BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse — Restaurant in Louisville

Not Coming Back — Disappointing Experience Despite Efforts to Make It Right

I don’t usually write bad reviews, but I felt like this one was worth sharing.

Our visit started off promising—drinks were refilled quickly, and service seemed attentive at first. The food took a bit longer than expected, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I ordered a ribeye medium, but it arrived medium well. I politely sent it back, and it returned medium rare. By then, I didn’t bother asking for another since it had already taken longer than it should have.

Things took a turn when our server disappeared, and someone new joined our table (my daughter), and we wanted to place another order. We flagged down the manager and just asked to get our original server back. From that moment on, the service completely changed—and not in a good way.

It felt like we were being ignored. After what seemed like 20 minutes, a different server came over with a noticeably unpleasant attitude. We placed our order, including desserts. Again, no one checked on us. No refills, no updates. We waited another 20 minutes for a plate of smothered fried chicken and corn.

Still no service after that. Our original server eventually returned, apologized for being away, and we asked about our desserts—40 minutes after we ordered them. They finally arrived, and with it, the check.

From start to finish, we were there for 2 hours and 50 minutes. The restaurant had been busy at first, but by the time we left, the dining room had cleared out and was pretty quiet.

They did give us a 50% discount, which I appreciated. But honestly, this experience felt so chaotic and uncomfortable that I believe our bill should’ve been comped entirely. After asking for our server, it felt like we were being punished for speaking up, and no one dining out with family should feel like that.

The whole experience shifted from a nice dinner out to just trying to survive the service. I won’t...

I usually write somewhat detailed reviews with pictures. But, in the case of BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse there just wasn't much to write about, etc. There were three people in our party and only one felt their meal was good, not great.

I started off with lemonade and after I had my wife taste it too, I returned it for water. It was totally undrinkable. I had the Classic Burger. It wasn't classic at all. It was just a hamburger anybody could have fried up at home with a burger patty, common bun, etc. There was no real taste to the burger. The fries which accompanied the burger were between semi-warm to cold.

My wife had the San Fe Salad with salmon. Our experience with ordering a salad with Salmon the salad would arrive with a piece of salmon overlaying the salad. Not here, the salad arrived with chucks that could be identified as salmon. This salad, like my hamburger, was just okay, nothing to write home about.

Our guest had the Enlighten Seared Ahi salad. Of the three items we had, this one passed the test. Our guest stated it was good, but not outstanding. Our guest also stated her opinion may have been swayed due to the fact she didn't have any lunch. We were having dinner around five in the afternoon.

The restaurant was maybe 25% full when we arrived. We all thought the service was somewhat slow. This could have been the reason my fries arrived somewhat cold. We all understand the issues restaurants are having about staffing, but the service here seemed extremely slow.

I can not recommend BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse. There are so many other restaurants nearby on Shelbyville Rd. to enjoy. I also noted in other reviews of this restaurant that a response from the establishment seemed somewhat “canned” asking the customer to speak to the onsite manager while there or on their next visit when issues arise. I'll save their management some time, we will not be visiting this restaurant again and no response...

The food is great, anything I've ever ordered from here, I've enjoyed. The atmosphere is great. It's aromatic and fairly quiet the moment you walk in. Service is great, Servers are out to check on you every 5-8 minutes.

The kitchen/cooks/cook times and the OCCASIONAL poor attitude server seem to be the only OCCASIONAL downside. Emphasis on OCCASION. The servers take the brunt of customer complaints because of long wait times on food.

Ex. 1. Burgers seem to always be the slowest thing to make it out from the menu. Kitchen times seem to occasionally be behind what the servers say.

Ex. 2. A week or so ago, while I was dining, I watched a trainee, a rude young woman, be be escorted out of the mall by police after makin a scene...

Again, it's probably just a once in few months anomalous thing, but hell! T'was embarrassing... and well deserved! 🤷🏾‍♂️

Food is always seasoned TT. Never, I, myself, have had cold food come out, but that's not to say it doesn't happen. Wings, steak, Club sandwhich, and chicken sandwhiches are always spot on. ( I'm very vanilla with my food choices, mind the business that pays you🥲)

The atmosphere is never overly loud. The aromatics when you walk in are enticing. The ambiance of the room makes you feel like you're dining in upstate New York in the 80s. The only thing missing is smooth Jazz playing over the air while you eat. 🤣

Anyway, Ms. Waters and Ms. Allen are both spectacular servers and my favorite, and I commend (AND RECOMMEND) them for their service every time I'm in. Thank you, ladies!

Also, shout out to Mr. Battle and Mr. Henderson for handling anything managerial that needs handled, food wise, or whatever!...