Big fan for several years but they’ve lost a customer. A bit ironic you need a mask for takeout (due to drive-thru wait) but not to sit next to strangers while eating. Vote with your dollars.

In town for work & was lucky enough to stumble upon this gem. Food was EXCELLENT! I tried nearly everything on the menu & found it all to my liking. Staff members exceeded expectations as they were friendly, courteous, and just the type of people Id trust to prepare a great meal. I have been to other Hickory River locations & this one blows them all out of the water. Thank you for making my stay better Eric & team

Portion size is very small for the prices. My dinner came with 2 sides I wanted corn and mashed potatoes and they gave me 2 things of mashed potatoes..... No refills. The atmosphere wasnt welcoming. Was stared at when we ate. Every time someone would order they would argue with the customer. After eating here Im still hungry. $37 later we should be full!! 🤬😡

Great food and service!!

One of my favorite places for a quick lunch. Be sure to ask about their special.

Food was good and the prices were right. But no refills for drinks is a bit ridiculous otherwise I would have given it five stars.

Hickory River Smokehouse is one of my FAVORITE places to eat. If you go (and you should) you need to try their Cue Shoe. It takes the fan favorite horseshoe to a whole new level. The best part about Hickory River? They have a drive through! Not only can I get my Cue Shoe at lunch time, but I dont even have to get out of the car to get it. The staff is friendly and the service is great.

The beef brisket slice is amazing the loaded smoked baked potato is amazing Ive always had great service and great food from here highly recommend

Some of the food is incredible over priced for the portions you get. Particular what my fiancee and I ordered. They are fast though. In our case that wasnt a plus. Before we new it the small portions were on the trays ready to go giving us no time to change our mind,when we tried we were given attitude and made to feel like we had to pay for it despite the fact we hadnt finished ordering and should have been able to back out of said order dew to prices. When ordering the man taking our order for it wrong and a girl preparing it acted like it was our fault. When we tried to have it fixed she gave off horrible body language and attitude and I decided to say never mind because I didnt want any problems. We ended up paying 65 dollars for a bad experience and we left feeling robbed. To be perfectly honest at this point we just want a refund and for no one else to experience what we did. Especially the 2 particular workers who were absolutely rude.

The best pulled pork around!! A+ service, very friendly, absolutely delicious!! We even order it for Thanksgiving!

Delicious food. Reasonable prices and friendly staff!👍

They had amazing service and very nice employees and amazing food. This was one of my best trips to a restaurant.

Excellent barbecue joint. Fast service, delicious food!

The Que Shoe was great.

Super good smoked turkey creamy slaw and fries!

We got our order very fast and the food is great.

Some of the best BBQ Ive had in awhile. The burnt ends sandwich is hands down the best Ive ever had, highly recommended.

I would have given them 5 stars until yesterday around noon time. No French Fries or chicken wings ok. But it was the 2 rib dinners I ordered at drive thru that was worst. No smoke flavor and were greasy. They have Excellent food. Its just daytime seems to be a problem.

Pulled pork sandwiches ok 👍

The food and the service is really good. Got the smoked turkey and ranch beans and like I said really good.

Took My Grandson to Dinner and We Loved it!! Loved the Special & Desserts ❤

Ordered family turkey dinner early November. Picked up thanksgiving noon, full meal with whole turkey was fresh out of oven hot and VERY good, including stuffing and gravy. Could not have been more satisfied.

Great food, friendly employees and happy atmosphere.

Very good very friendly

The food was good

It was awesome, except some of the meat was very dry

Friendly service and good food

They no longer offer free refills on soft drinks and tea. They still charge the same price or more. It was too expensive for what I got. I liked it in the past. I wont go back for a while.

Usually we get great service and food at Hickory River. Not today. Ordered a pulled pork plate and a Texas Tater Skins plate. Got the pulled pork and all the sides right away. Tasty as always. The skins took forever. So long that we had eaten everything else. I was going to see about getting our money back on the skins. They said after all that time that the first round had been burned and the fresh ones were being put together just then. Gave us $5 back for the delay. If there is a next time Ill stick to the always ready smoked meats.

Very good food and easy to order and not to long waiting.

Sweet potato fries are the best, keep working on the Brisket not quite there yet.

