We really like Black Bear Diner, Im with another guy's review i read..."You won't regret it, unless you over indulge with their HUGE portions". This is so true. I love that they have flavored non-dairy creamer for my coffee. I generally get breakfast or lunch, yet to try dinner, only because there is less for me to choose from dinner part of the menu. I have to chose wisely since i am Gluten Intolerant. The 4 stars is for not having gluten free bread. There is always a huge line of people coming and going in the waiting area. If you are lucky, you can sit next to the big stuffed bear while waiting for your table, Ha! Our servers are always great and we have no complaints. We will come back and you should give this a try, many locations, even out of state and we have tried those too. read more

Coming from NY, diners are a mainstay. Basically they are family restaurants with monsterous selections of both comfort food and complex offerings as well. Here in AZ, it seems the the word diner means 50's style retro restaurant (life 5 & Diner). Walking into the Black Bear Diner, I had high expectations, great interior a moderate selection of food, but still the retro 50's selection. Boy was I disappointed. First my hamburger was only adequate, and my son's chicken nuggets were store bought frozen food as well as the smiley fries that came with it that he doesn't like. As well as the wait time for the food, was unreasonable. So such a long wait for crappy food is not a good experience make. The ambiance is nice but with such poorly prepared food and horrible wait times, it makes it hard to want to return. read more

I wanted to give this place a 3.5 like the reviewer below me, but since that isn't an option, I too am rounding it off to 4. Yelp led me to Black Bear on Thanksgiving weekend. I just moved to Phoenix the day prior and I wanted some comfort food. This place hit it! So good! I've had their breakfast, salads and I had a burger for the first time today. The service is always good, the food always comes out hot and I've never had my order come out wrong. The lines can be a little long on the weekends, so be prepared to wait. Totally worth it! read more

Hello my name is Larry and I am an eggs Benedict snob....hi Larry... No disrespect to the 12 step crowd. One of the worst Benedicts I have ever had. I ordered the California something arouther Benedict with avocado, bacon and tomato. EVERY single component of this meal was the same or very close to the same texture. Soggy English muffin, soft avocado, soft bacon, grilled(???) and therefore mushy tomato with an over poached egg. Hollandaise was nothing to yelp home about. They do have a list of "mantras" or something on their menu and #4 encourages ordering the food specifically to your taste so if I do go back in (not going to happen) I would ask the English muffin to be toasted and crispy, the bacon to be crispy and the tomato to NOT be grilled. This would offset the avocado, egg and hollandaise sauce and likely make a fantastic breakfast, well aside from the giant loogie under the poached egg I would undoubtedly get for being so picky. Seriously! Does every breakfast place in AZ peak out at average? I have yet to be impressed, even by the ones with relatively good reviews. If I win the lottery I am starting a quality breakfast joint in the valley. My server Paula was nice, the seats were classic beat down unconfortable seats. read more

I've eaten here twice. Once when the restaurant first opened, and today. I remembered it being good, so we decided to give it a more current taste test. My grandmother ordered the biscuits and gravy with a side of sausage. The sausage links were big and the side came with 3 of them. She said that the gravy had no meaty flavour which in turn made the whole meal bland. John S. ordered the special for the day, eggs, one piece of each meat and country fried potatoes. He seemed pleased. Even though my two dining companions opted for brunch, I went straight for the lunch menu and got a much desired Reuben sandwich. I absolutely loved the sandwich! The rye bread was toasty, the swiss cheese was melty, the beef was corney and the sauerkraut and pickles were perfect additions. The sandwich came with a wide choice of sides, so I picked potato salad. When I took a bite of the potato salad it tasted funny. Not like a bad funny, just a different funny and I didn't like it. I had John try it and he liked it but said it did have a different taste. I poked around and found out to my horror it had BLACK OLIVES in it! EWWWW! I really don't like black olives and I was horrified to find them sneakily placed in my potato salad. I have NEVER experienced black olives in potato salad of any kind. Black olive haters be warned! Otherwise, I would and will eat here again. There is a lot on the menu to pick from. Service was good! read more

