BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse — Restaurant in Mobile

My family and I went in to celebrate a birthday on 07/19. We called ahead to let them know we had a table of fifteen. When we arrived, we still had to wait over 20 mins to be seated and the restaurant was empty. Once seated, we asked for a happy hour menu and the server (#268) seemed very irritated and stated, "generally we only do happy hour in the bar, but I'll get you a menu in a minute." It took over 20 minutes to receive our drinks. It was so humid in the restaurant that I bent over in my chair to pick up something and my chair slipped out from under me and I ended up on the floor. The server was right there and said "I guess you don't need another drink." I had just taken the first sip out of my first drink. The server disappeared for over 30 minutes one time and came back stating she had to roll silverware. Which is believable because our appetizers came out and there was no silverware on the table. After 10 mins, we had to go to the bar to get some. We waited over 45 minutes for our food to come out. As we were sitting there waiting, we saw three different tables being seated and then left after 15-20 minutes of no one acknowledging them. When we finally got our food, the entrees were brought out and 10 minutes later the sides were brought. Everything but the fries was disgusting, but at this point we had been there for over 2 hours and just wanted to leave. When the server brought our tickets, every single ticket was incorrect. That took an additional 30 minutes to get straight, and they still were not correct, we just paid it to prevent another 20-30 minutes of sitting there. On the check, there is a place under the tip amount that says "Tip (+/-)" I put -$7.00, still leaving a very undeserved tip of $5.00 for the server. I understand that tables of twelve or more are automatically charged 18%, but our service was not worth 18%. More like 2%. I asked to see the manager, after waiting however long, he strolls up, does not introduce himself, did not have a name tag on his shirt, and asked how everything was. Everyone at our table thought he was just a nice man walking to the restroom. After asking if he was the manager, he finally said yes, but did not seem overly concerned about our experience. His excuse was they had received a $1,000 catering order and that put everything behind. Not acceptable. We arrived at 6:00pm and did not leave until after 9:00pm. I am usually not a complainer, and I am a pretty understanding person, but this was hands- down, 10000%, the absolute worst experience I have ever had in a restaurant in my 42 years of life. I will never recommend this establishment to anyone.

**edit- I just checked my bank statement and my -$7.00 was disregarded and I was charged the full amount...

We were in Mobile for work and needed to eat after 9pm. Seeing as they were one of the only restaurants open past 6 of course we decided to go and got there at 9:30pm. When arriving we immediately were seated by the hostess and she was very polite. She told us our waiter was going to be Asia but we didn't see her for another 10 minutes. We saw her walk past our table multiple times but we didn't know that was our waitress for the evening. After finally bringing our water we inquired about soft drinks since many things on the menu didn't have prices. 30 minutes passed between the time she gave us water and when she came back to our table to take our order. Since we didn't get a chance to speak to her we never go the chance to order appetizers or actual drinks. When we finally did put in our order which was just for 2 people may I add we waited an hour for our food and again she never came to our table to see if we were okay, bring us the drinks we did order or give us an update on our food yet she was laughing and having extended personal conversations with other guests and serving other tables bringing people who arrived after us their apps, food, and drinks . Right when we were about to leave the food arrived by someone who wasn't even our server. When asked for the manager she finally came back with NAPKINS, STILL NO DRINKS. IT WAS LITERALLY A PINK LEMONADE. The manager seemed confused at our irritation and was nonchalant. When we finally got the bill, everything was rang up completely incorrect. On the menu it says that any extra side with a sandwich would be an extra $2.65 I got charged for an appetizer size Brussel sprout $9, and a side of mashed potatoes in a tiny dish for $5!! The manager stated that he took off the appetizer as a courtesy but didn't even take off the item that was actually supposed to be the appetizer. With our waitress taking forever to come back and collect the check we just paid because at that point her attitude was piss poor and we were ready to go after being there for...

I have dined at BJ’s many times while traveling across the country, and I can vouch for their consistency and quality. I know…it kind of goes against the whole idea of trying out unique craft breweries wherever you go, but I also know that I cannot always count on finding one when I need it. I also know that those craft breweries are usually family-owned, and keep shorter hours.

And that’s where BJ’s came to my rescue on a recent trip through Mobile Alabama. I was delighted to find that they remain open until midnight, my only sit-down restaurant choice after a 9:30pm arrival at my nearby hotel. Hallelujah! BJ’s was not just open, but also just getting warmed up. Judging by the crowd, they have their regulars who know that dining and drinking into the night is a good thing.

As per usual, I ordered BJ’s Brewhouse Bowl, a delightful mashup of quinoa, brown rice, black beans, roasted barbacoa cauliflower, corn, red pepper succotash, cucumbers, guacamole, and onions. It is the perfect vegetarian option, but if you want to veganize it, simply ask them to hold the feta cheese and Greek yogurt crema. If you yearn for some animal protein, add shrimp,

To wash it all down, I went with BJ’s Piranha Pale Ale (5.7% ABV; 40 IBU), , one of the numerous house brews they create at five regional breweries around the US. I tried to do my usual drinking around dance, but they were out of their Hopstorm IPA (6.5% ABV; 65 IBU), so I stuck with the Piranha throughout. Three pints was just enough over two hours.

And why two hours, you ask? Because they had convenient wifi, which allowed me to get some work done for a next-day deadline. It sure beat working in my hotel room, and beer always makes the work go by a little more easily.

Don’t ask if I’ll be back, because the answer should already be apparent. I just can’t tell you which location it’ll be. It...