Horrible restaurant , went there with 4 friends and 1 of us got s hair in our food. Told waitress she said I'll tell my manager. We asked to speak to manager but she never showed up. Then our waitress Alyssa never came back to even give us check. Had to go up front to resolve this issue. Horrible food DNS service!! Save ur money don't eat there. read more

Yuck! Don't waste ur money! Horrible service and food! Found hair in food, told waitress and she had attitude with me! Asked for manager claimed no manager available! Never going back! I would rather starve then eat there! Gross!! read more

Excellent food, atmosphere, and service! Hurry in and be sure to ask for George, you'll be glad you did!

Their menu was printed like a newspaper, that is really innovative. Also they have kids menu with different painting and word games to play with, that is really cool. The food, i would say I had better ones. For the price they are charging, it is kinda not worth it. But again, the service was really good, and their portion is huge. read more

I want to give this place a worse rating, but the wait staff was very friendly and helpful that I can't rate them too low. My experience about a week ago was not a good one. I had only been here about 2 times in the last 3 years. I figured I'd give it another try since I thought it was pretty good last time I was there. When the food came out, my scrambled eggs were a big, runny mess of yolk and slimy egg white. Gross. I notified the server and he apologized and took them and brought me fully cooked scrambled eggs. I started eating the corned beef hash/egg plate. After a few bites of the corned beef hash, I was surprised to be crunching down on hard pickling spices and peppercorns. Really?! Who serves something like that? I picked out all the hard peppercorns and attempted to eat my meal. The corned beef looked like bottom of the barrel with hard, crunchy pieces of corned beef. I did not send it back, but instead told the server of my discontent. He apologized profusely and offered me a piece of pie, which I declined. I appreciate him trying to make my experience better, but they need to work with their cooks to ensure they are serving edible food. I wouldn't boycott the place, but I may wait to see if their food gets better. read more

Love this place! They give you so much food and it is so damn good! I go a couple times a month now. You won't be disappointed eating here.

Huge portion. Great service, though not the fastest. Our waitress, Janet, was very great and helpful. It was very nice and quiet since we went there around 2pm. read more

So yummy. Huge portions. Large variety. Staff is always accommodating. highly recommend!

This place was awesome!! Had one of the best breakfasts of all time!!! Food was cooked perfect and the biscuits and gravy were out if this world! Our server Crystal was awesome and made our experience even better!! She was prompt and super nice and sweet! Definitely will sit her section again! read more

During a recent overnite in Merced for work I found this restaurant to be up there as one of the best in town. That probably says more about Merced than it does for this diner which is just one location in a string that runs up the Central Valley. Basically, Merced is a sad run down little place whose best days have long passed. You'd think being the 'gateway to Yosemite' there would be better food options but you're left with the usual fast food and multiple Mexican and other ethnic restaurants which probably arrived when UC Merced opened and brought ethnic students. I have nothing against ethnic food but when Im out of town I generally gravitate toward good old fashioned all american stuff I recognize. Things Mom or Grandma used to make. I had never been to a Black Bear Diner but it was recommended at the gas station by an undercover 'Klan' member who said it was the only place in town for 'white man's food'. Being white myself, I took that as a thumbs up. You can't hold it against a restaurant if racists decide to eat there. As it goes, this was definitely good 'white people food'. This place kinda reminds me of the Claim Jumper chain that used to be around in LA in the 90s. The usual suspects are here and they are all served well and very tasty. The steaks are decent quality for the price and portion size should be considered when ordering. You get big portions which you probably will end up taking with you to go but you are also paying a buck or two more. Its annoying that so many restaurants do this if you are someone who is watching their weight. I however am not so I appreciated the extra large servings. My meal came with a soup and a side of potatoes. The soup was scratch made and very tasty. The potatoes, not so much. They were probably made fresh in house but they may as well have been instant, a small anomaly in an otherwise great meal. Desserts also were large sized and tasted fresh, most likely also made on site. Because I had a chance to peruse the breakfast menu while eating dinner I returned the next morning and they definitely do breakfasts well! Compared to Dennys or IHOP this place knocks it out of the park! Great pancakes, perfectly prepared eggs and toast, good coffee and a pleasant family ambiance made me glad I came back. Altho this place is a chain the decor is still very anti-corporate. They have a guy who apparently custom carves the black bears and wood furniture at each location and the bear and woodsy motif definitely go well with the Sierras only a short drive away. I liked the clean family oriented vibe of this place a lot and if I had a wife and 2.3 kids we would definitely dine here on family outings! I have to say this place turned out way better than I expected and from now on when I am looking for a place in Central Valley towns I will definitely check to see if they have a Black Bear Diner. This place deserves the business even if it is a chain. Kudo to you Black Bear Diner! read more

