Hillbilly’s Barbeque & Steaks

My wife and I ate here this afternoon after hiking at Crowders mountain. The staff was attentive and courteous and seated us in a reasonable amount of time. Our waitress answered our questions and explained all of their sauces and made good recommendations. We split the ribs and pulled pork plate which came with unlimited hush puppies, fried okra and a newly added dish which was a vinegar-​based macaroni salad. The meal came out in good time and it was nice that the meats were delivered without sauce. The ribs were very good even without sauce and the pulled pork had nice burnt ends mixed in and both had good flavor. She brought us 4 different sauces and I have to admit that the sweet vinegar and the spicy sauces were far-​and-​away the best. Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our experience at Hillbilly’s and will definitely swing in again the next time we pass through Gastonia.

I have been to this restaurant three times since we moved to Lowell a year ago and the last time was on May 16, 2015. Each time I have eaten here it is still consistently bad and dirty. Food was cold and the Bbq chicken is so dry you cannot eat it. Bathrooms were dirty. My daughter ordered Mac and cheese and refused to eat it because it tasted bad, I tried it and agreed it was awful, didn’t offer to make her anything else to eat. There are much better BBQ restaurants in the area instead of wasting money here. Personally I am not sure how it stays in business.

Kitchen has to be the slowest I’ve ever seen. Waitress was nice, hostess seemed pissed that we would interrupt her day. Hope the food is at least decent.
UPDATE: I won’t be back. Lunch was served after 45 minutes of waiting, and it was cold. Such a shame. This is the only real BBQ option on Sunday.

This place and the one in Gastonia is the real deal for quality smoked ribs. They really do smoke their ribs through and through day in day out. Occasionally they may undercook them but I always ask for well done and I’m good to go. Sad when the one in Charlotte closed a couple years back. Nothing like it out there.

Am visiting my fiancé’s family down here in NC for the holidays, and in the midst of making last minute stops for gift shopping, we stopped here for lunch. Our server was very friendly, and brought our table free refills of our drinks, amongst other things.
I had the BBQ beef sandwich with a cup of chicken noodle soup (soup of the day); the soup hit the spot as it was chilly & rainy outdoors, and the BBQ beef was tasty, and there was some extra BBQ sauce on the table which I used to add to the sandwich. The sweet tea was delicious, as back home in CT it is something that’s not usually available.
I’ve had better BBQ but for today it was pretty good.
One observation I made was the salad bar area, I felt that there were not enough selections, such as in lettuce… there is a world beyond iceberg lettuce but perhaps that’s just me.

We stopped in by recommendation from my dad’s co-​worker on our way to see the lights in McAdenville. To say the least, I should have trusted Unilocal over him.
To start out positive, the restaurant is very spacious and the staff were all friendly. Furthermore, it really is a prime location if you’re trying to see the lights. I recommend getting there around 3ish in order to avoid the RIDICULOUS traffic in the evening.
That being said, our whole party unanimously agreed the food was subpar. To be fair, I was biased going in because I’m a BIG fan of Eastern Carolina BBQ, while they serve Western. However, the food was really just lackluster all around. We got a variety of menu items, none of which shined. Furthermore, the portion sizes were very small. No one left full by any means. The prices accurately reflect what you’ll receive, though.
But really, when you’re eating at a place called Hillbilly’s, you probably shouldn’t expect much.

This is a great hole in the wall right off of I85. The barbecue, hush puppies and sweet tea were all great. Everything you want from a road trip food break.

Service took forever. One of the teenage staff members told me that they weren’t seating anybody because they were out of silverware, so I ordered to go. It still took around 20 minutes to get my food, which is pretty long considering BBQ should already be prepared.
I got a combo plate of ribs and pulled pork. The pulled pork was so dry, I had to cover it on sauce. The ribs were tender, but could use some seasoning. Also, the potato salad was pretty much mashed potatoes mixed with equal parts mayo… not sure if that’s a Carolina thing, but that wasn’t what I expected at all.

I smelled the BBQ from the interstate and was not disappointed. Yea it looks like an older style steak house but man the food was great.

Thoroughly enjoy the pork plate with the vinegar based bbq sauce. Their food and service are consistently excellent! The atmosphere is relaxed and laid back. You feel right at home there!

To start, they need to overhaul the interior. I remember all their locations looking pretty ragged 15 years ago, and they haven’t changed. The carpet is frayed, the floors are dirty, the tables don’t have coverings so you can see the grease on top and the gum on the bottom, the chairs are old and uncomfortable and the display at the checkout was just really sad. There was one candy case of some sad looking m&m’s in the middle of a dusty display case.
Okay okay so it looks crappy. How’s the food?
Not much better. My mom and I both ordered pulled pork platters with fries and onion rings for me and fries and potato salad for her. They bring out free hushpuppies, and that’s lovely! Except, they’re gross little hard hushpuppies that taste like they were made a week ago and reheated in a microwave. The fries weren’t extraordinary, clearly out of a freezer burnt bag. My mom didn’t care for her potato salad but she wasn’t very specific. The onion rings were a little thick for my taste, and it tasted like they don’t change the oil enough. The BBQ itself had no color to speak of. No smoke ring, no flavor. The only color and flavor you get is when you mix in the heavy BBQ sauce that comes already poured out on your pork. I’ve tasted better sauce out of a bottle from grocery stores.
It seems to be a recurring problem in BBQ restaurants around Gastonia that the meat has no flavor and has been destroyed to the point where the texture resembles something that I feed my cat.
Bottom line: Don’t waste your money here on food you could replicate at home for less (and actually get some flavor out of!)

