BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse — Restaurant in Fresno

I used to LOVE BJ's about 15-20 years ago. Boy things have changed. This location is horrible. Either way, the service is just subpar and the food is inedible. I've dined here twice. I will say the second time the waiter was on top of things. BUT, the fact that they say you can make reservations online using an app, but then said reservation is non-existent is annoying. So that means you're forced to wait in the long line even though you made reservations (so you thought). ‍

Just like the cheesecake factor, the their menu is way too long. When you see a menu that's like 6 pages long, it's a warning to rub IMO. How can the focus with so many options. This leads me to believe the food is pre-packaged or prepared.

Example the siracha Brussels sprouts sounds amazing and looks amazing ... but what was service looked like burned Brussels with no drizzle of creamy siracha as in the picture. It's just thrown on there. Wish I was able to take a picture.

BJs used to be about their pizzas, beer, burgers and the pazookie. The pazookie made them famous. But now they have all of these weird flavors like monkey bread. Why? It's supposed to be a cookie resembling a pizza with ice cream. No peanut butter.

Anyway, sucks for BJs. The only thing I'll order from here is maybe a pazookie to go.

I wish restaurants will stick to what they're know for. Look at in-and-out. Menu hasn't changed and they're an empire.

Wish you'd go back to pizza, burgers and beers.

Not every restaurant needs to serve some sort of raw fish because sushi is so popular. sigh

NOTE: When a diners eat less than 3/4 of their food. It should be noticed and maybe send a manager over. If things are untouched, something is wrong. No one has money to waste considering how expensive things are now.

Ordered when I visited (combined):

Ribs - 3/5 could've better but they're adding too many to things to make the BBQ sauce "original" throwing off the ribs. The meat is actually tender. Don't ruin it with experimental BBQ sauce.

Roasted veggies - 1/5 dried out microwaved veggies that are supposed to be sauced. Dry as the desert. Baked Potato - 0/5 they never have them

Wedge Salad - 4/5 this was actually really good. Crisp and great bleu cheese.

Chips and guacamole - 1/5 salsa was left off our plate. Now I understand why. It was gross. Flavorless tomato sauce. Guacamole had no flavor whatsoever. Waste of money.

Lemon Pepper bone in wings - 3/5 were good the first time. Really good so I ordered the second time. Second time they were burnt and tiny. Literally tough and way overcooked.

Clam chowder - 3/5 someone else in my party had it. But he didn't eat it. Looked good but wasn't really to touched.

Siracha Brussel Sprouts - 1/5 burnt sprouts with stems that are hard to cut off. Sauce was decent but watery. Not enough it and nothing like the picture. Sprouts need some seasoning.

Pazookie To Go - 5/5 the only thing that was good. Ice cram was good and hard. So I made it home without it melting.

Cleanliness - 2/5 after seeing someone else's Yelp with a cockroach in the cocktail, I opted for something canned. Glass of water had something stuck on the inside of the glass. Steak knife had dried up crud at least the size of a dime on the handle. Gross.

Will not be returning. Not this...

If I could give this restaurant a zero star rating, I would absolutely be happy to do it. On 2/28/2023 it was an evening dinner for my nephew's birthday. First of all I'm not sure where their employees get their training to begin with. After ordering beverages and the waiters brought the drinks out, we were never asked if we'd like straws for our drinks. I finally saw the two waiters waiting our table, I asked them for straws. Wow absolutely no common sense or good work ethic in customer service. Plain and simple things, like where is the silverware, napkins, straws, I mean duh. We are here ordering at your tables what doesn't say their are customers here. I found it very annoying when an appetizer came out to our table, they brought no plates to use in case others at the table wanted a plate to have their appetizer. At this point I'm more than disgusted with these waiters. After awhile of not seeing the waiters, I went to the lady who was in the lobby checking customers in. Their is where I asked for plates, after awhile the lady came out to give us plates after waiting so long. The food was cold for our orders, one was raw which was supposed to be well done my sister's boyfriend's order, the potato fries were burnt and inedible, my order was cold the avocado was bark or turning black which is not the freshest or over ripen. I was already tired of waiting absolutely disgusted with the food, customer service and the fact of having to ask or suggest to the employees what should be done. I've worked in fast food, in a restaurant, customer service in a variety of settings throughout my life. Even the bathrooms were very unclean. For a bill of 306 something dollars, I'd expect better service and better staff who would know to use their skills well. Not a place I'll be spending money at and definitely not a place I'd recommend to no one else I know. An employee who works in a restaurant in customer service, should never have to be promoted of what they should be doing. I would not be of service in the ways I experienced tonight in this establishment. I would be a better example for my employer, if I was working in this place. Over rated place with bad service all around. I wish I took a video, I was chasing people down for too much and I wasn't enjoying my dinner, I expected to have dinner with my family all at the same time and not waiting or having to send food back, having to ask for things that should have been set up before...

Please Read

Making a claim of good service and living up to it are very different. I’ve had 2 visits. Both abysmal. This place owns up their mistakes but I’ve been beyond disappointed each visit. I was guaranteed a stellar experience if I gave the restaurant another chance. I was reluctant to go after the first service experience on Mother’s Day. We went with the same exact party as we did on Mother’s Day and things were not to a standard of how this place can and should operate. I do not like to leave bad reviews just hope this is viewed in hopes that this restaurant experience improves. I feel like they are understaffed and over worked. They have a hard time accommodating larger parties. We were a party of 7 both times. The manager is cool, just very passive. There is a shift lead with attitude and the waiters are always left to represent the restaurant and always are the ones held accountable but I don’t think it’s the servers fault. They are left to deal with the system that the heads of the restaurant creates. I wish this place well. I hope it improves but it’s not likely I’ll ever return for dinner.. ever. The bar? Maybe, but only because I can just sit there without waiting. I think the restaurant lacks real structure and efficiency and there is no synergy. The restaurant is not lead, it’s managed. There is no theme, tone or pace or sense of purpose for the staff. The servers are really never at fault, they just serve the plate of whatever management and the kitchen is cooking and be the friendliest they can be. If there is a failure it’s because of the structure provided by leadership. I think the food is good but what lacks is delivery, timing and lack of follow through. This is not so much a review of an individual or the experience but more so on the oversight of the operation of the restaurant. It’s just dysfunctional and lacking a common purpose or goal. There is no creed and everyone is just doing their job not being an addition to the team. It’s just sad because this place has so much potential. I don’t think this restaurant should be rated by profit and loss statement nor reviews. This is not indicative of success. They need to have a real self reflection and really connect with the staff from the bottom up. You'll like the food, but food is just one element of a successful operation. The rest of the operation is lacking. If they can set a daily winning metric, I think things will...