Josh’s On Union Square

Closed as of April 3^rd 2016.
Closure verified on Josh’s Facebook page where he thanked everyone for six years of patronage.

Love this place. Have eaten here 3 times and great meals everytime. I highly recommend you save room for dessert homemade and delish have had both crème Brule and cheesecake.

Visited Josh’s a few days ago while in town for work. There was nothing that I didn’t love about this place… from the skirt steak to the corn and spinach to the chocolate bread pudding to my cocktail… everything was good. My coworker and I could not stop smiling, and we’re still talking about it. If you get a chance to go, take it!

This is the best place to eat in hickory hands down. My wife and I eat here a lot. But recently they have made changes to the menu. And the changes only made the best better.
Sunday brunch is amazing!!! For $ 15 it can’t be beat. And $ 9 all you can drink mimosas! WTF! Seriously unbeatable anywhere.
And the icing on the cake is they are also blessed with the best server! IZ is the man.

Not great. Had the pork powerhouse. It was very tough and sides could have come out of a can. Could have gotten fast food and saved the $.

Josh’s is our favorite restaurant in town! Fine dining but not stuffy or pretentious. Food is outstanding! Service is great.

The impression I get from dining at Josh’s is that they maybe had their time in the spotlight, and that spotlight has faded or focused on other establishments. Right on Union Square, you can’t miss the signage and the large outdoor dining area.
My first impressions after being seated were: 1) mustard yellow would not be my choice for a wall color, 2) 2 out of 4 of the water glasses on the tables were dirty/​smudged (no one noticed when they put them down? Because I saw it walking up to the table) — I didn’t ask for new ones — I just didn’t drink water 3) the menus looked a bit decrepit (frayed at the edges, small tears, spots from food).
Our waitress was friendly enough, but didn’t smile much. Unfortunately, they do not have beer on tap; they did have Abita Turbodog in a bottle. The menu had some good lunch choices and variety. For kids, they can offer grilled cheese, chicken fingers or a burger — but there appears to be no Kid’s menu per se.
My wife’s arugula salad with blistered grapes was good and was nicely dressed. My Fish and Chips, which I intentionally came on Friday to try (Special of the Day on Fridays), was very good. The batter was a bit dense but the fish pieces were moist and flaky. I like that they weren’t afraid to put salt and pepper on the fries. The dish came with house made tartar sauce which seemed to have coarse ground mustard in it, a nice little twist. I was a little shocked that they didn’t have malt vinegar for the Fish and Chips. They did bring me a small cup of cider vinegar, but it’s not the same. The kids’ grilled cheese was good but was the same price as an adult entrée.
I’d say their food hovers around 3.5 Stars but a lot of peripheral noise/​issues bring the overall rating down to 3. I think if they invest in some new menus (laminate them?) and pay closer attention to some details this could easily be a 4 star place.

Birthday brunch disappointment! The service was slow, even though the restaurant was nearly empty when we got there. The food was cold. I’m not talking room temperature — it was cold! The chef had ran out of some food items, which is ridiculous… they have brunch once weekly, you’d think they could plan better. I will not be returning anytime soon. I’d rather spend my money elsewhere! $ 65 for brunch for two people to leave highly disappointed is ridiculous.

Have gone twice, once for Sunday brunch and then a quick mid-​week lunch. Food was very good and I thought it was good value for what I ate.

This is based on just one mid-​week, early experience as we were traveling through town, but we’d come back in a flash. Service was very friendly (and not the bouncy phony friendly sort of nonsense you often have to endure) and professional, and the food was really quite extraordinary. Sides were generous, and the chef took it easy on the salt without our specific request.

Never had a bad meal here, the problem is their menu doesn’t change much. If you can, sit at the chef’s table and you get your food quick and can talk to the chef. They can make adjustments to your likings. The flank steak is excellent and my favorite thing in the menu. Some staff are a little uptight but if you can deal with that you’ll have a nice meal here. When it is packed, it can get loud.

We wanted to love this place, ended up sort of «in like». Duck breast with blueberry was to die for but my husband trout was completely overcooked. It was like shoe leather, as was the replacement. Dry and very thin fillet. Au gratin potatoes were grey and icky. Spinach was good but nothing I couldn’t have sauteed at home. Corn with fried sage sounded good but think corn as canned. Fried green tomatoes suffered same date as trout. Very over done and crispy. Very average glass of red sat mostly untouched with no inquiry if anything was wrong with it. The place was busy but disappointing meal.

On a recent business trip to Hickory, we went to this cute little spot for lunch. I really wanted to fall in love with it, but our service was super slow (perhaps because the place was totally packed for lunch, which we were told was unusual). I was told I should try the blistered grape salad with salmon over the shrimp and grits daily special, so I went with our server’s advice. The salmon was expertly cooked, but I do wish there had been a little more of it! There were a ton of «blistered» grapes on the salad which I think threw the balance off a little bit. It was definitely good, I just don’t know that I would order it again.
Overall, probably one of the best places to eat in Hickory, and in the middle of a historic little downtown area complete with a train station. I will come back to try again if I ever make my way back up there.

Do not expect the charming southern hospitality here. Waited over 20 mins for a table to get booted by a party who showed up after us because they knew the hostess. Upsetting because we had our little ones with us and were trying to get to Catawba Science Center for a showtime. Plenty of other options in the area with stellar service levels and high quality food including Hatch and the Tap Room.

