Cold food served with side eye. You're not even trying with your beans. And then what you charge for it. Nah. I'd rather drive all the way across town and pay too much for it over there. read more

Good quality and amount for the price. Mac n cheese is more of the thick wet kind, fries were freshly made, brisket was moist with good flavor read more

I was feeling like chili and I saw Hickory River had it as a side so I gave it a try. I decided to get the smoked country ham and to get the Texas chili as both my sides. The chili really was excellent, I kind of wished a had gotten a bowl of it, except that I enjoyed the ham too. The chili has brisket in it which always adds flavor. Just the right amount of heat. I'd go back just for the chili. The ham was render and moist. I got the mixed BBQ sauce, which is a combination of the regular and spicy sauces. I really enjoyed everything. Definitely on my list of places to visit again. read more

Hickory River Smokehouse - Springfield - Smoked Smoked Country Ham and 2 sides of Texas-Style Chili - Smokehouse Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

The ribs were were not cooked properly for barbecued ribs. The food was lukewarm instead of hot.

I would highly recommend this place. Their fries were fantastic. The mashed potatoes were excellent. The cornbread was tasty and their ribs were delicious. read more

One of the worst meals I've had in a long time. I ordered a baked potato with brisket on it. I picked it up on time and drove across the street to my hotel and it was cold. I have no doubt that the potato was cooked around lunchtime and reheated or kept in a warm warmer all day. The meat was dry and tasteless. Plus they make you go through the drive-through to pick up an order that you've placed online which is ridiculous. Why wouldn't I just order at the drive-through when I went there? You have to wait behind everybody else who's ordered at the drive-through. It's not like you just pick it up at a window without having to wait. read more

Definitely would be a place I would go back too! Definitely try the different BBQs. Reasonably priced for a Smokehouse. read more

See all

Great food, service. Food is moist and flavorful. Buns have great flavor along with the sauces offered. All workers work to give you the best and quick service and to keep the restaurant clean and well stocked. read more

We had the nachos and they were top notch! The service was also outstanding! We were greeted right away. Thank you!!!

Kids are supposed to eat free on Sundays!!! You are false advertising!!! Your online prices and menu prices online are not the same as when you get in the store, very bad advertising!!! read more

Great BBq. I had the bbq chicken and my husband had the ribs and pulled pork. Very tasty. We both had the beans and potato salad sides. We would come back again when we visit Springfield. read more

Really just a fast food type place that sells bbq. It's not an authentic pit bbq joint like you find in St. Louis or Memphis, etc. where the meat is smoked for the day's customers and when the run out, they close. read more

Excellent brisket! I love Texas Toast. Nice size portion. Outstanding customer service. Will definitely come back for a visit!

The burnt ends are very good with nice flavor. The ends did have quite a bit of fat but that's always a hit or miss with them. Brisket was excellent. The medium sauce is perfect just enough sweet and spice to it. Apples had a nice sweet taste. Corn well...... it was just corn. Cornbread was a little dry. I was a little disappointed I bought the 3 meat plate and didn't feel like I got what I paid for on the burnt ends especially with how much fat was on them. There were several pieces that where all fat no meat. Atmosphere was nice had some fitting music playing in the background. read more

Hickory River Smokehouse - Springfield - a plate of ribs and sides - Smokehouse Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

Ordered pulled nachos and the double meat platter. Chips are not fresh didn't get my extra jalapeños I paid for Asked for no bbq on my 2 meat plate and it's bbq all over read more

Great food and sides. Workers were helpful and nice. Definitely will be going back soon!

This place is a hidden gem. It's almost never packed and you can walk right in, order, and get your food fresh and hot on the spot. I have a thing for the pulled pork nachos with cheese, beans, and mild sauce. They also have a pretty good turkey platter I used to eat with a cheese topping plus a side of Mac. They are super friendly here too. They never disappoint. read more

Well, if you ever wondered what it would be like if your high school cafeteria served barbecue then this is the place for you. The meat was lukewarm and the portion sizes on the sides were ridiculously small. The staff was nice but if I'm going to pay premium prices then I'll go somewhere else like Smokey Bones and get my money's worth. read more

So disappointed! Looked at menus of local BBQ places and picked this one to try because they had fried okra on the menu and being from the south that's a big part of BBQ for me! I ordered 1/2 chicken with hot bbq sauce fried okra (which counts as BOTH of your sides) and paid extra for "Texas Toast". What I got... a half chicken with the softest, slimiest chewiest skin ever. ZERO crisp. First bad sign. Then let's get to the "hot" bbq sauce... ZERO heat. It's sweet as molasses and tasted like molasses. The chicken was barely edible, like seriously was hard to choke this down. I didn't eat much. Then I got to the okra... it was so incredibly salty it was barely edible. Lastly the "Texas Toast"... HAHAHAHA a thin slice of white bread, sadly enough this was the best tasting thing I ate. The ONE side of the bread that was toasted was delicious. It's clear my standards were too high. If the owners of this place had REAL BBQ they might get how bad this is. EVERYTHING NEEDS FIXED! Like EVERYTHING! Start with the sauce! How can you have a BBQ joint with terrible sauce? Go down south, visit a REAL pit master. Learn and DO BETTER! I don't see how the place survives... you couldn't pay me to eat there again. read more

