Hickory's - Southport — Restaurant in Sefton

Visited on a Wednesday late afternoon in June. Had seen some good reviews of this establishment and as we had driven to Southport for the day though we would give it a try. Huge car park. Loads of free spaces but noticed when we left going up for six o'clock it was starting to fill up. Greeted just inside the door and quickly shown to a table. The place looked enormous and must have seated capacity for a few hundred especially when you factor in all the seated areas outside. A bottle of water and some popcorn were brought to us as we looked at the menus and decided on our drinks. I thought that was a nice touch. Another good thing was the full roll of kitchen roll on every table. The drinks menu had a good range of beers on it including some imported American lagers. Bit surprised to see no American ( California) wines on the list though. We ordered one pint of Heineken priced at £5.10 and a pint of Hickory's Own Pale Ale for £5.25. Both were very nice and competitively priced matching other eating places. For mains we ordered the Double Burger at £14.99 and the Bird and Beast at £15.50. Nothing wrong with either. Both meals were tasty and well presented. But in all honesty I think the double Burger was over priced for what I got. It didn't really fill me up. The Bird and Beast seemed better value. I don't think the prices for the food were competitive with other establishments. In these times where eating out is becoming more and more expensive and where there is a lot of competition for custom it would have been nice to see some sort of early bird menu or other offers on. I could have eaten a dessert but unfortunately there wasn't anything I fancied. Service was fine. Came over several times to check if everything was ok. But think there must have been a shift change over as our server changed before we were presented with our meals. Seemed to be little communication at the hand over as the new server asked if we wanted to order when that had already been taken. Mixed feelings about the 7.5% tip policy. We generally tip at least 10% anyway unless it's been poor service. I suppose it makes things easier for some people. On the plus side our waiter did confirm that the staff did get the tips. The place itself was clean and tidy. Staff seemed to be clearing and wiping tables down quickly after they had been vacated. The food itself was fine but as I said I don't think it represented good value for money. There are other places out there offering food of a similar quality in bigger portions for less money. I've given a score of 4 as I think 3 would be too low. 3.5 is probably more accurate and based on quantity and price and not quality. Unlikely to visit again as Southport is a 40 mile drive away and there are many other places we wish to try and which, on the surface, appear to offer more...

Heard a lot of good things about the full Hickory's American Breakfast recently, so I thought I'd spoil myself this week and try it out, see if it's as good as they say. And I wasn't disappointed. It was enormous. The whole Hickory's experience was absolutely brilliant, if truth be told, and I was greeted at the door by a really lovely young lady named Lydia, who led me into a very spacious dining area with loads of varied seating arrangements to suit every demographic of diner. So I settled on a nice quiet corner table and sat back with a mini bag of popcorn, courtesy of The House, whilst the Chef put together an amazing array of waffles, mushrooms, eggs, beans, bacon, tater tots, sausage and tomatoes. Truth is, I couldn't eat it all, but I think they half expect that at Hickory's, so there's no need to struggle, because Lydia very kindly boxed up the waffles for me to take home, which I thought was a lovely touch. Why give yourself tummy ache when you can take your leftovers home with you for later? But those little touches, (like the free popcorn and the boxed up leftovers to take home with you) all make me want to come back here again. Soon. Especially now I've seen their Ribs & Louisiana Steak dishes. I thought the atmosphere was excellent (loved the Soggy Bottom Boys singing "Man of Constant Sorrow" in the background). The service was perfect (thank you Lydia, you were the perfect hostess and I intend to become one of your regulars, now). The food was fantastic, and considering I got to bring half of my huge plateful home with me, then the prices are extremely reasonable. All in all it started 2024 off with a real smile and I look forward to popping in more often. I really LIKE being spoilt and respected like this, they really treated me like a valued guest, and those little touches went a long, long way. Thank you. FIVE STAR...

Wheelchair Model Diaries

Hickory’s Smokehouse Southport (Folkestone Road Kew)

We had quite a week celebrating my partner’s birthday, all topped off by a birthday meal at Hickory’s Smokehouse Southport. I booked in advance online (it gets very busy and is always best to book ahead) for four of us to dine on Saturday evening.

We parked in the car park in one of the disabled spots, and made our way to the reception area, up the gently sloping ramp. There we were greeted by the staff and met up with our friends who were waiting in the separate bar area of the restaurant.

We chose a table outside on the veranda, in the garden, which was sheltered and surrounded with beautiful fairy lights! There were blankets provided, and lots of heaters around the outer roof, operated via a press button so we could choose when to have it on and off.

Our server brought us popcorn and water for the table whilst we browsed the extensive menu! It was hard to choose as everything sounded so good! We decided to start with a cocktail (it was a birthday after all!) and these where delicious. We had hard cherry cola, and passionfruit cocktails.

The whole evening was full table service which was blissful for all of us, especially as a wheelchair user!

The restaurant outside was very wide and fully accessible, and inside there was still room around the tables to manoeuvre my wheelchair, even though it was absolutely packed full of diners, and there was a fully accessible toilet within easy reach and the facilities where spotless.

The food was out of this world! We tried the brisket bites, cheesy pretzel, and fritters to start, followed by beef briskets and hickory’s burgers. The food was so fresh, tasty, and great portions too.

The bill was brought to our table at the end as well as a card machine, and the service was just impeccable.

9/10 ...