On our way to Redding from the Bay Area, we were looking for a place to dine and luckily, we found this Black Bear Diner. I've always had a great experience with Black Bear, but this time was exceptionally great! If you've eaten at Black Bear, then you know the type of food they serve, but this post is to highlight a server. His name is Chandler. He was the lone server taking care of a few tables. Needless to say, he was very busy. However, Chandler's attitude was incredibly positive. He took care of us (as well as the other tables and made sure we had everything we ordered. Our drinks were always filled up and he checked on us every few minutes. Mind you, he bussed the tables, expedited the food, hosted the front of the house and he was also the cashier. The entire time he was friendly and polite. He really enjoyed his job. In this difficult time we are in, it's hard to find someone that is positive. A lot of restaurants are closing and people are being affected so adversely, it's easy to become cynical and start complaining. We did not experience that with Chandler. He was thankful he had a job and people that were ordering food or dining in. As always, we want to patronize local restaurants and the worker because we appreciate what they do and how hard they work. We can do that by making sure we dine out when possible but most of all be generous in with our tip. If you're ever in the Willows area and are hungry for good food with exceptional service, stop by Black Bear and ask for Chandler. If he's working, then you'll be in for a treat as I'm sure he will take care of you. NOTE: He doesn't know us and he did not solicit this review. read more

We have eaten at a lot of the bear diners but I think this is one that had a bad day.. first they sat us in another side that no one was sitting at. I think they forgot about us or they didn't tell the waitress we were there.. when she came to take a break we asked her for water and drinks and she was very apologetic as she said she did not know they sat us here.. order took a long time we had breakfast. My plate should of been 3 eggs scrambled hash browns and toast. Three of us had the same thing but when mine came it looked like a child's plate compared to the others hash browns were cold and the toast did not have butter on it she had to bring it on the side.. when I brought it to her attention that my plate looked small like it did. It have 3 eggs and the little bit of hash browns she agreed but didn't do anything about it. We were super hungry so I just ate it.. Very Berry sad.. we were just driving through if we do go through I won't be going back here .... read more

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It's 8:00pm on a Saturday, pouring rain and you're on hour 7 of a 12 hr road trip. Out of the darkness emerges a black bear! It must be the road driving delirium because this bra at is at least 30 feet high!! At this point,we hungry, tired, grouchy and did I mention how many hours we were driving??? I've only been to a BBDiner once before and it was memorably kitschy inside and the food was.....unmemorable. Wouldn't you know, this BBDiner was the same. But that's was okay with us. The thing about this place is that you can bring anyone there and most likely find something to suit thheir tastes. We had a berry waffle with about a can of whipped cream on top, egg white oMlette with chicken apple sausage, corn muffins and a tri tip dinner. The salad was cold and crispy but the half rotten cherry tomato ruined it. Everything else was fine but we were not in a hurry to bring leftovers home. read more

This is my "GO TO" when I'm in Willows for a track event at Thunderhill Raceway. But, what occurred to me on this last visit on Oct 9th and 10th was that not only did miss the hospitality, I really missed the whole feeling of being in a restaurant. (Because of Covid) And with missing being in a restaurant and experiencing such sweet and caring customer service, this weekend just felt really really nice. Almost like family? Anyway, I encourage folks to be patient as the staff ramps up to the new operations of less capacity and no counter service. Tip them well as they are working their ass(es) off to make us food and keep that jerk Governor Newsom looking good with his narrow minded policies. Thanks for helping me make my track weekend memorable. read more

Black Bear Diner - Willows - 1990 Calspeed Yamaha FZR-R4 at the BBD getting some food! - American Near Me - Willows, California

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Amazing, delicious breakfast. Fluffy pancake, good scrambled eggs, yummy sausage. I LOVE black bear diner, Ive been going here since i was very young. Always recommend. read more

Black Bear Diner - Willows - Bear's choice - American Near Me - Willows, California

Food, service, and atmosphere were fantastic. The NY strip steak was phenomenal...very generous portion and perfectly cooked. Really enjoyed my visit and wouldn't hesitate to go back! read more

Very cute and cozy location right off the highway. The service was great, though you could tell the servers had a lot to juggle. I had a chicken fried steak that was served nice and hot with garlic bread & coleslaw. The coleslaw was very tangy. My mom had a patty melt with onion rings, which was also cooked to perfect medium and delicious. We got a side of ranch dressing that tasted homemade. Nice comforting food for travel. One thing to note: If you are possibly on the heavier side you may want a table rather than a booth for comfortable belly to table fit. It's a bit of a squeeze. read more

You don't expect great food at a place like this, but you also don't expect to wait this long. It was pretty quiet and it took 20 minutes for the salad and another 30 minutes to get my sandwich. You'd be better off going to Subway across the street. read more

I stopped by Black Bear in Willows on a recent Saturday mid-way through a six hour drive down I-5. I was standing at the counter for ten minutes before I gave up and went elsewhere. I could see behind the counter that the bus-bins were overflowing with trash strewn across the floor. From what I observed during my ten minutes there, the diner was staffed by to teenagers in the front, trying to serve customers, and a single kitchen person in the back. It is not their fault that they couldn't greet and serve people (I wasn't the only one) waiting to be seated. They were busy focusing on the customers who were already seated. Black Bear may blame this on the current "nobody wants to work" labor challenges. I suggest the challenge isn't that nobody wants to work anymore. The challenge is that nobody wants to work for absurdly low wages. Offer employees $20 an hour starting pay and you will see more customers, happier customers, and fewer people giving one star reviews on Yelp. Yeah, you might have to cut your profit margins, but that's what its going to take to stay in business. Epilog: After giving up on BBD, I went next door to KFC. THEY had more people working than BBD. THEY provided great service. I don't know what they are, paying but the BBD manager might have a chat with the KFC manager to see what they are doing differently. read more

