Ray’s and Stark Bar

I had a reservation the day before L.A. restaurants had to shut down again for outside dining. Ray's closed early that day and I was not informed that my reservation was outside of their hours for that day BUT on arrival, they very graciously made us some of the most delicious pizza we have ever had even though the kitchen had just closed. They also comped our meal and drinks. Now that's a class act plus the food was excellent!

Overpriced

Nice cheese plate and wine. Wine a bit high at 15 a glass...would have appreciated an extra ounce...but lovely ambiance and so thankful just to see a few outdoor installations as everything is closed. Wanted to support LACMA as all museums are struggling during COVID. The installation of Prager was so fun....farewell Christmas party installation...and urban lights so nice. A great way to kill a few hours...

I've been going to Ray's since it opened and am glad to see the menu has improved after a very weird period a couple of years ago. I had the lobster salad, which featured most of a head of Boston lettuce and a decent amount of lobster. However, the lobster was overcooked and the dressing was dismal--lemon juice and so little oil that it tasted as if someone had just squirted it with lemon. The only other thing I ordered as a glass of rose, which the waiter forgot to bring. After asking a bus boy and then the waiter for my wine, I was subjected to an excuse by the latter. I really don't care what the problem was; there's no excuse for forgetting half my order. Nevertheless, Ray's is better than nothing when you're spending hours at LACMA

So, been coming here for years. They catered my wedding so I am a big fan of Patina Group. We never have any issues but last night was just awful.

So they changed their menu and took off 2 of the best dishes which makes no sense but ok, fine I can get over it. Steak Frittes and the Shrimp Salad to be exact.

So, I am pregnant & have a toddler. Was so looking forward to coming to eat here as I was craving those 2 dishes. But again, dealt with it. We ordered something else. My husband opted for the Duck Dish and I the new york steak (both new dishes on menu) and my daughter got the kids cheese pizza (asked for it to be sliced smaller ) and she got the chicken finger with fries, all which are on the kids menu. The kids menu actually should be updated in my opinion. So the fries and chicken came out first before the pizza, ordered pizza to come first. Then once the pizza finally arrived it was not double cut as I requested. We also asked for it to be cooked well done bc the kids pizza has a tendency to be very watery and one bite and all cheese is off and the tomato sauce is like water and of course it was watery, all cheese fell off before u even got it in your mouth. But we didn’t say anything.
Now we are sitting patiently waiting for our food to come....tick tock tick tock. The place was empty btw. Maybe 3-4 tables of people whom all came after us. We came at 6 pm. Finally, our food arrived, after a looooooong time and both our dishes were cold. Who wants to eat a cold steak and cold duck. Gross. So they waitress came over and said they will re-warm them. Ummm, re-warming duck will make it over cooked and a well done steak will be dried out. They brought it back and the duck was bearable as my husband was starving. Mine was rubber. It was awful. I asked for a new one to be made. But keep in mind it is now almost 8 pm with a 3 year old toddler who finished an hour ago, my husband who is almost done and myself, pregnant still has not eaten. My new steak was pink.

I have eaten at Rays almost every time I visit LACMA. It it always excellent. The food is delicious and the staff accommodating.

Not up to the standards of museum restaurants.Was not unique or special in any way.

Francisco is Fabulous! Our service was excellent and his oversight made our evening even more fun and enjoyable. Looking forward to returning soon.

We were the only ones in the restaurant yet had to try hard to get server’s attention.

Stellar as always1 My favorite place to have brunch in LA.

Very overpriced for what you get.
Some of the menu selections are quite good but a museum restaurant should not charge so much!
$15.00 for a mediocre pizza is a bit much!
Vegetable soup was less than expected.
Pasta was wonderful. Yes convenient for museum attendees but we will look elsewhere next time!

This is a lovely spot to eat with good to very good food, a great setting, and excellent service. You may get a dollop of continental attitude or ennui (indeterminate) upon arrival, but once seated it's a delight. It's lovely being on the LACMA campus before the wrecking crews arrive for the rebuild.

Meeting friends from out of town

It took over 7 minutes to be greeted at reception. Although I had a reservation I was taken to a taken to a table that was adjacent to the kitchen door while other, better tables were available. The server didn’t seem very interested in serving us and It took over 35 minutes for the food to arrive. It is only the quality of the food and location that would ever make me return to this restaurant. LACMA deserves better than this.

Lousy service and they had no idea what they were doing. However ended up giving us 3 dinners although we only paid for and had ordered 2. Out of a lot of rntrees

I really wanted to enjoy this experience with my family. Unfortunately I cannot recommend. We had an early, 5:00, reservation and two hours later I had to find our waiter to correct our bill. 5 times we had to ask for water - we finally took our glass to someone to fill it up. While waitstaff came to our table several times to see if the food was ok, we would ask for water or a correction to the meal and they would disappear, without bringing tea or bringing a condiment. In the end the bill was WAY wrong and we felt we couldn't/wouldn't ask for them to correct it again. Gratuity reflected our displeasure.

