The Bear's Den at Washington University in St. Louis serves as one of the central dining and social spaces on campus, but the overall experience often feels inconsistent compared to what students expect from a major university dining facility. While the location is convenient and the space itself is usually active and social, the quality of the food and service can vary significantly depending on the time of day and how crowded it is. One of the strongest aspects of the Bear's Den is the variety. Students have access to multiple stations and cuisines, which helps prevent dining fatigue during long semesters. The late-night accessibility is also valuable, especially for students balancing demanding coursework, extracurriculars, and campus jobs. The atmosphere can feel energetic and community-oriented, making it a common place for students to meet friends, study casually, or take a break between classes. However, the dining experience frequently struggles with consistency. During peak hours, long wait times and overcrowding can make meals stressful rather than convenient. Food quality can also be uneven; some meals are fresh and well-prepared, while others feel rushed, repetitive, or lacking in flavor. Pricing relative to portion size is another common frustration among students, particularly for those already paying substantial tuition and dining costs. Cleanliness and organization sometimes become concerns during busy periods as well. Tables may remain uncleared for extended periods, and mobile orders can become delayed or confusing when demand is high. Although staff members are often working under significant pressure, the operational flow does not always keep pace with the number of students relying on the facility daily. Overall, the Bear's Den succeeds as an important social and functional hub on campus, but it falls short of being a consistently high-quality dining experience. It reflects both the strengths and limitations of large university dining systems: convenient, accessible, and diverse, yet often overcrowded and inconsistent in execution. With stronger quality control, faster service management, and more attention to food freshness, the Bear's Den could better match the expectations students have for campus dining at WashU. read more

Love it here, has such great food. I've eaten here since I was a freshman. I really like the vibes it's always a good time. read more

Bear's Den - American Near Me - Saint Louis, Missouri

Dedicating my 500th review to the food I eat every single day living on campus at WashU. According to many different review sites, this campus has one of the best foods in the US and sometimes it's true, but at other times... Favorite Food Items - This is surprising but the pizza here is actually really good. They load up on toppings on each slice and the edges are perfectly crispy. - Sweet Potato Fries - WashU makes one of the hands-down, best sweet potato fries in the US. - Coconut Shrimp Curry - They barely make this but this is the hands-down best thing to eat at BD. They give you so much shrimp and the curry is fantastic! - Mozzarella Sticks - Every Friday, they have some version of this dish and its delicious, especially with the yummy marinara sauce. - The plain fish is sometimes really good and other times, its really raw. Foods to Avoid - The amount of times I have eaten a raw chicken here is a little bit insane. This is in particular reference to the Tikka Masala Chicken. - The burgers are fine as long as you want to wait up to 20 minutes for them. - The Chinese food is here is not authentic because the sauce they use is wrong - I end up usually just dousing the entire thing with Sriracha to add a snippet of flavor. - Currywurst - I don't know if I just don't like currywurst or BD makes it extra bad but there is a lingering organ-y flavor to this dish that is not appetizing. - Sichuanese Vegetables - Think soupy hot sauce and vegetables and you got yourself the dish. The atmosphere is fine. The chairs used to be really janky until they fixed it for the quarantine period which is great because now they are sit-able. I do love the amount of condiments they have though which includes peanut butter any time of the day. BIG yes for college students. Overall BD is as good of a place as you would expect from a college dorm. Maybe slightly better because they do try to vary up the dishes served but you can always trust pizza... I think right now I would give it a 3 star because I eat there for every single meal for 2 years in a row, but because I will probably have some nostalgia once I graduate, 4 stars it is! read more

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It has been disappointing to watch the quality of the food at Bear's Den decrease over the past four years. As a busy student, I find it difficult to find times to go to Bear's Den when there are full menu options available. For a majority of the time, only fried, unhealthy food is available. To add, the "All you care to eat" is not a true all you can eat. The portion sizes are smaller, and the options are fewer. It is so sad that dining services fixed something that didn't need fixing. read more

BD GAVE ME FOOD POISONING. I WAS POOPING AND FARTING ALL OVER THE PLACE. the bd workers were wonderful this was not their fault. The half n half was so undercooked but again NOT THE WORKERS' FAULT. Cannot stress that enough. But the half n half was raw. read more

Garbage. There was barely anyone there one Saturday morning and I just wanted a burger with an egg to have for breakfast. I ordered and it took 10 minutes for them to just see my receipt and another 20 to cook a single patty, needless to say they put a piece of coal between to buns by the time they finally finished. But even then, I had to wait an extra 10 minutes for a single egg. The food at BD is good, but the service is worse by the day. read more

Note to others: if you calm it bears den instead of BD, u will be pummeled. BD is a magical place for those who are of college age, however, since the pandemic the food has not been up to the same standard. Nobody's blaming anyone that works there, they're underpaid anyways. If anyone's to blame it's the school, the school that drastically underperforms for 51 weeks of the year with the exception of parents weekend. God bless BD, God bless the workers, and God bless the half and half. read more

Best late night food on the 50. But only 2019 and previous. Wish bd was still open late -- lame.

