Service Service Service - If you don't listen, the restaurant will develop a reputation and then... The food at BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse in Columbia is consistently good, and that's the main reason we keep coming back. Unfortunately, the service has been painfully bad on multiple visits. Long waits, lack of attention, and poor communication have made what should be an enjoyable dining experience frustrating. We continue to return because we genuinely like the food, but good food alone can only carry a restaurant so far. The service issues need to be taken seriously and improved. If BJ's wants to keep customers coming back and remain competitive, management needs to address the service problems, provide better training and support for staff, and create a more reliable experience. We want to keep coming back, but the service has to improve. The food is worth returning for, yet the overall experience is becoming harder to justify. Love the Meal Deals and desserts! Bring back Dubai Chocolate Pizzokie. read more

We've been coming here for years, especially during football season. The food and drinks are pretty good. The menu is big with a ton of options. The pizookies are a nice little dessert treat. The biggest drawback is always the service. Servers are pleasant but scarce, we often have to ask multiple times for the same thing, drinks will come out waaaaay later than they should (a glass of wine can take 30+ mins), etc. I keep hoping it'll improve. We would visit a lot more if we could depend on the service/timeliness. We used to sit at the bar to try to avoid some of these issues but last time we had to physically go across the restaurant and ask our bartender for silverware, after our food had been sitting there for almost twenty minutes. I'm sure these are fixable issues, and I'm looking forward to it. read more

Why do I keep punishing myself? I guess it's for the beer. Don't go there unless you're drunk or very hungry. I went there today thinking to have lunch but ended up sending it back and leaving. I swear to god that it was inedible. I had their version of a french dip and it was like eating beef jerky with a side of dipping sauce. I have never sent back anything that I have ordered before but this was beyond the pale. I had one bite and it was literally hard to swallow. If you want beer then go there but if you also want food find somewhere else. read more

I really want to like this place. It has nice ambience and a really full menu. Everything I've had there is pretty good. Even the steak isn't bad. Not amazing but good. The problem with this place is service. You wait a long time for a server to come over to your table and I haven't had the best experience with most of the servers. They are either inexperienced or management isn't taking the time to develop customer service. It takes a long time to get waited on, and it takes a long time to get your food. If the service was better, I'd probably come in more often. read more

1.11.26 Hubby and I had the slowest service during past experiences, but we discovered the trick is to sit at the bar, which I had the bright idea to do today. I attribute the faster service as the bar is right by the kitchen. Given that in the past service was slow, my hubby placed our order while I shopped at Target in the same shopping center. I shopped for approximately ten minutes and when I got to BJ's, our order came out a minute after I sat down. We ordered and shared our dinner. We got the spinach and artichoke dip for an app. For our entree we got the prime rib, which is only available on weekends. For our two sides, we selected the mashed potatoes and rice pilaf, and the triple chocolate for the pizookie. Our server misheard and gave us the chocolate chunk, but decided just to keep it. We enjoyed everything! No complaints, just happy and full bellies. We used a $100 gift card we received for the holidays and have $50 remaining to use at a future visit. I was delighted with the food and service from start to finish. Yay!! read more

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I like coming to BJs for their happy hour! They have pretty good deals and the food is always good here. The mozz sticks were great & I love the ambiance inside. High ceilings with a laid back and modern vibe. There's always tons of bar seating and high tops to choose from. Service has always been fast here and I've never had any complaints! I also love the pizookies! And the kids meals are quite large. Carry out here is also a breeze and goes fast! read more

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Fantastic experience!! Weekday double date w sis in law and our guys. We were fortunate enough to get awesome Kelly to assist us for the evening. She was very attentive and professional and had a great personality. Spacious dining area, plenty of lighting. Collectively, we ordered the following. Tropical Wine Slushy: Bland, watered down. Fresh Atlantic Salmon: DELICIOUS, very well prepared. BJ's Slow Roasted Wings: Lemon Pepper Sesame Dry Rub/ Carolina Gold Wings: Very yum!! Filet Mignon: Well cooked and seasoned. Grilled Chicken Alfredo: Average Caesar Salad: Impressive!! Fresh and tasty. I would definitely return to try more food and beverages. read more

