Po’boys and fried seafood inside MSY’s Terminal 1
Gate-side at Louis Armstrong’s Terminal 1, Ye Olde College Inn gives you a shot at shrimp and catfish po’boys without leaving the airport. It sits past security in the main concourse, price tier solidly in the midrange ($$) compared to the food court chains around it. Think local New Orleans diner menu compressed into an airport counter: po’boys, fried seafood plates, and a few bar-style sides.
The move here is the shrimp or catfish po’boy. Reviews on Google and Yelp call those out specifically as the reason to skip national brands nearby. Expect airport pricing: sandwiches usually land in the low to mid-teens and fried platters run higher. Portions get mixed reviews, with several travellers saying the bread is big but the fillings feel a bit thin for the price.
Food quality scores around a 3.5 overall, which tracks with “pretty solid” fried catfish comments paired with gripes about execution. One Yelp review mentions catfish cooked right but arriving after a long wait, and another notes the airport shrimp po’boy isn’t as strong as the city location but still beats generic fast food at MSY. If you want something that at least nods to New Orleans flavors before a Delta or Southwest hop, this is one of the few options.
Regulars in reviews have a system: order po’boys to go, then eat at the gate near, say, a C or B gate rather than fighting for the cramped tables in front of the counter. Several frequent flyers say they always check the sandwich before leaving to confirm “no mayo” or “extra pickles” made it on the ticket. That extra 30 seconds at the counter avoids a fix when boarding is already at Group 3.
Watch out for: slow service during banked departure times. Multiple Google and Yelp posts describe 20–30 minute waits between order and food, even when the line looks short. Build at least a 40-minute buffer from joining the queue to walking back to a distant gate.
Tip: if your connection is under an hour, place your order, grab it to go, and start walking toward your gate before opening the box.