Hickory’s Smokehouse

UK

Bringing the authentic deep south to Milton Keynes

ClientHickory’s Smokehouse

Studio team Birmingham, UK

Services Architecture Interior Design

Size200 seats

Hickory’s Smokehouse Milton Keynes is rooted in more than authentic design alone. It’s a story of transportive hospitality where the spirit of the American South is reimagined for a British setting, with warmth, craft, and character at its heart. It was the America's Southern generosity of spirit, attitude to food, drink, and unfiltered hospitality that inspired a vision worth sharing back home.

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Design that translates US authenticity with British expectations of comfort and quality.

The landmark windmill structure anchors the Milton Keynes location

Bringing Authentic Hickory's Southern Hospitality to Milton Keynes

Inspired by Road Trips. Realised in Design

The origins of Hickory’s lie in curiosity and discovery. The concept was sparked when founder Neil McDonnell embarked on an unplanned journey through the southern states of America eating at roadside smokehouses, meeting pitmasters, and immersing himself in the region’s deep-rooted food culture. It was the South’s generosity of spirit that left a lasting impression and inspired Neil’s vision to share this across the UK.

Crafted with Soul, Served with Heart.

Anchored by the site’s landmark windmill, the Milton Keynes design blends Southern tradition with a distinctly UK sense of comfort. Drawing on first-hand research, the space feels collected rather than constructed layered with aged timber, reclaimed materials, rural Americana, and eclectic details that appear to have evolved over time.

Hickory's isn’t just a brand —it’s a way of life.

At its heart sits a bold, sociable bar, while vaulted mezzanines and barn-like dining spaces are shaped by oversized beams, textured finishes, and folk-inspired memorabilia. Throughout, raw authenticity is balanced with refinement, soft furnishings and considered lighting bringing warmth to the rugged smokehouse aesthetic.

The result is an immersive escape. Hickory’s Milton Keynes isn’t just another location it’s a new chapter in a story still unfolding.

Key features

From the moment a guest steps inside, they’re immersed in a world that feels lovingly collected, a place where stories are told in every timber beam, every quirky artefact, and every smoky aroma in the air.

A retractable roof designed to bring the outside inside.

Spaces where families, friends, and neighbours gather around great food and unforgettable experiences.

Obsessed with the tastes and traditions of the Deep South, Hickory’s Smokehouse has spent the last decade introducing true southern hospitality to guests in the UK.

Immersive design ideas that blends bold BBQ flavours, warm hospitality, and deep-rooted authenticity.

Genuine artefacts sourced from road trips across the Southern States, every detail helps transport guests to the heart of the Deep South.

Open kitchens to entice and interact

Created dining spaces that build a cultural bridge between the American South and British dining expectations.