My wife and I have been going here for years but there is one waitress that has convinced us that we will not be back. We get her about 25% of the time and the last time was the last time. We like the food and the rest of the staff but this waitress is out of line. We took our son and daughter-n-law to breakfast only to be treated quite poorly. She brought a dish knowing it wasn't correct and then complained about the cooks for about 5 minutes and how they won't listen, very unproffesional. After having to ask for refills several times as she ignored us, then scoffed at us and then tried to hurry us out of the resturant. I could continue on but I think I made my point. Horrible waitress. read more

I've been here three times now, all for lunch. I really wanted to like it, but it was not to be. Maybe the breakfast is awesome but the other stuff is not good. I've had a burger that was gigantic but fell apart as soon as I tried to pick it up. The patty was also missing the middle section. It looked like it came apart while cooking and they tried to hide it with tomatoes and lettuce. Then I tried an open faced roast beef with mashed potatoes. The gravy had that slightly artificial taste. I assume it came out of a can or jar. The roast beef was made I don't know when but they tried to heat it up and just dried it out on a griddle. The potatoes were ok. My final meal was a ribeye steak. It was the worst steak I've ever had. I asked for medium and got a dried piece of shoe leather. The best cut of steak was reduced to a dried up shoe that I could barely get a knife through. The one redeeming feature was the staff. Every time I was there, they were great. read more

This is hands down the best breakfast place in town. They do a super lunch and dinner as well, but I usually can't get off the breakfast selections. The "California Omelette" (Avocados, Mushrooms, and Jack Cheese) is superb, as is "The Volcano" which is made up of three fluffy / yummy pancakes, sausage, bacon, and eggs. As other reviewers have noted, portions are ginormous. Go planning to share a selection or take at least another meal home with you. There can be a wait on the weekend, but once you get seated, service is prompt and attentive. (Albeit the Fuzzie Bear that walks around can get a little creepy around the fourth table pass). BBD is supposed to be known for their desserts and they do look good, but the blackberry pie that I took home was more than a little tart and the crust was on the tough side. I wouldn't let this stop you from sampling as it could have been an isolated experience based on their reputation. There are actually a few locations in the Phoenix area, so visit their website to see which one is closest to you. http://blackbeardiner.com/location/ This definately isn't your parent's Denny's! read more

Big, hearty breakfasts. Not much creativity, not much pizzaz - but if you're the sort of person who thinks breakfast is eggs, toast and bacon - you've hit the spot. Did I mention BIG? Man - this was a serious gut buster! They did have better than average coffee. The wait on a Saturday morning was too long - but I suppose for some people that means that they're popular. Food took too long, too. Our server was friendly, but clearly had too many tables to pay us much attention. I think I might stay with more local options in the future, but this isn't a bad choice if you don't want to take chances. read more

Mediocre breakfast. California bacon benedict. Avocado nuttiness drowned away by hollandaise. Hash browns not crispy enough. Bacon thick and good. Fruit was pretty legit actually. But the breakfast itself meh. Breakfast is one of my favorite meals. It's so simple and yet it can be so exciting if executed well. It was with high hopes that I walked through the doors of Black Bear Diner. Upon initially entering the establishment, I was overwhelmed with bears. Bear pictures, bear statues, bear memorabilia everywhere! It was cute and welcoming so I went with it. Unfortunately, I didn't find the food as charming. I ordered the California bacon benedict. Love benedicts and love bacon. Also love avocado. What can go wrong? Everything went wrong. Well that's prolly too harsh. It'd be better to say that I was served a plate of mediocrity. The dish was drenched in hollandaise. Soaked the English muffin and made it soggy. Drowned out the nutty buttery flavor of the avocado. And it cascaded through the spinach. Gave it the texture of seaweed. At least it didn't kill the bacon which was cut rather thick and tasty. It didn't taste bad or anything. It just kinda didn't taste like anything. Just very slimy with hollandaise sauce. And the sauce itself was pretty bland too. Also, a perfect breakfast can quickly go south if the hash browns aren't done right. And to do hash browns right, they need crispiness. The hash browns here are not crisp at all. They were crazy mushy and soft, failing to provide the complimenting crunch that goes so well with the thick strong creaminess of hollandaise over eggs benedict. But it was served with fresh yummy fruit which was nice I guess! read more

