Sun,fun and black bear paws! Black Bears Usually not so coastal, but when it comes to restaurants they are everywhere!, You will find a great place to stop for an affordable meal on your beach day getaways . Huge parking lot matches the also huge interior. Room for parties and large groups. Our waitress was very attentive and we had a lovely meal. Paying was easy up front by the entrance. Always a good experience at Black Bear Diners, they seem to hire the best wait staff. read more

Went to Black Bear Diner to have dinner with my daughter. She ordered the chicken and waffles which was served burnt. When ask how was our meal, I informed the manager Susan the waffle was burnt. The manager Susan then said "Too bad I had a party of 25 people and only 2 cooks. Next time I'll try and do better!' I know folks are overwhelmed sometimes but please don't ask if you don't want to hear the answer. Worst yet, she created a confrontation in front of my daughter with her attitude. We usually have a good experience when we visit Black Bear diner. It's a shame their service and their food has dropped this far. read more

I had a fabulous turkey dinner with cranberry sauce and whipped potatoes with warm cornbread muffins. Absolutely, tasted better than Mother's home- fixed meal. I was surprised how much they gave you and the gravy was an added bonus. You have to try it as so many places do not give you a turkey dinner and if they do not like this. Delicious! Delicious! The service was very good and the warm atmosphere of the restaurant was great. CZA read more

I love a good diner, especially one that is so family friendly. If you don't know about the history, I encourage you to pay a visit and read all about it. I get it first hand since my husband grew up with "Sugar Bear"s family in Mt. Shasta, where the original and first Black Bear is located. What a treat to have our own in Ventura! The restaurant location is convenient, lots of parking and the older building is kept neat and clean, including the restrooms. The service was very attentive and our food came out quickly and correctly. The portions are generous and you can expect to take a box home for snacking later. They have fish fry Fridays and specials for Mother's Day etc. their coffee is good and they even offer mimosas and Bloody Marys! We always get the turkey club and the Cobb salad. Really good kids menu too that offers burgers, all the cute pancakes and Mac and cheese. One thing to note that was a little odd and maybe I missed is that we had bacon in our sides of ranch? Is that a normal thing? I'm not complaining the bacon is amazing especially in my Cobb salad but if you're not a pork eater/vegetarian may want to be mindful about that. Okay thanks bye! read more

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Been a black bear diner customer for years and the experiance I just received from a woman named Ana was crazy!! We showed up at 920 and they close at 10 and she stated we couldn't be served because there cooks had all gone home mind u people were literally eating. Never gonna come back again I mean if you're gonna be lazy and not wanna help customers stay in school and get a better job read more

Black Bear Diner Ventura - Horrible service from Ana - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

Our waiter Scott was attentive and an excellent server! I highly recommend! The food was excellent, we are repeat customers and look forward to xoming back. We are never disappointed. read more

Tired the chicken fried steak and yes it was delicious the sweet tea was spot on I had gone just after lunch so it wasn't to busy I had gone at dinner time and breakfast and they could use more help long lines and empty patio that could be used was sad because it's a great place it the right area with fantastic food at awesome prices has the potential to do so much better especially with the weather and events coming up it's worth the wait time but could be way better read more

Black Bear Diner Ventura - Chicken pot pie - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

The wait was sooooo long and I was going to say it was worth it until I tried my sandwich. I have only been here once and I wouldn't wait for anything this long but honestly my sandwich was top tier. The hostess got overwhelmed and misheard names and people got called out of order and it was a busy Sunday so not the best day to make my first assessment I'm sure. However we finally got seated after maybe 35 - 40 minutes. Our waitress was super cute and funky. She was patient with my 87 year old dad and really attentive and helpful as we had not been there before. All I can remember is she had brown hair and some kind of facial piercing. Anyhow I had a pot roast sandwich and I will definitely be back for it again. My dad got a steak and he was over the moon for it. We had a nice little father-daughter lunch and overall I was pleasantly surprised. Will totally recommend and be returning! read more

So our waitress was excellent. She ran the entire diner with one gentleman helping . Food was generous portions but waited 40min for food and dining room was not full. The two stars are truly because the curtains above our table and over all the windows are filthy with thick layers of dust. Had I looked up before I waited 40 min. I would have left . Also the windows are extremely dirty outside and inside Kitchen and dining room very understaffed . Good food but would not return sorry Black Bear.... read more

