The Pines Lakefront — Restaurant in Big Bear Lake

Oh boy! So, it's changed ownership and Mom & I only went to the "Pines Tavern." The original restaurant. There, its food is said to be that of "Authentic Santa Maria BBQ." I wouldve left that off the sign. The old abandoned building sitting adjacent to the "Tavern," has now been completely re-done & is the Pines " steak & chop house." We did NOT eat there. We ate at the original house on the pinennsula that used to have a volleyball court. Therefore, my review is of the food, service & ambiance there. -Dog friendly, which is always a plus in my book. Typically this joint is HOPPING on the weekends. There we're only 2 handfuls of patrons there. They did have live music where the volleyball court was, which they have now turned into an outdoor seating area with an outdoor bar. Most of the patrons were gathered there & looked to be downing beers in glasses in the shade. Idk if u can order food over there n I wish I had asked, but the song choices were a bit on the depressing side. The singer sounded like he was winning & crying in his beer & the song selection was less than upbeat & lively. At times it was unbearable to my ears. So, Mom & I, with Murphy & Berkeley(our small dogs) in tow, opted to eat on the deck. under the umbrellas...as usual. -We both ordered the Kobe Cheeseburger, with the coleslaw, potato salad & cowboy caviar sides. The quality of the meat was superb. Very tender & juicy. Nice sized patty, large, and a good 1" thick. However, it needed some seasoning to really bring out the exceptional flavor of the meat. The bun is foccia. It's a tad bit on the dense side, but tasty. I would have preferred a brioche bun. The cheese used is American. I think a slice of real cheddar may have been better, but that's not an option to try n see. A few slices of red onion, as opposed to the bland white, would've been ideal as well. However, both patties arrived to the table still bleeding & definitely on the rare side. Mom ordered med-well & I just medium. The coleslaw was, in our opinion, unedible. The issue was not quality of the cabbage, but the dressing. Absolutely terrible. We recommended they try tossing it in a good quality poppy seed dressing. The cowboy caviar did not have any fido pasta in it, like I'm used to. It's just a bean selection with diced onions & tomatoes that tastes like it's been marinated in oil & vinegar. It too did not get aten past the 1st two bites. Cowboy caviar, when done correctly, is savory & refreshing with a south west flavor. This was not. The potato salad was aten. However, if I wasn't so hungry, I'm not sure it would have been. Again, it's not the quality of the ingredients, it's the dressing it was tossed in. A little too much mayonnaise & vinegar & not enough flavor. A little mustard, some chopped parsley, green onion & minced black olives may have done the trick. With my go-to seasoning it would've been a home run! Ice tea was brewed to an unappealing light pilsner color & tasted like it was going bad. Someone needs to learn how to brew a tasty, deep black, tea & then keep it cold. I opted for the mtn water & a bottle of Hard Cider. They only had one variety, which was Angry Orchard's, crisp apple. Which is the better of Angry Orchard's variety. However, I would've preferred a cold, hard Stella Artois Cidre, served with a frozen mug. Its smoother, & finishes with nearly no bitter bite . But, atleast they had an alternative to just beer. -The service was excellent. Friendly, accomodating, attentive & actually knowledgeable about the food on the menu. You could tell that our waitress has tried what they're serving & knew what was in & on everything on the menu. I appreciate knowledge about the product ure representing. She brought & filled the dogs water bowl with delicious cold mtn water & worked extremely well around them. Still a nice view of the lake on a beautiful day. We even got to see a Golden Eagle perched in the Pines. I will return, as I always do! Maybe next time, to some better tasting food,...

