Old Hickory Bar-B-Q

I was really looking forward to eating here after many recommendations from locals and reputation. I was under impressed and dissatisfied. The service was ok. The sliced pork was tender and delicious and the French fries were not bad. We also tried the pork ribs and baked chicken. The chicken was way too dried out! The ribs weren’t that bad either. I don’t know why, I was expecting this mouth-​watering juicy BBQ experience and for me it fell short. Wasn’t a fan of the baked beans or Mac n cheese and the onion rings were over cooked. Next time if and when I’m ever back in Owensboro I’ll have to check out their competitor. I was really hoping for a better experience especially with its BBQ Pit Masters exposure and fame.

BBQ is very authentic. Other food is slightly above average. Service was consistent with the area

The last time I was here I wondered if coming with friends would improve it. It did. Seriously, the next trip I made was for lunch with friends and the waitress wash sweet and fun.
This time and many times since I have had their beef brisket. It is very good. Thier cooking sauce is great. The chicken is very good as well. The banana pudding is pretty good too.
I now come here for carry out.

No trip to Owensboro, Kentucky would be complete without a stop at one of their famous barbecue joints. Even though Moonlite Inn has all of the notoriety, I had it on good authority that those who know pick Old Hickory Bar-​B-​Q instead.
The unassuming décor and simplistic atmosphere are also quite welcoming, complete with warm woods and rustic colors. It’s not modern, but it is comforting. This is the kind of easy-​going restaurant where you come to just kick back and enjoy a pleasant meal with family and friends. Of course, Old Hickory brings in its fair share of tourists as well.
The easy part was ordering Old Hickory’s three-​meat Combination Plate, the hard part was figuring out which of their nine meats to include. After much agonizing deliberation, I selected sliced mutton, a dark meat quarter-​chicken, and pork ribs, with sides of potato salad and onion rings.
Between the finely diced potatoes and the strong pickle tang, this potato salad was a touch different than what I’m used to, but it gave the potato salad a great, potent flavor. I can’t say whether the onion rings here are handmade or frozen, but they hit the spot either way. The crisp batter and light salting was just right.
The mutton looked a little like church picnic stew, but thankfully tasted better. It was very tender and only slightly smoky. There was also a mild sweetness to it from the mop sauce. I found it to be a tad greasy for my liking, although most mutton generally is.
The delicious, well-​seasoned chicken skin was just what I was hoping for. There wasn’t much smoke to be found, but the other flavors more than made up for it. The meat itself was tender, though a little on the dry side. I didn’t fault them too much for it though, since that’s fairly easy to do with barbecue chicken.
Each bite of the pork ribs was juicy, tender, and perfectly pink. The meat came away cleanly with only a slight tug, just the way it should be. There was also a great smokiness to the ribs, but then again I never expected anything less.
I completely underestimated how full I had gotten during my morning at the International Bar-​B-​Q Festival, so I ended up taking over half of my lunch plate home with me. Oh well, I needed something for dinner anyway.

Great down home BBQ simple place with focus on the prize, great BBQ! Their mutton can’t be beat! The hostess on the otherhand could care less: no eye contact, no welcome, not even a hello. She looked like she wanted to be any where but there. Our waitress was busy but good. Yes, eat here if you want great BBQ. Also, take some home!

My 80 year old father & I are on a road trip north from Atlanta to visit his birthplace in Owensboro, KY, his 90 year uncle in Chicago, and his 92 year old aunt in Traverse City, MI. I had heard & read about Owensboro mutton BBQ for 40 years, but had never had any here or elsewhere, and I’ve gobbled down BBQ in several dozen states. We did the parking lot cruise of Old Hickory and Moonlite and chose Old Hickory because their hickory smoke wafting up the smoker chimney smelled better and the building looked better loved. My dad had chopped mutton, fries, and green beans and cleaned his plate totally, and he’s 80, mind you. I had a triple combo: mutton (sliced chunks pulled, not chopped and which I liked better than his chopped), mutton ribs, and pork ribs. As an aside, I like lamb even better than beef cooked any style. The BBQ mutton I liked better than most pulled pork or sliced beef brisket BBQ, but that could be because I like lamb so much in the first place. I’ll BBQ a leg of lamb in my smoker when I get home. The St. Louis style pork ribs were also very good. Old Hickory uses a mild rub with perhaps paprika, black pepper, and a wee bit of sugar and a wee bit of salt. Not overpowering, too salty, or too sweet. Ribs were fall off the bone tender, smoked long enough to be pink to the bone, cook off the fat, yet still be moist. Sides of baked beans & potato salad were fine and pecan pie was great, too.

