I was hoping this would be a better experience. The hostess was very sweet and welcoming. Food was very disappointing. Fries were limp and cold. Green beans mushy and flavorless. Chicken fried steak and gravy were really good. My server though polite was non existent. I waited almost 30 minutes before I flagged him down for a refill and another 30 for the bill. Never checked on. This was $27 I regret not spending elsewhere. Was really looking forward to eating here. Not likely to return. read more

I really love diners food and I haven't been to a Black Bear Diner for a very long time. The last time I've been to a black bear diner in a different location the food was really good and service was excellent. It was a special day for my daughter so she wanted to go to Black Bear Diner. We sat down for a good 10-15 mins with no acknowledgment, menu, utensils or water. I had to wave the waiter down and the restaurant wasn't even packed, so many empty tables. When our food arrived, 5-10 mins deep still no utensils or water. The waiter for our table was chatting with another waiter across the restaurant so I had to get up and asked him for utensils and water. Overall, shitty service and will not come back. Worst service I've had in a very long time. Please train your workers better. read more

my boyfriend come here like once a month for 3 reasons: 1. the portions are PHATTTTT 2. we live like 5 mins away from this plaza 3. the portions are PHATTTTT I don't think I've ever gotten something that wasn't breakfast here. My cousin did, so I begged to take a photo before it got devoured. mushroom swiss burger - opted for onion rings instead, looked and smelled delicious shasta veggie scramble - I usually get either this or the bowl. they're the same concept: everything the omelettes have but already mixed with cheese + veggies. I usually don't get the bread unless I'm HUNGRY. for breakfasts as a side you can choose their biscuit (a big ol' chunk that's as big as my face), 1 thickkkk pancake, or bread. but, I usually just do the main course. their hashbrowns are delicious, but they offer home fries too. country fried steak - it's good! my boyfriend usually orders this, but it's also very hearty. I have to really be in the mood for it myself. tips on sauce: they have cholula and tapatio - if not at the table you have to ask for it. tips on the homemade sauce baby: chipotle taste, more like smokey than spice mama: slight kick, not too crazy papa: even this is not too spicy, but definitely more POW flavor than mama and baby. (I will update this next time we go, it's been a while) they also do stamp cards per visit: 10 visits makes #11 free (not per entree). they have great drinks (coffee, juice) and some are bottomless but not all. iced coffee was okay, but they have great lemonade. read more

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Basic American diner with average service. Interior basic diner vibes. Food is your average diner food. read more

Black Bear Diner - Sweet Cream Belgian Waffle (660 cal) less less than average tasting - Diners Near Me - Colma, California

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I genuinely enjoyed the food. Portions were plentiful, though the pricing is a bit high, IMO. With their breakfast combo platters, I would recommend selecting the waffle over the "cinnamon roll french toast". The cinnamon roll was more like a "cinnamon swirl bread," which was still tasty, but IMO not worth the cost to upgrade. I'd love to try the bear claw French toast, though! The toast was very pricey. Almost $6 for two slices?! The restaurant always felt like they could use one more server. The greeting/reception counter was left unattended a little too often, with new walk-ins feeling like they had to look around to find someone to seat them. Service was always friendly, and once seated, service was appropriately speedy. The first time I went, it was around 1:30pm, and the second was 11:15am. Everything seemed pretty clean, but I think the cleaner they use is reacting with the table top finish, making them slightly tacky. To be clear, they seemed clean. I was seated up front both times, so I'm not sure if it is the same the further back you go, and I didn't use the bathrooms, so I can't comment on the cleanliness of those. Black Bear Diner has a rewards program that is worth signing up for. Just for signing up, you get a free Bear's Choice breakfast platter (2 eggs, meat, and a "treat" (waffle, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, or French toast), with another free breakfast platter for your birthday. No additional purchases necessary. Convenient location with ample parking, since it shares a huge lot with many stores. read more

Black Bear Diner - Bear's Choice with bacon, over easy eggs, and sweet cream waffle - Diners Near Me - Colma, California

