Billy Jacks Po’ Boys

I was looking forward to a really good po boy sandwich and tasty hush puppies. Unfortunately I got neither. The large shrimp po boy featured 6 small shrimp that were not deveined, on an enormous, stale bun and with brown, wilted lettuce which I removed. The tomatoes were clearly sliced hours earlier and therefore were not fresh looking or tasting.
I had to remove half of the bun.
The shrimp tasted ok but they were overshadowed by the avoidable flaws.
The hush puppies recommended by the server were weak at best and the gravy had a thin layer of oil. It ain’t that hard to make a gravy that won’t separate.
The only redeeming thing about my meal was the amazing street cut fries, which aren’t even southern.
Nowhere near worth the $ 20 I spent.
Sadly, I’d rather eat at Popeyes.
Never again.

Came in on a cold wet April afternoon for a late lunch. The restaurant has a jazzy New Orleans feel with tables nicely set with nice cutlery and linens. I had a bowl of clam chowder and a shrimp Po’Boy. The chowder was thin, more akin to a bisque with only a few clams. The base was creamy with a bit of a spicy zing. Not as expected for a chowder but pleasing.
The shrimp Po’Boy was disappointing. The bread was the major letdown, more like a hotdog bun than a crusty doughy baguette, cold hard tomatoes with standard mayo and a few plain deep fried shrimp with no flavor.
Still on the lookout for a good Po’Boy, didn’t find it here.

Chicken fried chicken had good flavor but it was so soggy because they put the gravy on top instead of on the side! It just absorbed into the potatoes and chicken and made the «crispy» skin just fall off the meat. Had half a crab cakes because they were so fishy tasting and dry, dipping sauce they came with was good though. Enjoyed the side of coleslaw the most sadly… raisins in it were a nice touch.
Would probably not order from here again!

Gnarly. .. if you’re in the hunt for anything remotely resembling southern comfort food,. .. STAY AWAY!!!
Po Boy Shrimp Sandwich
fresh shrimp?. .. not even close
cajun seasoning?. .. not even close
crispy?. .. not even close
slaw?. .. not even close
baguet styled bread?. .. not even close
spicy southern style dressing?. .. not even close

The clam chowder is one of the best I’ve tasted and it has some secret ingredients that make it stand out from anything else out there. Don’t miss the Crawdaddy’s crayfish dish.
Staff is very friendly and attentive and the prices offer good value.
The close proximity to the Islington subway station makes it easy to get to.

Caveats: I wasn’t super hungry *and* I’d just returned home from a trip to New Orleans. The latter was why my boyfriend took me here, ’cause he wanted my opinion on how a restaurant he liked held up to the real thing.
It was bloody cold, as it has been, and it was chilly in the restaurant, but that’s sort of de rigueur around the city these days. It’s a bit divey, but in a charming kind of way. One thing that put me off immediately, though, besides the cold, which I forgave, was a strange smell. Kind of wet wood meets bathroom?
I ordered a fried oyster po’boy and we shared the beignets. There’s more room on a grilled shrimp sandwich to talk about flavour. Oysters being deep fried takes subtlety out of it, so I can say that the sandwich contents were perfectly fine. Oysters a little tough but, hey, I know they weren’t caught that day, so that’s expected. The problem, though, was the bread. It lacked the true French, crunchy crust, and the dough wasn’t sweet enough. It just wasn’t the right kind of bread for the sandwich. I ended up foregoing the bread about halfway through, and just eating the toppings.
The beignets, however, I could barely eat. I had a bite, was a bit shocked, tried again, and gave up. My boyfriend tried a couple of bites from two, but also gave up. We left much more on the plate than made it into our mouths. Problems: super dense. Like biting into bannock (which, yes, I know this is a version of). The beignets you get at Café du Monde are full of air; you bite into them and you find great gaping holes. They also tasted like old oil, and the colour of the beignets was dark, so I believe they weren’t using super fresh frying oil. Lastly, they were cooked through; there was no moistness or that verging-​on-​undercooked thing that should be going on. The icing sugar was good, though!
I wouldn’t go back. Now on the prowl for some more genuine Southern food and some real Café du Monde-​inspired beignets. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
p. s. If you haven’t seen the movie Billy Jack, you should!

Good food. Its heaviness sneaks up on you. Big on flavour. Considering the area, is a good choice. Haven’t dined in but apparently there is Flying Monkey on tap. Delivery was great — came very late due to Valentine’s Day rush, owner billy jack himself delivered it and gave $ 20 back. Got a «pulled pork» sample in my bbq chicken (⁸⁄₁₀). Girlfriend got chicken fried chicken (⁸⁄₁₀). Crab cakes (¹⁰⁄₁₀) were the crown jewel. Very good fries/​sides.

Excellent customer service but food overall was satisfactory. The fried pickles appetizer was delicious and had a nice «dill» kick to it. The pulled pork sauce was alright, and I found the hush puppies to be significantly dry. Overall the experience was «alright».

I had such high hopes for this place when I saw that it had opened nearby. I finally went to try it out and I thought the food was average. The service was outstanding but that isn’t enough to have me come back. The restaurant itself is really simple and plain décor wise. I didn’t like that their bathroom smelled really bad either. That’s one of my biggest pet peeves about restaurants. When the owner or operator doesn’t care enough to keep the bathroom clean, you have to wonder how much they care about the food they are making for their customers.