Great food at reasonable prices. They have a wide variety of food choices. I love the soup and salad combo, the calamari, ribs, pizza and of course the pizookies. I love their cocktail, mocktail and seasonal drinks. Plus a huge selection of beers. You can enjoy a great dinner and watch sports on their multiple televisions. Make sure you sign up for their rewards program. read more

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Now it's a chain restaurant, and the reviews didn't make me hopeful but I'll give them 10/10 on service. They were promptly in seating us, getting beverages and food came out timely as well. The meal deal is a great way to try a few things on their menu. It came with their famous Pizookie which was so tasty I forgot to capture the picture. Think cookie warm ooey goey with ice cream. The burger and fries weren't the best I've had, but I could eat it again. (I'd say 3.5 for me). read more

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I went to BJs for a work event. There were a lot of us there. The servers assigned to our section did their best but seemed to make a lot of mistakes with orders. I know the drink I actually ordered was not the one I received. That said, I ordered a shrimp pasta dish to go. I wasn't able to get around to eating it for a day or two, but I wasn't impressed with the taste. Definitely was lacking something. I'd try BJs again, but would order something else. read more

3 stars because the manager himself (Jim) was great. He resolved all of our issues and made sure we were made whole for the experience. Now for what happened... After loving the location in Towson we came here for my goddaughters birthday. The kids had pretty good food which is great. As far as the adults we had a lot of mishaps We ordered 2 samplers. One which never came (the server said someone took it) and ours which came after all the entrees (including steak) one of party had ice cold rice. And two people in our party had steaks that were closer to medium rare. They ordered medium well. My husband sent his back to get medium well and they charred that one and messed it up. The manager came over apologized again for the second mess up and he got a gift card for us. My mom's salad also came super late. After all the hot food. When our one sampler finally came the burgers were dry like they had been sitting. The mozz sticks were pretty good. And my food (chicken parm) came out correctly. The bill was comped well for what happened but it was disappointing because it was a lot of the parties first time. And they didn't like it. Our party was about 12 people. Maybe they couldn't handle a larger party. I really like all the options they have but it seems the kitchen couldn't handle all of that. All in all I'm disappointed but we will be giving it one more try since we got a gift card. read more

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It wasn't crowded on a Saturday afternoon. We were seated and served pretty quickly which was nice. The bathrooms had really sticky floors but other than that they were fine. What we got: Clam chowder in a bread bowl - 4* for flavor, 3* for soup quantity. I loved how they bread bowl is toasted and they put a garlic butter spread on it. They don't give you the scooped out bread from the middle of the bread bowl and the portion size of the soup was pretty small. I felt like it was a "cup" instead of a "bowl" in terms of quantity. It would have been nice to have a little extra soup on the side. Smash burger - 3* it was an average run of the mill burger. My partner thought it was on the small side. read more

Well food was good. Easy parking. Bathrooms were filthy. Waiter was kinda odd ... we had to consistently remind him that we asked for something else. I hadn't been here in years..... food was good that's it. read more

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Ordered the parmesan chicken again and this used to be my go-to, but maybe not anymore. I noticed several meals, including mine, has gotten smaller since our last visit, so probably time to try something else next time. They do a really good job with our service since we're usually a large group. read more

First time eating at this location. The jambalaya was good, spicy and seasoned well. The steak was just ok, was overcooked. Asparagus was sad looking and thin. The wine slushy was delicious. Service was slow but it was also Mothers Day. Tables are very close together and it was impossible to get up without hitting someone else chair behind you. May or may not be back. Just ok. read more

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Picture this: it is a warm day, and society has deemed it National Hamburger Day. So you decide to stop by BJ's and try their Smashburger. But you've never been to BJ's before, so you think to yourself? This is gonna be a great first time. You order on the app, which was quick and easy, and then you pick up your burger, which consists of two small patties smashed up, which, put together, would make one hamburger patty that's overly salted and put in a big bun. Disappointed is the best word to describe this experience. read more

Came here for a family birthday dinner after a disaster at another local restaurant. There were 12 of us, and our server, Zayla, was kind, patient, and incredibly attentive! We never had to wait for a drink refill, and everything we ordered came out together. The atmosphere is loud and upbeat. There was a girls' softball team seated in our section, and when the time came to sing " Happy Birthday" to my brother and niece, they sang with us! While I personally do not care for the food at BJ's, the service was impeccable! I highly recommend them. read more