Worst service ever! Walked in and was seated given drinks. Then waited 20 minutes for someone to take our order. Finally asked the person walking by if somebody was going to take our order. He said he would. I could understand if they were busy but they only had 5 tables of people. Had it been another 5 minutes we would've walked out. If I could give no stars I would! read more

My husband and I had lunch here traveling through and we had a wonderful experience; the server, Stephanie was very friendly and efficient , as were all the staff. The food was delicious!!! read more

My favorite new place to eat! They are awesome about substituting ingredients and everything tastes fresh! Love it!

great place! found it by accident and i couldnt have chosen better! great meals and they come in huge portions. the server was friendly and good environment. read more

the last time i was here with my sister and kids was Saturday January 10th, 2015. i ordered western bbq burger and when the waitress gave us our food i didnt realize that burger was enourmous, so i cut my burger in half, then i cut one half into another half. and while i was eating my burger i was talking to my sister, talking and talking away and i got a little bit of bbq sauce on my finger. so i cleaned my finger on my napkin and idk what enticed me to look down on my napkin and there i seen a baby coackroach dying!!!! i wanted to throw up. i quickly called over a waiter and showed him. he then called the manager and he did apoligize and said that he would let the guy that comes to spray know about it. he took my plate and my sisters plate and said our meals were on him. i still had to pay for both my kids meals tho, never again will i eat here again. i am traumatized!!!! read more

The food here is always great, but the service at this place is horrible with attitude. I think I eat here at least once a month if not more, and I'll probably stop after the bad experiences I've had these past times with servers and the host just having an unwelcoming attitude. It's unfortunate, but I don't pay to go out to eat somewhere and feel irritated while I eat my food because of the negative atmosphere around me. read more

I usually receive good service and good food, not so this time. The service was fine but the food was not made correctly. I ordered the Hot Turkey Sandwich and the mashed potatoes were missing. I also ordered chips and they got soggy. Perhaps you should package orders of chips to go a different way. read more

Me and my boyfriend went here for breakfast. He ordered the chicken fried steak which came with hashbrowns and a roll. I ordered their omelette special which came with hashbrowns, and my choice of toast. Our waitress was okay, but you can tell the difference between genuinely being nice, and forcefully being nice. She was the later. First, let me state that their portions are humongous, however, I would rather there be a balance between quantity and quality. My boyfriend, who is not the least bit picky about his food, didn't even like it. We are both country fried steak fans, but theirs wasn't good, there was so much loose crispy breading that it overpowered the actual steak. My hashbrowns were nearly cold by the time we got our food, but my boyfriends was still hot. My omlette was not good. Needless to say, we will not be going back. read more

My husband and I have been there twice for breakfast and the service and food was good, but the music is way too loud. Music in a resteraunt should be background. You shouldn't have to talk loudly to your companions while eating. read more

BEST diner i have tried so far. Amazing food, fresh, tasty, big portions! good service

Stopped by and visited Black Bear Diner for lunch with a party of 30. The food was really good, the employees were all very kind, and the service was excellent. There was plenty of good stuff on the menu and the prices were fair. The place was really clean as well as the bathrooms. Overall i was very impressed! We only had one waiter the whole time but she managed to keep everyone happy and satisfied. I have been to other restaurants that have more waiters (3-4) for the same amount of people and couldn't pull it off. I am definitely coming back in the future. :) read more

Bad experience steak not cooked all the way, cooks on cellphones and mgr just handing around not good not even 1 Starr paid full price still didn't eat my food read more

This restaurant is amazing!!! Our waitress Dana was beyond friendly, very prompt, made excellent suggestions! The dining area was clean, and the food was SO DE-LISH!!!This is the type of service that will keep us coming back! Why can't Merced get more places like this??????? read more

In May we visited this Black Bear location again and had very friendly and prompt service, tasty and well-prepared breakfast dishes, and a relaxing experience. We would recommend it to anyone! read more

Last Sunday, myself and around 20 others came in to Black Bear Diner for dinner. Upon arriving, we were promptly greeted with smiling faces and a friendly hello from every employee we saw. We had previously made reservations, so it did not take long for us to be seated. Almost immediately after figuring out our seating arrangements, our waitress, Nicole came right over. She was so friendly and attentive; I don't think any of us had to ask for anything for our meal; she brought it all to us! And so fast. I, personally felt like she gave the same service to all of us that she would have with just a couple. We were just so impressed with the service. The food was absolutely delicious as well and frankly, it surprised us all to find over 20 plates of food; all delivered hot and with no mistakes. Not one mistake! We go out in a group often enough to know that this is a rarity with large parties. Our compliments to the cooks and Nicole for taking care of all of our needs. We all left absolutely stuffed! This is the exact kind of place Merced needed. You can guarantee you have our business. Thank you for such a wonderful experience! read more

