BJ's Restaurant

Bagman007

Texas

3.1/5  rDev -18.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$$

I went here with a fairly large party on a Friday night. Took about an hour to an hour and a half to get a seat. Felt pretty squashed in our waiting area and it took forever to get a beer at the bar while we waited. Atmosphere was a little stuffy, but they did have televisions around the restaurant which I thought was a plus. The beer wasn't great. Our waiter was a little slow. They had a pretty good selection of food, something for everyone. I had a New York Strip which was alright. Pretty average. Price wise it's kind of up there, but not overly expensive. I would probably not go back. Nobody in our party was too impressed with it. The food was just average for the price and their house beer wasn't great, though they had other options. I ended up getting a Sierra Nevada because I didn't really like their house beer.

12-02-2008 01:11:38 | More by Bagman007

DaPeculierDane

Wisconsin

3.43/5  rDev -9.5%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

Popular located in the middle of mall hell north of Columbus. I had to kill some time on the north side so I decided to go shopping. While turning into the mall parking lot I found a brew pub instead. Thank goodness.

BJ's was nearly packed during happy hour on a Tuesday and it's a big place. I grabbed a cilantro pizza (half off during happy hour) and a sampler of their beers. 7 6 oz pilsner glasses were presented and I was surprised by a few of them particularly the hefe, which I really enjoyed. The Wit, which had just become the seasonal that day, was actually very good as well.

Service was friendly, prompt, and well trained. I could tell that my bartenders weren't really beer people but they all knew BJ's products well and could answer my questions. I found out that Ohio law prohibits BJ's from brewing on premise, likely a franchise limitation in it's brew pub license I would guess, so BJ's ships in barrels every few days. According to the bartender there are 71 BJ's operating in the US. This surprised me since I had never even heard of them.

Overall, I was pleased with BJ's since all of their beers were at least ok and some were very good, a rarity in a large chain brewpub like this. The pizza was a great snack too so I would have no qualms about visiting another BJ's in the future.

BJ's also had some great guest taps including Sierra Nevada IPA and Arrogant Bastard.

06-05-2008 17:12:38 | More by DaPeculierDane

csmiley

Ohio

3.2/5  rDev -15.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 1.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

I had heard this place was pretty good so I decided to stop by and give it a whirl. The floorplan of the place is very open which I thought was a good idea. Decoration is tasteful and a little better than the average casual dining establishments. Service was just not very good at all. I just wanted to get some food to go and have a beer while I was waiting on the food. This process took at least an hour. During this hour I never heard from any employees except to drop off my beer and bring me a check. My food was cold by the time I got around to eating it. Given that I stopped by when the place was not very busy, the lack of service is just unacceptable. They did have 8 of BJ's beer on tap and what I tried was good. Selection included a hefe, red, blonde, IPA, and stout just to name a few. The number of guest taps was running a little thin.

This would actually be a nice place if they could resolve the service issues. I probably won't make it a point to go back any time soon though.

05-26-2008 02:51:37 | More by csmiley

telefrog

Ohio

4.18/5  rDev +10.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

I visited the BJ's in Vegas a few weeks ago, so I figured I would give this one a try with some "bud light" friends. Everything was great-- we got samplers. I stuck with the darker beers, and my friend tried the lighter selection. I think there were 9 or 10 BJ brews on tap. All were very tasty. A pumpkin ale was the special brew, and it was surprisingly good, not over the top like some pumpkin brews I've had. They were out of the Tatunka Stout, which was really dissapointing because they were out in Vegas as well! The waitress was great and very knowledgeable about the beers, but the hostess on ourway in was a definite downer. The food was very good as well. The avocado eggrolls are awesome, and nothing was bad.

10-20-2007 21:26:04 | More by telefrog

Bierguy5

Ohio

4.13/5  rDev +9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

Located on Polaris Parkway, in front of the mall. Pretty wide open inside. Lots of windows to allow light in. Bar is on the right hand side, with a fair amount of seating. Plenty of televisions for checking out whatever sport you want to see.

We came between shifts, so we had 2 different servers. They were both frinedly. The first hard a difficult time describing one of the seasonal beers, but they both at least seemed to have some working knowledge. They were prompt, and when they switched, did not miss a beat.

I believe tere were about 8 beers on tap. The seasonals were a maibock, and what I thought tasted like a Dortmunder. The beers were above average, with the pale being mighty tasty, along with the hefeweizen. I was a bit diasppointed to find the imperial stout on nitro. Also on tap were Guinness, Arrogant Bastard, and Sierra Nevada IPA. There seemed to be a few Belgians in bottles, Chimay, Delerium, etc.

Food was great. We had a deep dish BBQ chicken pizza that was great, and Thai lettuce wraps that were outstanding. Maybe a bit pricey, but worth it.

Overall, certainly a good stop in the area. Even though the brewing was not done there, they still tasted fresh.

08-21-2007 16:25:29 | More by Bierguy5

Dogbrick

Ohio

3.88/5  rDev +2.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$$

Visited this place for the first time months ago (St. Patty's Day) but evidently the crowds have not died down much since then. Located near Polaris/I-71, parking in the front and rear is scarce most nights. That's definitely a good sign given that another brewpub chain (Hops) ultimately failed a few years back and was located right across the street from BJ's.

