Johnny Garlics, Inc

Pretty good food as you would expect from a celebrity chefs restaraunt. The décor is a little bland, its just really hard to eat with guy fieris face around. The place wasn’t staffed well. I know it’s slow but the bar is too large for one bartender. She was also taking tables so service was pretty slow. All in all I would cone back probably sit at a table though.

Delicious food. Chicken bacon flat bread was delicious and pepperoni cheese stix and big bite burger all good.

After reading many of my Unilocal peers reviews I unwillingly proceeded with giving this place a try with my co-​workers persuasion. Boy should I have listened to my fellow Unilocalers.
Food was definitely overpriced for what it was and the portions you get. This place is over hyped and is not worth the trip.

I wanted to save #350 for a special review. Little did I know it was going to be a special piece of &*%# I was going to be reviewing.
The short: I wanted to come in here for lunch. Wanted being the operative word.
The long: Running around town on errands I happened to be in the area and wanted to try out this place and see how the food was. So I grabbed a parking spot and wandered inside. The place didn’t seem to be even remotely busy and what really irritated me right off the bat was that all the staff I could see was standing around chatting instead of doing anything. I stood there for about 5 minutes before I waved someone down so I could get seated and they pretty much threw me down and walked off. Then I sat there for 15 minutes without a single person acknowledging my presence. Even if the food is amazing here the service is ATROCIOUS and cannot possibly make up for it. I walked out the door with you guessed it not a single person even recognizing I was there.
What works: Kind of hard to say with that performance
What to improve: I dunno maybe acknowledging your guests?

Really Nice joint. Location is poor.
I tried this place on a last second decision and was not disappointed.
Its location doesn’t do it justice so being fairly empty during Lunch on Arden is really bad, but it didn’t bug me none.
I sat at the bar and was welcomed by a very nice bartender. He was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and was very helpful in helping choose something new to try. He suggested the Volcano Chicken (Don’t remember the exact name) and the Thai margarita.
The sauce that came with the meal was mouth watering good. It was so good I needed another order of the sauce to dip my chicken in. The margarita had fresh ground parsley which was a nice twist. 4 margaritas later and a full stomach I can say I was pleasantly pleased with Johnny Garlic’s.
My review wouldn’t be the same without the cool kat behind the bar. Thanks bud and good luck with school.
I recommend Johnny Garlic to anyone in the area.

The service after the sell is an important part of a meal. The waiter started off excellent, bringing me my drink then appetizer then the main course. Then I didn’t see him again till I was ready to go. Oh yea, I forgot to mention I ordered the spiciest thing on the menu and ran out of ice tea a few minutes after the chipotle pasta came out. If I had explained to the waiter the «Dick Solomon» rules for tipping prior to placing my order I may have received better service.
The appetizer was good and the pasta was soso! I had the zucchini planks and the Chipolte Pasta with Shrimp & Hot Links.
$ 36 dollars + tip for tea, appetizer & pasta for 1 person.
Disappointed on my first trip to a Johnny Garlics???

Wanted to try the place because my mom likes Guy F. Food was just ok, I had a burger and pasta instead of fries. The place was kinda dark, we got there right when it opened and there were only 2 other tables but the service was not really fast.
I don’t think I would ever go back there, even for happy hour.
Good luck Guy, you seem like a nice guy!

