Good consistent diner food. Great service and massive portions to share or take home.

Took over an hour for one burger - everyone is all over the place there and the service is horrible

Our scout troop used to like going to Blackbear Diners after trips. But now these young men have recognized that poor service, combined with mediocre food, adds up to poor value. After delayed orders, missed items, exasperated attitudes, at this and other Blackbear Diners, they've concluded that their business should go elsewhere. These franchises need some quality control. read more

We ordered eggs Benedict and requested hard poached. They came runny and it didn't even look like eggs Benedict. The other order was for fruit as a side instead of potatoes. Fruit never came. But the main issue was the incredibly slow wait for our food after ordering. When we complained we were told that they had an 18 customer rush, causing the delay. This seemed like nonsense for a kitchen that size. On top of that, the food was not hot, when it finally did arrive. Which leads to the feeling about poor management. We could hear conflict going on between wait staff and the kitchen. Wait staff seemed to be really trying to please the customers but the kitchen seemed, either incompetent or deliberately trying to cause problems. In fairness, we were not charged for the disaster that was one of our meals. But this wasn't about money. Needless to say, we won't be visiting the Willows Black Bear again. The final note came upon our leaving--the rest room was terrible. Dirty with overflowing waist paper can. This Black Bear suffers from POOR MANAGEMENT plain and simple. read more

The best pancakes ever:)) a must if you love pancakes. Bathrooms are clean and the staff are very friendly. My hats off to the cooks.

This was a typical run-of-the-mill Black Bear experience. Great service and good food. The bear claws are bigger than your face! Nice little stop if you're making your way up I-5. read more

Black Bear in Willows seems to be a traveler's favorite...its always busy here. That being said, we were seated quickly and offered something to drink. We both settled on the bacon cheese butger basket which came out exactly as we ordered with a generous order of fries. Our waitress Brittney had a great sense of humor and did an excellent job. read more

My dad and I are driving from Southern California to Portland Oregon and we stopped in Willows mainly because every other place we called all the hotels were booked. But it's a good thing we ended up in town because we had a great time at the Black Bear Diner. Our waitress, Shauna, was awesome as well as everyone else and the food was great! If we are ever driving through again we will definitely stop! read more

Very nice and welcoming atmosphere. My husband and i stopped in for lunch on our way home. The food was great we had the chicken guacamole special of the day great sandwich. Our waitress Myra recommended the sandwich and took very good care of us. Will be back on our next way up. read more

It's a chain. It's on the way to Portland. It has a lot of bear decor. Portions are bear size. Very little on the menu if you're vegetarian and/or don't necessarily want a gut bomb. But when you're on the road w/ limited options you grin & "bear" it. read more

We stopped at this diner on a Friday night for dinner and the service was simply awful. I expected it to be slow, but our experience was horrendous. We got seated when we arrived but it took 20 minutes for someone to come by to even begin a drink order. We inquired if they were short staffed and she said 'nope'. After 55 minutes we finally got our meals ... Fries and eggs were cold. We had to flag down a waitress EVERY time we needed a coffee/drink refill. I complained to the manager, who started to make excuses, but she did adjust the bill. Other patrons were complaining as well. Needless to say, the service was the worst I've had in quite a while. We won't be stopping at this diner when making our trips up north. read more

1 star because you can't give 0 starts. How long should you wait until you inquire about the status of your order? 30 mins? I should have inquired earlier. The young lady at the table next to us was seated after we had ordered our meal. While we waited, she ordered, received and finished her meal. When she was paying her check, she had the courtesy to tell her server we had been waiting. At the 30 min mark, the server told us the order had been submitted 6 mins ago. The manager told us our order was nearly ready. He told us of the problems he was having with shipments, stocking, staffing, etc. While I can appreciate the trials and tribulations of managing a restaurant, but it was now 50 mins since we ordered and I was not sympathetic to his problems. Our 3 meals finally arrived. Mine had been sitting in the window while the other 2 meal were still being prepared, so the gravy had begun to setup. My wife's hamburger was not "plain" as ordered. My grand daughter's chicken sandwich was fine. After my plate was cleared, the manager arrived with my toast. No apologies or offer of compensation. I'll never go back. read more

It took one hour to get our food. They gave us the wrong side orders and never brought my thousand island dressing that I asked twice for. Finally, they gave us the wrong tab and made us wait 10 minutes to have the manager fix it after we already paid. The food was good but not worth the pain in the a$$. read more

Good, friendly atmosphere. Only serious issue is the fly infestation, pretty discussing.

