sal & judy's restaurant

unparalled food. i have lived in the mandeville/new orleans area my whole life and thus have had my fair share of excellent food, but nothing even comes close to sal and judy's. it's not just sometimes excellent, but rather consistently the best food i've ever eaten. before you go, you must know what to order. thecrabclaws with cream sauce are the best appetizer on the menu. though the others are fabulous, too, you can't eat at sal and judy's without having thecrabclaws. forget about your diet for the night and use the hot loaf of french bread to sop up all the extra sauce. when you order an entree such as veal or fish, be sure to add the nicholas sauce to it. it is a butter-based sauce filled with lump crabmeat as well as shrimp and mushrooms. it absolutely makes the dishes. i always get something with the nicholas sauce and my husband always gets something with a traditional italian sauce. the traditional italian food is always excellent,and portions are huge, but, in my opinion, the nicholas sauce is what's so special. sometimes you have to ask for the sauce, though the server usually mentions it as a choice. don't treat it as a choice. treat it as a must-have. happy eating!

sal and judys is hands down the greatest restaurant i have ever been to! thecrabclaws and the sauce are absolutely to die for! and dipping this warm french bread in the sauce just adds to the amazingness! if ever in the nola area sal and judys is a must visit!

menuu. i forgot to mention the pink menu. it's easy to read if you have some of those 3-d classes from the drive-in show back in the 50's. i'm joking but it is different. not a bad thing.


-----04 apr, 2014-----

interesting. i read the reviews and was in the area at 8 pm on a thursday night. no trouble getting a table. there was basket of hard stale bread on the table. killing time i drizzled olive oil and sprinkled cheese on it. wasn't what it was for. i squeezed a piece and it exploded all over the table. was it left from the previous service? i don't know. anyway, ordered a bowl of gumbo. had an interesting and different flavor and was pretty good even though the shrimp had the texture of those dried shrimp. still pretty good for $7. got the egg plant with lumpcrabmeat and crawfish. delicious. a side order of pasta with red gravy was enough to feed two. really didn't need it but what i ate was good. waiter brought out some of the styrofoam bread that was hot enough to melt the butter. okay in hot form. will go back but still don't understand the bread thing.

thecrabclaws as an appetizer were delicious. the lasagna was the best i've ever had, beware its big enough for two!

best italian food ever!. i adore this place and have been going for years. it never disappoints. it is the best italian food i have ever eaten. the salad is amazing with their homemade dressing, thecrabclaw appetizer is to die for, the spaghetti and meatballs is the best. i also love the spittini--incredible flavors and such a huge portion. you will not leave hungry. even the owner, sal, will still come by every table and check on everyone. a wonderful place to eat and such a treat!

outstanding blend of italian and creole. we have avoided this restaurant for 3 years based on an idle comment of of "it's just a meatball restaurant with over sized portions". this is only half true. the redfish is top flight with a buttery sauce loaded with freshcraband seasoned perfectly. the spitini has a wonderful, tasty stuffing covered with a light sauce and mushrooms. the cappelletti has a blend of cream and red sauce balanced to complete the stuffed pasta. and, most importantly, the meal is met with a warm, crisp, french bread that rivals any restaurant in new orleans. i'm sorry that we took so long to give it a try. oh yes, the portions are over sized so we are forced to endure this well crafted meal for dinner tomorrow night, again.

sal impastato is from sicily – having come to a america as a young man 50 years ago, and worked in restaurants in nola and tx, sal finally got to open his own place several decades ago – on a quiet country road in lacombe, louisiana. “people” say “italian” in new orleans and thoughts usually go to mosca’s , on the west bank.  lacombe is probably the same distance or a little bit longer, in the opposite direction, but light years apart in their food, preparation, and service. it was my first visit to sal and judy’s, and it was memorable, to say the least, because i was a guest of the owners, and ate in the kitchen. and i am here to tell ya – me, “mr. i seldom use superlatives,”  sal and judy’s is incredible.  we plowed through the menu with abandon, sampling numerous appetizers and entrees. starters includedcrabclaws in a cream/lemon/wine sauce; baked oysters with italian sausage; acrabstuffed giant “cannoli” sau

overpriced ritzy version of an italian pie chain. stuffed artichoke was average, capellini appetizer pasta was not very good at all, wife liked thecrabclaws and gumbo and oyster/artichoke soup was ok. water tasted weird. dinning room was loud but interesting to hear 10 conversation in your face while you enjoy your average overpriced food. i honestly have no idea how this place got such good reviews, it seems like its basically a place for rich people to go waste their money.

