The Strawberry Pie At This Diner In Louisiana Is So Good You’ll Still Be Thinking About It For A While

Louisiana has a strawberry pie that arrives looking like it has something to prove.

Fresh berries pile over a thin crust, and a mountain of homemade whipped cream finishes the whole glorious mess.

That first forkful can ruin every sensible plan to “just have a bite.”

The diner behind it traces its roots to 1944, so this sweet tradition has had plenty of time to build a following.

Breakfast keeps the griddle busy, and other icebox pies tempt curious diners too. Still, the strawberry version knows how to steal attention.

One oversized slice can turn an ordinary food stop into a very good excuse for a Louisiana road trip.

A Diner With Deep Roots

The Strawn’s story began in 1944 on Kings Highway in Shreveport.

The original eatery opened across from Centenary College and became known for breakfast, burgers, fried chicken, daily specials, and icebox pies.

Ownership changed in 1958, and the pie tradition became an increasingly important part of the diner’s identity.

In 1988, a new family took charge. The broader Strawn’s operation later expanded to three locations across the Shreveport-Bossier area.

Strawn’s Eat Shop Too opened on East 70th Street in the early 2000s as the south Shreveport branch. Later, in 2017, it moved into the Portico Shopping Center for easier parking and access.

The menu still centers on the same categories that built the Strawn’s name, giving this Louisiana diner a direct link to more than eight decades of local food history.

Meet The Berry Famous Slice

The strawberry icebox pie is not baked like a typical fruit pie.

Strawn’s process starts with a cooled pastry crust. Filling is spread across the base before fresh-cut strawberries are added and dusted with powdered sugar.

Then there is the whipped cream, piled high and made in house.

The current pie page confirms that the desserts are made from scratch in house and topped with pure whipped cream.

Food Network has also published a version of the Strawn’s strawberry icebox pie recipe. Its structure follows the same basic idea: pastry crust, strawberry filling, fresh berries, and whipped cream.

That combination keeps the fruit visible instead of sealing it under a top crust.

The strawberry icebox pie has been associated with Strawn’s since the original diner opened in 1944, giving the current slice a much longer history than the Youree Drive branch.

Its national media coverage has also centered heavily on this flavor.

For anyone exploring Louisiana through food, the appeal comes from a straightforward dessert that has remained central to the Strawn’s name for generations.

Murals That Steal The Show

Colorful murals have long been part of the Strawn’s dining-room identity.

The Youree Drive branch continues that visual tradition, with bright artwork giving the room more personality than a standard shopping-center dining space.

Earlier coverage of Strawn’s Too documented murals tied to Shreveport scenes, while the wider Strawn’s tradition has included historical figures, pop-culture characters, and local school imagery.

The artwork stretches across large sections of wall space rather than appearing as a few isolated decorations.

That makes the murals easy to notice without turning the meal into a themed attraction.

The paintings also connect the newer branch to a design tradition associated with the original Kings Highway diner.

Breakfast plates, daily specials, and pie arrive against a backdrop that feels intentionally playful while the food remains familiar and straightforward.

The murals are not the reason the strawberry pie became famous, but they give the room a recognizable identity of its own.

Breakfast Worth Waking Up For

Breakfast starts at 6 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at 7 a.m. on Sunday.

The current menu includes homemade biscuits, waffles, grits, eggs, breakfast meats, hash browns, and pancakes made from batter prepared in house.

Build-your-own omelets allow combinations of cheese, vegetables, and meat. A separate egg-white omelet includes turkey, peppers, jalapeño, onions, and tomato on the side.

The Hungry Man Combo combines pancakes, eggs, a choice of breakfast meat, potatoes or grits, and bread. Grits, eggs your way, and toast round out the classic lineup.

Biscuits and grits have a narrower morning window and are served until 10 a.m., so early arrivals see the broadest version of the breakfast menu.

Pancakes can also be ordered with additions such as blueberries, pecans, chocolate chips, or fresh strawberries with whipped cream. Coffee, hot tea, juice, and milk keep the beverage side simple.

Breakfast combinations can be paired with hash browns or grits and with biscuits or toast, depending on the item and time of day.

