BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse

I wish I could give this restaurant zero stars.
Unfortunately I can’t review the food as we never got any. My boyfriend and I came to this location for dinner and when we went up to the podium to give them our name, they told us it would be about 15 – 20 minutes until we were seated. We sat down and waited for at least 30 – 40 minutes. We didn’t make a big deal about this since it was a Saturday night. Our name was called and the girl calling the names said one of her coworkers would take us to our table. We stood there waiting for about 5 minutes while her and her coworkers were having a conversation about their personal lives until my boyfriend, who was fed up at this point, asked if they were ready to seat us. The girl who had called our name told us they were waiting for our table to be cleaned off.
Finally after standing for 10 minutes of more waiting, one of the girls took us to our table. The table was still dirty when we sat down. It still had water rings from cups and salt on it, so obviously they hadn’t been cleaning it off.
We had been sitting there for 5 minutes and no one had come up to ask us for or order or even what we wanted to drink. We waited for about 15 minutes as we watched a few people around us, who had been seated after us, get their order taken. Annoyed, we decided to leave the restaurant after wasting over an hour waiting.
It’s pretty safe to say I won’t be visiting this location again. In the past, I enjoyed going because they have pretty good food but the service here is absolutely terrible. The food is simply not worth it.

Wouldn’t even have given it one star. Save your time, money and patience.
Went out for dinner on a Saturday night. The restaurant was obviously understaffed, and those that were there were busy talking with each other about their personal lives.
Waited 30+ minutes before our buzzer went off. When we walked up, they took our buzzer and then asked us to stand to the side for another 10 minutes as they «cleaned our table off.» When we were seated, the table had NOT been wiped down! There was still salt and water rings from the previous occupants. After waiting another 15 minutes with no service (not even being greeted by our waiter/​waitress) we got up and left.

BJ’s is the place to go when nobody can agree on what they want. BJ’s basically has everything. Their menu is huge! The food hasn’t disappointed me. We typically spend about $ 100 when we come here for our family– appetizer/​desserts included. Their pazzoki’s are amazing! Love their pick 3 deal. Service is usually great but last night service wasn’t great unfortunately. It started out okay but once a large party was seated near us– we were kind of forgotten about. We had to ask someone else for drink refills, a plate for my boyfriends pizza (which took a while to come & was awkward since we all had our food & was eating). A chip refill because the $ 18 appetizer we ordered came with a large thing of spinach artichoke dip and maybe like 8 chips in a tiny cup (which doesn’t make all that much sense to me why they do that but whatever), Our drinks refills and his plate came but our chips never did. We had to ask for it again at the end and just took it home.
We are not the kind of people to go and speak to the manager or make a huge deal and try to get anything comped– we just deal with it. However, we are 20% or more kind of tippers but in this case, we only left 18% which was still pretty generous considering the service. We are not jerks and know it’s how servers make their money but at the end we both said to eachother that service wasn’t that great tonight. Maybe they should have someone else focus on smaller tables when a large party is sat?

The salmon was cooked to perfection!!! I love the quality & service always given here! The beer is fantastic as well just an all around great restaurant to have a nice lunch. I absolutely enjoy my time here and so does my stomach !!

This is a good location, but don’t come here on weekends! It takes an hour to have your food !!!

Horrible reception, inept waiters and aweful food. Unfortunately many of our out of town guests insist on going there despite our warnings. They only visit once and never again. We’ve literally never had a meal without incident. Seating takes hours on weekends. The waiters always screw up your order, sometimes multiple times. Food shows up plain wrong or inedible.

Our waiter was amazing. She was quick and refilled our drinks every time it was low. The location is great because it is by a mall and there is plenty of parking spaces. The menu is very big so you will for sure find something you like! I am big fan of the great white pizza and of course their dessert… the pizzookie! They have many flavors!

