BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse — Restaurant in Brentwood

Just got home from BJ's in Brentwood and I don't usually write such a quick review but my experience was so horrible there that I feel inclined to warn people ASAP, especially African-Americans.

I'd been there a few nights ago and they really botched my takeaway order. In fact, after waiting over an hour for my order which was inedibly overcooked, some employee (I should've gotten her name!) actually threw a plastic to go utensil at me!! Other waiting customers were as shocked and repelled as I was. It has to be a race thing, after being Black my whole life you just know these things. Obviously, I demanded to speak with a manager. A very nice, sincerely apologetic young man named Junior asked me to come back and give them another chance and he would "make it right" on our next visit. 90 minutes after placing the order I drove away with my wife ravenous and empty handed.

I decided to give them another try tonight. Unfortunately Junior was not there and I had to recount the first disaster to and deal with a youngish woman going by the name Macy. She claimed to be a manager, but was so very rude and robotic that I question that even BJs would make her a manager! It was clear that she giving the least amount of attention possible to our interaction. I think she actually thought I was trying to scam a $15 entree or something! She begrudgingly gave me a discount on my food which by the way was again inaccurate and I had to send it back to to the kitchen for repair. Here was an easy opportunity to smooth things out with an unhappy customer but Mean-spirited Macy made it worse! Public relations are clearly not her strength! Again, I got the message that race was a factor in her sub-par, distasteful demeanor.

Here's my tip: If you have no choice but to order your food to go, lower your expectations. Be sure to closely inspect your food before leaving and brace yourself for pushback...

My family of 5 just returned from a very unpleasant experience. This is not our first dining experience with BJ’s and found it conveniently open after many restaurants close early. We ate dinner on a Sunday evening at 9pm on 5/20/22. We were greeted and seated right away. One of the menus was dirty and had food splatter that was caked on one of the pages. Yuck. I ordered the guacamole & chips and there were several cold fries in the guac and the chips were extremely greasy. Upon receiving our partial order , the employee placed our food on the table and we had to track someone else down for utensils and napkins. Many minutes passed and another waiter returned and apologized that the rest of our order “was dropped” , so they were making it straight away (cheeseburger entree and slow cooked tri tip entree. ) Upon hearing that, I let the waitress know about the several cold fries in the guacamole and she replaced it quickly. The replaced guacamole looked nothing like the first batch. The entrees finally came after a very long wait and the rest of our party was already finished. The burger was burnt and inedible! My son said, “it’s ok, mom” , but I informed the waitress of this and she offered another one but we just weren’t going to wait any longer. Our empty drinks were not tended to and after asking for a refill, we had to ask again. As a paying customer, this was a very unpleasant dinner experience for me and my family! The restaurant was not busy by any means with many vacant tables. I understand staff shortage, however there were plenty of staff on the floor. Due to mediocre service and quality of food, we will no longer dine at BJ’s. Totally...

I visited the Brentwood, CA location and was served grilled Mahi Mahi Tacos and a bread bowl containing Clam Chowder.

Tacos: Mostly shredded/sliced veggies with very little flavor. There might have been three tiny bits of fish in each. Difficult to taste the fish at all. The two average-size tacos were served with a spicy guacamole sauce and salsa in small ramekins. Both condiments tasted like cheap processed bottled brands. A handful of plain white, unsalted corn chips were served together with the tacos; that's it! For $15 my expectation is to have a more original meal with higher quality ingredients. A freshly made bean salad of some type might have been nice; also a small ball of freshly made corn cake to round out the meal. The tacos should be served fresh from the grill with generous portions of fish in them. This meal was a miserable waste of time and money.

Clam Chowder Loaf: Nothing special. It might be something nice if was served with small amounts of cheddar cheese and bacon bits as garnish options. The best thing about this item was the sour dough bread. The $7 price was fair but the experience was mediocre.

Service: Overwhelmed; polite when available. Long waits at every step of the way.

Ambiance: Nice facilities; very crowded, other obnoxious customers were entering personal space. People whistling at each other across the dining area and shouting loudly. Very noisy and chaotic.

Total bill for one person w/no drinks, only water, tax and a $2.80 tip added in = $25

Parking: Very difficult / Competitive

I would not return to...