The menu also keeps waffles and ham steak in the morning mix, so the selection is broader than pancakes and eggs alone.

With a 3 p.m. closing time, the Youree Drive branch stays focused on breakfast and lunch rather than stretching into an evening menu.

Southern Plates, Big Comfort

Daily plate lunches rotate through home style favorites.

The specials begin at 11 a.m. and continue until 2:30 p.m., with a different combination of entrées and sides assigned to each day.

Meatloaf, chicken and dumplings, and Friday catfish have all appeared on the lineup.

Chicken-fried steak runs throughout the week, while fried chicken appears on several days. The kitchen also breads its chicken and chicken-fried steak in house.

Sides change with the schedule and include mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, rice with gravy, green beans, black-eyed peas, mustard greens, corn, lima beans, salads, rolls, and cornbread.

The regular menu adds burgers, hot sandwiches, club sandwiches, grilled chicken, hamburger steak, chicken strips, salads, and a vegetable plate.

Sandwich plates come with a choice of potatoes, vegetables, or salad, while grill plates include two sides plus salad and bread.

Fried okra, fruit, and different styles of hash browns add a few more ways to build out a meal without relying on the rotating daily special. That range gives the Louisiana lunch menu more flexibility than the pie-focused reputation might suggest.

The strawberry slice may be the headline dessert, but the savory menu has enough variety to make it part of a full breakfast or lunch stop rather than a dessert-only detour.

Other Pies Deserve Love Too

Strawberry gets the spotlight, but it is not the only icebox pie on the current menu.

Chocolate, coconut, banana, and peanut butter are regular flavors, and all are made in house and topped with whipped cream.

The basic structure stays familiar while the filling changes, keeping the desserts within the same icebox-pie style.

Seasonal choices add more variety at different points in the year. The current pie page lists peach, pumpkin, butterscotch, and lemon among the rotating options.

Whole pies are available to take home too.

Whole pies are carryout items, as are the smaller mini pies. The permanent whole-pie list currently includes strawberry, chocolate, coconut, banana, and peanut butter, while the seasonal flavors follow a different rotation.

Mini pies are also offered for carryout in several flavors, giving visitors another option beyond a single slice.

Seasonality matters, so the dessert case does not need to look identical on every visit.

Strawberry remains the permanent signature, while the changing selections give repeat visits a different choice without altering the diner’s core pie tradition.

Famous Far Beyond Shreveport

The icebox pies have carried the Strawn’s name far beyond northwest Shreveport.

Southern Living has featured these icebox pies more than once. The diner’s legacy site lists Southern Living appearances in 1994, 2003, 2009, and 2017.

Food Network also showcased the diner on its program celebrating top spots.

The network continues to publish a strawberry icebox pie recipe credited to Strawn’s, keeping the dessert connected to a national audience. Recognition has also come from USA Today and BuzzFeed.

That attention has not shifted the Youree Drive menu toward elaborate reinvention. Pancakes, homemade biscuits, burgers, fried chicken, plate lunches, and scratch-made pies remain at the center of the operation.

The murals stay bright, the service format remains casual, and reservations are not required.

National recognition may have expanded awareness of the pie, but the current experience still looks much like an old-fashioned breakfast-and-lunch diner.

Smart Tips For Your Visit

Strawn’s Eat Shop Too currently opens at 6 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at 7 a.m. on Sunday.

Hours run from early morning until midafternoon every day. Closing time is 3 p.m., while the daily plate-lunch menu runs from 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.

Reservations are not required, and diners can come in and seat themselves.

The current schedule is the same closing time seven days a week, but Sunday starts one hour later than the rest of the week. That makes the weekday and Saturday opening useful for an earlier breakfast, while Sunday service begins at 7 a.m.

The address is 7803 Youree Dr, Shreveport, inside the Portico Shopping Center.

Whole pies and mini pies are offered for carryout, and seasonal pie flavors change with availability.

A cream-topped pie should stay properly chilled during a longer drive, especially during warm Louisiana weather.

The strawberry version remains the signature choice, but the current lineup gives chocolate, coconut, banana, peanut butter, and rotating seasonal flavors room in the case.