A surprise thunderstorm turned our 4.5 hour road trip into a 6+ hour ordeal, so we had to make an unplanned dinner stop in Hickory to refuel and grab some grub. This last-minute choice turned out to be quite the success for us!! I had the garden salad, which was HUGE, fresh, and came with a generous amount of dressing (on the side, I could drown my greens to my preferred level). My son had the hot dog, which he claimed was salty-good, and he chose the fried okra as his side dish, which he also enjoyed. Husband had the meat+2 sides plate and got ribs, cheddar jalapeño grits, and fried okra. The ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender and he really enjoyed the pepper rub, it was delicious without becoming overpowering. The grits were gritty, not mushy, and the flavor was spot on, and we are a pro-fried okra household so he enjoyed them too. I was planning on getting the banana pudding but was too full to attempt it, we might stop by on our drive back home just to get some. Had a great time!! read more

We were traveling across country from Colorado to North Colorado . We stopped at Hugh's Q's ! We so enjoyed the brisket and fresh side salad. One of our best meals of the trip! read more

This place is awesome. Got the pulled pork plate with a side of Mac and cheese, grits, and hush puppies. They were out of grits but offered the cream corn. Best suggestion ever. The pulled pork was the most tender and juicy I've had from a restaurant in ages. The hush puppies were actually seasoned and fresh. Recommend if you're looking for good BBQ!! read more

Came in at 2:00pm on a Saturday. My parents used to frequent this place when it was the Shuckin Shack so when we walked in we were excited to see what they had changed. To our surprise nothing was changed except checkered table cloths on the tables. The sign at the front said "seat yourselves" and we started to look for tables to sit at. Most of the tables in the restaurant had previous diners food and trays still on them so we could not seat ourselves. We decided to check outside and found a table. The table looked dirty so my mom broke out her wet wipes and started to wipe the table down. The waitress came out and greeted us and said "oh are you gonna wipe the table down?" And my mom said "ya" and then she said "oh okay, can you hold these" and handed me the menus. She didn't offer to wipe them down herself? Once we ordered we were hopeful to get some good food especially at the price point, (15$ for brisket and 2 sides). The brisket was dry, the Mac and cheese was stouffers microwave Mac, but the grits were pretty good. My mom ordered the pulled pork, cornbread, and coleslaw. The cornbread was dry and stale, the barbecue was ok, and the coleslaw was good. Safe to say that right now they are understaffed or just not caring about their restaurant. The bathrooms still have any gender signs on the right of them but a male sign on one and female sign on the other, so you can tell they have not renovated anything. All they did was add tablecloths to tables and a bbq smoker outside the restaurant. I would not recommend you dine here currently. read more

Hugh’s Q - Dirty Tables - Barbeque Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

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So pleased with my delivery from them! Brisket and pulled pork plate with potato salad, side salad, and banana pudding. Love the hush puppies! Great value and large servings! Love this place! read more

Hugh’s Q - Barbeque Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

We came here on a Sunday afternoon, ordered a pulled pork sandwich, mac and cheese, fries and hushpuppies. The pork wasn't the best quality, it wasn't the best texture and it was a little too soggy. The fries were fine, mac and cheese was fine. The hushpuppies were very good. Price wouldn't have been too bad for good bbq but for mediocre, it was too much. Probably won't return. read more

Food was great, and the portions were generous. We ordered carryout, and the waitress was unbelievably kind. I loved the brisket, and the sweet potato casserole was amazing. All three of the barbecue sauces were delicious. I will definitely be returning. read more

As a vegetarian, I was pleasantly surprised about this place. The salads are nice and fresh and the mac and cheese was better than most. My daughter had the pulled chicken and thought it was great! The cole slaw was tasty. Servers were also nice. We'll be back! read more

Hugh’s Q - The inside of the restaurant. - Barbeque Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

Excellent food, flavors. Tender and delicious and juicy. We made Carnivore sandwichs. Using Two slices of brisket and about 6 ounces of Pulled pork. All we van say is YEAH! Yum yum get you some. They should offer this as a line item. With almost a million people switching to carnivore diet, this is a success. read more

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First timer here. Service was nice. The ribs have a nice rub on them St Louis style very meaty . Beans were great . Pulled pork and chicken very good. Just the right amount of smoky flavor and very moist. Sides were spot on and price was very fair. read more

We came across Hugh's Q as we left the furniture mart. What a great find! Delicious pulled pork, brisket, white slaw, Mac n. Cheese. Meat is nicely smoky, lean and juicy. Generous portion on the meat/2 sides plate, which also included wither cornbread or hush puppies. We did puppies which were tasty. Server was lovely. She wanted to be sure we liked everything. read more

Fast friendly service, clean restaurant, good food, reasonable prices. Exceedingly good on all fronts. I'll be back. Thank you!

