Big Shirley’s

Pulled pork sandwitch and fried catfish were both excellent! Great service too.
The chef came out to ask about the food and chat with us. The waitress was attentive and nice. My catfish was piping hot, properly seasoned, and fluffy (as opposed to soggy). Collard greens, potato salad, everything we had was great. We would regularly eat here if we lived in the area.

Fantastic food & service! Kid friendly with fantastic kid food & delicious greens, pulled pork, corn cakes all delicious!!!

We just moved to Diamondhead two weeks ago and was exhausted from unpacking all day so we decided to grab a bite somewhere near but not fast food. We heard a little about Big Shirley’s so we decided to give it a try, we are delighted we did.
I ordered the special of the day, meatballs and spaghetti, and it was simply delicious! Definitely homemade and from a real Italian recipe!
My husband, who is an excellent chef in his own right, ordered a bowl of seafood gumbo, fully expecting to be served the usual bowl of tasteless brown liquid with bits of seafood floating around that most (even famous) restaurants serve. Was he ever surprised, and quite happy might I add. It was full of shrimp and crabmeat and seasoned perfectly.
The price was excellent, and we will be faithful patrons.

Delicious! The corn cakes divine. Wonderful food — catfish, shrimp, hot sausage, greens — and, let us not forget, the great garlic bread. Big Mike carries on the traditional Big Shirley recipes. Lovely waitress too.

They are right off the I –10, Diamondhead Mississippi (south).
Perfect get away between New Orleans and Gulfport Outlet Mall.
Now opened on Mondays. The Red Beans and Rice are outstanding. With the French bread «Lord have mercy». It doesn’t get better then this.

I had the crawfish and potato chowder and my husband had the gumbo. BEST ever.
Then I had the southern fried chicken, delicate, lightly crunchy, perfect. Mac and cheese, perfect, corn cakes straight from the griddle, perfect.
Everything I put in my mouth made me stop and take note —– this food is great!
Right off of I-​10 it is well worth your time to stop here. That said it did take about 20 minutes to get my chicken. Still, worth it!

We really enjoyed eating here when it was at the Ocean Springs location and had high hopes when they reopened in Diamondhead. The owner is a wonderful man and very personable with his customers. That being said, we visited a month or so ago and found it «not quite there yet». The location is easily accessible from I-​10, and it’s a nice restaurant; too nice really. The menu and New Orleans vibe just begs for a laid back, fun atmosphere, but it takes itself too seriously, like it wants to be upscale and a «neighborhood hangout». The food is so/​so with potential. I personally had chicken and waffles, which were fine, but completely lacking in personality. A waffle with fried chicken on a white plate; nothing memorable about either. I could have used some fries, especially for the $ 10 it cost. Even with a good side, it’s a $ 7 plate of food. The fried chicken salad was basic and got sent back because the chicken was raw. The menu could use a trim; be nice to see them concentrate on a few select specialties instead of being too ambitious. Service was OK. Our server was obviously inexperienced and she could have been more attentive, but she was competent. Again, the owner is a lovely man, but Big Shirley’s has a way to go before they start to earn regular customers. We’ll try it again.

Food.terrible. staff fair. We were on the road from Houston to Florida, and stopped for lunch at this place. I had gotten a look at the menu online and from the single review it looked to be a good place to eat. I was wrong. It was a very clean and orderly place. Better and better. I ordered the fried oyster platter, my wife the fried shrimp platter. We were served our meals fairly fast. Salads were ok though the tomatos were hard, but the lettuce was fresh with some cheese. That was as far as anything good transpired. Our main course arrived.
First, I wondered if the few mini oysters on my «Platter» was the complete course. There may have been 12 oysters. I wasn’t sure because it was all breading. Overcooked at that. Waaaayyyy overcooked. The oysters inside that breading were dry and cooked to a crisp and cooked down to almost nothing. They were inedible. And the cornbread cakes. well, it took almost 20 to 25 minutes longer to get them. The cook had failed to turn on the grill for them, so it had to heat up. Once we did get them, they were the high point of the meal. They were actually very good. Of course, we were still hungry at that point since we had just been able to eat the salad.
My wife’s meal? Well, it pretty much followed mine. Salad ok and the Shrimp overcooked and dry and mostly breading. Over fried breading.
The waitress and other staff knew the problems but mostly just appeared embarrassed but did nothing and suggested nothing to make things right. We were presented with our 40 dollar tab and we left the money and tab on the table and the staff surrounded us to make sure that we had paid our bill. And asked us to come back again. NO WAY. I can say without a doubt, that it was the worst meal that I have had in recent memory. We had to stop early on our trip because we pretty much had eaten only a salad and some cornbread for lunch.
The cornbread cakes earn them the single star. But hardly make for a complete meal. If you stop here to eat, good luck to you.

Being from New Orleans, I can honestly say that when I eat at Big Shirley’s I feel as if I am home. The food is made to order, fresh, and always expertly prepared. Everything there is great and so is the service. We be be going back for more.
Thanks Big Shirley’s we appreciate you coming back to Mississippi.