"The Raw & the Cooked" was well received by critics. Jimmy Gutterman of "Rolling Stone" in his four-stars-out-of-five review said the album was a "soulful gem" that "far outshines the debut" and concluded that "it took a while, but "The Raw and the Cooked" is Fine Young Cannibals' great step forward." In his review of the same score, Steve Hochman of the "Los Angeles Times" called it a "sophomore opus" which "just may be the best tribute to and update of American soul styles from England since the Rolling Stones' "Black and Blue" or side 2 of "Tattoo You"." He said that "as much as the trio may borrow from Motown or Memphis, there's an original vision that looks forward as well as back." In "The Village Voice", Robert Christgau rated the album a score of "A−", indicating "a very good record."