Boathouse at 206.789.3770 or online.

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REX HILL Wine Dinner at Ray’s Boathouse Mar. 27

rex hill 2

We are thrilled to have Carrie Kalscheuer, Director of Sales & Education for REX HILL and A to Z Wineworks at Ray’s Boathouse on Tuesday, March 27th for a beautiful four-course wine dinner. She will share with us the groundbreaking work that these wineries are engaged in; making both stunning wines as well as forging an organization entrenched in social and environmental care.

I was lucky enough to spend some time in Willamette Valley, Oregon this summer tasting the wines produced there and learning about the storied history and success behind REX HILL and A to Z Wineworks from Carrie. The hospitality they showed me was only second to the quality of the wines.

We look forward to showing you the same hospitality at our wine dinner on March 27th! Our Executive Chef Paul Duncan has teamed up with their winemakers to create a custom, four-course menu featuring the iconic cuisine of Ray’s Boathouse with six award-winning wines from REX HILL and A to Z Wineworks.

REX HILL winery has recently been awarded an ‘Extraordinary Winery Award’ for being an ‘Under the Radar Winery’ from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, an accolade that recognizes REX HILL as a winery “poised to become the next-great-thing” in the Americas.  The A to Z Wineworks company, which includes the brand REX HILL, led the way in becoming the first Oregon winery to become a certified B Corporation in 2014. This distinction recognizes organizations that meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.

Four-Course Rex Hill Wine Dinner Menu March 27, 2018
First Course: king crab “merus” legs, spot prawns, ginger spiked shimeji mushrooms
A to Z Rosé Bubbles

Second Course: hamachi sashimi, avocado mousseline, sugar snap pea, togarashi, yuzu
A to Z Chardonnay vs. REX HILL Seven Soils Chardonnay

Third Course: king salmon in sake kasu, roasted baby carrots, pork fried rice cake, scallion-soy
REX HILL Willamette Valley Pinot Noir vs. REX HILL Jacob-Hart Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir

Dessert: chocolate-praline cremeux, orange caramel, spiced caramel popcorn
A to Z Riesling

If you have any allergies, please contact us to ensure we can accommodate.

Price is $115 per person (excluding tax and gratuity). Dinner will run from 6:30-9:30 pm in the downstairs Boathouse overlooking Shilshole Bay and the Olympic Mountains. Seating will be communal and convivial.

All reservations can be made by calling 206.789.6309 or [email protected]. A credit card will be needed at the time of the reservation to reserve your spot.

Even though March is Taste Washington Wine Month and we’re featuring some stunning local Washington wines at Ray’s Boathouse, we didn’t want our wine-loving neighbors down south to be forgotten!

We look forward to seeing you then!

Chip Croteau
Ray’s Wine Director