Gordon Biersch

Location, location, location. This place is blessed by the lack of serious alternatives at SJC Terminal A. I come here all the time for that reason alone.
The service is OK. The servers are pleasant and seem to try really hard, but between being short-​staffed the the slow kitchen, the service just doesn’t measure up.
The food has been consistently poor. There’s a hint of promise, yet the food is both over-​cooked and cold at the same time. My burger today was like eating an old shoe. Even the bun was tough.
So, not good, but it’s like the school cafeteria – where else are you going to go?

Food here is typical airport food. Nothing to rave about and actually it’s lukewarm, not even warm. Service was BLA!
This place is more of a bar than an eatery, and the Apps are probably also lukewarm. We had a chicken sandwich and burger. The good thing. Was the garlic cheese fries, made the meal acceptable.
Drinks were watered down. And meal/​drinks were overpriced.

12÷26÷15 update: After I posted my original review, I emailed the company via their website. They responded within 2 days via email and I spoke with a rep soon after. To their credit, they took my concerns seriously and vowed to address the issue at the establishment. They also sent me a small token to apologize. I could not have asked them to do any more than they did and I appreciate their responsiveness.
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I wish I could give 0 stars. I went to this place with my daughter and sat near the bar area. We said hello to the bartender and proceeded to sit within eyesight of the wait staff and bartender. After 25 minutes of watching the waitresses serve other customers, including at least 5 parties who arrived AFTER us, I got up and asked the bartender if we should have ordered from the bar instead of awaiting a waitress. At the time I asked my question, she understood my anger. First, she acknowledged that the wait staffs’ job was indeed to come to our table to take our order, then she immediately asked if she could place my order for me and rush it since we had not been served. I told her no and when she asked again, I reiterated no and left. Why in the world would I spend money at a place that ignores me and finds multiple reasons to serve people ahead of me even when they arrive after me and when I am waiting patiently without comment to be merely acknowledged? Forget it, no need to worry about them ever obtaining my business. As well, it is worth mentioning that we were the only African American party in the restaurant. Well done Gordon B. (Not)

Update: had breakfast and it was pretty lame. The (powdered) eggs were overcooked and the bacon and potatoes were soggy. At least my waitress, Abeba, was nice.
Had a hot breakfast of eggs, bacon and potatoes before my flight. Food came out fast and hot. For powdered eggs, they were quite good. The potatoes were crispy and seasoned. I’ve had much worse airport breakfasts. I’ll be back.

Beer was ok. Fries were good. I ordered the BBQ chicken sandwich. I ordered… unwisely. Dry, rubbery, and awful are the words that come to mind. Either make a better sandwich or take it off the menu. Just awful. I won’t even get another beer here, which is a bold statement for me, plus I have another hour to wait until boarding. Turned off for this brand forever.

Food is somewhat fresh. The garlic fries were old. Looks special on the menu, but presentation is poor and the portions are small.
Service is fast and efficient, but not friendly.
Tip: Could not find power for laptops.
Tip: Lots of window seat for kids to watch from.

Despite the name, this is just your average overpriced airport lunch spot. The waitress we had didn’t even seem to try and give a good service, so I’m not sure why she was their. The bartender also seemed to have this look of disapproval (for lack of better words) towards a women using her laptop.
I got the chicken bbq burger and regular fries, but the chicken was pretty bland and dry. Unfortunately there were also garlic fries mixed in with the regular fries I had asked for.
Make sure to tell them when you’re ready to order, because they won’t ask.

Two huge Fish tacos (that are 90% fish surprisingly), get hot sauce for the frijoles con arroz they pair with it and tack on a Jamison neat. Sure it’s $ 35 b4 tax but for an airport, with multiple televisions showing everything from Comcast Sportsnet to ESPN to ESPN classic to news and crazy prompt service, I’m not complaining.
Again, this is 4 stars for second City «international» airport food. SFO T2 gets 5s (for reference).

The food sounded good, but all Ive heard from my family for the last two hours is how bad the Kobe burgers were. As a vegetarian I cannot comment. But apparently they were over cooked and not Kobe.
My vegetarian tacos were OK. The double taco shells (one hard and one soft) were not necessary. Avocado was fresh, but its CA!
Our bar tender was quick and on it.
Overall, so-​so airport food… But what was expected? Haha.

Stay away if you want any service!
Sorry — but even the coffee sucks.
It’s close to gate 11 — there — I new I could say something positive if I thought about it long enough.

I know it’s airport food, but seriously. No real butter available, only «Promise» in small tubs, and only Welches strawberry jelly. They also have no egg whites available. Despite being relatively empty, they also managed to get my order wrong. Thank goodness I had some time before my plane left. The correct omelet came out quickly. They seem like they’re made from a liquid egg/​oil mix as my plate was swimming in grease. On the bright side, the wait staff is nice and attentive. They did offer me a free «Grab it To Go» because of the error.