A highlight of my day every time I came to eat here. There are so many different options for food and very friendly to gluten free and pescatarian options. The atmosphere is impeccable and it is wonderfully laid out with open seating. I feel like the only improvement would be that the service can be quite slow when it gets busy. I really would love to see some of the workers when I come again. read more

Good food, quality service - The Bears Den The Bears Den is a wonderful establishment for students and faculty alike. They're flexible hours, wide range of food options, and friendly staff creates an inviting dining experience for all. My only complaint is their interior design choices. The bright neon lights during their later hours create a trippy and confusing environment for sleep deprived students. My favorite entree to order has to be the frog legs from the display case. The chefs know how to cook them just right. Paired with a fresh side of crispy tater tots, the frog legs make for a perfect late night snack after a long night out. Looking for something sweet to finish off your delicious meal? Head over to Cherry Tree Cafe and pick up a warm, chocolate chip cookie from the counter. I can't wait for my next trip to The Bears Den, where each of dining experience is greater than the last! read more

Usually subpar. II don't know how it got rated for #3 best food at college; it should be around #200. I'm hardly satisfied when eating, and don't look forward to go when I HAVE to go (which is usually every day :( ) read more

Never give me options when I order steaks. Only have well done. Not satisfied with the foods. Quite disappointment since the internet's saying WashU got one of the best campus dining service. read more

The bears den changed my life. When my family and friends abandoned me, Dorothy was there for me. When I lost my way, i found it in 2018 stir fry, read more

I would never eat here again unless you did a forced kidnapping and held my children hostage and the only way to free them was to eat at BD. If you are not a WashU student please do not waste your money eating here! Ask any WashU student about Bears Den (or BD as they call it) and they will tell you they get sick of this place before they've even finished the first month of their freshman year. It is a sad place to spend money for food. DONT DO IT! If you are really that desperate for food, just ask a random student to pay for you. They probably have extra meal points. read more

the bears den provides the best opportunity for underclassmen to eat. i really appreciate th abundance of options and friendly atmosphere that all of the BD workers being read more

Bear's Den, people. The name of a late night grill on Wash U's campus and probably more than a few gay bars around the world. As Bill noted, Wash U campus food is nothing to sniff at. And it hasn't just been awarded--it has topped the Princeton Review's list of "Best Campus Food". Bear's Den leads the way, serving up solid fare 20 hours a day. The cooks are a real friendly group of guys and have a great rapport with the students. They renovated Bear's Den while I was still in school, but there used to be an adjacent room that could be used for semi-private meetings and events. I once bombed an econ test and decided to eat my feelings in the form of a disgustingly huge box of chicken tenders and fries. I brought it into the back room, which was more populated than normal that evening. Some pale kid with glasses made a brief announcement I didn't catch, the lights went down, and a cartoon movie started playing. I'd unwittingly walked into a meeting of the Wash U Anime Appreciation Club. Life lesson: if you don't study for your econ test, you'll fail it and be forced to eat a disgustingly huge box of chicken tenders and fries while watching weird ass Japanese cartoons. read more

The Bears Den never fails to disappoint. The diversity and the quality of all cuisines truly make it a special place. Go Bears!

The infamous Bear's Den on Washington University's campus. WashU wasn't given an award for their food selection on a whim. Bear's Den explains why WashU won the award. The chefs are part of the WashU community and they love being around students. Bear's Den is open until 2 or 3am most nights, allowing for you to go for all three (and even a fourth!) meals. As you walk in, you get blown away by the instant choice of several different types of food. They have a salad bar, a pasta station, sandwiches, a grill, and even a mexican station. The best part is all the areas are served to you by a chef! In the morning I'll go for a breakfast burrito packed with cheese and peppers. I know it's over a 1,000 calories, but who's counting anyway! For lunch I'll get a buffalo chicken sandwich. Chicken tender, buffalo sauce, ranch, and provolone make this sandwich hard to pass up. For dinner I'll grab a large marinara pasta with chicken tender (yes, special request) and cheese. It's my personal favorite. They do not accept credit cards (per policy) but they do take WashU meal points and cash. read more

Wowee Zowee. Never has food danced so delightfully over my 10,000 taste buds*. As I showed the surplus of dishes I got (for a spectacular deal, I might add) from brunch at 12:32 one fateful morning/afternoon, I felt infinite. I was flabbergasted by the copious selection. My eyes glazed over as I took a bite of my grain salad. "Booyah," I thought to myself. After that day, I decided, this was the place for me. In my professional opinion, anyone passing through the state of Missouri should think about​ stopping in for a nice treat--froyo perhaps? (Additionally​, I heard the Apple Store nearby is also a must-see). *https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/taste-buds.html read more

Usually it sucks but today (1/28/18), the "half and half" was exceptional. Each fry was better than the last. The chicken wasn't that great tho. Still 5/5 because college food is the worst read more

Bears Den, or BD as the hip students say, is a wonderful and strange confluence of the youngest two years at WashU. In the made to order stir fry line, one may observe a mix of young couples exploring their college lives together, one time drunken and underage hookups avoiding eye contact, and lonely STEM and premed students salting their food with tears. It has the best fries, the best Indian food, and the best people watching in St Louis. Around exams, the smell of fear tinges the air as freshmen grapple with their dwindling self worth and the harsh burn of reality over chicken tenders and tater tots. Open until 3am on the weekends, you can see those same freshmen testing their body's limits and failing, shoving egg sandwiches into their mouths and chugging water in a futile attempt to head off tomorrow's hangover. Luckily when they awake on Sunday, battered from frat parties they didn't get into, there is buffet brunch for just 8 meal points. BD will forever hold a special place in my heart and my stomach. read more

good for dorm food but there's very minimal day to day variation. lines are long. tikka masala is delicious though. some of the people who work there are very nice. read more