Sal's Gumbo Shack

Absolutely delicious!I have never had this style of food in my life and it was absolutely wonderful. The place was great I didn't think they expected us to dine in, but the staff was still welcoming. Most of the customers I noticed got to go plates. But this is a cute last min place to grab a hearty filling meal. A customer told me it is authentic as Louisiana cooking! I Ordered a small gumbo that was indeed filling on its own, fried pickles, okra, and was ready to get dessert if my pants didn't constrict me! The portions were plenty and worth the price. I hope to return soon and order the biggest size of gumbo they have 💜

I haven't been here since COVID-19 hit... everything about this place has changed... no more whole chicken wings 😢 😪 😭... they only have party wings... which aren't bad ... it's just that I love the whole wings... the season was on point... if you're in the area pull up

Ordered 4 large containers of gumbo on new years day. The gumbo was horrible and watered down. Little or no shirmp and tiny sticks crab legs minimal. My guests and myself were very disappointed. Not good for business. At $30 a pop I expected better quality. Super disappointed.

This place is special. The food did NOT disappoint. I had the Rex poboy ( catfish and shrimp) greens and onion rings. While I was waiting for my order, I had a delightful conversation with 6 year old Bentlee and 8 year old Navee. They were very polite, respectful girls that served me water and said,'You're going to enjoy your meal, Ma'am.' And that I did! I will definitely be going back.

🇺🇸 LOUISIANA USA (via Eat the World Los Angeles) - With the recent opening of a second location in Bixby Knolls, it was time to revisit the original Long Beach Blvd. Sal's Gumbo Shack, which is now 11 years old. The corner spot got an exterior facelift in 2017, but the delicious Louisiana cooking coming out of the kitchen has remained top notch. While prices have risen quite a bit like most of the industry, dishes from The Big Easy and its wider area are still worth coming here for, especially the namesake gumbo and jambalaya.

Maybe this place is hit or miss? I’m very disappointed. Spent $80 on a catfish dinner, fried pickles and a large container of gumbo. Fish and pickles tasted like they were fried in very dirty oil, Mac and cheese had no salt, no flavor in the greens. I kid you not, the cornbread was the driest worst tasting cornbread I have ever had from a restaurant. The entire catfish dinner was a waste of money along with the fried pickles. I tried to continue eating them but the grease was making my stomach upset.The gumbo taste pretty good to me, but considering that’s the only thing I was able to eat and of the 3 items I ordered, I would not recommend. I really wanted to like this place.

The food was by no means bad. I just prefer my gumbo to have more flavor/spiciness. The turkey wings were fine. We waited 30+ minutes for our order so, I definitely recommend calling ahead.

The food has a lot of flavor and a nice spicy 🌶️ mild kick. It takes a long time to get your food. Hard working /ONE person crew.

Drove by this location and I saw the door had a closed sign and almost went to one of the other locations for lunch. I decided to park and check them out. I was greeted lovely lady that made me feel right at home. I put my order order in lemonade(fantastic by the way) jambalaya and then the shrimp amd grits. The lemonade was sweet and addicting. The jambalaya was flavorful and the rice wasn't mushy. And my favorite those shrimp amd grits. I dont know if the cook was feeling special on that day if that's how they normally make it but I was blown away. I have to try try it again to make sure they got that recipie on lock. It was creamy cheesy, flavorful, spiced to perfection. Honestly one of the best representations of this dish I've I've ever had ( top 3 for sure ). Nice amount of shrimp and omg when you eat a large bowl of grits you stay full for a long time. The interior didn't really look like alot of people actually sat in the business to eat, but I did notice alot of Togo orders constantly at this location. I cant wait to come back!

Food for sure gets a 1 star. Never had gumbo that tasted like gravy. Rice was as crunchy as the crab. Crab might have been anorexic and the worst part was we got the deluxe which is supposed to have extra crab and shrimp and all we got was extra gravy and sausage. We also tried the ox tail plate and guess what ox tail had the same gravy as the gumbo. No rue? Mashed potatoes and gravy has to be good though because they specialize in gravy. Mac and cheese was basic and cornbread was hard and gritty. The only reason this place gets 2 stars is because the lady working was really nice. Sal wtf?