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Food was pretty meh, service was just okay, and the atmosphere feels like a typical old-school diner. Definitely wasn't impressed. Dropped $168 for 5 people on super mediocre food. I totally forgot why I stopped coming here after my first visit, but this definitely reminded me--won't be back for round three. read more

First time dining at this location in Colma, Our server "Kimberly" was extremely friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable about the menu. She provided excellent service and made our visit very enjoyable. I ordered the Bigfoot Chicken fried steak and it was delicious! Chicken tasted fresh and well seasoned. My wife ordered the Mushroom Swiss Burger and was amazed with the presentation and taste! Our Server "Kimberly" was working along serving the whole restaurant. Management should do something about their staffing. read more

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I always thought BBD was in the same league as Denny's or IHOP. Casual ambiance and very informal. However hubby & I've been frequently BBD numerous times over the last year. I guess we've become casual and informal. Most recently today Sunday around 10:50am for a late breakfast. We were promptly seated. Our server greeted us soon afterwards. Asked us about something to drink and if we were ready to order. We answered yes to both questions. Within a very short time we got our coffee and our breakfast items. We both ordered the mini volcano breakfast. Coffee was refilled without us having to flag her down. Everything was on point. Service was friendly and efficient. BBD has become one of our regular places to grab a bite. Easy parking where Bev 'Mo and Target are the anchor stores. read more

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Stopped by Black Bear Diner instead of our usual brunch spot because we didn't want to wait in line. Easy parking because it's in the plaza, but it was pretty full considering it was the holiday weekend. It was my first time here, and my husband has been here a few times. We are a party of two and got seated at the booth upon arriving by the host and were given menus. I like the novelty of the menus that looked like a newspaper. We didn't see our waitstaff until closer to after ten minutes which gave me plenty of time to look at the extensive menu. They were very busy for breakfast service, so I didn't feel rushed to order. We ordered the New York steak and eggs California bacon Benedict with a side of sweet potato fries and coffee. Everything came out hot and plated nicely. - The 10oz steak and eggs were solid diner style comfort. The steak was well seasoned, juicy and paired nicely with sunny side up eggs and crispy hash browns. It is a filling plate and definitely meant for a big appetite. - The California bacon Benedict was rich and satisfying. The hollandaise was creamy without being too heavy and the bacon added a nice savory balance. This came with a sign of either house potatoes or hash browns, but I ended up swapping it for the sweet potato fries which came out crisp on the outside and soft inside. The side of fresh fruit added a refreshing contrast to the richness of the dish. Service was friendly, and the food came out at a good pace. This is a reliable spot when you are craving a classic diner breakfast with generous portions and familiar flavors. A great place for an easy weekend brunch or a no fuss comfort meal read more

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What happened to Black Bear Diner?! Wow - just so disappointed the last couple times we've gone. Food is bleh, table is always dirty, and staff just doesn't seem that friendly. I'd rather go to IHOP or Denny's over BBD. Or maybe it's just this location. read more

I have waited tables for more than five years when going to school. Not enough staff is the number one problem. Two, After the staff member dropped off my wife's dinner, mine never arrived. I finally asked our wait person about it, and she was shocked. I told her to cancel my order. Three, my wife's chicken was not hot, and the french fries were cold. Never Again! read more

I like this chain and have never had anything but a great experience elsewhere. But I had a few problems with this location. Maybe I should have known something was up when it was practically empty on a weekend at 7:00. I ordered the chicken fried steak and eggs, and apart from the eggs the portions were literally half the size as other locations I've been too. I'm not exaggerating. Still plenty, but not what I was expecting given the chain's general purpose of killing you through over-serving. The biscuits and gravy came out colder than room temp. The white gravy seems like it came out of a package, but has been made from scratch at other locations and other locations include sausage in the gravy. Then they charged us $1.50 over the menu price for my order. I didn't feel like saying anything to the server, for any of this because what's the point? I'm not going back to this location. Other than that, food came out fast. Service was great. read more

