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

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.

The old lady hostess doesn't like to serve people of color and the company refuses to acknowledge that I was refused service. I stood at the front waiting to be helped for over 20 minutes while she gave me the side eye and repeatedly purposely avoided me. Maybe she doesn't like Asian people, I don't know. But the company won't even get back to me about what happened. I've always loved the food and ambiance at other locations and I'm sure the service is great IF YOU ARE WHITE. read more

I just recently learned about The Black Bear Diner from a client. I've eaten there 4 or 5 times in the last month. Everything is amazing, and I love the fact I can get fried potatoes with peppers and onions. I love the homemade sausage patties. Sadly I will never order the biscuits and gravy again. The biscuits are huge, and there was hardly any gravy. I don't know why they would only give 2 sausage patties for 2 orders consisting of 3 biscuits cut in half. read more

Black Bear Diner Olympia - This is what I was hoping to see when I picked up my to go order. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Olympia, Washington

1st time trying the new location. There was no wait, our food was out very fast. Our server Montana was amazing, she was attentive. She checked on us often and make sure we did not need anything else. Serving sides were big and had leftover read more

Visited on a Sunday afternoon because I had a coupon. The wait was long, but it was nice to be able to check our place in the queue and get a text message when our table was ready. The inside is nicely renovated. It was very busy, but the wait for our food wasn't too long after ordering. Our breakfast was better than expected. My husband and I would return, but we'd try for earlier in the morning to avoid the crowds. read more

We were a party of 12 on Nov. 3, 2025, at the Black Bear Diner, newly opened in Olympia WA. The staff was so very helpful in accommodating such a large group. Our waitress was so very nice, accommodating, and she really tried to fill 12 different orders in a timely fashion. Our waitress was really amazing but the food really fell short in quality. One of the breakfast orders was totally missed. A side salad was missed but the waitress offered a dessert instead. A steak ordered as medium was received as medium rare. Once we microwave the left over steak it will be acceptable. For $20+ I expected better. The sweet potato fries were really amazing. The baked potato was just OK. More butter would have been nice. I overheard that the mac and cheese was great. Burgers were just OK. Chicken tenders were OK. Bottom line, and only speaking for myself and not for our daughter's and our son's families, I will not return to this restaurant. It was certainly not worth the huge amount of our bills. But our waitress, Bonnie L, did an amazing job. As a former waitress, I totally appreciate the complexities of serving a large family. You need to experience this restaurant for yourself and make your own decision if to return or not. read more

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

This is a review of service because we didn't even get to the point of being able to order. We came in tonight to try out the newly opened Black Bear diner and to say we were unimpressed is to put it mildly. First off the young lady at the hostess stand was not very welcoming and seemed bored at her job. After checking in she asked if we would be waiting in the lobby. It was raining outside so if she meant in our car she could have asked in a more polite way. They were quite busy so we weren't expecting to be seated right away. When we were finally seated the server was pleasant enough asking what we would like to drink. We ordered what we wanted and she prompted dropped off our drinks. That was the last time we interacted with her. For the next 15 minutes she interacted with all the tables around us and passed by our table 4 times without acknowledging us. We would have been understanding if in one of her passes she had mentioned I'll be right with you or I'm sorry I'll be right with you. But not a word, my mom became so upset that we had to wave down a busser to get the manager for us. Sad to say but the service we received was nowhere near what we expect from Black Bear. This is sad because love the company but we probably won't be coming back to this location for quite a while. read more

Me and my son stumbled upon this restaurant last night. Place was kinda busy as well as the servers, but they did a great job at checking on their customers and getting food out as quickly. My taco salad was good just wish it had a little more meat and less salad mix, but the taco meat was seasoned well and the topping were good too. My son said his food was good too no complaints but I just noticed as I look on the picture on the website and the picture I took his hashbrowns didn't come with peppers or onions. I'm not sure if they were supposed to come with them that just stood out to me as I was looking at The Glizz on the website menu. Overall it was pretty nice and the food was good too. read more

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Ambiance...VERY loud and chaotic Food...Breakfast was good Hash browns were wide cut, fresh and well made Biscuits were amazing Service...Good but hard to get a refill on our coffee in a timely manner Will not return because of the noise and seating being crowded and waiting area is way too small. read more