I know I have seen Black Bear Diners before but I didn't know that they were a chain all over CA and the various other states in the western US. We stopped in for dinner and it was pretty busy but also slow - service wise. I think they didn't have enough staff. When we sat, there was a table behind us threatening to leave because they weren't getting their check fast enough. And then after we had been there awhile, a bunch of groups came in and they sat around for a long time waiting to order. Service wasn't great but luckily we weren't in a hurry. We both got the smaller "little less" version of the slow cooked pot roast dinner. My friend had talked up the dessert so we wanted to save room for that. Even with the smaller portion, it was still a pretty hearty meal. It started off with a small bowl of soup (or salad) and a corn bread muffin. Then the entrée came with green beans, mixed veggies, mashed potatoes and the pot roast plus gravy. It tasted home cooked and like something someone's mom would make. Great flavor to the gravy and pot roast was pretty melt in your mouth tender. The corn bread was awesome and I even didn't mind the green beans (with bits of bacon) even though they looked like they had been stewed for a long time. It was a lot of food for the "little less" option so I can't even imagine how big the full dinner is. For dessert, I got the blackberry cobbler and my friend got the coconut cream pie. They're in little mini pie tins so it's a big dessert - not just like a slice. So definitely share if you can. They offered to heat my cobbler up and that was nice although really only the crust was warm. The inside was still a bit cold. But it was still delicious. I don't think I've ever had blackberry pie or cobbler before so it was a first for me. But I love all berries and this was a wonderful dessert. Need to improve their service but otherwise I would visit more Black Bear Diners in the future. read more

The worst Black Bear I've been to. Service and food were terrible. I usually look forward to a Black Bear meal, I hope this experience hasn't ruined me. If you've never eaten at BB don't let this be your first! read more

Great food and service. We will return on our next trip to the Santa Maria Valley. .If you want to good meal at a decent price, this is the place to go. read more

Bacon was raw, service was slow, cooler outside even though it was 102 outdoors, soda was flat, and mosquitoes everywhere.

We were in town for my husband's son's motorcycle race and stopped here for dinner. The portions were huge and the food was pretty tasty. I had the ribeye and hubby had the tri tips. Service was excellent and everyone was really nice and friendly. We loved it so much we went back for breakfast which was also very good. I highly recommend this place if you're ever in Willows, CA. read more

Food is hit and miss! This time was terrible! Mine looked like slop on a plate. Veggies were like mush Turkey had absolutely no flavor even though it was smothered with gravy. Potatoes good. Paid for a dinner salad and never recieved it. Last time we ate there we had breakfast hash browns not cooked at all. Bacon burned. read more

I was a bit turned off as soon as I walked in. The man made bear outside seemed to have an acrylic finish to the wood, but a dear friend of mine thought it was an epoxy finish. When we asked the staff to get clarification, we were unable to find a direct and clear answer. I was then told "we ran out of chicken pot pie" many minutes after I had already put in my order. It was quite an inconvenience to read over the menu again and make another selection. The sweet potato fries were the only thing that saved the dining experience. Oh and the sea battlin' read more

This place I have been going there for 11 years but in the day time but I will never go there ever again I want there at 9:45 pm but they said that they close but the employee said are you going to eat here or to go and I said to go and then he said ok go in but when I get there they said they are close but the door are open and I believe they are raciest but they lost a costumer for ever read more

First things first. I did not eat here. Tried to go to this place while traveling from Las Vegas to Seattle. Yelp says they're open until 10 & when walking in at 9:15 we were told they were closed & and was not particularly friendly about it. If you have a restaurant right next to the middle of nowhere, it would be greatly appreciated if you kept your info on Yelp current. read more

This place is slow, service is horrible. Took 5 minutes to acknowledge us. Management needs to re train employees

We waited a long time to give our order: the "less" size pot roast. The vegetable soup was good, the cornbread muffin was very sweet. The pot roast was tender with a few pieces of carrot, celery & potato. The baked potato was large. The large serving of mixed vegetables was over-cooked & over-spiced. read more

Good flavor. But bring sharp knife. Thats not only for the meat butt for the cornbread.

