Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant

Gordon Biersch is pretty awesome. Good meal, good atmosphere. The seating is exceptional. 5 out of 5 would go again…

The concise review: Inferior products, unfriendly service.
Full review: The hostess was rude, seated us in a major thoroughfare (between kitchen and bar) and refused to put us anywhere else stating the restaurant was booked solid. At least 80% of the tables in the section I requested were empty yet she insisted everything was reserved. Things went downhill from there. As an appetizer we ordered a small plate of «Award Winning» fries. If you don’t know what an actual hand-​cut french fry tastes like, then perhaps you would give these frozen fast food fries topped with garlic and parsley an award. But if you are accustomed to unprocessed foods, these miss the mark by a mile. For my dinner I ordered the simple grilled mahi mahi which arrived swimming in butter. The asparagus was overcooked. Green beans were perfectly prepared and garlic was a nice touch but again swimming in butter. My daughter’s salmon arrived in a color that absolutely does not exist in nature. Coincidentally (or not) her piece of fish was the exact same shape and size as mine. Because, you know, all fish are exactly the same shape and size in nature. She surrendered after a few bites and I was relieved as I didn’t want her consuming dyed fish. I would far prefer to throw away $ 17.99 than to feed her crap. The smashed potatoes she ordered were bland and the consistency of paste. My husband ordered fish tacos and was underwhelmed. My youngest ordered off the kids menu. There were two 2−3″ chicken fingers that passed a 4 year-​olds palate. As we left the restaurant at least 50% of the «fully reserved» section was still unoccupied. Two men came in without a reservation and were offered a table right in front of us! We won’t be back. There are far too many good options in this city to settle for subpar. Without the arena this place would never survive!

Happy Hour mussels.
Okay on the flavor (great garlicy, wine broth), but the mussels obviously were cooked hours earlier. Chewy, dry, etc.
Not much for serving size (8).
Nicely presented salad. Different than previous visits. The menu advertises avocado, but were not on the salad served. I inquired about the missing avocado to which the waitress (& cool from the kitchen) said they are not included and that I must be thinking of another salad. When I showed them the menu, they were both surprised. The cook said, «well, we don’t have any».

Yep. Solid 3 stars. I came here with a large group for happy hour/​dinner, and we had a reservation for 5pm. We arrived around 4pm and had a drink near the bar before moving to our seats. We had one gentleman as our server, but I suspect he was filling in until someone else showed up, because we then had another server 15 minutes later. I had the citrus collins, which was SO TART. Like, I love citrus (why I ordered the drink) but even I was puckering. I had to add a packet of sugar. It seemed decently strong though. The GB house beers were only $ 3!
Around 5pm we move to our seats. We hadn’t noticed that on the menu it states that you can only get the happy hour pricing at the bar area — fortunately our awesome server said he’d give us happy hour prices! Thanks dude. I had the california cobb flatbread, which was $ 6.99 for happy hour and a very fair price for the quality. If I had to pay the full price of $ 10.99 this would have been a 2-​star review. Our group got a mix of legit entrees and happy hour items, and everyone seemed pleased with their meal. I tried some of their garlic fries, and they are most likely prepared in garlic oil — so if you’ll be hunting vampires later it’ll give you a nice head start. The whole place started to fill up due to a hockey game that night and it was pretty busy when we left around 6:30.
The overall rating for this restaurant is pretty spot on. It’s overpriced for the regular menu, but the happy hour is solid.

Absolutely my favorite place to go for a beer in the Arena District. Staff rocks and their Pumpkin Blonde Beer is absolutely delicious. Some of their Belgians are also excellent, great place for Sunday football too.

As much as I like the taste of the food, I literally ALWAYS feel so bad afterwards. Stomach aches, running for the bathroom. I worked in the area for 7 years and ate there enough to no I should stop eating there because the way their food always hits me. No idea what it is, I’ve tried many things. I’d recommend Martini bar or other short north restaurants over this place.

