My friend and I arrived close to 11am and were seated right away. I'd ordered the mini volcano which was 2 large pancakes, 1 egg, 1 slice of bacon, 1 sausage. The pancakes were huge and sweet , I took more than half home, it heated up well. Coffee was good, waitress kept our mugs full. All in all it was pretty good. I'm so happy there's another diner in town. 5 stars is a bit too high but 4 is a bit too small. I'll be back to try other menu items. read more

I had never actually eaten inside a Black Bear Diner before, even though I've heard people rave about it for years. The only other time I tried it was for takeout from a location in California, and honestly it was pretty underwhelming. After moving to Washington, though, I figured I'd give the Olympia location a fair shot and try it as a sit-down breakfast spot, though they do offer breakfast/lunch all day. My husband and I came by for a little breakfast date around 9 a.m. It wasn't busy yet, but the parking lot was starting to fill up and it looked like the morning rush was on its way. One thing I did notice right away is that the parking lot feels a bit compact when it starts getting busy, so it's probably a good idea to be mindful of your surroundings when pulling in or backing out. We were seated right away with no wait, although it did take a couple minutes for someone to bring us the paper menus. I will say the menu design was cute -- it's styled like a newspaper. I also liked the aesthetic of the restaurant itself. There were bear decorations and forest-themed designs throughout the place that gave it a rustic, oaky cabin-type vibe, which fit the theme really well. Once we decided what we wanted, our server (I believe her name was Amy) came over. She was an older lady and seemed nice enough throughout the meal. I ordered what I think was the Big Grizzly breakfast, which was about $20. It came with three eggs (I chose sunny side up), sausage, bacon, one side, sweet cream pancakes, and a country ham steak. Since I'm not a big pancake person, I substituted the pancakes for a Belgian waffle instead. The food itself tasted good, but I'll admit I expected the portions to be bigger for the price since I had heard Black Bear Diner was known for huge breakfasts, but they were more moderate than I anticipated. The country ham steak in particular surprised me because it was just a small square piece rather than a larger cut. Maybe that's how it's normally served and I just didn't notice on the menu, but it was a little disappointing considering the price point. One small mix-up happened when our food arrived -- the server accidentally swapped my plate with my husband's. We didn't say anything about it since she was very friendly and it wasn't a big deal to us; she realized later when she stopped by for refills and apologized. My husband ordered a burger (I can't remember which one), and he said it tasted okay. Nothing amazing, but not bad either. It was decent enough for him to finish his meal. I did like that they offered bottomless soda refills, which was nice since I could steal sips from my husband's Pepsi lol. I also liked that there were options for some pepper sauces and condiments already on the table, which made it easy to customize my food without having to request it from my server. Before we left I stopped by the restroom, which could have used a little more attention. The stall I used didn't have a toilet paper holder at all, so the roll was just sitting on the floor. That felt a little unsanitary, but I made do. When the bill came, we were told that card payments are handled at the table, while cash payments have to be taken up to the front register. I paid with card and Amy came back to run it for us without any issue. Including a 20% tip we chose to add, our bill totaled out to $57.71 for our food and one soda, yikes. By the time we were leaving, several families had gathered at the entrance waiting for tables, so it definitely seems like this place gets busy as the morning goes on, probably closer to the brunch crowd around 10 or 11. Overall, the experience was just okay for me. The food tasted fine and the service was friendly, but the portion sizes didn't quite match the price in my opinion. It's a decent breakfast option in the area, but personally I think I might just stick with IHOP next time when it comes to chain breakfast spots. read more

Black Bear Diner Olympia - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Olympia, Washington

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This is a great breakfast places. Has a Mom and Pop atmosphere and the staff is super friendly. The food is good and huge portions. read more

The service was pretty good I'll say. Then it went downhill. My steak was very tough for the most part. Felt like I had to chew it forever. Portion size good though. My friend ended up with syrup all over his shirt even though he didn't eat any syrup. So that means the table wasn't cleaned. Yikes. There were some olympia weirdos dining there that made us a bit uncomfortable but can't blame the restaurant for that. For $30 I'm a bit disappointed. My last meal at the Puyallup location was wayyyyyy better. Maybe we have to hit that one next time. read more

Staff was great, food was mediocre unless your impressed by quantity. Our food was served warm not hot. The coffee wasn't bad. I hate the menus that are made up to look like a newspaper. It's a clever, nostalgic idea but they print them on news print, which wouldn't be so bad but they use the same one throughout the day. Just like with a newspaper, after the first use they become wrinkled and pick up stains from coffee, jam and what ever the last person ate. Worst part was the $80 bill for three seniors trying to be frugal. A glass of orange juice was $7! read more