Hubby and I went last night, Friday, for dinner and this midmorning for breakfast. Good food, great service, they keep the drinks full, provide plenty of 1/2 & 1/2 for coffee. Bathrooms were clean. And those signature hot sauces (4)...oh boy, I could eat those by the spoonful. I have a few food allergies, so i always ask 'does this contain...' and I didn't receive the typical moan and groan. Very nice AND very appreciated. read more

We just left the Black Bear Diner in Willows. While the food was good, the service was pathetic. We were shown to our seats, given placemats and our drink order. After waiting about 5 minutes we had to ask for a menu! Then another long wait for our order to be taken. The people in the booth behind us, who came in after us, were served before us. When our food finally came I asked for an additional napkin which I never received! No one offered to refill our water or checked on us. We didn't wait for the bill, but want directly to cashier to pay. We have been traveling for days and this is the worst service we have had! I do not recommend this restaurant and will most likely not eat at another Black Bear restaurant! read more

We have given this location two chances and will not return for a third. The service was incredibly slow. We ordered our drinks twice and still people who came in after us received their drinks five minutes before us. The waitress never came back to refill our coffee despite watching her give other tables refills. Some of the food was cold and the gravy was very salty. We had to go to the register to get our check because the waitress never brought it to us. I do not recommend this location. It does not do Black Bear Diner justice. Normally we love Black Bear Diner. read more

Stopped at this location while traveling, based on name. The restaurant is dirty inside compared to other Black Bear Diners. Food took close to two hours before it arrived, but order was not accurate. Manager stated that he was having to take over cooking and that there was staff problems. I would not recommend stopping at this location. read more

ok, I ate here again, and it was a three star meal, tasty and big. So I'll give them another star. I guess the message is, watch what you order. Burgers and breakfasts are fine, dinner entrees not so much. read more

Huge portions of delicious food. I had the southern scramble with country potatoes and loved it. Service was great. My coffee stayed full and the food came reasonably quick. Prices are very reasonable considering the amount of food you get. read more

Very disappointed with the quality of the food and the service. I've visited BBD before and this one was just way below satisfaction. The food had NO heart behind it. Will not return to this location and hesitant if I will ever visit another BBD. read more

My medium rare steak was still mooing on my plate last night. Somebody please help this chef out! He didn't even salt the meat. A good chef would heavily salt a steak. It's what you do. My fruit cup was mostly pieces of melon that were cut too close to the rind, and the eggs were those kind you buy from a bag. So don't order scrambled eggs, order over hard or something like that. The biscuit was good and the waitress was nice, but please step up the game. Who just lets a guy cook without any training? read more

A ray of sunshine in the middle of nowhere. We were on our way back to the bay area and stopped in here. Was pleasantly surprised. Very clean, very nice, food was really easily good. Huge portions and very good price. I'll be back here again if we ever come back this way. Downside - the bathroom situation sucks. One single restroom for the entire restaurant. There is always one fat person with a bad stomach that beats you to the bathroom and you end up having to go to the gas station across the road because you're so grossed out! read more

Matt had chicken and avocado club and coffee. I had apple pie and coffee. Twas yum-my! The place was very twin peaks sans murder mystery and beautiful detective (sadness...pertaining to detective only) but great food. Will come back just for the pies. read more

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Of all the real junk food available on the road (chain "restaurants"), this seemed to be more of an authentic and appealing choice. The experience seemed somewhat of an entertaining act as the servers, as friendly and nice as they obviously are, spoke and took order REALLY LOUDLY. If you are in a good mood, this will amuse you. It adds to the character of the place. Also, the portions are GIGANTIC. It is unbelievable to think that anyone could or would eat that much in one sitting. One order of any burger, for example, is enough for four people! The amount of fries on each plate is truly "thought-provoking". Do we need to waste so much? And, if we eat it all, how do we justify the way we look and the risks posed to our health (most people at the restaurant were way overweight )? Ahhh! Choices, choices when traveling long distances on the road. The answer: prepare in advance by having fresh fruit and food that you have prepared. Know what you eat. read more

Always a good breakfast and a lot of food. Service today was excellent.

We have dined at several of the Black Bear Diners over the years, and have, in fact, been to the Willows restaurant each time we have traveled north on I-5. Normally we experience great food and excellent service. Yesterday, 7/22/13 the food was good, but the service was well below acceptable. My wife had to go find our waitress twice: first, to get her to take our order, and secondly to get the kid's sundae for our young son. The restaurant wasn't packed, and there seemed to be enough staff on hand to serve everyone else. In fact, we saw the couple who had been seated just before us leaving after their lunch, and we still hadn't seen our food. On our next journey north along I-5, we may be considering other dining options. A shame, because we have always enjoyed our visits to Black Bear Diner. read more

Service was rediculously slow... 30 minutes from order to food. Burgers were dry and horrible. Fries, lukewarm at best. Why do I ever stop at a black bear diner? Experience is always the same.... Lame. read more