Emil Villa’s Hickory Pit

There food is great !
There to go system is broken. I’ve ordered to go 3 times because I love there food and 3 times they either forgot a side or messed up the order.
Dine in if you are craving Emil villas

muy complacida y sobretodo la amabilidad con la que te atienden… agradable lugar y muy acojedor lo recomindo mucho …

Had a French Dip to go with Fries, and a soda: $ 16.29.
— Meat was tender, an Au juis was flavorful!
— Fries were delicious as well.
Overall decent experience at this place. They must be known for the BBQ, but I don’t buy BBQ!

Great place for breakfast. Best deals and great serivice. Large menu with easy selection. Come here for the best steak in eggs

I’ve eaten here for the past twenty years – it’s a place I visit with my family and I have fond memories of coming here as a child. Usually I have no opinions of this place other than it used to be a consistently good place to eat bbq and spend quality time with family members.
Oh how the mighty hath fallen.
First of all, I remember the food being less greasy and not severely overcooked. The ribs according to my mom, the person eating them at the time, said they tasted «tough and rubbery.» I watched her agonize through them for 20mins and nearly chipped her tooth before giving up and getting a to go box.
The crab sandwich my girlfriend had was underwhelming for it’s price. There was more mayo than crab.
I had the fish n chips, and they were decent enough not to complain about but here is where the visit gets dicey…
We used a coupon as we were leaving and the servers felt compelled to remind us «to tip our servers the full amount,» when they saw when we wrote «on table» in the tip area of the receipt. Ummmm what?!
We thought to give the servers cold hard cash instead of nebulous numbers on a piece of paper that they may have to split with the rest of their employees. When we confronted them about this level of mistrust they explained that «we typically have elderly customers who sometimes forget to tip the full amount when using coupons.»
So now you guys are ableists? That’s a great explanation. I swear Emil Villas, maybe you shouldn’t hire entitled high school kids anymore. Y’all know that tipping isn’t a requirement, it’s an act of generosity and consideration in our country. We know you guys don’t make that much, so the tipping acts as a counterweight to a job that would otherwise be at or below minimum wage. However when you’re treating your customers this way, I feel you need to pay us in emotional damages.
Only plus was the portions were, and always have been, huge enough to take left overs home.
So one star for the portions and another star for nostalgia.

On 10÷17÷15 @4:45pm the Anderson Family ate here. We choose patio dining since we had a toddler. We all enjoyed ourselves, and so did the toddler. Each of our meals was very good. And wee look forward to coming again. Thx Hickory Pitt !!

I don’t know. Either the waitresses or waiters can’t write or the cooks can’t read what they are writing, I don’t know or there is a language barrier. They just can’t seem to get the orders right. Maybe I should bring a magic marker and circle what I want to eat then grunt like a Neanderthal. Like mmmmg mmmmmg mmmmg, me want m food.

My friend of eighteen years was visiting and we were feeling nostalgic, so we went down to Emil Villa’s. I used to come here a lot with my mom when I was a little girl but probably haven’t been to this place in at least a decade.
The décor is pretty much retro Livermore – a little tacky, very quaint, with a distinct cowboy element. Similar places are Baughman’s Western Outfitters, The Riata, Granada Bowl, etc. There are a ton of ceramic and glass and porcelain pigs in a case, and the porch is covered in a weird carpeting in «golf course green.»
We elected to sit outside because it was a lovely day. The tables were a little dirty but the waitress wiped them down for us (unasked), and really, it’s outdoor seating with plastic tablecloths, so I guess you shouldn’t expect the Four Seasons.
What really set this place apart for me was the service. I have a moderately severe food allergy and for a while I was paranoid about trying new places because I was SO AFRAID of getting sick. But I gave my allergy to the waitress and she was really nice about it. She gave it to the chef, who checked the ingredients, and I was able to enjoy my $ 6.99 value breakfast consisting of two sunny side up eggs, a generous portion of hashbrowns, and two big pieces of bacon WITHOUT being sick. It put me in a very cheerful mood, and I left feeling very satisfied.
Emil Villa’s isn’t a fancy restaurant, but it has a homey vibe that’s very appealing and I imagine it probably has a large set of regulars who come here just for that. I described it to my friend as McDonald’s sexy, sophisticated older brother: it’s greasy but wholesome, and sticks to your ribs. I felt pleasantly full for hours afterward. :)
Thanks, Emil Villa’s!

I had moved from Livermore more than 8 years ago, and recently when I happened to be in the area and my daughter was asking to have ribs for dinner, I wondered whether this restaurant was still around. Luckily it still is and we had some excellent baby back ribs and pulled pork sandwich. The Ribs were very well cooked and came easily off the bone. My pulled pork sandwich was very big and the pork was very flavorful. The only drawback about this restaurant is the décor that is VERY outdated, makes me think of a place where my grandmother would eat or that I took a time machine back into the 60s/​70s. Also, the fridge full of a ceramic piggy collection at the front entrance has replaced the pies they used to display in there. I think the place urgently needs a remodel, but the food is still quite good. The Baby back ribs are highly recommended.

A staple Resturant for our family. We have been frequenting this Resturant for over 25 years, so I believe our comments have value.
Last Tuesday we visited the Resturant early at about 5:00 pm.
We arrived to a friendly hostess that said it was open seating and let us choose our own booth.
Our server came over with menus within 2 minutes with a friendly smile and a warm hello. He actually thanked us for coming into his restaurant handed us the menus and asked if he could explain any of the items.
We looked at the menu but really had a preconceived notion as to what we wanted.
My wife ordered the beef ribs with the mild sauce on the side. And the french fries. I ordered the pork ribs dry. He looked a little puzzled. I also ordered the horse radish salad.
The meal came in a timely fashion and I looked at the ribs I ate one rib and he came back and asked how our meal was.
I said yes I wanted the dry ribs but with the special rub on it. He smiled and said oh you wanted the St. Louis ribs. I said yes. He said oh I’m sorry I missed took the order. He left and came back with a full rack of St. Louis ribs. And new hot french fries. He apologized.
I looked at him and said oh no that was my fault not yours. And I totally expected to pay for the ribs that he took back.
We both had wonderful desserts. I had the Pecan pie heated with ice cream. My wife had the peach cobbler with ice cream. Her one dessert could have fed three people it was huge. And delicious.
They did not charge us for the first set of ribs that I misordered, so I left that additional amount as additional tip.
We usually go out to eat 2 times a week and the Hickory Pit is a monthly regular of ours.
Eat the St Louis Ribs, the best in Nocal.

My BF and I were coming down from the Lake Tahoe area and we were passing through Livermore. We take the 5 and 580 instead of 80 to Vacaville and 680 to Concord cause the traffic is better. But anyhow, he gets this idea about Emil Villa’s ribs, since he knows there is one in Livermore. We just ate lunch 4 hours ago, but when a man (this one) had ribs on his mind, there’s no changing it! I love Emil Villas BBQ too, but I’ve not been to this locat

No biscuits again. Found something in my hashbrowns while I was eating it. My friend found hair in her food. I had to ask for a refill after my server had been to my table 2 times when I had an empty cup so finally I asked for a refill. Not good service or food today. Maybe I’ll be back again… just maybe