Man, I write this with a heavy heart. I used to live in Santa clara, had a good friend who loves breakfast food, almost anytime we went out it was either Denny's or black bear, never had a bad plate at any BBD I've been to, until today. Maybe it was me? Ordering breakfast food at 4:45 on a Monday night? Probably my fault, but not only was this bad for Black Bear, it was just bad in general. Toast not toasted, extra butter not put on. I stupidly ordered a steak, I new it wouldn't be great but it was shoe leather style overdone. The hash browns tasted like they'd been sitting on the flattop since 1pm, inside was soggy, outside was literally inedible. Ordered a side of grits, undercooked, chunks, and literally tasted like mop water. Not a hint of seasoning/salt/butter, nothing. I added a tbsp of butter a pinch of salt and like 2 handfuls of cheese and they tasted passable. Cinnamon roll pancakes were ok, original scramBOWL, was literally just an omelette, not really scrambled at all. Won't be coming back to this location, potentially will skip black bear in the future. 2 stars cause the food was at least edible. Order was picked up within 10 minutes of ordering, 5 minute drive home, can't imagine food would degrade that much so quickly. read more

Black Bear Diner - Dry cardboard hashbrowns - Diners Near Me - Colma, California

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My family loves to come here for breakfast/brunch for our country fried steak fix. My son loves the pancakes. The big foot always a good share with someone if you can't finish a big plate. Service is always a little wait but the servers are always friendly and make sure we are taken care of before and after food arrives. Def 10/10 every time we come for the big foot and the side of pancakes! read more

Black Bear Diner - Big BIGFOOT Chicken Fried Steak & Eggs* - Diners Near Me - Colma, California

Good place for a simple brunch. Lots of seating for big groups, but you might have to call ahead to make sure there's space. The food was pretty standard, nothing that stood out, and a bit pricey for what you get. It also took a while to get our order. Overall had a good experience but probably wouldn't go out of my way to come back. read more

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Leaving another review for this diner because it's just toooo good if you're craving a variety of classic diner food. The atmosphere of the restaurant is very woodsy, which I find cute! Although it seems the staff is short staffed, they try their best and are attentive as they can be! Give it a shot! read more

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This is my husband's go-to spot for Country Fried Chicken--and now I get the hype. The restaurant was packed, but our server got us seated right away m. Portions here are massive, so I went with the Caesar Salad with Salmon. Husband of course ordered Country Fried Chicken. The salad? Light and crisp with the perfect amount of dressing--just how I like it. The salmon could've used a little more salt and pepper, but hey, it still hit the spot. As for the Country Fried Chicken? No notes. Crispy, juicy, and as dependable as ever read more

Black Bear Diner - Diners Near Me - Colma, California

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Excellent service/large portions for any entree And the Best tartar sauce I have ever tasted which works well with their fish and chips! They also have Delicious pies and desserts. BTW, convenient plentiful parking and clean restrooms warrant mentioning. read more

This was our second time in two weeks and the food was great! The service was amazing! Today was busier than I expected but the staff made sure to take care of us very well. We can't wait to come back! read more

Our experience this time wasn't great. We were seated pretty quickly, but then completely ignored for about 10-15 minutes and we had just come back from a hike so we were thirsty. When we finally placed our order, things didn't improve much. Our waitress forgot to bring utensils, so we asked the woman in the pink T-shirt who brought our food if she could get some for us. She muttered something and walked away, and we never got them. Looking back, maybe she didn't understand us, but if that was the case, it would've made sense to get someone who did. We couldn't find our waitress for a while, and by the time we finally got utensils, our food was cold. My fries actually came out of the kitchen cold to begin with. Overall, the food itself was just okay but with a high price point. The highlight of the meal was honestly the vanilla iced coffee. Unfortunately, to top it all off, we even spotted a bug on the table that looked like it crawled off the lettuce. read more

The dishes were fresh, full of flavor, and carefully prepared. Portions were generous, and every bite was enjoyable. Service can take a little time, but the staff is friendly and attentive, making sure we're well taken care of both before and after our meal. read more