This restaurant gets an F in service and in A in violating laws re service animals and people with disabilities that need a service animal. We went to Big Bear in-between evacuation notices to stay at our Big Bear time share, Wyndam Resorts. On Sunday, September22 we stopped at this restaurant to have lunch on the patio by the lake. We had 2 certified service dogs with 2 disabled handlers, age 86 and 78 respectively. The dogs had ADA service dog vests on, were well behaved and under control as a certified service dog would be. We were immediately asked for documentation. This is illegal according to the American with Disabilities Federal Act of 1990. She & He then clarified we had to show them a medallion. I informed medallions can be ordered on Amazon and people use them to pass off their fake service dogs as service dogs. To which MS. Midean replied well how do we know your dogs aren't fake then. ID for a service dog is not required by law; I reluctantly showed her my disabled Veteran service-connected card (both dogs are certified by the VA; by law I don't have to show them the VA Medical Letters certifying the need for the service dogs and what they are trained to do (HIPPA Protection/Requirements, etc.). I went further and told her I served during time of War and am a service-connected Veteran as well as trying to show her my Military I.D. She then pointed to a sign from the 50's that said "I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason". She then claimed she served in the service during war too. She scolded us and told us to go somewhere else. I insisted she had to seat us and to read the law; That I could give her a card with the rules. She said she knew the law. Finally, she sat us on the patio (note, we were the only customers), but didn't bring menus or serve us. After about 15 minutes, she sent a waiter out who apologized but continued to ask us questions re the dogs. Who were they trained by, etc. We finally got up and left. I'm going to report this horrible hurtful experience to both the VA and the Department of Justice as this incident is clearly a severe Federal Civil Rights Violation; these owners need to pay money, damages, and penalties so this doesn't happen again. People with fake service dogs cause problems for the disabled with genuine service dogs and their handlers, but there was no reason for these owners to think these were not genuine service dogs. Please don't support this restaurant if you care about anyone who has disabilities requiring a certified service dog in order to lead as high a quality of life despite handicaps! Thank you for caring. Note Google publishes the restaurant is owned by Jerry Lemke, PHD (counselor to Veterans); John Isaksen (served 6 years in the marines?) and his Wife Midean Isaksen. I don't know if the restaurant was purchased with Dept of VA grants for small Veteran businesses, but I intend...

The Pines Lakefront restaurant in Big Bear is a dining place which "serves, steak, seafood, pasta and wine in a classic seating."

The view is tranquil, located next to the lake with mountain views. There is a dining patio, garden patio and a spacious indoor dining room with intimate booth seats and a bar.

We visited on a Friday evening in November, eating inside the main dining room in a raised niche that overlooks the lake. There was a singer that evening that softly entertained the guests which would make for a nice dining experience. The sceanery and ambiance is unpeckable and obviously the reason to visit The Pines Lakefront.

Our waiter was very knowledgeable and attentive. The service was fast and helpful.

In the past I have chosen not to write restaurant reviews for places I have visited one time and they were way off the mark, but I am making an exception here, as in our party of eight, six of us could not eat our meal.

The wine menu offers a nice variety of selections to accompany their menu including Italian Reds. We ordered four bottles of different Cabernet Sauvignons, a Chardonnay.

Four of us ordered the halibut. The waiter asked if I wanted the choice of clam chowder or a salad. I asked if the clam chowder was made on site and fresh? Confirming this I ordered the chowder as my starter.

When the soup came, I knew how the rest of the meal was going to be. The soup had the texture of a thick gravy and not flavorful or appetizing.

For those who ordered the salad starter, they did not arrive until after the others finished their soup and just as the main course arrived.

The halibut must have been previously frozen and thawed, as the fish was extremely dry to the point it was unedible.

Another one of us ordered Champagne Chicken, which had thick lumpy sauce poured on top which ruined and chance of enjoying the chicken breast.

The other four in our party ordered selections from the "Beef, Pork and Lamb" offerings. One had the rack of lamb which was enjoyed, and a sampling plate of duck, bison, elk and boar which offered small bites of the gamey flavors.

The womens restroom was flooded. There was an inch of water that covered the floor and several toilets were over flowing. This presented a problem for our shoes as we made our way in the restroom looking for a stall that was working.

The prices at The Pines Lakefront do not support the quality of the menu. Our waiter made adjustements to our final bill and apologized for our disappointment, especially for the halibut, which none of us ate.

I am giving two stars for the ambiance and...