Ray

I use to love Ray’s. I went in one day and asked for my coffee to be hotter. I had noticed it hadn’t been the last few times. All I got was a smart arse tongue lashing from the barista and I think owner. If they’re having a bad day, the customer is the last person to take it out on. There are plenty of other café on Brunswick. Won’t go back there.

A+ great food and great stuff, visit weekly

Ray is a cosy little café near brunswick train station. It is great place to go if you are in rush, as they serve quickly and deliciously. On the other hand if youre wanting to sit down there is plenty of space inside and out. If you get a chance and are looking for a late afternoon snack before wandering down Sydney road i suggest tackling one of their $ 10 burgers and $ 5 beers.

Hip-​tastic! Hipstery cool cats this is the place for you! Cool atmosphere and good food. Great for breakfast catch-​ups with mates. Seems like more of a hangout zone for some too — how do I get in on that? Brunswick locals if you haven’t been here I would say go along for some breakfast for sure!

Ray felt like a share house. Like the best share houses it had good coffee and Tuong Ot Sriracha, which I had on scrambled eggs. Beside us was a Metallica pinball machine and a large coffee siphon resembling an hourglass.
Ray opened back when I was drinking Gloria Jean’s and lead to St Ali, Brother Baba Budan, De Clieu and Seven Seeds. I can’t imagine growing up without Metallica or Melbourne without these cafes.

Another great Brunswick café. Interesting breakfast menu and large servings to sooth that hangover. Corn fritters were delish ! Prob not the best coffee in the area but its a great space and filled with locals with a nice vibe. Will be back!

Look, the food here was good. Real good. And Ray has a very interesting menu, with plenty going on for vegetarians! So I can certainly say I’m a fan.
I had the avocado on toast with a poached egg (true to form) and was pleasantly surprised with the addition of a tahini-​based sauce — it was a wonderful accompaniment! Other dishes included the Doc Ray, the portabello mushrooms, and the baked beans, which were all eaten with great enthusiasm.
However, the coffee was not that good — over extracted and rather bitter in my opinion (and my dining companions agreed that their coffees were also bitter). The service was very friendly and prompt (however, as we didn’t make a booking and they didn’t have space to accommodate the 5 of us, we were seated down the back; next to the toilets and amongst an old refrigerator, microwave, and some fold-​up chairs — not too pleasant).
I’d definitely check it out again. With hopefully less toilet.

I am a frequent visitor to Ray, enjoying their coffee, friendly staff and yummy brunch food.
They’ve done a renovation in late 2013, which has greatly improved the feeling of spaciousness.
I got ‘forgotten’ down the back of the café once, but I’ve been there so many times that it really seemed like a one-​off.
One other great thing they do is let you split the Doc Ray’s Breakfast between two people, and bring it out on two plates. Which is good for times you’re not ravenous, but want to taste that sweet sweet thick cut bacon!

Hey Ray, so nice to hang out with you again! It’s been a while since I popped in but man it’s great to see a familiar face.
After moving to a different hood a few years ago I kinda forgot about you. But I’m working nearby at the moment so thought I’d pop in and see how you’re doing.
I’m pleased to say that you were just as good as I remember you. Friendly staff. Great coffee! Delicious sandwiches and sweet treats galore.
Thanks Ray. You made my day x

