Black Bear Diner Los Banos — Restaurant in Los Banos

I wanted to update my experience at Black Bear restaurant in Los Banos. We ate there with our granddaughters a while back and the experience was lacking in several respects. We have since eaten there a couple times recently and I did want to note that things have improved. There seems to be plenty of staff there now and the food is adequate for the price point. I do want to note a couple of issues though with our last meal. We have ordered the hot turkey sandwich many times before but this time it was more of a turkey lunch meat instead of the usual thicker slices of roast turkey product they've served in the past. That was a huge disappointment especially for my wife who ordered it which is why we decided to eat there that day instead of a new eatery in town. So there goes one of the menu items we could always count on now gone. The mashed potatoes seemed kind of, gummy, I noticed red potato skins in it which is a less starchy potato more suited for roasting than mashed. Also there was some dark, almost black, pieces of something in it that we couldn't make out. This was brought to the attention of our server and she asked the cooks what it was and they said it must have been some leftover overcooked pieces that accidentally made it onto the plate. Also the lettuce leaf garnish was old and starting to rot and should have not been anywhere near a diner's plate. All in all, I can see some improvements and am hopeful that this trend continues. I wish you...

I went to this Black Bear today to have a ‘fish Friday fish and chips” brunch. As soon as I sat down, Adriana, the server, asked me what I would like to drink, and I told her a mimosa and she immediately brought me an artistic cocktail masterpiece of a freshly squeezed orange juice mixed with a crisp cold Italian prosecco in a wine glass with a fresh strawberry slice on the rim. I savored the mimosa and then ordered the signature wild Pacific Salmon filet with chips (French fries) and sautéed broccoli and baby tomatoes along with a freshly made tartar sauce as a condiment. The meal came up very quickly and when it arrived there was almost a double filet of salmon on a generous bed of broccoli and tomatoes and an ample portion of fries. The restaurants in Monterey serve half the quantity of fish and cost twice as much and don’t have the speed of service that Adriana provided during this visit. Two freshly slice lemon wedges arrived with the fish along with the house-made creamy tartar sauce. As I was eating, Adriana checked up on me continually to make sure that everything was alright and brought me a chilled glass of premium Murphy Goode Sauvignon Blanc white wine to compliment the meal. The wine here is good and the food is very tasty and provides value, but the service is the best here thanks to Adriana, clearly a seasoned experienced server. I will be coming back for this meal and service...

Come in this morning for New Years breakfast 01-01-2022 @11:07. Guy with the blue rebook sweater in case you review your camera footage. Gave the young girl at the reception stand my name (Arturo). Was told it was going to be a 15-20 minute wait. The girl pronounced the name completely wrong saying “ Arthur’s”I asked if she was calling Arturo, she said no it was a different person. Basically Skipped me and had us wait another 15-20 minutes all over again once I realized people who had just walked in were getting seated I asked her what happened to my name.she said she called it already and we were no where to be found mind you the waiting area is small as hell and I was sitting in fornt of her and the cameras. I encourage you to review the interaction and hopefully those cameras have sound so you can hear how unprofessional and unapologetic she was. 0 customer service on her behalf and has no idea how to treat people much less pronounce Hispanic names. She basically got into a debate on how to pronounce my own name and said she called us and we were nowhere to be found, mind you we sat in front of her the whole time. Never coming here again, I’d suggest placing someone much more understanding with better customer service who knows how to read out loud a name . I asked to speak to a manger and basically said she didn’t care. Wow black bear dinner....