Hickory Joe’s Xewkija — Local services in Victoria

I don't like leaving critical reviews, but feel I need to. First off, there is no restaurant, so the pics are deceiving and some of the reviews are questionable, unless it used to have a restaurant with views. This is a food truck in a semi-industrial area by Lidl. It's noisy, dirty, so don't go expecting a dining experience, as some reviewers might lead you to believe. There are no views and there is no terrace.

My wife and I lived in Texas, so we've had brisket at some of the best places in the world (Salt Lick, Franklin's..etc) and were excited to see there was a highly rated BBQ place in Gozo. We ordered the brisket plate and immediately could tell the meat was not brisket. It did not have the smoked taste you'd expect and frankly, tasted like a pot roast. If they smoked it, I suspect it was with liquid smoke and not in a proper smoker for 10-13 hours. But that aside, 150g of mostly chopped meat with no bread to make a sandwich, which is what they do in Texas, and when there were 2-3x as many chips, was disappointing.

If you've never had barbecue in the US, you'll probably think my review is unnecessarily critical, but for the American expats reading this, don't expect a taste of the US.

Responding to the reply: no, sir, I didn't expect a fine dining experience, but your main photo is a restaurant facing so we expected more than a food truck.

But I was also clear I ordered the brisket plate which was presented like one would in Texas, so you received a Texas review. I'm sure the Reuben is delicious since that's how little it's smoked.

But again, I criticized the smoking which you confirmed. This meat is more like roast beef for a Reuben so if people expect a Texas style meat experience, they'll likely be disappointed. But thank you for ignoring that, rather than agreeing you're not preparing it as a Texas or even Carolina...

Delivered a few things from this place for dinner.

We tried brisket which was very good. Nice piece of meat, tasty for very reasonable price. Mac & cheese wasn’t that good. You could taste only mac, but not much of a cheese. Sausage is traditional Maltese sausage. Some people like it some don’t. We don’t, and it wasn’t specified in the menu that is the Maltese sausage. Otherwise we wouldn’t have ordered this dish. And finally the chicken burger. Made from chicken leg meat. Not the best choice for a burger, also it was too greasy. Little salad inside, I missed some freshness in that burger. Fries were great really!! Side for every meal so there were plenty of potatoes. Very good!

Overall not bad. Could be fabulous if some details are fixed. Thank you for...

We’re here for two weeks so we have hit all the supposed best restaurants on Gozo and I have to say—Hickory Joe’s delivery is still the best meal I’ve had. They only do a few things and they do them well. Highly recommend the Mac and cheese (best I’ve had outside of the US), the smoked meat spring rolls (very yummy sauce), the cowboy wings and the fried chicken sandwich. The bread is also really delicious. I ordered extra and used it the next morning for a breakfast sandwich—to die for.

Those cheese and cisk sausages are also delicious. Only problem is there aren’t big enough, I need the option to order 10 😂

About to order for the 4th time because they have yet to...