Frankie & Johnny’s Restaurant

A bit out of the ways, but this is the joint that the locals go to. Everyone is very friendly and the service is great. If it’s not to hot, you can sit outside. Get the fried cat fish and craw fish and you’ll be very happy.

My dear friend who lives in New Orleans brought me here for my first crawfish boil– it was amazing! Their chargrilled oysters were also mind blowing lay flavorful and didn’t have too much sauce on them. I highly recommend coming here with a empty stomach. Their white chocolate bread pudding is a luxurious hug for your tummy. The people there are super nice too!

I took my husband here for a late lunch and we had a great time. The service was great!
The only issue I had was with how salty it was. I had the oyster poboy and it was good (it’s hard to mess up). My husband had the gumbo which he tried to enjoy but it was way to salty. Like leave you thirsty for a week too salty.
I will definitely be back but I won’t ever get the gumbo again.

Had lunch there today with friends. Had a great big grilled shrimp salad that delicious. A friend with me had onion rings and a fried shrimp platter. The batter on the shrimp and onion rings was way to salty!!! I was also there several months ago and every Fried seafood we had was also very salty. Have recipes for batter changed lately?? are the cooks measuring? Why so salty?? whats going on?

True NOLA fare. We arrived at this spot precisely when it opened on a weekday, and the place was already just about packed. Had the half fried oyster po boy and jambalaya. Everyone in our party left happy.

Visited this spot with my colleagues and friends while in NOLA for a conference. Had a lot of firsts here including the broiled crawfish. Our server was so good. She taught us how to eat the crawfish. Delicious food and great service, hands down. And oh, try the char-​grilled oysters. so good.

So good since re opening. Every bite was heaven and in a chef. The oysters and crawfish are on point. Simple… And perfect.

Great old place. Bartender Dana was super.
I tried the French fries with debris po-​boy.
Sounds like a great sandwich, and it could be. but …
The few fries on it made everything dried out. They were cold, and unsalted.
There wasn’t enough mayo on it to counter the fries drying out the sandwich. There were two tomato slices on it, one slice on each half. As you can see by the pic, the slice didn’t cover the sandwich half. I asked for onion on it, and again… the onion slices didn’t cover the sandwich.
I would suggest dicing both tomato and onion (if asked for). and more mayo and onion.
That being said… the bread was fresh and tasty, and the roast beef debris was tremendous.
The beef and gravy was full of deep, rich flavor. Unbelievable. I think I’m going to try the Ferdie (roast beef and ham) next.
I had a taste for shrimp and asked about it and Dana got me one to try.
The boiled shrimp are served cold, head on. They have no spice to them. Seems like the boil is only mildly spiced. A guy next to me had a crawfish platter and he said they were bland also.
Big parking lot, men’s room is clean… A big place, nice old bar. I like it.

I wasn’t sure what to expect here other than some casual, family friendly dining with the potential for boiled crawfish. I was very pleasantly surprised! We started with the chargrilled oysters and I could have ended with that as well. By far, the best chargrilled oysters I’ve ever had. We also had their fried Cajun balls, the crab dip, a salad, and 2lbs of boiled crawfish with sausage, corn and potatoes. Our son had the grilled cheese and fries and was happy to be eating outside on their porch in the sunshine. The service was great, our waitress was really friendly and really helpful. She brought our son coloring books and crayons to keep him busy. Great oysters, great crawfish, cold beer, happy kid… very happy parents.

Great place! We celebrated our 30^th wedding anniversary in New Orleans and frankly found our best meals outside the Quarter. Only being there for a week, we certainly missed some fine establishments in & out of the Quarter. Living on the northwest California coast salmon, oysters & seafood in general is a regular staple, craw fish are not. After being completely disappointed at Acme we new we had to venture out and found Frankie & Johnny’s, the only place besides Elizabeths that we made time for two visits. Their chicken and seafood gumbo is top notch and the craw fish boil was the best introduction I could have ever hoped for. Their menu & bar prices are also very reasonable. All the staff seemed quite friendly and attentive, but we had Kat and her Daughter on both visits and she is the bomb!
Don’t know when we’ll get back to NOLA, but I do know where my first meal will be!
Jeff & Christina

My team and I came here for lunch twice when we worked in New Orleans. Overall the place is not bad. Both times the service was good and our waitresses were very attentive.
I thought the food was good but not exceptional. I’ve had the fried shrimp/​oyster po-​boy and it was pretty solid. The gumbo was good but a little bit salty. The fried pepper and onions were also decent but nothing too special. Same with the crawfish balls.
Not a bad place for lunch but there are definitely better food options in New Orleans given the city is known for its amazing food.

Good spot for lunch!
I’ve had the gumbo, grilled shrimp po-​boy, and catfish po-​boy, and all were pretty good. We also had the fried bell peppers and Cajun balls for appetizers. The peppers were good and something different, but the Cajun balls weren’t as good as I expected. The service is great, and the food comes very quickly!
Overall, there are definitely better restaurants in other areas of New Orleans, but if you’re looking for a good meal in this area, I’d recommend Frankie and Johnny’s!