Food was good, but unfortunately the overall experience wasn't the best. The place could use some updates the carpet and surrounding areas had an unpleasant smell, and the seating felt worn and not very comfortable. We also noticed a bug on our menus, and my friend's water glass had a lipstick stain on it, which was a bit concerning. We almost left, but decided to give it a chance. Again, the food itself was enjoyable, but because of the cleanliness and overall condition, I don't think I would return. read more

Always a good time at black bear diner. We went here for a late night dinner. Our server was attentive and the service was good. The place wasn't super busy for a Saturday night but it still had some customers there. The vibes were good and always fun when we eat here. I ordered the chorizo breakfast burrito. It was really good and the portion sizes are huge so definitely expect to take to go boxes home. The apple cobbler was served warm and the vanilla ice cream on top made it a great dessert. read more

Black Bear Diner - Chorizo Breakfast Burrito (760-1580 cals.) - Diners Near Me - Colma, California

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HUMONGOUS portion sizes! Each dish is easily 3-4 separate meals in itself! Way worth the prices. Great diner food and large selection from their menu. The "smaller sized" portion of the ham and cheese omelette was literally so big it might as well be the regular sized portion. Omelettes were very flavorful, biscuits were soft and fresh and so so so buttery. Country fried steak was amazing. Family and I felt (and looked) like bowling balls walking out of the restaurant. Staff can be slow to come by, even without the restaurant at full occupancy, especially if you're sitting in a corner that isn't that busy. You pay at the front counter before you leave instead of paying at your table like most other restaurants. read more

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Made the mistake of dining here again earlier this month after a bad experience last year for Thanksgiving dinner. To start, I decided to give it another try to redeem my free birthday breakfast. Came with husband and 2 kids. I cannot understand how basic breakfast especially kid's breakfast had to take 35 minutes to make. The other 3 tables who ordered after us had their food already. Kids were hungry and it's frustrating to wait that long for just pancakes, egg and bacon. When I asked, the only thing that our server told us was they were working on it. So after 35 minutes, kids food came and wow, I had to wait another 10 minutes for my plate!! Now going back to the Thanksgiving dinner that I forgot to make a review of. This was last Nov 2025. Also came with family'. Didn't have the energy to cook as we all just got better from being sick the past month. We also had to wait more than 30 mins for the food. We ordered the special thanksgiving meal. The turkey was super dry, the gravy and mashed potato had a bitter aftertaste and the green beans were cold. My husband's prime rib was good though. And the salad was very fresh. During this visit, 2 tables who ordered after us got their meal first as well. I had to ask our server twice for water which only came almost halfway our meal. He never checked on us. Food is actually good here, portions are big and we really love their pancakes, but after another bad experience I don't think we will be back. read more

I love Black Bear Diner: The bear vibes, the big menu of delicious food, and just being there with friends or family. I unfortunately had to ask the server for stuff like utensils and napkins since that was forgotten, but I enjoyed the food. A bunch of laughs, devouring of food. This location is pretty good, I would just give tips like servers frequently checking on tables since it took a while to flag a server just for napkins. The servers there are also period like we know who you are, y'all got that. Overall pretty solid experience, I got a club sandwich read more

Black Bear Diner - The newpaper looking menu, very creative touch! - Diners Near Me - Colma, California

went here for an early father's day brunch since my dad requested for this spot. we got here around 12 ish and it wasn't busy on a saturday. we were seated right away and after we ordered, we probably waited about 15-20 before our food came out. i ordered the mini volcano with a sunny side up! i was able to finish it all because it was mini! the thick slice of bacon was salty and at some parts hard to chew , the sausage was also on the salty side. the sunny side up, although cooked perfection, lacked seasoning and was on the oily side. the pancakes were just right and fluffy. i gave this location 2 stars just because the seat was sticky when we sat down, there was a massive hairball on the rug and my fiancé witnessed an employee use the urinal, walk out and straight to the kitchen. personally was disgusted especially since we've all finished eating. just the lack of cleanliness made this visit disappointing. read more

Black Bear Diner - Mini Volcano* (1020 cals.) - Diners Near Me - Colma, California

