DESCRIPTION: On Saturday April 24, I, my wife and six other professionals dined at the Hickory House in Gahanna. Although the restaurant was empty on a Saturday night, the service was very slow. Averaging about 50 years in age, we were routinely referred to as honey or sweetie by the waitperson. The food ranged from unremarkable to inedible, although the pricing reflected moderate quality cuisine. My meal consisted of a salad containing wilting lettuce, two slices of tomato, two slices of onion, and six strips of tasteless chicken, poor quality coffee, and stale bread. My wife, a seafood gourmet, ordered a salmon meal that could not be eaten. Most of the others ordered beef that ranged from tasteless to tough. Combined, we spent in excess of $250 for meals and service that would have been unacceptable at Bob Evans.
DATE: 2005-04-27
FOODRATING : 2
SERVICERATING : 4
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 2
RECOMMENDED DISHES : None

BAD EXPERIENCE
DESCRIPTION: On Tuesday evening December 13,2005 my wife, daughter and I dined at Hickory House. We had been there 7 or 8 times before. The service was extremely slow. I and my daughters meal was fine although I never did get my baked potato that I asked for repeatedly. My wife ordered a fillet (medium)and it was unusually dry. They brought another and it was raw in the center.By this time my daughter and I were finished eating so we ordered a slab of ribs to take home so my wife could eat later. The manager agreed to give us the ribs complimentary. While waiting for our bill a man comes to our table and looks at my wife and asks us to never come back. He said he was the owner and that my wifes first fillet was fine and it is supposed to be dry. It wasn't dry our last visit there!! We used to recommend this place to friends but never again and we will honor the owners wishes and never go back. Hmmm that's around 700 to 1000 dollars they won't receive next year not to mention the party of 12 we brought in twice this year.
DATE: 2005-12-14
FOODRATING : 4
SERVICERATING : 4
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 4
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Owners Decision

Wonderful
DESCRIPTION: Recently our group of 25 visited. Most excellent service and the call ahead reservations were wonderful. The manager that spoke with us and reserved the tables for us was great to work with! Thanks to you all!!
DATE: 2006-03-03
FOODRATING : 10
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 10
OVERALLRATING : 10

A Favorite of the Grumpy Gournet, not to my tastes though
DESCRIPTION: I'm pretty picky about my BBQ taste, this sauce is definitely on the sweet side with a tangy after-taste. Pretty soon the whole meal begins to taste this way including the three meat dishes I tried and several of the side dishes. Quite the contrast to that place in Cincy that sells BBQ sauce over the counter. It is obviously a popular style though, since many customers were there even in the middle of the afternoon. I did really like the cornbread and the mac&cheese. After reading the reviews I expected my rib meat to fall of the bones, however the meat was somewhat average compared to other BBQs and fit neither into a tender or tough category. The pulled pork was excellent, although the BBQ sauce was a bit too sweet for me. Most of the meat has a little bit of red inside, this is a result of the slow-cooking process that results in a red-ring and the meat is actually fully cooked. Service was fast at the counter, however the cashier only had short answers to questions, for example "What does collard greens have in them?" answered by "collard greens", when he could have answered "A variety of cabbage, called collard greens, is slow-cooked for a tender taste." Sitting on the picnic benches worked fine, a bit uncomfortable after a while though. They do cycle through the tables quickly though.
DATE: 2004-05-16
FOODRATING : 4
SERVICERATING : 6
AMBIANCERATING : 6
OVERALLRATING : 4
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Pulled Pork Sandwich