Don’t come here unless you have a lot of time. It will take longer than it should, even if you call ahead to put your name on the list. Every single time, lunch or dinner, I am amazed by how much time has passed when I go to leave.
We had to wait more than 30 minutes for dessert once, asking repeatedly where it was.
Today luckily we had a coupon for Buy 1 entrée, get 1 free. We got 2 ribeyes, trying to get the most value out of our coupon. One of our steaks looked completely different, like a sirloin. I said something to our server Stephanie, and she went back to check with the kitchen. Their response was that the steak is weighed, and the same size. Yeah, still not convinced. Ribeyes are round, not triangular.
The food is decent most of the time. The asparagus is usually tough. The steak knives tear your food, maybe bring your own. Pizza and dessert are good, and some of the small bites.
We got takeout a week ago (another free offer). It was fairly fast, maybe 15 minutes or so. The BBQ chicken salad isn’t as good as CPK, get it there instead. Potato skins were good, but a little light on the toppings.
It is also often dark, cold, and very loud. You do a lot of «What?, I can’t hear you».
Our server Stephanie was very nice, putting up with my requests and flagging her down repeatedly. Luckily they put your server’s name on your table slip, plus any discounts you are eligible for with the rewards program.

Let me start off by saying we’ve been to this BJ’s on multiple occasions, probably over 15 times in the past 6 years or so — this rating is based on a cumulative experience over those years.
The service is really a hit or miss. Sometimes our waiters are awesome and super helpful with choices especially since the menu changes on a regular basis or because there is so much to choose from. Unfortunately, the service can also be a nightmare. On one occasion it took 45 minutes to get our food for a party of 8 and there was no feedback from our server other than «it’ll be out soon.» Most recently, we went on a Saturday afternoon around 4:30 for a party of 10. We were seated even before being assigned a waiter — we couldn’t get anyone’s attention to help us out and when we finally did, the waiter was surprised no one was helping and said, «I guess I’ll be your server then.» She was great, but it’s stuff like that that you just have to question the service.
The beer selection is great! So much to choose from, both in-​house, local, and national. The in-​house beer is OK, but I’ll stick to the SD breweries instead.
A variety of food to select from but it is often overwhelming. There is definitely something for everyone so it makes getting a large group together easy because everyone can have something they like. Only downfall? See the upper section about the service — it seems the more people in your group the more difficult the service.
Overall, it’s a chain restaurant that works and if we had another choice that everyone in the family liked, we would go there instead. I guess we’re just comfortable with BJ’s, I just wish their service was better.

What BJs runs out of certain pizookies? You’d might as well run out of pizza. Just tried to order a PB smores one, and they ran out.
Poor inventory. Do not come here expecting the pizookie you’re craving or you will be crushed just as I am, sitting here waiting for a boring chocolate chip one.
Also, we were handed dirty water glasses as well as WET plates to eat our pizza off of.
Management: I’m sending everyone to Cheesecake Factory because they have ALL their cheesecakes in stock. And they’d plates are 100% clean and dry.

So sad they changed their happy hour. But I love coming here for drinks and little snacks. I’ve been lucky and always find a table at their bar.
My favorite was their classic Mac and cheese but they changed their menu and replaced it with siracha Mac and cheese. Their stuffed mushrooms are amazing too. Their deep dish pizza are amazing. I would say the best deal on their happy hour. Comes out fresh and hot, I love it when it’s so cheesy.
Also their pizookie pick three platter is delicious. I love their Oreo, white macadamia nut and salted Carmel.
Servers, bartenders and managers are really nice here. They are very social and friendly.
& if it’s your birthday you get a cute little pizookie.