We came all the way from Atlanta and found a gem of a place. The food was great, and the service was too. Go ahead and give them a try; you won't regret it. read more

Good food and good prices. Pulled pork had a lot of flavor and slaw was good. Service was prompt look forward to going back

Best BBQ & ribs in town! This place is locally owned and operated. No chain restaurant. Support this place. You will nit be disappointed!

The Pulled Pork sandwich very tender and good flavor. Personally would prefer more seasoning and smoke. The corn flour bun is unusual and excellent. The NC BBQ sauce was Eastern Carolina style with just a hint of heat. Meat and fries portions were generous. Nice touch was a full glass of soda to go at the end of the meal. read more

I was visiting Hickory and the hotel I was staying at referred me here. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint . I had a brisket sandwich w/ potatoe salad. To top it of, the jalapeño bread w/ honey was fire. read more

The atmosphere is very casual.....concrete floors, your meal is served on tin pans, plastic cups, plastic eatlery. The portions are very generous, enough for another meal. The pork , cornbread and all sides my husband and I had were delicious. We've made return trips and plan to go back. We tipped well because service was fantastic! read more

NomNomNom!!! What a great experience we had! Our server, Taylor, was so professional and attentive. She offered great suggestions! The $1.50 "whole" chicken wings were sooooooo good! We ordered the spicy and man was it a great compliment to the smoked wings. Not for the meek who can't handle this kind of flavorful spicy. The barbecue sandwich was tender and juicy and perfection on the "cornbread" bun. Crinkle fries and Mac and cheese were spot on. Super cute and comfortable inside. We have found our new fav barbecue joint in Hickory. We will be back and will ask for Taylor! read more

Hugh’s Q - Spicy smoked "whole" chicken wings! - Barbeque Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

Was in town for a work conference and decided to give this place a try. Great food and great service. Will definitely make the trip to eat here again. I really liked that they had the pulled chicken an turkey opinion because I don't eat pork. read more

Good food,rib meat falls off the bones. Sides are good as well. Customer service was on point.

Possibly the best ribs I've ever had. We were able to order bypass the pound which is great because we are carnivore and don't eat the sides. read more

Amazing food great service fast and delicious. We found this place by luck and we were very pleased. Brisket and ribs are the best, banana pudding was delicious read more

Best brisket I've ever eaten! The sweet potato casserole and red slaw were great accompaniments as well. Service was good, and I'll be back!

Absolutely delicious food! The best part of this restaurant is the simplicity of the menu. There is not a million options to choose from but enough to make everyone happy. The service was excellent as well. Staff was friendly, attentive, and on top of service. The bbq was juicy and flavorful, the brisket was some of the best we've had in a restaurant. They have an actual smoker out back which is so nice to see and adds to the overall ambiance. These are probably the best hush puppies we've ever ate, including from the beach. Highly recommend! read more

Hugh’s Q - Two meat combo with fries and hush puppies - Barbeque Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

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Best Hickory NC BBQ I've found. This place is small but great! They have the smoker out front so you see and smell it, it's awesome! The BBQ and Chicken are both delicious. The things that bumped it to a 4 for me is the service and hush puppies. The service is not BAD, but it's not GREAT... it's a happy medium. Granite they are always busy, but whether you are at a table or at the bar, it's about the same. They can be slow when it comes to service, but in no means is it bad. The hush puppies aren't my favorite side, but I enjoy some good hush puppies. They are a 6/10 here, again not terrible but not the best I've had. Overall this place is amazing! I am a frequent and will continue to be. read more

Best BBQ I have ever had! Service and prices and portions outstanding! I'm getting hungry just writing about it!!!

