Gordon Biersch

by Jon H.

Huge interior, good atmosphere, and a packed house pretty much describe Gordon Biersch. An average beer-house with average food (even though everything on the menu pretty much will satisfy all your bar food cravings), average service, and above-average prices. Couple of buddies and I shared the huge size appetizer sampler which came with garlic fries (more garlic please!) , pita + hummus (at a bar wtf?), southwestern style egg rolls (no idea what they were), and kobe burgers (might as well be mini-microwave burgers), and a few beers. Needless to say, wasn't blown away by the food (althought it had GOOD potential on paper), or the beer. Other than that, I'd still say Gordon Biersch is an average place. You can still come here with friends and enjoy a good night together...and there's definitely worse places to go out there.

by Karthik B.

GB has a pretty good hefeweizen, and the glasses are generous compared to many other area bars.  However, the food isn't as great as people make it out to be.  The vegetarian selections are pretty uninspiring, so I tend to eat a little bit at home if my friends want to meet up here.The location is super convenient, with easy access to Metro and parking.  Good decor, but I don't understand why the outside bar area needs to be walled off from the rest of the restaurant with heavy frosted glass doors -- it makes the area look crowded and uninviting from the inside.If you want something safe, GB is for you.  Otherwise, find something with more local flavor.

by xj o.

FOOD:Well, despite what some people have said here, I think their food is very good.  Well, most of it.I recommend = Pecan Crusted Salmon, Marzen Ribs (entree), Veggie Pizza, Steak Frites, Glazed Wings.  I do not recommend = Tapas, Marzen Ribs (appetizer), Artichoke Hearts, Calamari.I personally don't care for the following, but my friends seem to enjoy it = Garlic Fries, Southwest Egg Rolls, most of the Salad entrees.Entrees are a little on the pricey side.  But they have weekday HH specials where most appetizers are just $5.For dessert...GET THEIR PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE.  Soooo goood.....DRINKS:  Yeah, I have to agree that their beers are nothing to rave about.  I tend to get the Golden Export.  While most of the girls tend to get the Hefewiezen.  Anyways, I usually drink liquor instead of beer.  And this place tends to make them pretty strong.  Again, they have good weekday HH specials where most martinis and mojitos are just $5.ATMOSPHERE:  I've been here too many times to count.   The place tends to get packed most of the time.  And yes, sometimes service can be slooooow.  But the wait staff has never been rude to me.  Word of advice, if you go there for HH on a Friday, get there way early 4:00-4:30PM, else you'll probably have to wait to get a table at the bar area.  They also have a nice porch area for hanging outside when the weather is nice.  Some of the waitresses here tend to be easy on the eyes.  Never hurts.

by laurie w.

I come here for the Schwartzbier. Yes, that is why I come here. The bartenders are friendly and I love the outdoor seating area (fans in the summer, heated in the winter.) That's what makes it so sad that the food here verges on terrible,  really. I can chow on a chicken sandwich or Caesar salad at Friday's, no problem. I'm not a total anti-chain snob. But this menu is odd, and overpriced for what it is. This is NOT a twenty-dollar entree kind of joint, or locale, but that's what you'll pay if you opt for a full dinner. I generally go for a salad if I'm hungry when I get there. I've had some of the appetizers, which amount to a variety of fried things. If it were just for food I wouldn't hurry back, but oh the Schwartzbier! So dark and yet so light...yum. It's my new favorite beer. You can get a growler of it to go, too, so you can eat at home if you want.

by Brian N.

I had to put half a bottle of hot sauce on their jambalaya.  I'm going to take a pause while you let that marinate before I repeat it in caps.  ...   ...   ...  I HAD TO PUT HALF A BOTTLE OF HOT SAUCE ON THEIR JAMBALAYA!!!!!!!!  I'm sorry, but that is gross food negligence.  If I wanted bland tasteless food I'd live in England.  So on top of that aborted fetus of an entree, my brother's drink was mixed with b.s. rum instead of the top shelf Ten Cane he requested, and they kept telling us it was in there.  We were seated by the bar and did not see the bottle of Ten Cane move that whole night.  Our server, Sarah, apparently would have rather ran around a prison's exercise yard during "Sex Offender Hour" than to make sure everything was going okay and to see if we needed any more water.  Every time we did snag the elusive prey, she would leave before we even finished the sentence.  God forbid we needed anything else after that sentence was over.  I don't expect the red carpet to be rolled out and servants to come at the snap of my fingers every time I grace a restaurant with my magnificence, but dammit at least pretend you give half a fuck.  The coconut shrimp was good though.  I pray for a vortex from the Other Side to come and suck Gordon Biersch from this plane of existence, just like the ending of Poltergeist.

by Alicia G.Fenny L.Orlangela A.sean e.

