Hickory Park

Hickory Park is Always busy. That really says something. But, the wait usually isn‘t too long. The sandwiches are good. The BBQ ribs are over cooked. Service is fantastic. Save room for the ice cream! They should open stores in other college towns.

it‘s quick, cheap, and pretty good, but they‘re all about getting you in and out, don‘t expect to stay long. Also found a big chunk of plastic in a Saucy Southerner once.

Moderately expensive? Absolutely not! Big Portions, Cheap Meals. Homemade sides. Absolutely my family‘s restaurant of choice in Ames, IA. Hickory Park is a great family celebration place. The waitress and waitors hustle and overall has the best service I‘ve been acustom too!

Either Hickory Park isn‘t as good as it was when I was a kid or I‘ve gotten spoiled by Texas style BBQ since moving south 10 years ago... I‘d swear the sauce that Hickory Park uses is Cattleman‘s that you can buy in 5 gallon buckets from Sam‘s Club. Too sweet & too much liquid smoke flavor. It may be good by Iowa standards, but that isn‘t saying much. They wouldn‘t make it very long in Texas.

I have been all over this great country of ours, and I can honestly say that this is the best BBQ I‘ve ever had. LOVE the pork ribs, mashed potatoes, and peanut butter cup ice cream. All of the kitschy wall decor is fun, too. Don‘t believe the haters on this page. Hickory Park in Ames, Iowa is as good as it gets.

It would be a really nice place if I didn‘t feel like we were livestock being herded in and out for a profit...

I like the old place better but it had to enlarge itself, the style could of been better is all I‘m saying. I don‘t think I‘ve ever had anything bad here. The food is great, service awesome and very clean. Get a reservation on Friday or Saturday night or you‘ll wait FOREVER, lol.

AMASING place to eat! BBQ diner is the best and ohh dont forget to use the spicy BBQ sauce with it, they both make a great combo! For ice cream i get the almond joy because of the great flavors in it. I dont get it with whipped cream of chopped nuts on top. Deffinatly worth the wait! i cant wait to go there again!

Very average BBQ considering the great rep it has (I have had the barbecue dinner and the saucy southerner sandwich; perhaps the ribs are better). Also quite noisy and difficult to talk to friends at your table. My ice cream sundae was decent but a small portion for the price. Good thing is it‘s pretty cheap.

Everyone raves about this place and I can not figure out why. The BBQ is dry and bland, the service is fair at best and there is no way that you can visit with other people at your table. Even when they are slow the noise in that place is awful. I will never go back....next time I will go to BBQ place in campus town.

good food but not worth the wait, which is often upwards of 30 min. this restaurant is best suited for families/large parties; it is always noisy and crowded.

The food is good. The best is the fries. I love going there. Sometimes, it can be a little slow and loud, but that is only because it is one of the best restaurants in Iowa. My friends and I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeee going there. Their ice cream is my favorite. The Pink Panther Ice Cream is really worth $100,000,000,000,000,000,000, but their only charging $10.

This place is pretty much a tourist trap. The food isn‘t worth the very long wait which is nearly all the time. It‘s very loud and can be hard to have a conversation. If you can go when it‘s slow then it‘s not bad. Otherwise, it‘s like going to an amusement park; long waits, lots of screaming and mediocre product.

What a place! Fantastic food, workers that work super hard, quick service, very good prices. My only complaint is that is is ALWAYS busy!

I come to Ames 2 times a year and go every time. The portions and food are excellent.

Ate there this week for the first time in probably a year and was pleasantly surprised. Very attentive service as always but the food was better then I recalled and at quite reasonable prices. The chicken is a deal.

The ribs are amazing, moist and have a lot of meat on them..the regular order is pretty good sized and and it‘s not too expensive. It is my favorite place to go for ribs yet and I am a HUGE ribs lover...I am also a fan of the bbq sauce, probably in my top 3 so far! And the baked beans...AMAZING! They have pulled pork in them and a slight smokey flavor! My mouth is watering just talking about it :)

HP has pretty good food, but the last two times I went there there was an hour or more wait it looked like, but didn‘t even bother waiting. It‘s not that worth it. I‘d wait in a long line for Red Robin tho.

Last time I ate here my burger was half the size they normaly are. The staff seamed shocked when I showed them how the burger had changed in size. Food is over rated now because the quality has gone down hill.