See all

Quick service Good bbq Really like the sides All fresh made I will definitely be going again read more

Walked in and I didn't smell bbq, instead, it smelled like a dirty mop. Looked at the menu on the wall and their prices are very high. I'm standing there looking at the menu and couldn't get past that smell. Walked out won't be back. read more

Hickory River is a can't miss stop in Springfield for BBQ. They have outposts in Champaign and Peoria I believe, but I'm only familiar with this location. And familiar with it I am.... If you love Texas style brisket or traditional pulled pork BBQ, you are in luck. Hickory River has some of the best around. Their turkey is also divine. Our family has ordered it as a catered lunch for our Thanksgiving on more than one occasion. Their sides should not be minimized however; the home made apple sauce is just like your aunt on the farm used to make back when folks still did that. The corn bread is hearty and the vegetable of the day is typically worth ordering off the cuff. All in all, it is a fantastic cafeteria style BBQ place. Out of the roughly 500 or so I've been to in my life, it ranks in the top 10%. read more

Always great lunch BBQ- quick and predictable- great value - had the BBQ horse shoe- highly recommend

I have NEVER been disappointed with this establishment. The food is always delicious, portions are perfect, staff is always courteous and friendly, welcoming, and fast at their jobs. The ambiance is a little over the top for my taste but it suits the cuisine and fits very well worth the whole feel of the restaurant. I will always be more than happy to come back. read more

Hickory River Smokehouse - Springfield - Smoked wings - Smokehouse Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

Twice in a row we've went there and ordered beef brisket plates and paid for extra sauce, both times they didn't put any sauce what so ever on the plate and no sauce at all in the bag even though they charged me for it both times, they forgot the waffle fries and cheese sauce, said it wasn't on there when it was clearly on the receipt, this place needs to fire people and hire a new staff! read more

Hickory River Smokehouse - Springfield - No sauce and we paid for extra - Smokehouse Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

Wow. A hidden gem. State fair award winning ribs, pulled pork and brisket. My kids are everything. They really loved the Mac n cheese. Cornbread was sweet. Self serve soft drinks and cold beer on ice. Family of 6 ate for 50 bucks. Very reasonable. read more

Hickory River Smokehouse - Springfield - Ribs... Very good. Smoky and sweet. We liked the mild sauce. - Smokehouse Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

Well we decided to try Hickory River out Tuesday night. The restaurant was pretty clean, and it's set up where you order at the counter and they build your plate and you carry it to a table. 3 of us shared a full slab of ribs and a Brisket plate. Our friend ordered the Horseshoe.The ribs were swimming in BBQ sauce, and you needed a knife to get them off of the bone. The Brisket was the biggest let down Im guessing it was a few days old?? It was so dry it broke into chunks when you tried to cut it, and it was so dry it was hard to eat. Our friend ordered the Horse shoe, she cleaned her plate so I'm guessing it was pretty good! I don't believe we will go back. read more

Chewing and popping gum while working with my food... Disgusting.

Texas quality BBQ in Illinois! Excellent meat, friendly staff, and nice atmosphere combine for a great dining experience.

We were coming through the area on our way home and found this place on the map. We drove up and wasn't sure about it. Only 1 car parked there. Realized it was in between lunch and dinner and decided why not. So glad we did, the food was very very good. If you're familiar with Dicky's it's very similar with the type of choices. I had the 1 pound loaded baked potatoe & my husband had pork & brisket. Then we added on some burnt ends. Would come here again when in the area. read more

As a Texan I was curious to try this place. Since they decided to underline the "Real" in Real Texas BBQ I thought they would do a little better of a job. The bark on the brisket wasn't flavored and there wasn't much of a smoke ring, the sides I had were good but they could do with a little less sugar in the ranch style beans since ranch style is more bold than sweet. The most important complaint I have, Texas BBQ restaurants are proud of their meat and proud of there sauces but they let the patron decide if they like the meat, without asking they slathered so much sauce on my meat I couldn't even taste the brisket. read more

Hickory River Smokehouse - Springfield - My brisket, real Texas brisket. - Smokehouse Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

Pulled pork was the best I've ever had! Ribs had great smoke flavor but were undercooked for my preference. I like a little bite but should also be tender enough to come off the bone. These took a lot of work to get the meat off of them. Service was amazing! read more

