BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse

Came here for lunch on Christmas Eve and overall was very pleased with the experience.
We were greeted very promptly and pleasantly upon walking it.
We were also seated very quickly in a nice booth. I have to also mention how beautiful the floors were! Loved them.
Our waiter was very nice. I ordered the strawberry lemonade which I sadly had to send back– something was off, seemed like too much syrup?
He gladly took it back and gave me a regular lemonade instead. He also checked up on us several times and kept refilling my fiancé’s water glass.
I ordered the mini deep dish extreme pepperoni pizza– AMAZING. And my fiancé got the burger and thin fries– also very good from what he said.
Overall, clean and a great easy lunch. I would recommend stopping if driving through Norman.

BJ’s is one of those places that I think about going to often but only get there about twice a year. Maybe because I always prefer to not eat at a chain when I do go out, but as far as corporate places go in Nompton, BJ’s is probably my fave. And by the way, I feel stupid reviewing corporate places. There’s over 100 BJ’s in this great nation and chances are you’ve been to one. So if you haven’t been to one, say you’re new to America, or you’ve only just become old enough to eat out, or maybe you’re 16 and you just got a license and before this your parents never took you out to eat. Maybe you lived waaaaaay out in the country, anyway, if any of these conditions apply or you’d like to know more about this particular BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, by all means keep reading.
I guess I’d describe BJ’s as if Cheesecake Factory and Spaghetti Warehouse had a baby, which by the way– gross. Cheesecake and spaghetti should never be imagined together like that. BJ’s lacks the baroque grandeur of Cheesecake Factory, but the plush seating and attentive, pleasant, well trained service put BJ’s in a different league than Spaghetti Warehouse. The menu is American cuisine, which is to say, pretty much Italian cuisine with a good number of dishes that aren’t Italian. Pizza, pasta, steak, chicken, potatoes, burgers… cookies. Anyone can find something they like here (even vegetablists like myself.) If not, ditch em. Seriously. Even my dad, who thinks that 5 cheese blend on a pizza is just a way of skimping on mozzarella, can find something he likes, (which was, not surprisingly, an all mozzarella pizza with sausage.)
As far as décor, all the BJ’s I’ve been to are nice, but I really like this one in Norman.
The building was a Don Pablos for years and even though its essentially the same building, its nearly impossible to tell, what once was once a loud faux barrio is now cavernous, upscale, and fresh.
BJ’s is not cheap, its not expensive. I’d say you get what you pay for, so if you’re down for something nice I think BJ’s is always worth the money. That, I guess, is probably what keeps me from going there more often, that or the location. Which reminds me, if you are new to Norman or are in the area on a business trip (unlikely) or perhaps are in town for one of our many (sarcastic) festivals, here’s a good way to get to BJ’s: by helicopter. BJ’s sits on the finest lot in the most poorly planned business park ever. Lets put all these businesses on a divided winding frontage road with no highway access and let’s put an entrance at the apex of each blind corner. Great going, city.
BJ’s also brews their own beer and has a full bar, its a great place to watch a game. There’s a good view of at least one television from (probably) every seat.
Their signature dessert, the pizookie, is never as good in real life as it is in my head. That said, I want one now.

Want some over– priced nuked food? You’ll get it here.
We ordered a Caesar salad but they were out of Caesar salad dressing, That should have been a tip that the food here was not freshly prepared. We settled for the wedge instead. Ugh. Not sure what the basic dressing was on this salad but it was thin, kind of slimy sweet/​tart white stuff with a couple bleu cheese sprinkles on it. The wedge was a very small piece of iceberg lettuce with some chopped tomato and hard, not crisp, bacon crumbled on it. Not good.
Our shared entrée was a deep dish pizza. Sort of. Basically it was lukewarm dough served in a deep dish pizza pan. It was topped with meatballs which also tasted like dough so I’m thinking they must have a lot of bread in them, stringy mozzarella cheese, chunks of tomato that tasted like they were freshly plucked from a can and a smattering of tough hot white onions. We were starved so we ate the mess, waited and waited for refills on our drinks and got out of there fast.
Service was lackluster from our front desk greeter seater who was in love with his cell phone to the manager who brought out our lukewarm pizza. The server introduce herself or show up much after bringing our drinks. This place is just a definite «just keep looking for something better» kind of place. This was our first time at any of the BJ’s locations so I can’t say that they’re all like this one. I sure hope that they aren’t. And if they are I expect they’ll be going the way of the dinosaur.

Getting five stars before I get my dinner for serving me 5 minutes prior to close without any hassle. Goes a long way with me as it shows customer first.

