A 16-ounce Hawaiian Rib Eye and a Truffle Mac & Cheese that sold out during testing headline BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse's nationwide holiday menu, which went live November 5 and runs through the end of the season across the chain's more than 200 locations in 31 states.

The New Menu Lineup

The holiday entrée centerpiece is the Hawaiian Rib Eye — a marinated ribeye finished with a Hawaiian glaze, grilled pineapple ring, and BJ's signature seasoning salt. Supporting it are three new shareable sides clearly designed to drive table spend: the Truffle Mac & Cheese (cavatappi pasta in white truffle oil and white cheddar sauce, topped with a Gruyère-Jack blend and a golden Parmesan panko crust, served skillet-hot), Loaded Mashed Potatoes piled with smoked bacon and two cheeses, and Truffle Fries. The steakhouse-influenced direction reflects how casual-dining operators are increasingly repositioning shareable platforms to compete for the same occasion dollars as independent steakhouses — a trend restaurant industry analysts have tracked throughout 2026.

The Pizookie Returns

BJ's signature Pizookie dessert is again at the center of the marketing push. The Biscoff Brown Butter Pizookie replaces the previous version's base with a brown butter cookie formula, served warm with vanilla bean ice cream, cookie butter drizzle, Biscoff crumbles, and a whole Biscoff cookie. The chain cited 65% consumer interest in brown butter desserts in 2026 as a data point behind the reformulation — a relatively rare instance of a casual-dining brand publicly quantifying flavor-trend research to justify a menu decision. The new Pizookie joins the recently launched Nutella Gone Bananas Pizookie, giving operators two dessert upsell options simultaneously during peak holiday traffic.

Beverages and Gift Card Program

On the beverage side, two seasonal cocktails — a Glittery Goose Sangria and a Caramel Macchiato Martini — round out the festive offering. The chain also brings back its 27th Annual Grand Cru, a limited-time Belgian-style holiday ale that BJ's describes as the most decorated restaurant-brewery program in the country, with over 270 medals since 1996. For casual-dining beverage programs looking to convert holiday traffic into incremental alcohol revenue, the dual cocktail-and-craft-beer strategy gives servers multiple upsell paths at a single table.

BJ's is layering a gift card incentive program on top of the food-and-drink launch, running November 5 through December 31. Guests who purchase $50 in eGift cards receive a $10 bonus card; a $100 purchase unlocks a $20 bonus card and a 20% off VIP card. A Cyber Weekend exclusive (November 27–30) bumps the bonus on $100 purchases to $25. In-restaurant buyers at the $100 tier also receive two collectible holiday pint glasses (excluding Arizona and Texas locations, where terms differ). Bonus and VIP cards are valid January 4–31, 2027 — a deliberate mechanism to pull guests back during the traditionally slower post-holiday period.

Monika Saxena, EVP and Brand President, framed the launch around guest data: "From elevated steakhouse-inspired favorites to new twists on our signature Pizookie, everything reflects the craft, creativity and care that go into making every visit to BJ's worth celebrating."

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.