It's been a good long while Since I've been to Black Bear( since its original Olympia Location was open) we went for breakfast, and here's my truth, black bear nails that NW vibe. Though I know the chain originates in Northern CA, the vibe is similar to the area and the culture is largely the same. Black Bear brings that warm ambiance back to the diner scene locally! I'm instantly comfortable here, and over all they maintain that great outdoorsy woodsy vibe that they're great at! We both got a breakfast combo plate. The main difference being my Wife got fried eggs, and I got scrambled. I DID ask for soft scramble, but they weren't quite done right but that's ok! As long As cooked isn't brown. I opted for the handmade sausage patties, which I thought were great! My wife got the ham steak which was a good cut she was satisfied with! The simple presentation and ample portions make Black Bear a great treat for breakfast! Fully recommended, maybe even if you have family visiting from out of the area, BB can make that fun regional impression they pull off with out a hitch! 100% will be back! Welcome back Black Bear!! read more

Black Bear Diner Olympia - Combination breakfast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Olympia, Washington

Went to Black Bear Diner for breakfast. Tip: go to their website and sign up for e-club to receive a free Bear's Choice breakfast ($14.99 value). -- Service - we waited about 5 min to be seated and our order was promptly taken. Our server was very friendly. Food arrived hot about 10 min later. We each ordered the Bear's Choice - 2 eggs, 2 sausage patties, two pancakes. -- Eggs - ordered mine over easy, but they were more over "bearly", so they had a lot of slimy, uncooked egg whites and one of mine was broken. -- Sausage - we ordered the spicy housemade sausage patties. They were very large and very spicy! We took 2 patties home because it was too much food to eat. -- Pancakes - two large pancakes come with breakfast. They were thick & fluffy, but came out unbuttered so we had to ask for butter. They come with a small carafe of warm maple syrup. The pancakes are very sweet, so if you are a pancakes-and-eggs aficionado, they are a bit too sweet for mixing with fried eggs. I was only able to eat 1/2 of a pancake. -- Price - somehow when we ordered two of the $14.99 breakfasts, no coffee or other items, and using a $14.99 coupon, our bill still came to $27.99? When I asked the waitress why it was so high, she said I got a $15 discount. So, $14.99 + $1.49 tax = $16.48, right? Add a 20% tip + &3.00 = $19.98. Still can't do that new math?! -- Ambiance - it's a lively diner, somewhat loud but not un"bear"able. Overall, it was a huge amount of food for the price, but nothing special about the taste. Not a fan of the sweet pancakes or spicy sausage, but may try something else and share the order. read more

Black Bear Diner Olympia - Welcome crew. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Olympia, Washington

Black Bear Diner is back! Newly remodeled BBD from the old Shari's has lots of spacious, comfortable seating. So nice! We were seated quickly although they are still working out the bugs and it took a bit to be served water and or coffee... Our waiter was friendly, funny and clearly enjoys his job. We had excellent service, plenty of food (but not too much), and it was served hot, which is as it should be. He checked back several times, got a coffee refill and enjoyed our meal. The food is fresh and of good quality. We'll return for sure. Prices are average, but expect a wait ..... read more

Black Bear Diner Olympia - Ham 2-Egg* Ham & Cheese Omelette - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Olympia, Washington

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Went in Wednesday the 20th ordered the pot roast melt it was cold I asked the waitress if she could take it back and warm it up for me she was kind of rude about it. Had a manager come out who was even more rude. Come to find out. It was the assistant manager, Tasha so then the original manager, Brenda came out, and fixed everything not to mention, I didn't get my drink until my food came. Was never asked if I wanted a refill or needed anything ! Big shout out to manager, Brenda thank you for being so kind and sweet read more

I found out where all the hardworking great employees went in Olympia, WA... The new Black Bear Diner on Pacific (previously home of Shari's) I believe that if you are not making GREAT food... why bother. I believe Black Bear Diner shares that philosophy! Bring your appetite! read more

Black Bear Diner Olympia - Excellent atmosphere and enthusiastic employees! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Olympia, Washington

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Was really excited to try out the new Black Bear diner. It was moderately busy so we expected that food might take awhile. What we did not expect was to get cold food after waiting just shy of a half hour. Eggs were at room temperature, hash browns were actually cooler than room temperature and biscuits and gravy were cold too. You could actually see the a skin on the gravy indicating it had been sitting around for a while. The manager took care of everything quickly replacing our food with hot food. Did not expect this considering the premium price they charge. read more

