Black Bear Diner Idaho Falls — Restaurant in Idaho Falls

Ah, the delectable delights of the culinary realm! My darling companion and I, amidst a whirlwind of gastronomic aspirations, boldly opted for the illustrious Volcano dish. With a twinkle of hope and a dash of whimsy, I fervently yearned to crown my dish with the crispy, golden embrace of waffles. Alas! My dreams were swiftly extinguished as the staff regrettably informed me that such a whimsical request was beyond the realm of their capabilities, and instead, I was relegated to the fate of pancakes. There exists no proclamation of 'cannot'; rather, it is a declaration of 'I shan't'. Dare not utter the words 'cannot' in my presence! For I, a seasoned veteran of the fast-food battlegrounds, know the labyrinthine ways of indulgent substitutions! Now, setting aside this pancake debacle, we found ourselves ensnared in the tendrils of time, for our sumptuous feast took a leisurely hour to manifest on our table—a minor inconvenience, if I may say so, though a heads-up about our impending hour-long gastronomic wait prior to being seated would have been a delightful morsel of proper restaurant etiquette! The victuals, I must profess, were indeed splendid! The energetic waitstaff, with their gallant spirit, offered fish to the other hungry souls waiting in ennui—a thoughtful gesture, though I harbor an enormous aversion to things aquatic, much to the dismay of my fish-allergic beau, thus we politely declined this piscine proposition. Nevertheless, the act itself was one of commendable nicety. Oh, the bacon! A glorious achievement in crispness, tantalizing the taste buds to their utmost delight! The sausage? Oh, it was a marvel of perfect consistency and texture, a true culinary masterpiece! The pancakes, while they exhibited a commendable flavor profile, fell slightly short in the texture department, presenting a soggy demeanor that left much to be desired. However, we found solace in the huckleberry lemonade, the taste of which danced upon our palates like a sun-drenched summer morning, bursting with sweetness and a hint of savories! All things considered, we reveled in a delightful repast adorned with service that, while not impeccable, was of respectable quality and nestled within an amiable family atmosphere. I daresay I would happily return for another...

Update 2021: This restaurant certainly has made some improvements, overall customer service is much better, fast friendly and social. We had a fun time and a good experience our last two visits, upgraded my original 2 stars to 4 stars 🤩. Keep up the good work. The food is good hear, and they don't skimp out on the portions. If you want a hearty meal to fill you up, you can't do much better for the money.

A couple areas I would work on still are flavor, the burgers could use more seasoning, they are a little bland on their own, and offer dessert.

Overall substantial improvement, I would recommend giving them a try!

Original review: My girlfriend and I went here for dinner after a movie, thought we'd try it out since we had a coupon. Let me start with the pros. The flavors were good and the portion size was good. Not much more to say on the pros but with some fine tuning I may consider giving them another shot in hopes of a better experience.

Now for the cons...My girlfriend had the chicken pesto penne pasta and I had the chicken Parmesan. The pasta and sauce with my dish was cold, and the pasta and sauce with my girlfriends dish was barely even warm. Her chicken looked cooked nicely though. The breading on my chicken was soggy in middle, and overcooked on the outside leaving a burnt aftertaste. The service was less than par. The server did not once offer to refill our drinks, and didn't even provide time to respond when asking how everything was before moving on. The entire staff seemed more interested in closing and going home than servicing their customers even though by the time we received our food their was still about 35 minutes to close. I had inquired about desert when I had ordered my food, yet the waitress seemed to rush us out after we had finished eating (about 15 minutes to close); handing us our check, informing us that we would pay at the front on the way out, and moving on. Had I been offered desert, even though the selection was limited at this point...I probably would have purchased it to go.

Some fine tuning and some staff coaching or changing and this would be one amazing diner. But under the circumstances of my experience they are mediocre. Hopefully they can make the necessary...

My son and I tried it on a Sunday night around 6:00. There was only a few other people, and there seemed to be only 4 employees. The staff was nice and I had no complaints on that. The atmosphere of the place is really cute and cool. And I was really excited to try the place out.

I was craving some comfort food, so I went with the the pot roast. I got some grits on the side, with cheese and bacon. The Grits were the most Bland grits I've ever had. The pot roast, gravy, and mashed potatoes were Stone Cold. It was as though they had pulled it out of the refrigerator and put it on a plate for me. It's too bad, because the pot roast was tender, the potatoes were well seasoned, and the brown gravy was delicious. But it was refrigerator cold and I just couldn't finish it.

My son got a hamburger. he was excited when they asked him How he wanted it cooked, and he ordered it medium. When they brought the burger out, it was an extremely thin, overcooked Patty that was burnt, dry, and obviously Frozen at some point. Likewise, his fries were limp, soft, and Bland. He did like the fry sauce however.

At this point I was ready just to call it a bad day for the staff. It was a holiday weekend, maybe they were just worn out. And then an ant crawled from my plate on to the placemat.

The staff, as I said, was really nice, and seemed a little overwhelmed despite the low traffic. I figured it was maybe the backup crew or maybe they were short-handed. And so I didn't voice any of my complaints or concerns. However we didn't pack up any of our leftovers to take home.

in asking the checkout person about the staff and the cook, They claimed that it was the normal chef and the normal crew for a Sunday night.

Unfortunately we won't be back. It's too bad, because the decor of the place is super cute, and despite being cold, there were parts of my pot roast that would have been excellent. And as I said, the staff was really nice. I have no complaints about the staff other than I suspect there wasn't...