What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Ray's Italian Kitchen
Review
About
Travellers' Choice
2024
Italian restaurant located in the heart of Milford on Sea, big on flavour and taste, offering the Italian classics, fired pizzas, as well as specials from our Head chef Karl Wiggins.
Features
CUISINES
Italian, Pizza, Cafe, Mediterranean
Meal types
Lunch, Dinner, Drinks
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
FEATURES
Free Wifi
Full Bar
Gift Cards Available
Highchairs Available
Mastercard
Outdoor Seating
Reservations
Seating
Serves Alcohol
Table Service
Takeout
Visa
Does this restaurant have private dining rooms?
Save this restaurant
Hours
Closed today
Sunday
Closed
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
10:00 - 16:0017:30 - 23:00
Wednesday
10:00 - 16:0017:30 - 23:00
Thursday
10:00 - 16:0017:30 - 23:00
Friday
9:30 - 16:0017:30 - 23:00
Saturday
9:30 - 16:0017:30 - 23:00
Contribute
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.6
332 reviews
Excellent
252
Very good
44
Average
15
Poor
9
Terrible
12
Alicia G
Inverness49 contributions
Dec 2024 • family
Bellissimo! What a gorgeous lunch. Our server Jane was one of the best, most friendly, front of house staff I've ever experienced. She made us all feel so welcome and at ease. The food was also exceptional! It was authentic and very tasty. The restaurant was also very accommodating to my brother who can't eat gluten or peanuts. What a fantastic place. Gutted that we're just visiting and don't live nearby. What a gem! Definitely go!
Written 19 December 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ruby G
206 contributions
Jun 2024 • couples
Me and my wife booked a table with our two Bassets for lunch in the garden. Dogs are allowed in the garden at lunchtimes which is great.
Very friendly staff and a good choice on the menu, we started with a lovely Gin and Tonic while deciding what to order and sat in the lovely decorated pretty garden out the back, luckily the weather was beautiful, there was a lovely vibe to the place with Italian music playing in the background.
My wife had the cheesy flatbread and a pasta dish and I had one of the pizzas, freshley cooked, presented beautifully and tasted amazing!
The pizza was delicious! Great value for money and we had a lovely afternoon, we couldn't manage a pudding as we were stuffed!
Well worth a visit, would reccomend bokking just incase. We will deffo be back!
Written 26 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stacey Crouch
Thank you for your time to leave us this great review. We are so happy to know you had a nice time in our garden and hope to see you soon again, the Ray's Team
Written 10 September 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
RossHayward81
Banbury34 contributions
Aug 2024 • family
What can I say about Ray’s. It’s simply superb. We’ve eaten here 3 times in the last year during our holidays in the area and it never fails to impress. It’s not just our families favourite restaurant in the area, but one our favourite restaurants full stop. The food is always exceptional, I had the butternut squash and sage arancini to start, whilst my wife had the Mushrooms special. Both were exceptional and having travelled to Italy many times the Arancini was the best I’ve tasted anywhere. My wife, father in law and I all had the veal and pork meatballs with spaghetti for main, my mother in law had the prawn and chorizo pasta and our young daughter had carbonara. All of the mains were excellent and authentic. The service and friendliness of the staff is always brilliant and this time we were celebrating my mother in laws 70th birthday. They were very accommodating with us bringing a cake and delivering to the table without her knowledge. We have stopped in a few times in the mornings for coffee as it’s the best in the area and the likes of Costa & Starbucks do not have a patch on Ray’s for taste and smoothness. We are always made to feel welcome and will 100% return when we are on our next break in Milford. I just wish there was a Ray’s closer to where we live as we would certainly be regular customers.
Written 31 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stacey Crouch
Thank you so much for these wonderful words! It means a lot to us to hear how much you enjoy Ray's and we appreciate the time you took to write this fantastic review. We really look forward to see you again when you are next in the area, the Ray's Team
Written 3 September 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Pat D
54 contributions
Jul 2024 • couples
Although we have been visiting Milford for quite a while this was the first time we ate at Rays.
Whilst the food was tasty, I was not impressed with the service. I accept it was busy, being a Saturday evening, but we had to catch staff attention to order food and additional drinks.
Also, a big beef is the fact that the service charge is not discretionary and is automatically included in the bill.
