1. Build-A-Bear Workshop

    1. Build-A-Bear Workshop

    0

    San Mateo, CA

    Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Build-A-Bear Workshop

    3.5 (82 reviews)
    Open 10:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Build-A-Bear Workshop Photos

    You might also consider

    Recommended Reviews - Build-A-Bear Workshop

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Grinch 10/10 super adorable!!!!
    Erica M.

    Can't ever go wrong making memories here at BAB. My son just had to get the Grinch. He is soooo adorable. The staff here are super friendly and has great customer service. P.S. Don't forget the certificate:)

    Staff stuffing my bear and putting its heart inside! Awwwww
    Win L.

    This place is so much fun for kids and adults alike! They take COVID seriously and don't deserve the lower ratings due to complaints about masks and waiting times; they are taking precautions to keep customers safe and I really appreciate that! Wait Time: - can be long during peak times because the store is small and they take proper COVID precautions but the wait is shorter than other locations Staff: - really friendly, observed they tried hard to help and make every customer feel special - knowledgeable and patient with the kids (and parents!) - they do upsell (as I imagine they're trained and expected to do) but it wasn't obnoxious and they were respectful Price: - there's a range of pricing but it's definitely not cheap and see it being a special reward and experience Parking: -tons of easy/open parking at this mall location; it's a perk to hit up Hillsdale instead of Valley Fair

    Absolutely love the bear she picked
    Rheine N.

    As a super protective mom and promoting double masking to protect our children. This shop really takes the pandemic seriously and does what they can to keep us safe. I greatly appreciate it. My toddler (3) and I are more than happy to wait in line outside so that we can prevent the spread. It was our first time and all of the staff are more than happy to walk us through every step. Thank you so much, my daughter had a blast!

    San Mateo mask order
    Cassandra C.

    If your child is even slightly over the age of 2 and can't/won't wear their mask, you will be denied access. My family and I tried to go to the store but was denied because my newly 2 year old won't wear a mask. I informed the employee the local mask ordinance states that "any child 2 years old or less must not wear a Face Covering because of risk of suffocation." And also that "the Order does not require that any child aged twelve years or less wear a Face Covering." The employee said that it is there store policy. Rather than arguing, my family and I left and my child super disappointed. I went on the Build-A-Bear website and it states in their FAQ page "guest are expected to follow local government and mall requirements." It also states that "Bear builders will be wearing a Build-A-Bear mask and ENCOURAGE our guest to do the same." Upon gaining that information from their website, I called the store to obtain the store managers name and store number since I will be contacting corporate. Fortunately the store manager picked up and I was able to tell her my experience. She was super nice about the whole thing and apologized and told me that she will talk to her general/area manager about their mask rule and call me back. She called me back and said that they are still enforcing the "2+ mask rule" because they are following State order although the company website clearly says LOCAL. I let her know that the verbiage needs to be changed on their website because it contradicts what they are enforcing in their store. The only reason why I'm leaving a 2 star opposed to 1 is because the manager was actually pleasant to talk to. (Side note: we've actually been practicing with our 2 year old to wear and keep it on but if you can only imagine the struggle....)

    Unstuffed $15 online special bear
    Joanne T.

    As an adult purchasing a bear for myself, the staff were extremely friendly and answered all the questions I had! They were also understanding when I had changed my mind about a bear they were putting an online order for me. My only complaint is a miscommunication issue that I wanted them to ordered a pre-stuffed bear for me, not an unstuffed one. Otherwise I had a pleasant time at the store itself!

    Kenny C.

    #NationalTeddyBearDay We dropped into (BABW) & didn't expect to get a bear. However #NationalTeddyBearDay at $6.50, sure! Why not! I'm not sure who the MGR is & I hope this review gets escalated to Corporate. The help w/ EVERY single staff member was pure amazing! I know having to deal w/ retail, customer service and especially children is no easy task. Manager...you know who was scheduled for work yesterday. Please show them this review & please continue treating them well. "When you take care of your workers, they will take care of your clients" - Richard Bronson (Sunday, September 8, 2019)

    Making her birth certificate. Welcome Lulu!
    Carla F.

    I've never had the opportunity to actually "Build A Bear" but I did get the chance to do a side-a-long with my 10 year old niece. The process was easy, you pick a deflated bear, take it to the employee so she can fluff it up, stick a heart in it dress it up (that took forever to decide), create the birth certificate and your off. That's it. You are done. The end..

