Hickory — Restaurant in Tamborine Mountain

Hickory Slow is an absolute disgrace. We went there for a dinner as a group of 4 and could not have been anymore disappointed if we tried. Firstly this restaurant is NOT an American BBQ restaurant, despite it appearing to be. The food is inedible. We ordered the following:

Cheeseburger spring rolls, average tasting and cold in the middle Philly Cheese Steak, inedible, no cheese on it and instead of steak it had dry brisket jalepeno poppers, 2 tiny Jalepenos split in half with a tiny bit of cheese and a small bit of prosciutto. Taste was OK but for the price it was a complete rip off. When I say tiny I mean tiny. slow cooked pork, was mushy and watery and flavour terrible. Came out like slop on a tiny side plate and tasted boiled. Inedible Beef cheeks - came out like sliced roast on a tiny side plate and was dry. Flavour was horrible Pork Rack - came out cold, dry and the flavour was like a cheap BBQ sauce Buffalo Chicken Wings - pick of the night, good flavour but almost cold when they hit the table. Cauliflower Salad - had to send it back. The dressing tasted like off sour cream and had no other flavour - inedible Smashed Sweet Potatos, came out like mashed potato spread on the plate with some weird flavours sprinkled over the top that were not Amercian at all and inedible Fried Pickles - was a cucumber cut in half and deep fried. Came out greasy and the batter falling off like it had been pre cooked then reheated in oil. Inedible BBQ Corn, the only thing on the table properly cooked and edible but only 1 available due to an apparent unavailability of corn 🌽 😑

We left the majority of the food on the table as it was mostly inedible. We did complain to the waitress who initially suggested a 50% discount which would have been the least that they could do, instead changing her mind and charging us for everything except for the cauliflower salad and 50% discount on the two inedible pork dishes.

The website says the Head Chef is Brad Smith. I highly doubt he is still the Chef based on this temu version of American BBQ.

$220 later we walked out learning a hard lesson. A complete rip-off for inedible food. This review serves as a warning for anyone else. A very confusing and disappointing experience. Do. Not. Recommend.

Edit after response from owner: to clarify we have regularly eaten at American BBQ restaurants and never experienced food of this low quality. To clarify, we did notify your waitstaff at the time, returning some meals immediately and then deciding these rather than continuing to try eat what was a whole load of reheated rubbish. Had we eaten the food we would not have expected a refund, but your food was inedible and most left on the table. To suggest we 'ate most of the food' is just dishonest of...

Go here if you want awesome food and good old fashioned friendly service.

We had the following:

14 Hour Hickory Smoked Brisket: with Seeded Mustard - it was juicy and full of flavor

8 Hour Smoked Beef Cheeks: with Salsa verde - perfectly cooked soft and with the collagen melted and oozing like warm jelly and the hours of cooking giving the pan juice a sweet caramelly quality.

8 Hour Smoked Pork Ribs: with Homemade BBQ Sauce - falling off the bone and sweet, the BBQ sauce rich and smokey- what can we say - mmmmm mmm.

Homemade Smoked Sausage of The Moment - honestly, how did they get so much flavor into this plus a great snap too.

Cauliflower Salad: Roasted Cauliflower, Crimson Grapes, Saffron Yoghurt - Never had cauliflower like this before. It was cooked just right, still firm but not tough. The saffron yogurt provided a hint of smokiness and the grapes a pop of sweetness. So good.

BBQ Corn: One Corn Charred, Sour Cream, Jalapeño, Coriander, Chimichurri - This is how I want my corn from now on. Mouthwatering. Juicy. Complex.

Butternut Roast: Curry oil, Saffron Yoghurt, Cucumber, Mint Salsa. The sweet pumpkin matched so well with the other ingredients. We kept coming back for another bite, just a bit more.

Fried Pickle: Beer Battered Pickled Lebanese Cucumber, Chipotle Mayo- This fried pickle was that perfect sour sweet bite with the meats.

Rosemary Shoestring Fries: Shoestring French Fries, Aioli - And who doesn’t love some crispy fries to go with their bbq. No soggy potatoes here.

Dessert was the made-in-house Sticky Date Pudding: Sticky date pudding , bourbon butterscotch sauce & vanilla ice cream - O M G the best sticky date pudding ever. It was served with homemade praline - Wow! The sauce has just the right amount of bourbon so it doesn’t overpower. The pudding was light but tasted of the dates and that nice brown sugar treacley flavour that is so satisfying.

Well done Hickory. This meal will be one of those enduring taste memories that we will look back on with great pleasure.

Oh we also had to drink: Sangria - It was sweet, spicy and fruity, filled with lots of soaked fruit and the bright mint. & a Sober Mule with ginger beer, soda water, lime and mint. Both drinks were refreshing, light and appetizing.

Every mouthful was delicious and I know I personally ate way too much but it was just...

Restaurant Review: “American BBQ? More Like American Boo-Hoo!”

If you’re looking for an authentic American BBQ experience, keep looking—or better yet, just head to Macca’s. We ventured to this establishment with high hopes for smoky, saucy goodness, but left feeling like we’d been invited to a bizarre culinary prank. At $155 for two, it was not just a dining experience; it was a robbery.

The journey began with the Pork Belly Bites, supposedly glazed in maple syrup. What arrived instead was pork swimming in an Asian-style honey sauce, garnished with coriander. Yes, coriander. Because nothing screams “Yeehaw, America!” like a garnish that belongs in a Thai salad.

Next up were the Jalapeño Poppers. In theory, these are stuffed with luscious cream cheese, a creamy delight with a kick. In reality, we were handed poppers filled with ricotta (why?) and served with a mango purée that seemed more confused about its role than we were. It was like a sad, tropical vacation trying to crash a Texas rodeo.

Then came the Pork Ribs, which honestly looked like they were harvested from a Jurassic Park prop department. These teradactyl-sized ribs were coated in a tangy vinegary sauce, adorned with sesame seeds and shallots. Sesame seeds and shallots! We’re starting to think the chef Googled “BBQ” and accidentally clicked “Korean.”

And then, the pièce de résistance—The Brisket. We were advised to eat it quickly because it “might dry out.” Spoiler: It was already the driest, most overcooked piece of beef we’ve ever had the displeasure of encountering. Forget “low and slow”; this was cooked “fast and furious,” and Vin Diesel himself wouldn’t have been able to chew it. It tasted like despair in meat form.

To give credit where credit is due, the cocktails and onion rings were great. But when the highlight of your BBQ experience is onion rings, something has gone horribly, horribly wrong.

We left $155 poorer and infinitely angrier. This was meant to be a special birthday dinner, but by the end, we were reminiscing about McDonald’s—AND WE HATE MACCAS. In short: save your money, your taste buds, and your sanity. This “American BBQ” joint is more confused than a kangaroo at a...