Famous Original Ray's Pizza

Big pizza place that likes to overcharge and has deceitful pricing. First of all they hide the regular plain pizza under the counter so you think that it’s not an option and that you have to order the slices with the overpriced toppings. I know better so we got three plain slices and one bottled seltzer. When it was rung up the cashier said it was $19.30. I pushed back and she said the slices were $4 each without tax. I told her that the bottled seltzer would then have to be $6!! Then she did a few clicks on her screen and said $16.33. I asked for the itemized receipt and realized that she was trying to add items or give herself a tip. I’ve attached the receipt as proof. While we sat there I heard her charge another customer $4 for the same drink she charged us $3 for! I’m filing a complaint with the BBB and NYC311. Won’t go here again. On top of that the pizza has significantly gone down in quality—crust is way too thick and the sauce tastes like cheap canned sauce. It’s a shame of what’s become of this place. It was empty on a summer Sunday afternoon, I guess locals in the neighborhood already know this.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Absolutely fantastic pizza! The crust was perfectly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, the sauce was rich and flavorful, and the toppings were super fresh. You can tell they put real care into every pie. The staff was friendly, welcoming, and quick to serve, and the whole place had a warm, inviting atmosphere.

Came here with my family, my dad used to live in NY. He told us he knows exactly where to get pizza, because he used to eat here all the time. The second our plane landed, we came to rays. The pizza is amazing, and it is the best thing I ate in New York. Now our trips over and we are eating here one last time. Highly recommend

Brought family from out of state before going to Natural History Museum. Just get off the B train uptown midtown and walk about 5 min. The pizza is out of this world I’ve been eating pizza my whole life and nothing compares. The staff is nice considering they probably get thousands of visitors they made us feel welcome. There is plenty of space to sit and the air conditioning was nice and cold to get out on a hot summer day. Kids were complaining of hot day so this was perfect for getting out of the sun. Did I mention the pizza is delicious.

The pizza is so yummy! The place is clean and the staff are polite and welcoming. So glad that my first New York pizza was frin Ray's!

Great pizza!! As a native to New England and being from CT, “The Pizza Capital of the World” I’d say CT has its work cut out for them!!

Ray’s makes an ok slice, it’s a bit pricey for what you get. I really enjoyed the pepperoni, but it’s not my favorite UWS slice.

Came in, people were really nice and welcoming. Ate pizza, really delicious. Lost my appetite when I seen a live Roach crawl around my used napkins sitting at the table. Please clean more.

After a great visit at the fabulous American Museum of Natural History, our group of 4 adults and two young children were in need of some quick nourishment. We exited the Columbus side of the museum and saw Famous Original Ray's Pizza across the street. We went inside to check it out, admired the many single slice options, and the clean, kid friendly seating in the back of the restaurant. We picked an out of the way table in the corner and I headed to the counter to place an order. We sampled a wide variety of pizzas including chicken, buffalo chicken, veggie pizza and extra cheese pizza. The service was fast and friendly, the pizza was good, the kids were happy, and so were we! Sorry, no pics on this visit. We'd be happy to return.

As far as Manhattan pizza goes, this place is all right. It's like five dollars for a large pepperoni slice, but I was confused because one white pizza is like seven dollars. I've never experienced where the white pizza costs more than the pepperoni, and they loaded it with more cheese when I asked for it to be warmed up. I don't understand the math on that one. When I had the pizza, it was definitely on the crispy side and, of course, oily. What I like about it is that it's light on the seasoning, so it's not as spicy as you might expect, but it's very chewy. It's on the sweeter side and very thin, though the crust is kind of hard to chew. The ambiance here is very classic old-school, with a bunch of neon lights and walls plastered with tiles of artwork and stuff like that. It's definitely trying to evoke an Italian vibe. I don't come to the Upper West Side often, but when I do, I might visit. I've had better pizza downtown, but the service is very good. The staff was very patient. One thing to note, though, is that they don't accept multiple payments, so if you're using multiple cards like I do sometimes, they won't accept it even through Apple Pay. I think the cashier system is a little outdated. Overall, this place is just all right. It's pretty average, I think. A woman with her dog were given a piece of uncooked pepperoni, and the dog spit it up! Eventually the dog was enough to finish its treat, but come on...if a dog doesn't love it...