Although Hickory Park is an Ames institution, I don‘t know what all the hype is about. Sure, the portions are big, but their BBQ is average. The atmosphere is so noisy, it‘s hard to have a conversation -- especially for those challenged by hearing difficulties. And it‘s always so busy, I feel like they‘re herding people through like cattle. I remember the ‘good ol‘ days‘ prior to their new location, and that was more folksy, unique and quieter. Their ice cream desserts are the highlight -- if you‘re not too full by the time the end of the meal rolls around.

Great place to eat, HATE THE NEW FRIES!

it‘s ok, but i would like to see more variety

Well, I AM from the South, eaten at hundreds of BBQ places from those with dirt floors to fancy and pride myself in being not only a huge BBQ fan but a Certified Judge in the Kansas City BBQ society. I dined at Hickory Park during a recent business trip to Ames and was extremely pleased with the service, quality, and quantity of the baby back ribs and sides. The ribs were tender and moist with a slight touch of char on the outside and very meaty. And, after paying Atlanta prices for way too long, I thought the value was GREAT! Keep doing what you are doing Hickory Park. And if you decide to branch out and move south, I‘ll be happy to run the place for you.

Hickory Park has some very good food, & we do eat there occasionally. The ice cream (in all forms) is very good. We like all of the sandwiches, especially the Saucy Southerner. The mashed potatoes & gravy side dish is great. The long wait to be seated doesn‘t bother me. One bad thing is the noise factor - forget about having a conversation there, because it is impossible. But I can put up with that. The main reason I gave Hickory Park a low 2 star rating is because of what they have done with their french fries in the past year. They used to have the best fries on earth - I would even take them home & eat them cold - that‘s how good they were. They were so tasty! But about a year ago we noticed a very dissappointing change. They seemed to change the type of fries, and possibly the oil they use to fry them? I don‘t know what they did, but now their fries are extremely greasy & bland - probably the worst I‘ve ever had. Sorry Hickory Park - we wish you would go back to the old french fries!

I love this place. It‘s not because I think it‘s great or authentic barbeque though. I don‘t really like barbequed stuff, and they offer a lot more than that. They have a big menu of sandwiches, salads, burgers, and appetizers. I always get a sandwich and an ice cream sundae. Very tasty and cheap!

Yummy! Very good food, also great catering!

This place is the most overrated food establishment I have ever been to. People in Ames really need to learn what real bbq is because this place sucks. The burgers are dry, the brisket is tasteless, and everything else is extremely dry. Everyone in Ames needs to take a trip down to Des Moines and try Big Daddy‘s. Then go back to Hickory Park and compare.

As the previous comment says, people that love this BBQ dont know real BBQ and have never been in the South. This is like a waiting hall in a station, loud and unpersonable.....

This place is extremely over rated! I hate going here you have to wait forever to get to a table where you will be served bland slabs of meat that you will get overcharged for.

Folks in Ames rave about HP, so I‘m guessing they don‘t know what good bbq is. Maybe if they narrowed the menu down, they could focus their attention on making good food. The ice cream sundaes are the highlight of the meal, so I recommend a side salad and a sundae (skip the strangely colored smoked meat).

Great food but the wait is rediculous! GOOD LUCK finding a set when there is an event in town! Go early!

This was the coolest restaurant I have been to in a long time! Great food and we were seated fast, the food came out incredibly fast too!!! #1 in my book!

Noisey, overrated and too big for good service or a cozy atmosphere. Meats all taste alike and the BBQ sauces are boring. (Too much vinegar taste in all three sauces)

Dry smoked meat. Sandwiches...nothing special. I think they‘re more concerned with how many tables they turn rather than quality. Barely tolerable and like another reviewer said: Overrated.

Overrated. Noisey, can‘t have normal conversation which is part of the joy of dining out. Service with rare exceptions is very poor, slow, servers with attitude, etc. Food comes in huge quantities which if you like fried cardio blockers is fine but I‘m not impressed.

Hickory Park is a huge part of the Ames culture. It‘s a great place for large amount of comfort food at low prices. It‘s no wonder that it‘s so popular. I say come here for portions, and the atmosphere, but the barbecue is very average. I always thought their chicken sandwiches were very good, and their "garbage" franks and burgers.

I think their meat and sauces are quite tasty and superior to Battle‘s. Their sides suck. We live in Iowa; how dare they serve canned corn. Nothing is fresh except the side salad which is just a pile of iceurg. It really bothers me and keeps me from eating there more frequently.

The food is pretty good, but the portions are out of control, and it‘s really loud in there. I don‘t need a whole side of beef for dinner, plus a roll and 2 sides. Geesh. Plus, everyone we know from out of town wants to go there when they‘re in town so it gets a little old. The food is good though, and pretty cheap. I just prefer Battle‘s because it‘s closer and has reasonable portions so I‘m not stuffing myself.