Came here on a Friday night, not a bad crowd, but not necessarily packed either. We took half of a large table that had not yet been cleaned, figured they were just busy. Our server was great, for the most part. After 7 pm they were already out of brisket. This was sad, because we wanted to give the place a full sampling. The pulled pork was very tasty. Now, they have three sauces on the table, like any good barbecue restaurant. My disappointment was that they didn't have a western NC or "Lexington" style sauce in western NC. They had eastern NC, which was completely absorbed by the meat, as it should have been. They had South Carolina sauce (aka Carolina Gold), which was wonderful. But their "traditional" sauce, which I guess was intended for brisket, tasted like Hunt's. They have some creative sides, like green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole. However, you could tell it had sat under a heating tray all day. To be fair though, you just don't whip up those dishes. It's a nice place, and for 2024, the pricing is reasonable. There's sports on TV and a trivia TV that I guess works with your phone. Long story short, good, but could be better. read more

Generous portions, tender brisket, will go back real soon Attentive service as well Nicely decorated read more

Great food and service. Bbq is smoked there and the sides are tasty. Generous servings

The bbq was amazing the dudes where great also I had pulled pork and brisket with Mac and cheese with jalapeño cheeses grits. I would recommend this to anyone traveling in the area. I'm from Southern California and this was amazing to me.. read more

Stopped in because we were close and yelp reviews. The "Q" was very tasty as were the sides. Beans were different and great. We'll be back.

First time visiting. Pleasant interior and friendly staff Ordered 3 meats and 2 sides. BBQ Chicken and pulled pork and beef brisket. Cowboy beans, sweet potato casserole and hush puppies. Best was the brisket for tenderness and flavor. Pork was tasty, but fatty. Chicken was moist and flavorful. Hush puppies were over fried. Sweet potato casserole was way too sweet and Cowboy beans had no flavor. Good amount of food for the money. I would return for the beef brisket. read more

The food was amazing! So happy to have found this bbq place. The service was good. I never noticed the place driving by, but I am so glad I stopped. read more

The best smoke chicken i have ever had . I will definitely be back. I really liked the brisket as well..

Amazing brisket and homemade barbecue sauce that goes great with all the meats. The service was amazing as well as the ambiance.

My wife and I had a great Sunday lunch at Hugh's Q today. I had the brisket plate with green bean casserole, creamed corn, and hushpuppies, along with 3 whole smoked hot wings. My wife had the rib plate with mac n cheese, cream corn, and texas toast. Everything we had was delicious! We both highly recommend Hugh's Q and we will definitely be back. read more

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Finally found really good bbq in Hickory!! So of course had to try pulled pork, ribs and brisket. The pulled pork was very good. Right up there with Lexington bbq!! Ribs were also quite good. Not the best but better than average. The most surprising thing was how good the brisket is!! Great bark, good smoke, tender and lots of delicious fat! No longer have to drive all the way out to Morganton to get great bbq!! We tried the hush puppies and jalapeño cornbread. Hush puppies were amazing. Cornbread had good flavor but was quite dry. Needed some butter, honey or sorghum to fix. The creamed corn was great! Absolutely loved the green bean casserole. The jalapeño grits were good but need more salt, butter and cheese! The baked beans were good and had lots of meat mixed in. The potato salad was quite dill forward and the recipe seemed to need to be tweaked. They have three sauces on the table. Very good southern Carolina mustard bbq sauce. Good vinegar based eastern NC sauce. Also enjoyed the sweeter Memphis style bbq sauce. Overall very happy to have this great bbq so close to home. Highly recommend to anyone looking for great pulled pork or brisket!! read more

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Hugh's Q BBQ lovers a must! ( close by Hickory Furniture South). The smells from the HUGE smoker out back are captivating when you get out of your car! Everything and I mean everything is made in house! The BBQ sauces have wonderful flavors! The Brisket is the most tender and flavorful ever!!! The coleslaw is unique with a light dressing and a little crunch . KILLER jalapeño corn bread and great flavored HOT fries! Owner Brian created all the unique flavors in ALL the foods! Brittany the waitress is full of energy and personality! read more

I had an eye appointment next door and could smell the barbecue so my husband and I went there after. It was exactly what I was hoping for. Simple and delicious barbecue. They have four types of sauces at each table to try and my husband tried them all. He said he liked all of them. I just had the classic bbq sauce. It is a tiny dinning room. Not many tables at all. Thankfully there were still plenty of open tables when we were there but not sure how busy they are during dinner rush. Might be good to plan ahead if anyone is going with a larger party. We will definitely be back soon. read more