Cold food, wrong order, and we waited way too long to be seated even though there were open tables the whole time. Just a really disappointing visit overall. Really wanted to like this place. read more

Black bear diner in Olympia is amazing. The food is delicious. The portions are generous. I went with my family on a Sunday, it was busy, but everyone of the staff were friendly and engaging. What I really loved is how the staff were very attentive to my kids. It is not often you find a place where your kids are treated like family. The manager, Brenda, was also very engaging and came to our table to see how we were doing, making sure all our needs were met. The atmosphere at black bear seemed very family oriented. I definitely would recommend read more

Group of 6 at 10am on Monday. Took 50 min to get our food after we ordered it. We politely mentioned everyone's food was cold, and then the manager came out and somehow started gaslighting all of us. I saw our meals in the window for over 20 min. Shari's was better. Server was great, but the manager clearly needs better training, or vetting. I wouldn't want that kind of management running my franchise. read more

I totally understand a new opening and a place being busy, but this is ridiculous! I was told to expect a 15-20 minute wait, but we ended up waiting more than 45 minutes. When we finally sat, the waitress was completely clueless about how to do her job. She struggled with her little pad to find things for the order that I wanted altered, and she just seemed like she was very stressed. She then delivered our food to someone else's table. When they took the plates and then examined the food and told her it wasn't there, she got confused as to who it went to, and she made her way up the tables asking people what they ordered. Once she finally got to us, unfortunately, my poached eggs were hard. I don't know about anyone else reading this review, but hard poached eggs in an Eggs Benedict is definitely not it. So she took it back and had it remade. Well, the remake wasn't much better. One was still overcooked, but by this time, my daughter had almost finished her meal, and I was losing my patience with it all, so I just ate the one egg that was cooked correctly. Then it came time for the check, and she did not know about the military discount and had to go track down a supervisor to ask. We frequent the Puyallup location, so I know it's something that is offered. She finally came back about 10 minutes later and said yes they have one, which I knew. After over 2 hours, we were finally done, but it was not worth my coming back to this location until the service and cooks learn their jobs. If you can't poach an egg, don't offer it on your menu. It's pretty simple. read more

We waited about 10 minutes to be seated, and we wound up sitting at the counter. It still took 10 minutes to take our order, and 37 minutes to get our food. Their priority seems to be takeout and Uber. We were looking directly into the kitchen, so when we finally got our food, it was cold...I have eaten at several Black Bear Diners in Northern California, and they were not as bad as this one. I won't be back to this one. read more

We went to the Black Bear Diner and it was busy. The hostess said it would be 25 to 35 minutes. We decided to wait and gave our name. After 1 hour I got up to ask how much longer and she replied there was 5 more parties in front of us. I will never go back, if you can't give a proper time I am going to have to wait and waste my time like that you lost a customer forever. read more

The service and the food were poor. The French toast and pancakes were not good. The gravy had no flavor. The breading on the chicken fried steak tasted like flour. The waitress was rude and rolled her eyes at us. It took a long time to get our unappetizing food considering there was only 1 other customer when we arrived a little after 6 am. ALSO, the coffee was absolutely horrible. read more

Service was good, food was good. Environment was warm and welcoming. Menu had fun facts about the establishment. Lots of food options.

Walked in, no smile from the host. Not busy on a monday morning. Got marched back to the last tiniest booth one foot away from the kitchen door. I said, right by the kitchen? Host ignored me. Sat down for 2 seconds, kitchen staff loudly talking about fiber and their weight. Decided to leave as I definitely would not have enjoyed eating in that spot, and will not pay to have a miserable meal! No thanks read more

The service today was slow and spotty. The food was inconsistent. Over medium eggs were overcooked and leathery. Requested crisp bacon was not so crisp. Overall I grade a C-. read more

Amazing food, especially this new location! Kids breakfast is the best and everything is reasonable priced.

