Messina’s Seafood & Po-Boys

disgusting — i wish i could give a negative rating! i should’ve checked Unilocal while standing in line to get a ‘duck confit’ poboy at super bowl boulevard. they should be stripped of their food license for making their ‘poboys’ with hot dog buns alone! it was $ 8 for completely unseasoned duck, with poorly (quickly) pickled cabbage and what appeared to be velveeta cheese, on a hot dog bun — it was horrible! i am from here and it sickens me that they’re passing this crap off as new orleans food. they got me this time, but NEVER again, and i’ll be sure to tell everyone i know never to get food from here.

Been back in Atlanta three days and have to admit that one of the best meals I had while in New Orleans was in a place that is about to be closed down.
From what I understand, the Rivewalk Marketplace has been hit hard by the recession and post-​Katrina, was never able to come back up to standards. Most of the shops and restaurants will be closing down.
We met the owner, and he and his son made great recommendations to us. I had some kind of smothered chicken with potatoes. It was delicious. I wish I had asked him if they sold that braising sauce by the jar, cause I would love to have it for dinner tonight.
Crazy that a bottle of Coke cost me $ 2.50.
The best part of the entire experience was watching the boats go down the Mississippi River as we enjoyed a tasty meal.
Seems like that would be enough to make some developer turn this place around and become a bright star for this area.

Riverwalk: A little bit pricey for a mall food court, but the food is consistently good. Lots of Cajun standards, even soft shell crab. Big portions. The staff has a bit of an attitude… Like they’re doing you a favor (you get that a lot in touristy places in New Orleans)
I had the roast beef po-​boy which was good but would have been better had it been on New Orleans-​style french bread. We also had good red beans and rice, the garlic bread was not good because it was not freshly made. Potato salad was excellent. I would go back

Friends took us here or we wouldnt have gone. Really? Mall Food Court food while youre in New Orleans? I asked one of the girls behind the counter what she recommended. She did me a solid and recommended that I eat somewhere else. I asked the manager to recommend one plate that I couldnt leave New Orleans without having. He just served me a combo plate. It sucked. I threw most of it away and walked back to the motel. Skip this place and go get something good to eat. Youre in New Orleans for crying out loud!

The Riverwalk is a giant dinosaur, a hurricane Katrina ravaged mall that lost most of its brand anchor tenants to a poor economy and the death blow that Katrina wrought on tourism. Yet here, in the middle of a billion kitschy tourist crap stores, is one of the best places to get cajun food, with a spectacular view of the Mississippi River and the port from their common area tables. I had a shrimp po boy which was perfectly fried, dry and crispy. The only thing that makes this place work is the people running it. They’re committed to making good food, and they even offer samples to prove it to you. I’m not sure what happens when the general manager/​fry cook isn’t around, it might be why you get the see-​saw reviews, but when he’s there, it’s a grand slam for fried po’boys, to be sure. The rest looks good too. You just have to get past the cafeteria/​mall thing and you’re good.

Awful. Save your cash. Walk 2 blocks away from the Riverwalk and make sure the few meals you have in New Orleans is not wasted. Worse than comparing real Chinese food with Panda Express…

Terrible service, unhappy, miserable looking and acting employees, rude owners and over price food. It’s the Essence Festival here in New Orleans so I go to Riverwalk to get some fish & fries. After standing in line for 15mins, I walk around to the other counter and ask the gentlemen if he was the owner, he said «No, I’m a co-​owner and owner son» so I said can I ask you a question, «What is it?» I bent over the counter and discreetly asked him is their a reason that he only have one person preparing the food. His reply was «YOU DON’T TELL ME HOW TO RUN MY BUSINESS, I BEEN DOING THIS FOR YEARS, IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT DON’T BUY IT.» I said «I’m not trying to tell you how to run your business I just ask a simple question, you didn’t have to get upset nor raised your voice at me and you’re right I will not support your business.» He yell something else as I was walking off. This older lady stop me in said «honey make a complaint», I told her «There no question about that.» So while the lady and and I were talking amongst ourself away from the counter, another man walk up, and said «can I help you» I said no. He stayed within close proximity of the lady and I listening to our conversation. He ask me a question again. «I said are you the owner?» he said «No., but if you have a complaint you can go to management down there and make one or I’ll give you their number.» I said «no thank you, I’ll complain to the BBB and online» then he said «I’m the owner, are you the one who tried to tell my partner how to run his business?» Keep in mind that he told me at first that he wasn’t the owner. I explained to him what transpired and he said «He’s exhausted and I’m trying to be polite to you if you don’t want our business just go somewhere else.» WOW! I said «First of all sir, you jump and our conversation that we are having amongst each other, you are really ear hustling because we are speaking in a low tone. Second, you ask me a question and I don’t care how tired he is he should never be rude to a customer or get made because they ask a question, it’s a big festival you should’ve been prepared for this event, now that is telling you the truth about your business, and last but not least I don’t need you to try to be polite to me, you and your son should be polite to everyone who patronize your business or people in general.» He mumble something in I walked off. I’m not about to let him or anyone else ruin my festivities nor am I’m about to sit in a New Orleans jail for arguing and possible hitting this disrespectful white man with something.
THIS PLACE HAS NO RESPECT FOR THEIR CONSUMERS AND DON’T LIKE TO ASK QUESTION. EVERYONE THEIR LOOK AND ACT LIKE THEY DON’T WANT TO BE THERE! THIS IS ONE OF THE WORSE EXPERIENCE I EVER HAD IN NEW ORLEANS!

