Black Bear Diner Murrieta — Restaurant in Murrieta

The price on the menu seemed deceptive. I ordered the chicken fried steak and it said 16.99. I added an orange juice and it came to 30 bucks after a 4 dollar tip. The orange juice was over 6 bucks. I don't typically look at prices for a beverage but I guess I should start because that's outrageous.

Seating felt uncomfortable. The hostess saw me standing there and knowingly asked the people in line paying if they wanted to be seated. I knew they were waiting to pay so I'm not sure how she didn't know. It was almost like she didn't want to seat me. Then she placed the menu on the far side of the table and stood there blocking that seat so I had to walk around her awkwardly. Was a really bad start but I was hungry.

The server just picked up dishes from the table next to me and then cruised by my table and introduced herself. I told her I was ready to order and she said it would be hard because her hands were full. She began to tell me 'unless it was an easy order---' but just as she said that the bus girl (who normally takes those dishes. Not sure why she grabbed them and then came to my table but this also gave me a repelling feeling like I was not welcome.)

I was a little baffled at what I saw so I forgot the name of the item I wanted to order and she laughed and asked if she had confused me. Again, I tried not to let anything bother me I was just trying to get food. I didn't see anywhere on the menu the options for sides but she rattled off several options so fast that I only really heard the last one which was pancakes. I was ordering a heavy meal and thought that seemed a little excessive to add pancakes to my meal. But I ordered biscuits and gravy since this is typically the side that comes with this meal anyways. I didn't really hear the others but figured this was the standard. Except, I guess they charge an extra dollar for this. Which was kind of bothersome especially since the biscuits weren't even really covered in gravy. I would have eaten all of them if they all had gravy but dry biscuits are hard to eat. I usually like them a little more buttery, too, but they weren't. They were very dry and flaky biscuits. I figured they were just a side so I didn't care much about that. Except when i realized they cost a dollar extra for them?? Did not know they were extra.

I finished my food and stacked up my plates, sat and waited and waited.... I've been to other locations but I couldn't remember if we just go to the front and pay or get a receipt and go to the front. But the server was nowhere in sight. So I just made my way up to the front and mentioned to the cashier that I hadn't gotten my check. She printed mine out on the spare register.

I looked and saw 26 bucks. I mean that seems a little high for one person. Then some old lady somehow got in front of me to pay and her friend also walked up and tried to not look at me and also cut in front. I just stared at her and I could tell she was trying to avoid eye contact because she noticed me staring at her and stepped back.

Really unwelcome feeling here. Not sure why. I was dressed up somewhat with a 800 dollar suede jacket, button down shirt, and matching slacks. I had no problem only leaving a 4 dollar tip. That's still 15% but the cashier looked at my tip and kind of turned up her lip.

There are equally good food places nearby. Really no need to be treated like this and pay that...

We have gone 4 times over the past couple months. Servers are friendly and do the basic service. We havent gone at the busiest time because we believe in checking service when its slow too. On cleanliness: Well, they had some type of sewage issue with a ln intolerable smell in the bathrooms the last time. The floors are routinely messy and not kept up enough. Tables appeared cleaned off and not sitting or sticky. They need to clean the hot sauce bottles.

Servers: basic service is fine, but when not busy, i should never have to ask for drink refills. Dont push the bill on me to pay so fast while im still eating my meal. Being more prompt when its slow is a necessity.

Food/kitchen: A sandwich was ordered with Dijon, and it was smothered in yellow mustard. Their recipe even calls for it. A cheeseburger was ordered and served with NO CHEESE. Taken back to the kitchen and returned to the table unmelted. Strawberries were ordered for a child with whip cream and sprinkles, confirmed by waitress, and served plain. A sandwich with chicken had chicken on 1 half plus a few bits on the other half but the rest was lettuce and onion. These are pretty basic parts of both kitchen and wait staff to ensure customer satisfaction. If they cant do this much, on more than 1 occasion, then management is the problem. Its not only about how nice the employees are but that the customer, when paying so much for the entrees, should get what they order the first time. There is a bit of false advertising going on as well. The original owners on the menu have a statement that their customers are shocked by how large the portions are. That has never once been the truth at any visit. Standard to slightly less than average. Not horrible but just average. We have firmly decided NOT to go back to Black Bear Diner for a while. They are not quite meeting the challenge for full service at the moment.We believe the restaurant needs a thorough deep cleaning top to bottom, including the kitchen. The kitchen manager needs to be evaluated along w the staff for accuracy, freshness, and cleanliness, and time it takes to complete and order to served at the table, esp since some food is clearly NOT as hot as it should be. Enough red flags have come up for us to believe that without retraining and or the allowance of a careless service atmosphere will eventually cause further problems all around that with proper care now...

My family has been going to the Murrieta Black Bear Diner once a week since the first week it opened. We not only enjoy the yummy food but we also appreciate the waitresses being so attentive and kind. (Especially Kelly...she always made us feel so welcomed and treated us like family.) However, unfortunetly I do not think we will be making the 30 minute drive to eat there anymore. I am so very disappointed in the restaurant and it's management lately. On more than one occasion we have driven there only to find out that they closed early. When we inquired why they were closing several hours early we were told it was due to lack of customers. By continuing to close early they are just chasing customers away. If given a choice between Black Bear Diner and one of its equivalent competitors such as Richie's Diner, customers will go to the one that continuously stays open. Nothing is more frustrating than having your hopes up high to enjoying one of the restaurants delicious meals only to be turned around because they are closing early. Management's behavior and attitude does not seem to put the customers first. In addition, like I said before, we are regulars and have never had issues ordering our food until the last three visits. The first time, we went in on a weekday around 4:00 and we're told that they were closing. The next time, we went in a little after noon for lunch and were told they are only serving breakfast. The third strike was today, we attempted to place an late lunch/early dinner order in for a pick up at 3:00 p.m. and again we were told that they were only serving breakfast. I explained we wouldn't be picking up the order until 3:00 and that we could be okay with not ordering from the dinner section and would be okay with ordering lunches instead. Again I was told I could only place breakfast orders. When I asked to speak to the manager I was surprised when he said he was management. We will miss our weekly dinners and chatting with the waitresses but three strikes in three weeks, we are done. The restaurant has so much potential but I'm afraid the management is counterproductive to it's exsistance. Best of luck to Kelly and the other waitresses, you will be...