They have rebuilt after the fire and are open again. Opening hours Sunday Closed Monday Closed Tuesday Closed Wednesday Closed Thursday4:30PM-8PM Friday4:30PM-9PM Saturday4:30PM-9PM Haven't been back since they reopened with busy summer. The reviews I have read on other internet site say it his as good as ever. read more

What a hidden gem!! Don't let the size of the building be the judge. This is where the locals eat...and there is a reason for that. Dinner starts with the choice of the soup of the day or tomato or grapefruit juice, really a juice option. I had grapefruit juice. There is also a small relish tray- celery, carrots, black olive, and sweet pickle slices. The server brought me a "taste" of bbq ribs, on a small plate because this was my first time here. The Blue Cheese dressing is homemade, and the best dressing I have ever eaten. Rolls of course, but I passed them up to save room. I ordered a filet minion, medium rare, with baked potato. Hands down the best steak I have ever eaten. Melt in your mouth good. Cut through it like a hot knife in butter. Singlespeed craft beer on tap was a bit unexpected for this neighborhood restaurant. I'm looking forward to my next visit...I may need a full rack of those ribs! read more

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I have heard the legend of The Hickory House for many years and took too long to finally experience it for myself. I was not disappointed. It was outstanding. Delicious food, amazing service and an authentic vintage MidCentury dining atmosphere. Wood paneling abounds! Order a classic cocktail from the extensive drink menu - Our table had Singapore Slings, Salty Dogs and Whiskey Old Fashions just too name a few. Our waitress Teresa was happy to give us suggestions- she's worked there for 34 years so she knows a thing or two! Your meal will start with a relish tray, delicious soft rolls and salad. The homemade French dressing is so delicious that some at our table ordered some to take home. I ordered the ribs and shrimp. They were so delicious that I cannot wait to go back again. read more

Love this place! Tons of really great food paired with great service. A Waterloo institution.

All the great reviews here are perhaps from people who lost their tastebuds. The service was impeccable, but the food left something to be desired. The fried mushrooms were good, but they were just typical fast food fried type. The potato soup was very good. Love ordered the ribs. The sauce was a nauseating blend of cocktail sauce and ketchup. Meat was tender, but the sauce ruined it. I ordered the "top" sirloin and it was a joke. They must have cooked it in the oven, which is no place for a steak to be made. The mushrooms on top were from a can. Side salads were lettuce with some ranch that tasted more like bleu cheese. I would not return or recommend. read more

Food is amazing, fall-off-the-bone ribs. Staff is friendly & helpful. Docked points for environment, bad part of town & you can't tell what it is from the outside. It looks like any other rundown building. They also don't take cards. read more

The BEST place to get BBQ ribs, fall off the bone meat and great flavor. Have tried many different places BBQ ribs and the Hickory House has the BEST, no one can top theirs. read more

Excellent food. Great service, very friendly staff. Nice environment for a quiet night out as a couple. My wife and I go here every year for our anniversary. I love their shrimp meal and my wife loves their steak. read more

The steak was awful had a funny taste. Salad had only lettuce in it. The baked potato was good with butter and sour cream. For the price and atmosphere won't be back. read more

Went there for the first time with my husband last weekend and it was absolutely delish!!!! Definitely will be back soon!!! read more

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My friends and I are Cedar Valley locals and finally checked out the Hickory House tonight after good reviews from friends in the community. It was a great experience! We were greeted by the waitress and the appetizers came out very quickly (fried goodness). Next came the entree, which we all got ribs. The ribs were good, not to greasy and filling. There was just a tad bit of sauce on top to seep into the ribs. They were very tender and eaten easily with a fork. I did feel the food was a little overpriced, but didn't mind because this is a small family owned business that has been up and running since 1954. The owners were very friendly. We will definitely be back if we're hankering for some BBQ. THINGS TO KNOW - HH doesn't accept credit/debit cards so cash/check only - A rib dinner (full rack of ribs + baked potato and salad = $19) -The HH is not open on Mondays read more

Consistently wonderful food and service. Best ribs in the Cedar Valley! We have been going there for years and they are always so happy to see the customers and offer spectacular service. read more

Best BBQ in Waterloo. A wonderful throwback with old school original decor. Family owned and operated for over fifty years. The ribs are fantastic. read more

Stopped on our way through this town. Doesn't look like much but the service and friendliness was outstanding. Great ribs!!

