Hickory's Smokehouse Thornton — Restaurant in Borough of Wyre

After seeing lots of very positive reviews I thought I would give it a go,

It's set up very much along the lines of a Wetherspoons restaurant but with a bit of a 'Murica themed holiday camp feel, lots of kinda tacky stereotypical decor but with country and western piped music competing with a canteen hubub of noise.

Once seated the first question was "is anyone celebrating" just to spoil the surprise of the staff coming out with sparklers stuck in a desert for a half hearted round of happy birthday

Table was supplied with water and popcorn and drinks order was taken, quite a limited selection of beers, all the craft ales were own brand and the ones I sampled were a little bland

Food was ordered (staff member 1)- a sharing platter, salad and brisket sub After a little wait a member of staff came over (staff member 2) and let us know that the food would be 5 mins, 5 mins later one of the staff comes over (number 3) brings a brisket sub and a chicken burger, leaves the sub and takes the burger away, obviously this wasn't our order, after a further 10-15 min wait just as we managed to get the attention of another member of staff (this would have been number 4 as 1, 2 and 3 were nowhere to be seen) the sharing platter turns up with a floor manager who explained that the sub wasn't meant to be for us then went off to fetch the salad, asked if anyone needed a drink I ordered one which was kindly comped due to the mix up

Onto the food, the meat was all tender and fall off of the bone as you would expect for long and slow cooking but considering it's a smokehouse they didn't taste particularly smoked, it was ok and the portions were ok I just wasn't particularly impressed with the flavours, I've definitely had better.

We were considering partaking in a desert but after waiting 20-25 mins for someone to come ask if we were ready (staff member no.4) and to clear the obviously finished with plates, they disappeared off to get desert menus, literally disappeared, by the time they brought the desert menus we were ready for the cheque, staff member no.1 turned back up to bring the cheque and the most hilarious food satisfaction survey tablet thing I've ever seen, the options were "would you recommend this to a friend" Yes / No with no obvious option to add comment

I don't think the staff are to blame more it's a badly organised operation, the servers didn't seem to have a set area, there are servers that take your order and different staff that bring your food which lead to the mix up we had

A few extra floor staff would...

From when we walked through the door the place was buzzing, we were greeted by friendly front of house, where we gave our reservation details. Our table wasn’t quite ready so told to head to the bar for drinks and we will come and find you. At the bar, the bar tenders were again super friendly. My hubby ordered a pale ale and was offered a sample taster. In that time I was offered a bag of warm popcorn to munch. Within minutes a server came over and showed us to the table, apologised for the wait but being at the bar those 5-10 minutes was part of the experience for us and no imposition.

At the table our server Lucas was quick to come over, offer us a sample of the brisket. Another bag of popcorn was offered by another server. The brisket was melt in your mouth tender, just pure meat joy. The American touch of water given, without asking for it. They’ve thought of everything.

We opted for the sharer platter to get a taste of everything. It did not disappoint! Really good value for the amount of quality meat. The pickled red onions paired with the sausage was so delicious. We did admit defeat and take some ribs and pulled pork home which my hubby was happy about as he could enjoy the flavours again the next day.

My hubby Corey is American and I have spent time in the states, Hickory’s is a true reflection of an American smokehouse, from the decor, the atmosphere, the menu, giving a true taste of the South! Live music too.

Lindsay manager came over during our meal, asking how it all was. And again at the end of the meal, where she gave my hubby a huge sample of American bottled and canned beers. We were blown away! Lucas had been quick to notify her of an American diner in the house and Lindsay was quick to show that Southern hospitality to us.

This isn’t just going to the pub for tea, this is a night out experience of a taste of America 🇺🇸

To have this place on the doorstep is a real taste of home. Corey said it was the best meal he’s had in the UK, considering he’s been here since December 1996, that’s some statement.

Hickory’s you deserve it! Well done!!

We will be back with the kids, noticed on the menu brunch with stacks of pancakes!!

All the best to everyone, you’re...

Had been looking forward to trying Hickory's as it had been recommended by friends. We ended up going to celebrate a birthday, party of 7. After we were seated and had ordered drinks we were told that we could only order from the brunch menu as it was too early for the full menu (despite the menu stating that we could order from the smokehouse from 11 am on weekends) fine, we decided to order from the brunch menu which is quite limited. 40 minutes after ordering, some of appetizers arrived, however we had to chase up the other appetizers - turned out they had forgotten to bring them out - when they did arrive the overall presentation and quality was poor. The appetizers themselves weren't particularly nice but what really got us was that while we were waiting for the appetizers(not even our mains!) we watched other customers being served their meals - which were main menu items and not from the brunch menu, which didn't seem fair at all. When our main meals finally arrived the quality of the food was pretty bad (overdone and under seasoned); unfortunately only one member of our party even came close to finishing their meal, the rest of us couldn't force ourselves.

Throughout the whole meal from drinks to desserts the table wasn't cleared and so I ended up eating my meal with a charming view of stacked dirty dishes.

It's also pretty loud and hot, which when we initially arrived was surprising, as there were not many customers.

Not everything was a negative, however: *The parking is excellent and there are lots of spaces available. The servers did bring out a cake and sparkles, and sang happy birthday which was nice.

I will not be returning to smokehouse, which other members of our group also agreed with. I won't be recommending Hickory's to anyone unless they specifically ask for places that charge too much...