A Visit To The Newly Opened Hickory's Smokehouse In Oadby, Leicester
Published On Sunday 10 Aug 2025 by Sticky Beak
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The Man and I’s favourite Smokehouse, Hickory’s, added another string to its bow (or another steer to its ranch, if you want a Southern States analogy!) with the opening of the Oadby restaurant. His Nibs was positively chirruping when the invitation to join the team for their soft launch came through via email from Paula and Alison, Hickory’s Marketing Team extraordinaire! Needless to say, we immediately accepted and counted down the days until we were back chowing down on some tasty smokehouse morsels.
There’s plenty of parking on-site and, having found a spot, we wandered over to the entrance of the single-storey, low barn-style restaurant. Whichever Hickory’s Smokehouse we’ve visited, the welcome has always been nothing short of stellar, a real testament to adhering to the southern hospitality that is characteristic of states such as Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi and Georgia. We’d arrived a little earlier than our reservation, so the front-of-house hostess escorted us through to the bar and said to enjoy a drink whilst our table was being made available.
As well as the huge choice of authentic sodas and lemonades, there are silky ‘shakes and mind-boggling freakshakes, ales, lagers, wines and cocktails to indulge in whilst you eat…and talking of the food – brace yourselves if you’ve not been to a Hickory’s Smokehouse before; the portions are stateside size! The lovely Jumo was our server for the night and, spying the popcorn and drinks we’d brought through from the bar, got stuck into the business of sorting food out – my kinda gal.
As well as some Brisket Popcorn Bites with their Kansas-style BBQ sauce (£8.95) and Deep-South Shrimp Cocktail Tostadas (£9) we also fancied trying the Giant Garlic Buttered Pretzel Bites with a beer-infused Cheese Dipping Sauce (£8.50). The Brisket at Hickory’s is second-to-none and these miniature bitesize treats were stunning; just as marvellous were my tangy Creole Mayo-dressed Shrimp, bringing a multitude of tastes and textures in one dish. We knew the Pretzel would be good, but this [seemingly simple] appetiser was really something else: the moist Garlic Butter had soaked into the Pretzel, infusing it with a rich flavour and getting us licking our fingers, but it was the hang-time of the Cheese strings as we’d dunked the bread/pastry (you decide) in that had us mesmerised! We’re all familiar with the American Cheese sauce and its quicksilver texture, but the one here had the added pizzazz of beer, giving it an extra depth to its taste credential.
For our main course, we returned to our go-to; the iconic [Hickory’s] Smokehouse Platter, £65. For those that are uninitiated, this solves all the problems of what to have for you; you’ve got Brisket in there, Jacob’ Ladder (short) Ribs smoked for 8hours to make them mouth-wateringly tender, Memphis-style- and BBQ- Baby Back Ribs, an impossibly good Smoked Pork, Jalapeno and Cheese Sausage, Pulled Pork and Pit Beans, and Bourbon-glazed Smoked Chicken Wings. As if this wasn’t enough (and trust me, it is more than enough!), you can tuck into skin-on Fries, Cornbread, House ‘Slaw, Pickles and Tennessee Bourbon Gravy. His Nibs and I are total fans of Hickory’s ‘Magic Dust’ seasoning, so requested our fries be coated with that. With all the mighty flavours of the meat mingling in our mouths, the creamy ‘slaw was a welcome cooling addition and the sharpness and crunch of the mixed Pickles added another distraction.
Needless to say, The Man and I didn’t manage to finish the Platter, but Hickory’s Smokehouse team are well used to this and happily provide take-home cartons and bags, so that nothing goes to waste. There was method in our madness, though: you just have to save room for some of Hickory’s iconic Frozen Custard (Fro Co), which actually isn’t custard per se; it’s a denser ice cream type dessert. His Nibs loves the version with Honeycomb, Toffee Fudge pieces, and Butterscotch Sauce (£6.50), so that’s what he had. Normally, I would join him, but I had my eye on the Strawberries and Cream Jam Jar Cheesecake (£7.50) and I am SO glad I chose it. The combination of Strawberries and respective compote, actual whipped cheesecake ‘body’ and smashed Oreo cookies (which would’ve been the base) was utterly amazing. This could be my new fave Hickory’s dessert I think.
Throughout the evening the team had been superstars – nothing had been too much trouble and they were confident in recommending dishes on the menu. Leicester/Oadby, get yourselves down to this excellent restaurant; it’s family friendly - it even has a cinema and play area for children - and there is something on the menu for everyone. Perfect for parties and celebrations, too, what’s not to love? Yee-haw!!
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