I found this place on TikTok and I really wanted to try it and I have to say I was very disappointed! I don't know how they can call what they gave me Gumbo! It literally had 1 snow crab legs, 5 shrimp and cut up sausage , NO CHICKEN, and it was in more of a broth, NOT ROUX nothing else!! for 22.99! HORRIBLE! Anyway, we did try the turkey chops- good, shrimp and grits-good, Mac and cheese was not seasoned, not even salt! Greens-ok could have used more flavoring and meat in greens! Yams -good . Cornbread was hard and tastes a few days old. We also tried the peach cobbler, it was waaayy too sweet! Like eating a bowl of syrup! and that's about it. Overall, I would rate it a 6/10 The service was ok. I probably would not go back there again

This place was so yummy. Best corn bread I've ever tasted (I dont even like corn bread) but I'm a huge fan. The only complaint I have is I forgot to get my peach cobbler I ordered. I was stuffed. I will be going again for SURE!

So delicious! The inside is small but the food is amazing! You may not know what you're going to get when you walk in but you won't regret it. They are on the corner and easy to find. Street parking by a residential area. I ordered the catfish poboy and my goodness was it the best I ever had. The bread was soft and it was very easy to bite into. Each bite was deliciousness. I didn't even need any hot sauce or lemon and I put that stuff on everything. The gumbo you can order small, medium or large. I loved how much crab that came with it and the shrimp was deliciousness. I enjoyed the flavor. The seasoned fries were immaculate. They are homemade cut fries. I would come back! We ordered Cajun wings. To me the sauce tasted like sweet chili. Not my fav sauce but the wings were cooked well

Sal's was a wonderful delight. It's not for people who can't stand flavor in their food. True Southerners flock here because it's like going home! Don't get it twisted! Sal's Gumbo Shack is worth the drive with two locations and the same "your tongue gon' jump up and slap your brain two times". Old fashion recipes! A taste of Nawlinz!

