The hostess and waitress were very nice and the food was good, but one star was removed for the fact we had to wait 20 min just to order (it wasn't busy) and another star removed for the amount of flies inside. We had to work hard to keep them off our food. read more

If I could give a lower rating I would. The service was rediculiciosly slow, the food was not great, but most of all the rating I'm giving is based on their dishonest approach to getting 5 star ratings. Taped onto the register was a sign that read "ask me how to save $2 on your order..." When asked I learned that, in exchange for a 5 star review you'll save $2. That's right, the service/food is so bad that they are buying ratings. My advice is to skip this Black Bear Diner. read more

Great service! Our waitress knew we were hungry and took our order right away. She was quick in bringing us drinks, and brought refills without us asking. The food was delicious and cooked just the way we ordered it! We would definitely recommend this place! read more

Recommended by a friend who drove from Oregon to LA recently, and we were not disappointed! Great corn bread, terrific Chicken Fried Steak (and this is from someone who went on a CFS tour from Amarillo to the Fort Worth environs), wonderful waitress in a homey atmosphere. Desserts were delicious, but enough for 3! read more

Black Bear Diner - Willows - Recommended by a friend....she was right, nice place, but do not recommend coming in near closing! - American Near Me - Willows, California

See all

We stopped into BBD in Willows, on the way home from Sac, on our way back up to Seattle. It was late Sunday, around 7:50PM when we got in, and the restaurant was quite busy. We were seated promptly, and the hostess (Cassidy) who seated us took our drink orders. Then, a gentleman came by, and said he'd be our waiter, asked if our drinks had been ordered, and went away. Our drinks arrived via our original waitress, and she actually took another order for us to go, (for after dinner) coffee milkshake for the road! (Highly recommend by the way, delicious!) A HUGE party of firemen had came in shortly after we did, and I have to say, for how insanely busy this restaurant was, our food was great, prompt, and I was watching the team take care of the restaurant, ALL of them were busting their butts to keep things running smoothly. Not easy, given the number of customers, the large party, and all the orders coming in at once. I have to give a HUGE shout out to Cassidy, (the blonde waitress/hostess who went above and beyond to make sure we had our food properly prepared (I am allergic to onions and she made sure the kitchen knew this, and was amazing about it). and the drinks for the road. Cassidy was friendly, professional, and I watched her constantly keeping things running, helping clean up messes, I don't think this girl stopped moving the whole time we were there. All of the wait staff were working super hard, I have to mention Evelyn and Tonya as well, they all somehow kept it together through what I would say was a crazy busy rush. Kitchen staff did great for us as well, I have to say! I'm hoping that these women get some kind of reward for how hard they worked, how well they managed a very hectic late dinner hour, and yes, a kudos to the kitchen staff too, for mindfully making my food without onions, and making it delicious! I really hope the negative reviews on this location get turned around, and management realises how important good wait and kitchen staff are, to the running of a restaurant, because I saw every worker busting their butts to make things run as smoothly as possible, given the busy circumstances. I would and will stop back in here again, next time we are driving through. Good job, staff! you guys rocked on Sunday night! :) read more

A great meal! Always friendly staff and food is perfectly prepared. Never had a bad dish here. Parking is easy, safe and never a long wait for a table. Will be back! read more

Food was ok. Service was awful. Got seated quickly and drinks but no straws when the waiter specifically asked if wanted one. Had to ask for refills on drinks. Never received a check. Had to go to counter to get it. The bathroom was disgusting flies every and the sink handle fell of when tried to turn on. Hopefully this is not how all Black Bear diners are going. Usually very happy when we stop to eat read more

I remember eating at one of their locations in Reno years ago and never realized that it was a chain. I had dinner today here and it was pretty delicious. I got the herb crusted trout and my partner got the tri-tip and we were both pleased with our meals. The coolest thing about the place is the ambiance. It's bears everywhere and for an animal-lover like me, I found it charming and kitschy without being cheap or overkill. I loved it. Also, they have these cute mini pies for about $4-5 which is such a steal when you go to places like Marie Callendars or Coco's and they have slices of pie for just as much. read more

Food and service here is absolutely amazing! My family and I came in very hungry being on the road at all and this place helped us leave happy and full! Our server, her name starts with a K, I think was Kristin, was very hospitable, thoughtful, and considerate! We recommend this place! GO HERE! YOU WILL LOVE IT! read more

Black Bear Diner - Willows - Parmesan chicken - American Near Me - Willows, California

The worst service. EVER! We put out name on the list to be seated. It took 15 minutes. Ok. No problem. The people behind us were seated AFTER US. We waited 25 minutes before our order was taken! A party of 4 next to us had been there an hour and no food! The couple seated AFTER US had their food and finished eating BEFORE WE, or the other table of 4, even RECEIVED our food! Horrible. I felt bad for the poor waiter. Clearly it was the cooks! On our tag, I checked the time stamp. 45 minutes until we received a simple breakfast. It's been over a year since we ate there. Decided to give it a try. One. And. Done! read more

