Restaurant Review: BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse, Rancho Santa Margarita

Restaurant Review: BJs Restaurant and Brewhouse, Rancho Santa Margarita

The newest addition to the restaurant scene in Rancho Santa Margarita is BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse located in the Plaza El Paseo town center at the corner of Santa Margarita Pkwy and El Paseo. A new building was constructed specifically for BJ's on the site of the former TGI Fridays, which was razed for the new building.

Although new to RSM, BJ's has been around since the late 70's when they opened their first store in Santa Ana, CA just a few blocks from my first Orange County house. I loved the thick crust, Chicago style (not deep dish) pizza then and it still remains my favorite. In fact, it is about as close as it gets to my favorite childhood pizza joint, Armand's, from Elmwood Park, IL.

Since those early days, BJ's has remained true to their roots of great pizza while expanding the menus to include gourmet burgers, salads, entrees, pastas, sandwiches and a full complement of appetizers. The bar serves the usual array of cocktails, wines and beers plus their very own "home brewed" selection of handcrafted beers.

BJ's is a great place for a business lunch, family dinner or take out service (which includes their full food menu as well as their beers). Family friendly with a great service staff, you will be pleased with your experience at BJ's. In addition to this location, there are other close by stores at Laguna Hills Mall and Laguna Beach. You can also order online for curbside pickup and most items are available for catered events. If you are traveling, they have restaurants in 13 states!

Welcome to RSM!