Working next door, it says something that I’ve only been here twice in 8 months. ‘Here, here’ for what’s already been said. Both visits were for Friday lunch and both times they were severely understaffed. My ‘craft’ beer tasted like a PBR (which is fine, but not for $ 6.50). My veggie burger came out with zero toppings, and as it hit the table I remembered that, after my first visit, I emailed management about our lackluster experience during a business lunch (90 minutes for 5 meals, errors, etc) and never heard back.
Lesson learned.

Stooped here for drinks and pool with classmates. Nice atmosphere. The facility is very large and the wait staff was decent.

Wasn’t so impressed at first. We had been in Columbus for a conference and was looking for food after a banquet. We went in to the restaurant to be told very rudely by the hostess that the kitchen was closing so they wouldn’t serve us food. We went another place that night.
We returned the following night to the same hostess who was just as rude that night. She was talking to another employee when we walked into the restaurant. After a minute she finally greeted us and asked if we wanted indoor or outdoor seating. We asked for indoor. She grabbed our menus and started walking outside. When we said that we wanted to eat inside, she rolled her eyes and said to wait a minute. She threw down the menus on the hostess station and left. She returned a few minutes later to seat us at an empty table that was clean as it was visible from where we were standing. She walked us to our table, threw the menus down, told us our waiters name with no smile on her face. I told my friends I was ready to walk out and if Dan wasn’t amazing, I wasn’t staying.
Out walks Dan! Dan has a smile on his face and gets our drink orders. Throughout the remainder of the visit, he was above and beyond! That man turned the whole experience from absolutely terrible to outstanding! There was another gentleman that brought our drinks to the table and he was also very friendly.
My burger was delicious and the FRIES! Oh those fries! The apple bread pudding… YUM!
I’d definitely return. Hopefully the hostess will have a better attitude or different job next time I’m in town.

My wife and I came here with another couple before a Clippers game. We sat at the bar to order lunch and a drink. We waited for about 3 to 5 minutes before the bartender greeted us. He seemed like a nice fellow. However, I always like my server or waitress to tell me their name. He was kind if busy so it’s not a big deal. My buddies girlfriend ordered the ahi tuna steak, but they brought out an actual steak… As in Beef, not fish. The waiter was kind enough to offer to fix it and not charge her. Then when we got the checks he said he bought our first round of drinks. That was pretty cool of him to do that. My wife and I both got the ahi tuna salad and it was delicious. I did try my buddies girlfriends steak and was not impressed. We would go back since our food was good and the service was on point.

Every time I’ve been here, it’s been for lunch… and if you are familiar with my reviews, you already know that I’m a creature of habit. I like what I like… And once I figure out what that is, I order it every time. At Gordon Biersch, it’s the Harvest Grilled Chicken Salad with balsamic dressing. I reallllly like. Its not in the «love» category, but it’s good enough to eat multiple times without disappointment. I go here frequently because I have a pregnant friend that loves Gordon Biersch. If you’ve ever had a pregnant friend, you already know… You go where the pregnant lady wants to go and you don’t argue. The service is always fast at lunch and we are able to make it back to work in one hour.
I would like to visit Gordon Biersch for dinner sometime so that I can try another item on their menu and see what their dinner experience is like. I’m sure I’ll have a much better review and can represent like any respectable Unilocaler should.

I originally thought that this place was a local Columbus brewery, and when I found out it was a chain, it kind of lost it’s charm. The menu is pretty standard upscale bar food, and in my opinion the beer is pretty average. I kind of just tolerate most beer though, so I’m probably not the best judge on that. It is cool that they do regular brewery tours at the restaurant, but honestly now that Columbus has so many craft breweries, it’s hard for me to motivate myself to sit and wait for a tour here.
It is in an ideal location, especially if you’re going to a Blue Jackets game or a concert at Nationwide, but there are so many options around Nationwide now, I’m not sure it’s your best bet. But from what I hear, they’re never too busy and it’s a big place, so if everything else is packed, I would settle for this place no problem! Overall, not my favorite find in the Arena District, but it could be a lot worse.

