Yes, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse does make pizza. BJ’s is primarily known as a casual dining restaurant and brewpub chain, but they do have an extensive pizza menu available. Pizzas are one of BJ’s most popular menu items.
BJ’s Pizza Menu
BJ’s offers a variety of signature pizzas as well as build your own pizzas. Some of their most popular pizzas include:
- BJ’s Favorite – Pepperoni, smoked ham, bacon, Italian sausage, mushrooms, green onions and black olives.
- The Works – Pepperoni, smoked ham, ground beef, Italian sausage, bacon, red onions, mushrooms, green peppers and black olives.
- Chicken Bacon Ranch – Grilled chicken, bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes with ranch dressing.
- BBQ Chicken – Grilled chicken, smoked bacon, red onions, cilantro and BBQ sauce.
- Vegetarian – Mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, black olives and red onions.
In addition to signature pizzas, BJ’s allows customers to build their own pizza with a variety of crusts, sauces, cheeses and toppings. Crust choices include original, whole wheat, cauliflower, or gluten-free. Sauce options include classic tomato, olive oil, BBQ or buffalo. Toppings range from meats like pepperoni and sausage to veggies like mushrooms, olives, onions and more.
How BJ’s Makes Their Pizza
BJ’s pizzas begin with fresh, hand-stretched dough that is made in-house daily. The dough contains wheat flour, yeast, salt, sugar and olive oil. Each pizza is stretched to order for a thin and crispy crust.
After stretching, the dough is topped with sauce and a blend of mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Signature pizzas are topped with meats, veggies and other ingredients based on their recipes. Build your own pizzas allow guests to customize with their choice of cheeses, sauces and over 20 toppings.
BJ’s uses conveyor belt ovens to cook their pizzas. The pizza slides into the oven on the conveyor belt which ensures even cooking on the top and bottom. This gives the crust a crispy texture and melts the cheese fully. Pizzas cook for about 5-7 minutes in the 500°F oven.
Once cooked, pizzas are sliced into 6 or 8 pieces and served hot to the table. Leftover pizzas are boxed for guests to take home.
BJ’s Pizza Prices
BJ’s offers different pricing tiers for their pizzas:
- Personal pizzas: $8.95-$12.95
- Small pizzas (6 slices): $12.50-$18.25
- Medium pizzas (8 slices): $15.25-$21.95
- Large pizzas (8 slices): $17.95-$26.25
- BJ’s Specialty XL pizza (10 slices): $19.95
Prices vary based on the type of crust, toppings and menu specials. Build your own pizzas typically cost more than signature pizzas. Gluten-free or cauliflower crusts also add $2-3 to the price.
BJ’s offers weekly pizza specials on certain days of the week. For example, their Pizza Mondays deal offers 50% off a second medium 1-topping pizza.
BJ’s vs Other Pizza Chains
How does BJ’s pizza compare to national pizza chains like Pizza Hut, Domino’s and Papa John’s?
BJ’s pizza is most similar to Pizza Hut’s dine-in pizza. The pizza chains use comparable ingredients and preparation methods, like hand-stretched fresh dough, conveyor belt ovens, and a blend of mozzarella and provolone cheese. BJ’s and Pizza Hut also have a very wide selection of signature pizzas and toppings to build your own.
The main differences are that BJ’s offers specialty ingredients like cauliflower and gluten-free crusts, their own craft beers, and a full dine-in restaurant menu. The ambiance is also more upscale at BJ’s compared to the typical Pizza Hut location.
Domino’s and Papa John’s offer cheaper takeout and delivery pizzas that are not freshly made to order like BJ’s. The national chains use thinner, crispier crusts compared to BJ’s convection oven style.
Overall, BJ’s makes high quality pizzas with upscale ingredients and lots of variety. Their prices are reasonable for the full service dine-in experience and large portions.
BJ’s Pizza Reviews
Here are some reviews of BJ’s pizza from various food critics and customers:
- “The pizza crust was perfectly crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. The combination of toppings we chose had flavors that perfectly complemented each other. The ingredients tasted fresh.” – The Daily Meal
- “We chose BJ’s for a work lunch last week and ordered 3 of their specialty pizzas to share. Everyone loved the unique flavor combinations, especially the BBQ Chicken pizza.” – Yelp Review
- “I don’t usually think of ordering pizza from a restaurant like this but we were pleasantly surprised. The pizzas are brick-oven style with lots of fun topping choices. Great with one of their beers!” – TripAdvisor Review
- “We customized a pizza with gluten-free crust, chicken, spinach, and goat cheese and it was delicious! A bit pricey but worth it for the large portions.” – Google User
Based on reviews, customers generally agree that BJ’s makes high-quality pizzas with fresh ingredients, unique signature recipes, and a great variety of customization options. The prices are reasonable given the generous portions, dine-in experience, and specialty ingredients like gluten-free crusts.
Conclusion
In summary, yes BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse does make their own pizzas in-house daily using fresh dough, signature sauces, and a variety of meats, veggies, and cheeses. Pizza is one of their most popular menu items. BJ’s offers a wide selection of specialty pizzas as well as build your own options with over 20 toppings. Their pizza quality and dine-in experience compares favorably to chains like Pizza Hut, with prices ranging from $8.95 for a personal pizza up to $26.25 for a large specialty pizza. Reviews of BJ’s pizza are generally very positive, highlighting fresh, unique ingredients, specialty crusts, and reasonable prices given the generous portions and enjoyable dine-in ambiance. So for delicious brick-oven style pizza in a casual upscale brewpub, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse is a great option.