We noticed the change in management because the food quality suffered- like wilted lettuce, a pork steak instead of a rib eye and forgotten sides. But we continue to go for the friendly bar staff. I am glad we did because the food standards have improved. The charred wings, hummus, buffalo tacos are a few of my favs!! Tonight we sat in dining room with Jake- even though it was the Super Bowl (bar was backed up) ; Jake was on top of things. The special event buffet was $20 and it was good- nacho fixings, chicken fingers and bbq. I gave 5 stars because it's a good value, good food, fun atmosphere and friendly staff. read more

Hickory Tavern - American Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

Hickory Tavern is decent restaurant for lunch and dinner if you're in the northeast part of Hickory. The atmosphere- The restaurant looks and feels like a sports bar with a lot of TV's spread around the establishment. You should be able to watch any big game you're hoping for with ease. The restaurant is pretty open as well, so you can see over other patrons pretty easily. This place can get loud, though, especially during a big Panthers game on Sundays. Food- The food here is decent. They have a sports bar menu with some additional southern seafood favorites. You can get shrimp, oysters, burgers, wings, etc. My wife and I generally get the wings or some of the sandwiches and they are always good. Service- This has been hit or miss for us. The host/hostess at the front is always very attentive and friendly. The wait staff is not always as welcoming. We have had very fast and friendly service as well as very slow and unapologetic service. I guess it depends on how busy they are and if they are short staffed or not. Prices- Prices for a meal are decent but not overly affordable. We typically spend 50 dollars or so for two of us (two meals and an appetizer), especially if we get any alcoholic beverages with our meal. read more

Our server was nice enough. Manager was a jerk. We ordered kids meals for our two kids. Food was a small portion, but good. On their menu, it's advertised that they get Oreos with their meal. We had to ask for it instead of it coming with their meal. Said they were out, but they could give us Teddy Grahams. Not exactly the same, but fine. Came back and said they were out of that too, but said we could have oranges. Definitely not the same. I asked if they could do something like a little ice cream for them or something. They said a definite no. They said we could talk to the manager. Ok, fine. Manager came out all defensive. I said you've advertised Oreos - a dessert with the kids meals - and you don't seem to have anything to give them. Can they do something else, like ice cream? No, you can't do that. We don't do that. And I'm out anyway, she says. You can have oranges. You're out of that too? How are you out of everything?, I said? Look, it's just cookies. It's not that big of a deal, she says. Not the point. And you're being a jerk about it, I'm thinking. My kids don't like oranges, I said. She said that's all I can do. How about strawberries, I said. Fine, she said. Came back with maybe 1.5-2 small strawberries cut up per kid. On top of that, we got overcharged what we were quoted for the wings for wing night. So, definitely not a great experience with how we were treated. read more

My husband and I made our 2nd visit to Hickory Tavern last night for dinner. We always wonder if the first visit was a fluke but definitely not with Hickory Tavern. Our server Krista W was very attentive and super friendly. We had the dry rubbed cajun wings (also had on our 1st visit) and split 'Merica's Burger w/ tater tots. All was delicious and would order both again! read more

our waitress was so sweet and she went beyond to make sure we had everything we needed. the food was really good, and had excellent taste.

Only been here for the last two months. The wait staff is hit or miss - Ask for Alexis she does not disappoint. Great food specials Monday and Tuesday. The last Burger I had was awesome, cooked to perfection, good size, and a nice selection of sides to go with it. Only one visit was pretty bad, long wait and food arrived cold, complained, the waitress immediately took it back and only a few minutes later the manager for the night personally delivered two fantastic replacements, apologized for the cold food earlier. The more you go the more you know who to ask for and what to order. Hint: the pulled Pork Tacos are super good and have lots of pork! Hope your experience is as good as our recent ones! read more

This place is an absolute disaster. Management must be completely asleep at the wheel. Last few times that I have been there, 30+ minute wait with half the tables empty. Inexcusable. Will be some time before I visit again read more

First time I visited I really enjoyed the place. Food was great so I will be back to try other items on the menu.