Overall- I wish I could give this place a 3.5. The service is wildly inconsistent, but it has decent food, a menu with lots of options, and a casual ambiance. Years ago, BJs felt like a nice date night spot- fun beer, great food, delicious pizookies, and fine service. Service has gone wildly downhill since then, but they still have some dishes that are good. I really loved the Moroccan chicken, but they don't serve that anymore. My go tos are the spicy peanut soba noodles, the bjs brewhouse bowl, the jambalaya, and the cookies and cream pizookie. Recently I was pleasantly surprised with their deep dish pizza. I like that they have daily deals. Sometimes we can get in and out in a normal 60-90 min dinner time, but sometimes even when it's empty the service will be wildly slow and inattentive. read more

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I visited BJ's today and I promise you, I'm NEVER going back. Never in my life have I ever seen RUNNY spinach & artichoke dip. It was the most disgusting appetizer. It was literally WATERED DOWN. Absolutely ZERO taste. They gave me 10,000 stale chips and a small bowl of runny dip. Then to add insult to injury, I ordered wings with ranch dressing. ANOTHER DISASTER! It looked like carnation milk in a cup. AWFUL!!!! Whomever the General Manager is, he should be ashamed of himself! No wonder the parking lot was empty. Thankfully, the staff was EXCELLENT! The ENTIRE KITCHEN SHOULD BE FIRED! That food was BEYOND HORRIBLE! read more

Completely unprepared for the rush I made a reservation and they basically told me it don't matter because they had walk ins and people ahead of me I understand a short wait but they told me over and hour very disappointed and now not able to find anywhere to take my parter to dinner tonight read more

The waitress and service were spectacular! But I have to mention the wings I ordered were fried awful 'hard' to the point where they almost tasted like rocks. I also ordered an entrée called fish and chips. And the fish was fried awful hard as well, which made it difficult to enjoy....... but the service and waitress were stellar. read more

A little more than one year later. Made it back with the same friends, spouses in tow this time. Still average. There is nothing "wrong", there are just too many opportunities at this price point to do better. I got a California Club sandwich and fries ($15). Totally basic and uninspired, bread wasn't evenly toasted, turkey was stiff, chunk cuts that fell out when you picked it up. The avocado was oddly sliced. It was just the sort of sandwich you would expect a harried parent to throw together in a boujie household- pretensions of fancy without any substance. I am 100% sure I could go into the kitchen here and produce a better plate even with the ingredients they have on hand. My wifes sliders looked very basic, and uninspired. Our friends got a chicken parm (looked okay, but not one comment from the diner so that says something). The other was a french dip (au jus arrived about 5 min. after sandwich). $90 + four basic meals. No real change to the decorations/environment. It reads lazy, corporate. A bunch of random beer signs, and other busy visual distraction on every space. A few TVs in the bar area. So a year later, still average, still pricey (for what you actually experience). Yet it was full on a Thursday, the area has plenty of expendable income, nice cars in the lot- so there is no reason for this corporation to change a thing. We will keep coming in. The only thing that would drive change is self pride in performance/execution. I am not so sure we have that in many aspects of our lives in the US anymore. read more

I've eaten at BJs probably 6 times in my life and I really like their avocado egg rolls and monkey bread pizookie. I was randomly craving these things and my boyfriend had never tried BJ's before so we decided to come here on a Saturday night. It was extremely disappointing to find out that they - A. Ran out of avocado egg rolls and B. No longer sell the monkey bread pizookie - the 2 reasons I decided to come here :') so we had to try other things. The strawberry dream non-alcoholic drink was delicious. The lemon pepper sesame dry rub boneless chicken wings were really dry but the fried mac and cheese balls were pretty good. The jambalaya was super salty, we took most of it to go and mixed more rice into it at home and it tasted a lot better. The sweet pig pizza was alright, but the crust was a bit thicker, softer, and more doughy than we were expecting. Our server recommended the cookies and cream pizookie and it was nice way to finish the meal. The service was on the slower side but they also seemed like they were understaffed. Overall the food was alright, I don't know if I'd come back unless I was really craving the avocado egg rolls. read more