On a recent business trip I was searching for some local BBQ to try and Old Hickory showed up on the Unilocal app. Ratings decent so couldn’t be terrible… my co-​worker and I stopped in after work for a bite.
My general impression of the place was that the dining room was really dated and dirty. Almost like at one point it should have been a high end steakhouse with the dark woods and carpeted (!?) dining room floor. I watched a waitress accidently spill some BBQ sauce on the floor and promptly rub it INTO the carpet. So… yay carpet.
I went with my usual BBQ plate and sides (sides were good) and decided to try the mutton since this was how western Kentucky apparently rolls. It was just OK to me with a consistency like something you get from a crock pot. Same for the pork… not blown away. The waitresses weren’t especially friendly either (end of shift?) so getting drinks, ordered, was way harder than it should have been.
If I lived in the area I think this would be more of a place I would get carryout from. It seemed better suited to that and with the essentials on a shelf next to the checkout you could bring everything you need home. But alas I don’t live here so won’t race to get back. The food and service wouldn’t have me racing back anyways.

Where do I start?
Owensboro is supposedly the bbq capital of the US.
So why did I get a sloppy joe instead of chopped pork?
It was mushy and just gross looking.
Thankfully my hunger compensated for the edibility.
I heard the mutton is the reason people love this place but we are basing these ratings off my experience.
The only thing Old & Hickory about this place is the waitstaff.

Owensboro’s locals go here for barbecue. Old Hickory’s atmosphere is informal compared to the competition. The mutton and pork off the pit are the best in town (probably the state). I love this place!

The best BBQ ever! Let me preface this by saying that Old Hickory is not a tomato, sweet based BBQ, so if this is the kind of BBQ you are looking for then you probably won’t be happy with it.
I have grown on up old Hickory BBQ and have had it both as an dining in experience as well as bulk carry out. Either way it is great! They have a good variety to choose from, but my favorite is the sliced pork. You have traditional choice of sides to choose from the accompany your meat and all of them are great. Mouthwatering is all I can say. As I am writing this review I am 3 hours away and sad that I can’t go and grab some immediately!
Take the time to stop by Old Hickory and give then a chance, you will be happy if you do! The best BBQ in the tri-​state area!

First place my family stops when in town. Excellent BBQ, burgers, baked beans. The Easter before my mom passed, she wanted Old Hickory, we packed it up all neat and hit the road to Indy. I’ll never forget the grin on her face while eating a chopped mutton sandwich. This is the real deal.
(Their BBQ sauce is the secret ingredient in my awesome chili)

Good BBQ in town. I always make a trip here when I’m in Owensboro. Get the combination plate! That way you can try 3 meats at once and it comes with two sides. I had the Mac n cheese and potato salad sides which were good. I recommend the chopped mutton and beef. They give very generous portions. Come by when you’re in town and if you’re in the mood for BBQ, you won’t be disappointed.

First off, the best mutton BBQ I could find is Thomason’s BBQ in Henderson, KY. It’s rich, tender, a little spicy, a little sweet, and perfectly gamey. Oh, and the beans are the best I’ve ever had. Just call to make sure they are open. They close early and are not open on Sunday or Monday. Now on to the review.
Positives: They have mutton BBQ! Love it. The sliced mutton BBQ was quite good. And in hindsight they were the only place that had mutton ribs.
Negatives: The beans were too sweet. The slaw was ok, but very forgettable. And the service. I came in an hour before close, so that probably had something to do with it, but not good. Just seemed like no one wanted to be there. Anyway, might have just been an off night.
Conclusion: If I was in Owensboro (and Thomason’s wasn’t open or I didn’t feel like driving to Henderson), I might go back to try the mutton ribs. In general though, I’d probably recommend Moonlite, if you stay in Owensboro.

This is some of the best BBQ I’ve had in years. Chopped or Sliced is made to perfection. We will be back!