this is the best diner ever I highly recomend this place for dinner. If I could I would rate it 555,555,555,543,567,898,667,100 stars.

So I tried this place a couple of times before deciding to give it this review. Which worked out well because it would have been just one star after my first visit. My first visit was well over a year ago - it took me that long to get over the experience to the point that I was willing to give it a second try. It is cute and seems like it SHOULD be good. Just a "down home" kind of feel with little country black bears everywhere. Our first time we sat forever before anyone came. As we waited for our food we saw our waitress get into a confrontation with what appeared to be a manager or something and then the next thing we knew we saw her storm out of the diner crying. We didn't really know what to think but after a while our food still hadn't come and our waitress was MIA. So we asked someone about our order, then waited a long time again and finally got it. I had a battered fish dish and became nauseated and sick later that evening. My husband had the meatloaf, which was a 2 on a scale of 1-10. And even after it became obvious to the staff that we didn't have a waitress anymore, they brought us the food and then never came back. We had to hunt down someone to give us a check to be able to leave. Gave it a second try recently. The food didn't make me ill this time so that was a plus. Our waitress didn't leave the building, also a vast improvement from the last time. But our wait for the food to come was pretty long and unfortunately it wasn't so great that you felt the wait was worth it. But the food wasn't terrible, it just took a long time and wasn't that good. Had the wait not been so long I might have even thrown in an extra star on this review. read more

What a great place! Only wish they had places in New Jersey where I live. Good, hearty, healthy, quality food at a reasonable price. Love the pecan-crusted trout. Love the sauteed veggies. They did well with all the soups we tried. My wife found the half-sandwich with a bowl of soup just right for her. Love the sauteed veggies. I said that? OK, it bears repeating. (No pun intended.) Two stories: I was in Phoenix to visit my son. We looked for a place to eat and he said, "I've heard good things about Black Bear Diner. I've been meaning to try it. So we did. We wound up eating there three times in our six-day visit. My wife wanted to go there for soup-and-sandwich, and wondered what the soup was. I called and found out it was chicken noodle. My wife was disappointed, but we thought we'd go anyway. Two minutes later, my phone rings. It's Julia from Black Bear Diner. She double-checked, and it was really split pea with ham -- a favorite of ours. She had checked the caller ID, and called me back to correct the error. Service above and beyond the call. read more

This place is great, the waitresses here will do anything and I mean anything! anywho you might have to wait a while for your food but when it comes down to it, it's totally worth it! The environment is great they keep the coffee full and they are just amazing people! I enjoyed my meal and will definitely be back again! read more

Black Bear Diner Glendale - American Near Me - Glendale, Arizona

You get a ton of food here. I ordered the meatloaf half plate special. The server brought me a full platter by mistake which was way too much food. I had three meals. I liked that he made it right by giving me a credit on my bill even though I said I did not mind. I do not like to waste food so asked him to keep the food at the table and not remake it. This place is kind of like a home style diner with a bear theme. The menu is fun since it has old school newspaper clippings about Glendale. Black Bear has huge, old school family meals for the most part. It is a pretty good place to eat at but nothing more than what it is. I appreciate their volunteer work with Veterans and Make A Wish. They had several charitable events and opportunities there for the holidays. read more

Google said they were open until 10pm, I called and was told they closing tonight at 930. I told the girl my GPS said we would arrive at 910 and she said that was fine. We drove up from the Stadium area (15 min) and got there at 910. We walked in and host was rude and said they close on 10 min, so we would have to order NOW and 'eat quickly'.. we left after she was so curt. As we are walking out she locked the door behind us. Would give this place a Zero, or a negative if possible. Dont tell us it's ok to drive 1/2 hour round trip to then NOT serve us. read more

