BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse

This week's foodie fave is BJ's Restaurant Brewhouse at The Loop. It's always a restaurant that we recommend to guests, as it has so much to offer in terms of food, drink and atmosphere. If you're a beer lover then this is definitely the place for you.

We arrived around 5:00pm on Saturday and it wasn't too busy, which was great as usually you have to wait for a table. We were seated straight away and the server came over to ask for our drink order. She straight away informed us of the seasonal specials, one of which was a Pumpkin Ale. Little tip: if you're not sure, you can ask for a sample before you purchase the drink. We chose the Pumpkin Ale and we were so glad that we did!

It took us a while to choose our food as the menu has so many choices, but the server allowed ample time for us to peruse the menu. From pasta, burgers, tacos, fish and pizza, it really does cater for many different cuisines (plus the server will help you tailor all choices to suit dietary needs). We finally came to a decision…Now from experience, we know that many of the appetizers here are more of a man versus food scenario rather than a warm up to the main event! Having checked the size of the Nachos, we felt brave enough to take them on! We also couldn't resist ordering the Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms alongside as they are too good to be missed. We tried them last time and we would highly recommend. The Nachos are available in three varieties: Piranha Pale Ale Chili, Chicken, or Carnitas (pork). As we follow a pescatarian diet, the server was more than happy to oblige when we asked for it without meat. Let's just say that when the appetizers arrived, we were glad they do a to go box!

Now for our entree, we'd ordered the "Vegetarian" Tacos (roasted barbacoa cauliflower, red peppers, corn, jack & cheddar cheese, yellow onion, tomatoes, greek yogurt, cilantro). The deep dish Ziti does contain sausage meat, however, upon informing the server of my diet she gave me the option to customize with broccoli instead, which was great. The only disappointing point of the dining experience was that they brought out our entree around 5 minutes after they had served us our appetizer. With portions that size, you’d never stand a chance of finishing it in time! However, all of the food was amazing and was served hot and fresh.

Perhaps the fact that this restaurant always has a lively atmosphere and efficient service to the extent that they look to turn over tables very quickly; suggests its popularity. This is the only thing stopping BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse from earning a perfect score.

Overall, we would recommend BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse if you're looking for the following:

• Great selection of beers.
• Lively atmosphere.
• Friendly and fast service.
• Range of cuisines.
• Varied diets catered for.

Our rating for BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse is 4.5/5.