Pizza was decent. Pasta was made with microwave Alfredo sauce. Spinach artichoke dip was also prepackaged and microwaved.
If you want a restaurant to microwave prepackaged food for you than this is your place.

Foods pretty good, lots to choose from, what you should expect from a chain. Four stars is because the BJ’s brewed beer is pretty righteous !

My family and I was driving through and thought we would try BJ’s needless to say we won’t be back. The food was below average and priced as if it was first class.

Food is good and mostly typical American cuisine. Casual atmosphere but can get pretty loud when it’s busy. Clean. Good craft beers. Wait staff gets overwhelmed easily. Not sure they have received enough training. Had to chase our waiter down numerous times. They have no idea how to pre-​bus a table or assist others sections.

Multiple part review.
Craft beer– 5 stars. Even though pricey per pint the large spectrum of choices including the darker brews make them a winner. Love the porter and stout, I hope they expand their IPA brews. HopStorm IPA is great, but sells out sometimes.
Food– 4 stars. Large and ever changing menu. I can get pizza which isn’t my wife’s and daughters favorite while they can get seafood, steak or chicken. Our go to appetizer is potato skins. Their nachos and fish tacos have not been our favorites. The fish n chips, jambalaya and salmon are great.
Service– 2 stars. Large busy restaurant I get it, but we’ve done call ahead many times and it has been screwed up every time. The app reservation has been better so far. Once seated service has been hit and miss, just not consistent.

Our waiter Matthew was incandescent. His vibrance alone was worth the trip. The meal was divine as well.

OK usually don’t like chain restaurants, well because they are cookie cutters, and don’t train their staff’s well. That is especially true in a college town with were high employee turnover shoulde be expected.
BJ’s is an exception except for one item. I expect a Brewhouse that has a window looking at beer storage tanks to actually brew their product on site. Not the case at BJ’s as the brewing tanks are for show only.
That said, their Blonde beer which is brewed in Houston by St. Arnold Beer (a tiny company with many different clever brews) is just plain super. It was served cold and crisp and tastes great.
Coming from St. Louis where Lasagna is a religion, BJ’s did not meet that standard but was good. My salad with blu cheese dressing not so much. You should be able to recognize the taste of blu cheese and perhaps see a chunk or two of the tasty treat.
The service was good, and the server very nice. I would not travel 600 miles to go there, but it certainly was better than most in a college town.

Visited BJ’s after the Bedlam game in Norman and despite a packed house and long line of people waiting we were sat in about 30 min. Not bad at all considering the volume and we easily got a drink from the bar while we waited.
The restaurant was very large, clean, and had a variety of seating options. Our server did a great job! Our group of 4 was pretty vocal and he played right along with us joking and got everything on our order correct. The host who sat us was also very friendly and made us feel very comfortable, apologizing for the wait. All the staff we came in contact with from the bartender to the food runners were well put together, spoke clearly, and interacted with our table very well. As a customer service manager in the restaurant industry I take notice of this very quickly!
We had 3 appetizers:
Thai Shrimp Lettuce wraps — mediocre, not a lot of flavor and the lettuce was way too large for the filling.
Ahi Poke — basically a rare ahi tuna tartare served with a nutty soy dipping sauce was very very good! It didn’t last long and we thought about ordering another. Full of flavor and served at the perfect cool temperature.
Calamari — breading was tasty, didn’t wow me but calamari is pretty standard to prepare. Served with 2 dipping sauces a spicy ranch and a barbecue something. Good portion for 4!
We were all very pleased with our entrees, after spending awhile going through their extensive options. They literally have just about everything, pizzas, pasta, steak, burgers, soups, salads, chicken, and seafood.
We had:
Lemon Chicken Pasta — angel hair pasta, with a creamy lemon, butter sauce served with 2 chicken breasts, steamed spinach, and artichoke hearts. Very good portion of food and full of flavor, not too heavy for a pasta dish.
Deep Dish Baked Lasagna — made with ricotta cheese, it was baked perfectly and full of fillings.
NY Strip — cooked to order, med-​rare with 2 sides of choice: horseradish mashed potatoes and asparagus
Ribeye — cooked to order, med-​rare with the mash and broccoli
Overall, I recommend BJ’s for all demographics from families to solo travelers. It has so much to offer even the pickiest eater should find something satisfying served at an affordable price range. We will be keeping an eye out for this chain from now on as we travel.

Good food, not fantastic. It is similar across the country. A little loud but good for a large group like we had.