GETTING HERE: Located at the old Carrows off Seaward and the 101. Next door to the Chevron in the Vons strip mall. REVIEW: Not too bad actually. It is a diner, but it has a really great feel to it, IMO, Service can be hit and miss but alas, that's 2025. This most recent visit service was OK and the food was served hot-ish. I ordered a turkey club, and asked for the bacon to be crispy. The bacon was cold and not cooked, and the sandwich had ham on it and no turkey. My guest ordered the Reuben and there was no thousand island sauce on it. Rather weird, but we just theorized that the cooks put it right on the bread and it's soaked up into the bread, instead of being on the meat. But we made it work and overall, it was a good visit. Would recommend. read more

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If I could give 0 stars, I would. The place seems nice, but it is actually very shitty. My brother, my uncle, and I waited more than 20 minutes after being seated and weren't even asked if we wanted something to drink or if we were ready to order. The staff were doing God knows what instead of helping customers who were still waiting. The food sounded good which was a shame since I never even got the chance to order. To make things worse, the table wasn't even cleaned properly. Overall, a complete waste of time, and I wouldn't recommend this place or ever come back. read more

Absolutely delicious food. My family and I stopped here while visiting Ventura this past week. There was not a soul in the place when we walked in, so we were a little nervous at first. We were a bit disappointed that they did not have any crayons for the kids menus for our children, however the waitress was so sweet to offer one of her pens. Although we did not use it, it was the thought that mattered of course. The food was so good I got the bacon Mac and cheese and of course you can't go wrong with that! My toddler got the fruit and kids Mac but ended up being obsessed with the adult Mac n cheese-- which was the white cheddar sauce and spiral noodles. SO good! My husband got the Santa Maria Tri tip and it was so perfect and on point. And our 11 year old got the pot pie which was a perfect portion in my opinion! Everything tasted great and we noticed people starting to come in before we left, so it wasn't such a ghost town anymore like we initially saw. We left a good tip but do feel the service started off a little bland and slow, however the mood lifted towards the end of our meal and felt the service was worth leaving a better tip like we did. We figured everyone has bad days and you never know what someone is going through. Overall we would visit again and recommend this tasty place! read more

Black Bear Diner Ventura - Bacon Mac & Cheese Bowl (1410 cal) Mikey's Homemade Chicken Pot Pie (2100-2190 cal) Santa Maria Tri-Tip (330 cal) - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

Went to Black Bear Ventura for the Steak and Eggs Special today. Great food at a Great Price !!! Oh and Gloria is the Best !!! Thank You !!! read more

Black Bear Diner Ventura - Steak and Eggs Special $12.99. Excellent and my Favorite Server Gloria is always GREAT !!! - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

The food was great She had the Turkey Dinner with Mashed Potatoes, Gravy & Stuffing! I had Ham Dinner, With Double Mashed Potatoes, Double Gravy, Stuffing & We Both Had Pumpkin Pie for dessert! And Scott our server made us feel like royalty!0 read more

Black Bear Diner Ventura - Christmas Ham & Turkey Dinners - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

Great meal today at Black Bear Diner highlighted by exceptional service from Gloria! After a busy Monday, I was craving some comfort food and treated myself to a New York Steak. For my sides, I chose to have a baked potato and green beans with bacon, both were warm and delicious. Opt for the blue cheese and mushrooms, as it is a generous portion that compliments the steak nicely. Cornbread was good as always. Gloria was quick to get my order, check in during my meal, and overall very friendly. Thank you Black Bear Ventura and Gloria for curing my Monday blues with a great dinner! read more

Black Bear Diner Ventura - Menu front page - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

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We were turned away by Ana who refused to serve us. We planned our road trip perfectly so that we can have dinner at Black Bear, a restaurant our family loves! Only to be met by Ana who told us the cook was sent home early and didn't have any food at 9pm. Get it together! If your website says you close at 10pm you should be fully staffed and ready to serve your customers until you close! read more

We had breakfast here with a big group of 16 people, and they did an amazing job accommodating all of us! The service was friendly and organized, and our food came out great. I ordered the cinnamon roll French toast, and it was absolutely delicious! Everyone enjoyed their meals, and the overall experience was wonderful. We'll definitely be back. Highly recommend! read more

Amazing service and great food! Emma A was an incredible server going above and beyond to make our experience perfect. Thanks to her we are excited to go back :) read more

The service was amazing! The restaurant was clean and inviting. However, I was very disappointed to be told there is no steak. There's a big banner out front that says steak and eggs 12.99$ monday through friday. I'm on vacation and I was looking forward to this. This put a damper on things. Please do better (whoever dropped the ball). read more

