Black Bear Diner

Fresh food and great service. Salad was very fresh and I am picky! Hubby liked his BLT.

Delicious food and amazing staff. We stopped here after making it through the grapevine! The staff was very accommodating and James our server was FANTASTIC! He was kind, and cheerful. DIdn’t hover over our table.

Wow, what a refreshing find on the barren roads between L.A. And San Francisco! Worth looking for, the breakfast was great. The potatoes were the best I have had, strip cut? The multi-​grain pancake hearty and yummy. Enough food with an omelette to take ½ with me for dinner later.

We stopped here for breakfast during our road trip up to Northern California. All I have to say is when you eat here, come hungry! The portions are HUGE and the eggs were cooked to perfection! Vanessa was very friendly and even though she was busy she still gave outstanding service. Two thumbs up.

This was our first time meeting here at Black Bear Diner the diner itself the atmosphere is all beautifully decorated with black bears they have a little merchandise store and the waitresses were happy they greeted us they were in good spirits the restaurant was busy being first time my husband had a vegetarian omelette I had a club turkey sandwich and my son have the kids chicken tenders everything was delicious and fresh and served in large portions we also sampled all their different black bear hot sauces and ended up buying the habanero and the Chipotle good to put on top of any steak it was a really good visit and if we ever have an opportunity off of the 5 Highway we would eat here again

What you’d expect for a diner at a pit stop on Interstate 5.

So this Five-​Star is a bit misleading. Because it is earned by the Service, specifically a server named Lacey. First allow me to say that the food is decent, the restaurant has a nice atmosphere, and the menu (in newspaper format) provides a wonderful mix for all. It is what you would expect from a nice road side diner with their signature twist. On its own this is a three-​star place, because you are not going to be wow’ed out of your shoes. Good food, good prices, meets expectations. A bit nicer than your average Denny’s, with similar pricing and a bit better food.
That said this particular Diner earns the Five Stars because of the service. I drive between Los Angeles and San Francisco a lot. This has become a repeated stop where I ask for Lacey by name. She is attentive, friendly, and quick. She exemplifies the values that Black Bear Diner likes to extol on their «story.» She knows the menu inside and out. Is extremely helpful and charismatic. And because of her wonderful service this Black Bear Diner has become a must-​stop.
So if you go and you want the full Black Bear Diner Experience, be sure to ask for Lacey, you’ll be glad you did. Outside of Service, it is a good place to relax before or after the Grapevine climb.

Came to eat again cuz it’s always good here but sad to say my daughter and I ordered grilled cheese we waited more then 30 min for food not buisy. And we’ll we got our grilled cheese burnt. Gross then the fries gross had weird taste to
Them and cold. I don’t think I’ll come here again. Once poor service that’s it.

Great value… I love their menu, awesome and original idea… salads are huge, I couldn’t finish it. I enjoyed the laid back atmosphere. Their story is inspiring… I will go back, but wouldn’t get a salad.

Great food for a general diner in the middle of no where. The staff were helpful and friendly also. If this restaurant were in SD I probably wouldn’t go, but for in the middle of no where it was a great find!

Clean, nice people, and I was surprised how fresh and good the food was. Nice mid road trip meal.
WARNING– portions are HUGE!

Had chk. Avocado club with a side of onion rings
They had tri tip combos. highly recommend!
Always satisfied when eating here

Ok 3 days ago we were in Washington ran across great review about this restaurant. Never herd of it before then. Now we’re are driving home and ran across this restaurant the pancakes are excellent. I prefer the upside down pineapple. Would highly recommend a lot of food for good prices.

15 days later, and I just «bear» ly got over the heartburn from my grease overdose.
On the bright side, the next time my truck needs a Preventive Maintenance lube job, I’ll save $ 150.00 and pull my truck up to the Black Bear and order a Parmison Fake Sourdough Burger! They are good for 20,000 miles guaranteed!

Great place, great service.
Omelette (forget which one) was very good, hash browns, toast.
Wife said oatmeal was good.
Boy said turkey and bacon sandwich was good.
Girl said chicken strips were very good.
Clean
Lots of parking

Another pleasant dining surprise in this area. We stopped by for breakfast on a busy travel weekend. There’s a bit of chaos when trying to get your name on the waiting list but don’t worry. The wait isn’t that bad. People apparently come here in waves, so a ton of people in, a ton of people out.
The menu is a newspaper with all dining options available to the customer (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner). The one thing that resonated with me was that Black Bear offers «smaller» portions for a few of their more popular items. I chose the mini volcano which was sized just right for a long day of car driving. I did splurge and get one of their house made bear claws. Hell, why not.
The service was pretty cheerful
— Check out the Orange Juice machine. It crushes and juices oranges fresh for you.

