Service was excellent DJ our waitress was wonderful Food was out standing! Allowed us to savor our meal. read more

I tried this place for the first time and was disappointed. I ordered the chicken avocado club sandwich with fries. The chicken was pretty dry, but the fries were worse. They weren't even warm and tasted like they had been sitting around for quite a while. At least serve fairly fresh fries. The service was good and I like the inside atmosphere but that's not enough for me to come back. read more

Black Bear Diner - Chicken avocado club - Diners Near Me - Cottonwood, Arizona

Came here for a quick bite before heading to Jerome for a tour. We had about 40 mins to eat and they were able to accommodate that which was nice. Stafff at the entrance very friendly and waitress was also nice. Ordered chicken fried steak, hash brown, 3 eggs over medium, and side of biscuit. All that for $15.99 was a pretty good deal. Also ordered patty melt with fries. My chicken fried steak was pretty big but what the heck... Why they skimp me on gravy barely covered the chicken fried steak. Chicken fried steak was crispy outside and juicy inside but lacked in flavor. I was tempted to add salt but I didn't. Eggs looked rough but tasted fine and cooked little over medium. Hash brown was pretty goood. I feel bad that I didn't touch the biscuit and it was huge. I'm not a biscuit fan but it looked so dry and I had to left over gravy to taste it. So I have no idea how biscuit was. Patty melt was OK, but the bread tasted little burnt. Over all it was not bad and price was good but I've been to other black bear diner and had better experience. Oh well. . If I am ever around this side of town I will skip here for breakfast. read more

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Have only been here once and was not impressed. It wasn't busy but service was slow. Food was ok at best. May try it again one day

Had the occasion of dining twice at Black Bear Diner while on vacation. The food was excellent and made as requested. The service was exceptional with kind and professional staff. The manager stopped by to check on us. I recommend this location. read more

Service was abysmally slow, but you can tell they were understaffed- food is always was great and the portion size and value would keep me coming back - a few people that were working we're running around doing the best they could. read more

The food was good. Everyone enjoyed their food. We were seated quickly by a very nice person. Then we waited and waited for someone to come to take our order. Finally the person that seated us came over and took our drink order. With a sorry for the wait. We waited some more. We had been seated for about 20 minuets when the waitress came to take our order. Our food did come after a time. It was not complete and they had to find the rest of our food. If they had been busy I might of expected this but there was only about 4 others tables with people. The food was good. The host was wonderful. No other positives. read more

I loved the atmosphere, Black Bear Theme, Staff, and yummy blackened salmon on a bed of steamed spinach baby tomatoes with mashed potatoes and gravy! read more

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Great food on this trip. We had a hankering for classic diner comfort food and Black Bear delivered. I went with pot roast with white cheddar mac and my wife went for chicken fried steak and eggs. We were impressed. The restaurant was quiet as our visit was in between holidays. Our server was pleasant, fast and accurate. We thoroughly enjoyed this outing to the Black Bear Diner. read more

Black Bear Diner - Pot Roast 'n Mac - Diners Near Me - Cottonwood, Arizona

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Was surprised to find out that there was almost nobody here on Friday morning for breakfast. If it was a black bear diner in phx it would be super packed. My wife and I ordered the chicken fried steak and got the pancakes as a side. Portions were absolutely insane and not only did we share the meal but we couldn't even finish it we were so stuffed. Probably one of the better chicken fried steaks I've had in a while. Pancakes were good but a little too sweet. Hashbrowns needed to be way crispier. Really nice service all around and a great breakfast! read more

I went in this afternoon for a burger, after forty minutes I left, my burger never came and my server had no answers. I don't think I'll return. read more

This is the cutest , feels like home cafe. The tri tip was awsome The pot roast was just like home The cornbread muffin ( delicious) The tomato Bisque ( tasty) The salad ( cold crispy and fresh ) Service AWSOME!! Thank you to our waitress ( Friday, October 4,2024 after 8;00 pm. The place stays open later so a real meal can be had. read more