Consistent with their menu. Breakfast is all we've had here 3x while visiting Ventura but we are never disappointed. Their cinnamon roll French toast is delectable, be careful it comes in 3 huge servings. Bacon is always crispy the way I like it and their coffee doesnt disappoint, caffeine city! The service is always wonderful and we love the way it is clean and decorated with a sweet little gift shop. read more

Customer service was top notch and always is when I visit the black bear diner. They lowered their prices recently so we decided to come back. We ordered the chicken fried steak and eggs and it came with the a side of pancakes. So much food for $20! My friend ordered steak and eggs and the waiter made sure she was satisfied with the way it was cooked. Food was great and my friends and I always make sure we eat here every time they're in town. read more

Black Bear Diner Ventura - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

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Been here three times and the service is incompetent consistently. Nobody smiles. They're slow. I stood at the counter with a question because of a problem with the order for several minutes and several people walked by without making eye contact. Food is mediocre so three times and I'm done trying. read more

Black Bear Diner is a good choice for breakfast. Easy access, lots of parking and plenty of booths and tables. I like the calorie counts on the menu- encourages me to at least try to hold on to my diet goals... Service is friendly and quick. The prices reasonable and decor goes for "family diner" very nicely. read more

Black Bear Diner Ventura - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

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We were a group of four for breakfast. My husband dropped us off while he went to fuel up. It was a cool morning I was looking forward to some hot coffee. We were seated, we waited, waited and waited. The server (I only saw one) never acknowledged us, never looked our way. My husband joined us, he said did you order coffee? I explained that the server had not been by. We talked for a while and still the server did not come to our table. Couldn't even call him over because he wouldn't look our way. The place was not even full. The server would disappear for a while, he would come back out and he would not look around. We finally decided to leave. The waiter never acknowledged us even after the four of us stood up to leave! We talked to the hostess as we exited, she was busy talking to a man, still I made it a point to let her know we had not even been served coffee after all this time (about 20 minutes). She said a quick, oh I'm sorry, and continued chatting with the man. As I mentioned, the place wasn't even full. Never again! read more

I was looking for a restaurant to rest and catch up on the cellphone. Black Bear Diner is located a block from the Ventura highway, mere blocks from the beach. This is exactly what I was looking for. Menu is immense. Breakfast, lunch and dinner available. I had two eggs over easy, sausage and a waffle. There was so much food I could only eat half of it. Perfect sausage with juicy on the inside crispy on the outside. The sausage is made on the premises. There are three types of hot sauce from all Black Bear. The Baby Burn was just right. Could not have asked for a more empathetic server. She gave me a great deal of time and checked on me only when I needed coffee. She offered a side of beans when I asked about it (I saw Mexican meals on the menu). The music is nice. Gentle rock. The tables are room and separated by enough. Space you cannot hear conversations. I will definitely return. read more

Black Bear Diner Ventura - Sauces are hot to mild. Check out the cool names. - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

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Went this past weekend and had a really good experience. There was a small wait at first, but we got seated quicker than expected, which was nice. The hostess Janel (I think) was really nice. Our server was super friendly and quick, and everything came out fairly fast given how busy the restaurant seemed. We both went with breakfast (love that they serve it all day). My partner got the ham steak breakfast, and I had an omelette with potatoes--both were really good and the portions were big. Definitely ask for the homemade salsa! Also loved the fresh-squeezed orange juice mimosas, definitely a highlight. Overall, great service, good food, and a really solid spot for breakfast anytime. read more

It was good. The food wasn't quite what we had ordered, but it was good. There was only one waiter on stack when we went in and he got a little busy, but he was very professional and a tent as he could be. read more

We really appreciated the personal service from all of the staff, especially our server Scott and the busser Leonardo who was all over clearing our plates. Very efficient, friendly service. Our drinks were refilled quickly, and the food was delicious. We also appreciated the clean restaurant. We will definitely be coming back. read more

Scott was very helpful and accommodating to our party. Delicious desserts, wine and coffee.