The space is really nice. The outdoor area and enclosed patio is a place I'd want to hang out on a cool, breezy night while enjoying a beer. But we didn't get to do that. We managed to find a spot inside the bar area after two people left. However, after sitting down, it was about another 5-10 minutes before a bartender helped us. And not because they noticed, but because Juliana shouted that we wanted the beer sampler!Once they poured the samples, the bartender explained a little bit about each "shot" of beer. Juliana, Derryk and I set about to tasting them. Fenny took like a micro-sip of one and was done. She *doesn't like beer* and claimed that if she drank some, she'd be so gas-y that it would be a smelly ride back home. (And since she was driving us back to Bethesda, I decided not to press the issue because let's face it, beer farts are unpleasant.)I liked the hefeweizen. And to be quite honest, I can't even remember what the others were. I think I'd only return to sit in the outdoor/patio area because it looks so chill and relaxing. Inside it's way crowded and hard to get anyone's attention.Stop 4 of 4 on the Devouring Rockville Tour de Force.It was supposed to be the Fractured Prune, alas, I was silly and thought "it's a donut shop - it'll be open until the wee hours, right?".  Yeah.  No.  They closed at 8:30 or something.  Fail.But the reason why I love Yelpers, and in particular, this little band of brave gastro-masocists, is that we were determined to do 4th place - no matter what it was.  So standing in front of the darkened and forlorn Fractured Prune, we look across the street, and spy Gordon Biersch.  We decided that as we had dessert at Bob's 66, that we could finish up the night with after-dinner drinks and call it a night.We saunter in and it was pretty busy for a Thursday night. After waiting about 10 minutes, some seats at the bar open up, and we quickly grab them. We probably needn't have rushed, as then we progressed to sit there - ignored by all - for another 10 - 15 minutes. Part of it is not the bartenders fault...the place was quick full, and they were all busy. However, no one even gave us the eye and the nod. You know, when the bartender looks at you and gives you the nod to let you know that they see you and will get to you as soon as they finish up mixing up the 15 shots that the annoying group of girls-who-are-celebrating-turning-21-and-have-pass ed-the-point-of-being-cute-or-funny-and-are-now-ju st-*irritating*. Nada.However, due to Juliana C's secret mutant powers, when I turned around, she had somehow snagged a bartender, and had the beer sampler poured and laid-out before us.Um, I don't like beer.  So I'm not letting that influence this review.  But yeah...the beer...umm...it was...cold?  Sorry - can't help you there.  I can tell you that the little mini glasses that the beer was served in was *adorable*!So, it was sort of a slightly fizzly end to an otherwise great and delicious outing.  Although, Juliana was quite *magical* as a dancing beautiful nymph statue, as we were heading to the parking lot.  Yeah, pictures to come. Not being a fan of beer, I suppose it was pretty silly of me to recommend coming to Gordon Biersch… She Said...." The 2 stars are for the location and their beer. Thats about it. The food is not that great. The lobster bisque they have is cheap verison of a good lobster bisque...its gross and even smells nasty. The garlic fries are disgusting...wayyyy to much garlic and salt...and i love garlic, but even for me i was grossed out, i had to wipe the fries off wih my napkin to eat them. The beer is pretty good and the inside is pretty, they also have outside eating."He Said..."I had the chicken sandwich with avocado, and suprisely it was the best chicken sandwich I have had in a long time. Was it worth 10 bucks...I don't know, I think thats pricey for a sandwich, but it is in Town Center so everything is expensive...even the parking. Well now I know why Greystone Grill closed down.:"I stopped in with a girlfriend around 10 pm to grab a quick bite.  If you are in this downtown Rockville area at this time its basically the only place to eat.   The bar area was relatively full and after having just got out of a meeting i just wanted to sit in a booth.     When i hinted i wanted to sit in the restaurant part, the hostess kept trying to get us to sit in the bar because of the drink specials.  She finally, breaks and says follow me and walks us all the way to the back almost in the kitchen.   Cling, Clank, Clank....boom, Pow.....i haven't even sat down and i'm getting a migraine.    So I ask can we sit over there more the middle in between the bar area she rolled her eyes...then said we could but we couldn't get service for 15 min.    I said fine and she reminded me that I wouldn't get the dollar off my beers because i'm not sitting in the bar area.What was up with her and the dollar discounts......geez.......so considering we had no service.....i actually had to go to the bar area to get a drink where they GAVE ME the bar rate on my drinks....go figureAs soon as i get back to the table there is already a waiter there taking an order.  Lets see 15-5....so the hostess was only 10 min off the mark.          Long story short....the waiter was good at first then he totally disappeared after he dropped the food........im not lying.....we never saw him again...........while eating my friend noticed that there was a drumstick bone on the floor extremely visible if you just looked down.....very gross.   Someone finally came over and cleaned it up for us....by then I couldn't even finish my meal........I believe the food here is good and the beer, this place just lacks good management.  Most of the servers are kids which is fine if they are managed.   For example before we found the random chicken bone.....there were 4 teeny bopper waitress' in front of a corner booth and they were goofing off and being soo loud like kicking the booth is was just annoying.     My take if you are getting drunk hit the bar.......sitting down in this restaurant beware!