This is probably my favorite restaurant in Hickory. I was forced to try the fried green tomatoes (I HATE TOMATOES) but they tasted alright. Other than the fried tomatoes, we also ordered some sort of duck taco which was presented on a taco rack. Too bad taco bell doesn’t have one of those. It is not your typical taco but it is something definitely worth trying. I did not love the taco but I appreciate the presentation and uniqueness of it.
As for my main course, I ordered the Halibut with lemongrass and corn broth. I have had a lot of Halibut because it is my go to fish. I have never had it combined with corn broth before and it was delicious. I almost expected a fish soup but the corn broth acted more as a sauce/​side.
This is a place I would love to come back to over and over again to try everything on their menu. They just seem to add a creative touch to their food.

Had a work dinner here at Josh’s– group of 10 of us — I’m from out of town, consider myself a foodie. Had pretty good service, really good drinks, beer, wine and appetizers, but my entrée, it fell short (hence the 3 stars). Apps of Fried green tomato’s, Sausage grillers were phenom! Smoked bacon and spinach Salad was awesome!!! The entrée signature dish of Hoisin Glazed Short Ribs were tough. Not just mine, but several of the folks at the table. They should have been done in a pressure cooker to tenderize them. I asked for a steak knife which I never got. Shameful in my opinion and a sign that something was wrong but was never asked about it. Dessert was very good — I was surprised by the use of fresh mint in the Mint Ice Cream! WOW! Nice touch! Overall, when given an opportunity, Id go back to try other things.

This place is a neighborhood gem! My sister and I had brunch here Sunday. They offer a 3 course meal for $ 13 and bottomless mimosas for $ 8. I chose the fried green tomatoes, steak and eggs, and wild berry cheesecake, while my sister had a Cesar salad, shrimp and grits, and banana pudding.
The fried green tomatoes were topped with pimento cheese which I usually don’t care for (forgive me southern people lol) but it was good. The tomatoes were very fresh. Unfortunately, the steak wasn’t cooked the way I requested but it was so tender and well seasoned I didn’t mind. The eggs were fresh, not egg substitute or cracked into a large bucket and ladled out. The entrée came with hash brown casserole that was ok but I’ve had better. The cheesecake was phenomenal. I wanted to take home the whole thing! It was house-​made not the frozen boxed kind that most restaurants use.
My sister was nice enough to let me try her grits. I’m pretty sure they were yellow stone ground grits (the best kind). I was pleasantly surprised with the tomato based sauce; it was a different take on a southern classic.

Josh’s on Union Square was our choice to dine at this week. Our Friends had dined there in the past, but this was our first visit.
We were greeted promptly, and were seated. I had read some reviews stating that tables were really close together, we had diners at tables on each side of us, but didn’t feel on top of each other.
Our waitress had been there for only a few days, but was very good, making sure we were having a great time and refilling beverages.
We started off with Appetizers:
My wife and I decided on the Lamb lollipops with Artichoke yogurt, I had never tried lamb before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
They are served like meatballs (6) with two wooden skewers. They didn’t have much flavor by themselves, but with the artichoke yogurt they were very good.
Our Friends had the Duck Tacos, you get 2 and they stated they were great, and actually wished they had more.
For our main course:
I went with the Grilled Salmon with mushroom ragout.
Grilled a medium well as requested. I am not fond of mushrooms, but the flavors combined prefectly.
My wife had the Chicken Penne,
good portion served in a large bowl. the pasta was cooked perfectly.
Our friends had the Grilled Beef Medallions bourbon laced demi /​fried shallot cluster and the Andouille Garlic Shrimp.
Both raved of their meals.
You get 4 sides per table and we each picked one.
Baked Mac n Cheese
Sage Fried Corn
«New Dug» Spuds (roasted potatoes)
and Chef’s Choice, which was a Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower, and our choice for overall best side, though all were delicious.
For Desert we had Bourbon Pecan Pie w/​ice cream and Orange Infused Crème Brulee,
I couldn’t get enough of the Pecan Pie! I am craving it now as I type this review.
Service was attentive, atmosphere was fun and friendly and price was very reasonable for portion sizes.
I look forward to our return to Josh’s on Union Square.

Josh’s is one of those rare finds in the restaurant world. This was our first visit, and will definitely not be our last when we return to Hickory. Not only is the atmosphere charming, but how many places do you have the opportunity to chat with and observe the chef while he prepares your meal.
The service was attentive, the food delicious, and Josh was delightful. If you are fortunate enough to get one of the tables adjacent to where Josh is cooking, you are definitely in for a treat. Watching him move around in the kitchen so effortlessly while chatting the whole time is amazing. Don’t miss this restaurant while in Hickory.

My companion and I have been to Josh’s on numerous occasions, but I hadn’t written a review.
We started with a cocktail and glass of wine, both good pours. This was followed by our salad (that we split) which was wonderful, we chose the bourbon preserved fig salad with goat cheese, mixed greens and balsamic glaze. For dinner I chose the grilled beef medallions, she the smoked bacon scallops, both were great. I ordered the beef medium rare and it came out great. We let the chef choose the sides, which were all fantastic (sage corn, bourbon carrots, grilled asparagus — extra points in my book for serving ‘skinny asparagus’, and wild rice pilaf).
A fun, friendly atmosphere. We’ll need to increase our frequency of visits for sure.