Under new management???? We were here last night for a comedy show (which wasn't funny in the least, but was LOUD)... Michael was the only waiter for the entire show, which was full, as well as the only waiter for the restaurant, which meant everyone had to wait an extraordinarily long time for their order to be taken & served. But Michael was really helpful, friendly, & apologetic. At one point I got up & went into the restaurant to purchase my own drink... Thankfully we didn't order food, as most of the plated orders were waiting under the heat lamps to be picked-up & delivered to customers. I noticed that the beers offered at the show (only standard pale yellows) were not the same as those in the restaurant, which didn't make sense or for good customer service. The decaf coffee was old & the hostess was asked to make a fresh pot... The coffee & tea was on a back table of the room & people had to serve themselves. The brownie was overly sweet, the menu's cheesecake "selection" was limited to the standard plain variety & it was dry. We offered to chip-in & help serve, but were told it was not necessary. I Will NEVER Return.... the manager obviously has no clue how to run a restaurant. PRO TIP To the Manager: When you have no, or limited staff (as you did last night): You get yourself into that restaurant and you fill-in as waitstaff, or get yourself another job. read more

I went there because on front page on yelp there was an all you can eat Friday Fish Fry, unfortunately what it did not tell you that they run out of it, so I got the bacon Mac N Cheese that was good tasting but the portion was not worth $20. Note to Yelpers get there early for the Friday Fish Fry especially when you are craving it like I was. read more

Black Bear Diner Ventura - Bacon Mac 'N Cheese Bowl - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

I was here just yesterday for breakfast. My family and I were making our way down south to Los Angeles from having spent a little time in Ventura. The restaurant is fairly large and has plenty of booth seating. There are lots of families here. The menu is still huge and overwhelming, in my opinion. I always love breakfast here. The portions are huge and the flavors are amazing. Nothing overpowers the next and flavors are very complementary. I ordered the cinnamon roll French toast along with some eggs and bacon. I ended up sharing my meal with my little one. It was more than enough for the both of us. I also added strawberries and bananas on top of my French toast. That was a good touch. My little one ordered a kids breakfast that came with eggs and sausage and a small pancake. That was perfect. And of course, boo-boo has to eat so ... that's the reason for the labubu inclusive photo. Service was great. Our waitress was very friendly. She was also very on top of it. She anticipated our needs rather than waiting for us to ask for things. It was the simplest meal, but it was absolutely delicious. It hit the spot. Coming here always feels like coming home. That just proves that meals don't have to be fancy to be good. And like I said, the portions are always very hearty. read more

Black Bear Diner Ventura - Kids meal breakfast - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

Wonderful service whether it is busy or during non-busy times. I have felt special and like family every time I have been here. The food has been consistently good every time I have eaten here. read more

Amazing staff, great breakfast, perfect for a breakfast dining experience. Modernly price., great team decor.

I would put a zero down, but the one star is the lowest I can go. My fiancé, and I went We sat there for fifteen minutes.This is the third time i've been at that black bear.I've been ignored each and every time we will never go back. Oh, the hostess was nice. But everybody else looked at us and walked on, we didn't get water. We didn't get napkins not even a hello, I have worked in the customer service industrdy most of my life, and that was the worst customer service. I've ever had read more

Cute diner, got the egg white spinach chicken sausage scramble. The plate was filled with butter from them cooking it. So if you like a lot of butter, this is your place. Otherwise make sure you ask them for the life They could probably save a lot of money if they cut down on that butter. Oatmeal was good. read more

I went there two times for breakfast both times the most burnt .I don't know if I will ever come back they only had one waitress there were to many people for her to take care of i told the manager he took back the and gave me another meal but that one was worse read more

Black Bear Diner Ventura - The dose was burnt in the meat was overdone - Diners Near Me - Ventura, California

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Once a year I take my wife to Black Bear in Ventura so that she can get her free birthday breakfast. I am not a fan of this black bear, though I am a big fan of the one is Bullhead City Arizona !! I ordered the oatmeal and a side of bacon. What I received was oatmeal soup and fatty limp bacon. "Usually oatmeal is made thicker so when you add the milk it thins it. I has spooning the excess water off the top of the oatmeal in an attempt to dry it out some. You are asking "Did you tell your waitress ?".. Order was received and we never saw her again. We had to wave someone down just to bring us our bill.... I guess that I won't have to fall on the sword again till next year when I take her back for her free breakfast.... read more

We eat here at least once a week and we always leave happy and full. The menu is full of great options for everybody. My go to is the bacon cheeseburger salad or the chicken sausage scramble, but there are so many great dishes here and the burgers are amazing! *They recently lowered the prices on a lot of menu items as well but did not cut the quality or quantity. In times where every cost in our lives is going up, it's nice to see a business take this initiative. We have to give a special shout out to Cheryl & Omi who always takes such good care of us anytime we are there. read more

Great restaurant! The food was amazing me and my family loved every bite! Thank you to Laura and Lorenzo for the amazing service they gave us. Very friendly and polite personalities. They made us feel very comfortable and at home. We will be coming back soon and hoping to be seated with them again! read more