Beer is cold, bartender is great, management doesn't understand the customer base on Sunday. It was 5 minutes into the first quarter before one football game was on. There were 4 full tables wearing Steeler colors. Half of them left to watch the game at another bar. At least 20 people to watch Steelers-Jets and it was on one tv. I feel bad for bartender, and waitresses that lost $ on tips. Management learn how to work the TVs, have stations on before the games start, and put the game people care about in the large screen. Staff gets an A, management needs to do better. Half time and we are out. Hopefully they recover before the 4 o'clock games. The place was packed, now it is not. read more

I've been coming here for years food great was here with the guy I had an abortion with and loved for 8years I brought my ex fiance here for years we always had a great time an love the bakery I'll be in with my new guy I've been cheating with but he's got a cute girly truck and a shitty job but hey he'll do since my ex won't let me cheat and still come home... anyways love this place read more

Ate here with my best friend for the first time and it was amazing. Great service and the food was delicious. I'm definitely becoming a regular! read more

Awesome food!!!! A must try if you're in Hickory NC. The Buffalo Chicken sandwich is my new go to entree. The salads are fresh and delicious! Thanks yelp for helping me find this place!!! read more

Hickory Tavern - BYO Salad and Buffalo Chicken sandwich - American Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

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To celebrate the end of our Fantasy Football season, we had a little post season get-together here at the Hickory Tavern. We made reservations for Saturday night at 5pm for about 10 guys. They had our tables all set up for us when we got there, but that was about the end of the positives for the night. Even though we made a reservation, EVERYTHING took forever. Its not like we showed up on a Wednesday night at 7 and taxed that staff. They had like 3 people working the floor and one bartender. That is not nearly enough people. We really should have had one person for our group, and maybe they could handle one other 2 top or something. Our server had about 5 tables and we hardly ever saw her. The food was pretty bad. I got a chicken sandwich and it was so overcooked and rubbery that I was unable to eat it with my hands. I had to cut the chicken with a knife into small, chewable bites. The fries were okay. We had some wings and they were overcooked as well. I don't know if our stuff just sat under the hot lamp for 20 minutes or what, but it was pretty bad. We got there at 5pm and received our food at about 6:30. We didn't even get our initial water and beer orders until about 5:20. Completely unacceptable. At the end of the night, we were all clearly ready to go, but the waitress didn't bring our checks because each individual didn't ask for them. One guy asked for his check at about 8, so I assumed she meant we were all ready to go. Incorrect. We all had to ask individually, so this tacked on another 30-45 minutes to an already long night. If we have our party here next year, I will not go. Although I had fun with the guys, the slow pace of everything was intolerable. The execrations emitted were innumerable. I am giving two stars because the staff, although terribly slow, were generally nice folks. read more

End of lunch crowd filled the dining room. Ordered Onion soup with side salad/blue cheese dressing and Black bean burgers with spinach Maria. Spinach very cheesey and tasty bean burger flavorful with LTM and red onion. Great bun. Salad fresh with lots of variety and huge chunks of blue cheese. Onion soup end of pot? Way too much onion ground pepper and bread, very little broth. Waitress friendly, bathroom clean. read more

We don't go there often. That might have to change. I can't tell you how amazing the service and attention was given to our table of two. It bordered on being obsessive, but I'm not going to complain. Food and beverages came out in a timely manner. I had a burger and fries. S.O. had wings and a stuffed potato. Food was great. No complaints. We had a total of 3 beers between the two of us. Total bill was 33. Maybe this is a little high, but for the extraordinary service and quickness of the kitchen, we are OK with it. We will be back! read more