Hickory Park is amazing. The BBQ Dinner is the best deal in town. Service is always fantastic. They serve Pepsi and Coke. Wide range of mouth watering appetizers. It is a little loud in their, but if you wanted peace and quiet you should stay home and eat a hungry man dinner. It is truly one of the best dining experiences in the CYCLONE STATE!!!!

SIMPLY THE BEST!!!! Besides having the best food in Ames, their service is OUTSTANDING!! You will never leave hungry from here! And they go the extra mile for their customers....my brother has been in the hospital for 5 weeks and we live out of state. I called
Rick and they are delivering an order to them. They will always have my highest respect and patronage when we get back to the Hawkeye state! CUDOS!!!!

Best BBQ in Iowa! Everything on the menu is excellant and cheap!!! The service is great - they always make sure you have refills and so on!!! The place can get very busy on weekends- especially when ISU is having an event. But I guess that just tells you what a popular place it is and how much everyone loves it!!! I also have done carryout (online ordering) on the weekends (to avoid the crowd)- food is still excellant and they give you everything you need - silverware, BBQ sauce, and so on. My all time favorite restraurant. PS - Great desserts!!

The din of this huge factory feeding farm ruined it for me.

The food is good and well priced, but I don‘t want to feel like a pig being pushed through the trough, and that‘s exactly how I felt here.

We went on a Saturday that might have been a Parent‘s weekend at ISU or some such thing and the place was a madhouse. How many hundered do they seat there? It is unbelievable.

Highly unlikely I‘ll go back there.

Great portions, consistant service and quality of food. Yes it is a very fast paced restaurant, but the servers are always there to make sure you have everything you need. I am a big fan of Battles and Hickory Park. They each have their unique differences and style of BBQ.

Hickory Park USE to be the best place in Ames... then they opened the new building... the small friendly building was replaced by a big "shed"... They lost alot of their charm when they moved.

The Food is alright, but I must agree that Battle‘s BBQ is better.

My husband loves Hickory Park‘s ribs, chicken, turkey, whatever. He has tried them all. Me not being a meat eater, you may think I do not enjoy going to Hickory Park. It is one of my favorite restraurants too. There is so much to choose from. We have been going for years and will continue.

You know what your getting when you go there. I, for one, love thier ribs, fries and ice cream. And hats off to the operation in general. Never have I seen so many visitors to ANYWHERE get served so fast. Even if there is a wait. HP is FUN.

Ugh! This place is always buzzed about, but it‘s awful- awful food, horrible atmosphere, and often a long wait to be seated. Seriously, awful.

it takes forever to get seated if you have a large group on the weekends. this place is always so crowded, and i‘m not sure why. always seems like something happens...whether our check is wrong or our order is off somehow. One time a group of friends went there and were delayed over an hour because the wait staff "dropped their food" and we had to miss our movie...at least it was free...

People seriously need to get over this place. The only reason people go here is because everyone tells you its the place to go. The food sucks, service is terrible. If you want BBQ go to battles!

This place is great if you enjoy being treated like cattle. GET IN AND GET OUT! The noisy atmosphere isn‘t inviting and I don‘t think I have seen the same server twice in one visit. Who am I tipping?

The carry-out is horrible there. You never get what you ordered. The food is not that great and they treat the employees not that good either.

If it‘s your first time going, I‘d reccomend the bbq dinner platter which comes on what seems to be a garbage can lid/trough! For dirt cheap you get smoked turkey, ham, beef+2 sides. I loved the peppermint patty sundae. Good place, lots of character.

Large selection of yummy ice cream treats. Also for vegetarians you can substitute gardenburgers, tho I question why not use boca burgers instead for a more similiar taste to meat? The use of gardenburgers rather than boca burgers requires me to rate them lower, and the mediocre atmosphere. Very popular tho, expect very long lines during ISU family weekends, etc.

I‘ve always been unimpressed with this place. If you want good BBQ, battles is much better. It‘s a shame it‘s not as well known.

Loud, crowded atmosphere, and largely overrated, but still great even ignoring the hype. Great food, very good price. People who love BBQ ribs swear by them, but there are still plenty of great non-BBQ food options for the rest of us. Try some of the more unusual flavors of shakes and malts, and try to save room for dessert. (It‘s easiest to simply go in for dinner OR dessert; most people won‘t have room for both at once.)