I had read alot of good things about this place and it was exactly what I expected. The outside is deceaving. The waitress was very attentive and even let us try a free sample of ribs. They were really good as this is their specialty. We ordered top sirloin which ended up being 14 to 16oz. steaks. They were very tender. You do get alot of food, starting with soup, relish tray and bread. Next comes your salad, then finally your choice of potato and meat. You do not leave hungry and we will be going back again. (Ithink we will have chicken and ribs this time.) . read more

It's all good. Every. Single. Visit. My filet was prefect, the hashed browns crispy and never greasy. Supper club food still with relish tray, juice or soup, salad and rolls. Great drinks. Excellent service. read more

We visited this restaurant on a Friday night. The restaurant has 0 windows and can be a bit dark and closed in. The interior is rather outdated and reminiscent of something out of the 80's. The first thing we noticed when we were seated was that they did not accept credit cards which wouldn't be a problem if they offered an ATM which they didn't. Atmosphere aside we were there for the ribs. We both received a sample of there ribs which were tender and very flavorful. Both of us were set on ordering a pork dish and received pulled pork. The serving sizes were small and left us hungry even after ordering an appetizer. The pulled pork was served with what seamed to be smaller sized wonder bread buns. We were both pleased to taste such good pork but disappointed to see such stingy portions and low budget add ons. read more

The best ribs I've ever had. Fall off the bone - amazing.

This is an instution in East Waterloo. My husband's family started coming here years ago, when the Purple Parrott closed. The ribs are the best you will ever taste, as the fall off the bone. You can even buy their secret sauce at the bar. My husband's Mother would always ask him to take her here when he would visit. His favorite entree here is the ground steak which he always asks to be wrapped in delicious porky bacon. YUM YUMMY!! Skip the chain food operations and try out a real restaurant, you will not be dissappointed!!! read more

We try to return to the Hickory House in Waterloo whenever we are in Iowa. It was and IS a restaurant not to be missed. Yes, nothing has changed in the interior (and you still have to pay cash), but that is part of the charm. Start with the super-reasonbly priced cocktails and move on to the fabulous ribs and even chicken livers (better share this entreé). The prices are so very reasonable, too. Go enjoy! read more

Absolutely amazing, has to be the cedar valleys best hidden gem! Oh, and they have an ATM now! Ribs are real good, lots of flavor.

The best ribs around. Trish and the staff will go out of the way to make sure you feel at home. Make sure you try something from the retro drink menu such as a rusty nail, gin fizz, Harvey Wallbanger, salty dog or even a good old fashioned or Manhattan - almost all of them under 5 bucks. Where else can you still get a relish tray before your meal, a warm water finger bowl after and if you stay in your seat, a cookie (that was for my 2 1/2 year old). Locally owned and they put pride in what they serve (and it shows). read more

Great place, 3 generation family owned! It's hard to find that now a days. The food was pretty good but customer service was outstanding! Everyone was extremely nice and down to earth. Would definitely recommend to anyone that like good food and great people. If you can not get over the way place looks, it's probably not for you. It had not had an update since the first generation owner but it's not swanky by any means. Just really old school. read more

Disappointing to see how many sock-puppet reviews the owners have left themselves to inflate their rating. This is a restaurant that doesn't know what it wants to be. It is most certainly *not* a BBQ place. It's closest to the "family restaurant" style of place in sub-1000 population towns that your grandparents used to take you to when your family came to visit. Ribs (declared by the menu as "the best darn ribs in town") are the only thing that's smoked. A decent rub or mop never met this ribs, though. They were drowned in a BBQ sauce aspires to mediocrity and nearly makes it. The servers were prompt and pleasant, but the food was dreadful. The "tossed salad" was a mound of iceberg lettuce that was criminally over-dressed. The shallow-fried chicken dripped its grease all over the garnish of iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, and shredded carrots. It was dredged in flour and pretty much nothing else, then cooked to within an inch of it's carbon. I've never had chicken so dry. The "relish plate and tablespoon-or-so of applesauce in the condiment cup belongs at a family reunion"... not a BBQ restaurant. Pretty much all of the salt in the place went into their ham-and-bean soup; everything else was breathtakingly bland. Bad food and depressing decor were compounded when I handed over my card to pay and was told that they don't accept credit cards, but that I can pay a $2 surcharge (and whatever my own bank charged) to use their ATM. (So cheer up, Mike G. Instead of making things better for customers, they made it possible to pay them if you didn't bring cash or check.) The person at the register said that they had a sign "up front somewhere." Somewhere is right. The sign was posted above eye level in an area of the entry that people coming in would be least likely to see. Nice people, but terrible food and a depressing ambiance. read more

We wandered in for takeout for the Wyoming gang - and the reviews were spot on. Incredible food (Trish) provided me with a sample of their ribs and I was sold! Great service, casual atmosphere and we can come as we are from the barn! read more

as part of the meal you can choose soup or juice, I had veg. soup and it was awful, canned would be better. I ordered Walleye and it was dry and no flavor. when I told them that, they asked if I wanted something else and I said no, but they still charged me over 10 dollars because I ate my potato and a tiny bowl of lettuce (lettuce only). We ordered sautéed mushrooms as an appetizer and they were also from the can. My friend had ribs and he did say they were good. read more