Written 10 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Zara F
2 contributions
May 2024 • family
We went to rays for my daughters 14th birthday. Staff were very friendly and accommodating from the start. Food was absolutely delicious and all fresh, hot and home's cooked. At the end they found out it was Mt daughters birthday and brought 4 little treats free of charge. Will definitely be back. Thank you so much
Written 2 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stacey Crouch
Thank you very much for this great review! It was so nice to have you here for your daughter's birthday celebration and we look forward to seeing you again. The Ray's Team
Written 28 May 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
DEBBIE W
32 contributions
Mar 2024 • couples
We found this absolute gem whilst staying in Milford on Sea . We ate there on 2 evenings as the food is delicious and the service really friendly- nothing is too much trouble. Thoroughly recommend if you love true Italian food -
Written 26 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stacey Crouch
Thank you very much for the great review. It was lovely to have you here both nights and we are really pleased that you enjoyed it! We hope to see you soon again, the Ray's Team
Written 28 March 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
cngj
Looe827 contributions
Sept 2022 • family
We ate here back in August 2022 first for breakfast and then for dinner. The breakfast choice was a bit limited. We all had bacon buns, which were nice, but there wasn't much bacon in them. For the dinner we sat down before 6pm on a Thursday. It was quiet, but was soon full. We had pizza, pasta bolognese and the child's pizza followed by mint chocolate cannelloni and tiramisu. The pizza and tiramisu were good. The pasta was just OK. The cannelloni hardly tasted of anything, no hint of mint. The diet coke we were given was only 200ml and not the 330ml on the menu. The desserts took almost 30mins to arrive, which was much longer than the mains. One of the waitresses was really friendly and went out of her way to calm down our son.
Written 13 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stacey Crouch
Thank you very much for your feedback.
We are sorry that you feel that there was a limited choice on our deli selection, however we are a traditional Italian restaurant and offer coffee and light Italian snacks and sweets for breakfast. With our bap for breakfast we use pancetta which is much richer in flavour and lighter in texture than bacon and we put seven slices per pancetta bap.
We are pleased to hear that you enjoyed your pizza and tiramisu. We do offer chocolate chip cannoli with raspberry sorbet but no mint flavour, so there must have been a misunderstanding regarding this which we apologise for.
Our diet coke is served by 330ml glass bottles which we serve to the table so unfortunately we do not know how this could have been less than the expected.
We care a lot about our customers' experience and always try our hardest to achieve a high standard of service, therefore we are happy to hear that you were pleased with the effort of our team. We hope to see you again to be able to add to the generally good experience and show that we can do even better.
The Ray's Team
Written 17 August 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Subtrotter
Brussels50 contributions
Aug 2023 • couples
We’ve had some fantastic places to eat in the New Forest and this is one of my favourites. Last minute booking but we were welcome into a cosy booth.
I ordered the fresh veg pizza and my partner had the pork and beef pappardelle and we shared a portion of truffle and Parmesan fries which was generous and to die for, the food was hot, fresh and extremely tasty, lovely environment with friendly staff, highly recommend!
Written 24 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stacey Crouch
Thank you for this great review, it is fantastic to hear that you enjoyed our food and service! We really hope to see you again soon, The Ray's Team
Written 26 August 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
EJL1
Guildford53 contributions
Aug 2022 • family
On the hottest day we thought we had better head out early for brunch. We found ourselves in the lovely garden at Rays, bagged ourselves a lovely shady spot. The Mimosa’s were a real treat - well, when on holiday! The lovely brunch menu led our party of four to each choose something different. The Italian BLT was absolutely delicious, the omelette was substantial and delicious too. One of our party had the ‘Rays breakfast slice with poached eggs’ again, it disappeared to great appraisal and we all had very clean plates. Pizzas we have enjoyed of an evening too - eat in or takeaway are great value for money and the team at Ray’s will always go the extra mile. Milford on Sea, it’s residents and visitors are lucky to have this restaurant.
Written 13 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mark L
2 contributions
Nov 2023 • family
Rainy November evening in the sleepy Hampshire seaside village and we enjoyed yet another meal at Ray's Italian Kitchen. The restaurant have been running a special offer with their lasagne dinner which was so tasty and staff gave us their usual friendly greeting and service. Whilst we have eaten at this restaurant a number of times, we often visit just to take coffee and find it relaxing. I don't normally bother to give reviews but on this occasion I wanted to as it was worthy of the maximum stars. Mark Laming.
Written 15 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stacey Crouch
Thank you so much for your positive feedback. We are delighted that you had a nice evening. Our team is passionate and always striving to give an overall experience. It is lovely to hear that this came over whilst you were dining with us. We look forward to seeing you soon again, the Ray's Team
Written 15 November 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
tonyinbrighton
Brighton692 contributions
Dec 2023 • couples
We always head for Ray’s whenever we’re in the New Forest - we live 60 miles away or we’d be there every week!
Tonight we enjoyed the prawn spaghetti and the meat ragu (which I had with spaghetti rather than pappardelle) - both delicious. I really wanted the bean and pasta soup as a starter too but I knew I’d never manage both.
Great food, friendly service and a lovely atmosphere - well worth a visit!
Written 23 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stacey Crouch
What a wonderful review, thank you so much! It is always a pleasure to see you and we feel so honoured you always visit us when you are in the area. Hopefully not too long till the next time, the Ray's Team
Written 3 January 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Smithy87
427 contributions
Dec 2023 • couples
I will start this review on a positive note. We booked back in mid November for brunch on Christmas Eve. We had a lovely brunch served by lovely and friendly staff. Ray’s is always a favourite with us and the food and service cannot be faulted.
