The Best Po’ Boy Shops in and Around New Orleans

Philly has cheesesteaks, Manhattan has subs, Chicago has Italian beef, and New Orleans has the po’ boy, French bread split and stuffed with fried shrimp, roast beef debris, hot sausage, or whatever the day’s catch happens to be. 

The iconic sandwich was

first slapped together to feed striking streetcar workers in the 1920s, tasty and cheap “poor boy” sandwiches that soon fed the city’s working class. But before too long, everybody was eating po’ boys, with bakeries like Gendusa and Leidenheimer standardizing the long, light loaf with a crackling crust. Ask any New Orleanian and they will tell you, with fervor, where to find the best po’ boy in town, from corner stores to dive bars to sit-down restaurants. Some have different favorites for different seasons; others will proclaim their spot is the best for all varieties.

There’s an old joke that New Orleans has a thousand restaurants and one menu. The one-liner sells short the city’s favorite sandwich, which runs from flash-fried oysters to spicy boudin to Korean pork loin, all on the same French bread that has anchored the city’s lunch counters for over a century. 

What follows is a wide-ranging, incomplete list of where to find it done well. And of course, locals know to order the sandwich dressed, with mayo, lettuce, tomato, and pickles with hot sauce in reach.

Short Stop Poboys

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119 Transcontinental Dr, Metairie, LA 70001, USA

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Short Stop is another top Metairie’s po’ boy shop, a decades-old, family-owned shop with an old-school vibe and attentive service. A king-size debris-style roast beef easily feeds two. There are three options for size, which is helpful if you’re looking to try a few, like the hot sausage, catfish, or the carb-laden French fry, dripping with roast beef gravy.

Parran's Po-Boys & Restaurant

3939 Veterans Blvd, Metairie, LA 70002, USA

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The Gendusa bread is an excellent sign that Parran’s po’ boys are top shelf. The variety is another tip-off, with options like blackened tuna, eggplant parm, and Italian sausage. Lots of gravy with the roast beef, and the grilled pastrami and provolone is a terrific combo.

Parenton’s Po’ Boys

4304 Ellen St, New Orleans, LA, 70121, US

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Parenton’s started in 1946 as a corner grocery in the Irish Channel and has spent most of its life since on a side street in Jefferson, tucked beside a house and easy to mistake for an outbuilding. Brenda Castillo, a longtime hospital employee before she got into the po’ boy business, and Dennis Valentino took it over in 2009. She works the room, and he works the flat-top. Thursday is the day to go, when the chicken fried steak from the weekly plate lunch gets loaded onto French bread, the thin, crisp-edged cutlets running the whole length of the loaf and hanging over the lip. The rest of the week, the menu leans on what families used to bring home from the grocery, like cold cuts, cheeseburgers, and catfish, alongside Valentino’s Gramp’s Italian Boy, griddled sausage with peppers, onions, and two kinds of cheese. Bottled beer is a steal, kids get candy and their own comment book, and the paneled walls are hung with everything from baseball pennants and old concert posters to a framed Schwegmann’s grocery bag. Lunch only, and it closes by mid-afternoon.

Bears Poboy's at Gennaro's

Bears Poboys." />

3206 Metairie Rd, Metairie, LA 70001, USA

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While Bear’s offers an extensive line-up of the usual po’ boy suspects, it’s roast beef that stands out at this Metairie comfort food haven. House-roasted and served on locally baked Leidenheimer bread, Bear’s proclaims to have the best roast beef po’ boy around. There’s a barbecue beef version too.

Crabby Jack’s

428 Jefferson Hwy, New Orleans, LA, 70121, US

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This lunch-only spot is a compact rectangular room with a counter and a small window where the kitchen passes food through, so popular with the hospital crowd that the line moves fast out of necessity. Jack Leonardi, who also runs Jacques-Imo’s up on Oak Street, took over what was already a po’ boy shop here in 2002 and didn’t bother dressing it up. While there are no crabs, there is still plenty of plump seafood, including the fried green tomato and shrimp po’ boy doused in creamy rémoulade, as well as the one-of-a-kind pulled duck po’ boy, soaked in dark gravy, and the tender cochon de lait. Closes at 3 p.m., closed Sundays and Mondays — get there before the lunch rush or don’t bother.

Singleton’s Mini Mart

7446 Garfield Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, United States

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Still, first and foremost, a corner store decorated head to toe in Miami Dolphins memorabilia, an odd allegiance to keep on display in Who Dat country, in the Black Pearl neighborhood near Tulane. Bau and Laura Nguyen have run the kitchen since 1999, and the fried shrimp and fried oyster po’ boys hold their own against anywhere else on this list. But the real draw is what they’ve done with a run of bánh mì-inspired po’ boys, including a Korean pork sandwich, glazed in galbi sauce then dressed with pickled carrots, cucumber, and jalapeño. If you make it in on a Saturday, the beef pho is worth building the trip around. Cash preferred, seating is limited to a couple of communal tables, so you can also take your order and walk it over to Audubon Park. Closed Sundays.