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The service was painfully slow. We spent half in an hour waiting for two pizzas, a burger and pasta. I could be more understanding if the restaurant was busy but we were one of four tables. I've had this experience at another location as well. This was my last time there. read more

My daughter and I stopped in for a quick bite during HH and were very disappointed with the service. It was quite slow although they were not very busy. The server questioned me when I clarified whether the drink I was served included an ingredient I'm allergic to, then sent the manager over who offered me a cough drop! When we were finally able to get our bill, the server challenged me on having to remove the drink I didn't consume and sent back at the beginning of our visit, stating it was still made and had a cost. read more

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse - The cough drop offered when I stated I had an allergy and my throat felt scratchy. - New American Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

The seasonal beer dinner was another great time. I don't come that often out side of them. It's a pre fox menu paired with a signature beer. Some in house and some guest breweries. Staff are very friendly and will give you extra pours of your favorites. They will talk about each selection and why it was paired with the dish. Fun time to have with friends if you like beer you should give it a try. 45 per person that included food and drinks. You get a nice quiet spot on the side of the restaurant away from the main dining area. read more

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It's been some years but I came back. I was with a colleague in CA and tried it again after years of not returning. I had a decent visit. I returned to this location and ordered online through Uber eats because they've stepped their game up regarding the ahi poke. I've since gotten the ahi poke and the ahi poke tacos. I prefer the tacos but I feel you are shortchanged in comparison to just getting the order by itself. The tortilla soup is good but it's very thick like a gravy instead of a broth. I would come here again given poke I'd my weakness. But... I suggest ordering the ahi poke with extra wontons vs the tacos. You'll get more bang for your buck and both dishes cost the same. I will say, when I ate in... I was seated immediately and greeted immediately by my server. Food came out fast. I ordered hot tea but she forgot to bring me the tea. Once I brought it to her attention, she brought the tea, more hot water, more sugar and a genuine apology. I got one of the kid sized brownie sundaes. It was over cooked but I still ate it. I took a star off because although they've improved since my last visit, they still have work to do in the kitchen. read more

While having lunch yesterday I asked the TV to be turned on to the woman's NCAA game. When the Orioles game came on the manager (I assume) asked if I mined if he moved the game i was watching to a side TV so the Orioles can be on the main TV. Of course I didn't mind. As this occurred a white couple came in sat at the bar and told the manager to switch to the Michigan game instead of the woman's NCAA game. Disregarding that I was watching the game he switched. Cut my meal short, I left to watch someplace else. ​ read more

the food was mid and that's the best I can say about the whole place. the service was terrible! so slow. no apology. it took us 2 hrs to get food and waitress never brought us drinks after the first time. we couldn't even find her. read more

Came here for a nice meal and a margarita flight of which I got none, hence the one star review. Let me explain... Me and my party of two others arrived at the Columbia location right before 7p. We were greeted by a pleasant host and shown to our table. Now here's the burner... We waited over 20 minutes to be acknowledged by the wait staff, meanwhile there was a party of three that were seated next to our table while we were 15 minutes into our wait and they were greeted and drink orders taken as we still waited for our waiter... There was even a couple who were seating directly beside us that arrived a few moments after us and they were waited on and received their drinks and still...no waiter for us. By this time the table of three had received their drinks AND the table beside us had gotten their apps. We got the attention of the host and informed him of our wait and a still no waiter to come greet us much less get some water. They promptly stated that they would get their attention and send them to our table. The waiter, who was very pleasant, came to the table to take our orders. I started out with waters for everyone, which we waited a few minutes for. When they arrived we proceeded to give our drink orders. I ordered the margarita flight, to which the server stated that they had run out... Another part of the burn is that that table of three I wrote of earlier had in fact got probably the last margarita flight! To say I was annoyed was a vast understatement. At that point I ordered NOTHING and asked to speak to the manager. We spoke and he gave the requisite "sorrys" and "we want you to have a great experience", which truly fell on these deaf ears. I was cordial, didn't cause a scene, but wanted him to know that they dropped the ball. I went back to my party and they got a few items to eat as I sat their reading my mobile magazine (I didn't drive because if I did, I would have left). I say all this to say, we visited BJ's not more than a month ago and it was a great experience, this time not so much and its a done deal for me. read more