Today i ordered the pulled pork sandwich and the pull pork nachos plus the ham sandwich. The pulled pork was all dry and a lot of the burnt parts. I feel like when i get an order to go then it is not the best quality of food. When i called the store the manager was really snotty and then he actually hung up on me. I would really like to go in and actually get good food all the time. thanks

Amazing food, good clean atmosphere, friendly staff and one heck of a store manager! Eric is amazing and has trained his employees very well! Superb all around service! Will be return customers definitely! Keep it up Eric! 👍🏻

Very good Bbq. We had the pulled pork and brisket sandwich. If they ask if you want utensils, get them, kinda messy.

Incredibly delicious. I have eaten at barbecue joints in dozens of states and this one is among the best I have been to. Even an hour before close the brisket and pork were fantastic. The corn bread brilliant. While it may cost above average, it’s huge portions and worth every cent. Mild bbq I’d buy by the gallon.

We love this place we had food delivered. They have the best pulled pork sandwiches i have ever ate and there cobbler is to die for we well keep ordering from here .

So tonight hickory river was definitely not on there A game. Waiting in line for over 25 minutes, finally got my order placed just to get all the way home to find my order was not complete. For a $27.12 dinner I expected a lot more. My kids meals were missing drinks and my dinner was missing two sides. I realize that the drive thru was busy but the lobby was closed, I feel this a direct lack of management. As I strive to keep my purchases made with small businesses i feel more pride should be taken to bring customers back. Poor performance tonight ladies and gentlemen! This was your 2nd chance to redeem yourselves for the last not great experience we had. This was the last time we will be dining with your business. Regards!

Brisket was tasty. Drive thru service good.

Great BBQ and exceptional customer service! I love the brisket and cobblers. The staff and management are first rate. Will be coming back every chance I get!

Food is good,but portions are small for the high price you pay!holes in parking lot!

In a word.... Meh. In detail: I had the chopped brisket sandwich, mashed potatoes and gravy, and mac n cheese. The brisket, bland; sauces, mediocre at best; mashed potatoes and gravy, bland; mac n cheese, soupy and bland. Also, the Dr. Pepper didnt taste like Dr. Pepper. Wouldnt recommend.

Our go to for deliciously tender bbq!

Had a good meal, went through the drive up. Cant be to safe.

I had never been to this Hickory River even though Id driven past it for years. My first visit was not a disappointment!On the inside, its like an upgraded Arbys in terms of its layout and feel. The food, however, is far better. The pulled pork and chicken sandwiches are not only delicious, but packed with enough food for TWO sandwiches if there were another set of buns. I tried their daily special that includes a pulled chicken sandwich, 2 sides, and a drink for about $9 and it was great. Id recommend this place

This was well worth it. Food was cooked perfectly. Check out the specials can save you some money. Also recommend asking for sauces on the side.

Less than impressed. Food was average.

It was great..excellent food.. excellent service...

Great service and food

My favorite is their pulled pork sandwich!

The food was so delicious! We went on a Tuesday evening when they have some dollar specials and we got a good amount for what we paid. Their honey bbq sauce is so yummy. We also got the mini pulled pork sandwiches, ribs, fries, and mac and cheese. All of it was so good! My toddlers even liked it. Also, its not a sit-down restaurant so you dont need to pay a tip, and they had it ready fairly quickly.

Fantastic food and great service

Very good food. Quality meat and delicious side options.

Very good BBQ. Service is always fast.

Fresh hot food & friendly service!! Sooo good!!👍

My wife and I both really enjoy Hickory River. All of the meats I have had so far have been great: turkey, ham, pork, brisket. And make sure you try their ranch beans (their take on baked beans) and the cornbread. Both of them are amazing. Their prices are definitely higher than some fast food joints, but in my opinion not overpriced for the amount & quality of food you get.

Definitely some of the best BBQ in the central Illinois area without the fancy resturant sit down atmosphere. Their beef brisket is very juicy and tender. Many great sides to choose from. Polite clerks and clean restaurant. My go to restaurant when I am in town.

Good food and good service. I had the smoked ham sandwich with the honey bbq sauce and a side of scalloped potatoes which were also full of ham. They were both really good. Most of the time I get the pulled pork nachos but decided to try something different. Love their brisket too.

They are doing great! Just drive thru of course. Busy as expected. Kudos to all the employees & managers who are forging thru this crisis. Thank you!!!

Delicious

I cant understand the high rating. Its definitely not bad though. Its in an old Wendys building which doesnt take away from the food, but contributes to a fast food feel. Not sure how it is Texas style really. The sauce seemed more Kansas City to me. Large portions and good price. Slightly above average flavor.

Did take-out. Prompt service. Good food.

Wonderful food!!! A+++++

Love this place

Great food!