Yummy pizza!! So savory. A little bit greasy but nothing a blot of a napkin can't solve. Solid customer service and lots of inside seating. I really enjoyed the square pizza and would for sure be back to eat some of this pizza when I go to New York on another trip in the future.

Decided to stop by here before going to a children's museum to grab a slice of pizza since I didn't really had lunch. The place looks very casual and low key for anyone to go in and it is by the Natural History Museum and Children's Museum. They have a normal amount of good pizza selections and I just picked a simple Margherita slice to go. They got a large slice which I always hope they select and inserted into the oven to heat up. Just waited a few minutes and the slice of pizza is warmed up. They have many cheese and pepper condiments to put on your pizza. The Margherita tasted pretty cheesy and sauce was a tad bit sweet. I love the cheese the most because it got me in love when the cheese hit my tongue. It is a thick cheese and not soft so biting it was easy. The cheese does not droop sloppily like other soft cheese pizza. Very spacious and lots of seating! Many tables and seats all around the place for indoor dining. Very casual ambience and looks touristy.

4.5 Stars Made a trip Central Park via the subway and found this pizza joint. Not having any of the "famous New York" pizza just yet on our trip we figure it was time. Glad we did. The pizza slices we ordered were large thin crust slices. We got the Pepperoni Supreme and a "Roni cups" pepperoni (The small meaty cups that holds the flavorful grease. ) w Pesto and Ricotta cheese. Both pizzas were divine. Hot from the oven and ready to eat quickly. Fold them and eat away! Servers were quick and friendly. Lots of seats front and back side.

We were here with my sister-in-law who is visiting from Vancouver Canada. She wanted to get a taste of original New York pizza. We decided to try this place after visiting the Museum of Natural History nearby. We ordered a large plain pie half mushrooms The pizza was decent. Not anything to write home about. I would rate the pizza a 6.8 out of 10. I also ordered a veggie Stromboli. It was a good size filled with plenty of mozzarella, broccoli, peppers, spinach and onions. I'd rate it a 6.6 out of 10. These scores are lackluster. So, in the end. It was okay. All of this food plus 3 drinks- 1 apple juice and 2 cherry Pepsis came to 49$. NYC prices Oy Vei! The service was good. As the guys behind the counter were quick to answer questions and get our orders. That's was a + The ambiance is bizarre. I'm the front of the pizzeria are your typical two seater tables but as you move to the back, there are a few longer dining style tables, which is where we decided to sit , we were three adults and two kids. It was accommodating for our group size. There were some tacky and tawdry chandeliers above us. It was a combo of cafeteria, tacky chic and lunch table vibes. I wouldn't recommend this place. There are much better pizzerias in this huge metropolis. It's straight middle-of-the-line pizza.

If you're in the American Natural History Museum area or Central Park, you can pop in for a quick slice of pizza or some pasta options. There's plenty of seating and a lot of food to choose from. Prices are decent and the staff is friendly.

After visiting the museum of natural history with my enrichment camp children we stopped here for lunch. I didn't know what to expect and there was no convincing them... they wanted pizza. Well I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The pizza was actually good! The sauce was well season with a good amount of cheese and the crust was not over cooked. It's still not mag I have it four stars only because it's isn't as good as Margherita's on Jamaica Avenue in queens but it gives one of my other favorite Pizza places a run for their money. I would definitely go back! Yum!

There's like 87 different Rays in the area, but this one is by far th best. The pizza is really good. Unique, stands out. The place is nice, clean, service is really good too. I've been here quite a bit and always liked it.

crust a little soft toppings are nice CBR PIZZA 3.2/5 kind of salty PESTO PIZZA really good p strong crust lk soggy 3.2/5 overall 3 would be interested in coming back for other slices some other time p proce plus 1 because i can study here

Pizza is good, not great. But as a place to stop, particularly with kids, as part of a long day in the park or shopping or playground or museum, it's great. Spacious, clean, very nice staff. I've got good memories of this place with my boy as he's grown up.

