These Louisiana Po’boy Shops Outsmarts The Hype On Bourbon Street
In New Orleans the po’boy is more than sandwich it’s a ritual rolling from Uptown to the French Quarter. Visitors find dozens of po’boy shops vying for attention with overstuffed fillings, gilded bread, dramatic gravy, and fried seafood that crackles under pressure.
Some shops lean hard into tradition while others twist expectations with ingredients or presentation. This list reveals places where authenticity meets personality: shops locals swear by, who cook as though each sandwich carries history.
Instead of the tourist-heavy Bourbon Street options it points toward shops where bread, fry, sauce, and lineage still matter. Po’boys, prepared with love, still win.
1. Domilise’s Po-Boy & Bar
A humble wood-floored shack in Uptown’s Garden District, the walls lined with faded photos turn every customer into a storyteller.
The kitchen sends out fried shrimp, roast beef with hot gravy, oysters, and sausage po’boys on Leidenheimer French bread; “fully dressed” means lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayonnaise, sometimes Creole mustard.
Founded in the 1930s by the Domilise family; Miss Dot ran it for 75 years till 2013; six tables, counter seating; small-but-famous for its fried shrimp po’boy named “best sandwich on the Gulf Coast.”
2. Parkway Bakery & Tavern
Pastel-green clapboard building in Mid-City looks plain but the place hums with a long line at lunch.
Fried Gulf shrimp, fried oyster, roast beef drenched in gravy, served on fresh Leidenheimer French loaves; po’boys here hover between simple perfection and joyful excess.
Established as a bakery in 1911; po’boy sold since 1929 when owner Henry Timothy Sr. fed streetcar strikers; today over 20 variations; popular roast beef and shrimp options; closed Tuesdays; honored by Southern Living.
3. Olde Tyme Grocery
This Lafayette spot feels like a friendly grocery with well-worn wood, license plates overhead, people piling plates and po’boys.
Seafood po’boys dominate menu: shrimp, oyster, half-&-half; crawfish is special on Fridays during Lent; regulars note that the fry batter and bread quality make the difference.
Owned by Glenn Murphree since early 1980s; menu prices around $9-$15 for halves or wholes; crawfish po’boys introduced over 30 years ago; sells close to 1,000 po’boys on busy days.
4. Guy’s Po-Boys
Magazine Street storefront with simple decor; open kitchen smells of frying and spice; Marvin Matherne works the grill and fryer as if every order matters.
Fried seafood po’boys with hot sauce and ketchup, blue meats (smoked sausage, pastrami, ham) with mustard; fried shrimp is signature; bread soft but sturdy so filling doesn’t collapse.
Guy Barcia founded the place earlier; Marvin bought it in 1993; minimal changes since; locals love consistency; often crowded at lunch; pride in doing things “exactly like Guy did.”
5. Adams Street Grocery
A stylish twist in the French Quarter where creative fillings and presentation show up alongside tradition.
Shrimp-po’boy, pork belly, Thai tofu, seared proteins; textures include slaw, pickled veggies, aioli; bread toasted just enough to hold everything without breaking.
Located at 811 Conti and second location at 219 Dauphine; hours roughly 11-8pm most days; closed Tuesdays; menu includes “Big Killer” and “Little Killer” po’boys; draws younger crowd.
6. Liuzza’s By The Track
Observation comes first. The dining room sits a block from the Fair Grounds, framed by tile floors and chaos during race days.
The kitchen ladles a garlicky butter sauce over sautéed shrimp, then stuffs the BBQ Shrimp PoBoy into a pistolette. Garlic oyster po’boys arrive on roasted garlic bread. Gumbo appears everywhere.
Hours run Monday through Saturday, 11 to 8. The address is 1518 North Lopez Street. Prices list the BBQ Shrimp PoBoy at 16.95 on the menu. Visitors phone ahead on Saints game days.
7. R&O Restaurant & Catering
Roland and Ora Mollere shaped this Bucktown standby into a hybrid of Louisiana comfort and Italian-leaning sandwiches. The room sits near Lake Pontchartrain today.
Roast beef po’boys drip debris-style gravy, while fried shrimp stacks ride crisp Leidenheimer bread. Pizza signals the broader menu, though the counter moves po’boys at speed.
Metairie location reads 216 Metairie Hammond Highway. Hours split lunch and dinner on weekdays. Prices hover in the teens for po’boys. Regulars mention lines but also swift pacing from order to pickup.
8. Verti Marte
A tiny Quarter grocery glows under fluorescent lights, shelves crowding the path to a perpetually busy counter.
The All That Jazz po’boy layers grilled shrimp, ham, turkey, Swiss, and gravy with sautéed mushrooms. Hot food emerges from the back like a magic trick. Portions lean mighty.
Address equals 1201 Royal Street. The shop runs around the clock, though late-night cleaning pauses happen, so callers confirm. Prices sit under twenty, and All That Jazz ran about eighteen.
9. Sammy’s Food Service & Deli
Roast beef with debris gravy, hot sausage, and turkey carve outsized po’boys with crunchy edges and soft centers. The fryer chips in with seafood plates. Portions feel generous.
Gentilly’s workday rhythm fills this lunch line, where trays clatter and daily specials post by the register.
Find it at 3000 Elysian Fields Avenue. Hours generally run weekdays for lunch service. Prices stay friendly. Visitors scan the board first, then order fast, since the line can lurch forward.
10. Killer Poboys
Pork belly with pickled veggies, seared Gulf shrimp with citrus glaze, and a pepper-bright tofu option redefine po’boy boundaries. Toasted loaves hold sauces without collapse.
Two addresses anchor operations: 811 Conti Street at the back of Erin Rose, and 219 Dauphine Street as the larger shop. Posted hours lean to daytime and evening service.
Prices range across sizes named Little and Big. Vibe turns playful in the French Quarter, where chalkboard menus tease unconventional fillings.