We rode past Ray before we found it. The bike parking is a bonus and a delightful spot in the sun put a smile on my dial.
The service is friendly, yet the girl who served us was a little too open about the happenings behind the scenes. After about 30 minutes of waiting she politely informed us there was «something wrong with the eggs».
A late breakfast is always great with a strong shot of coffee. Rays delivers a good coffee. Unfortunately it’s just good. Quietly resting within every other cup of coffee I’ve had in this city. Ray has a very impressive machine that screams in a loud yellow voice, yet I can’t help but feel their infusing or the bean is letting them down significantly. The long black was a dark orange instead of a orange-​red and the crème disappeared all too quickly. I found myself missing that heavy body of a decent pour. The latte texture was nice but that little gentle swirl espresso screams for before you douse it with milk wasn’t there leaving the latte sealed off with a thick, heavy layer of coffee goop.
The menu is a medley of various breakfast treats. The middle eastern hint is nice however, I’m yet to see it done correctly. The Baked beans, to their credit were actually baked, a lack of moisture seems to be a bit of a problem. Watercress is a brilliant garnish, as well as feta but perhaps a menu that boasts both Mediterranean and western foods should be splurging for a goats cheese. The toasted Turkish was splashed with a basil oil which didn’t quite seem to compliment a spicy bean dish. It’s the typical problem of trying to «spice up» a traditional dish and managing to over do it.
The portabello mushrooms were over cooked, dry tops and hard bottoms. There is something truly spectacular about a slow roasted mushroom and they were so close. This dish is served on an under-​toasted turkish bun, spread with an all too mild feta, two poached eggs and a teeny tiny swirl of date molasses. The eggs didn’t really compliment the molasses and vice versa, they also blocked any flavour from the feta and the herbs used on the mushrooms didn’t fit in with any of the dish at all.
I feel like this place is cramming too many different ideas onto a plate and stepping back a bit, simplifying and letting their flavours breathe will go a long way.
I’m not sure I’d bother with this place again.

So Ray have *finally* changed their menu and also had bit of a reno — the kitchen staff can now work without bumping bits, and it now looks very much like Atomica’s Brunswick cousin.
The use of black on the back wall perhaps closes in the already small venue and the rest of the space still looks a bit on the dirty side of grungy.
That being said, the coffee was excellent — as always, and I tried one of the new pides, with slow cooked beef & slaw and it was delicious!
Ray is certainly not on my radar of regular haunts as it’s lost its way a bit, but if I’m in the area, I’d certainly grab a takeaway coffee ’cause it’s the best in that strip.

There are a hundred copies around Brunswick these days, but Ray’s was one of the first and still maintains its grungy feel. The coffee is always excellent, and while the menu doesn’t change much it always manages to remain interesting.

An institution in the genre of hip cafes, Rays was a harbinger of cool to this industrial area of the city.
With no signage and a hole in the wall look, this place offers delicious food and amazing coffee. The stripped back industrial look blends in well with the surrounding neighborhood.
You used to sit on milk crates out the front to enjoy the sun, now wooden boxes have taken their place. One of the cooler things about Ray’s is the bike parking that takes up a car space on the street out front — they really know their customers well.
Inside is a large communal table in front and wall seating tucked down the side of this cosy café. Ray’s have had their fill of pretentious staff, who raise themselves above everybody else, just because they work there, but I was in this week and the current blend all seem pretty cool. And thankfully they still serve amazing coffee!

In what looks to be a slightly dilapidated building with paint peeling off and graffiti everywhere, Ray’s Café’s grungy exterior isn’t a reflection of the food and coffee. With wooden boxes as chairs and a chalkboard as their menu, this place offers no fuss service and food.
When we arrived, we did have to wait for someone to notice us. We were finally sat somewhere in the back. I was worried they would forget about us because it was quite busy and the service seemed casual, maybe too casual. But they didn’t. Out came a server ready to take our coffee order. The coffee was good, but nothing amazing.
The experience was quite average so much that I can’t remember the food — they serve Lebanese inspired food with the use of Turkish bread and chickpea, also one dish had Lebanese sausage. There was nothing wrong with the food, it came out in a timely manner and tasted good, but it was just unmemorable.
Will I be going back? Probably not. There are far superior establishments in Brunswick where I can remember what I actually ate.

Ray’s is deliberately rundown in appearance a la Brunswick stylee and so it works perfectly well with the laid-​back attitude of the staff. The thing is to come here if you know you’ve got a bit of time to kill. if it’s efficiency you’re after, this ain’t the place, but they’ll make you a really great soy flat white (in their own time).
The baked eggs are hot and delicious and I often wake up on a Saturday morning craving it. It’s a bonus also that when the sun is shining, the seats outside get full sunshine for most of the day and the light pours in through the front open window and onto the front communal table if there’s no space outside.
The bike racks right outside the café are a nice addition for people like me who love their bike and gain a sense of comfort from looking at it every now and then. (It’s just a crappy, old mountain bike but I’ve covered it in stickers and I think it looks cute like that).
There are plenty of newspapers and magazines to keep you busy whilst you wait for service/​food/​coffee (not that I need the papers cos I’m so busy swooning over my sweet wheels).