Did this year's winter Dine LA lunch. Staff was friendly, happy and recommended the dishes I was eyeing to order (confirming they were their favorite selections). They were totally right -- especially about the starter pasta (Okinawa Sweet Potato Agnolotti). That dish was spectacular, and now my friend and I are addicted to it. Thankfully, it's a regular menu item so I'm definitely going back to get that in the full entree portion! The setting and design of the restaurant is so cool, I'm a little sad it's not usually open for dinner (it is open til 8 or 9 on Fri/Sat, though, for early dinner).

Because of the rave reviews I was expecting something more elegant but it had a cafeteria feel to it rather than a restaurant. Food was good reviews online were not consistent with my experience. Staff were rather brusque which also made the experience less pleasurable then i like or expect from a well recommended dining experience.

The food is amazing, inventive, tasty. Often go to LACMA to meet friends at Ray's...and not necessarily to look at art.

We have had better experiences here than we had this time. The restaurant staff seemed a little overwhelmed and it took a long time to get any attention. Three of four meals came out at the same time, but the fourth meal took at least another 15 minutes. The explanation was that the "pizzaiolo" was inundated with orders! The pizza, when it did come, was just OK. The inside was too soggy and the outside was too bready. Others had the steak salad, and rated it about a B-. Also, not the restaurant's fault, but there was a periodic very loud demonstration of Japanese drumming just outside the restaurant, which rather ruined any chance of conversing. But I will recommend it, since we have had other good experiences here in the past.

This restaruant is convenient to LACMA and that's about all that is good about it. The room is "stark" with tables with no clothes or silverware (they are in a drawer), no flowers or centerpieces. The food was only fair and the prices set by people who know that they are the convenient place to go. P.S. The musuem's exhitibits were awful, with the permanent collection mostly in mothballs until 2024 when the new building is completed.

The waitress took too long in coming too our table to ask for our order, and also forgot what we had ordered. I had to remind her of what we had ordered!

I enjoy the food and the service here very much. The quiet is welcome But the ambience leaves me cold.
It's so stark and bare. But then it's the Stark Bar, isn't it? In spite of that I do return, fairly often.
Elaine Madsen

The heirloom tomato and watermelon salad with saba was amazing, pizza was great, their crispy fries are done just right. Just needed a bit more air conditioning inside to be more comfortable in the hot weather.

The pizza was very good, olives were a great deal, shrimp and avocado salad was ample! The wine pour was minimal. The atmosphere was cool, would definitely recommend and go there again. Seemed to be a little shy on waitstaff, but we weren't in hurry so was fine. Fun to sit outdoors.

Great spot to stop and eat a great meal with tasty cocktail in between exhibits!

Tons of bussers but only one server for all tables. Everyone was kind and respectful but they could have had more support. thanks!

The restaurant was empty on a Saturday night. The carpet inside smells so bad we chose to move outside. Service was good. Food was good. But we were kicked out at 8:30pm because no customers so they closed early.

It’s wonderful to have a delicious dinner & hear the amazing jazz at LACMA.

Great place- indoors or out and the food is fabulous.

Beautiful day for outdoor dining and the food was terrific. Everyone enjoyed their meal and we were impressed with the sizes. Very satisfying.

Exceptional dining experience. The food is quality, flavorful and nicely presented. We enjoy the alfresco dining experience.

I made early 5:00 dinner reservations at the restaurant, but ended up staying in the bar for drinks and small plates. Great service, innovative bar menu (peppers and cheese, prosciutto, (sweet/savory) wings), delicious food. Perfect for meet and greet after work. Highly recommended. Everyone is attentive, helpful and service-oriented; couldn't/wouldn't ask for more. Thank you!

The gazpacho was excellent, the perfect food for a warm summer day. The waiters were all efficient and professional.

Simply perfect

I ALWAYS enjoy the vibe and service at Ray's and will recommend it and return there whenever I can....

Food took more than 30 minutes to arrive. Restaurant was not too busy. Waiter didn’t say anything about it.

We waited for 20 minutes for a waiter. We tried to get the attention of any waiter, to no avail and finally had to go find the manager, who took our order himself. When our food came there was no attempt at making amends. And this is NOT a cheap restaurant.

Warm summer night at Ray and Stark sounded lovely. We sat down at 7:30 pm (they close at 8). I had fond memories of a creative cocktail menu and innovative dishes (which is always fun given it’s at LACMA). However, our server was anxious for us to order and came by twice to tell us that the kitchen closes at 8. Needless to say, we had one drink and left for another restaurant. So sad.

Great vibe for families. Yummy food and drinks. Okay service.