Black Bear Diner - Tomato Bisque - Diners Near Me - Cottonwood, Arizona

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I don't get the low stars at all. We just had a fantastic breakfast. My husband's biscuits and gravy were fabulously fluffy and flavorful. He also had chicken fried steak that was crisp and good. Could have been spiced more, but there are some flavorful pepper sauces at the table. I had a delicious carnivore breakfast of perfectly over medium eggs with homemade Italian sausage patties and some thick sliced bacon. Our waitress was friendly and prompt without being annoying. She kept the coffee coming. In all a good experience, surrounded by cute bears everywhere. read more

Well, I ordered chicken strips but what I got was definitely not strips. I'm going to say it was more like chicken bites. Also, maybe this is a Midwest thing, but when I asked for honey mustard sauce our waitress looked at me like I had three eyes and offered to bring me honey and mustard to mix together. Flavor was good, just not what I was expecting. Husband said his Rueben sandwich was good. read more

Just dropped in for a quick bite. Cute place. The food is delicious. The turkey club sandwich with sweet potato fries is delicious. The food tastes like homemade. The staff is very friendly. read more

If I could leave zero stars I would have. I ordered my food through doordash. I ordered patty melt with fries and a bear claw. My fries were small pieces of fries, not actual fries. But the worst was that my bear claw had mold on it. The cherry on top was that Doordash would only refund me $3 which the moldy bear claw cost me $9.39. I am very disappointed with the resolution I received. Never order Black bear from doordash!! read more

Black Bear Diner - Bear Claw with mold. - Diners Near Me - Cottonwood, Arizona

Title: Not Worth the Wait Stopped in hoping for a good meal, but this Black Bear Diner in Cottonwood just isn't there yet. Service was confused, one overworked waitress, food came out cold, and the whole place felt disorganized. Until they get things sorted, you're better off going someplace else. read more

I came here twice during my trip to Arizona. The first time I came here it was a pretty good experience that I decided to come back. The first time I came here, it took awhile for me to get seated, but they were prompt to get drinks and food out once we sat down. The waiter was very nice and helpful and quick to meet our needs. The food itself was good and pretty good price for eating out. I've ate at some fast food places that end up being more expensive than this place. Ambiance was decent. The floors were kinda dirty, but they had Christmas decorations up and a neat menu and a cool timber lodge feeling. The second time I came here, my experience went downhill. The food took awhile to come out, and I received the wrong order, which conveniently costed more. This was super annoying as I came back here to eat out cheap. Decent place to eat, I would've rated it higher if the place was cleaner, more prompt, and I got the right order. read more

I had high hopes for my first Black Bear Diner experience. We were greeted right away and taken to our booth. The server was nice and she was efficient but the breakfast I had was mediocre. The potatoes were my biggest disappointment. If you look at the photo you can see why. They were limp and pretty flavorless. The omelette I ordered okay. The sourdough bread for the toast was pretty good...thick. The coffee was hot and fresh. Portion sizes were adequate. Overall, though, the experience was 'meh'. read more

Black Bear Diner - The hash browns - Diners Near Me - Cottonwood, Arizona

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What a great place for breakfast! The best sausage patty anywhere. Fresh food, terrific flavor! Clean! and the service is as friendly as you'd expect in small town America! Sarah served us today. read more

I'm not sure what's happening at this location, but definitely the worst I've ever been to. After years of not coming out family decided to stop by for breakfast while all together for / family event we arrived around 9 with a group of 10. We were seated right away which was great, but after our food order was taken it took over an hour to get our food. If we hadn't seen each other in a while and were chatting I would've gotten up and walked out. The food was decent once it came out besides the rock hard biscuits . Service sucked and our waitress must've took a nap through the entire meal. read more

Horrible service, only passable over priced food. Slow to take order, never brought a check. When the hostess was asked if they have staffing problems, she blamed the parent corp. for none-competitive pay. Sucks so stay away. read more