Liked the food so much, I was craving it the next day and went back! First meal was a Muffaletta. Bread was toasty and fresh, olive salad delicious, and layers of meat and cheeses made a GREAT sandwich. If you get fries, make sure you ask them to sprinkle some of their own Cajun seasoning on them. You’ll never want plain ol’ French fries again.
The next time I went, I had the shrimp po’boy. Now, while the shrimp might’ve been in the «small» class of sizing, there was a LOT of ‘em on this sandwich. I asked for it ‘dressed’ and it had fresh lettuce, tomato, pickles and a good amount of mayo on the toasted Baguette bread. In short, ANOTHER great sandwich.
Now, each time I went, I got Mama’s Bread Pudding. THAT’s the ticket that seals it all so well. Delicious bread pudding — a little shy on the buttery whiskey sauce, but it was still excellent. A VERY generous heap of it in a bowl for $ 2.95? Can’t beat that! And, no I did NOT share — just got her her OWN bowl.
So, if you find yourself at the convention center and don’t want to pay for an OMG-​over-​priced lunch in their food court, take a (relatively) short walk over to the Riverwalk and get to Messina’s. You’ll thank me for it.

Muffaletta haven. The service was fast and good.
My sandwich was huge (although I ordered half) and I ate all of it and was satisfied). The bread on my sandwich was fresh and the meats and veggies were a good combo. This was my first time eating this sandwich so I was not sure what to expect except that it would be a lot of something to eat.
I’m glad I gave it a try.

My first few hours in NOLA… we were staying at the Courtyard right across the street from the Riverwalk and couldn’t check into the hotel yet, so we went across the street for some food!
We found Messina’s that had a combo deal of a po-​boy sandwich + gumbo for $ 10! Not too shabby… so thats what I got! A shrimp bo-boy…it was hot and fresh. The bread was nice and soft, the shrimp was freshly breaded and fried. It was good… I’d give it 4 stars for the po-​boy.
The gumbo… not good at all… It was a hot little cup of mess! 2 stars!
Overall, I was a bit disappointed with my first meal in NOLA… but I know I have 4 more days to make up for it!

Typical cafeteria style eatery you’d find in the middle of a mall that caters to regional fare.
Only went there once, but the Po Boy, while not quite Maspero’s quality, was good. They also had this creamy and spicy potato salad that was awesome. I think it’s called courtboullion potatoes or something like that.
Pretty decent prices with a good view of the river if you get a window table which should be easy.

I was on my way to visit the Southern Food & Beverage Museum, and got sucked in by the delicious eye candy in the Bön Fête’ Food Court.
Yeah sure it’s not the legendary, but it’s dirt cheap. And as far as dirt cheap goes, this stuff is the Miles Davis of food court cuisine. I had the crawfish étouffée’ with potato salad and garlic bread. I’d go back just for the potato salad!
Messina’s really hit the spot and I’ll go back. Why? Bc I’m from here. Messina’s food is fairly close to what you’d see at a southern broil or backyard party. It’s regular. If you’re in dire need of THAT perfect New Orleans amazing étouffée’ that sends you screaming for another trip back to the city, then by all means go for it. But if you just want something to eat plain and simple, Messina’s is just fine.

Hubby and I had a catfish dinner and a shrimp dinner, respectively. Both came with hush puppies, fries, and garlic french bread. I had a frozen lemonade to drink, and we shared a bread pudding for dessert. For cheap food court eats, we found the food to be decent tasting with a little spicy zip to the batters. We both wound up eating everything but the fries, which were just alright. (We opted out of cole slaw…) Like anything in this setting, you need to look at the food to see how long it’s been sitting there, although the fried food comes out fresh from the fryer. :) On any given day, I could see that Messina’s would be a 2 – 3 star food court place.

This Messina’s location is in the Riverwalk Shopping Center Food Court. My friend was looking to have a Muffaletta and Messina’s had them prominently displayed. We ordered one to split as they are quite large.
I did not find anything about the sandwich to be appealing or delicious. The bread was so dry it seemed at least a week old, and the olives had no taste. The meats were dry and also lacking flavor. For fifteen dollars I expected a lot better. The fries were pretty good though, and the cashier was very friendly.
I suppose I shouldn’t expect too much from a food court eatery anyway.