Everyone has their own tastes and opinions, these are ours. I will say though, support this business, give honest reviews so adjustments can be made if they chose to do so, and tell a friend to check it out. I would come back and try something different, but this particular meal, wasn't it. Hopefully it'll be better next time. Maybe it's because we came within 90 mins of closing. Or perhaps the bixby location is a bit better. We'll find out! Pros: - Service is SUPER friendly & prompt - It's a small minority owned business and we enjoyed giving it a try to support - there are 2 locations! One in north Long Beach and one in bixby knolls. This review is for the north Lb spot. - it's on the corner so there's plenty of parking out front on Lb blvd or along the side street. - Cornbread is delicious, a little hard, but very good. Pairs well with the greens! - Greens are tasty! I was looking for smoked turkey based on some photos I saw but it was good without. - Mac n cheese does all that it's supposed to do! It is VERY tasty with great texture. - Red beans and rice are good, a bit on the salty side, but good. - The Catfish batter is very tasty - Fries are yummy - Turkey leg is ok - portion sizes are nice for the price. You can make 2 meals off one dinner if you're a lighter eater. - they have a vast menu from burgers to Poboys, gumbo and jambalaya and entree dinners like catfish, fried chicken, and fried turkey chops. They also have desserts and a variety of punch/juice up front. I shoulda got me one while we waited for our food. Next time. Cons: - you can't smell any food in there, not when we walked in, not while our order was being prepared, not even when we got the food in the car. I didn't hear any fish fryin. We had to sniff the bag to get a whiff of the food in the car. That's always a flag for me. I want to smell and hear the food when I walk in, let me know that some cooking is going on and not just reheating. But that's me. - We paid $78 for: gumbo with rice on the side ($2 extra for on the side rice instead of leaving it inside the gumbo - same rice right? Guess I'm paying for the extra container), a peach cobbler, a turkey dinner and a catfish dinner. I teased about the price, but I honestly don't mind paying for good tasting and good quality food. Unfortunately, the price did not match the taste of the food, at all. Like, at all! - medium Gumbo $23 + $2: super fatty and greasy (see photo). We can see the grease congealing at the top when we opened it. Although it was warm, the grease was already forming a skin on top. With grease like that, it covers your palate and stops you from tasting anything. Also, doesn't seem to be made traditional style from a roux, it's more brothy and thin, even when adding in the rice. And the broth isn't very flavorful or maybe the grease just interfered with the taste. It's full of meat, which is great (shrimp, small sausage pieces, pieces of crab leg and I think chicken or turkey), but the flavor is just one note. I think it's due to the grease. It doesn't taste like gumbo, it's more of a soup. We only could stomach a couple small spoon fulls each. - peach cobbler $4.99 on menu, $5 on the receipt: looks amazing, but it taste like sweet grease. The peaches are cut super small, the dough looks like it has amazing texture but it's hard to taste anything beyond grease and sugar. Can't taste cinnamon, nutmeg, peaches, or any traditional peach cobbler flavors. It also left a film of oil in my mouth, similar to the gumbo, after just a few small spoons. Peach cobbler is my favorite dessert but after a couple bites we couldn't do it. -catfish dinner $20: (see photos). It is full of the silver skin, which is really slimy and doesn't taste well ever, and it takes away from the flavor and consistency of the fish so it's traditionally removed or at least the pieces covered in silver skin aren't cooked, or at least they're fried harder to crisp it up a bit. This catfish had it on every single piece. It was super rubbery and unappetizing. Although the batter was pretty flavorful, most of the fish was left on the plate because of all the silver skin. - that's $50 worth of inedible food. Not bashing. We were asked to give a review, good or bad. So I want to be honest because I really wanted to like it. Sometimes it takes reviews to make improvements. My tastes are my tastes but the amount of grease in the gumbo and cobbler and all that silver skin is a universal no no. Hopefully when we come back it'll be better. Rooting for improvements!!!

Gumbo, fried catfish, Po'boys and more! Need some southern soul...here you go. Hole in the wall spot with very limited seating but they treat you like family and feed like it to.

Gumbo was good, but the service was horrible. When we first got there we had to wait 10 mins just for them to take our order. And then the cashier didn't apologize for having us wait for so long and he had a nasty attitude, I told him I wanted a medium watermelon koolaid and he replied "of what we only have small or large" and I don't know why he expected me to know that when that information was never stated in the first place.

I've been here several times, usually the food is good. Ordered tonight from doordash. 1. My side of mac n cheese was missing .2. I received a chicken back on my chicken dinner. There was very little meat on that thing. 3. Opened my side of red beans and rice...it was filled with rice, maybe a scoop of beans. I called the establishment Maria, the chef answered... while she was nice, she didn't seem receptive to my issues. I asked for a manager, and she informed me that no one would be available until next week. P.S. Im skeptical about the gumbo I also ordered.

Absolutely delicious! Had turkey wing with yams and Mac & cheese, best I've had in a long time. Tasted like it came straight out my grandma's kitchen. I'll definitely be back to try out the rest of the menu.

Yams tasted like my mom made them, Oxtails are delicious so is the Mac and cheese haven't tried the gumbo yet my family is from Louisiana we know gumbo so I hope it's close to home.

The gumbo is the best thing in the menu! We order this a few times a month. Highly recommend.

Food is stellar and does not fall short of the classic soul food Southern food expectation!

Sal's is the real deal, everything I've tried has been great. Jambalaya, Catfish dinner, Shrimp Po'boy. The rice with gravy side and the red beans are amazing also, Greens are perfect tangy and rich. Working my way through the menu. The staff is very friendly also. Not cheap, but quality usually isn't, its good value though.

