Louisiana Po' Boys

Top 10 Best Po' Boys in Louisiana

A curated ranking of Louisiana's most defining po' boy destinations — from historic New Orleans institutions and Acadiana seafood shops to North Louisiana originals and statewide sandwich legends.

Louisiana is the home of the po' boy, and while New Orleans has to anchor any serious ranking, the best statewide list should go beyond the city. This Discovery Matt Food Map ranking highlights po' boy shops and restaurants that stand out for sandwich-specific reputation, local credibility, iconic status, bread, seafood, roast beef, and geographic spread. From New Orleans and Metairie to Lafayette, Covington, Lake Charles, Shreveport, Baton Rouge, and Broussard, these ten stops show how deeply the po' boy runs through Louisiana food culture.

1
Parkway Bakery & Tavern
New Orleans
Parkway Bakery & Tavern takes the top spot as the most defensible number one po' boy in Louisiana. Parkway first opened in 1911 and has been tied to poor boy history since the late 1920s, when the restaurant served sandwiches to workers in New Orleans. Its menu still centers on classic seafood and roast beef poor boys, including wild-caught Gulf shrimp, fried oysters, catfish, roast beef, and surf-and-turf options.
Known for: Fried shrimp po' boys, roast beef poor boys, Mid-City history
2
Domilise's Po-Boy & Bar
New Orleans
Domilise's Po-Boy & Bar is one of the great classic New Orleans po' boy counters. It has the kind of neighborhood feel, family-run identity, and old-school ordering experience that locals still respect. Its shrimp, oyster, roast beef, and sausage po' boys make it an essential stop for anyone trying to understand the traditional New Orleans version of the sandwich.
Known for: Shrimp po' boys, oyster po' boys, neighborhood counter-service tradition
3
Olde Tyme Grocery
Lafayette
Olde Tyme Grocery is the strongest Acadiana pick and one of the best po' boy shops outside New Orleans. The Lafayette institution has been serving po' boys since the early 1980s and is especially known for seafood po' boys, including a famous Lenten fried crawfish po' boy tradition. It ranks highly because it proves Louisiana's po' boy culture is not limited to New Orleans.
Known for: Fried shrimp po' boys, fried crawfish po' boys, Lafayette institution
4
Bear's Restaurant
Covington
Bear's Restaurant is one of the best Northshore po' boy picks in Louisiana. Its roast beef po' boy has deep local roots, and the restaurant has built a reputation as the kind of small, straightforward spot locals defend. It earns this ranking because it brings serious po' boy credibility from outside New Orleans proper.
Known for: Roast beef po' boys, Northshore local favorite, lunch-counter simplicity
5
Darrell's Famous Poboys
Lake Charles
Darrell's Famous Poboys gives Southwest Louisiana a must-have entry. The Lake Charles restaurant is known for overstuffed, saucy po' boys that have become a local obsession. It ranks in the top five because it represents a distinctive Lake Charles-style po' boy experience rather than simply copying New Orleans tradition.
Known for: Overstuffed po' boys, saucy sandwiches, Lake Charles favorite
6
R&O Restaurant
Metairie
R&O Restaurant is a strong Jefferson Parish pick and one of the most locally respected roast beef po' boy stops outside New Orleans. Its classic roast beef po' boy, soaked in rich gravy, gives it one of the clearest sandwich identities on the list. It belongs here because Metairie has real po' boy credibility of its own.
Known for: Roast beef po' boys, rich gravy, Metairie institution
7
Guy's Po-Boys
New Orleans
Guy's Po-Boys gives the list another true New Orleans po' boy specialist without relying only on the most tourist-heavy names. Serious Eats praised Guy's grilled shrimp po' boy for its balance, and the restaurant has long been a local favorite for straightforward, satisfying sandwiches. It lands here as one of the city's most respected neighborhood po' boy counters.
Known for: Grilled shrimp po' boys, classic New Orleans sandwiches
8
Herby-K's
Shreveport
Herby-K's gives North Louisiana a legitimate po' boy-related institution. Operating since 1936, the restaurant is famous for the Shrimp Buster, a unique shrimp sandwich created in 1945 that functions as Shreveport's own spin on the po' boy idea. It earns its place because a true statewide ranking should include North Louisiana's food identity too.
Known for: Shrimp Buster, Shreveport history, North Louisiana representation
9
Rocco's New Orleans Style Po-Boys & Cafe
Baton Rouge
Rocco's New Orleans Style Po-Boys & Cafe gives Baton Rouge a strong representative when the goal is a true po' boy rather than just a seafood restaurant that happens to serve one. Local discussion often points to Rocco's as one of the capital city's closest options to a New Orleans-style po' boy. Its bread, roast beef style, and sandwich-first identity make it a solid statewide pick.
Known for: New Orleans-style po' boys, roast beef, Baton Rouge po' boy credibility
10
Poor Boy's Riverside Inn
Broussard
Poor Boy's Riverside Inn rounds out the list as a classic Acadiana seafood-and-po' boy representative just outside Lafayette. It gives the ranking another smaller-city Louisiana stop and helps keep the list from leaning too heavily on New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Its Cajun Country setting and seafood identity make it a fitting final entry.
Known for: Seafood po' boys, Cajun Country dining, Broussard local tradition

How this ranking was built

Discovery Matt Food Map rankings are curated using a mix of public ratings, review volume, local reputation, historical importance, menu identity, po' boy-specific credibility, and geographic spread. For this Louisiana po' boy ranking, extra weight was given to restaurants where the po' boy itself is central to the restaurant's reputation, along with places that help represent the state beyond New Orleans. Very close calls included Johnny's Po-Boys, Killer PoBoys, Mahony's, Julien's, and Parasol's, with several left off to avoid making the final list too New Orleans-heavy.

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