Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Review: Hickory Tavern- "The New Kid On The Block"




I'm always excited to learn of a new eatery. Especially a brand spankin' new eatery in the Birmingham area. Hickory Tavern occupies the former location of Zea's Rotisserie restaurant in the Brookwood Village area.

Atmosphere: Contemporary- casual with televisions covering pretty much every wall in the restaurant. There is an impressively huge bar that occupies the entire center floor of the restaurant. The table spacing is so good that I didn't hear too much table talk from the surrounding tables. The restaurant is extremely spacious and designed to accommodate large crowds. The atmosphere was bright, welcoming and extremely comfortable.

The Meal:  My appetizer consisted of a small order of the BBQ chicken Nachos- warm tortilla chips piled high and topped with seasoned grilled chicken, Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, cilantro & queso with a dollop of sour cream on top. My entrĂ©e consisted of a Hickory Tavern classic, the Oregon Cedar Salmon- a generous portion of pecan rubbed salmon smoked right on top of a block of Oregon cedar wood accompanied by yellow rice & seasoned broccoli. For dessert...mmmmmm Are you ready?? The Chocolate Mousse Bomb- a round piece of chocolate cake, topped with large scoop of decadent chocolate mousse, covered with chocolate and then just for over kill.... drizzled in chocolate. I also had a strawberry mimosa to drink.

The Service: Although the Hickory Tavern has been open less than a week, the staff seemed to definitely have the customer service concept nailed. My server was amazing. Her menu knowledge was fantastic. She was very attentive, without that annoying "hovering" you tend to get at some places. I was quite impressed.

The Prices: Appetizers range from just over $3 bucks to around $14.00.They have a wide range of salads, burgers & entrees ranging from $9.00 to $29.00. They have an extensive beer & cocktail list including 13 beers from Alabama breweries. They also have a great looking wing selection. With flavors from Plain Jane to Red Dragon, I'm sure these will be a hit with local wing lovers. If you are watching the calorie count, check out the "SKINNY PLATE" menu. *Note: all items with an HT beside them are Hickory Tavern "top picks".

Overall Experience: I absolutely can't wait to return to this spot. The service combined with the menu variety will keep me coming back. Upon my return, I plan to try items from their Food Truck menu: a menu inspired by food trucks & street vendors around the country. They are currently open from 4:00 p.m. until 2:am.

Room for Improvement: Right now, I don't see any issues. If they maintain great customer service and consistency with the quality of food, they are sure to succeed. 

For more information about Hickory Tavern, visit http://www.thehickorytavern.com
Like them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HT.Brookwood
Follow them on Twitter @@TheHickoryTav or call 205-968-1311 for more details.

Check out the menu http://www.thehickorytavern.com/images/files/HickoryTavern-dinner.pdf


Thanks for reading,

~RR
 




1 comment:

Nadine said...

I am defiantly going to have to check this place out! Yum!