    Bear employee

    See all

    17 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 months ago

    The worst unempathic staff in the world. Wouldn't recommend buying from here as the staff is rude and slow.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 1
    Love this 3
    Oh no 1

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Rheine N.
    599
    179
    183

    5 years ago

    Helpful 6
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0
    Photo of V V.
    1
    41
    9

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Andrew W.
    83
    95
    76

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Kenny C.
    69
    189
    281

    7 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    It was fun and worth the money and the staffs were nice. Kinda expensive but it's build a bear

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    11 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Rona C.
    263
    12
    31

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 3

    8 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Venus L.
    374
    1349
    2802

    12 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0
    Photo of K L.
    144
    682
    2162

    17 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Olga B.
    301
    250
    891

    14 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Nelly J.
    10
    161
    143

    8 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Kim C.
    49
    81
    0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Mariko D.
    60
    62
    84

    6 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    14 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 8
    Thanks 0
    Love this 8
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 6
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 3

    Ask the Community - Build-A-Bear Workshop

    Review Highlights - Build-A-Bear Workshop

    hehe As for clothes for the stuffed animal, I was hoping to get the Safari as I seen it on their online store, but I realized ..

    Mentioned in 8 reviews

    Read more highlights

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Toy Stores 3,765 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    CuriOdyssey

    CuriOdyssey

    4.2
    (376 reviews)
    3.9 mi

    Honestly, never heard of this place until it popped up on Facebook. It had popped up as a place…read moreto go to for First Friday. No discounts for going but they do have some pop-up/ food truck type places here. This is on the outside in front of the entrance. Admission was a little expensive in my opinion. I think it was $29 and it was 5pm-8pm. It was a cool experience with the IlluminOdyssey and fun activities they had. It was raining off and on the First Friday of January. The kids weren't able to play in the playground because it was wet and it was kind of hard to see the animals because they were hiding. I think it would be best to go here when daylight savings time begins so it's bright outside still. I would definitely recommend going here at least once.

    This is specifically about my experience trying to book a birthday party with CuriOdyssey. Their…read moreevent coordinator is extremely difficult to get a hold of because of their Friday to Sunday work schedule, and despite multiple emails and phone calls and messages left I never heard back from them. I had started planning in the fall for a January event, and the last communication I received Oct 2nd. No responses to any of the follow-up emails from me, from the messages I left in their voicemail box, or from the messages I left at the front desk. Not sure how everyone else is getting their events planned and scheduled there.

    Photos
    Have lunch with an otter Tuesdays through Sundays at noon at CuriOdyssey!
    Have lunch with an otter Tuesdays through Sundays at noon at CuriOdyssey!
    See our great gray owl, Faora, in CuriOdyssey's Walk-through aviary.
    See our great gray owl, Faora, in CuriOdyssey's Walk-through aviary.
    See bobcats have lunch daily at 1pm at CuriOdyssey.

    See all

    See bobcats have lunch daily at 1pm at CuriOdyssey.
    Safari Run

    Safari Run

    4.2
    (225 reviews)
    3.1 mi

    We've been here for camp, open play, and birthday parties. Always a clean play place!…read more This review is specifically for the summer camp. My daughter really enjoyed it. As a parent, a few things that I really liked about this camp: 1) they provide snack 2) they make sure the kids wash their hands 3) they have a drive thru pick up/ drop off system. Very easy and convenient. You show your ID to pick up your kid - very safe. 4) the kids did so many activities throughout the day. They would play games and do crafts and it seemed like the workers were very engaged with the kids 5) they share pictures with you at the end of the week. You can also find pictures on instagram each day Great place, highly recommend!

    Parking is very limited in the area and primarily street parking…read more Weekends are closed to the public for birthday parties. They run multiple parties at the same time and you rotate hourly between the gym, food, and arcade. Gym: Nice play structure with a small area for younger kids. Probably most ideal for kids 3-5. Food: Aside from cake, you have to utilize their food options. We had pizza, fried chicken, juice/water/soda and fruit. The dining area is quite small so if you are expecting more than 30 total people, you will feel like sardines. Arcade: Geared towards young kids, but they also have skeeball. Birthday packages are on the pricey side (starting at $750) so probably would wait until kids are at least 4-5 so that they can enjoy everything.

    Photos
    Safari Run
    Clean and fun!
    Clean and fun!
    Safari Run

    See all

    Imagination City

    Imagination City

    4.6
    (159 reviews)
    0.0 mi

    We hosted my daughter's 3rd birthday at Imagination City and had an amazing experience. Janine, the…read moreowner, was incredible and present throughout our entire 3 hour party. She truly took care of everything, from setup and food refills to coordinating the group photo, cake time, and a smooth wrap-up with goodie bags. We also used their preferred décor vendor, Air Lollipops, and the balloon setup was already beautifully done when we arrived. It looked fantastic and added so much to the party. The kids had an absolute blast. The space is perfect for a wide range of ages. I loved the layout because parents can relax in the party area while still easily watching their kids play. Easy location, good parking, and completely stress-free. We would absolutely come back and highly recommend hosting a party here!