What would a trip to the Outlet Mall be without a stopover at the Black Bear Diner to regroup and refuel? I have no idea and I hope I never have to find out! It’s an integral part of every shopping trip, and I am a confirmed shop-​a-​holic!
There are so many things to love about Black Bear Diner. From the Wooden Bears that greet you outside the main entrance to the old fashioned juke box playing golden oldies to the large glass display case full of pies to the chairs up at the lunch counter that look like somebody built them out of logs left over from building a log cabin to the cutesy merchandising area where you can buy anything from hats and shirts to their trademark hot sauces everything is designed to draw you in and make you feel at home.
I usually come with friends that have children so we usually get a booth. I’ve noticed that almost every booth we’ve been seated in has a handy electrical outlet next to it on the wall. Since my cellphone is usually dying by the time I am done shopping, this has been a life saver on more than one occasion. The waiters and waitresses have always been very friendly and accommodating, getting us not one but TWO highchairs and never once complaining when the kids leave a mess all over the floor. They even bring them crayons and a kids menu with fun things to draw on.
There always seem to be waiters and waitresses scurrying about so it never takes long for one to bring us the menus which are made to look like a cutesy old time newspaper. Most of the time I order the same thing, call me a creature of habit who is addicted to my comfort ford, a chicken fried steak and various sides. Is it award winning? Possibly not, but they satisfy my craving for home-​stye, deep-​fried, breaded goodness covered in gravy, so it’s always a winning combination for me. Check out my photos for more in depth combinations, but I most often order it with eggs or biscuits. BONUS points go to BBD for bringing me the honey I asked for to go on my biscuits in a little plastic bear shaped bottle. I remember my grandma buy the kind of honey that comes in the little bear shaped container; that’s a very homey memory for me! Every once in a while I break out of mold and do something crazy like order the turkey or chicken avocado club sandwiches which have two of my favorite things in them — bacon and avocado.
The kids usually get the cubs’ meals, either pizza or macaroni and cheese with a side of broccoli. Yes, I travel with kids who eat broccoli, will wonders never cease? The kids love the food and if you’re ordering after 11:00 am the cubs’ meals come with a free ice cream sundae! Not only are the sundaes tasty, but they are fun, too! The waitress brings over the scoop of ice cream and a plate full of little cups of toppings: rainbow sprinkles, oreo crumbs, and chocolate chips plus chocolate syrup and gooey caramel. The kids get to choose which combination of toppings they want and get to watch the waitresses make their sundae right in front of them! One of my friend’s kids even talked one waitress into letting him scoop on his own toppings. She kept smiling in spite of the fact he made a bit of a mess.
We have never had trouble getting waited on or served our food quickly. The wait staff always checks up on us throughout the meal to make sure that everybody (including 3 hard to please kids) are happy. On many occasions, one of the managers has made the rounds to each and every table greeting customers and making certain we’re all satisfied (check my photos!). I give them a full five stars for customer service! I never seen a waitress without a smile on her face!
The main dining room is clean; we often see employees rushing around tidying things up and BELIEVE ME our table and floor need some serious tidying when we’re through with it. The restrooms are always clean and they even have an XLERATOR hand dryer. For those uninitiated into the wonders of the XLERATOR hand dryers, I prefer them to all other hand dryers, even the Dysons. They really get your hands clean quickly; in fact, it makes the skin on the back of your hand look like you’re an astronaut experiencing g-​forces on your reentry to Earth. Yup, I really do have weird random thoughts like that; welcome to my strange little mind. I can find entertainment anywhere, and Black Bear Diner never disappoints! Just writing this review is making me crave another trip to BBD, ummmmm… I mean the outlets, LOL.
So come on down and check them out on your next trip South to the outlet mall or points beyond for a nice dose of homestyle country cooking and comfort food.
Tell them Mimi sent you!

What a find along I-​5! First time here and we got lucky! We were served by TAMMY and she must be the best in the west. Superb service.
Beary beary charming Decors and interior/​exterior design. Its all about the bears. Papa Mama and Baby bears. Even the spicey condiments border the unique because these are custom made «bearing» labels in line with the theme of … You guesssed it — Black Bear.
Every single order we had was excellent– clam chowder, Asian Chicken salad, Big Bear Burger, even the decaf coffee and green tea.
I have driven Up and down I-​5 For years. How did I miss this treasure? Grrrrowwwl!

Stopped here on the way back from LA. Located at Teton Ranch Outlet Stores, hidden behind the new N/​B freeway Starbucks. This Black Bear is brand new. Great big portions of home style food. I had the BLT and the wife had the taco salad. The taco salad was HUGE!!!
They have 70 black bears diners located though out Utah, Nevada and California. Here at the grapevine, this is the only non fast food place to eat. Oh yea, Dennys is one exit back, but I count them as fast food too.
Service was excellent too!

Just opening in December of 2014, this Black Bear is still working out the kinks that come with anything new.
But as of today, besides being new; this restaurant is both clean looking and smelling and the wait staff seem to be very knowledgeable about the meals and are very hard working.
If your in the area and need to take a break either before hitting the Grape Vine or just coming off of it. Give this place a once over.