BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse — Restaurant in Escondido

I've always loved BJs, but never had a connection to a specific location, but I did here. Honestly all thanks to our server, I think his name was Luis, I know from the receipt. He was the most friendly down to earth server. He delivered the best top notch service and made sure my friend i were comfortable. I have never experienced such a nice restaurant setting, and I've been trying to recover from social anxiety so I decided to come in at 10pm, expecting tired and unwilling service. I mean as a person who works customer service, I get it. Fully. But, regardless, Luis was bright cheerful and happy. I highly doubt he is a host but he guided us to which ever table we wanted and we luckily seated ourselves in the best section. I hate too much noise even if I am noisy. So being away from the bar when I couldn't deal with it was perfect. I am not a person who reviews restaurants what so ever, but felt the strong inclination to do so now. Luis if you're hearing or reading this haha, know you are the chillest man alive, I give you all the best wishes and blessings in life. I'm sorry if you aren't religious or Christian but might I say iesu pu, which in Hawaiian means Jesus be with you. Lolll, have a good day. I'm going to stop typing

Side note from service even though the service is the only thing that got me to post : Food was delicious. I went all out with my "girlfriend" and we went to town on this ribeye with asparagus and mashed potatoes and then over to this delicious white shark pizza i believe. AT BJS YOU MUST GET THEIR PIZZA. Growing up my family would frequent BJs and always got the hamburger pizza. As a kid who had comfort goods BJs burger pizza was one of them. That's another side note on the great customer service, Luis willingly and happily tried asking if they could make hamburger pizza for us even though it was 10pm, they are close to closing, the cooks might or might not have been antsy, we all have seen The Bear, I've seen it through clips on tiktok lollll. Anyways, he was so nice about his delivery on why they couldn't make it , I understood completely. 10/10 BJs will now be a goto hangout spot for me, my friends, and not to give TMI but I am looking to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and I will bring those who I wish to teach BEFORE my mission here. The environment is inviting but peaceful where anyone can come and talk about anything they so desire. And trust me our conversation was ALL OVER THE PLACE, in the best way possible. Luis complimented that. One last thing about this amazing server, he was the best kind of helpful while not making you uncomfortable. Some waiters are overly nice in a flirty way, which as a woman can be uncomfortable. But, he did it in the best way possible.Alright, Ill shut up abojt my favoriteplace in the world not including the Mormon Temple. Okay not to be extra weird but Luis, if this interests you pull up to tjr Palomar YSA and meet me or my missionary friends lol, okay I will shut up now. I swear I am not crazy. I'm just one big BIG Biggggg big back. Who loves good food and wholesome environments and people. THAT BE YOU LUIS . I swear on my life I'm not a creepy I legit just have undiagnosed ADHD and can't...

After reading all the raving reviews, I thought for sure this was the place to take mom for a Saturday experience. I think it still might be, but I’d expect a better experience than we had last week. We left disappointed.

When I fork out just under $35 for a rib eye steak, I expect it to be cooked the way I prefer eating it. I asked for medium. I specified I like it pink and dead in the center , but not bloody and still dying. My server said, “So medium well.” I was specific: Pink not red. The darn thing came to me well done. Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t send my food back to the chef. Like, EVER. You never know how they take criticism and I’d be afraid to eat it once it comes around a second time. So I tried eating the well done steak, but I just couldn’t enjoy it. And I tried. I was hungry. How do people eat it well done like that? For $35 I should get it however I ask for it. Needless to say, I wasn’t a happy camper.

Mom’s turn. She ordered the Shrimp Scampi. Do you remember that Wendy’s TV ad in the 1980’s asking “Where’s the beef?” Yeah so for $25 where was the shrimp? Oh sure we saw shrimp on the plate, but nowhere as much as we saw on their website menu that tempted her taste buds in the first place. I should have taken a picture. A picture speaks a thousand words. The website sure did, but delivered less to our table.

I’m not saying this isn’t a good restaurant. I’m not saying the food sucks. What I’m saying is we paid for quality results and received less than perfection. Anyone can have a bad day. Lord knows I’ve overcooked my steak at home. That’s why I don’t do it anymore. I just go out to a restaurant and let a chef do it for me. I don’t mind paying for quality food and service, but our first impression of BJ’s turned out to be less than the almost five stars everyone else gave. Sorry, but we were not happy. Everyone deserves a second chance, and when I feel like gambling my hard earned money I might give BJ’s another try. Dang, dessert and drinks should have been free. No compensation whatsoever. If I have a better experience I’ll update my review. Like I said anyone can have an off day....

I'll start with the premise that eating out in these hard economic times truly is a privilege many can't take for granted. I'm blessed to be financially able to afford it. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna throw my money away as it was this establishment's expectation tonight. If I managed this place, I'd be embarrassed at the food and overall service that was given me. Your bandwidth was clearly taken by the theater crew that was on its way out when we arrived, but that is no excuse for waiting 27 minutes for 2 diet Pepsi and I had to remind the waitress about it. The food, my food was a complete disgrace. Not just the fact that my steak was awfully dry and overcooked, but the plate presentation was something my 9 year old could have outdone. Also, calling that chunk of meat scrap "sirloin" is an actual offense to cows and ranchers all over the world. The broccoli LOOKED insipid, it was dry and overcooked. I didn't even have the heart to try it because it just looked disgusting. My table didn't even have condiments on it, so when I attempted to season my dry baked potato, I was not able to. That's when I finally drew the line. I would rather not eat than eat something I wouldn't even feed my dog. Your apologies, although appreciated, were as insipid as the food you tried to serve me. If the manager had any actual regret about treating my like a 3rd class citizen, he would have offered for the entire meal cost to be waived. I think that, unless establishments start actually valuing their customer's business, they're bound to suffer a great deal in these upcoming recession days. As business owners, we no longer have larger margins for errors like this. Thankfully, I can afford eating out, but I won't be eating at your establishment again...