I will admit I have been to BJ’s in the past and have not had very good experience. But at this location, I had an amazing experience.
We ordered chips and salsa as an appetizer (not on the menu) and stuffed mushrooms. The salsa is a fire roasted salsa which my husband loves. The mushrooms were different than other mushrooms I have had but they were still very good.
I ordered a house salad and it was delicious. The presentation of the salad was very nice as well. For our entrée we split the Mediterranean Pizza. We got a large and it was a lot of food for two. We ended up eating a quarter of the pizza. On a first bite I wasn’t really sure if I liked it or not but by the end I was a fan. Great food, great atmosphere, great experience… Thanks BJ’s… We will be back!

Food: ⁴⁄₅
Service: ⁴⁄₅
Cleanliness: ⁵⁄₅
Décor & Style: ⁵⁄₅
The large space and good ambience is why I love this place. Great place to get a drink, and a large variety of American food. For awhile my favorite was the pizza but it’s gone from a ⁵⁄₅ to a ⁴⁄₅ since it doesn’t seem to be as flavorful as it was in the previous years. Now I just go for the Turkey Club and any handcrafted beer. Excellent selection of beer. Great modern style and ambience. One of the regular places I go to (this goes for all BJ’s across the metro).

Game weekend reviews really shouldn’t count but I needed to share this… They have a call ahead feature where you can call in and put your name on the list. It’s not a reservation but it puts you ahead of the walkins! Okay so we did the call ahead… When we get there the hostess says 30 or 40 minutes. Bar is full, no place to sit down, they’re slammed! 10 minutes later they call our name! Food was good, Service was good, microbrews we’re good. Very popular place with a diverse menu. I’d like to try them again on a non game weekend., my guess is things would be a lot better!

BJ’s is a great place! I live in Dallas, TX but my boyfriend goes to OU and every time I come visit him we go here. The menu has a very wide variety of selections. From pizza to burgers to tacos, we’ve tried all of it and we’re never disappointed.
My boyfriend has ordered the California burger two times now and loved it. He also has ordered the clam chowder soup and thought it was one of the best he’s ever had.
I am a pretty healthy eater and usually stick with salads, half of a sandwich and salad, or another healthier option on the menu. Every salad I’ve tried there has been delicious and I’ve had no complaints about them. I tried the Mediterranean tacos the last time I went there and they were really fresh tasting but not a whole lot of food so if you’re really hungry, I would try ordering something else.
For dessert, of course the pizookie’s are amazing. We have tried the white chocolate macadamia nut and also the pumpkin and they were both delicious.
Haven’t had any bad service here either which is always nice!

BJ’s is a decent restaurant in Norman. They brew a decent beer and have a huge menu. The Buffalo burger is a great low calorie option there and their pizzas are also very good. The problem with having a large menu is that not everything is very good. My wife has an issue with the texture of their Parmesan chicken. The Ahi Poke appetizer is a little bland and the brew house burgers have come out consistently overcooked.
BJ’s is not a bad place to eat if you are eating with a group of people with varying tastes, but I tend to stick with what I know they can cook properly.

I go to BJ’s every so often and consider it «in the rotation» because the food and the service are almost always good. There’s always a long wait on the weekends compared to other places because of this, but that can be avoided by using their curbside take away if you need food now. The dining experience is nice and is worth a wait if you find yourself here.
BJ’s is a microbrewery and serves its own house brand of beers; they are quite good and you’ll probably find one in the style you’re looking for, but if you’re not sure what you’re looking at order their flight of beers and get a small sample of each one.
This is a great place to go and just hang out with friends or family because they have a huge assortment of appetizers, which I always find to match up well with any evening of extended drinking and chatting. Several years ago their Southwest Eggrolls pretty much set the bar for nouveau American appetizer food and were quickly copied by just about everyone.
Like several other posters have mentioned their pizzas are excellent. I usually build my own and am always really happy with it. I also recommend their chicken fried steak meal, it’s also really good. If you’re looking for something on the lighter side I have also enjoyed and recommend their balsamic chicken dish. For desert you really should try the pizookie — I don’t really care for chocolate chip cookies myself but wow is theirs fantastic. They even have a gluten free version for folks avoiding wheat.

If Gordon Ramsey came here he would definitely reduce the number of items on the menu! Wow! We started with the fried Calamari which was really good. It tasted good and was well breaded but was obviously pre-​made quality. I had a pizza and was pleased with the texture, cheese, and overall flavor. I would come back again if in the area but was not impressed enough to choose it over other options when available.
There may be other incredible dishes on the menu but they became white noise at a point because there was so much to choose from. We decided you could eat here every day and never exhaust the menu after a couple of years.
Service was the main downfall for our party. I went 10 – 15 minutes at times with an empty glass. At one point, I asked the server to just bring two glasses of tea with her as she kept apologizing for being so slow. The sad part is that the restaurant was not busy and she only appeared to have a few tables.
Overall: It was good food. Good atmosphere. Super slow service.