Typical Diner fare. Cute "newspaper" style menu that showcases outstanding employees and a large variety of things to order. Also has beer and wine. Nice hometown feel. The potato soup was palatable/adequate; wouldn't have again. Turkey Club was ok. Way too much mayo for me though. Onion rings again ok. Mediocre food. Decent prices. Service by Christopher was outstanding. read more

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DJ and Tracey made us feel likempart of the family. Great staff, great food. A must stop if your in Cottonwood. Excellent Chicken Fried steak! read more

I would normally give a positive review but yesterday I was there with a friend the waitress, food and service was all good! where the problem lies is with the management! yesterday I had accidentally left my stamp card & Bear Bucks by the register in a black clip. well i guess they either got tossed out! by the rude manager who cashed us out! (or i guess) some dishonest customer took them but i don't see that happening im guessing it was the manager. Because i went to hand him my stamp card & he said "Use this quick because we stopped doing these!" (& he said it rather rudely too!). needless to say i may not be back here for a while because of the rude manager. read more

What could improve? Fire the cooks at this Black Bear Diner! The fish fry was just a huge disappointment. Overcooked to the point of I had to take off the ends so that I didn't do damage to my teeth. A very sweet server went to ask at what temperature these poor filets were fried at. She never came back. I sat at a table near the pass. Friday night at 8pm., 6 tables. It took 30 minutes to get my fish fry. I asked for a little more both of fish and I asked my waitress if I could have more fries with these overdone fried filets and she advised me that I would have to order a set of fries (they are not included with the AYCE fish fry) The second round of fish took 20 minutes. Mind you there are 6 tables and there could be over 40 tables and booths yet food took forever and it sucked. I can only tell you that I won't ever be walking back into a Black Bear Diner again. I suggest that you consider the same. read more

Black Bear Diner - Over done friend food! - Diners Near Me - Cottonwood, Arizona

Good breakfast. Friendly staff. Clean and a wide variety on the menu. Food came quickly

Food was great, portions are very fairly sized. Service was a little slow, but the experience was great overall, with a very well-decorated interior. Would come here again. read more

Today, Saturday, August 11, 2025, my husband and I went to eat at this restaurant. At first, I personally didn't want to go because we had had very bad experiences there a few months ago. Today was completely different. As soon as we entered, we were greeted and shown to a table. As soon as we sat down, the waiter came over, welcomed us, and introduced himself. He took our drink order, and then, in less than 5 minutes, he came back and asked if we needed time to order. We told him we were ready. He took our order, and in less than 20 minutes, our food was excellent; everything was delicious. He came to the table twice more to ask if we were okay. Another waitress also came over, very friendly. It was a pleasant experience; we enjoyed our meal. read more

This place never ceases to amaze me!! I ordered a taco salad and received a boat size, fully decorated taco salad!! The service is always excellent! I just wish the server would have warned me as to how HUGE this salad is! If you are looking for a nice diner with old time music the Black Bear Diner is the best place. The atmosphere is relaxed and nice for a diner! read more

Black Bear Diner - Taco Salad with Grilled chicken - Diners Near Me - Cottonwood, Arizona

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Food was just ok. Chili was good but cold and had to be reheated. green beans seemed canned. steak was tougher than I would have liked. partner felt turkey was ok and he would order again. servers were very pleasant The place was very quiet but we were dining at an off time. read more

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We received a very gracious welcome and we're promptly seated. I noticed the restaurant was very clean and well kept. After getting our drinks quickly, we placed our orders which were also prompt. I ordered the taco salad and it was the most beautiful salad I've ever been served. The chef was an artist in addition to creating a delicious, fresh salad. Unfortunately, I couldn't finish all of it. My husbnd ordered the (also huge) Cobb salad which he said was wonderful! I'll definitely go back! read more

DJ is awesome and the food and vibe is too ! Fresh Squeezed OJ has me protected in the fly season. Thanks Black Bear & DJ.

