Ray’s Hometown Bar — the dark and divey New York City watering hole backed by “Succession” actor Nicholas Braun — has become a staple for celebrities looking to trade in their glamorous lifestyles for an evening of normalcy served with a side of burgers and beer.
Co-founder Carlos Quirarte took Page Six on an exclusive tour of the Western-inspired Lower East Side haunt that has continuously attracted A-list guests like Dua Lipa, Jimmy Kimmel and Lady Gaga.
“Everything seems like it’s a private club or headed that way, where I think that [Ray’s] just creates a familiarity that’s calming to people,” Quirarte, wearing worn cowboy boots and a Canadian tuxedo, told us while reflecting on why stars gravitate toward the no-frills venue.
Quirarte and his partners at Authentic Hospitality, Matt Kliegman and Matthew Charles, opened the establishment in 2019 with a vision of creating a space where everyone, from VIPs to regular joes, can feel comfortable and at home. Yet the property’s effortlessly cool aura and intentional rejection of Manhattan’s ever-growing members-only scene has captivated a dedicated and diverse fan base who willingly lines up around the block to get in.
The snug space features ample seating and walls lined with a mishmash of photography and decor — including a painting of dogs playing pool, a neon Stetson sign and a jersey autographed by former New York Knicks player Julius Randle — that creates a chaotically nostalgic environment. Customers often congregate around the pool table by the entryway or under the disco ball and massive American flag hanging from the ceiling toward the back.
“The flag and the disco ball were, like, No. 1 before anything was going to go up,” Quirarte shared. “Like, we knew that had to be in here. Just because we don’t expect anybody to dance, but it creates, like, a mood, you know?”
A retro, diner-style booth tucked into the back corner and conveniently located by the main bar is where stars typically gather to unwind — or turn up.
“The people who come here don’t come here to, like, hide away,” Quirarte explained. “They come here because they like the same things that everybody else does. It’s, like, comfort and hanging out in a place that feels familiar.”
Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix had just wrapped filming “Joker: Folie à Deux” when director Todd Phillips reached out to Justin Theroux, a regular Ray’s patron and close friend of Quirarte, for a recommendation of where to celebrate. They all ended up at the cozy, tattered back table on a random Tuesday night.
“They got here, and, you know, we didn’t know what to expect,” Quirarte said, adding that the entire cast and crew joined the lead actors for an “awesome night.”
“Todd Phillips is our staff’s favorite person ever,” he said, noting that the “Poker Face” singer’s drink of choice was “definitely tequila.”
“She’s no stranger to this neighborhood,” he added of Gaga, who was born and raised in Manhattan. “I mean, she used to work at a bar down on Rivington — like, not far away, like, three blocks down from here — and she’s friends with old friends of mine.”
“This is honestly her neighborhood,” he said.
Lipa has also found herself seated at the same back booth surrounded by close friends on multiple occasions.
“She very much is just here to do her own thing,” Quirarte said of the “Levitating” singer. “I think they just come for the comfort level. … She’s very much about being in the mix with everybody.”
Quirarte believes the upper echelon craves being “in the room with everybody” and just wants to have a “good time.” He has also found that his regular clientele, dubbed “Raygulars,” know not to disturb the famous faces who roll through.
“We have great customers,” he said. “They follow the golden rules of a true dive bar, which is, you know, pretty much mind your own business. You know, no religion, no politics, that kind of stuff.”
Among them is Kimmel, who gifted the bar a signed photograph of porn star Linda Lovelace, and country singer Zach Bryan, who wrote an unreleased song named after the bar’s address, “177 Chrystie.”
Additionally, Post Malone post-gamed his headlining performance at Governors Ball 2024 by drinking cans of his beloved Bud Light by the billiard table, Zoë Kravitz once showed PDA with now-ex-fiancé Channing Tatum in the low-lit saloon and Woody Harrelson hopped behind the bar to mix cocktails made with his Holistic Spirits vodka.
For celebrities seeking a more private experience, the Manhattan mainstay’s downstairs private room has hosted elite events like Olivia Rodrigo’s “Guts” album listening party.
“It was very, very respectful,” Quirarte said of the “Good 4 U” singer’s gathering, adding that it entailed “a lot of good friends and team members of hers” who “couldn’t have been nicer.”
The hidden haven also once served as the location for Aziz Ansari’s Halloween bash and Reneé Rapp’s birthday party.
“We wanted a place that kind of felt like your grandpa’s basement,” Quirarte said, sitting in a lumpy armchair that, according to the bar owner, should be “covered in plastic” like a grandmother’s couch.
“The idea is like, ‘Oh, man, we shouldn’t be in grandpa’s basement drinking grandpa’s whiskey,’” he said. “I think that that’s where, like, the nostalgia, warm feelings come from.”
A phony stone fireplace, a mounted moose head and green tartan banquettes that match the musty carpet and coordinating wallpaper also elicit a charmingly kitsch atmosphere.
We hear Kate Moss, Jack Antonoff’s sister, fashion designer Rachel Antonoff, and Cat Power have partied in the closed-off lower level, too.
While the deliberate decor evokes simplicity and sentimentality, the F&B is both upscale and classic.
Parched patrons can order off a Ray’s-themed beverage menu consisting of drinks like a tequila-forward “MargaRAYta,” a “Lana Del Rey” spritz or a “Miley Ray Cyrus” bourbon-based cocktail, among others.
An avant-garde dinner menu, created with the help of Michelin-starred chef team Jeremiah Stone and Fabian von Hauske, offers chicken sandwiches, onion rings and buffalo wings with a bleu cheese sauce that we’re told is “out of this world.”
“It’s all your hometown favorites,” Quirarte said, adding that their burgers and fries are favored dishes among the glitterati — including Kravitz.
A second Ray’s location in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, offers the same cuisine and cocktail options.
Along with booze and bites, dedicated fans happily devour the breezy and unassuming mentality that has become a lifestyle at Ray’s — so much so that the establishment’s merch has attracted a cult-like following.
The bar launched an apparel collaboration with Dunkin’ and celebrated Pride 2024 with a rainbow-embellished hat that debuted at Antoni Porowski’s starry Gay’s for Ray’s event in June.
Ray’s has also teamed up with Page Six to design an iconic version of the bar’s famed trucker hats. The clever grayscale cap features the Ray’s logo and the words “Page Six Famous” stitched along the side.
“As a New Yorker of 25 years, whenever I leave the city and see a copy of Page Six, it feels like I’m at home,” Quirarte said. “This feeling ties me to the city that I call home, and it’s the same energy we hope to emulate when guests walk into a Ray’s. It’s synonymous with New York — same as the Page Six we know and love.”
To celebrate the partnership, the two iconic New York City staples are coming together to throw an invitation-only party at Ray’s LES sponsored by Jose Cuervo and Great Jones Distillery Co. VIP guests will get to enjoy signature cocktails, delicious bar bites and unique giveaways at the blowout bash.