We were excited to try the mutton here. We decided to try a variety of meats and stews. We ordered chopped mutton and pork, sliced turkey, burgoo and bean soup with cornbread. All of the meats were delicious but the burgoo and bean soup were even more so. You could taste each component of the stews and the cornbread was the flat kind we call hoecakes. Very good. Our server was friendly and the prices very reasonable.

There is a reason this place is a destination for BBQ lovers throughout the world. As you walk in the door one thing you will notice, besides the amazing smell, is a map where people from just about every corner of the country have placed a pin to represent their pilgrimage to experience what I once referred to as some of the worlds best smoked meats.
If you are looking for an authentic representation of true Kentucky Barbecue, Old Hickory is about as close as you can get in a restaurant without attending one of the many «Church Picnics» that are held almost every Sunday during the summer here. If you want real «Kentucky Styled» cue, than you should certainly find a church picnic or fundraiser.
When I say «Kentucky Styled» I mean pork, chicken and mutton, slow smoked over hickory coals that are burned down and shoveled into open pits. The meat is basted with a mop sauce frequently referred to as «Kentucky Black Dip». The first time, the last time (and every time in between) I have tried it, I am reminded why this is my favorite style of barbecue. Simply put, I Love It !
At Old Hickory I recommend the combination plate with sliced pork, the chicken and the ribs. While the ribs are my favorite item on the menu, I have yet to find anything I didn’t like. I am not even a fan of gamy meats like mutton, but apply some of Old Hickory’s delicious «Dip» (served on the side) and I will clean the plate.
While their sides are not the «Best» southern sides I have had, they are quite good and certainly adequate to be served along side meat of this quality. You see I’m not there for the sides, or the service for that matter. While both are quite good, they are almost background noise once you dig into the meat. It’s that good.
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If you happen to be in the vicinity and cannot find a church picnic to attend, you would be doing a disservice to yourself not to experience Old Hickory and try Kentucky Style barbecue at least once. It is darn good and certainly worth a visit.

I used to LOVE this place.
I love their mutton. The meat is just so tender, juicy and just something so great to put your mouth on. I used to always get macaroni and cheese with it to get that sweet cheesy sensation to go with that mutton. My mouth is watering just thinking of it.
What is so fun about this place is that there are so many choices. It is like a really good at-​home barbecue.
The only problem I have with this place is the location, but that is such a minor issue.
When our family has events back at home, they always get barbecue from this place because not only is it good, but it’s really affordable.

This is absolutely the BEST Bar-​B-​Que I have ever had in my life! Everyone else should learn from Old Hickory! If you are anywhere close to Owensboro you MUST make the trip to Old Hickory! It is worth the drive and you will never find better bar-​b-​que anywhere else! You have to have a chopped mutton sandwich (with onions and pickles of course) and don’t forget a side of burgoo! This is Southern cooking at its finest!
Make sure you come with an empty stomach because the portions will definitely fill you up. The wait staff are everything you think a Southern establishment should be. Anytime I am in the South I will always stop here and when I am not I crave this food because it reminds me of home and my Me-​Maw!

Wow, After comparing the Two Most Famous BBQ Joints in Kentucky, There’s a difference like Night & Day! I was Shocked.
I was EXCITED to try the famous «Old Hickory BBQ». The Flavor was good, not GREAT. The Service was OK, not Great. The Presentation of Food, and Plating, was POOR. I don’t know whether this ONCE GREAT BBQ has become complacent, or if it always has been this way. I was NOT impressed. They, like their competitor does a GREAT take out business. I’m SURE, Their Fans will be upset at this review. The Take out area looked unappetizing, and like a production line. Nothing appealing here. I hope this review is taken as constructive criticism from an outsider, and looked on as an attack on the establishment. But from my opinion, I’ve been to picnics with more charm on the plate. Just Saying!
Chef Gary Curry

I wanted the brisket and they were out. So then I wanted the dark chicken and they were out. :(So, I didn’t get to try the barbecue. I had just had mutton and pork the night before at Moonlite so I ended up trying the catfish, mac n cheese and mashed potatoes. It was really good catfish I must say. The server was friendly and energetic. It looks hole in the wall-​ish, which in my opinion is not a bad thing at all. I enjoyed my experience there, but would like to go back one day and try the brisket.