Large portions. Service was fine. Ordered the Roadhouse Tri-Tips Platter: 1/4 cooked correctly (medium rare) which was very good, but the rest tasted like the tri-tips were sitting under heated lamp for a long time, very very very dry. They did offer to replace the dish, but we were in a hurry and had to get moving. read more

We stayed in the motel 6 sharing the parking lot. Decided to try it. EXCELLENT having traveled China and Tibet extensively, this was some of the best Chinese food we have had. They said Hong Kong style, but to us very much northern China, say Xining or Tibet style. And no MSG We will be back read more

I live in Willows, so I've been here more than a few times. It's clean, seems well-run, the people are nice, and the food is consistent. It gets four stars because they deliver what they promise. This is good diner food (lots of other options, though). The meals are huge. Prepare for leftovers. I think it's a great option whether you live near here or you're driving through. Give it a shot. Cheeseburger salad is bomb. Burgers are good. I mostly order breakfast regardless of time of day because they've got that down. read more

I've worked in restaurants for years. Ask to sit in Stephanie's section. Shes on top of her game. Nice job!

Hmmmmm...... I guess it's worthy of three stars..... I knew meals were big going in, but I wasn't quite prepared for a 1200-calorie SIDE of biscuits and gravy. That's just ridiculous and extremely unnecessary. It was good, but will easily make three or four normal "sides." I ate a quarter and took the rest to go. read more

My family and I were pleasantly surprised when we stopped here on the way up to Humboldt from Southern California! It was just what we needed to give us the energy to push on the rest of the way! Service was great, food was good, portions were enormous. I had a chicken avocado club sandwich and a side salad and it was very good. Probably too much bread but that's what you get when you order a club I suppose! read more

Waited long time to order. Part of meal was a side salad that took time to come. I had to ask several times for refill. First time server ignored my request. Other times server acknowledged my requests but did not return until after multiple prompting to bring refill. While after 30-40 minutes, server brought my sons food asked him if he wanted sauce with food to which he said yes. She didn't come back until after 20 minutes with the sauce after he had finished his meal; she was holding a salad which she was bringing to another customer. Food was average at best and very expensive, at least what we ordered. When I was leaving it appeared that other customers had multiple empty glasses as if their drinks had been refilled multiple times. I could not help but to wonder as to why I had to ask and ask to get refills and other customers seemed to be receiving the same items without issues. We asked to speak to the manager and we found out that our server was the manager! This was our first and last time that we will go to any black bear diner. read more

I've eaten at numerous Black Bear Diners and enjoyed the food and service tremendously however their Willows location never fails to disappoint. I keep giving them chances by coming back, but they've whiffed at their last at bat tonight. We got seated and had a couple Iced teas just fine, after 15 minutes we flagged one of the staff down(from the 3 chatting at the register) and asked if we could order. The gal said it was a different wait-staff that was attending to us, and walked away to the register to resume the discussion at the register(no doubt brainstorming on a solution to global warming). Another 15 minutes and several attempts to get a staff members attention and have our order taken were an utter failure. The only thing we got were glances from the committee members who dare not break their summit at the register. We got up and went to the register and asked to pay for our iced teas since the service was ridiculous. The fella seemed confused and said they were on the house-with a still confused look. Repeatedly utter trash service from the Willows location. It may be a vision issue. I may have too much melanin as my melanin challenged friends love this location. read more

Stopped here on the way out of dodge. I had the huevos rancheros which was not the same as other Black Bear Diners. Usually the corn tortillas are fried crispy and there is a wonderful red sauce poured over the egg concoction. I wouldn't order it here as the tortillas were soggy and not fried, the salsa was frozen, and there was no enchilada sauce. I did like the chorizo though just not the same. My hubbys' Bear Burger was amazing though with a crunchy yummy slaw and hand made burger. Too bad the Huevos was such a disappointment. The wait staff was amazing though. Also, the bathrooms are coed and while that helps with the wait there is nothing worse than pee all over the base of the toilet and the floor. With that, my shoes were sticking to the floor. Gross!! After breakfast I went into the other bathroom which wasn't as bad but my shoes were still sticky. I had to get a wet paper towel to clean the bottom of my shoes. So thankful there was soap in the dispenser. read more

Worst dining experience. Ordered one hamburger medium and the other hamburger medium rare. Both of them were bordering on being burnt. The cheese and avocado was left off of the California burger. read more

