Don't Back Down

There are several Hickory Tavern locations in the Charlotte area, and this one is in the fast-growing Providence Road area. This also means that it can be absolutely packed, and when there are a few college basketball games on, it's even more so.

This is because the Tavern is not only a restaurant, it is a sports bar. That makes it a little difficult to classify, but I'll do my best.

First, you have a largish bar area. This section alone is larger than many sports bars these days, and it looks even larger because it's open, rather than being cramped and confined. While there did not seem to be any smokiness to the area, there could have been some. It was definitely loud, as most any bar will be on this sort of night.

Next, you have a dining section, which wouldn't be much different than any other family-style dining area, except for the fact that it was right next to the bar. So if you take the family, you'll want to be aware of this. It's not exactly set up for a quiet night out, even on the calmest of times, and this certainly wasn't that.

The good news for older crowds (those without younger kids) is that if you're waiting for a table, you can wait in the bar section. They also have these very long tables that run the length of the bar area, and you can even eat there if you don't mind the crowd. We didn't really feel like waiting, and since the whole building had a sort of bar feel to it, felt like it really didn't matter.

In the end, it didn't. The only problem with this was getting the attention of a waitress. Once we did, service went along fairly well, though getting refills was a bit slow.

The food was good, and priced decently, but appetizers were expensive, as can be expected in most bars. Wings especially were not cheap. But it was all tasty. I don't know that we'll be back, but it's certainly better than most bars, and definitely a leg up on most sports bars.