I’m a total fan of Johnny Garlic’s in Dublin, but this location is just so-​so.
After my nieces recent baptism in Sacramento, myself, my fiancé, and dad, decided to stop for lunch on our way back to the bay.
We noticed Johnny’s on our way to the church, and figured since my honey and I were already a fan, that it would suit us all perfect.
The location seems to have taken place of some perhaps previous restaurant or business that once resided here. It was nice but kinda had a run down feel.
We got a seat towards the back of the restaurant. The menu seemed more pricey than I remembered, though it still offered some mouthwatering, delicious sounding options.
My father and I, had coffee for our drinks. My hun had a coke. For our food, I went with the California Classic burger (protein style). It comes with your choice of garlic potato chips or frys, however I substituted for onion strings instead. My dad got the Guys Big Bite burger along with frys. My honey got the Roasted Garlic Clove Chicken.
Our dishes arrived within a reasonable amount of time. My protein burger was probably the least appealing out of all. The lettuce the burger patty was wrapped in appeared days old and wilted. I ended up tossing it. The patty also seemed to had been smashed. Certainly leaving it less than appealing. It did however, end up tasting pretty good. The onion strings were quite tasty as well. My father loved his burger but could only finish half. And my honey absolutely LOVED his Garlic Chicken, and I certainly agreed. I had a few bites and man, I would had totally ordered that if I knew how good it would had tasted. Definitely a winner.
The main highlight and star raiser with our visit, was the phenomenally, upbeat friendly service we received from our waitress. Absolutely made our visit more enjoyable for sure.
All in all, it hit the spot, but would I make it a point to come here again? Probably not.

Garlic chicken was amazing! Salmon was also very delicious. Plus there are not to many places where you can get a 32oz beer. Used to be Tex Wasabi, don’t know what Guy was thinking with that restaurant… the location could be a little more visible but worth driving past all the stuff at Arden Mall to find it, if you like friendly service. Wanted a blue moon, don’t normally drink blue moon but I had an itch that needed to be scratched, and the keg had just got tapped so they gave me a big beer of my second choice for the price of a small. Manger is awesome, bar tenders and staff are very friendly.
Happy hour is legit too. Lots of tv’s, good visibility from just about everywhere. Great place to watch the game and get some food and beer.

Service is a big thing for me and I give this place a 5 star for the most friendliest/​out going waiter we had! I forgot his name though but he was on it! Anyways it was my first time here although I really feel like I’ve been here before.
I guess it really depends on the person and their taste in food because I really did enjoy this place. I forgot what the names of the dishes my friend and I got but it was delish! I know I just got the Asian salad and it tasted good :).

Great happy hour! We’ve been a couple times now, strictly for HH, and I can say that the food and drinks were consistently good (if not better, after our first visit). House margs and mai tais are $ 5, and the bartenders do a nice pour. I believe they have other $ 3-​$ 4 drink specials. Those huge fishbowl drinks («bolos») are $ 15 (reg $ 30) all day on Wednesdays. Next HH visit will be on a Wednesday!
So I was a little hesitant trying out Guy Fieri’s establishment, since Tex Wasabi’s was a flop. And honestly, the HH menu is good enough with excellent prices (everything $ 5 or less), that I don’t think I’d come back at non-​HH hours or order non-​HH food! Here’s a list of what I’ve had so far:
calamari– 1^st visit overcooked; terrible dipping sauce, 2^nd visit yummy but same sauce
mozzarella sticks-​uh no…2 sticks with a fancy presentation doesn’t cut it, even for $ 3
chorizo & shrimp flatbread-​best $ 5 item on the menu
pork belly flatbread– Asian inspired flavors; too sweet for my taste
chicken ranch flatbread-​another winner
salsa verde brick wings-​best damn wings I’ve had in awhile!
It’s a sports bar atmosphere with plenty of TV’s for your viewing pleasure, and a nice size bar. Service was pretty good both times I went. I think the larger the party, the slower they get, but nothing to complain about. Overall, a good choice for some after work eats and drinks, especially if you’re tired of going to all the chains in the Arden area.

This review is for Happy Hour only
On 3/​14, hubby and I met some other Unilocalers for an informal HH gathering. Ms Carol P had advised me that they have a really extensive HH, I hadn’t heard good things about Mr Fieri’s eating establishments so I wasn’t expecting much. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
Hubby and I ordered the following: (1) salsa Verde wings,(2) lamb slider,
(1)cheeseburger slider, (1) Parmesan fries, and (2) bacon wrapped shrimp along with a Bud Light, Mai Tai, and Mojito. All this food and drink for $ 29! Darn good deal, and the food was great happy hour food. My favorite was the bacon wrapped shrimp which was flavorful as it was served with a spicy /​sweet sauce. I had a slice of the flat breads which were Delicious and I would definitely order those next time.
Drinks were tasty and strong and you can’t find a $ 5 mixed cocktail in too many establishments.
As long as they continue their extensive happy hour menu, which last until 6:30pm M-​F and they also have HH on Saturday’s until 5PM there will be a next time for sure!