We sat down expecting to at least be greeted by one of the waitresses, but we were not. There was an older couple who sat after we did and also a another gentleman. The waitress with long black hair chose to greet them and didn’t even care to acknowledge us. Terrible and disappointing service. We left and ate a Joe’s, amazing service and food there.

Whenever I’m waiting for a departure in Mineta San Jose International I always plan time to stop in at the bar at Gordon Biersch.
I travel to SJC or work nearly twenty times per year. Gordon Biersch has become part of my departure routine because I love their Marzen so much. Unfortunately, the food and drink prices are quite high, as is typical of any airport. The 18 oz Marzen costs me over $ 9. And, I’m amused when they try to upsell me with a shot for an additional $ 5, no matter how early it is. But, I like the three-​sided design of the bar and have had some great conversations with interesting single-​serving friends. I’ve ordered food a few times, but find the costs prohibitive. I’d rather buy a bag of trail mix from Hudson News.
Service is adequate, though the bartender seems overwhelmed at times as the bar is typically busy with travelers. Also, they will occasionally wash dishes in bleach water right behind the bar and directly below where I’m eating. The smell is noxious. I’ve learned not to sit close to the sink.
To be honest, I don’t think I’d go out of my way to eat at a Gordon Biersch location outside the airport. The bar design, the Marzen, and the ability to take a pause after a week of work in another city has become a comfort. But, the food itself is nothing to write home about.

Note that this place is behind TSA. Sat down for lunch, ordered a Pilsener, chicken caesar salad, and a glass of water. Total time between sitting down, reading menu and getting taste buds involved: less than 10 minutes.

Close to fraud. Asked for a large beer and a single vodka tonic. She asked twice if we wanted to make it a double. Clearly shook head and said no. It took them 20 minutes to get the two drinks after we walked up once to inquire. They served at least two other parties at the bar and while doing so, waved us off with a «yes, yes, we’re coming».
20 minutes. At an airport. At 10 PM with a quarter full restaurant and not serving food anymore.
The bill came charging $ 2 over list price for the beer, as well as double tonic at $ 12 instead of $ 8 clearly ordered for a single.
Passive aggressiveness from the waitress the whole time, 30 to finish a drink each. Worst restaurant experience I’ve had by far in the Bay Area, and you can check from my reviews that I’m quite happy to give 5 stars.
On the off-​chance that you are reading restaurant reviews at SJ airport, do not go to this restaurant based on the quality of their beer. Their brew is fine (on tap) their service is abysmal.

$ 36 for burger slider appetizer, a club soda, and a bottom shelf Bloody Mary. It’ll suffice if you want something that closely resembles real food at the airport, but if you have the time to eat before you come to SJC, do it! I suggest sitting at the bar for better service. Jose was awesome!

The poor guy behind the bar must work 2 jobs because he was just tired. He talked slow and low and then was annoyed when we could not understand him.
He seemed like a nice enough guy who might be having a bad day but he’s in the customer service industry. He seemed annoyed that we asked for a second round of drinks. No problem we won’t bother you again. You’re not the only bar at the airport.
We did something we never do and only tipped 10%. We should have not tipped him but we are on the assumption that he has having a really bad day.

3 hours to kill before our flight took off, and we needed to eat dinner since we were taking a red eye flight back home. We knew we wouldn’t be given food opportunities on the plane.
We opted for GB since it was just outside the security gate and it wasn’t horribly busy, even with the Basketball game on (Go home team?) We sat down and it took us 10 minutes to be waited on. They only had ONE waitress and a bar tender. Not good.
We placed orders for our Tea and our starter of Garlic Fries. Those came quick and they were hot and tasty. Then we ordered our burgers, and those were good too. The service, once we got it was good and competent.
The food though, was Expensive. $ 15.00 for a burger with fries, it’s a bit ridiculous if you ask me.

Looking to grab some grub before our flight out of San Jose, BIL, DN and I headed straight for Gordon Biersch quite possibly because of my comment that their garlic fries sounded good.
We were seated and given menus. I had no idea they served breakfast so maybe that was the universe telling me garlic breath is no bueno on a very small plane. The breakfast menu was small though hearty enough with all my favorites. Both the BIL and I zero’d in on the Classic Breakfast which consisted of eggs, a meat and starch. We both agreed that everything on our plate was tasty and the right temp. Like always the DN shared off of her dad’s plate so she too was happy.
I appreciated how quick, efficient and friendly the service was. This definitely helped make the time pass a little more enjoyably til our flight boarded. Garlic fries next time, watch out fellow passengers!

GB really needs some quality control with their airport restaurants. It’s very clear to me that they franchise these restaurants or at the least, have very very loose control over how they operate. The food items on the menu are not consistent from GB to GB across airports, the food is gross, and service moderately attentive at best. The only positive I can state about the airport locations are the beer.
That being said, these restaurants have to really watch their quality control at their airport locations. I think my experiences at GB airport locations are actually making me think twice about going to their restaurants. This is not a good thing and my guess is that their brand is being damaged based on the low overall ratings for their airport locations.
Get your act together at the airport GB!