Radosta's Restaurant

249 Aris Ave, Metairie, LA 70005, USA

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This neighborhood po’ boy spot in Metairie hangs onto its family legacy and homey feel. Radosta’s is especially known for its Italian sausage po’ boys, but the extensive menu also includes seafood, combos, and even a pork chop po’ boy. The grand slam is an impressive whopper, a 10-ounce grilled rib eye with mushrooms and onions in a white wine sauce.

Adams Street Grocery

1309 Adams St, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA

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Ask locals for the best deal on po’ boys, and it won’t be long before someone points you towards this petite corner grocery tucked into a quiet Uptown neighborhood near Tulane University. Among the options, you’ll find generous fried shrimp, fish, or roast beef and gravy po’ boys for good prices. Another plus: This Carrollton gem serves po’ boys on perfectly crispy Dong Phuong bread. Takeout only.

R & O Restaurant and Catering

216 Metairie-Hammond Hwy, Metairie, LA 70005, USA

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R&O’s, a family establishment in Bucktown since the 1980s, touts pizza as its primary trade, but the po’ boys loom large for locals. Servers, quick to say baby or honey to their customers, are quick and efficient. There is plenty of seating, cold beer, and a casual vibe that includes a roll of paper towels on every table at this restaurant at the lake. Roast beef comes with red or brown gravy and there’s fried soft-shell crab when it’s in season.

Guy’s Po-Boys

5259 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA, 70115, US

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Marvin Matherne has owned this petite Magazine Street lunch counter since 1994, taking over from Guy Barcia, who ran a po’ boy shop here from 1976 in a building that had been a corner grocery since the 1920s and still shows it. Matherne, who says he eats a fried shrimp po’ boy every day, is usually the one at the griddle, and he still dresses the sandwiches the way Barcia did, with hot sauce and ketchup on the fried seafood, mustard on “blue meats” like smoked sausage and ham. The fried shrimp is the gold standard, piled onto fresh loaves that are delivered twice per day, and there’s a very good grilled shrimp version too. The whole place is about as plain and dependable as a po’ boy shop gets.

Domilise's Po-Boy & Bar

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5240 Annunciation St, New Orleans, LA 70115, USA

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The longtime po’ boy destination in the “Sliver by the River” has something of a cult following. Easy to miss, a hand-painted sign signals the entrance to a no-frills time warp of Formica and wood paneling. Like Parkway, Domilise’s has a long history tied to the city’s working class, and the family business marked its 100th anniversary in 2018. Both fried seafood and roast beef debris are customer favorites here.

Zara's Lil' Giant Supermarket & Po-boys

4838 Prytania St, New Orleans, LA 70115, USA

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For more than 80 years, Zara’shas been a beloved and affordable grocery that manages to successfully cater to its upscale Prytania St. neighborhood without the Uptown price tag. Order at the deli counter and take your po’ boy to go or park yourself at one of the tables out front.

Parkway Bakery & Tavern

538 Hagan Ave, New Orleans, LA, 70119, US

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On a list of greats, few po’ boy spots can match the iconic status of this Mid City corner institution. Parkway’s doors first opened more than a century ago, serving po’ boys to striking street car workers in the 1920s. The roast beef is slow-cooked, shredded, and buried in gravy on soft, untoasted French bread. The fried shrimp is the other standard, with the Creole barbecue shrimp version drawing its own following. The James Brown puts roast beef and fried shrimp on one loaf. The steamed corn beef brisket po’ boy is also worth a mention, for its quality and its rarity. Around Thanksgiving, the turkey po’ boy, a fixture since 2008, draws its own line. There are vegetarian options too.

Liuzza's by the Track

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1518 N Lopez St, New Orleans, LA 70119, USA

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Come Jazz Fest, this popular, laid-back, horse-themed corner joint by the track is like its po’ boys, overflowing. Liuzza’s by the Track is known for its gumbo, but the Worcestershire and butter-fueled New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp po’ boy is the real star. The fried oyster with garlic butter is another winner.

Parasol's

2533 Constance St, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA

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The menu of this fabled po’ boy spot has a little something for everyone. Firecracker shrimp is well-known along with traditional fried catfish, but the roast beef po’ boys are probably its most-ordered and loved version. It also has a surprisingly good muffuletta. 21+ only in the bar area but the back room is family friendly.

Triangle Deli

1904 N Broad St, New Orleans, LA, 70119, US

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Triangle Deli is inside a gas station on North Broad Street in the Seventh Ward, and it has been feeding commuters since 1985. The pumps and the po’ boy counter share the lot, and the line at the back is often long but moves quickly. Fried seafood po’ boys can be mixed and matched, and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays every order comes with free fries. The shrimp-stuffed bell pepper is a popular add-on. Plates run big enough that regulars plan on a second meal from the leftovers. It’s open 24 hours.

