Sal & Phil’s (6600 Old Canton Rd, Ridgeland) is in a small strip mall that looks vaguely Western. Inside, it was much larger than I would have expected from the exterior.

We started with the fried crab claw appetizer, after a lot of indecision (because all of the appetizers looked good) and some help from our waiter. We didn’t regret the decision—the claws were great. They were not greasy and weren’t too heavily battered. The batter was cornmeal based and was nicely, but lightly, seasoned.

We had never even heard of royal red shrimp. The menu said it tasted better than lobster, so we had to try it even though we were skeptical of the claim. I wouldn’t call it better than lobster, but it was quite good and certainly cheaper than lobster, at $11.95 for a good amount of shrimp plus a choice between the salad bar or corn and potato. The shrimp really did taste more like lobster than any shrimp I’ve had before, and was denser than most shrimp. The corn was also good and spicy, which bodes well for the boiled seafood that we didn’t try.

The po boy — we got fried redfish — was a classic po boy of above average quality. The fish was thick and flaky and the batter, again, was delicious.

Sal & Phil’s offers lots of seafood (next time: crawfish), as well as non-seafood plate lunches for under $7. It seemed very friendly and was bustling on a Sunday afternoon. I’m sure I’ll be back.

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