Recommended by a local when we asked where to go for crawfish boil and the reviews on Unilocal confirmed.
This place feels like true New Orleans, authentic and off the beaten path with friendly– family like service and delicious no frills food. This is legit!
It was my first time having crawfish and I had the bartender help me out and she was wonderful with what to order and how to eat it. Delicious food, fair price and felt at home with the locals and people working there. I will go back every time I am here and if you want some real Nola … With gumbo crawfish and shrimp make sure you hit this place. I finally get the hype on crawfish boil … I am in!!!

I’ve been here a few times and always come for the sweet potato fries with debris, which are seriously tasty. One time I sat outside and I recall the server being a nice woman who checked in on us a few times and left us feeling pretty satisfied.
The last time, about two weeks ago, however, my friends and I were seated in the farthest back corner next to a very loud, large group of mostly men who dominated the entire room. It was incredible loud, noisy, and we barely saw the young woman who served us. We waited awhile to order and we waited a long time for food. We got the strong impression that we were forgotten about for awhile. The food was fine but it was a disappointing experience. I wouldn’t go back to dine, maybe to get an order to go.

If you want some traditional New Orleans food, this is the place for you. You can smell the aroma of freshly boiled crawfish from outside and you can’t resist ordering that to start. We also got some po-​boys (fried oyster and debris fries) and cups of gumbo which were great. I was not impressed with the service because we waited about 40 minutes to get our po-​boys which is a bit ridiculous, but other than that, this place is great.

We waited so long standing by the bar when there were tables noticeably open around us. The food was ok. Not much in the way of healthy or non-​seafood items, but that was expected. The waitress slightly messed up my order. I didn’t say anything though because I didn’t want to wait again, and she told us she had been working for twelve hours. Eesh, I felt bad for her, but the service was mediocre. The place was swamped with children and families. The crawfish were the highlight. The «debris» on the debris fries was some dry, salty roast beef.

A fantastic gem in New Orleans. As a tourist, even though I stayed in the French Quarter it was worth coming here multiple times for lunch and dinner. It has been there 40 years, and they just do it so right. Crawfish, fresh boiled gulf shrimp, grilled shrimp platter, fried chicken, gumbo, po boys. It is all fantastic. A true locals spot, all around enjoyable. Thank you Frankie & Johnny’s!

Went with a friend and his family, three young kids.
They were busy, service was slow, but they treated us like old friends. Waitress takes the order for six people without writing anything down and gets it all right.
Tasty everything, but the fried peppers were something else.

First visit: 1988. Return trip: 2016. Still the best uptown restaurant and best kept secret from touristy crowds in New Orleans. Moisten the palate with Abita-​Andygator, but out of Seersucker?! Baldy, paunchy bartender didn’t seem sympathetic, much less happy to see me… c’mon man. My girlfriend’s gastrogasm over the fried green bell pepper and onion rings overcame, so to speak, her aversion to ranch dipping sauce. For her entrée: grilled shrimp, spiced nicely with garlic, accompanied by a fresh garden salad and side of potato salad, which prompted another wave of gasms. For him: 4 lbs of crawfish, small in size, not overall weight, but acceptable given the season is not peak or prime. Fully satisfying and so delighted this neighborhood gem has not lost its place or flavor. I love Frankie & Johnny’s.

It’s not fancy, but the new incarnation of longtime neighborhood joint Frankie & Johnny’s is great. Décor is vastly improved from the old worn-​out rendition and it’s a very comfortable, casual space. Crawfish are some of the best in town, as are their char-​grilled and fried oysters. Really good. A member of my party wasn’t happy with her gumbo but just about everyone enjoyed themselves and had some great food. Plus, the service was excellent.
Glad to have Frankie & Johnny’s back and better than ever. Check it out for casual New Orleans seafood and traditional fare.

Service is lacking. Took my girlfriend to get our first crawfish of the season and after being seated we sat at our table for 20 minutes without ever being approached by a waitress, despite them walking past us the whole time. I would kind of understand if it was super busy, but it wasn’t. Needless to say we took our business elsewhere.

Well well well. Nice to finally have some crawfish. We been jonsin’ for some time now. Think it’s been two years! Spiced good and we each had the potatoes with sausage n corn. The corn was spicer I think. Worth the $ coming here into where the locals come! Great price point. Service was also great.

Knocked it outta the park. For late Jan crawfish top of the line. We’ve bin jonesing for awhile and these fit the bill. The corn, potato and sausage are perfect with the crawfish. I had a cup of seafood gumbo. a little salty for my taste but the other flavors came thru nicely. We finshed with the bread pudding to die for. All in all a real taste of nola

Great service! The waitress was helpful in recommending selections, and the owner/​manager (whichever it was) was a very nice man. He accommodated our large table via reservation, and he even brought us a complimentary dish. I had the grilled shrimp po boy which was a must try. The parking lot isn’t ideal, but you forget about the parking lot when the food is good and the service is superb. I plan to visit them again.