I was told that it would be a 30 minute wait but it ended up being an hour, they said they called but they sent me a text message that I missed. They did not try and get a hold of me after that. But they were kind and said they will put us at the bottom of their list and wait another 30 minutes. I will not be coming back. read more

I want to eat a quick late breakfast whilst my wife had surgery, when I walked in it was wall to wall. But the hostess got me at the bar seating immediately and I ordered. The food was good and I received timely. 3/4 way thru the clinic called and my wife was ready to be picked up. Time to go. Not my first time at black bear and definitely not my last. read more

The food is so good and there is so many choices that the wait is worth it. I can't wait to go back. If you don't like to wait and get the whole experience order takeout and have it at home. read more

Waited 30 minutes, on the same level as Denny's at 2am, take that however you want. Had to ask for waters, after 15 minutes of waiting. Waitress didn't refill water for over 20 minutes read more

We ate at Black Bear when they were on the West Side. My wife and I saw the opened up again and we were thrilled. Went the on the first Friday they were open. We were not alone. They were backed up. Very busy. I have to say they were so professional and courteous. The two ladies were doing the hosting were outstanding. Made sure we were OK and kept us updated. The wait was not that bad and it was well worth it. Once we seated our server Hannah was extremely friendly and helpful. The food was outstanding. Had the try dip sandwich. OMG was delicious. Had to take some desert home it looked so good. Prices were not cheap. They were competitive. We are on set incomes now so price means a lot. It was worth it. read more

They were busy at 730 on Saturday morning. Very good food and service. Had eggs, ham , big pancakes. Cold brew vanilla coffee was excellent. Usually get breakfast foods here. Staff kept coming by with refills and to check on us read more

I think their goal of a warm greeting might be more than Olympia foodservice workers are capable of. Beyond that, the service was fine and the food was great. Maybe work a little harder at keeping coffee cups filled. read more

On Christmas day my wife and I took our granddaughter and her step dad there for dinner. We were willing to, and did wait the 40 minutes for a table. When the server Haylee H came to table 22 to take our order, my grand daughter was told they were out of the blackened salmon. She picked an alternate meal, chicken fried steak. About 15 minutes later our server returned, and we were informed they were out of that as well. When her step father asked the server what they do have, she said they did have pot roast. Grand daughter orders the pot roast. Another 5 or 10 minutes passes when our server Haylee returned and informed that now they have the chicken fried steak. Grand daughter agrees to the chicken fried steak. When we finally got our meal it was all cold. I'm talking, the cheese on my omelet was hard. When we were presented with the $114.84 check, I wasn't real happy, but did add a tip for a total of $133.60. When walking out the door my wife grabbed my receipt and went to talk to the manager. She explained what our experience had been to him and showed him our receipt. He took the receipt and disappeared with it. After finding him folding boxes my wife was told that he thought she had left. He had Our server Haylee credit us. We got a new itemized receipt showing a $114.84 credit. Feeling better about everything we went home. I have, not to this day seen the credit applied to my account. I will not recommend The Black Bear in Olympia. read more

I realize this location is new, and you're still probably working out kinks -- but, OMG!! I went there today (9/22) at about 1:30 in the afternoon. I was alone, so I chose to sit at the bar, rather than take up an entire table. It was fairly busy -- part of the crowd consisted of the at least 30+ employees that were working -- I'm including the back-of-house workers in that estimate. I sat for at least 10 minutes with NO ONE taking my order (or even acknowledging that I was there) -- you'd think with so many employees, SOMEONE would see me, but no. I finally asked the host if whoever was my server was aware that I was there! A server finally came, and I ordered breakfast (the food was VERY good, btw) and a coffee. I also asked for a glass of water. Coffee comes, but no water. I ask again -- it never comes. Finally, I asked a random server, and the patron sitting next to me jokes that "maybe the third time's the charm!" How difficult can it be to get someone a glass of water? Anyway, apparently the third time asking WAS the charm, and I get some water. My breakfast comes -- was very good, as I said before -- I finish it, and am sitting there, just finishing my coffee. A group of servers congregates at my end of the counter, an older waitress (Pamela) is berating them all for 'not adhering to the dress code.' Most of them had tattoos, which apparently she felt should be covered, and most were wearing earrings, and such, which I guess is not allowed in their dress code. Personally, I couldn't care less about tats and jewelry, but I don't make the rules there. However, I felt it was highly unprofessional of her to be speaking with them, in that 'scolding' manner, in earshot of customers. What a circus!!! read more