I love this place. Not only do you walk in and feel like your in a home like atmosphere but your surrounded by Iowa. From the John Deere tractors on the wall to the pictures of John Wayne and the old school feel. Now the food, no matter what you get you will not leave hungry. The ribs are large and filling with pull out the bone tender, the bar b que sauce is awesome to me but it's a love it or hate it sort of thing. Not to mention the relish and bread trays that you get with it on top of a side salad or soup with homemade dressings. Also hand made onion rings made daily, super hot baked potatoes, hand dipped shrimp, gizzards, liver, and tenderloins. Let's just say I'd you want that comfort food with that home cooked taste with amazing wait staff and cooks this family run restaurant should be number 1 2 and 3 on your list. read more

I haven't lived in Waterloo for the past 30 years, but my parents live there and for the past few years these very kind people have let me Send them a preaddressed, prestamped envelope with my parents information and I send them a check for the gift certificate, and they mail out their Christmas card for me with the gift certificate enclosed. They are wonderful people. When I'm home next year for a visit, I will definitely be going there for dinner! read more

I absolutely love this restaurant! This is hands down my favorite restaurant in the Cedar Valley. The food tops the charts with their homemade dressings and food that you can count on to be just as delicious as your last visit was. The staff are all genuinely amazing and welcome you like family. This is purely comfort food!!! ~ Kendra Parker read more

If you're unfamiliar with the area, looks can be deceiving from the outside. Inside, however, is a warm environment with great staff and great atmosphere. What hits you first is the smell of their smoked ribs. We were seated quickly. My mom and I ordered the fried mushrooms as an appetizer. Our hostess, Trish, recommended their housemade cocktail sauce as a dipping sauce as well as ranch dressing. The cocktail sauce was a really nice compliment to the fried mushrooms. For our entree, we split the 1.5lbs dinner order of hickory smoked ribs. This came with three sides, plus dinner rolls and relish tray ($25), so there was plenty for us to share. We were pleasantly surprised with the freshness of the relish tray. For our sides we each had a baked potato and split a side salad. The house garlic dressing for the side salad was amazing and well balanced. The ribs were well seasoned and so tender they fell off the bone, and the house bbq sauce was tangy with a hint of sweetness. The ribs are the star of the meal! We left very full and very happy. We will definitely be eating here again! read more

Great, true supper club. Relish tray! The walleye is huge. The shrimp are perfect every time. They'll give you a sample of the ribs if you're curious. Great cocktails and the boozy ice cream drinks are excellent. read more

I spent a lot of time there when I was a kid and the founder and her son in law and daughter were running things. Now the founder's grandchildren and greatgrandchildren are carrying on the tradition. It's remained in its current location in a not-so-hot neighborhood for decades and it seems to me the paneling was put up in the early 1970s - it really has no swank factor. That said, this place is famous for its fall-off-the bone ribs and unique BBQ sauce. It does a great job with ribs, though they are a little pricey, it's totally worth it. The service is provided by people who've been there for years and do a great job. It's cash or check only though - but if you forget your cash, there's a handy ATM machine on premises. Some little retro points - they still serve little relish trays with black olives, celery, carrots, and pickles. Always sends me back to my childhood. The bathrooms are tiny and they have a CD player on the wall (which replaced a jukebox). When I bring guests from out of state, they always rave about the ribs - so go with no expectation other than you'll be guaranteed great ribs and great service. read more

So I and my hubby were taking my daughter out to dinner when we were visiting her away at college at UNI. We pulled into parking lot for first time and she asked "WHERE are you taking me?" It really looks like a shack. Inside very dark no windows. We went on a Friday before a hockey game so we caught the "old" and family crowd. Yes, ribs are fall off the bone, but too much. Almost burnt and truly cannot pickup to eat. The garlic sauce is a good dip for the relish tray. (Who serves relish trays anymore?) Barbecue sauce is blech--tastes like ketchup. Chicken in combo was good. Really we all cleaned our plates so food was pretty good. Let us sample ribs too. Whiskey sour just tasted like water with splash of whiskey though. read more

How could Jim Nabors be wrong? Anytime he performed at the National Dairy Cattle Congress this tiny little eatery was his first stop. He has even had their specialty - b-bque ribs, shipped to his home! Best meaty, fall off the bone ribs in town. Enjoy this little slice of culinary heaven - a tiny place tucked away where the tradition of good food has remained for generations of Iowans. From local hockey fans to area business people, this is a popular little spot for dinner. read more