BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse — Restaurant in Grand Rapids

I made a reservation for a 30 top about a month in advance for a multiple family member birthday gathering. We spoke to three different managers in the course of that month AND STOPPED BY with printed short menus and info about the party. We did this to make it easier on the server(s) and kitchen staff. All one check. These appetizers can be put in right away.. etc. the only real request I had was that we have one long table… everything else was to make it easier on the staff all around. I ALSO SPOKE TO THEM THE DAY BEFORE TO CONFIRM THE RESERVATION AND THE NUMBER OF PPL. Reservation was at 2. I got there early to set up (if it was possible ) and to chat with the server. I was met with not one, but two indifferent hostess’ who We didn’t get sat until 2:25/2:30. By that time Most of the party was waiting in the lobby. Because the entire section was full when we got there we had to wait until it cleared. One table didn’t leave. So they crammed us into three tables two really close to each other (so close you could barely squeeze in) the third away from the two.. and the random table that was from another party was basically in the middle/end. Staff could barely fit thru with food… Server was nice but drinks were auctioned off.. but everyone was in good spirits, so no big deal… but as the one hosting this experience it was like being at Pizza Hut in high school after a football game….

Food came out all cold. In groups of 10… 15-20 minutes apart… ok, but the Children’s food was served LAST. How, why, annd who made that decision is just bad. And food was being auctioned off like raffle tickets. (No table numbers or seat numbers were taken ) So staff was confused and guests were confused. With little to no room to move it was frustrating for everyone involved. The server tried to do her best to her capability. She was nice but we were told she was asked to take us last minute.. she had no info on anything (the menu and info sheet we personally handed to a manager. ) and obvious no help from management during our time there. So we were basically just treated like a hassle that needed to be dealt with I had to prebus the tables (the server couldn’t get to the tables so how could she? We were so packed in.. ) and then… comments were made about the dinner server coming on,.. and having no section because we did indeed take up an entire section with 27 ppl!!! So we were already being rushed to leave within 20 minutes of everyone finally getting food., which from the first person actually served to the LAST child.. was 45 minutes.

So not only were we treated like a walk in party, after a lot of thought was put into making it easier for them, we were treated like just a big turn and burn check.

of course we were disappointed, but I was more disgusted with the staffs attitude than anything. Starting from the hostess, to the other servers, the management..etc, it’s clear the attitude comes from the top and trickles down. Regardless we were kind, and made nothing apparent. Tipped twenty percent and left 10 minutes AFTER what we quoted.

I’m sure ppl have great experiences here.. we did. That’s why we had the party there.. but it was our mistake to trust such a new restaurant to such a special day. I was going to send an email to the restaurant but guess what? No options on the receipt to contact them. I’m shocked… so google reviews here we go. If you want good food with basic service.. with the hope your food will come out warmer than room temperature.. and the expectation you tip well and be out with in 20 minutes of eating.. this is the...

Was out with my sister and decided to try a new restaurant, and BJ's was our choice. We liked the easy parking, the look of the building and the entry. Open air and roomy. We arrived about 11ish, so before the lunch crowd on a Saturday.

Upon entering we were disappointed right away because we were the only ones who came in the door and the hostess (Desiree) didn't greet us, make eye contact, or even acknowledge us. We stepped up to her work station and still nothing until she finally looked at us without smiling and remained silent. I could definitely understand if the place was busy or she was busy doing something else, but she wasn't doing anything but standing there looking straight ahead. I ended up greeting her and then asked for a table for two, preferably a booth. She told us to have a seat and we'd be brought back shortly. Then another couple walked in and she was all smiles and greeted them. lol. Not sure what we did but we didn't receive that greeting. So right away my impression wasn't good, but I had checked out their menu and wanted to give it a try because there were a lot of food choices.

Well, the good thing was that things improved from there. Dominque greeted us with a huge smile and asked us to follow her back to our table. She explained the drink menu and food menu and told us who our server would be. She made up for that first impression ten-fold, because before she came on the scene we actually talked about trying another place. I feel like with the competition in the food service industry a first impression is very important.

Our server was Christina T, super friendly and she really took care of us. Answered any questions, made small talk, we all shared some laughs. She was great. We ordered a Classic Mojito and a Strawberry Mojito. OMG, so good.

From there my sister ordered the bread bowl with chowder and she said it was excellent and very filling. I ordered the tomato and mozzarella salad and loved every bite. The mozzarella was so tasty and had almost a creamy, melt in your mouth quality. I also ordered potstickers but that was a little disappointing. They didn't arrive with any of our food and by the time I got them (because another server took our order and delivered it to her table) we were both finished with our food and drinks. Our server, Chris, made sure that a manager came back and talked with us because of the potsticker issue. The manager was Kristy. To be honest she was nice but I don't really think she was interested in what had happened, even when I mentioned our first impression and even though I said the food we had was great. I felt like she just wanted to placate us quickly and be gone. She was nice enough to offer to take the potstickers off our bill, which was very very nice and much appreciated. But I did want to be heard because I would think as a manager she'd want to know how her staff was interacting with the customers. Especially a first impression staffer.

Anyway, overall we enjoyed our meal, and a majority of the staff. By the time we left it was a little past noon and the place was busy.

I'm still giving an overall rating of 4 because the food was very good and so was our server :) But, with all the choices in Grand Rapids to have a sit down meal I'm not sure I'll be back. First impressions are hard to forget. We really felt like we were bothering the greeter by even being there, and that's not a good thing to feel.

Thanks Chris T and Dominique for the exceptional...

I had really high hopes for this place. It was recommended to me from a family member, so after a long day of work my mother and I went to try it out. We joined the waitlist online, so we were sat within 10 minutes upon arrival. Our server came up to our table after 10 minutes. He seemed kind of frantic, but hey I get it. New restaurant. I ordered a Tito’s pink lemonade and had him come back for our order after he rang in the drink. He left and came back 15 minutes later and took our orders. They have a very large menu, and they are very clear about which items are gluten free or vegetarian which is very nice. We ordered their house wings, and their chicken California flatbread. We waited around 15 minutes total for my beverage. I saw the bar was busy so no biggie. 45 minutes passed and the people in the tables around us had already ate and left, and we still have no food. I order a margarita flight while still waiting for our food. I asked the server where our food was and he was very apologetic and stated that he never rang it in. At that point we debated just leaving, but we persisted and wanted to try the food. After a whole hour of us waiting, the server came around and said that the wings were done and we were just waiting on the flatbread. After another 15 minutes I got the managers attention and he said that the kitchen messed up the wings and now only the flatbread is ready. The manager apologized and said that the restaurant has only been open a week and they were fine tuning things. Finally our food came out after 2 hours of waiting and they put it in Togo containers in case we wanted to leave. The manager was very apologetic and gave us two $25 gift cards. We wanted dessert but did not want to wait another hour for it to come out. We got our food, I left with a buzz, and I spent quality time with my mom. Grateful for that. Not the best dining experience. I just hope they clean up their performance before we come back to use our gift cards...