First time in to this newish restaurant with my elderly mother. Service was great. Food was average. I had fish and chips with French fries and coleslaw. Fish was cooked appropriately, but I didn't care for the tartar sauce. I put a wee bit of horseradish in mine, and mentioned it to Alex our server when she asked how our food was. She asked if I'd like her to bring some horseradish which she did and then the tartar sauce was perfect! The coleslaw was not what I'm used to. It was rather dry. I'm used to a creamy dressing. This was possibly vinegar and sugar, which my mother liked. Alex brought me a new coleslaw with more dressing on it, but still not to my taste so I sent it home with mom. Mom loved the broccoli as it was not mushy. She stated there was too much pepper on her steak. Thank you Alex for your exceptional service today. We will probably give BB another try. read more

Being a Californian, I've been to a bunch of Black Bear Diners, so I have to say, this is probably the smallest one I've ever been to. Even the one in Puyallup is probably the size of three of these, but at least it was cozy. Still busy from being the newest business in town, the place was hopping when I was there. I had a party of 6 which actually helped us get seated easily since a large top table had been released and even though it was 1pm, they still were able to acommodate us immediately. The food was okay as ever, but they really need to have more choices for vegetarians and keto. I had the chicken stack since it was keto and it was a little too salty. My vegetarian friend was hungry, but he ended up ordering a huckleberry milkshake, eating a protein bar he found in his bag, and a cup of fruit salad someone didn't want because those were the only vegetarian items he could find and he didn't want a salad. Yes, I know it's a diner, but everyone is eating a little more healthier so have some real options available that is more than a side of green beans and salads. We had a good time and the servers were very friendly and helpful. I want to give it four stars, but the food was just okay as any Black Bear Diner and although we came just to hang out, but having healthy options is important. read more

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We were sad when the one on Olympia's Westside First time since they opened in this new location. Our server Morgan was really nice, efficient and helpful. The Build a Bear is a nice option, husband got that...the pancakes are huge!!!! And my egg chicken sausage is great! Will be back. read more

Black Bear Diner Olympia - Bears choice...build a bear - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Olympia, Washington

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Always so so good! Crispy chicken Cobb salad and make it spicy! So good! Excellent service and as always so much delicious food read more

Black Bear Diner Olympia - Crispy Chicken Cobb Salad with Frank's hot - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Olympia, Washington

The food is typical if you've ever been to a Black Bear Diner. Standard diner food. The service is messy. The host seats an entire side all at once. It's loud and has no noise partitions so our waitress could barely hear us. The decor is the standard cute Bear decor. The big issue is the procedures they're following. Don't wait to seat an entire side, making the poor waitress have to attend all at once to 10-12 tables. Seat accordingly and spread out the seatings. Don't have two bussers chasing after each other to try and clean a side as fast as possible. I'd come again, once the place calms down a bit. read more

Nice to have Black Bear back in our area. I enjoy having breakfast here, service and food always good. " Have you heard about the butter? I won't spread it." Joke from one of there servers lol daughters hate a dad joke but I love it. read more

With the price of everything in the economy, and being in WA state, the price of a meal here is pretty reasonable with how much comes with the meal itself. I had a omelette and hash browns and toast and it was very filling portion, and for about $20 per person, it's pretty good. I'm from the Midwest and miss Waffle House very much. This place has a very WH food but better vibe. read more

So disappointing I was in town from Texas, we don't have in Austin, my order was completely wrong. We had already waited a long time the waitress said they had given my order to someone else and that it would be another 25 minutes to make it so if I could just eat what she brought. It was cold and not good. Then we ordered apple dessert she dropped it so we had to wait an additional 20 minutes. It was really awful food and service. ZERO STARS! read more

Stopped in for breakfast. We were greeted and seated quickly but it looked like it really picked up after we sat down. Service was excellent and food was pretty good. Price on par with other sit down options in the area for breakfast. Atmosphere was bustling and a bit noisy but still able to carry on conversations at our table. When we left there was a 30 minute wait at the door We will go again in the future. read more

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Food was amazing, our server was Jesse and she was AMAZING as well. The music and atmosphere were all perfect. The "Happy Birthday" behind us was a bit much. But other than that it was a great experience. We are happy to have Black Bear Diner back in Olympia. read more

Black Bear Diner Olympia - One of our meals. It was great - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Olympia, Washington

