FOURK — Restaurant in Hickory

I visited this particular restaurant this past Saturday in Hickory and was left pretty much floored by everything. A brief back story. I was meeting a friend of mine from Asheville, and Hickory was approximately the halfway point between Asheville and Charlotte. She just Googled the best restaurants in Hickory, and FOURK came in at #1. So we decided to meet there for a really nice dinner, and both of us were extremely impressed with the choice. Situated right on the corner, its exterior was quite deceiving, in reference to its size. They have outdoor seating available as well. We were seated in a very comfortable booth and began the evening with housemade cocktails. I had the Summer Breeze, which is their version of a Mojito for reference, and she ordered the Cranberry Kiss, similar to a Cape Codder, but their own version of it. Great presentation, and taste. We shared the Lobster Dip as well, another excellent choice. There really were bits of lobster included. It had a distinctive, sweet, and spicy flavor that I thoroughly enjoyed. For the main courses, I had the Ribeye, and she ordered the Seared Scallop entrée. The Ribeye was grilled to perfection, accompanied by small smoked potatoes, chefs vegetable mix, and their own cheesy horseradish sauce, which complimented the Ribeye perfectly. The Seared Scallops were seared to perfection. They were served over lemon Basil rice with tri-color cauliflower and finished with a blackberry balsamic reduction. Phenomenal presentation and a fantastic treat for your taste buds. We ended up sharing, so I was able to enjoy this particular version of Surf-n-Turf. The dessert we ended up ordering was not even listed on the menu( a shoutout to T.J., our waiter, for his excellent service and recommendations). It was called Berry Panacotta. Similar to Creme Brule and Custard, yet not quite. It was served with fresh strawberries, blackberries, and fresh mint. This place was packed the entire time that we were there, and yet the ambiance was such that we were able to speak in normal/hushed tones. Even after a packed night, the restrooms were still pretty much immaculate. The owner, James, I believe, stopped by our table as we were finishing our coffee and dessert. A fine restaurateur and a most gracious host. My compliments to the entire staff, both in the front and back of the house and the owner. Everyone batted 1000, all the way around. Make sure that you make reservations, as they are only open from 5 to 10 pm on Saturdays. A special treat, not to be missed. If you took the time to read this review, please take a 1/2 second and click...

This review is a rebuttal to the latest review about the band being too loud. It’s a shame that they even posted this review. Everyone at Fourk is amazing and go out of their way to take care of every patron that walks through the door. It’s unfortunate that unhappy people make it their duty to inflict their unhappiness on everyone else in the room. The night I’m referring to, This patron knew it was the one night of the week that Fourk has music. The patron was reminded that there was a band and most importantly they were offered another table. This patron made their choice, period. After the 1st song the Patron sent a note to the band saying that the band was too loud. That 1st song was “The Christmas Song” and this band plays mostly James Taylor, Zac Brown, the Eagles, etc. The band lowered the volume to accommodate the 2 people out of 100, but the lowered volume still wasn’t low enough. They then sent the GM over with another demand that the music was still too loud. To try to help the situation the band turned the speaker away from “their” section. God forbid that the 2 people whose ears were obviously bleeding from all the Jackson Browne now made it so that everyone else in that section that came to hear the music, now couldn’t. Still trying to accommodate the band rearrange their holiday set list and switch to a softer mood to appease the only 2 people in the room. The volume now was so low that the band was having a hard time hearing. The band decided to take an unscheduled break to allow time for the unhappy patrons, obviously deaf from all the James Taylor and Glenn Campbell to leave. They did leave, only after the band took a break. They left via the emergency exit which gave them a way to leave without walking past the band and the other patrons. Please do not let the selfish, senseless, review sway your decision about Fourk. Everyone is amazing and we have been with them since the start. Fourk is deliciously first class all the...

My parents and I went there for the first time this past Saturday and were so glad the reviews were right. We are big cooks so we have a high bar and try restaurants all over NC and New York/ New Jersey where we are from. We love sampling dishes so we ordered three appetizers of Brie, brussels sprouts, and a lobster dip. Then we ordered three entrées of the lamb chop curry, the Mole rojo chicken dish, and the seafood melange dish. We also had drinks of the red sangria and the cranberry kiss, and lastly then we ordered three dessert of the cheesecake of the day which was a s’mores cheesecake that day, crème brûlée and the apple dumplings a La mode.

Everything was delicious. The Brussels were amazing! I loved my curry dish it was a light curry and not overpowering. I tend to like a Heavier curry taste but this was light and fresh and good enough to satisfy my desire for curry. I got the lamb medium rare and it was perfect. My parents also enjoyed their food and our desserts were delicious.

I liked how the plates for everything weren’t huge but not teeny tiny either. It was nice to have room to sample all the different foods.

My only critique is that the crème brûlée was more burnt on top that golden toasted and I hate that “Burnt” taste on anything but my mom still liked it. Also they used too deep of a dish so it was watery at the bottom Instead of a custard texture. They could fix that by investing in more shallow and wider crème brûlée dishes. I’ve made the same mistake making crème before as well.

Our server also did a great job and checked on us the right amount of times, not too much or too little. My parents are glad to find a new place to eat there in hickory since moving to NC. We will definitely be back and look forward to trying...