Gordon Biersch is «meh».
I’ve had a few dinners here recently. My experiences have been very average — nothing horrific happened, nothing that impressive happened. I also didn’t select the location or pay for my meals.
Several things worth mentioning:
The beers are pretty good. I enjoyed their current Belgium beer — no complaints here!
The food is okay, but overpriced. Most of the people in my parties ordered sandwiches/​burgers with fries. No one complained, but no one was crazy about the food. We also ordered quite a few appetizers. Overall, the portions are relatively small so you don’t walk away feeling like you got your «bang for your buck».
Fortunately, service was fairly consistent. It seems that they are capable of handling a large group. Both times I’ve dined there have been with parties (8+ people). The servers were attentive and managed the multiple tables/​orders very well.
Ultimately, I guess it is a good place in the Arena District if you have a large group. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t highly recommend going out of your way to get down there.

I am sitting at the bar and the blue jackets are tied with the best team in the Western conference and they do not have it on the TV!!! Enough said! How can you be less than 500 yards from the stadium and wave a blue jackets flag in your bar but not show them on tv???
Side note: food is over priced and beer is bland!

I don’t see a need to write a novel here. We’re talking traditional American for a fairly higher price than others but it is good food. I’ve been here before and I will go back. Service can be a little slow is my only complaint, even when it’s dead. They could use a little refresh on managing the tables to wait staff I think.
Of course these guys are known for their garlic fries and I’m a big fan. Whoops the shit out of CBC in my humble opinion.
Biggest annoyance here is the desert, looked big, was tiny when received. But that was just one thing. Someone else I was with got their cake and you would have thought they got an entire cake equivalent in just one piece.
Go. Eat. Don’t drink too much or you’ll be broke, but good place to get warmed up.

This was our first opportunity to eat here and we found it to be friendly and the food good. I tried a couple different beers which were good but nothing I would rush back in there for. I had the Tuscan Chicken Pasta which was amazing and was a very large proportion. Server was friendly and very helpful. Will give it another try when back in town.

Those Loster Crab Cakes were a dream! I really enjoyed them. They were expensive, but well worth it. This place took our large job and did a good job serving us.

Gordon Biersch is a pretty average place all the way through. It’s a great place to watch a game, because it’s usually not too busy, and they have a ridiculous amount of TVs, but it can be a little bit pricey for the quality of food and drink you’re getting.
This past time I went, and it’s been a lonnnng time since I’d last been there, I tried the Marzen and Hefeweizen beers, and they were just ehh. They’re decent beers in the sense that they are not Budweiser or Miller, but they’re far from the best craft beers I’ve had in Columbus.
The shining star here were the wings I ordered, because the sweet chili chicken wings were pretty tasty. I made sure to order them well done though; otherwise, I’m sure they wouldn’t have been crispy at all. My girlfriend’s flat bread was nothing special.
The only issue with watching a game here is that you’re probably going to spend a lot of money if you’re steadily drinking throughout it, and there are plenty of places in the Arena District where you can do that at half the price. Unfortunately, good food in the arena area is few and far between, so this is actually some of the better grub you’ll find.

We came in for a bite to eat and drinks because they were hosting the Summer Beerfest check in. I had the calamari which was decent and a couple glasses of the Marzen seasonal which was really good. The happy hour prices were only $ 3 a pint. The food is a bit overpriced and our server had a little trouble handling our largish party that arrived at different times, but she was really nice.

Ugh. Really wanted this to be a good decision for our group. The place is huge, so you’d think they can handle the volume. Simply can’t. Servers are working hard, but they’re flying around like its time lapse video. Some of our table placed their order and was served before others even got a drink. Had to ask multiple times before food showed up. Wrong drink served. Just less than impressive service.
Food was fair. Beer is decent.
Lots of other options in the area; will try something else next time.