Black Bear Diner Lodi — Restaurant in Lodi

Update: Sunday, March 9, 2025 PM

It’s going to be a while till we go back to blackbear. Not happy at all with dinner tonight. We walked in…there was a sign that said they had prime rib and eggs. When I tried to order, the server said it’s not available. I said well there’s a sign out there. He said I’ll check, so he checked and came back and said oh yeah they still have it. They normally only served that at breakfast time. Well they should keep it that way because I think what I had was left over from breakfast. The worst was the hashbrowns and biscuit. The hashbrowns are the worst I ever had. They are just a soggy greasy mess. Obviously the owner never eat here… If he did he certainly would not serve this this to the public. And it would be nice if biscuit was hot and fresh. The prime rib was terrible. It was barely warm. We decided that it’s gonna be quite a while until we come back. In the meantime we will fill in with Lumberjacks here in Stockton! Come on Owner…make a surprise visit and order some of your food that you offer to customers. ————————— Update: Monday, March 25, 2024 PM

Had the chicken fried steak breakfast $18.50

Chicken fried steak: piping hot, excellent Eggs over medium hard: OK Hash-browns: Different, not a fan Country gravy: excellent Buttermilk biscuits: not fresh. Not a fan Fresh brewed iced tea: excellent $3.90 Blackberry cobbler: excellent $9 Servers/service: excellent Most likely we will return. —————————— Update: Friday, April 8, 2022 Went here specifically Friday evening for their all you can eat fish and French fries. No Bueno again. I would not go back for this and I would not recommend it. Even though I asked for my fish and fries to be made made fresh and hot, the fish was barely warm. The batter on the fish is atrocious. Thick and nondescript. Stuck to the fish so even if you want to you can’t remove it. I was not happy with that so I asked for my fish to be remade fresh and hot. They did that for me. But it was still mediocre. Just terrible fish and terrible batter. I would not recommend this. The coleslaw was really strange. Kind of like the only dressing was vinegar The hush puppies were literally rock-hard! What I would recommend is for the owner/franchisee to stop in undercover/incognito and order this meal. I recommend either taking this item off the menu or reformulating it. I won’t be back. Sidenote…the biggest problem I’ve had with this restaurant in the past has been CONSISTENCY. There is none!

Update: 12/25/21 Dinner The highlight of my meal tonight was my server, Anna. She was nice enough to work on Christmas day so I could have something/somewhere to eat. Other than that, my dinner was a disappointment tonight. I ordered pretty much the same dinner I had a few days ago.…the Bigfoot chicken fried steak and eggs dinner ($16.79) that comes with three eggs, your choice of toast and potatoes or grits. The grits were OK, the eggs were made to order but the chicken fried steak was miserable. It certainly was not cooked fresh. It was totally overcooked…hard and dry. The country gravy was tasteless. Not at all like I had a few days ago. The English muffin was good with lots of butter and jelly! A fresh cup of decaf )$3). And a great server. Yes, I was disappointed. Certainly not the same quality that I had previously. Consistency seems to be a problem. May be a different set of cooks. I’m not in a hurry to go back! Last time was five stars this time, two stars so I’m gonna average it out to three...

I loved this place. I'm not normally a fan of the log cabin/rustic decor kind of place but this wasnt overdone and it was a comfortable place to be.

It was well staffed! I dont see that much since Covid so that was impressive in and if itself. Very pleasant, helpful wait staff. Lots of smiles and checking in at just the right balance. The ones I spoke to were delighted when I said I liked the food. Genuinely happy! Great feel good vibes from all of them!

Tomato Basil Soup: very good. Nice sweet, tangy tomato flavor with pieces of tomato and the consistency of the soup was spot on.

Corn Muffins: Oh. My. God. Deliciousness! Just delicious yummy perfection!

Chicken Pot Pie: so you never know what you are gonna get when you order a pot pie. Some kind of crust, some kind of gravy/sauce, some kind of chicken and vegetables. A million ways to make it and most of those are disappointing in some way. They brought this one out and the size of it was the first thing to get your attention. Then the crust shining in the light from what I can only guess at as an egg wash of some kind but it fairly sparkled and it was so flaky and tender! The crust also lined the bowl which makes my heart happy too lol. The veggies were done the chicken was excellent and the gravy ... the gravy was perfect. Perfect consistency, perfect herbs, perfect texture, perfect seasoning, perfect color ... gravy is the God of Food in my world and it is usually done horribly wrong or at best tolerable but lacking. This was better than I make in my own kitchen and I have NEVER said that about someone else's sauce or gravy. Easily the BEST pot pie I ever put in my mouth.

Coconut Cream Pie: $6.99. That should have turned on the warning bells that this was not gonna be the average slice of pie served up on a little desert plate. It wasn't a piece of pie. It was an entire pie. A miniature one but still way more than I could eat by myself. The menu said all their cream pies were made with heavy cream and whole milk. I have no doubt that is true. So smooth, rich and creamy and the flavors were spectacular. The whipped cream tasted like what I make at home from scratch. If they bought it somewhere they have a very good supplier! The only caveat I have is I personally would have like more coconut in the pudding. But I am pretty sure this was scratch made filling so .... coconut or plain it would be delicious. And it was.

Thank you to everyone at the Black Bear Diner for a wonderful cozy and delicious dinner! To everyone else... go there. Please! Myself? I'm going back...

This first/last dining experience I had at BBD wasn't "bad," but it wasn't "good" either. And that's not good. I'm reminded of that "Just okay" commercial where the guy is about to have surgery and he asks if the surgeon is good and he's told, "Dr. Francis, he's okay." If you're not okay with your meal being just okay, you probably may want to go to I-HOP. I've eaten at the Lodi I-HOP as well, and well, they're okay too but their okay is much better than BBD's fare.

Of every thing I ordered--"prime rib" strips, scrambled eggs, hash brown, bacon-cheese grits, biscuits with country gravy--there's nothing I can honestly point to and say "that was delicious"; at best, the most I can say is: it was just okay. When the server asked my head of security if the food was "delicious," being super diplomatic, he described his meal as "reasonable" and "acceptable." Not exactly the stuff that 4 or 5-star ratings are made of.

Originally, I was going to be as forgiving as possible and rate BBD three stars. However, due to poor quality of meal served to someone in my party (who is of royal descent), I have to drop to two stars. The "salmon" served to this queen was so bad it led to unpleasant post-meal discomfort.

And those "prime rib" strips I had, they tasted like the corned beef you get on St. Patrick's Day at a $5 all-you-can-eat buffet. The last comment the server said to us is "We'll see you again." I didn't have the heart to say the reply that was in my head. But know this: the next day when I was asked where I wanted to eat, my answer was: "Anywhere but..." and that's how I came to be writing this BBD review while waiting for my food to arrive at I-HOP.

Addendum: I like to find something good about wherever I go, good bad or just okay. For BBD it would be that my eggs were perfectly yellow and the napkins have a cute bear paw print on them. Also, the free water and lemon wedges...