Ok should have known get a fish sandwich that smelled very very "fishy" server said " Well its fish? " Are you kidding me? He took the sandwich apart and smelled it... HUH? He tells me it is "supposed" to smell that way.. NO NO NO.. If it smells "fishy" you better get the steak. Then they bring out " So called hand cut chips " that were frozen " Ok frozen?and cooked when?last week?We walked in and sat at a table for about 10 minutes No one ... 4 servers walked by then I said .. Ummm should I have called for reservations ? Most people were getting drunk I know why no one was eating the food is NASTY with a "N". Do not waste your money to many other places to go for a bite and a drink that really have "food".. The fish is supposed to smell that "WAY" I guess so are my arm pits when I do not shower for a week. BARF read more

Loved it , the service was wonderful, food was fresh and tasty. We got peel-and-eat shrimp and steamed oysters, and asparagus . Also had fruit , and broccoli. Great access to sports events, pleasant ambience. Very clean.seating inside and out read more

I was in Hickory today for a work event, and ended up at Hickory Tavern with three of my co-workers. The service was fast and efficient. I ordered the salad with jerk chicken and it was good. My co-workers all ordered tacos (fish, shrimp, and buffalo chicken respectively) with various sides, and all of their food looked good as well. Our server was very friendly and all of our orders came out just as we had specified. The Hickory Tavern offers a good variety of options at reasonable prices. read more

The girls working there are fantastic and stayed on top of things , went in for lunch with my mom and her boyfriend the food wasn't bad but wasn't the greatest . I got the lemon pepper wings which were ok not the best wings I had but decent , the shrimp and grits was amazing from what my moms boyfriend said and my moms sandwich was nothing special tasted like cheap meat , I would give more stars if the food had a little more taste but the staff is really nice and I would go back to watch a game and enjoy a beer . read more

Food was good! But, last time I will subject myself to a company that will not honor the sign posted on the door in regard to Mask Required. When profits are chosen over common sense and science, I choose to not support their bottom line. read more

I cannot wait to go back. The "build your own salad" is the best thing I've had in Hickory in a long, long time. The youngest kiddo loved their macaroni and cheese and the broccoli. The hubby had a burger and said that it was really good. We can't wait to go back when we are in the area. read more

Good food, great place to watch football on Sundays! Bartenders were spot on for refills! Would have given 5 Stars but need a bigger bar that can have more than 4 TVs to watch different games on. read more

This has been one of our favorite restaurants until tonight. I ordered the smothered chicken as take out and when I opened the dinner there was an 8 inch hair. I called and spoke to a manager who told me the staff wears hats. No apology at all. Will not be back. read more

Food was awful and I had a hair on my Pow Pow Shrimp that I could literally pick the shrimp up with. Then the next visit we only were allotted 1 menu for our table and when I asked for another, I was told they were short of menus and the hostess rolled her eyes at me when I told her that was unacceptable. So...we left our 2 menus on the table, walked over to Da Vinci's, had GREAT service and wonderful food. Will never go back...hostesses are too worried about their hair and the cute boys to be anything close to a hostess. read more

Love the new menu! Great place to watch a game. Excellent new management! Nice place to sit outside for lunch and a fun place to watch some live music on the weekends. read more

Great appetizers and very good food. My wife loved the Watermelon-Strawberry Mojito and they have a beer list with 100 plus choices. This place has a LOT of tvs and great atmosphere for watching a game. Expect a wait at the door, but not long. read more

Hickory Tavern - American Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

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Late night menu is limited but good. The hot wing were like a union corn riding a rainbow, in other words, awesome! Service was good especially with servers dealing with inebriates fools, like myself. Would definite come back here had I the opportunity. read more

Awesome place to go for drinks and surprisingly food.... I tried their bucket full of all different kinds of seafood, and it was awesome! Live music on the weekends, and typically a large crowd for HKY... give this place a try! read more

The best part of the experience was the service from Liza S. She was very friendly and attentive. The quality of the food is decent, but the preparation is not to my taste. It is busy, this "Wing Wednesday" (60 cent wings). I was happy with my salad. Fresh ingredients is a must :-) I'm not a fan of Blue Cheese dressing that is a mayonnaise base with cheese stirred in. I prefer sour cream base. The hot wing sauce was heated with black pepper, which is just, well, pepper-tasting. I would come back and try other dishes. read more