when you are the best, you stand alone.. let me first address the newcomers from colorado to our area. welcome, you need to develop some taste buds as you must eat ravioli out of a can. sal and judys has been on the northshore for 30 + years at that exact location. it started with 10 tables at the most. and you saw what it gre into..it is considered to be a northshore best . please visit their website and learn to appreciate their history. out of the many restaurants in our area to choose from sal and judy's has a menu that never changes, ever. when something is that good it doesnt need to. as far as the decor and the "patrons"go... that decor has been the same since the place opened. pink and linen-sorry that affects the way the food tastes to you. you apparently care more about appearences than quality. and the patrons, are the people who come back week after week because the food is unsurpassed. i guess you were looking for the atmosphere and patrons to be that of chilis after a night at the bar. maybe you will change your mind if you are ever invited to dine in the presence of someone whom is entertaining or hosting a large group, as sal and judy's is where you go to do that.

now, about the food,
the veal is one of the most popular dishes on the menu, excellent choice. my personal favorite is the lasagne. sal's mother's receipe. i suggest getting a side of green beans. the canelloni and the scampi are also excellent choices. sometimes, redfish nicholas will be a special. ask for the nicholas sauce on the veal. its cream andcrabmeat over veal served with more pasta than you can manage.

my family has eaten here for the past 20 years. we all agree that it's the best restaurant on the northshore. however, before going, everyone needs to know that the make a sauce to top fish and paneed veal dishes with every night, and they usually don't come right out and tell you they have the sauce. you have to ask what the sauce is. it's usually called nicholas and is full of lump crabmeat, shrimp, and mushrooms. they are not skimpy with their portions or the seafood in their sauces. a must have are the marinatedcrabclaws-- i promise they are unlike any claws you've ever had before. they are served in the most amazing cream sauce. i've heard the traditional italian dishes are great, but i always stick with the seafood dishes and veal with the seafood sauce.

when "outstanding" falls short!!. saturday 25jun11

this restaurant is a crown jewel, and always is worth the 45 minute drive. i am so pleased with it all. our waiter "dustin" was perfect as well as our bus boy. when we told the manager how good they were, he knew. they had been trained there.
my wife and i both had redfish, and sharedcrabclaws and calamari. wonderful. lots of hot crusty bread throughout. even the dinner salad served with viniagrette and a
bowl of blue cheese and another of croutons was excellent. the cocktails are fairly priced and very good. the food was delicious with huge portions. we must be getting old, because we brought home about a third of the food. the current location is much more comfortable, even romantic. try it, you'll love it !!

perfect. every appetizer is amazing, be it thecrabclaws, capaletti, stuffed artichoke, canneloni, calamari, etc.. the pane veal is the best i've ever had. i have never had a bad or even mediocre meal here and we have been coming weekly for 20+ years. thank you sal, keep up the awesome work and we will keep driving to lacombe!!

best on northshore. as a lifelong resident of the northshore, i can say with complete conviction that this is the best food on the northshore. i actually like it better than any place in all of new orleans. my entire family feels this way. we have been eating here for 20 years and the quality has never faltered. though their italian food with traditional red sauce is very good, the most amazing dishes are those with the cream sauces. they don't advertise some of their sauces, but if you ask for one (i believe the most popular is called nicolas sauce), they will top your veal or trout with it. it has mushrooms, shrimp, and lump crabmeat and is the best sauce i've ever eaten. they do not skimp on the crabmeat and shrimp, either. you have to specifically request this sauce, though! i highly recommend the marinatedcrabclaws as an appetizer-- a huge portion of claws covered with a delicious cream sauce. if you try these items, i can't imagine you'd be disappointed!