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I had a break between medical appointments and wanted breakfast - Black Bear Diner was close and open. Got a seat at the counter and had the best service! Not many places have stone cut oatmeal - I was happy to have a solid meal! Good food, good service and good company with a fellow diner (a senior Veteran was a great conversation companion)! read more

Probably one of the worse biscuits and gravy I've had and the gravy is definitely canned gravy, because it lacked flavor!! I've been to black Bear in puyllaup, Oregon, in California , and this no where compared to them. I was so disappointed. Because I looked forward to it all week read more

Black Bear Diner Olympia - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Olympia, Washington

The diner was full. The kind of place people go when they want to feel something familiar, even if they can't name it. The coffee was hot and came in a cup with a bear on it. I drank it anyway. The food took time. A long time. We waited in silence and watched other people waiting. No one complained. No one smiled either. The waitresses moved like they'd been moving forever. The kind of tired you can't fix with rest. Our waitress was new. You could tell. She asked what I wanted three times. Then asked again. The words came out in circles, not lines. By the end, I didn't know what I'd ordered. So what eventually arrived was even a surprise to me. When the food came, it was heavy on the plate. Big portions. American portions. The kind that fill the stomach but not the soul. I ate the pancakes. They tasted like nothing. I chewed because that's what you do when food comes. The bacon was there. It was limp and greasy. It was also there. There were bears on the menus. Bears on the walls. Bears carved into the wood. The theme was strong. Stronger than the coffee. Stronger than the flavor of the eggs, which I couldn't find even with salt nor pepper. They had thought a lot about bears. Not as much about the food. People kept coming. Because it's warm inside and loud and smells like breakfast. And maybe that's enough. We paid the check and left. The door closed behind us with a thud. Outside, it was quiet and cool. read more

Black Bear Diner touts their LARGE portions. Our most recent visit proved this claim to be false. The server was MICAH. She had an attitude right from the start. Both I and my wife noticed this immediately. Either she was new or is just a terrible waitress. She was not paying attention. LARGE portions? I swear she served a child's portion of the Bacon Cheddar Burger to my wife, and the salad was served on a saucer. I requested a new salt shaker, as the one on the table was empty. We waited, but she did not replace the salt shaker. She was not tending to drink refills. After finally getting the attention of a busboy, we requested salt for the french fries. We waited. He finally brought out the salt shaker. Moments later, Micah brought out a salt shaker. "You probably don't need this now." She said in a snarky tone. Why? Because it took forever to deliver it to the table? The fries were cold by this time. Our daughter ordered the Joshua Chocolate Wish dessert. It didn't match the picture on the menu. It was one-third smaller and served in a plastic to-go cup with a lid on it. My wife asked for a drink refill. "Do you want to drink it here, or do you want a to-go cup?" What was with the rush to push us out the door? Maybe she was anticipating a tip and wanted to close out the tab. We stayed while our daughter ate some of her dessert. Micah came to the table and announced the amount of the bill. I repeat, she announced the amount of the bill. Usually, the bill is presented on a slip of paper and the transaction is completed when we are ready, or a POS machine is present on the table for our use in paying the tab. Nope! This was more of a demand for payment. RUDE! Do they not train their wait staff at Black Bear? This was our second visit. We had breakfast here a month earlier and all went well at that time. We brought our two teen daughters this time, thinking they would enjoy dining at Black Bear, as we had when we first checked it out a month earlier. After our experience at Black Bear today, we vow not to return. SMALL PORTIONS, RUDE wait staff (Micah), and....... (surprise!) no tip. read more

Black Bear Diner Olympia - Receipt - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Olympia, Washington

My wife and I stopped here for breakfast and the food was delicious. The pancakes made with sweet cream is better than Tasty Crust...if you know....you know. I said that to say this...Matthew provided us with great service. He even encouraged buying a pie to take home....didn't take much to motivate us to action.... If your in the neighborhood, check out that diner....and say Aloha to Matthew....thanks again Brother! read more

I stopped in during the soft opening of the new Black Bear Diner in Olympia and was blown away! Even with the place absolutely packed, the service was attentive, friendly, and on point. The food came out fresh, hot, and full of flavor. You can tell they really care about quality. Everything tasted homemade and comforting, the kind of food that makes you want to come back again and again. It's not easy to pull off such great service and food when the restaurant is this busy, but the team handled it flawlessly. Olympia definitely needed a spot like this, and I can already tell this Black Bear Diner is going to be a favorite. Can't wait to come back once they're fully open! read more