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse - Exterior - New American Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

Food was good. Service was slow. The place was too overstimulating for me. Wish the service was a bit better

My husband and I ate here after you first opened in 2017. We happened to be in the area again today and stopped by. As soon as we walked in we remembered the bad experience we had the first time with lousy service. We thought it was because you just opened but now almost 9 years to the da, it happened again. 4:00 on a Monday afternoon, 2 people at the bar and maybe 3 tables filled. We waited 40 minutes before asking someone who was not our server about our food. He asked me what we ordered and went in the kitchen. About 5 minutes later he came out with my husband's salad and my chicken club sandwich and fries, saying that this order just came up. The French fries and the sandwich were ice cold. I really would have appreciated him not lying to me - did he really think that I would notice that my food had been sitting on a rack somewhere for a long time and that I would be happy to eat ice cold food and not complain. Even if he would have come out and apologized saying that they were making my food again and would we mind waiting; we probably would have. But no, he dropped the food off and disappeared and so did we. I remember that 9 years ago I left a Yelp review similar to this, so needless to say that in looking at your restaurant's 2.7 rating and our second experience, we will continue choosing from the other dozens of restaurant in the Columbia area. There are so many great ones to choose from. read more

We had a reservation for 7:30 pm and arrived on time. The lobby was full and there was a line in front of the host stand but no one was there. After several minutes the two people working the stand came back to address us. Once I was up front I provided my name and indicated that I had a reservation. She let me know that they would try and seat us as soon as possible but there were several tables that needed cleaning and there were 4 parties in front of us. Why have a reservation if you just have to wait like walk ins. We decided to wait. After 45 minutes of waiting I asked the hostess if I could speak with the manager. When he came over I shared that we had a reservation and had been waiting 45 minutes to be seated. His response was that they had a party of 45 and that they were cleaning as quickly as they could to get people seated. Never did he apologize or even offer any type of concessions for the inconvenience. He seemed annoyed that he was called over. When we finally got seated our server was Taylor. She was polite and customer service oriented. She is the only reason I didn't give all one star ratings. The manager didn't appear to be leading his team to address triaging an influx of a large party and treating paying customers as if they mattered. I won't return to spend money where I'm not valued as a customer. read more

Awful experience. Went in to get some deep dish pizza but we didn't even get seated. Host #1 was very kind and asked us the normal questions, how are you and how many in our party. It was just us two so he noted just 5 minutes wait. At this point we sat down at the bench. Host #2 came and asked us how many but this time he said 20-25 minutes and asked us to sit in bar to which I said we will wait. Another couple walks in and they go to host #2 and host #2 proceeds to sit them down before us. When I asked him why they got to sit before us he said "there was a mix up bro" in a very demeaning way. To this host #1 saw this and came to us and apologized right away and he confirmed he even told host #2 that we were here before (host #2 knew that since he met us and told us the wrong wait time). Host #1 also apologized for host #2 actions and said he shouldn't have talked to us like that. I've never felt discriminated against in Maryland before like this so this was a bit shocking. I asked to speak with manager, Justin. The manager apologized and wanted to make it right and have us sit down next but at this point my wife and I were done with this place. We left and hard to say we would come back. They should definitely try to coach Host #2 for better customer service skills. read more

I remember why we only came here once or twice years ago. Service is poor snd the food is mediocre. Took 20 minutes for someone to take our order and another 25 mins to get the food. The beef dip sandwich looked nothing like it did on the menu. The beef was not nice and rare but clearly sliced and then put on a griddle to heat up - wasn't even that warm; the cole slaw had so little dressing on it it was like eating chopped raw cabbage. My husband's salad had nice greens but the grilled chicken topping was barely warm. Doubt we will return. read more