Just. Awful.
The food here is nothing to scream about. Unless you are screaming from horror.
Food ordered:
— perogies
— oyster po boy
— shrimp po boy
— sides: hush puppies & fries
1. The menu doesn’t have complete descriptions. The perogies are topped with bacon (which my dining companion doesn’t eat) and this was not mentioned on the menu. The waitress happily brought us another one, but it would be nice if the menu could properly describe the food.
2. The po boys were. meh. The oyster was better than the shrimp but still nothing special. Could have made it at home better.
3. The fries were dark which means they were fried in old oil. Traditional hush puppies are smaller in size and round — not misshapen like these were. Looks aside the taste was off — missing that characteristic hint of sweetness.
The only reason I gave this 2 stars was for the waitress. The minute she realized we didn’t eat pork products she ensured nothing else we ordered had pork in it (and even came back to tell us to order something other than the rice and beans since, once again, the menu didnt say it had sausage in it). She was a gem in this horrible place.
This place is not worth visiting. Save yourself some money!

Like most people, we had fantastic service. Very friendly people running and working in the place, no argument there.
First impression on sitting down was that they need replace their table cloths. Dark blue in color, but various grease stains and even a couple tears in the material. Even with the nice white napkins, its hard to not notice. The good news is I rarely judge a restaurant based on their dining surfaces, but this is not a great first impression.
So on to the food. I had a Pulled Pork Po Boy with Sweet Potato Fries. The sandwich came on a nice baguette style bun, with a healthy amount of pulled pork, lettuce and tomato. Presentation looked good but I wasn’t a huge fan of the pork. It was good, but a bit bland and lacking any specific flavour to make it stand out. Sweet potato fries were also a bit flavourless but had a great aioli type dip.
A couple choices of beer on tap, all Ontario brews.
In the end a satisfying, but not necessarily impressive meal. I’ll come back again, but won’t be rushing back.

Really good Gumbo and Chicken fried chicken. Not very good crab cake, porgies, or catfish. Service was great. Very personable. All in all good restaurant, not the best Cajun place.

I hope that they’ve improved since my visit to Billy Jack’s Po’ Boys. To be honest, it has been a while since my less than stellar experience at their restaurant.
I was initially very excited to try it, being that sandwiches are one of my true passions in life, and I’ve always wanted to go to New Orleans and experience some of what are considered to be some of the best sandwiches on the planet — namely, the Po’ Boy and the Muffaletta. So, to say that I went in with high hopes would be something of an understatement. Truth be told, I cannot remember exactly what myself and my better half ordered, all I know is that we were very disappointed. The service was lacklustre at best, and the food sloppily composed and lacking in true southern authenticity and flavour.
Now, while I admit that I’ve never been to N’Awlins, I also know something of their famous sandwiches, and I must say that Billy Jacks Po’ Boys sammies are far, far off the mark. Ace bakery bread? I think not.
As I say, it was some time ago that I paid Billy Jacks Po’ Boys a visit, and, being that I live very close by, the fact that I have yet to return is a very good indicator that I was not happy with my first visit.
Overall:
Food: ²⁄₅
Service: ²⁄₅
Décor: ²⁄₅

I went last night with friends who live near Kipling Station; I did not even know about this place and hope we go again.
Despite being from the US, and having family roots in the South, I am really only familiar with this cuisine by name. There was a lot on the menu to choose from and I went with the fried oyster and bacon sandwich with red beans and rice. Delicious!
Now, if you don’t eat animals, including fish, you will have a hard time here. I think there were almost no options as the fried green tomatoes were not available. The chef came out and offered to make my friend a special vege jambalaya. Said friend enjoyed it; I was impressed that the chef came out to chat with all for a bit.
For a drink I tried the Hurricane, something I can’t make at home as I usually only keep one kind of rum around at a time. This was also really good and I can see how somebody could get bombed off these – they are sweet and go down easy.
The beer (tap) selection was good if that is what you prefer.
The atmosphere was friendly although Saturday evening was pretty dead – my guess is that this restaurant does 80% of its business during the day from all of the nearby office towers.
Service was fair. Prices seemed fair too. Neither of these would keep me from returning.
The cloth napkins are a very nice touch and added a bit of class.
This place obviously works for lunch or for a friendly dinner. I could see it as a good dinner date spot if the both of you are a bit adventurous and want to explore dishes you can get just anywhere. Very recommended!

This is a nice local restaurant for the Etobicoke crowd. It’s also become my go to place when I don’t feel like cooking. I have enjoyed all their sandwiches, but I have to say I have a soft spot of their pulled pork chili. Ambience is nice. Great taste in music, and the service is always stellar and friendly.

Really Friendly Service, small place but cozy. I really enjoyed the shrimp po boy and the beignets were delicious.
I would definitely go back

Came here for lunch at the suggestion of a fellow Unilocaler, and it was an absolute delight. Grabbed a Pirate’s Alley to drink, which was delicious and nutritious since it was liquor and fruit juice.
My meal was the fried shrimp Po’Boy, which was very nice. The shrimps were battered and juicy, the bread was fresh and tasty, and the filling was great. The sweet potato chips were divine. I would slap the ketchup bottle out of your hand if you tried to desecrate them with that ‘tomato’ sauce.
Dessert was a plate of Beignets & coffee, which was very good. Because we were at the end of lunch, the waitress brought me the whole French press instead of just pouring me a cup.
Plus. and this is a personal quibble, they have their phone # and address on the front page of their web site. That is good news.
The owner/​chef came out to talk to us after the meal, and he’s just a peach of a guy. Seriously, if you want a nice cajun meal, this is a good venue. Plus, it’s across the street from Islington station, so you don’t even have to worry about how to get there. Huzzah!
Honestly, I’m a heartbeat away from bumping the score to five. Maybe when I go back and try the jambalaya.