    'im extremely disappointed with my experience at Imagination City, specifically with their customer…read moreservice and lack of flexibility. I booked a same-day playtime slot for January 2 at 3:00 pm. Unfortunately, my children woke up from their nap with a fever, and as a responsible parent, I chose not to bring sick children into a shared play space. I reached out that same day to explain the situation and request a refund or at least a credit. I never received a response and had to follow up again two weeks later by calling. Only then was I told that no refund or credit would be issued due to their policy. While they repeatedly stated they "empathize" and agree that sick children should stay home, they still refused to offer any accommodation -- not even a credit -- and abruptly ended the conversation. I was also told comparisons like missing flights or Disneyland trips, which felt dismissive and irrelevant to a small, local children's play facility. I understand businesses have policies, but a children's business should also show compassion and common sense when illness is involved. This experience made it clear that customer service and flexibility are not a priority here. I would not recommend this place to other parents based on how this situation was handled.

    Photos
    Imagination City
    Grocery store set up
    Grocery store set up
    Imagination City

    See all

    Ninja Republic

    Ninja Republic

    4.5
    (32 reviews)
    1.3 mi

    Hosted a joint 10 year old birthday party for about 20 kids and 20 adults. Planning the party was…read moresimple with Regan. It was clear that his top priorities were safety and all guests having fun. He worked with our schedule needs and the kids various interests. Our kids were nonstop running around, laughing, having a great time. And the best part as a party mom was that he frequently encouraged me to sit back and relax as he and his staffed had everything under control with the kids. The facility is clean and spacious. The gym has endless opportunity for fun and challenge. Our 10 year olds did not want to leave.

    This is a great place to come to if you have a high energy kid that needs to burn their energy off…read more My son has recently taken an interest to American Ninja Warrior and Nina Republic has obstacle courses set up that mirror the same obstacles you would see on the show, which is really cool. We came by on an afternoon during open gym - you pay a flat fee to get up to 4 hours of playtime. While there are some staff members present that might give a bit of guidance on how to go through the courses, it is relatively hands off and you are on your own. Parents can sit on the chairs on the side to watch, but can also go on the mat as needed to assist their kids. My son really enjoyed his experience here - when he started off, he could only go halfway up the warped wall but after a couple of hours of practice, was able to reach the top with his hand. He is already looking forward to his next visit here so he can try again. Everyone wears their outside shoes on the mat so I think that takes away a bit from the cleanliness of the place, especially on the type of rainy day that we came by. Bathrooms could have also been a bit better maintained - paper products were running low and soap ran out as well. Not a huge deal as we could work around this, just something that could be optimized for an even better experience.

    Photos
    Obstacle course
    Obstacle course
    Camp
    Camp
    Ninja Republic

    See all

    Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo

    Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo

    4.4
    (393 reviews)
    10.7 mi

    For the price, it's definitely a little gem in Palo Alto. Having a little young, I didn't even know…read morethat Palo Alto had this zoo but we decided to take a trip one day to come check it out. You have to make a reservation I'm guessing so it doesn't get overpacked. As soon as you enter, there's a ton of indoor activities for the little. There's a dino area right outside and then on the other side is where the zoo part is. There's not a ton of animals but the animals that are there were pretty active when we were there. There was a tortoise, birds, rabbits, fish, flamingos that we actually got to feed and a few others that I'm forgetting. Again, not huge but it was enough that we probably spent about a good 2 hours there. After that, there's also a park right behind it so if your kiddos aren't tired already, they can burn off some energy there. If we lived closer, I would consider getting a pass but for now, we'll do some day trips there

    We recently took our son to the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo and had a great time overall. It's…read moreone of those places that's perfectly designed for younger kids. There's a little bit of everything, from hands-on science exhibits to animals, climbing structures, and the dinosaur garden. What I appreciated most was how interactive everything was. The exhibits encourage kids to touch, build, experiment, and play rather than just look at things. The zoo itself is small, but that's actually part of the appeal when you're visiting with young children. We saw flamingos, meerkats, rabbits, and other animals without having to spend an entire day walking around a massive zoo. The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is because it was incredibly crowded. It felt like every exhibit had a cluster of kids around it, and it was sometimes hard for my son to get a turn or really engage with certain activities. I understand it's a popular destination, but the crowds definitely took away from the experience a bit. That said, it's easy to see why so many families love this place. It's clean, well-maintained, educational, and genuinely fun for young kids.

    Photos
    Flamingo!
    Flamingo!
    Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo
    Macaws

    See all

    Macaws

    Build-A-Bear Workshop - toys - Updated July 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...