The inside is spacious and pleasing to the eye, with lots of brick and windows. The garage-door patio is kind of cool too. The bar is located on the right side and has minimal table seating, and is standing-room on weekends. The restaurant seating takes up the rest of the place.

BJ's serves around 8 different beers at any given time, from lighter fare like a Kölsch to the Tatonka Stout. They also made a cider and their own root beer, which is a nice touch. The beers are above average for the most part, with the "specials" like Lasto's Oatmeal Stout being pretty good. They also offer craft beers on draught like Arrogant Bastard if brewpub beers aren't your thing. In bottles there is a pretty good selection too, with a good representation of Belgians in particular.

Service here is good, as it should be for a new restaurant. Bartenders and servers know the beer pretty well. I hope this continues as the years roll by.

BJ's food is really good, if a bit pricey. Pizza is probably the biggest draw, but everything from appetizers to sandwiches (I have gotten the pulled pork) are all good.

Overall, BJ's is a welcome addition to the brewpub scene. Despite the fact that they are a chain and don't actually brew their beer onsite, it is great to have a place outside of the downtown area that represents craft beer.

07-05-2007 20:22:00 | More by Dogbrick

TurdFurgison

Ohio

4/5  rDev +5.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

I've got a friend who's talked about this place for months, stops here frequently as it's near his house. I finally tried it for lunch, and it's pretty good. It's too bad the beer isn't brewed on location, I like the smell of wort when I go to a place like this.

The main draw is probably the food, I would say. But I only came for a liquid lunch, as it were. Nonetheless, the pizza looked really tempting, nice thick deepdish. And the burgers smelled really good too.

There were maybe 10 taps, mostly serving BJ beers. But the guests were no slouches (Arrogant Bastard, some Framboise for the ladies, a couple other mid-range selections). But BJ beers are not bad at all. I tried 4 in a sampler (about $4.99), and got Tatonka Stout (excellent), a hefeweizen (very good), a maibach (kind of OK), and a kolsch (passable). Go for the more extreme beers, you won't be disappointed. Next time I go for an IPA.

06-16-2007 19:11:20 | More by TurdFurgison

TheBierBand

Ohio

4.13/5  rDev +9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Went to BJ's while in Columbus on business. I wanted to try Barley's Smokehouse Brewery, but they closed at 10PM on weeknights! What's with that!!??

So BJ's it was.... and I was impressed! Very new and upscale but the prices were reasonable. I had just a couple beers (the Tatonka Stout and the PM Porter) Plus I had a SMALL (10") Chicago style deep dish pizza (BJ's favorite). Everything was top notch but reasonable... Beers $4.50/pint. Pizza: $10.95. I couldn't finish the pizza and I was HUNGRY!!

The beers were nice and true to style.

I was talking to the bar tender and asked where the beer came from since they don't brew on site. He said that they were planning on building a new location in Cincinnati (where I live!) and that's where the beer will come from for the Columbus location!.... COOL! He said that the new Cincinnati location should be up and running by year's end 2007.... I'm very psyched!!!

EDIT: I sent an E-Mail to BJ's about the opening of the Cincinnati location. They confirmed that there will be a location to be built in the Cincinnati area (Tri-County Mall) but no brewing will take place there.... all the beer for the Ohio valley will come from Reno, NV.

06-08-2007 03:46:35 | More by TheBierBand

prototypic

Ohio

4.05/5  rDev +6.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

My fiancee and I recently visited this place. It's only been in town a couple of months and is a great addition to the north side of town. As a previous poster noted, it's located right by Polaris, just off I-71. If you're passing through, this is a great place to visit (for beer and food).

As a new place, it is a bit crowded (especially on weekends). We waited nearly an hour for a table. But, it's worth the wait. The restaurant itself is very nice. Nice atmosphere and pretty large. I wouldn't say it's cramped.

The beer selection and quality are pretty good. I was very impressed and will definitely visit this place again. The food was very, very good. I had the jambalaya and it was top notch. Our waitress was very good too. She made sure our glasses were never empty.

Overall, I was extremely impressed with this place and would highly recommend it to anyone. The beer is very good and the food is excellent. If you don't happen to have one and are passing through town, check it out.

06-03-2007 03:06:00 | More by prototypic

mattcrill

Ohio

4.28/5  rDev +12.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

This place recently opened in March. It sits along Polaris Parkway in front of the Polaris Mall. It's easy to spot from the road but parking in here can be a challenge. Especially on the weekends or if there is a concert at the amphitheater.

Service is great onces you get seated. However, expect to wait 60-70 minutes on the weekend. That's what they tell you anyway. I've really only waited 35 minutes. And while you wait, they usually bring you pizza samples. So that's pretty cool.

Their beer selection is pretty good. They ship their house beers in from Nevada (since they didn't get a brewery license here) but they always taste fresh. I prefer the Tatonka which is their Imperial on nitro. I think it would really pop on cask or straight from the tap (I think the nitro hides some of the complexities of this beer). They also have some nice guest taps...Arrogant Bastard and Houblen Chouffe were on there recently.

The food has always been great. I usually get a deep dish pizza and it's hard to finish it (even when I split it with my wife).

If you don't mind waiting a bit, this is the place to go on the north end. It's not a Barley's but it's a great addition to this end of town and with access right off 71, it's a good place to hit if you are just passing through.

Strongly recommended.

06-02-2007 18:53:35 | More by mattcrill