Food review: Hickory's Smokehouse, Kingswinford

Sometimes there's nothing better than driving to sample food at a restaurant with absolutely no idea what to expect.

Hickory's Smokehouse, however, gives a lot away in its name as to what sort of meals are likely to be served, hence the reason we choose it.

But as for the décor, surroundings, customer service and children's entertainment, we were all completely in the dark.

Smoking your meat before cooking it slowly is possible the most popular way of serving food these days but to do it properly takes a lot of skill.

It is fair to say Hickory's appears to have perfected the art because all our meals were superbly cooked – and we certainly sampled a wide variety.

We had arrived slightly early so we enjoyed a quick drink at the bar, with my wife Kelly being offered the chance to sample her red wine before ordering, which was a nice touch.

Within minutes our table was ready so we made our way to our seats, which was when the first really big surprise appeared.

We were told there was a cinema showing children's films inside. On this occasion it was A Shark's Tale and, although my 22-month-old daughter, Annabelle, was far too young to be left to her own devices, there were plenty of children – and parents – using the facility to its full potential.

Then we were handed a bag of salted popcorn to enjoy free of charge and a bottle of water with three glasses while we had a look at the menu.

Again it was another lovely touch, which we had not expected.

We were waited on by three different people during our meal but it did not affect the service and everyone was very friendly.

The menu itself, as well as listing some mouth-watering dishes, also contained a brief history of Hickory's and how the chain all started.

The restaurant is suitably fitted out like a classic American diner in the heart of the Deep South with polished wooden bars and tables. It came as quite a surprise to learn it was all started in Chester, England, following an inspiring road trip across Texas and Louisiana in 2009.

The owners became so impressed with the culture and hospitality of the southern states, and of course the amazing flavours, the first Hickory's Smokehouse opened a year later with the aim of pioneering authentic Southern-style barbecue.

Return visits are made to the region every year to look for new inspirations and to pinch an idea or two, while the American Hickory wood used to smoke the meat – hence the name – is imported from the US. All the meat is slow cooked and smoked on-site using Ole Hickory Pit Smokers, which are also brought in from Missouri.

The added information really got the tastebuds going and it was a no-brainer for me to try the dish that looked like it had been smoked and slow cooked for the longest as a main.

But first we decided to share a starter. Not knowing how large the mains would be, we agreed to give the prawn tacos a whirl, with plenty of meat on the agenda later on.

The crispy corn tacos with creole shrimp were served with avocado mayo, tomato, sour cream and piquant dressing.

They were delicious and two probably would have been better for me but perhaps that is being greedy because we were both able to savour the flavours – which all combined wonderfully – leaving plenty of room for the main.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the starter was the size of the prawns because, probably in my uneducated brain, I pictured shrimp being small and packed into each taco.

What we actually got was three to four good sized prawns, which were plump and delicious.

Then it was time for the mains and I opted for Texas-style beef brisket, which spends 16 hours being smoked before being sliced and served on the plate.

The meal, which the menu again helpfully points out was 'originally devoured at Blacks BBQ in Lockhart, Texas', also came with fries and pickles.

I had to tip all the food out of their neatly-packed containers so I could add some of the sauces on offer, deciding to go for the hot sauce and the homemade barbecue sauce.

Brisket, if not cooked properly, can be tough, hard and incredibly chewy but this was as far from that as you could get as each forkful fell off the cutlery and straight into my mouth.

Some of it was slightly crispy and other parts were melt-in-your-mouth tender but the combination of flavours was fantastic and, although the portion looked like it could be small when it first arrived – probably more because I was panicking about not having had a whole starter to myself – was the perfect amount.

I wasn't bloated and I wasn't hungry. I was just right for a change. We ordered my daughter the mac and cheese because she'll eat anything pasta-based, with a side order of fries to nibble on.

She wolfed it down, despite being a little tired, and even enjoyed some of my brisket because it was tender enough for her to stomach without worrying about it being too fatty or too chewy for her liking.

Kelly decided to go for something a bit different and, rather than going for meat, she chose the fish.

The Cedar Wood Plank roasted salmon came with a baked sweet potato, sour cream and house salad – a very healthy dish by anyone's standards, but also one packed full of flavour.

The fish came with a crispy outside, which gave it some real bite and, even though it was not smoked for as long as the beef, there was a lovely oak aftertaste.

Just a subtle hint of the smoking, which did not overpower the salmon but did enough to remind her she was eating at a smokehouse.

The sweet potato was also cooked to perfection and the salad came with a lovely dressing, although we weren't sure what it was.

Deciding against a pudding, we managed to take a longer look around the premise and noted it was the kind place where families were made more than welcome but also, perhaps, the sort of place we would like to return to as a couple or with friends just to experience it from a different perspective.

The outside area was carpeted with astro-turf and with toys laid out to keep the children entertained which was a nice touch. There was also a fold-out table tennis court, which soon had a queue of youngsters eagerly waiting to try their hand at the sport.

Another look at the menu when it came time to leave confirmed to me there was still so much more to try but The Texas Slab, a humongous 52oz prime rump steak with fries, onion rings, salad and peppercorn sauce – at a whopping £70 – would surely be too much for even the heartiest appetite.

There was also an abundance of milkshakes and cocktails to sample not to mention the ribs, pulled port, steaks and a number of puddings. We'll have to try some of those on a return visit. But we left very satisfied having spent between £13 and £16 for our mains, which is pretty reasonable in today's prices, knowing if we did decide to return there would be plenty of new flavours to sample.

By James Driver-Fisher