On our way home last night with our foster girls! Of course they wanted McDonald's or Taco Bell! Need to get that fast food thought out of them. So we stopped here. Wife and I have been here a few times. We have always enjoyed the food here. But last night! Don't know if they had a off night? Or our taste buds have moved on? Should have listen to the six year old and gone to Taco Bell! When we first got there, I wanted to order breakfast. But i have been on some kind of Ribs kick for the last three months?? So i ordered a full rack of ribs, with fries, mixed vegi's, and broc and cheese soup! The best part of this meal was the soup, it was a little salty but it was very good. It also came with a piece of corn bread. The ribs were very dry, I had to rip them off the bone, and very tough. And a day later, I am still feeling the effect! The vegi's and fries were good. I was able to get a taste of wife's waffle, again i was not that impressed! Very soggy, even before the syrup was poured is was not crispy, to soft, i just didn't like the texture on it. The girls had chicken fingers, and pancakes. Seem they both liked their meals very much. Now all four of us shared their Mt.Shasta Lava Cake, this cake sounded great according the their menu it said. "Our homemade chocolate cake has a gooey chocolate lava center, served hot and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and chocolate drizzle. Perfect for chocolate lovers!" We were very disappointed It was just a dried up piece of chocolate cake, with chocolate sauce on the bottom and top, with ice cream on top. Not very good, not what we were expecting. Not sure if we will come back here? There are just to many options to eat at. read more

This is one of the best breakfast places that I have ever been the people are so nice and the food is really good.I love how the eggs are made.all I want to say is that black bear diner is the best breakfast place I have ever know. read more

Fantastic. I got The Grizz. Those are the best pancakes ever tasted in my life. Bacon was great, and the eggs, ham and everything else were excellent as well. The service was excellent and on point, and I enjoyed everything about my visit. I will certainly be going back again. Ps. The Banana cream pie is awesome!!! read more

The old fashioned burger basket combo was a joke. The patty was thinner than the tomato. A piece of bacon would be thicker! Never even tasted the meat. Asked me how like it cooked, couldn't be specific on this burger since the second it hits the cooking surface it would be done. Come on, is this the Wammy Burger from the movie "Falling Down"? read more

I ordered corned beef and cabbage since it was St. Patrick's Day. The corned beef was so tough I could hardly cut in to it. The cabbage was almost raw. They did not slow cook it like your typical corned beef and cabbage. Had a baked potato as a side and it came plain and they didn't ask if I wanted toppings on it. Seasonal vegetables we're almost raw as well. Over all it was terrible. read more

My wife and I visited Black Bear for the first time today, on Valentine's Day. The service was polite, fast, efficient and awesome. But, when the food arrived. Wow! We were amazed at how big the plates are, big portions. And the taste was delicious, we did not wait long for our food, even though it was busy. I have to say that we will definitely continue to visit Black Bear Diner. I give them 5 stars times 2. Haha love this place. read more

Great homemade pancakes, fresh squeezed orange juice, and unforgettable "bear claw" breakfast pastries make this a great place for a wholesome, hot breakfast. Food is great, service is average, and there's often a wait during the popular dining hours on weekends. Hit this place on a weekday morning and you're in for a real treat. read more

Love the Black Bear Diner! Been going there for years. I have to give huge props to our server Nick, best server ever! He puts a lot of heart and effort into his job which hard to find in the food & beverage industry . The food is excellent and the brisket was particularly nice. A must go if there's a BBD near you. read more