Oh, my — that gumbo was the best I’ve ever had, and I had previously said that mine was the best. Great oyster sandwich. Great bar. I’ll be back.

Rat falls from ceiling, new owners think a shrimp poboy should be $ 15. It’s called po for a reason. Same average food, higher prices

Friendly and casual atmosphere. Excellent service! And great food! The Crawfish and charbroiled oysters were amazing! Plenty of beer on tap. We’ll definitely be regulars here.

Decent place to grab lunch in NOLA. There’s plenty of parking in the nearby lot, and the interior of the restaurant is much larger than it appears. That being said, we did have a short wait. The service is a little slow, but we weren’t in a rush. I ordered half of a fried chicken po-​boy and a cup of gumbo — delicious! It was the perfect serving size of each. The menu can get a little pricey since the regular and large po-​boys don’t include fries or any type of side, but everyone I ate with seemed happy with what they ordered.

Pepper and onion ring appetizer is amazing! Fried shrimp and fried oysters delicious, and sweet potato fries were great. The fried chicken that my fiancé got was also really yummy :)

Best thing I tasted in all of New Orleans was the fresh crawfish here!
But minus one star for inconvenient location… it’s far from French quarter, cbd, dt area… it’s located in residential areas, only locals would know about this place.
but I sure loved the crawfish, ate 5 lbs of it!

Place is still improving, shrimp po-​boy today was fine.
Good Bar & Wait Staff. Cold coldbeer.
Good enough to be a regular meal stop, now.
Rick

Had to ship a box and discovered this place. Had gumbo, grilled oysters, and a oyster poor boy. Washed down with a few beers. Left as stuffed as a turkey on thanksgiving day. Great place.

A couple of our friends living in New Orleans took us out to eat here for our first night in town. It totally set the bar high for the rest of the poboys we ate during this trip. This place tied for 1^st place for the best poboys we had in New Orleans. The fried oysters and fried catfish poboys were amazing, especially the fried oysters. Yum!

We ended up at Frankie & Johnny’s on a hot, humid March evening thanks to the Times-Picayune’s list of the top 10 places for crawfish in New Orleans. Because of the heat, the locals all opted for the air-​conditioned interior (makes sense, they have to put up with it year-​round), which meant we had the porch to ourselves. Our waitress was kind enough to bring our food and drinks outside, even though there wasn’t anyone else out except us.
We started with eminently forgettable salads, so that we could at least claim we had some vegetables in our meal, followed by 4 pounds of crawdads. It’s worth noting the waitress suggested 4 pounds per person! In truth we should have halved the amount of crawfish we ordered, and doubled the potatoes and corn, but hey, who’s complaining? The crawfish was as good as I remember it being, with a touch of spice in the boil.
Sucking down our mudbugs (yeah, we’re Asian, so that means the head too), with the sun dropping below the levee, I can’t imagine a more quintessential New Orlean’s experience — akin to eating a bowl of noodles in a back alley in Beijing, or Moroccan food at le Marche des Enfants Rouges in Paris, Yeah, that good.

I was excited to visit a hole in the wall/​off the grid restaurant in New Orleans, but left sorely disappointed. Don’t get me wrong — the food was not awful, but extremely underwhelming. The fried chicken is one of their specialties and is made to order so I ordered it quickly. I tried the chicken and sausage gumbo, which was beyond salty and a very small portion. When the chicken arrived, I was pleased with the appearance and portion size. After my first bite, my sad face returned — not seasoned well at all. The chicken was fried perfectly and was juicy, but seasoning would have been great. My husband ordered the red beans, which were mediocre at best. I would not recommend if you are looking for delicious chicken — stick with Dooky Chase or Willie Maes– they are much better. The service was good, but not great. We had to flag down our waitress several times. I won’t be returning.

Brought some out of town family here for dinner and was pleasantly surprised. The food has always been good and it is very reliable for «New Orleans» food, especially crawfish.
This was my first time back since the remodel, though, and the place is looking good. It’s not dark as a dungeon anymore. They’ve strung some additional lights and generally spruced up the place. It just has an overall fresher feel.
Hubby had a fried shrimp po boy that he was pleased with, the fam had the boiled shrimp, which were quite large (and, by the way, are served chilled, in-​shell, heads on), and hot boiled crawfish. All was good. I had the roast beef po boy here for the first time and was really impressed. It’s not that it’s fancy, or beautiful, or anything, it’s just delicious. The roast beef isn’t sliced, like some are, it is more like pot roast. It’s juicy and well seasoned. I had them add provolone to it. I don’t know that the cheese made a huge difference, or that the sandwich needed it, but, hey, I like cheese. I also ordered fries with it, but didn’t need them, and hubby ate them.