Raya

Raya in the Ritz Carlton is incredible. We came here on a busy Friday night with reservations at 8:15 but were able to get seated at 7:30. The staff is friendly, professional, and quick. The food was elegantly plated and delicious. They are also very allergy friendly and understand how to prepare the meals around dietary restrictions. We had the waygu beef tartare and smoked salmon as our starters and the Salmon and New York for our mains. All were incredible. Steak was cooked perfectly and the salmon was buttery smooth with a slight crispy outside. The tartare was a little too salty but eating some of the focaccia bread with it made for a nice blended taste. Atmosphere is perfect. Not too dark so you can easily see the people your eating with, the live music is not to loud so you can eat and still have a nice discussion. My wife and I are local to the area so we come to eat at the ritz for dinner quite often. I would highly recommend this place during the day and getting a seat at one of the windows of you are traveling to Dana Point. If you are a local and see the ocean often then you might be fine with a seat anywhere in the dining area. Make reservations beforehand if you’re going in the evening because it always is busy. A special shoutout to our waitress Sommer! She was fantastic!

I celebrated a special occasion at RAYA. The restaurant is small, alongside a hallway in the Ritz. We parked across the street at the cheaper public lot, only a 5 minute walk away. Because of that it doesn’t have much of a secluded feel, which makes it less romantic. On the other hand, right out the window is a stunning unobstructed view of the beach. Window seats are not reservable, so you might not be able to get one. The food was very good, especially the seafood. I was also impressed with the beef tiradito, which is incredibly flavorful. The chicken came with a sizable portion but was not particularly special. I recommend the fish stew, which has a lobster broth and super-tender sea bass fillet. Dessert menu was nothing special but the cake rounded out the course nicely. Overall, I would recommend RAYA for a nice occasion or outing with friends. Expect a fun menu, great seafood, and excellent ocean views.

While staying at the Ritz Carlton we had the pleasure of dining at Raya. This is a great restaurant with an amazing ocean view. We were seated at a window table with breathtaking views. We were pleasantly surprised that they had live music. We started with the kimchee bloody mary. It was nice and spicy just the way we like it. For starters we had the ahi tuna ceviche. It was tasty! We also had the caeser salad. The dressing was made from scratch and simply wonderful. For entree we had the Anchiote Salmon. This was the star of our meal. We enjoyed every bite. The fish was fresh and the cauliflower puree with the sauces was perfectly balanced. The food on point, the service spot on, and the ambiance over the top. We will always return to this gem of a restaurant. We will be back!

Great meal and service. Really happy to see that there are places that can match the quality with their ambience. You should not expect a cheap meal here, but 4 of us had about 12 items from the menu and all of them were great. Service was matching the experience. Of course the views of the Pacific are an additional bonus.

Something quite noble about the Ritz Carlton. Had breakfast there so many times. Usually I’m early enough to beat the late risers and get a seat right next to the soaring sea gulls sailing in the undulating skyline. But even when you don’t get a window seat (to die for), the second and third level seats are worthy of boasting. And our waiter was awesome. I think they must guillotine you if you don’t get a perfect 20 as a waiter there. You gotta do this people. You gotta.

The food could have been better considering the prices but the service is top notch and servers were polite and very good at their jobs. The food mainly was missing the taste for this high quality restaurant. I can say the oatmeal was good perhaps amazing but the omelette had no flavor, pretty close to a frozen meal. The atmosphere was very pretty. The views of the ocean are spectacular. It would be amazing if the food was matching the view. But for the most part you are paying for the view and there is no real plan to improve the food. Looking at the guest faces you could tell the food is mediocre.