The last 2 times we have eaten at this at the Merced,CA. Location, was extremely disappointing. The most recent being this past Saturday. The service was almost non-existent. Our waitress visited our table a grand total of 2 times. Once to take our order and once to deliver our meals and check at the same time . We were a party of 6 with every meal having an issue. From cold to over cooked, greasy and grossly mis-seasoned. When we finally had the opportunity to bring our dissatisfaction with the service and food. We were at the register. Where we received a lecture from the Manager for not bringing our dissatisfaction to him or his wait staff sooner. It was thoroughly explained to the Manager our experience with his wait staff. We will conceit that an adjustment was made to our check and a " I'm sorry..but" apology offered. This left us with a definitive feeling of disappointment in this dining experience. We will no longer give this eatery our patronage again. read more

last visit to blackbear diner in october 2013 not good, i found a roach on my childs plate of food, i brought it to the attention of the manager, who apoligized & said the diner had been sprayed two days prior to us being there ,i was speechless and disgusted, and all that they did was credit the childs plate, after seeing this non of us could even eat, if i hadnt lookedat the plate my child may have ate this.theres no excuse for this in any restaurant, again i am disgusted we were regular customers ,but never again, i think the public needs to know & be aware and watch what you eat there. ******roaches*****roaches******roaches****** read more

I rarely go to chain restaurants, don't like "Corporate food" where a lot of it arrives in big trucks in the middle of the night. But, Black Bear Diner is the Big exception to the rule. House-made link sausages, the best you'll find anywhere. Fat and juicy, grilled to perfection. You can smell them and their own smoked, seasoned bacon from the parking lot, and you'll mouth will water before you even get inside. It's also the only place in town that will make basted eggs to order. Everywhere else, the waitperson just gives a blank stare, "Huhh? No..no can do." Music is a nostalgic throwback to the 50's and 60's. Liked it very much. Décor is cutesy, but what would you expect from a place that has a big black bear out in front? Our waiter was so attentive without hovering and interrupting our conversation just to ask if everything is "all right?" Down side: coffee had good flavor but was not hot enough for my taste, but they did keep it coming; home/cottage fried potatoes with green pepper are "good enough" but not great; you get a huge portion but they're really not worth the calories. They didn't have a fresh-off-the-grill taste or appearance; homemade biscuits were nice and crumbly but the white gravy was rather tasteless. Had to go heavy on the salt and pepper to give it flavor. It would be improved upon with just a little of the drippings from that great bacon. I wanted to give the Black Bear 3 1/2 stars instead of the 4 shown above, but didn't know how! Duh? I liked the look of the food on other patron's plates and will definitely go some Friday soon for the Prime Rib. The Black Bear Diner deserves special kudos for their sincere effort to make so much of their items from scratch. We've all gotten so used to those nasty, skinny, greasy things that pass for diner breakfast sausage, for example, that it's refreshing to find a place that remembers, and reminds us, of how delicious a Real Sausage tastes. read more

I was torn between whether I will return to this location or not because of the service that my husband and myself received on Saturday morning. I have never been treated with such rudeness at a restaurant until that morning. I have to say that if our server, I believe her name was Dana, was not such a sweetheart, we would have walked out. When we came in we stood at the door and were greeted promptly like the many other times that we visited this restaurant, but it was not a cheerful greeting like usual. The girl who greeted us looked very angry and had an attitude that she did not want to be there. When asked how many in our party she just stayed, "how many?" With a rude tone. When she sat us she just put the menus down and stomped off like she could not get away fast enough. Dana approached the table and, thankfully, changed the mood. We did ask what the young lady's name was that sat us and she said her name was Jordan. We do not usually complain so we did not give a reason why although she asked if everything was okay. When we thought that this redeemed our opinion of this visit we went to the cashier and it was the same girl that sat is. She grabbed the money and would not even make eye contact with us. She was extremely rude. My husband even told her to try to have a better day and she gave him an evil smirk. We visit Black Bear Diners when we travel and frequent the Merced location. We have never been treated this way and have always loved the customer service that we receive. After this visit I suggested to my husband that we go elsewhere because of this young lady. It is very sad that this company is going down hill because they are not controlling the presentation of the employees that are the first and last impression of their restaurant. Very disappointed. read more