Our experience here was limited to take-​out. The wait was longer than expected for chopped beef sandwiches, considering the restaurant was nearly empty at the time. The pit master’s explanation was that he chopped the beef to order. During our wait, the seating hostess kept checking back with us. She couldn’t have been sweeter — the kind of courtesy and charm taught you by your parents, rather than by a manager. She got us a beverage while we waited. Unfortunately, the tea couldn’t have been sweeter either (even the hostess acknowledged this,) reminding me that in the South one must specify «unsweet.» When the sandwiches finally arrived, they were delicious, even to a chauvinistic Texas barbeque snob. This is not a place one goes for atmosphere; it’s a big open room with windows on three sides, kind of like a barbeque Denny’s.

I tried this resturant Saturday evening. I was driving home and thought I give this place a shot. The first thing was the hushpuppies were cold. The bar-​b-​que sauce was ok sweet if you like it that ways. Ok I ordered a combo with ribs and choped beef. The food was very salty. I believe the quality of the meat is very poor. The taste was just barly passable for meat. I also order fries and steak bread. The fries were ok and the bread was very good. I could of had a meal on the bread and been happier. I tried so nothing ventured worth a shot but won’t be back.

Hushpuppies are addictive. This place is the real deal in Carolina BBQ and is worth the trip out of Charlotte. I take out-​of-​town guests here for authentic Southern cuisine.

Hillbilly’s: Garrison Blvd. is better. Friendly service. Small salad bar.

Umm look if you do not smell smoke then how are they cooking it. Bruce I know you have been to better places than this. Like the Grocery Store in the plastic container in the meat Department. No No No. No BBQ here. Look at the menu when there are more non BBQ items on the menu than BBQ items then its not a BBQ joint.

Hillbilly’s is usually our go-​to place for great bar-​b-​que; not anymore. Our son’s birthday party was at Hillbilly’s because he loves the food there, but I noticed he only ate two bites of his food at the party. Well, when we got home and I sampled his food I found out why. It was nothing but GRISTLE AND FAT! It was a ratio of 10 percent edible meat and 90 percent fat! I’m sorry, but I expect better from this place. We won’t be returning any time soon, which I hate because they USED to be so good!
The ONLY reason for the second star is the woman who waited on us. She was great. Earned them another star they normally wouldn’t have gotten for the horrible food my son got on his birthday!

I think the food here is pretty solid, though it is a bit of a chain. It’s still good, pit cooked barbecue with all the usual sides and fillings. Vegetarians, move along.
I met several friends here for a retirement dinner. Oops, there’s a whole large room in the back so if you’re looking for people, head back there.
The staff did a good job of catering to our large table of 20 people, getting the food orders and bringing it out to us accurately and promptly. They also did well at keeping the drinks refilled.
I had the pound plate of ribs and after nibbling on a couple of the excellent hush puppies, I had half of the ribs and most of the baked potato to go home in a box. The ribs were quite moist though perhaps a little chewier than perfect. I’m still picking yummy bits of meat out of my teeth!

It’s alright. The service was great, the ambience was classic, the fried okra was perfect, & the ribs were delicious, but everything else was «meh». It was a cool experience, but food wasn’t special. Coleslaw, potato salad, ginger chicken sandwich was bland, something was missing.
It’s alright. The service was great, the ambience was classic, the fried okra was perfect, & the ribs were delicious, but everything else was «meh». It was a cool experience, but food wasn’t special. Coleslaw, potato salad, ginger chicken sandwich was nothing special, something was missing.

Let me ask you this: Can you drive down 85 south and smell the mouth watering, smoky, honey-​laced, barbecue smell without stopping at Hillbilly’s? I dare you to try. Let me be honest, though… I’m not into the whole Eastern Carolina vs. Western Carolina BBQ feud thing. Both kinds of sauce are equally tasty, and BBQ for me is an every now and then treat, not a way of life. But get this, peeps… THEY GIVE YOU HUSH PUPPIES LIKE MEXICAN RESTAURANTS GIVE YOU CHIPS. Just set ‘em right out on the table when you sit down. That, my friends, is worth a trip out of Charlotte. The BBQ is great, the chicken is great, the fries are great, the service is great, and it’s got a cute log-​cabin-​y feel to it on the inside. One of the few non-​national-​chain restaurants Gaston County has to offer, and certainly a winner!