Hickory Tavern - Chili. Thick and tomatoey and salty. - American Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

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The hostess greeted us and was super sweet and did her job really well. Cleaned a table on the patio for us and seated us. We sat for about 20 minutes, one server with a Karen cut walked past us three times without any acknowledgement. I am a server myself, so it's nice to touch tables just to let them know someone will be with them shortly. We were completely ignored. I worked at Hickory Tavern in Myrtle Beach and they're known for a cravable experience, which we didn't even get that far. We ended up leaving and going elsewhere. read more

We got curbside and they forgot to bring it out. We checked in and received a message that said they'd bring it out in a few minutes but fifteen minutes passed. I finally called and someone brought out cold food. She murmured something about a fail in the system. My husband and I both had very painful food poisoning through the night. This experience took Hickory Tavern from my favorite to an unlikely future choice. read more

I was working in Hickory for a few weeks and this particular HT became my home at lunchtime. I was just going to go just once and then keep trying other places BUT I was captivated at first visit! The food was great, the drinks perfect, the management very attentive, but it was the bartender than grabbed my attention and kept me coming back! I have never met anyone quite like Casey and I have met a LOT of people in six decades! She not only remembered me each time I came in but quickly learned what I drank, what I liked and my two favorite dishes. She has enough charm to fill the entire restaurant. Thank you HT of Hickory! Thank you Casey!!! You have got to try this place on a weekday at lunch. Just save my seat at the bar! FK read more

Was wonderful when Donna was the manager but the two past attempts have been horrible. Waited in excess of an hour both times for food with constant servers saying our food was on the way and it never came out. The manager came out with apologies both times and both times it wasn't busy and our party was not large. Get a kitchen staff that can get the food out in a timely manner or close your doors. We drove 40 minutes to give you another chance and it was an epic fail. read more

They have really upped their game as of late. Their raw oysters and lobster rolls are the best things on the menu, and better than what you can get up at Blowing Rock. Service at bar is hit and miss though due to how busy things are. Best place to catch the NFL games. read more

I was a little hesitant after reading some of the reviews, but was very pleased with our service and food. It was a busy Sunday lunch with a big game on and I expected it to be slow, but it wasn't. My shrimp po'boy was very good and my son loved his buffalo chicken sandwich. My only concern was that another waitress dropped a ketchup cup and left it on the floor. There was an elderly lady sitting at that particular table and I was worried she would trip or slide in the mess. I was a little disappointed that the waitress left it there for 30 mins. We didn't stay to see what happened. read more

Whoever made the ChimiChurri deserves a raise. Vinegar knocked my head back, fresh herbs brought it all together. Thoroughly impressed. Definitely my new Taco go-to. read more

Good upscale bar food. Burgers, sandwiches, appetizers, and wings. Good selection of draft and bottled beer. This was our second visit and will return again. read more

I eat here frequently because it is a 1/2 mile from my home. The food, service, and ambience are spotty. When it is good - shrimp tacos, salads, quesadillas, lobster roll - it is quite good. Beer is cold and the TVs are everywhere. During sporting events, it can very very, very loud. read more

Being 900 miles always makes me yearn for the luscious steamed oysters, served by a preoccupied wait staff. The oyster night was a weekly delight. Warning, we are coming back! read more

Disappointing Hamburger and Homemade Chips! On a Sunday evening, my husband and I were looking forward to take out hamburgers and homemade chips. We were so disappointed. We ordered our burgers cooked medium. What we got were well done lumps of meat, no lettuce or tomato on one of the burgers and soggy chips. We asked for extra blue cheese and ranch dressings for the chips. We got one blue cheese and no ranch. What should have been a delicious meal, wasn't. As an aside, we had to call three times until the order was finally taken. The first two times we were put on indefinite hold. We were very surprised because our in-restaurant meals are usually well prepared. read more