Worst service EVER! After a long morning of traveling home. Stop in and get the worst customer service I've ever gotten at any restaurant. The young lady who took our drink order was fabulous and nice. Then the waitress we got after her was something else, super nice to everyone around us, then was a snooty cold B to me my mother and niece. Not only did I get criticized BC I didn't want potatoes with my breakfast. Our food sat on the counter done for 20 minutes (we didn't notice it was ours until the man brought it over to us) we sat there while people who had come in AFTER us got served steaming hot food and when we were about to leave our food got sat in front of us just for it to be Luke warm and my nieces ScramBowl cheese to be cold and hard. I will never again eat at this restaurant, maybe the older woman waitress with black dyed hair and glasses doesn't like Native Americans because all the Caucasian people got way better service than us. I recommend if you're a race of color than don't eat here, you will not be treated fairly. Three less customers for her! Only put 1 star BC it MADE me put a rating read more

My family and I (party of 5) decided to go to black bear around 5 and we waited about 10 to be seated no a single "welcome in " or anything. 10mins past by and the cashier told us to grab the first table we see clean and she would bring us menu ( took another 10 mins to receive menus ) once she brought us our menus it took another 15/20 mins to order . My 2year old by accident spill apple juice and my husband got up to ask for napkins the girl never brought us the napkins to clean up the spill instead we ended up using the black bear paper they have for the tables ! My husband was so upset . Worst dining in experience ever !! read more

A very solid three stars for Black Bear Diner. I've had two meals at BBD on trips up to Lake Almanor and Lake Shasta over the past month or so. The extensive menu is awesome, but it is also a big trap for indecisive people like me. I've had the patty melt on one occasion and the "Little Less Dinner" Pot Roast. The Patty Melt was pretty good, though it maybe needed a little more salt. The accompanying fries were awesome and even after eating my whole plate I found myself reaching over to my bf's plate for some of his fries. I also fully approve of the ranch dressing they have because it was a great dip for my fries. (Yes, I'm fattie). Despite being a "Little Less" dinner portion, the pot roast plate was still substantial. The corn bread was good, though perhaps a bit dry. I opted for the vegetable soup (over chicken noodle or salad), which was quite good. The beef for the pot roast itself was ok but again, maybe a little bland. It also wasn't quite as tender as I had hoped. I have a feeling it was cooked at a slightly too high temperature. The vegetables in the pot roast (potatoes, carrots, celery) were cut up in really large chunks which made this dish feel even heartier than it already is. The mashed potatoes were good the country gravy it came was was rather flavorful, but the sauteed zucchini (vegetable of the day) was pretty bland. I love the options here though, and if you have a big appetite then this is a go-to place. read more

I actually came here with low expectations, even though a sign out front boasted the best breakfast in town. It's a small town so that didn't seem like much of a claim. But I come to find that their breakfast is pretty decent. Large portions, the bacon was crisp, the coffee was so good and drinkable that I just drank it black and they even have whole grain pancake. I had split the Volcano breakfast (about $9) with my bf and even then we still didn't finish the plate. The service was prompt and she always made sure our coffee cups were full. I even liked the scramble eggs which only required more salt and pepper. But I'm a fan. I'll swing by the next time I'm in Willows. It's quaint and they have a jukebox. You get a lot for the price, at least compared to how it would be if this restaurant was in L.A. read more

I hate diners. But I hate Denny's even more than I hate random diners, so between the two, Black Bear was the lunch choice while stopping for gas. I walked into Bearville, USA, and I was frightened by the newspaper menus. Then I was frightened by the people that were surrounding me, but whatever. A girl's gotta eat. Let me tell you... this food was DELICIOUS. I had the larger-than-life cobb salad, the rest of the fam had the turkey dinner & a roast beef sandwich. We could have all shared ONE of the meals. If the waitress tries to talk you into the larger version of a plate (and she will), take a note from Nancy Reagan and Just Say No. I wish I wouldn't have been on a road-trip, as my leftovers would have come home with me. Black Bear, I'll be back. read more

What can I say - the menu is HUGE. I haven't had a bad meal in any location yet! Don't let anyone who posted a one star review citing poor customer service sway your decision to come here. We had STELLAR service from our waitress. The food is plentiful and tasty. Get breakfast for dinner if you dare! Minus one star for bathroom cleanliness (really a half star for that) read more

Worst Black Bear Diner experience ever. A large poster in the lobby advertised Pumpkin Pancakes. Yum! I ordered some. The waitress returned to say they didn't have the ingredients to make any. Huh? I suggested the sign be removed. There appeared to be only one waitress handling all the customers, plus the register. In lieu of the pancakes, I ordered a side of the cubed red potatoes. It turned out they had a lot of RAW onions in them, which insured I would live with the horrible aftertaste for hours after eating them. My husband's hash browns had very hard, inedible bits of something in them. There was ONE restroom available to serve the entire restaurant as the second one appeared to either be for employees or else someone was doing drugs or other things in it because it was locked the entire time. read more