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Been going to a Black Bear Diner for at least 20+ yrs. Madras,Or,Redmond,Or and now Olympia,Wa. Breakfast at the BBD is rocking! I think the cook's st the Madras Diner are a little better. That is in cooking the Chicken Fried Steak. Tasted better in Madras but Oly's is good. read more

The restaurant has peaked, and after three visits in three weeks, I don't think the food or the prices are worth the wait. *They really need to work on their pancakes, they just aren't right. Not a bad place, but the 'new car smell' is definitely gone. read more

I have been to several of these dinners, and they are all great. The food is good, the staff is friendly a, and the little store is cute.

Went to the newest restaurant, not sure about the address. Food was excellent and the ambience friendly, down home Country style. And like a knuckle head was too excited about eating, I forgot to take pictures. read more

Wow! Great food and great service even though they were slammed! Just what this area needed. My husband had the Chicken Stack...super good. I had the Tri Tip Deluxe. The sandwich was excellent and the bread...perfect. I've had a lot of ciabatta bread and you can't get any better than this. read more

Black Bear Diner Olympia - Tri Tip Deluxe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Olympia, Washington

I am torn. I usually love Black Bear Diner, they've only been open for four days, and it was packed. I swear half of Olympia came out. My food was good. Blue cheese burger with fries. Very tasty burger loaded with bacon and toppings. Maybe a little light on the blue cheese. My wife tried the Santa Maria steak. I didn't know you could make salt licks in the shape of a steak. That was all you could taste. Her green beans were not appetizing (sorry but it's true) and the onion rings were missing salt. She tried a bowl of clam chowder, but it tasted (she said) like sardines or anchovies. She was not impressed - very much the opposite. It did just open, it was slammed, and a new crew. I may try it again in the future, but it's going to be a while. read more

Service was slow. Place was on the dirty side. Food was just average. Nothing special but guess it's a chain type place

Fun place to go great food and service. No wait time today love the jukebox and all the bears

The seating and service was fast friendly. The food delicious diner burger in a basket, fish and chip, and the club sandwich Five stars! The atmosphere was comfortable and the mini gift shop was a great touch. read more

My wife and I had about a 20 minute wait today for breakfast, so the anticipation was high. Menu prices were higher than expected. Most dishes did not come with potatoes of any type. $6.99 for a side order of hash browns. I ordered a Volcano and now understand why they call it that. Three pancakes stacked in decreasing size with eggs on top. The bottom pancake filled the plate, so there was no place to put the eggs. Cutting the eggs destroyed the top pancake. The pancakes were awful, very dry and no flavor. My wife had a waffle and it was just as bad. Now we can say been there, done that, sticking with Denny's. read more

We went to this location. Not a good idea to go there around noon though! Pretty expensive for what you get. We also went to the original location at Mount Shasta the prices are a lot cheaper! We were surprised and shocked needles to say! read more

I've been visiting Black Bear Diners since 1997, along the I-5 between Olympia and Northern California when visiting family in Los Angeles. We did have a Black Bear on the west side of Olympia for a few years, but unfortunately it was badly, locally managed and closed, so like many, I was very much looking forward to this restaurant returning to Olympia. I must admit to being disappointed. To start with, I sat at the counter and observed 10 uniformed employees behind the counter mostly standing around doing nothing, including one on her mobile phone. There was a manager, but she appeared to be doing little too. This was about 2pm and the main part of the restaurant was still quite full of diners at tables. A gentleman came in at sat a few seats down from me at the counter while is was eating, and appeared to be mostly ignored too. With so many of the staff standing around doing nothing, it took an unreasonable amount of time to just be recognized. I was not automatically offered one of the paper menus till I asked. Why wasn't this already at my seat before sitting down? Once I gave my order, scrambled eggs, bacon and French toast, it was probably 15-20 minutes till I received my food. I will return again for a lunch or dinner, but only one more chance for the restaurant to get its act together. read more

I ordered the Ceasar Chicken Sandwich and was very disappointed... There was a very small piece of chicken only on one half of sandwich and had a slice of tomato and one wilted piece of romaine lettuce. My grandsons pancakes were over cooked and dry and my daughter ordered the chicken stack and again it was not a stack... lots of fried onions and mushrooms but definitely not a stack.. had to search for one small piece of chicken. After being disappointed with meal we had to wait 30 minutes for our check. I frequent the Black Bear in the Bay Area and there is no comparison! Very disappointed read more