The cat fish didn't have no seasoning at all and the batter wasn't seasoned either so it was really bland. The cornbread was hard and grainy. Mac and cheese and red beans and rice were basic. Very disappointed from the reviews. My daughter got the shrimp boil with creole butter but it legit tasted like fried fish for 14.99 and they threw in my side of fries ordered in the same tray as the "SHRIMP BOIL" to make it seem fuller. Gumbo was okay.

I ordered a large gumbo and this is the crab that came with it on the top of the container. When I asked abt the crab they gave me more in the container. Never coming back again. The gumbo taste like gravy with seafood in it. The gumbo is filled with sausage and barely chicken

First off we drove over 50 miles to eat here today. Didn't disappoint. The service was amazing. Food was served nice and hot. I totally recommend the gumbo. By far the best I've ever had. Shrimp PoBoy leaves you wanting to drive back and get more. Also the sweet chili wings. Definitely will be making the trip back soon. Thank you for such wonderful experience.

You have got to be kidding me!!! Chopped up hotdogs and greasy water!!! $46.67 for their "Deluxe Gumbo" ... Tiny Chopped up hotdogs, gelatinous slimy chicken fat, 6 little bitty leathery tough shrimp, soft mushy crab particles, no flavor... it had a scorched burnt taste... no seasoning!!! I am beyond pissed!!! For this place ro be known for their Gumbo they most certainly missed!!! Hell, I'm embarrassed for them!!! HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!!

You have officially found the Queen of Gumbo!!! I know you've been looking, I was too. If you've landed here, someone up above loves you. Everything on the menu is the truth, and yes, this is that real southern gumbo! We order pots every Christmas! Make sure you say hi to Sal, the hardest working gal you can find in a Soul Food Kitchen!

The food was very fresh, with great taste, but most of all, the service by Wendy and Sally was great. Highly recommend. Gumbo & Ox tails were very good. Butch, The cooking bachelor & sherril Rieux loved this spot.

All the food is made to order! Everything is so delicious. But hands down the gumbo is to die for. I don't live close but when I am in the area, I always try to pick-up to go. You can order online or by phone.

We love a mom & pop shop! Every time I'm in LB I make sure I stop at Sal's. The gumbo is so good it makes me do my lil dance and stomp my foot. My go to is the shrimp po boy. It's so simple but packed with so much flavor! Shrimps cooked just right with tasty breading. The sauce is smackin. Everything is seasoned so well. You just can't go wrong. They love what they do and you can taste it through the meals they serve. A staple and gem in the community.

Just had dinner here last week. This review is for take-out. Food was excellent, we'll-packed. We ordered the Fried Pickles and Sweet Potato Fries which we loved. The jambalaya was flavorful and the Louisiana BBQ shrimp was so good. The broth was super flavorful with a nice spice level. My favorite may have been the Hot Wings, we opted for Cajun and they were spot-on. The staff were friendly and ordering was easy. The only downside is parking, but I hear they are getting another location that should be easier to get too.

this gumbo was the worst tasting gumbo I ever had in my life. I feel like I was eating garbage never ever again and I had to spend $52. I got it online from Uber Eats. I was a waste of my damn money feel like I was just drinking water, it was disgusting The sad part is I never Leave reviews, but I had to make it my business for this one. and I was so excited I wanted to try this pace place for a very long time.

Ordered the gumbo and jimbalaya, got home and the gumbo just taste like burnt flour! Whoever made the rue let it cook too long or something! And the jimbalaya just taste like tomato rice and no seasoning! It's the worst thing I ever tasted! How to do specialized in gumbo and can't make it correctly? I'm shocked and upset, I drove from Lynwood and I was ready to take it back up there to get a refund but it's not worth the effort, change the staff, if this continues you guys are going to be out of business really soon, fix it Sal's! Smh

The Gumbo Deluxe at the location on California Place was EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING!!! The absolute worst Gumbo I've ever had. There was no flavor and the crabs are NOT SNOW CRABS as advertised. I paid $45 for the deluxe gumbo and it was nasty. I feel robbed!!