Pretty mediocre pizza. you get what you pay for. I won't be returning here anytime soon.

I stopped by because I was walking past later at night and needed a slice. It was perfectly average pizza. The crust or the sauce tastes a little sugary, which isn't my favorite thing. But a single slice is almost $6.50, which is totally not worth it.

Just down the street from the original Seinfeld apartment; this Pizza place is one for the memory books. Close to some of the best street pizza I've ever had. The people here are amazing and it really gives you that true New York feel. The over all design of the restaurant is perfect and fits with the city, as it sits near Central Park. Highly recommend if you're in the Upper West Side.

The service was great and fast. The owners/workers were super nice and happy to help with whatever. Their food was great, they offer gluten free pizza, and are extremely careful and accommodating. A great local pizza shop that I highly recommend and would definitely return to.

Not thin crust, crust was flaky , pizza was cold . They scam you here, don't offer plain slices on a Saturday night, you are forced to buy a $7 slice. Specialty slice is $7 and charged us that even for just pepperoni slice untill we said something. 2 slices ended to $15 .

Famous Original Ray's Pizza.... wooof. When we walked in looking for a 'typical NYC slice' this was not quite what we'd imagined. It looks okay enough, but as we walked up to the counter to order, the guy who was taking our order was talking very loud while his earbuds were in, clearly taking a phone call. So... we let that go and tried to just order some slices of pizza. My boyfriend got a slice of cheese and I got a pepperoni slice. It looked kinda old and tasted like it was past its prime. I wouldn't call this good pizza... It wasn't awful but not something I'd recommend to a friend. Edible, definitely. The guy's phone call didn't seem to end the entire time we were there. He took several other orders and even confused a couple of customers while on his call. 2/10 recommend

Really good pizza. Came to the location for pickup and had a quick turn around. Large venue to eat at the spot but took pizza home. Was really really good. We got pozz, tomato pizza. Lighter on the sauce but really loved this.

Delicious and authentic nyc pizza, place looks, smells, and sounds authentic! Selection of food is way bigger than most pizzerias, got something for everyone!

This pizza place is sentimental to me. I've been coming here since I was a little girl (in the 90s) after trips to the natural history museum with my parents. I can remember eating spaghetti and meatballs in the back of the restaurant - and as of today I can say that it hasn't changed. Although I have. I got a veggie slice and mozzarella sticks. The veggie slice was enormous and filled me up. The crust was literally amazing. I'm usually not a crust person, but I gobbled Ray's pizza crust up. It was crunchy and tasted like garlic, and easy to chew. The staff is also friendly and deserve to be recognized for their amazing work.

Came Here last night after drinks and it was $8 a slice? I don't know if this is normal pricing or what but that is insane for New York pizza

The pizza here is not bad. I ordered a pepperoni and green pepper slice and a sausage and mushroom slice. The pizza crust was not bad, but the toppings were added on top of the cheese slices and seemed undercooked, though the cheese on top was melted.

I ordered Mushroom pizza! It was delicious! To be honest I haven't called them because I had a bad experience before! I had ordered wings supposedly fried, they were not! They were mushy and gross! I ordered a salad, ( how do you screw up a salad!)1 other item but I forget! I was so disappointed! I wrote a long note about all my complaints w/ my phone #. I dropped the food at the restaurant early in the morning! Gave note to workers for management! Never heard a word! But to my surprise I was very pleased w/ the pizza! So I may try them again! Sincerely Linda‍

We think this zaaa is superior to joes'. Crust has good shape, holds its own. When you bite into it there's a good soft to crunch dough ratio. Their wings are so fire, obviously I ate it quickly so there's no pic but as a wings connoisseur their hot Buffalo wings are a must. Nice service too!