We've been coming to this Black Bear Diner location for a couple of years now, and we've always had a good experience. The food's consistently solid. But I wanted to call out Julian specifically. He's been our waiter the past few times, and he's just exceptional. Friendly without being overbearing, really attentive, and there's something genuinely warm about the way he takes care of his tables. He makes a great spot even better. Thanks Julian! read more

I like that you can be seated here right away as the restaurant is big and they aren't packed with customers. We tried a few more items. Despite looking a little overdone the sweet cream waffle is good in the build your own breakfast. Tasty and a little crispy on the edges. I've had it twice now and it looked the same so that's just how they make it. The Santa Maria tri tip was also good as the meat was flavorful. We had their pies to go: can't go wrong with coconut cream and banana cream. 3.5 stars overall, dependable comfort food. read more

Black Bear Diner - Chicken fried steak, Pot roast - Diners Near Me - Colma, California

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Went with a large group and were kindly accommodated. Started at a couple of tables but ultimately were brought together. All the varied orders were as requested although widely varied in arrival times. Food wasn't super memorable. Not bad. I went a month or so ago and honestly can't recall what I had. Odd. Overall. This place was good for a group. Food was fine. Service was fine. read more

Just as you'd expect. This business tries to make it look like they care when things go wrong by posting here that they want to help. But just as you'd expect, they ignore you when you do what they ask. Just wasted more of my time. read more

Simply just stop bye with the wife with time to kill. We had breakfast and the food and service was excellent. My wife had the Country fried steak with 2 eggs over easy along with hash browns and sourdough toast. I had the French toast with mild patty sausage along with 2 scrambled eggs and hash browns. The food was served hot with great portion size and excellent customer service. I am writing this review .Because of the great portions size, great service and food. read more

Black Bear Diner - Diners Near Me - Colma, California

Good customer service. Pleasant and clean place. Food needs to be improved for it to be a great place for people to want to return. The fish was fresh but the batter needs to be improved. Fries were over cooked and burnt. Oil needs to be at 350 degrees for it to fried quickly and taste fresh. read more

this must be a joke. The steak is so small while there was abundant scrambled eggs, and country potatoes it overpowered the size of the steak. On the promo on Instagram and Facebook, It showed the steak was larger. NOT COMING BACK. Misleading the consumers on their promo read more

Black Bear Diner - The $12.99 steak promo - Diners Near Me - Colma, California

The food is tasty but not my first choice. You don't sell the open face hot turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy . That was my favorite read more

No surprises. This place gives you exactly what you expect in a diner. The business model of this diner is to give you too much food (see news paper photo). Now that I know this, I don't think I would voluntarily come back. Stuff is kinda expensive at about $40 per person. read more

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The food was fresh, flavorful, and well prepared. Portions were good, and everything tasted great. Definitely enjoyed the meal. read more

A staple in my family. It's easy and the portions are more than fair. The staff are always friendly to us, even at times when they seem short staffed. As a big fan of bears and good food, this is my grandma's go-to last-min dinner spot. read more

Black Bear Diner - Diners Near Me - Colma, California

Sat us down to next two screaming kids, asked to move! The whole time, we're there the same two kids kept running by screaming and management did nothing! I would like to eat in peace and not eat in a kids playground. read more

I came back to Black Bear for a second visit with my two little ones and we were all very happy with our meal here so I felt the need to add an additional star to my previous review. I got the chicken sausage scramble which is on their lighter fare menu. There was no sacrifice of flavor or portion though - my meal consisted of some eggs scrambled with chicken sausage, veggies and cheese, with a side of wheat toast and fruit. Everything was well cooked and paired well together and left me feeling satiated but not overly stuffed. Fruit is not really "fresh" as advertised, but that's the case for most diners. My kids both got a cub cake which is 1 big pancake and two mini ones that come in the shape of a bear with some fruit and whipped cream, and some chocolate chips for the eyes. My kids loved it and scarfed most of it down. We also got a side of bacon for them to balance out the sweetness of the pancake and all 4 slices of bacon disappeared by the end of our meal too. Service was friendly, although for the second half of our meal, it took a little longer for them to come back and check in on us and eventually bring us the check. read more