They were really nice, and the place was clean, and it's convenient, but that's where my compliments end. I really wanted to like this place. I know it's a chain of highway diners, and I should've known better when I saw the gift store, but I can't help thinking they're kitschy-cute & I want to support something that started up in Mt. Shasta. But ugh, no. Never again. The vegetarian options were breakfast or an $8 Gardenburger. It just kills me to pay $8 for them when I can get a pack for less than that. So, I got a Belgian waffle. Berries & whipped cream for $1.50 extra? I wasn't going to, but the waitress informed me that they had blackberries. Awesome! I figured they would be warmed-up frozen blackberries & whipped cream from a spray can, but my wildest dreams couldn't prepare me for JELLY with big, brown, disgusting-looking blackberries. I think jelly is repulsive & even gagged a few times while digging it out of my waffle. If you want to offer jelly for the toast, that's great, probably a healthier option than the fake maple syrup, but you should tell people it's JELLY, not call it berries. Gross. My boyfriend got some biscuits & gravy that he said were, as yelp puts it, "Meh." No, Black Bear, next time I'll just pick up some trail mix at the nearest grocery store. Too bad, I wanted to like you. read more

Thursday 530 pm. Breakfast chicken fried steak for dinner. Service was awesome. Quick and accurate. Scott was on the counter and he rocked it. Refills no problem. Food delivered promptly. Asked how meal was several times. Put me in the like column. read more

Absolutely the worst service .... Ordered on line ( which I had to prepay ) went to pick up order at time indicated order would be ready waited 20 minutes and they hadn't even begun my order even though I had checked in upon my arrival. Requested my order be cancelled and my card refunded to which I was advised they would do but it would take 24 to 72 hours to credit and could not give my any kind of verification that a refund had been processed. All that for 1 salad totaling 22.49 that I never got!!! HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE I WILL NOT RETURN!!!! read more

Breakfast served all day! 'nuff said I've only ever gotten the breakfast (at dinnertime) from this place, and it hasn't disappointed... The service is friendly, and will work with you to get you what you want when you can't make up your mind! Last meal I got there included fresh fruit, 2 eggs, links sausages, and a full glass of OJ. It was just the right proportions for me, although others at my table got gargantuan meals and were unable to finish!!! read more

Your choice in Willows is limited and this place was just fine. good food fast for value. I like it alot read more

Very friendly and attentive staff! The food is delicious, My favorite is the chicken avocado sandwich! Definitely will be back again.

Very friendly staff! Food is great! Definitely will have to come back again. The cornbread is to die for! Always a good side to get

The coffee and service was great!!! They have done a nice job updating the patio!!! The food is very tasty!! Love the chicken fried steak!

I was in the Black Bear a couple of weeks ago and after an excellent meal proceeded to forget my brand new glasses that I'd just purchased (at a cost of $750). I initially wasn't sure where I'd left them - the gas station, the hotel room? After a lot if sleuthing I figured it had to be the Black Bear and gave them a call. I got chatting with the manager - Justin - and he had me sorted in 30 seconds. I offered to drive back to Willows to which he insisted that he would ship them to me. He wouldn't even accept the first class shipping cost. SO, to Justin and the Big Bear Diner, THANK YOU SO MUCH! As Arnie said, "I'll be back". Thanks again BB Diner! read more

I just wanted to come on here and say the people here are doing their best to serve so many people when it gets busy. I just ate here and our whole tables food came out pretty quick, while I noticed some other people were still waiting, and getting upset. From experience working in the service industry I understand how stressful it is to serve so many people at one time, so I try to be as understanding as I can. They were doing the best they could. I hope everyone else can understand their struggle as much as I do, put yourself im someone else's shoes! read more

I will never eat here again!!! Flies through out the entire restaurant, very slow service , mediocre food, bathrooms are not clean. Faucet handle feel off when I tried to turn it on. Just a very dirty restaurant. STAY AWAY PLEASE! Won't be surprised if food poisoning is a common complaint. read more

The food servings are HUGE, as you can see in the pictures others have posted (you would expect this if you've ever been to a Black Bear Diner before). The food is a good value for the price and amount of food; the quality of food is above average. Our waitress was friendly and helpful. Unless you're used to eating copious amounts of food (or don't finish your meal), then you probably won't have room for dessert. I had some sort of breakfast special (waffle, two eggs, two slices of bacon). The Belgian waffle was okay, but I wouldn't say it was something I couldn't have made myself at home. One of the dining rooms has a TV in it. We were forced to watch Fox News, which was fairly painful, as we are from a liberal area and never watch the station. read more

Food was good but the waitress was a smart ass!!!!... I didn't come here for a comedy show I came here for a good breakfast. I've been to the one in Arizona a lot and I thought this one would be the same. I will make sure to skip this place next time im on the I-5 and hungry read more