BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse

New to Cali and checking out the restaurants. Boy, did we hit the jackpot on this one! Birthday celebration couldn’t have gone any better. With meat that literally melts in your mouth—I promise, you’ve never had it like this! Our server made sure that every need was met, accepted a challenge to select my food, and did a fabulous job at it. Moreover, she wasn’t circling like a seagull, so we had time for a private discussion.

Very disappointed. I’m in a wheelchair and only expect basic respect — but from the moment we walked in, we weren’t greeted, and the seating area was extremely narrow. I had to climb into the booth while people walked by without any courtesy. Our server was cold and inattentive. I had to ask twice about drink options and was ignored, yet he was friendly with the table behind us. The difference in service was obvious. Food was hit or miss. The calamari was just okay, the pizzas were good, but the fettuccine Alfredo was terrible — hard noodles and bland sauce. To top it off, they tried charging a $30 tip after the poor service. No manager in sight. I wouldn’t return.

Worst service ever. It took about 20 minutes for a waiter to take our order, followed by another 30 minutes for our food to arrive. We waited around 10 more minutes for extra plates to share, but no one brought them, so we had to go to the server station and get them ourselves. After that, it took another 20 minutes just to receive to-go boxes. In the end, we had to scan the QR code and pay on our own due to the lack of service. We also observed multiple tables leave after waiting over 30 minutes, unable to get a staff member’s attention just to place an order. Our waiter appeared distracted and disengaged, which made the experience feel unprofessional and uncomfortable. We did see the store manager speaking with and apologizing to another table, but from what we observed, there was no effective follow-up or improvement in service afterward. Because of the lack of service throughout the entire visit, we did not feel the service warranted a tip. Why have waitstaff at all if customers are forced to serve themselves? You might as well operate this as a self-service restaurant. Due to the poor service and lack of effective management, we will not be returning and would strongly caution others before dining here.

BJ’s Brewhouse – Salinas, CA | 3.5/5 Stars BJ’s in Salinas is the perfect place if you love great food and waiting an eternity to get it. Seriously, we could have written a novel, started a podcast, and maybe even learned a new language by the time we got our drinks. Service? Let’s just say it was a test of patience—great once they finally acknowledged our existence, but getting there felt like a journey through the seven levels of dining purgatory. Now, onto the food. The wings and salmon? Phenomenal. Whoever made those deserves a raise. The mozzarella sticks? So close to greatness it hurts. The steakhouse wedge salad? More like a sad pile of lettuce with commitment issues. And the crispy honey chicken salad? Let’s just say it had all the excitement of a DMV waiting room. But the Pizookies? Oh. My. God. If BJ’s put as much effort into their service as they do into these heavenly desserts, they’d be unstoppable. The Pizookies alone almost made us forget the painful wait time. Almost. Look, BJ’s is a solid place—if you’re not in a rush and have the patience of a saint. Would we come back? Yes. But only if we bring survival supplies for the wait.

The experience there was awesome. The food was excellent. We had a very customer oriented waiter, Gio. He made us feel like royalty, very courteous, very well well mannered, and in good spirits; had a smile on his face when he served us.He made us enjoy the night even more so then we expected. He should actually be a trainer of waiters and waitresses , so everyone could be served in the manner that we were served. It was excellent!

Minus 5 stars. The roast beef dip tasted like it was left under a lamp and not a heating lamp but rather that lamp from Pixar that runs around. The meat had the consistency of rubber. The juice had enough salt to raise your diastolic blood pressure by 50 points. The cheery chipotle salmon looked more like a goldfish. The asparagus was dry and shriveled worse than my 90 year old grandma. Service was friendly but ignored providing us a ample time to write this review

our waitress Ashley was super sweet and attentive! we came for the spooky pizookie and weren’t disappointed!