. I ordered my food on my phone and they lied in the app and said my food was ready. Then have me wait 25 minutes for it and cancelled my order as I was waiting for it in the restaurant. I just wasted my whole lunch break waiting on food I never got. They didn't have enough decency to let me know in person and just cancel my order in the app. Worst customer service I've ever experienced.

Location No.2 finally in Bixby Knolls. Because it was a soft opening the full menu was not available, however, the selection available was delicious. Staff was friendly and made sure we were good as we waited.. the chef was cool too..answering all our questions about the limited menu. I ordered the gumbo, fried chicken dinner with yams, greens, mac&cheese, fries and an order of fried pickles (must try). The chicken dinner combo comes with 2 sides and cornbread. All the sides were true to comfort cooking style/taste. The Mac was the only questionable side (kinda mushy). The cornbread was scratch made deliciousness. The gumbo was full of flavor. They do skimp on the crablegs and shrimp (note to order extra). But still delicious. No pictures because the smell of the food had us stuck in the car smacking our fingers (no home etiquette). Give them a try, remember they still have to work out the growing pains. I'm definitely returning and not soon enough.

Great tasting chicken with fries, I also love the gumbo as well, the employees are great and hard at working, the wait was a little long but definitely worth it, overall experience was great.

I drove past this place on my way to the bank. I doubled back and am I glad I did! A very nice lady took my order. My hubby loved the catfish n greens dinner. Shrimp po boy which I got, was delicious! I could not stop eating the candied yams. Next time, I'm getting the GUMBO! You want to know if a restaurant is worth your hard earned money? Check the bathrooms. Sal's is spotless, spacious n pretty.

Sal's gumbo Shack delivers Cajun, Creole and Seafood. When I first got here I noticed the parking was very minimal so I had to park a street away and walk. I ordered the shrimp po boy with fries to go because this place is small and it was already a packed house. Food was good and I would come back to try something else on the menu

It truly saddens me to leave this review because this is my go-to spot for gumbo. But I've been disappointed lately. This last visit will probably be my last for a while. Not only have the prices increased (which is completely understandable) but I hardly have any sausage or chicken in my medium gumbo. But the true disappointment is the taste. There's absolutely no flavor! I would come here often because the roux reminded me of my late aunts recipe. But to pay more for less meat and less flavor is unacceptable.

Oh wow. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable and the food is amazing, really amazing. We shared a few things and plan to return to try the rest. Here's our review of each dish: Barbecue Shrimp (small): these were served shell on (with their feet) in a delicious broth that was heavy on the herbs and spices. We got it with bread instead of rice, which turned out to be a buttered and herbed roll. There was plenty of sauce, so we drank it. Fried Pickles: heavily battered like fried chicken with a rather mild remoulade on the side. A nice snack. Candied Yams: some of the best I've had. The yams were cubed rather than mashed so, besides the liberal spices, there was great texture. Greens: a mixture of collard, turnip, and mustard greens cooked perfectly with a scrumptious pot likker. Red Beans and Rice: good flavor, but a bit dry. Once I poured in some of the shrimp sauce and stirred it up, we scarfed it down. We'll be returning to try the gumbo, jambalaya, oxtail, and turkey chops in the near future and Sal's is permanently on my rotation.

Could not be happier with the decision to try this place out. Food was amazing and so was service. We ordered the gumbo which was delicious also ordered the oxtails that were so tender and flavorful. Will definitely be back soon

I was really looking forward to try sals gumbo! We can in around 4pm and it wasn't busy. We ordered the catfish and shrimp plate and large gumbo w/ fried okra. Totaling $55. I feel the portions are a bit small for the price because we were still hungry after I'm use to be overly stuffed with soul food. Seafood, okra tasted fresh. The gumbo was good but nothing to rave about. With same added acidic hot sauce fixed it right up. The sides just didn't hit the mark. Mac n cheese, D-R-Y Collard nothing crazy Corn bread was dry as well. We wanted to try other stuff but it was ready

OMG WOW TO DANG DELICIOUS TO BE A HIDDEN GEM! The food was beyond soulful! The taste of the fried catfish, fried pickles, and fried turkey chops were seasoned and not salty. We can tell by how it taste it was fried with clean oil and we got there at 5:32pm. Cornbread was soft sweet and buttery and the mac & cheese was actually cheesy. The only basic thing was the banana pudding it was good just basic. This place is a must GO TO! Maria was sweet kind and helpful, excellent customer service.