However, we were very disappointed by the attitude of one member of staff upon our arrival. All was fine when we were shown to our ‘reserved’ table. The problem was our table was right by the door and, although we had initially accepted this placing, it became clear once we were seated that it was draughty and customers at the counter were bumping into the back of my seat. Another table nearby became available and we asked to be moved. The smiles of welcome disappeared to replaced by a very abrupt response as if we were being a nuisance, not a paying customer. Some muttering of “being busy” and “I have my bookings to look after” and “I’ll have to check” were directed at us until we pointed that we had booked back in November! Only then were we told that “we could be fitted in on a table at the back of the restaurant”. This area turned out to be nearly empty all the time we were there.
This table was fine, in a cosy corner. Christmas music playing in the background.
I do not like having to make negative comments about Ray’s Kitchen but this is not the first time there has been a problem. Our daughter and her husband went for a meal in late November and were greeted with a similar abrupt manner.
I was going to have a word with the manager/owner but it turned out the abrupt person was the manager. Awkward!
Written 6 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
stacey crouch
Firstly, thank you for taking time to write a positive review on your food, service and ambience of my restaurant on Christmas eve.
I am disappointed to hear that you felt that I was abrupt whist serving you. This is not my style, business like I accept but certainly not as you are describing me.
I remember you well. Before your bottom had even touched the seat you had made comment to your husband about the table.
As I came over to present the menu, you asked to be moved and specifically asked to sit in the window table of which some diners were paying there bill. I said that I would take a look at my table plan and see where I could move you to, as that particular table was booked out, to which you replied but we booked back in November. Unfortunately due to the nature of different timed bookings it not often as easy as just swopping you onto another 2, most customers often don't often understand this and it can cause bad feeling which is not intended and is what I believe has happened here ! I moved you to another table as quickly as I could, unfortunately it appeared that was not enough. Sadly You appear to have spent most of your lunch looking at the table you wished to sit at which was used twice after the other diners had left, you also proceeded to speak to my staff inappropriately about me, you even made a comment to the chef on your way back from the bathroom, which I found out after about how you felt about me, this made my staff uneasy serving you. Whilst you have said lovely things about your experience you have felt it necessary to write this trip advisor even though I was there the whole time, I even table checked you to make sure that you were enjoying your food! Surprisingly, Nothing absolutely nothing derogatory was said it was all lovely. Shame on you, If you felt that uneasy speaking to me personally on the day you could have simply private e-mailed me to say how you felt then I think I would have a lot more regard for you, sadly you have chosen to use a public platform after slating me to all of my staff and then to have a uneccesary pop at me for simply not giving you the table that YOU wanted to sit at because you made a booking. I have asked trip advisor to remove this review and I do not expect to see you in my restaurant again, as an independent restaurant owner I work really hard to give the best service and my team the same. It is not easy to do what we do in theses times the last thing we need is customers like you posting personal attacks on public platform which are not constructive or helpful to other diners.
Written 8 January 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Bev F
1 contribution
Jan 2022 • none
We had friends to stay and went for an evening meal. The waitress was the best thing about the entire evening. Very friendly and as efficient as she could be under the circumstances. We had to wait 50 minutes before the starter arrived which was very average. The main course was poor. My seafood tagliatelli of overcooked pasta, minimal seafood ( a tiny bit of salmon and even tinier bit of white fish) in a dried up stodgy sauce was inedible. The other mains weren't much better. The owner offered a reduction of 50% for my meal until we firmly suggested it should be taken off the bill. Overall, a nice atmosphere but very poor food.
Written 8 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BeardyBill
Highworth82 contributions
Oct 2023 • couples
As we're staying nearby, fancied a lunchtime pizza takeaway. I had the diavolo, and it was mindblowingly good - amazing taste, just the right amount of heat. Mrs B had the prosciutto and declared it the best pizza she'd EVER eaten. When I went to collect, spied some desserts in the cabinet by the till, and the call of the chocolate, pear frangipani was just too much - absolutely gorgeous. Massive recommendation, we'll definitely be back
Written 10 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stacey Crouch
Thank you for this absolutely lovely review, this is so kind of you. We are extremely happy to know that you enjoyed everything! Hopefully see you soon again, The Ray's Team
Written 28 October 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Bruce R
1 contribution
Jun 2023 • family
Party of 7, with the majority being pretty fussy eaters. Every one of us loved what we had and left the restaurant very full and very happy.
Staff were great and even accommodated with something not on the menu.
We had pasta and pizza mains - all amazing with very generous portions, and despite being extremely full up the desserts were too delicious to pass on.
Written 29 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stacey Crouch
Thank you very much for the great feedback, Bruce. It means a lot to us to know that you all enjoyed it and we hope to see you soon again,
The Ray's Team
Written 5 July 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Showing results 1-15 of 330
Best moderately priced restaurants
See all
Best nearby
We rank these hotels, restaurants, and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Best nearby hotels
See all 
Best nearby restaurants
See all 
Is This Your Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim Your Free Listing