March 16, 2014 Sunday — lunch 1:30 PM
2 adults
Atmosphere — 4 stars
Food — 4 stars
Service — 5 stars
Background — We love Guy’s triple d show, so we had to trying Johnny Garlics. We had been here when it was Tex Wasabi which we enjoyed.

Atmosphere — A lot of the Tex Wasabi feel was still here. But it has this weird vide which I can not put my finger on. Baby because the place was empty for my late lunch on a Sunday.
Food
Drinks — Just water.
Appetizer — none.
My Main Course — Their version of the French Dip that came with cheese and a spicy horseradish spread. I am normally a purist when it comes to my French Dip but I enjoyed the cheese and the spread. The downer was the bread; it was not a traditional baguette. More like a sub sandwich roll, but then it was coated on top with oil or butter so once you got your hand on it you did not want to let go.
Dessert — none.
Service — Our waitress pleasant and funny. We saw a drink with a slider on it. So we had to ask her about it, it was 21^st Birthday Mary. It looked so good.
Future — Yes please.

If you wanna give this place a try, I would suggest starting with the Happy Hour. There’s a great variety of nibbles from which to choose, at darn reasonable prices. That’s what we did, and it worked out to the advantage as both us as patrons, and the restaurant to getting butts in the chairs.
We ordered our drinks first: $ 5 for a mojito or mai tai or house margarita. Let me tell you the bartending staff doesn’t skimp, and each offering was well made. Hubby got the 22-​oz beer, which is cool because it comes out in one of those BIG glasses. Our server also brought out ice water without being asked, so THAT is always a plus: p
Like I said, they have a great variety of appetizers on the HH menu from which to choose, with prices ranging from $ 1.75 (buffalo meatloak slider… LOVED it!) to $ 5 (flatbread pizzas, about five different kinds, all delish, as was our BBQ chicken flatbread). I also ordered a lamb & feta slider, which was great (I do love lamb), a bacon-​wrapped shrimp skewer, which was super (the sauce they put on it has a BIT of a kick but is sooooo good!), and an order of their brick wings (not breaded and deep fried, so hubby really liked that).
We perused Johnny Garlic’s regular menu, which looked interesting if not a tad pricey. BUT, watching orders make their way to their respective tables from the kitchen, the portions look huge, so it seems you get your money’s worth. I did notice that exotic meats are rotated on the menu… when buffalo makes its way around, I’m there! Based on the buffalo meatloaf slider I inhalted, I would come back just for that! Yummers!
If nothing else, come here for Happy Hour once. Glad we did :)

I’ve been to this location twice now. The food wasn’t bad but given that this is Guys restaurant you expect a lot. Whether that’s fair of me, I’m not sure but I did feel a little disappointed with the food quality.
That being said I do need to give credit where it’s due. Try the lava shrimp as an appetizer. It’s unique and the flavor is good. I bet it would be even better if made fresh. The two entrees featured for this restaurant were pretty good. This was my first time trying a dipped sandwich and it was good. A little salty for my taste but the flavor and tenderness of the meet was on point.
Finally, the Bananas Foster. I had never tried it before (or heard of it) but it was good. Makes me want to try other fosters.
Overall pretty good.

The garlic fries ($ 6.95) were crispy but what I enjoyed even more were the Guy-​Talian nachos ($ 12.95). The nachos consisted of Italian turkey sausage, ground beef, pepperoni, piquante peppers, ricotta crema, cheese, and fresh herbs on fried pasta chips. My friends don’t do beef/​pork, so I asked for the meats on the side. Even without the meats, the nachos were really good. I think it’s mostly due to the ricotta crema and cheese. I also enjoyed my chopped Bayou BBQ Chicken salad ($ 11.95). It was topped with onion straws which added more crunch as well as calories.
I had an enjoyable meal, considering the low ratings this place has received. Our waitress was friendly and checked on us occasionally. The food is a bit on the pricy side though for what you get. I read that they have a breath mint pie, so I will come back to try that!

