Black Bear Diner offers a unique, family-friendly dining experience centered around a comforting, bear-themed atmosphere. The restaurants are designed with a rustic, cabin-like feel, often featuring wood carvings of bears in various scenarios and murals depicting scenic landscapes. This creates a whimsical and welcoming environment that appeals to a wide range of customers. The menu focuses on hearty, classic American comfort food, with generous portion sizes that are a signature of the brand. You can find a wide array of options for breakfast (served all day), lunch, and dinner. Breakfast staples include pancakes, waffles, French toast, omelets, and breakfast meats. For lunch and dinner, they offer sandwiches, burgers, salads, and homestyle entrees like chicken fried steak, pot roast, and meatloaf. They also have a "Lil' Cubs" menu for children and indulgent desserts. While many appreciate the generous portions and the comforting nature of the food, some reviews mention that the quality can be inconsistent across different locations. Some diners find the food to be very satisfying and reminiscent of home-cooked meals, while others have experienced issues with food preparation or temperature. The service is generally described as friendly, contributing to the overall welcoming atmosphere. However, like any chain restaurant, experiences can vary depending on the specific location and staff. In summary, Black Bear Diner is known for its bear-themed decor, large portions of classic American dishes, and a casual, family-oriented environment. It's often considered a good spot for a hearty breakfast or a comforting meal, though food...
Read moreBlack Bear is my favorite go to restaurant when we're on a road trip. This location disappointed both of us. We stopped in around 7 PM on a Sunday expecting the usual stellar experience we have always had at other locations. When we walked in there were several employees at the hostess area but we were not acknowledged or greeted by any of them for what seemed like an eternity. We were seated in a booth in a quiet area. Our drink order was not taken by the host who seated us as it usually is at other locations and it was several minutes before we saw the waitress. She seemed new and quite nervous as we placed our drink order asking us if we wanted water in our iced tea then corrected herself and asked if we wanted lemon in it. Placing our food order was difficult as the first three items we chose were sold out. My GF settled for the third item on the menu that sounded good to her. I had to settle for the third item also. I don't understand a restaurant being out of signature items so early in the evening. The items were Chicken Pot pie, pot roast and onion rings. I could forgive them being out of one item but three in row is three strikes and you're out! The waitress was sweet and apologetic but poorly trained. This was truly a disappointing experience for us. Not only was the restaurant out of the food we wanted to order but the meal I settled for was not properly prepared and very disappointing...
Read moreI was excited to visit this food chain for the first time and I'm sad to say I'll never return. The food was okay. But the service was not good. My biggest pet peeve when being waited on is when the server drops off the food and never returns. We never got our drinks refilled or the ability the let the server know that we didn't get something we ordered. We needed ketchup and my son had to retrieve it from another table. We needed more napkins and ended up sharing them because again, our server dropped off the food and never checked back on us. When we finished our meal, I eventually had to get up and ask for the bill myself because we still didnt see our server after she dropped off our food. Sometimes I can empathize with the server if they have a lot of tables but there was only one other table in the diner so her lack of attentiveness was inexcusable. All that set aside, the overall atmosphere was not welcoming at all. The host gave us a cold greeting and seemed bothered when my child asked him a question about the menu. The server never introduced herself or gave any kind of warm greeting but only said, "Are you ready to order?" All in all, it was a dissapointing...
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