This place was absolute crap. I just went today July 3 2020 and the food was horrible. They messed up my order twice. First I ordered the Santa Maria Tri-tip plate well done. I received it rare with blood everywhere. What a disappointment because my party was almost done eating. I went ahead and kept it simple and ordered a California sandwich with no mayonnaise and to my surprise it came with mayonnaise. I spoke to the Manager and explained the entire thing. The end result was getting the items taken off the tab. Two people in my party got diarrhea by the way. Never again like I said this place was absolute crap. McDonald's is sadly better read more

In the never ending struggle to find a great breakfast place in the N. Valley we decided to check out this place. When you walk in your greeted by friendly staff and surrounded by"bear motif". It's has a great diner feeling that is warm and welcoming. It reminded me of a few places I had been when I lived in the NW. When you sit down the bear/diner motif continues. There are some neat things they do with the table setting that makes the experience fun. The menu appears to be a fold open newspaper from the 60's, the table setting has a bear print on the napkin and all of the sauces are made custom for this place. All along there is a good mix of 60's-80's music playing in the background. Even though the menu was cool looking, it was a little overwhelming (seemed like there were 80 visible choices on the menu). I ordered "The Volcano" with the almond multi-grain pancakes and a coffee. The bacon and the pancakes were great, but the eggs were over cooked (ordered over-easy). The coffee was regular diner coffee - nothing special. The menu item was about $10. This place actually reminded me of "The Place." However, the cool ambiance and more tolerable noise level gave the Black Bear Diner a step up in my book. I'll probably be back to try something different. read more

Decent little spot. Food was good and price was as well. Just a friendly little diner type of feel. While it's not something I would go out of my way for, we would definitely go back when in the area and feeling hungry. I was hoping to try a slice of pie, as it looked great, but I was too full. Next time, maybe I'll go pie first! read more

I love this place for breakfast! Even on a busy weekend morning, the place works like well-oiled machine. Everyone seems to know how to move efficiently and effectively in seating and serving people as quickly as possible. The food is always delicious and the portions are large, so don't be afraid to share if you aren't that hungry. read more

I've avoided it as long as I can, but I did go back to the Black Bear Diner as it's still my Dad's favorite place for breakfast. You know what? I'm glad I went. It was actually a pleasant experience and for the most part, the place has vastly improved from my last visit. First of all, they offer fit fare selections on the menu which is important to me. The portion of egg whites I had was way more than advertised, but that's ok because it was a vegetarian omelet that was filled with veggies that I don't ordinarily find in an omelet: squash, zucchini, and more! I asked if I could skip the toast and just have fruit and the server gave me a double portion of fruit! Nice! Dad had the french toast and he loved it. It's a generous portion of french toast and more than he could finish. And the server was really very nice. She smiled and kept smiling the whole time she served us! Yeah...I know, right? Crazy! She was pleasant, friendly, and prompt with service. Loved it. I might actually suggest we go back again the next time I meet Dad for breakfast! read more

This place is really great for breakfast. Huge portions, friendly staff & a very appealing atmosphere. We will be back here when we come down to Glendale in March. read more

I went here for lunch a few weeks ago. It was ok, not great, not terrible, and not particularly worth visiting. The food didn't seem to be cooked quite right in texture or flavor. I was kinda disappointed because a friend of mine loves this place so I was expecting great things. Even the pie was disappointing! Pie should never be disappointing! read more

We eat at Black Bear almost every Saturday morning. Love the food and portions however this time it was pitiful. I ordered a BLT. When it arrived it had 3 bacon and 2 small tomato slices (slivers) and a lettuce leaf that barely was the size of the bread. Could not even taste the lettuce. Definitely not a good value for the price paid. I was very disappointed. Love BB but not today. read more

Met a few friends here after a fun Friday night. Working that hangover so I needed a little recovery fuel. Someone recommended Black Bear. I checked the reviews and it was not bad so I head over. It reminded me of a nice Dennys. Booths everywhere (which is great) and had a specific "chain restaurant" feel going on. We slid into a booth and waited. The lady was kind and upbeat. Did the regular greeting and asked us a question or two. I ordered the chicken friend steak. It was one star better than Dennys. I suppose I mean it was not inspiring and it was pleasant. The gravy lacked real flavor and the eggs were cold. The potatos had good seasoning but the consistancy was wrong. Bottom line, I would come back if someone invited me to. I would not pick to come here over some of the other breakfast options we have sprinked around the city. read more