Came here a couple times before making a current update and this BJ’s location sure has earned another star.
First occasion was again with a large party. Notice that the waiters at our table were very attentive especially to late comers in the party. Communication was constant and friendly; I was quite impressed. Food came out quickly fresh and quickly.
–Ahi Salad (a very large salad with plenty of fresh ahi, worth trying if you like ahi)
The most recent time coming here was for happy hour. Open seating in the bar area. Great service and delicious food. Ordered a couple special drinks however, they could use better mixes.
Started off with…
–BJ’s Bloody Mary (you can totally tell it was not mixed well. Came straight from premade juice. NOT recommended)
–Long Island (was made perfectly)
–A Drink Like That (not a very refreshing drink. has a bitter taste that doesnt go down well)
Venture out with Grey Goose Vodka, BACARDI 151 Rum, DeKuyper Pucker Sour Apple, DeKuyper Pucker Island Punch, BJ’s fresh sweet & sour and a splash of Sierra Mist.
Appetizers
–Margarita Flat Bread (light. crisp. love that basil; gives a nice flavor of ingredients)
–NEW Lemon Pepper Dry Rub Wings (my fave. so crispy, tender, meaty, and seasoned perfectly. if you love wings this is a must try)
–shoe string fries (came out nice a crisp)
Ended with the classic chocolate chunk pizookie; i noticed that it did take quite awhile to get to our table (cannot go wrong with this dessert)
Again service was great during happy hour; attentive, we didn’t feel rushed. Waiter was patient and was very informative on drinks.
Keep it up BJ’s Esco! Will be sure to update again on my next visit.

Came here for my friend’s 21^st bday with 7 other people. Even though there were so many of us, our waitress was very attentive, patient, suggestive, and sweet. We took while to order because some of our orders were complicated. The Birthday boy wanted Jambalaya but he wanted to substitute the rice for pasta and so our waitress, Amy made a few suggestions. She suggested him to add more sauce since the pasta will soak up the sauce which would make his meal dry. He also had a few questions regarding their beer as he was making his first alcohol purchase. He was going to get the beer flight, but she suggested to get their BJ’s special which is served before 3pm I believe and it was a whole pint glass of beer which was a better deal. He ended up getting the special. I used the BOGO lunch entreé with my friend that I found through Unilocal,but you need to have rewards card and so my friend signed up for one.
Our food came out super fast. I got the GF sausage pizza w/​a Caesar salad w/​out crotons lunch combo. It was a huge portion for a lunch combo so it was differently worth the price.
My friend got his free pizookie at the end since it was his birthday.
At the end, we all had to have separate checks, but Amy was very patient and good at her job. Mostly everyone at our table had a military ID and so they will give you a 10% discount.
Overall, very good service at our visit here.

For a chain, the food is pretty good and the service is decent. We stopped by for their lunch specials today after a morning of shopping and the place was pretty packed for weekday lunch. I ordered the unlimited soup and salad and my husband ordered the fried chicken lunch special. The food was good and did not disappoint!
Parking is always ample on the weekdays but on the weekends in this mall plaza, it gets packed and parking is hard to find so be weary.
For under $ 9 a person, you can get a decent sit-​down lunch! I highly recommend!

My fiancé and I visited BJ’s with 6 of our closest friends for our birthdays in November. I want to start this review by saying that we are a crowd of extemely lax people. We all have worked in customer service in some capacity, most of us have restaurant experience of some sort.
To start, our server did not even come by the table to introduce herself (she will remain nameless, to spare her embarrassment) until 20 minutes after we were seated. I am not exaggerating. OTHER servers kept telling us she would «be with us shortly.»
When she did come, we explained immediately that we were all on separate checks, which I know can be a hassle – why we explained it upfront. She numbered us all off and told us to remember our numbers for the rest of our dinner. Mind you, none of us have a memory problem. I just thought this was extremely odd and very tacky. (She wasn’t kidding. I forgot my number at one point, and she was irritated with me and had me repeat back everything on my tab so she could give me a new «number»)
We all ordered drinks at the same time. They all came out in a seemingly haphazard order, and separately. My friend’s flight of beers came out before my easy-​peezy glass of wine, and my fiancé’s mojitos (x3) all came out before my friend’s first Long Island???
Our food was no different. It came out haphazardly, though we all ordered at the same time. I’m not talking two-​trips to the kitchen. I mean that all 8 dishes came out sporatically over the span of FORTY MINUTES. By the time I finished my food, my fiancé was just getting his. We ordered the same dish.
Now– my real beef. My brother ordered a sandwich and fries. SO easy. He waited 45 minutes. Then at the hour mark, we asked the server where it was. She quickly replied it was «dead» and there would be another up shortly. We asked the manager to please come talk to us, we had had enough.
We calmly and politely explained the situation to her, and she retorted that she appreciated our concern, but the employee had done «the right thing» and she would be happy to offer it at a discount for us if we were truly upset by the situation. I’m SORRY. In WHAT WORLD does neglecting your customers’ food to the point that it is declared «dead» and then putting in an order for a new one to correct your mistake count as «the right thing»?!?
We weren’t looking for any freebies. But a sincere, honest apology would have been nice. We will not be back. Shame, because we liked this place up until this experience.