We arrived with a party of 25 after a sports game. The waitresses were extremely accommodating, immediately served all the team waters and carefully took our orders per family. The food came out as quick as feasible with that many orders at once, All orders were correct and all checks were split on point. Thank you for a smooth impromptu celebration! read more

Black Bear has a varied selection and huge portions of well-prepared food. We've eaten at great Black Bear Diners in California, and Cottonwood's location competes well. Thank you Sarah for your fantastic service at breakfast yesterday...and your cheerful patience with my numerous requests (another knife?--I dropped two of ours, how about BBQ sauce and more butter pats?, etc.)! read more

We absolutely loved DJ!! She was attentive, helpful and super friendly....got the Ruben and it was absolutely amazing I usually just do breakfast at diners but this was the best choice I made all day!!! We will be back to see you DJ! Thanks read more

Black Bear Diner - Reuben (970 cals.) - Diners Near Me - Cottonwood, Arizona

If I could give less than one star I would. Food was delivered to our office and there was a razor in one of the wraps. When management at the diner was advised, his response was to say he needed to tell his people to be more careful. So scary and such a poor response. ​ read more

We had a truly great meal at this location. Service was quite good and the meal was excellent. Food taste and presentation for our breakfast, top shelf. We would recommend breakfast here, Whenever we go back through Cottonwood this will be an absolute stop. read more

I gave a 1-star rating because I thought more people would read this review. It's actually not possible to rate this restaurant with a single rating. I am a local, and I have eaten at this Black Bear Diner dozens of times. The profile of all the reviews really tells the story best. Both the service and the food quality are VERY inconsistent. When they are good, they are VERY good. The food tastes great and their portions are very generous. (Many people end up taking food home with them.) However, when they are bad they can be so bad that I can see how a first-time visitor might decide never to come back. This gross inconsistency seems to result from not enough waitresses or kitchen capacity to handle busy times. I have also VERY RARELY seen a manager working in this restaurant. (It seems that the staff is left to run the restaurant without any supervision.) When they are busy, both the wait staff and the kitchen seem to get overwhelmed, and service can slow to a CRAWL. It seems that the waitresses are responsible for adding the salads, muffins, and sides (such as salad dressing or cranberry sauce) to any order that comes out of the kitchen. They often (especially when things get busy) fail to add those items when they bring food to the table, leaving the customer to request them - or do without. As I see it, this restaurant has GREAT potential. However, the inconsistencies that I (and many other customers) have experienced have prevented them from building a solid business. If the two owners continue to operate this restaurant with inadequate management, their customer base will continue on the roller coaster of ups and downs, eventually putting the viability of this particular business in jeopardy. Hopefully, the two owners will read this review and provide the on-site management needed to make these badly needed corrections. I would be very disappointed to see this Black Bear Diner close. read more

Our experience. 07/27/2025. FOOD: I had the SIGNATURE SERIES BLT sandwich. There was no WOW factor, as described on the menu. The sandwich was dismal AT BEST. The 1 slice of tomato was cut so thin it was mushy and not able to hold itself together. The sour dough bread was was almost the same. The lettuce was healthy, just not enough for a SIGNATURE SERIES label. The only thing this sandwich had going for it, was the bacon flavor. However, AGAIN, not enough bacon to be considered a SIGNATURE SERIES sandwich. SERVICE: Our waiter was kind enough, he just needs to do laundry more often. His attire looked like he had just do three, twelve hour shifts in the same clothes. The wait time for a BLT and a California Burger, from order to table was approx. 30 minutes. AMBIANCE: I used the men's restroom and this is what I found. Floors were STICKY, I call it urine sap. The sink bowl and fixtures looked original to the building (circa 1940's) and the stall doors were? less than working order. I only gave it 2 stars because my wife liked her burger. It's a burger, your not getting more than 2 stars for just a burger, EVERYONE knows how to cook a hamburger. Will not be going back, ever. read more