by John W.

American Cuisine.Well I'm not a beer drinker, so you won't be seeing anything about the beer in my review.  In search for a replacement steak place after the 'Orleans House' closed in Rosslyn, we decided to trek here to try out the cuisine.  Everyone at the table had some variation of steak,  NY Strip, Steak Frites and Steak Cubes.  One person had the salmon with pecans.  I had a taste of the salmon, nothing special to report.  As for the steaks?  They were ok, nothing to really rave about.  One person ordered a medium rare NY Strip and it came out more medium to medium well.  My Steak Cubes were supposed to be done medium, but it was more medium well, and one ended up medium rare.  Most of the items on the menu are steaks, and you can't cook a steak right?  That is NOT good.  As for the sides that came with the dishes, they were alright.  The potato skins were on average and the garlic mash was good.Unless beer is your thing, a member at our table had a beer and it was decent, I am not sure if there is anything on the menu that is really outstanding.  Maybe worth the try once, but I prefer Red Rock Canyon as a steak place.

by sean e.

I stopped in with a girlfriend around 10 pm to grab a quick bite.  If you are in this downtown Rockville area at this time its basically the only place to eat.   The bar area was relatively full and after having just got out of a meeting i just wanted to sit in a booth.     When i hinted i wanted to sit in the restaurant part, the hostess kept trying to get us to sit in the bar because of the drink specials.  She finally, breaks and says follow me and walks us all the way to the back almost in the kitchen.   Cling, Clank, Clank....boom, Pow.....i haven't even sat down and i'm getting a migraine.    So I ask can we sit over there more the middle in between the bar area she rolled her eyes...then said we could but we couldn't get service for 15 min.    I said fine and she reminded me that I wouldn't get the dollar off my beers because i'm not sitting in the bar area.What was up with her and the dollar discounts......geez.......so considering we had no service.....i actually had to go to the bar area to get a drink where they GAVE ME the bar rate on my drinks....go figureAs soon as i get back to the table there is already a waiter there taking an order.  Lets see 15-5....so the hostess was only 10 min off the mark.          Long story short....the waiter was good at first then he totally disappeared after he dropped the food........im not lying.....we never saw him again...........while eating my friend noticed that there was a drumstick bone on the floor extremely visible if you just looked down.....very gross.   Someone finally came over and cleaned it up for us....by then I couldn't even finish my meal........I believe the food here is good and the beer, this place just lacks good management.  Most of the servers are kids which is fine if they are managed.   For example before we found the random chicken bone.....there were 4 teeny bopper waitress' in front of a corner booth and they were goofing off and being soo loud like kicking the booth is was just annoying.     My take if you are getting drunk hit the bar.......sitting down in this restaurant beware!

by Ina C.

"We welcome you to Munchkin Land!" This is the song that should be playing before you're seated at a booth. Why are the booth tables so ridiculously high?? For us tiny Asian girls, we had to sit on our feet in order to comfortably put our elbows on the table. The one guy with us, who stands 6'2" tall, was completely comfortable.A friend recommended the Hefeweizen, which I liked. It was really light and crispy, just like my friend said it would be! I also got the blackened mahi mahi sandwich, which was also light, but not crispy (...not that it should've been). The garlic fries that seem to come with just about everything on the menu were pretty tasty. You can't beat chunks of garlic and herbs on every fry. Our server seemed a bit anxious to get us out of there because she brought our check before we could ask for dessert! But we got to order it and we got a little sampler thing. I think we got some carrot cake thing, some peanut butter thing...and I can't remember the other one. Each "cake" came out in a tall shot glass. Pretty creative. The sizes of the samplers were great, especially since most of us just wanted a taste, but the cakes themselves were just okay.

by Alisa O.

The beer is fine but there's a lot of microbrew, even in this area, so there has to be something else. The food isn't very good and the menu is outright boring. The waitstaff have always done a good job. We usually go there when we happen to be in the area and want a beer or when we're with a group of people.