I’ve been coming to this location with my fiancé numerous times (at least 10 times) over the last two years. I don’t get the low reviews as we’ve had nothing but stellar service and good food. We’ve tried a variety of seafood and chicken entrees, appetizers, and desserts and are always very satisfied. We’re both very picky people and would definitely acknowledge any poor service or food but so far always have a great time and experience. We’ve actually disowned the nearby Cheesecake Factory due to poor service on multiple occasions so now this is our go-​to spot!

I had a weird experience that made me review this place once and for all. It seems that the food was good, the service was wonderful but the experience was sub par. Here is what happened. It was a Friday night so of course they are packed. We waited and seating opened up in the bar so we sat in there. We ordered our beers and were fine with the noise level of the bar except for some patrons which were playing their laptop at a very high noise level. My friend went to tell the manager. This is where it went left. I Don’t want to put the wrong manager name so its the bigger dude with the beard. First off he tells her to hold on he is busy. STRIKE ONE, when a customer says there is a problem you face the customer. Next she asks him to please handle it, and allow the customers know politely its bothering us, and please turn it down. He told her he cant actually do that, so she came back and asked them herself. The customers were apologetic and did it right away! NO big deal, everyone is happy. Until… the manager walks over and checks on them! WTF? I say we handled it since you would not! He then turns his back on us and continues to talk to them. Never once talking or checking on us, and also making it into a bigger deal then need be since everyone was okay by then. A couple of patrons actually turned around and thanked us, because it was louder then the game.
STRIKE TWO is to ignore us. Then another manager (maybe the real one or GM) comes over and talks to them about it again. OKAY this is just getting embarrassing for everyone involved. Once again no one checked on us. Two chicks that threw down 60 bucks for dinner, and a really weird awful experience. I like the pazookie and our real waitress (wish I had gotten her name) was wonderful. BJs get it together or at least the guy that doesn’t know how to handle customers. Booo for that.

After we had already sat down, I checked Unilocal to see what rating everyone gave this location. I was a little surprised by the low rating but quickly realized everyone was spot on with their assessment!
Our server was the only one in our section, and he was completely overwhelmed. When we sat down ever table was full, which was about 15 tables or so. After we waited about 10−15min just to order, and after he dropped off our waters we didn’t see him again until our food was completely goner a we asked for the check. He refilled our water, but only after we were done eating and had to go the whole meal with NO DRINK?!! What!!! The table next to us waited 20 min for a box for their food and they asked for it as soon as they got their food too! He never asked us how our food was, if we needed anything or if we were having an enjoyable experience. Never have I been so disappointed in the serve at a BJs restaurant! He dropped our check off without clearing our plates which had been empty for about 15min. Overall just an overwhelmed server, who was most likely new and can’t handle so many tables.
On the plus side our food was very good, I ordered the pepperoni flatbread, a little greasy but very good. My husband had the bison burger which was also very tasty. I would try this location again, but if the service is the same I wouldn’t dine here again.

Was craving a pizookie after our visit to San Diego safari park (~15mins away). We went for a late lunch around 2pm and no wait.
Did the 2 for $ 25 deal– 2 salads, 1 deep dish pizza and 1 pizookie to share. Awesome deal.
My tomato mozzarella was good. My bf got the Caesar and we just kinda mixed them together hah.
We chose the bj’s favorite but ended up not being our favorite :(Choose this one if you love lots of veggie toppings. Just wasn’t what we were feeling for plus it wasn’t saucy at all. Wish I stuck to my guns and did the BBQ chicken pizza. Next time!
Classic Pizookie never fails!

The servers in the happy hour section are great! Drinks kept coming and I didn’t have to say anything or nod.
The food was delicious and served at an excellent temperature — hot!
I’ll be back for sure to unwind.