BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse — Restaurant in Glendale

BJ’s Restaurant Experience – Not Exactly a Special Occasion Spot or what I thought it was going to be.

I guess BJ’s isn’t the place to go for a Caesar side salad or apparently their prime rib special either. My wife, kids, and I decided to head there after a kids’ concert at the mall around midday. I mean, what could go wrong? Apparently, quite a bit.

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The Service:

We were seated quickly since the restaurant wasn’t busy at the time. Menus were handed out, and we started looking over our options for lunch. Then… nothing. No server came by for about 20 minutes. Eventually, we flagged someone down to ask what was going on. The server assigned to our table showed up and explained that he thought someone else had already helped us a bit strange, considering the menus were just sitting there untouched. To make up for the delay, they offered us a complimentary appetizer or dessert, which was appreciated. We chose the avocado egg rolls. We also requested to split the bill my wife and I with our kids on one check, and my brother with his wife and child on the other. Somehow, the server managed to mix up the orders, placing their items on our check and vice versa. Fixing the mistake turned into a bit of a hassle. For context, this all happened around noon on a Sunday so not exactly peak dining hours. Yet the service still missed the mark.

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The Food:

I ordered a Caesar salad with a side of chicken. Visually, it reminded me of something you’d get at Chuck E. Cheese. The lettuce was yellowing and looked pretty sad. It was edible because I was hungry, but definitely not appetizing or fresh just basic, low-quality ingredients. My wife ordered the prime rib special, which came with two sides, a side salad, and a Pizookie. For the sides, she chose mashed potatoes and broccoli. The mashed potatoes lacked butter and flavor, and the broccoli was dry and overcooked. The prime rib itself was disappointing it was about 60% fat. While I know prime rib is a fattier cut, this was excessive. It felt like a bait-and-switch tactic: offer a “special” using the cheapest cuts to attract customers, but deliver something inedible. The steak looked big, but most of it was just fat. The only thing “special” about it was how much of it wasn’t meat. Honestly, the food quality was more on par with a Sizzler, but at Cheesecake Factory prices. Not exactly the vibe we were hoping for on Father’s Day.

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The Ambience:

Typical BJ’s décor nothing remarkable. The restaurant had plenty of empty tables due to the time of day, yet they still couldn’t manage decent service despite the light crowd.

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In Conclusion:

Unless my kids are specifically begging for a Pizookie, I don’t see myself going out of my way to return to BJ’s. The service was underwhelming, the food lacked quality, and the overall experience just didn’t justify the price. I’ll be choosing a restaurant with better service and fresher...

Vanessa, our server, provided exceptional service during our visit to the restaurant on June 13, 2023, between 7 pm and 9 pm. She was attentive and efficient, despite being overwhelmed with multiple tables. However, our experience was disappointing due to poor management, unsatisfactory food, and unsanitary conditions.

During our visit, we observed the busser neglecting their duties, and the manager socializing with the busser and other employees while the restaurant was busy. Many tables were left uncleared, leading to a state of disarray in the restaurant. Despite the chaos, Vanessa managed to provide excellent service without any assistance.

Unfortunately, the food fell short of our expectations. We requested two burgers to be cooked well-done, but they were served with bright pink meat. The jambalaya lacked flavor and was carelessly prepared, with the rice simply placed on the plate instead of being mixed while cooked. The other ingredients were carelessly placed on top of the rice, resulting in a flavorless taste. Vanessa repeated our order with all the requested modifications, so the issues were not her fault. She tried to address the problems, but the manager did not bother to visit our table.

We also had an unpleasant encounter with a busser who delivered our pizookie's. We asked him for two to-go boxes, but he was rude and unhelpful, telling us it wasn't part of his role. We were unsure of his specific responsibilities since he had been walking around without cleaning tables and engaging in conversations with his manager and colleagues for the entire two hours we were there.

Overall, our experience at the restaurant was disappointing due to the poor service, unsatisfactory food, and unsanitary conditions. Tables were left uncleaned for long periods, and the staff were seen chatting instead of attending to their duties. Vanessa was the only bright spot in an otherwise unpleasant experience, as she did an excellent job handling all the tables by herself. However, the manager failed to address the situation or make an effort to take care of us, and the busser was rude and unhelpful when we asked for...

After a trip to Hollywood, we decided to take our boys somewhere different to eat. The wife and I had been to the BJ's a few in the city of Oxnard and we've had some great food. Let me tell you, this was no Oxnard BJ's. Right away as you walk in it looked much cleaner. Our server Josh, was wonderful. He went above and beyond to making sure we got exactly what we ordered. We are a picky bunch. No this or that. Substitute that for this. So seeing him double check to see if everything was to our liking was comforting. This is how wonderful Josh was, so every time I have gone to our local BJ's(Oxnard) and I order the pork chops, they rudely tell me that they're out and expect me to choose something else on the spot. I asked if they had pork chops and he went to go check. He came back to the table and said there was 4 left. As we proceeded to order our appetizers, he went ahead and ordered my pork chops as well so later when he came back and took our entree order I wouldn't be left out choosing something else because they had ran out. He mentioned that the pork chops are favorite in their establishment and it would be best if he put the order in and he also went ahead to let the cooks know not to start making my main dish until he had put in our entire family's order. We had buffalo boneless wings, bacon jam bone-in wings. They bacon jam wings have been the wife and I favorite since we first had them back in our local BJ's. It was my first time having the pork chops and believe me they didn't disappoint. That sucker was huge. I gave everyone in the a good portion to taste and they agreed that those were the most succulent chops we've ever had. I would like to thank Josh for the great job that he did. I spoke to the manager to let him know that he had a great worker in Josh. He really likes to take his time and effort to making sure the customers have a great experience. I know it not common courtesy to ask for a certain waiter to serve you, but if it's possible, I would recommend that anyone going to eat there try asking for Josh if...