This a chain restaurant but with real food. The night we stopped, they had a BBQ brisket special. You get a large serving of brisket with the sauce on top. You choose mild, hot or mixed BBQ sauce. I went with the mild and that was still plenty zesty. Then, you pick two sides from about ten choices. I chose mac and cheese and the veggie of the day (which was a dish of sweet corn kernels). One last choice: Corn bread or texas toast. I picked toast which is placed on a griddle to warm one side with a garlic butter flavor. All that food was $9.99 and a real steal. You order, collect your order, walk down a line, you are tempted with deserts but they are wrapped in an unappealing way. Dessert was skipped. You get to the register, order a drink, and then pay. It was a real deal and we did not leave hungry. Was the food as good as a true barbeque place? It was close. The place itself looks a bit run down and the staff was not super welcoming. But we did meet the star of the place, this staff member was starting to close sections as it got closer to the end of the night. Every time she walked past us, she checked in on us. She had the best smile on her face and was super friendly. She was moving chairs onto tables but only in sections that were empty so we didn't feel rushed. She was the hardest worker and doing it all while pregnant. She is the reason for the extra star. Note: This place is fast food so everything is ready ahead of time. There is a drive thru for folks who want to pick up some barbeque for the road. read more

Have been back a few times since my bad experience. Each time the brisket has been moist and perfect.

Pretty good BBQ. Stopped in on our way south. It is usually a good indicator that there will be good 'que is the smell of wood smoke when you walk in. The staff was very friendly, and sold us their 'que Shoe special. It was fantastic. Pulled pork over fries with a white cheese sauce. Scrumptious. We also ordered the Smokehouse #2 ribs with 2 meats. We got four bones for the ribs, and they were meaty, moist and had some good smoke to them. We also had sliced brisket and pulled pork. The brisket was extremely overcooked and a little dry, but did have good flavor. The pork was also overcooked, but much better than the brisket. We would stop in again. read more

The best sweet iced tea I have had in a long time! Plenty to eat for the money. The brisket was very good. I will order it again when I come back. read more

I've literally never been to a BBQ place like this, only bigger sit down style BBQ places so I was kinda nervous about eating here. We shared the 2 meat combo plate with the turkey and brisket, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, and Texas toast. We also got 2 beers and 2 sauces. All that for $16! That's a bargain for sure and the food was amazing. I'm not a huge brisket fan, it was good but I LOVED the turkey!! To me it was like the best fast food you could ask for! Oh and the mac & cheese is amazeballs! read more

Hickory River Smokehouse - Springfield - 2 meat combo plate. Brisket, turkey, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, & garlic Texas toast. - Smokehouse Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

My boyfriend and I just moved here from Chicago. He had tried this place while on lunch at work and raved about it! We didn't have these restaurants up by us, so I was interested to try. I like bbq. I like it a lot. The menu appealed to me when first walking in with two friends who were in town visiting us. I ordered the half slab of ribs with mix sauce, and I was needless to say excited. And then quickly disappointed. I even watched them put my plate together, yet it was cold. My friends pulled pork dish was also cold, and even though we were starving, we completely lost our appetite. I was scared to even try the "homemade" potato salad. I give this specific location 3 stars, because even though my experience was, well, bad.. the staff was nice, my boyfriend still stands behind them. I'll just wait out my next meal for a while, I guess. read more

Fantastic BBQ - I had the Brisket and my wife had the pull pork. The meat was smoked perfectly and the sauce was fantastic. Had the salad and should have gone with the 2 sides, my fault and I will make sure I do that next time. Worth the trip for some good BBQ read more

Sorry, I wish that I could be kinder. But sadly, this was about the worst "BBQ" I have had in my many years of eating BBQ ribs and brisket. It was so bad that I looked at it a long time to see if I could see any evidence that the ribs had actually been smoked. I saw no smoke ring, no bark, so much so that I told my wife I think they were cooked in an oven. The sauce [the mixed] was far too runny for me, and cannot compare with even the commercially available BBQ sauces, let alone custom made. I had to gnaw at the bones to find any meat on these "baby back" ribs. They were dry in addition to tasteless - except for the sauce, a so-so item itself. When I bit into the meat, there was no nice "bite" to it in which it pulls nicely away from the bone. Tough, undercooked, just awful. Sides. Is it possible that the sides could have been even worse? Yep, they were. I had the potato salad, a tasteless concoction that I would have thrown out at home, figuring that I had done something wrong. The BBQ beans tasted like chili, and a bad chili at that! The cole slaw was also tasteless, and actually dry, with little moisture so that I thought I was eating raw cabbage. My wife got the beef brisket, and she said it was okay. Her fries, on the other hand, were terrible. Only one thing that we could agree upon: the coke and the ice were both good. We would also give good marks to the staff for their friendliness and helpfulness. Only the food was bad, very bad. Will not return. This restaurant will be gone in a year, I suspect. read more