Black Bear Diner Bend — Restaurant in Bend

Caveat Emptor!!! I didn't even want to leave a star but, I had too in order to write a review.

The following is a true and accurate statement, as to the facts, as they occurred: My friend and I ate at the Black Bear Diner in Bend, Oregon, in the afternoon on Wednesday, May 03, 2023.

We ordered two Bob's Big Bear Burgers with French Fries, and one was a deluxe with cheese, bacon and two sweet teas. Both hamburgers had a strange smell like maybe it was rotten ground beef meat? The hamburger buns were soft and doughy. The French fries were wilted and soggy. The two sweet teas tasted like a used cigarette ash tray smells when wet. We asked the waitress what kind of sweet tea it was, she said she would find out and never did. The charge for the sweet tea was later removed from the bill. There was only one waitress/hostess in the entire restaurant. At that time, we took note the dining/counter area was filthy/unsanitary. The men's bathroom had no soap in the soap dispenser to wash my hands.

The food cost for the two meals that were served: $46.05 minus the cost of two sweet teas.

We ate a few bites of the burgers and fries and couldn't finish the meal. We got a couple of togo containers for the remainder.

We had a long drive back home from the restaurant and began to feel sick on the way. By the time we arrived back home, I became violently ill from the tainted food that I/We were served. I experienced numerous violent expulsions from both ends and felt as though I was going to heave my entire digestive track from the severity of the vomiting. It has taken me more than several days to regain my composure enough to write this review of the horrific dining experience.

I am holding the Black Bear Diner totally responsible for this act of food poisoning because; being experienced food restauranteurs, Black Bear Diner in Bend; Knew or Should Have known they were serving spoiled/rotten/tainted food to their clients!

We have both eaten before at the Black Bear in Mt Shasta, CA in 1997 and had experienced great service and fresh food. We have both eaten before at this Black Bear Diner in Bend, Oregon in 2003 and had a good experience.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic has ended we've noticed several restaurants in Bend the service and food preparations have gone downhill but, the Black Bear Diner in Bend, Oregon is the worst.

We will never step foot in this establishment in Bend,...

My husband and I stopped in on our way out of town. Upon arrival there were multiple empty tables but we figured they weren’t taken because of staffing. It immediately felt like we weren’t welcome as we stood there waiting for one of the staff members who kept looking our way to actually approach us. We were greeted with “Just the two of you? Well it’s going to be at least 20 minutes so…” There were a few groups of 3/4 waiting ahead of us so we took a seat. We watched multiple people come in, get ignored and leave. One man came in to get a to-go order and after waiting awhile and being ignored, left without his food. 2 other groups of two walked in and were seated at some of the empty tables without wait before we finally stood up to bring attention to the fact that we were given a 20 minute wait time. We were seated next to a group of 8 that were visibly frustrated that no one had taken their drink orders yet. Almost 2 HOURS later, they’d get up to leave without their food. Upon leaving, one woman let the server know that they were headed out. We were shocked when the server not only failed to apologize for their wait time (or even acknowledge it) but turned to the cook and laughingly said “Welp, free food for me.”

Despite the wait, our food was good. It appeared that maybe only one cook was working and I’d say he was doing a damn good job. My coffee had a hair in it. The dining room floor was not clean… at all. Even in a situation like this, friendly staff that is welcoming and courteous can be the difference between an enjoyable experience or a disgruntled patron. I hope that the owner/ manager can see this and address what this review as well as multiple others have said in the past month or two. Your staff is failing you. Their lack of interaction and kindness is costing you business and bad reviews. At no point was this restaurant close to being at capacity so this was not a Sunday rush issue. It genuinely felt like the customers walking in were seen as an inconvenience. Kudos to the young man with the longer dark hair as well as our server Kimberly (brunette) for being the only reason we waited as long as we did. The gal with the pink hair as well as the blonde should probably choose a career path that doesn’t include being courteous. March 24th...

On Friday March 15th we joined two other couples for an "all you can eat" fish fry which is advertised on their menu for $17.49. We also had a glass of beer for $4.99. The total should have been $44.96. We asked for a check from the male server who's name I won't mention but said he would just ring it up at the register. He entered what we had and then the tip screen came up. I tipped 20% in spite of the fact that our dinners sat under the hot lights within view for about 10 minutes before being brought to our table and asking for more fish took even longer. The place was not busy to say the least. Anyway, after leaving I thought the final total of $62.04 was too much and wondered why. When I asked for a receipt I was given the store copy which is not itemized and not the customer copy which shows the items we were charged for. After arriving home and looking at the receipt I decided to ask why the total seemed incorrect. Several days later when I was back in town I stopped and tried to find out. The manager was not there and I was told she would call the next day. Anyway I was able to determine that the server added an 18% tip BEFORE pulling up the tip screen and did not tell us that he had already added the tip. Thus, my tip ended up being 38%. I stopped again when in town and the manager was there but would not see me because she was cooking. I was informed that my concern had been forwarded to the regional office and I would hear from them. It is now March 27th and I've heard from nobody. Not only will we not return because the server decided to scam three "old couples" but their lack of concern over what I believe are "shady" check out tactics are obviously condoned by the local manager and the regional manager if she was even alerted to the problem. The food was acceptable but the service was slow and the overcharge by the server is a deplorable and sneaky tactic. So, if you go there be very careful that you are not charged a tip and then asked to tip on top of that. Better yet, don't pay without getting a printed detailed receipt before paying. I'm still waiting for that...