Absolutely wonderful

Price is good for lunch. Staff was nice. Lots of seating. Fries are good. My beef burnt end brisket sandwich had lots of fat. I asked for another one and they were very nice and gave me one but it also had lots of fat. Check your bill I was over charged by 3 bucks. Sorry I wont be back.

Very busy for such a small location. We didnt get everything. And had to ask for what was missing but still never received all items we paid for. Food was pretty good though.

It was not a pleasant experience. Special was ribs. They were hard and dried out, gave us fresh ones, were still hard and very little meat. Changed for turkey. They were accommodating about changing but was charged for drink which was included in special.

Food is average.

Great food. Not too smoky. Clean and comfortable.

Spot on! Very good bbq. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The flavor was fantastic and most of the meat didnt even need sauce. The bbq sauces were very good and I really liked the hot mixed with the honey. Very fast service.

Always enjoy dining there. GREAT foods and good prices. Service is also friendly and tables are always clean!

Great service, great food, great atmosphere! Love this one because of the servers! Great young men!

This place was amazing I got great service and the food was amazing

The BEST food, friendliest service and clean restaurant!!!! 8/18/17. Recommending this particular establishment! Our 2 little guys devoured it! That rarely happens!!

Awesome food. Kinda pricey, but worth it. Nice portions of meat.

My husband and I have gotten take out here several times. They always mess up my order. 3 times in a row I ordered a loaded baked potato and all 3 times they did not include butter, sour cream and cheese. Just a plain potato with meat. Because they continually mess up my order, I specifically asked this past time did you remember the butter, sc, and cheese and I was assured it was all included. I get home and sure enough, just a plain potato again. I’m so dissapointed that the employees don’t seem to care about ensuring their customers get what they paid for. I wouldn’t write a bad review if this only happened once or twice, but 3 times in a row is pretty bad.

Hubby LOVES ribs. So, for his birthday we decided to get ribs from this place. $50 worth of grub for the family, not too badly priced then. Uh...awful execution though. The chicken? Tastes like someone made the chicken 3 days ago in the oven, tossed it in the fridge, and now today they warmed it up and poured half a bottle of generic bbq sauce on it. Dry, dry, dry. Not hot, just lukewarm. Flavorless. So, so flavorless. Smothered in bbq sauce that tastes like every other cheap bottle you can snag at Walmart. No smokey flavor at all to be had--I thought this was a smokehouse?! Blood still on a part of the chicken so not even cooked all the way. The pulled pork? Bland and dry too. No smokey flavor either. Weird! The potato salad? BLAND. Such a shame. Had some weird...meat? in it that looked spongy and white but tasted sort-of like pork maybe? Never had potato salad with something like that in it and Im from the South. Whatever, okay. Just tossed out most of the food. Just not good. Hubby says ribs are okay but also says hes had better at literally every other place hes ever gotten ribs before. Really, really, really wish we had gone somewhere else. Wont be coming back! Do not recommend you go.

Great food and fantastic service

Great pulled pork and the Easy Sweet Sauce is the best. Employees are friendly. Management is awesome!

Everything is amazing. I prefer the pulled pork. The bbq nachos are amazing as well. Try the Tuesday dollar night.

Always fast for a home style cooked dinner. Always delicious. The guys working in the back get theit stuff done quickly and are always friendly.

I eat here very often the food is fantastic I had the ham sandwich and okra my kids had the pulled pork nachos.

For Central Illinois, this is good barbeque. Lots of choices for meats and sides. Pleasant place for a meal with friends.

Not a bad place to eat. Sandwiches were tasty, and hot. It still is fast food.

Great food!! Little expensive so we dont eat here a lot. Their BBQ sauce is the best!

First time and it was awesome!! Definitely going back!!

As always a friendly staff and excellent food!

Great food and service!

Good smoked meats and sides for a fast food bbq joint. Recommend the mac and cheese, ranch beans and pulled pork.

Pretty high priced! Also, the brisket was pretty dry, more than I like. Sides were good.

The food was awesome not much time waiting on food really reliable employees would recommend to everyone best food in this area.

Very good place for BBQ and the price was right!

The food is so good and the service is outstanding!! My fiance and I were impressed they remembered us after one visit!!!

Good people good food

Very good food reasonable prices and very friendly...

My brother and I are Regulars @ Hickory River Smoke BBQ Simply love its Tuesday $1.00 menu.

Good brisket sandwich. Sauce was good. Sandwich was covered in sauce so if you dont want Alot I would suggest getting it on the side.

Always friendly and good food.

Always good service and good food.