Li'l Dizzy's Cafe

1500 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116, USA

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Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe has been a Treme institution since 1947. While perhaps best known for the Baquet family’s fried chicken and gumbo, the po’ boys are outstanding, all three flavors: shrimp, hot sausage, and fried catfish. The setting is friendly and lively, a neighborhood icon.

Vaucresson’s Creole Cafe

1800 St. Bernard Ave., New Orleans, LA 70116

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One of Jazz Fest’s original vendors for hot sausage po’ boys, the Vaucresson family is well-known in New Orleans for their century-old butcher business. They opened, or reopened, their Seventh Ward cafe and deli in 2022, bringing their famous Creole hot sausage (also known as chaurice) po’ boys to the masses all year long. Order it, the equally loved crawfish sausage po’ boy, or a shrimp po’ boy at this great St. Bernard Avenue shop.

Zimmer's Seafood

4915 St Anthony Ave, New Orleans, LA 70122, USA

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Zimmer’s is a family-owned Gentilly institution, known for some of the best boiled crawfish in town. But platters and po’ boys of the fried seafood variety are an equal star, particularly the shrimp. The key component at Zimmer’s is freshness, from the seafood to the bread — we all known stale bread ruins a po’ boy, and you won’t find it here. Fried softshell crab po’ boys are on the menu in season.

Johnny's Po-Boys

511 St Louis St, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA

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Since 1950, Johnny’s paper-wrapped po’ boys are a favorite for many and are a particularly good option for visitors who can’t necessarily go exploring off the beaten path. As a convenient stop for lunch in the heart of the Quarter, there are more than 30 po’ boys on the menu, like the shrimp and oyster, alligator sausage, surf n’ turf, or soft shell crab.

Verti Marte

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1201 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70116, USA

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Verti Marte is the French Quarter’s longtime neighborhood cash-only deli, known for its breakfast, extensive menu of sandwiches, no-nonsense counter service, and 24/7 hours, a top late-night eats destination. It’s loved equally for the hot sausage po’ boy, a sloppy roast beef version made with a secret sauce, and the All That Jazz, a po’ boy stuffed with a stack of grilled turkey, ham, American and Swiss cheeses, fried shrimp, and sautéed mushrooms.

Sammy's Food Services & Deli

3000 Elysian Fields Ave, New Orleans, LA 70122, USA

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Owner and former butcher Sammy Schloegel’s insistence on quality meat has made this Gentilly shop one of the best po’ boy destinations in town — Sammy’s was previously the supplier of the sausage patty used in the beloved hot sausage po’ boy from Gene’s, closed in 2019. Choose 6” or 10”; a large Ray Ray, one of the shop’s most popular with fried chicken, ham, and cheese, will set you back $16; and fried seafood options run around $14.

Frady's One Stop Food Store

3231 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA 70117, USA

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More known for its breakfast and lunch plates than for “making groceries,” this joint is old school and proud of it. Frady’s is about as basic as it gets; orders are to-go and cash only. The fried shrimp and oyster or juicy roast beef with provolone are good bets. Tradition dictates chowing down at one of the shaded benches out front or sidewalk tables on Piety.

Louisiana Pride Seafood

4418 Downman Rd, New Orleans, LA 70126, USA

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Out on Downman Road in New Orleans East, Louisiana Pride is one of the area’s best po’ boy destinations. In addition to a beloved hot sausage, the standard roast beef, shrimp, and oyster offerings are accompanied by a smoked sausage version, a take on a Philly cheesesteak, and fried catfish po’ boys.

Walker's BBQ

10828 Hayne Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70127, USA

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Don’t come looking for fried shrimp here at this New Orleans East po’ boy hotspot. At Walker’s, it’s all about barbecue: pork, brisket, and smoked chicken. The barbecue institution is also the brains behind one of Jazz Fest’s top-selling food items, the cochon de lait po’ boy. Topped with a sweet, spicy mustard slaw, it’s the gold standard. Note: Doors close when the meat is gone.

Rocky & Carlo’s Restaurant & Bar

613 W Saint Bernard Hwy, Chalmette, LA, 70043, US

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Two brothers and three brothers-in-law, all recently arrived from Sicily, opened Rocky & Carlo’s on April 24, 1965, on a stretch of St. Bernard Highway that faces a forest of plants and refineries. They’d worked together at a nearby bar that didn’t much welcome women, so the new place opened with “Ladies Invited” stenciled on the front windows, a sign still there today. Order the roast beef or meatball po’ boy, dressed, drowned in red gravy, large enough to relive the wonderfully messy affair as leftovers. The popular baked mac and cheese is worth a side order even if you came for the sandwich. Closed Sunday and Monday, kitchen shuts at 7 p.m.