Just remember these 3 little words--Meatball Parm Hero. Their other offerings are great, too, but it's their meatball parm hero that calls to me in every time. First off, nice meatballs, just the right amount of sauce and cheese in a not just warmed but perfectly toasted roll. The toasted roll provides just the right amount of crunch that contrasts beautifully with the soft melted mozz. Bliss! But as good as their food is, the staff is what clinches the experience. Everyone there, but especially the woman who works the counter, is friendly and helpful, keeping orders flowing to customers.

This was my first visit to a Famous Original Ray's Pizza. I ordered two slices of what was labeled as Spicy Pepperoni Spicy Honey & Pesto square slices. I enjoyed my meal while watching soccer on the television. It was greasy and tasty. Everything went as it should for a quick bite when time was limited due to an scheduled event coming up soon.

Meilleure pizza de New York ! Rapport qualité prix imbattable Super équipe ! Endroit spacieux et accueillant Merci

They have friendly staff,it looks good inside.the regular spice will still undercook.the meat lover wasn't all that.the other slice was ok.its sauce was sweet.For now I can say they can do better.ill come again try it again to see I'd they got better.

Best gluten free pizza I've had in a long time! I live in Delaware but travel to NYC often and this will definitely be an absolute go to when I'm up

Deep dish Sicilian was a win. Beautiful. Public restroom . Lots of tables. Quick order and line. Lots of men on the line ready to help. Straightforward.

Don't pay attention to the negative reviews! The folks here are the best, the lady who is always running the counter is so nice, and the food is great. I always get the wings and they're really good!

My 4-Star review is solely based on walking in, grabbing 2 cheese slices, eating it quick and being satisfied. If I was to use my own version of Barstool One Bite this place gets a solid 7.5. This is a benchmark score of how every NYC cheese slice should taste. Perfect proportion of cheese, sauce, dough - after a long night out and no limitations i can probably kill an entire pie to myself. Is it the best pizza I've had - Nope. Is this the type of pizza I'd want after traveling weeks in Asia and craving something simple that hits the spot like a true NYC pizza, YES!!!! I'd say the negative reviews here are based on personal experience with the staff. I had no problem, but I also don't ask for much as long as I get my slice. If you're in the area and want a simple slice - come on down!

Extremely slow service for subpar cold pizza. Staff not helpful at all. Do not recommend to come here

A typical New York pizza place - order at a counter, get your slice heated up while you pay, and then you're on your way. Being right near the museum, you can expect the slices to be a bit pricier, but they taste good enough to make up for it. We ordered a large Penne Alla Vodka Pizza, made fresh while we waited, 10 '911 level-spicy' buffalo wings, and garlic knots. The pizza was very heavy but tasty, the sauce was flavorful, the cheese was gooey, and the whole thing wasn't too salty. The wings were solid, a bit dry in a few places but overall decent. They had a good kick, but the spiciness was definitely manageable. I really liked the garlic knots, which were pillowy soft and the exact taste I was looking for.

Low key and a nice slice. I had the pepperoni and a mozzarella basil. The pepperoni was nicest.

Their Buffalo chicken pie is one of my favorites in nyc!!! I've tried their margarita, regular cheese, Sicilian...all good but nothing compares to their buff chix. Only downside is I live really close and need to use self control. Recommend highly!!

Went late on Saturday night and found the service to be rude and slow. The pizza was very mediocre at best. The crust is not your typical NY pizza crust. It had no chewiness.

There's about a hundred places in the city claiming to be the "Original" Ray's, and this is one of them. It's a NYC slice shop, and that's not a bad thing. It's not expensive, and the slices we had were very decent. Of course, there's much better pies to be had in this city, but if you have hungry kids in tow after seeing dinosaurs nearby, this works fine. If you're from Iowa, you might even think it's the best pizza you've had in your life. If you're a local, you won't feel cheated either...

casual and delicious pizza spot on the upper west side (but they have multiple locations across the city)! the staff is always so kind and have my order ready so quickly. you can order online or in store. I highly recommend their chicken bacon ranch slice, it's one of the best I've had. definitely stop here before a day at the museum of natural history or central park!