I used to love this place but something changed. The last 2-3 times I've been there the food just wasn't good. Today everything seemed dry and it came out super fast...almost too fast which makes me wonder if most of it was already pre-cooked which would explain the dryness. The coffee had a strong burnt taste and I was not able to drink it. With recent new additions to Glendale's breakfast scene It would take something new and fresh for me to consider returning. read more

Friendly atmosphere, good service, simple American fare, done well. Does get busy at times. Orange juice is really good, as though freshly squeezed. read more

One of my friends took me and my bf here for my b-day breakfast just before I left Arizona, we got there around 10:20ish or so (Saturday) and it was pretty packed...they told us it would be a 10-15 minutes wait...but perhaps either I was really hungry or it was more like 20-30 minute wait.... When we went in we saw many empty tables...so I'm not sure why they made us wait so long...and other people were still waiting outside when we were seated...and there was clearly a few good open tables. Now our waitress was a sweet old lady though...I overheard her trying to help a customer warm up their food because they were gone for a long time and the food was sitting there for awhile...the waitress insisted on warming it up for her and I thought that was really nice. I couldn't decide rather to get the Chicken Fried Steak with Eggs or the Homemade Corn Beef Hash with Eggs...since they both sound so yummy when you're starving...hehe So my bf ordered the Chicken Fried Steak and I ordered the Corn Beef Hash. I can't say I was a big fan of how they made the Corn Beef Hash...it was lots of potatoes with kinda too little of the actual Corn Beef......I ate a lot of the Chicken Fried Steak though..now that's a really good dish to order. My friend ordered their steak...and it looked pretty juicy and tender to me. My scramble eggs was a bit overcooked too. Overall I like the service, the menu was pretty unique....at first we just thought it was a newspaper but if you opened it up, you would have seen the menu inside..lol the food was okay....I liked the Chicken Fried Steak but do not suggest the Corn Beef Hash because it came with either hashbrown or country potatoes...and since I forgot Corn Beef Hash came with potatoes and not just the corn beef itself....I got double loads of potatoes...=/ So perhaps next time if I get Corn Beef Hash...ask for a substitute side instead of country potatoes or hashbrown.. The food was kinda pricey for breakfast though...it was about $50($6 tip included) for the three of us... read more

This is our favorite breakfast joint. They have the BEST pancakes in the valley. We've only been in for breakfast since their dinner menu doesn't offer any vegetarian options besides getting a grilled cheese or asking for no meat on the salads. Adding a veggie burger would be inexpensive for the restaurant, can be tossed in the back of the freezer and be charged the same price as a beef burger. This simple addition would allow us to come in for dinner all the time! read more

I once ate hear years ago with some friends and really enjoyed it. Then recently my friends told me that this place has gone down hill some.. Well... I beg to differ. I love this place. I love breakfast.. so when you put the two together, you get a nice marriage of good food and plenty of it. There is so much stuff to try here and I dont know where to begin on what, but just open the cool newspaper menu and go to town. Im sure this place is not for everyone, but it always seems crowded on a Sunday morning. The staff has always been friendly and they have a Jack Black look-a-like working there too... pretty cool stuff.. lol. read more

This was my first experience ast this location. The atmosphere and staff welcomed you like family it was nice. I had the Southern Scramble and Cindy Ray (best waitress ever). Customer service performed like it should be. read more

Black Bear Diner Glendale - American Near Me - Glendale, Arizona

Christeen is the best server ever! Try the chicken fried steak and pancakes. The pancakes taste like cupcakes that are ready to melt in your mouth. The orange juice is freshly squeezed! The wait wasn't too bad either and the prices are good! I will def be back to this establishment for the great food and service. read more