PERFECTION. Service is great, Ambiance is super inspirational!If you wanna piece of NOLA in Long Beach, grab some Sal's. That's it. That's the post. Period.

Found this spot when the restaurant we were going in the area was closed and we have been wanting to try some gumbo and jambalaya so we gave it it a shot. It was so good that when I saw they were selling fried turkey for thanksgiving I was all in. They are very nice and welcoming. They have a variety of kool-aid flavor that are delicious as well as there sweet tea. I ordered the Cajun turkey and it was easy to heat up and tasted delicious and moist was not dry even a few days after for left over. I am excited to keep trying there other turkey flavors they had to offer in for upcoming thanksgiving. Thank You!

When done right, oxtail is my favorite meat, and Sal's oxtails were some of the best I've had in recent memory. They were fall off bone tender, but not overcooked to mush. Tons of flavor in the sauce/braising liquid. They came served over rice to help soak up the juices. I've tried oxtails from other soul food places throughout LA, and these have definitely been the best so far. The oxtail dinner came with two sides and cornbread. The mac & cheese was really good; the collard greens were okay, but really bitter/tart. (I'm not an expert on greens or soul food, so maybe that's how it's supposed to be?). Looking forward to trying more items here. Some other info. - Call ahead to put in your order and they will give you an ETA. Some people ordered when I got there, and they said the wait was going to be 20-30 minutes. - Street parking only (I think) but it wasn't too hard to find parking nearby

Best seafood boil I ever I had I enjoy it every time I get it and each time it's always what I expect it too be which is full of flavor

The other location is way better and I had a better experience. The food I received from here taste like it was old, not seasoned, fish was so hard couldn't even bite it and truly not worth the 40 something dollars I spent.

food was absolutely disgusting, catfish po boy sandwich was made with frozen fish . first bite you could automatically taste that it wasn't fresh. Catfish was overly battered to make it look full size. Fries were fried in old oil . bought peach cobbles that was drowned in peach juice no crust just a lot of syrup

Highly recommended. Food was great, service was 5 star, Mrs. Sal was very friendly and provided an amazing experience.

AMAZING! Sal herself was very professional, accommodating and inviting. Highly recommended.

This is for sure my last time coming to Sals... they do NOT CLEAN THEIR SHRIMP!!!... wow‍

The food wasn't horrible, but it wasn't the best meal I've had. The shrimp dinner came with nearly a dozen fried shrimp, which were a little rubbery in texture. I've had better fried shrimp from Sizzler! The greens and mac and cheese were okay; they weren't horrible but a little lacking in flavor. The candied yams were straight trash. Don't even bother with those. They tasted a little old and out of a can. I like candied yams but not canned yams. Last, we had two desserts: peach cobbler and 7-up cake. The cobbler was tasty! The cake was a little dry, but the flavor was there. I made a phone call to ask a few questions before placing my delivery order, and the person who answered my call was very nice. However, I won't be back to eat here because the food was just okay for the price and quality. Not the worst meal but I can definitely get better elsewhere for my hard-earned money.

Omg I have never tasted a catfish dinner fried with flour the same way you would do with chicken did they actually use the chicken batter because this stuff taste like chicken and it's supposed to be catfish

Everything was absolutely delicious! Personally loved the gumbo, combo bag and jambalaya best. Fiancés favorite was the jambalaya but loved the fried chicken as well. We'll definitely be back!