Stopped in for a quick bite during happy hour on a week day! Happy to report social distancing and Covid measures were definitely enforced. There was hand sanitizer everywhere you looked. Tables in the restaurant and bar area were reserved for social distancing. Nice! I tried the happy hour root beer glazed ribs and a house margarita. They were both tasty! I will say if I were blindfolded and tried the ribs I would have thought they were Dr. Pepper glazed ribs. I'm a fan of both sodas. The ribs definitely taste more like Dr. Pepper than root beer, not an issue at all. Just an observation. The ribs were served with home made Cole Slaw, which was also tasty, a bit spicy but complimented the sweet ribs perfectly. I enjoyed the ribs so much that I'd like to go back and try a full rack. Overall, solid 4 stars for me. read more

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse - Root beer ribs and slaw .... Happy Hour Menu - New American Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

Food: Mahi mahi tacos were flavorful. Not pictured was the shrimp power bowl my bf said it was good and he would probably get it again. We also got the broccoli cheddar soup, ummm we must have got a bad batch because it tasted more like a loaded potato with broccoli. It was dark in color, I think they gave us a mixture of the rest of the soups for the night lol. The monkey bread pizzoki was okay, the bread isn't a good pair with the ice cream. I only got a few good pieces out of the whole thing. The strawberry shortcake pizzoki was extremely sweet. COVID: Staff was wearing masks, and they were wiping down tables in between guests. However, there was no social distancing at all. All tables were taken- you know usually places do every other table. We enjoyed the service and food for the most part would probably return. read more

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I've eaten at this location before but mostly at the restaurant in Frederick. Frederick has always been a good experience. Today I stopped in for a quick lunch. I was seated quickly by a nice hostess. The server came over and was engaging and friendly. From here it went downhill. I ordered a sandwich only to be told 5 minutes later it wasn't available. I was asked if I wanted something else but no longer had a menu. I quickly picked a salad as I needed to get to a meeting. It took nearly 25 minutes to get a harvest salad. It was good but over dressed. Maybe a bad day but certainly disappointing. read more

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse - Harvest Salad - New American Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

I don't post reviews but this restaurant went above and beyond to disappoint us. The waiter was not attentive to our table. We barely received a welcome in or have a good evening following our meal. My husband's burger was actually raw in the middle. It looked like it just came out of the fridge and was slapped on a bun. We ordered nachos for an appetizer and the guacamole on top was brown. We were rushed during our meal by the waiter when we were waiting on someone else in our party to arrive. And the food was overpriced for what we received. Save yourself the money, won't be returning. read more

Right off the bat I will say this review is based on a handful of times being here. BJs suffers from one of the great problems hitting the industry right now and that is lack of servers. I have heard employees talking about it and it is evident as I have been here where they have open tables but restrict seating due to shortages. This has not however detrimentally affected customer service. For the most part, their servers are all pleasant personable people who must work really hard. Kudos to them for holding it together. You might ask, if you are there multiple times and are complimenting the servers then why 3 stars? Two words... Price point, price point, price point! BJs is pricing itself right out of existence here. There are many similar restaurant types in the Columbia area offering similar dishes anywhere from 2-5 dollars cheaper a plate. If you want to come out of here feeling like you got value then HAPPY HOUR is your time to be here. At happy hour certain things on the menu are discounted and there are drink discounts. For example: They clearly hang their hat on their homemade pizzas here. They are pretty tasty. Think old school pizza hut personal pan pizzas with that light airy pan crust. But mind you on a normal day they are selling that little four slice pizza for almost $14! At happy hour it's 1/2 price. That is legitimately the only time I am going to buy those pizzas here. Seven extra dollars for nostalgia isn't worth it. They have a fairly large beer and drink selection, some custom sodas, and a large menu (possibly contributing to higher food costs). I have had a good meal here all but one time and I have eaten many different things. When I got my meal carryout, my food was a little cold and undercooked but it has been the outlier. My son loves their sliders, my daughter the Mac and cheese (probably because I am almost certain it is one of the boxed brands, but hey she likes it). I would be inclined to bump this review up a star but honestly if you come here to eat you are gonna pay for it. I don't think they offer enough in the way of portion size (for most things) or "craftsmanship" to be charging as much as they do with Columbia bristling with tons of food options. Sorry to say this is probably why the place was dead at happy hour on a Friday and was dead the night before per the bartender. Give it a try and find your favorite thing! read more

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse - Happy hour - New American Near Me - Columbia, Maryland