We came here after our friend's got engaged and were treated so well. They laughed with us and cheered our friends when they entered. Even gave us a free soda! Noosa (sp?) was so kind!

I live in the neighborhood and if I had the metabolism to eat Ray's every day and not gain a pound I would! Their slices are HUGE. Literally one slice will make you full. Garlic knots are always fresh and crispy without being TOO garlicy and oily. This place is amazing. I cannot comment on the other dishes but who seriously goes to Ray's to get anything other than pizza?

Very good pizza. It's what I expect of a NYC pizzeria. Vintage decor, perfect crust, generous toppings. Only downfall, no liquor license, so no cold beer to go with the pizza.

If this pizza was in Oklahoma it would be outstanding and maybe even "famous ". In NYC this is just decent ok pizza. It's not bad but it's overwhelmingly average. Restaurant is very clean and staff polite

I discovered this place after walking uptown from the Gym and I was pissed when I saw a woman eating a slice of pizza at 11 am after I worked out and she made me want a slice and join her... I ordered a slice (at a different time) and I was surprised by the size of the slice. It is a typical NYC pizza spot but to be honest it is a bit pricey but a simple cheese or pepperoni slice is good and will satisfy your craving. They have really good buffalo chicken wings that can be shared with friends. Super delicious!

Few pizza places understand real NYC pizza with both space to spread out and hospitality.

This is my favorite Ray's in NYC. Open late, Guys in here are good! Moved positions and apartments, now I'm stuck the the hellish one in Chelsea (Manhattan) they should just shut the Chelsea one down, service isn't the greatest and it has changed hands so many times.

Great pizza, great service! Thank you ray! Too bad there is no beer when there is a Heineken sign outside!

Considering the first Ray's pizza opened up on Prince Street, it's probably safe to say this isn't the true original. Located in the pretty confines of the Upper West Side, this Ray's is just a stone's throw away from Central Park. Ray's or not, the sad news is the pizza has more has more issues than a magazine rack. I've given this place plenty of business over the years. More for convenience rather than preference, it was always easy to default to this Ray's because unlike the many other pizzerias, there was ample seating, spacious interior, and even a bathroom to boot. Considering the decent counter space, it means there could be as many as 8-10 pizzas on display at any given time. A good thing in most respects for variety, but as the years have gone on, the pizza has just been less appealing every time. The crust. Something needs to be done about this super dry crust. It has effect that some hard French baguette can have, which can sometimes get the roof of your mouth. There is also something missing flavor wise, but that is usually overshadowed by the choices on top. Then there is the sauce. The bane of existence for any pizza joint is two fold: bread and sauce. This Ray's is mediocre in both. Instead of getting a sweetness kick from the tomatoes, I've been getting more blandness every time. It's almost as if I'd want white pie to avoid the sauce completely. As a matter of fact, I've already done this (and it was not pleasant). Forget the toppings. From pepperoni to sausage to bell peppers, everything was tasting like the lower tier. Cheese fiends might be disappointed with the pseudo-rubbery stuff baked on this dough. I'm not sure what it is, but the saltiness and the meltastic quality of good cheese is lacking here. And so are the rest of their pies. The last time I was here, I went with a total non-pizza option, a bowl of spaghetti meatballs while my friends ordered up some garlic knots. Both items were again bland and just had this unremarkable quality about them taste wise. Disappointing on the food front, my two stars give them a thumbs up for solid customer service and a decent interior.

Just had a craving for Ray's (even though I am stuff from turkey day festivities)... the craving was brought on because I heard a reference as to which "Ray's Pizza" is the original in the movie ELF (apparently Jon Favreau is a fan)... SANTA: [describing New York City to Buddy the Elf] Well, there are some things you should know. First off, you see gum on the street, leave it there. It isn't free candy. BUDDY: Oh. SANTA: Second, there are, like, thirty Ray's Pizzas. They all claim to be the original. But the real one's on 11th. And if you see a sign that says "Peep Show", that doesn't mean that they're letting you look at the new toys before Christmas. Well, I guess now we know this is not the "original" Rays (or at least according to Santa it's not)