I was excited and scared to try this place as it seems that Guy is better at eating other peoples food than cooking it :) The place had a strange looking layout, possible because this was formerly a sushi bar. Our waiter did not exude confidence or good service. He was slow to bring drinks and refills and when questioned about the menu he really didn’t sound like he liked the food. He often came to the table delivering one drink and then one entrée at a time for a party of four.
We tried the tuna taco appetizer, I can’t remember the correct name but it was highlighted on Food Network. Basically it was a deep fried wonton skin turned into a taco shell holding raw tuna, lettuce, and hoisin sauce. I remembered that Guy had stolen this recipe from a establishment he had visited on his show. The taco was quite tasty but it would have been light years better is the wonton skin had been fried fresh. Since the wonton had been previously fried it had lost quite a bit of its crunch.
Bison meatloaf sandwich: served on ciabatti bun with cheese, onion straws and some sort of delicious sauce this was a great dish-​YUM
Shrimp and Sausage Pasta; this was Guy on a plate, big bold in your face flavors, the pasta tasted home made and the shrimp and sausage were full of flavor. This dish was another hit.
Volcano chicken: I also remembered this dish being highlighted on his television show but it was pretty lame. The chicken breasts were tasteless and a little tough. The garlic mash was non memorable. The green beans were cooked into mush status and the volcano sauce tasted like some sort of soy/​mustard combo. This dish was pretty sad.
Overall there were two great dishes one bad dish, one okay appetizer and lackluster service. I guess it is pretty much hit or miss with Guys food some good some bad. Fortunately we picked two winners so I will give them a 3 star rating.

I think I am surprised by the negative reviews. Perhaps I am biased, because I generally like Guy’s cooking show and the recipes he produces. But you know, I had a darn good experience here and would love to come back.
Okay: so yes, it is pricey. I did think the basket of garlic Parmesan fries were a couple dollars overpriced, but DAMN were they fricken’ good. I seriously would have ate another if I wasn’t concerned about my waistline or budget…
My two really good friends and I ordered the fish bowl drink, which to our surprise (and not surprise) was $ 27.00. Expensive, but very tasty and they put the cutest little plastic fish in your drink. But you know, honestly, I’m not quite sure what was more exciting: the drink or the silly little plastic fish. Perhaps it was the novelty entirely.
Okay. Now I want more of those fries…

Employees were wonderful – very friendly and helpful! Our server was a sweetie and an absolute pleasure.
The food was very good. We had Cedar Planked Salmon, which was terrific. The Chopped Bayou BBQ Chicken Salad was delicious, and very fresh.
The knives were smudged. The salad plate rim was gritty. The server removed the dirty items immediately and apologized profusely.
The experience was very pleasant. I hope the dirty dish and knives were just some glitch or something.

Went to the soft opening last night and had a great time meeting Guy Fieri and trying some of the great new food items and having some very good Happy Hour Mai Tai’s. Cannot wait to go back and sample some more of the menu. We had the Garlic Chips, very addictive. Garlic Fries, amazing! Pepperoni cheese sticks, very tasty! The artichoke appetizer was the BOMB! The Guys Big Bite Burger was massive in size and very juicy, the flavors with the bacon and cheese and onion strings still make my mouth water.
The remodel is awesome the bar is twice as big and now the whole place has a very open feeling. Fun and lively atmosphere and doubly awesome Guy was there and came around and took pictures and talked to everyone. He is exactly like he is on his show Triple D and has such a great personality and this restaurant really gives off the right vibe for being his place. The previous restaurant (Tex Wasabi’s) just didn’t have the personality match like Johnny’s does. Great job Guy! Can’t wait to see you again.
signed «Wild & Trouble» :)