Friendly staff, nice ambiance, and well presented. First time at a Black Bear Diner. Great change up while touring area a on Motorcycle. Recommend giving it a try. read more

Black Bear Diner - Willows - Inside Bear decorations. - American Near Me - Willows, California

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Terrible service! Busy Friday holiday weekend! One waitress, one "hostess", took 30 minutes to seat my wife and I. Hostess told us they had no dishwasher & as a result, they had no silverware. Finally seated us and took orders from customers who had come in after us! Under staffed caused so many problems. Waitress is either extremely hyper or on something? I kind of felt bad but we waited it out hoping to get our food? read more

I went hear and the ambiance is great. However my card declined since I maxed it out. But the lady said it's ok since it's only one beer. Well. Thank you very much for waiving my fee. Will be back soon. 5/0 read more

The breakfast at this place is phenomenal. I ordered the biscuits with gravy and my gf ordered the French toast with a side fruit. Great place to come here for breakfast food with the friendly waitress. read more

Black bear is under new ownership and is doing great! Came here with some friends a few weeks ago and we all enjoyed our meals! They have great seating outside with a fan and misters so you don't die from the heat lol. The food was great and the service was excellent! Also came again with my fiancé and they have limited indoor seating but the food is great at the service was excellent! read more

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

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Avoid... After a long day on the road we stopped in for dinner after checking into our motel. Despite the restaurant being mostly empty it took 10 minutes to be seated cause there were only 2 waiters working. It took 20+ minutes to get our house salads, half way through our salads, the waitress informed us that my wife would have to order something else because the chef couldn't find any Tuna. It has taken 30+ minutes to get two kids meals (kraft Mac n' cheese, microwave pizza & fries). Had to ask twice plus wait 10 minutes for refills. Couldn't get lemonade refills cause it was frozen. Only got forks because the dishwasher was running. Took a good 35 minutes to get all of our food which is beyond ridiculous for a highway side diner. Our waitress was friendly but overwhelmed. Going to bump my review up to 2 stars because my burger was good. read more

Waiting staff was friendly. BUT: I ordered a combo with BBQ ribs, they were OUT OF RIBS! My wife's order included their advertised Corn-on-the-cob. They were out of the Corn! We have been to the BB many times; this was the worst experience we have ever had with one. I gave it an arbitrary "2 stars" only because I feel they should have whatever they advertise. You may have given them a 4 or 5 star rating. We love the BBs so much, we will try this one again, since it's relatively close. read more

Very slow service. Waitress and cook talking to each other instead of doing their job.

Stopped in around 12:30pm on a Thursday afternoon. The food came out quickly and was hot. If your looking for a hearty portion for breakfast this is your spot. The inside of the establishment had different signs and things that all were Bear related. I would say that this food is definitely better than a diner and more along the lines of a restaurant. I would totally go back as I was not disappointed! read more

Black Bear Diner - Willows - BIGFOOT Chicken Fried Steak & Eggs* (2580 cals.) - American Near Me - Willows, California

Black Bear Diner, is a fav of mine, well the one in Walnut Creek. We had to choose between this and McDonald's. The problem my family and I faced here was the incredibly SLOW service. It wasn't even that busy, plenty of tables were open, and yet the service was slow. It took ten minutes to get a server to us. It took nearly 30-40 minutes for us to get our food. I got the chicken apple sausage scramble with no toast and country potatoes instead of hashbrowns. There were more potatoes than the apple sausage (the complete opposite to what Walnut Creek does). My mom got hashsbrowns and it wasn't fun to deal with. Yuck. Should have gone to McDonald's. 2/5 read more

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

I came into the Willows Black Bear Diner Friday night around 7 pm the food and everything was amazing, but the air conditioner was broken so it was really hot and I really don't think it is okay for the cook to be in the hot kitchen with no ac for hours. read more

Tried to eat here but the bathroom were clogged and the place packed I side with some people not wearing masks in common areas. I was worried about their health standards here. read more

I eat here every time I come here for a HPDE. The service is mostly very good and friendly. But the food is what I come for. Their portions are huge and I never have room for dessert! I have enjoyed their NY steak, pot roast, BBQ ribs, chicken potpie and their Cobb salad. With their entrees, you get a choice of soup or salad, and one or their delicious cornbread muffin. read more

I stopped here with my mother for a late lunch today and left feeling very satisfied. The staff was polite, though the service was a little slow today. My mom ordered her Black Bear Diner favorite - a BLT and I tried their harvest salad. Our special requests were honored perfectly and my salad was HUMUNGOUS! I am not sure I've ever had a salad quite this big. I thought I would take half home, though I only ended up taking about 20% home - it was that delicious I just kept stuffing myself until past full! Black Bear Diner boasts big portions and they aren't kidding. I may have to try to stick to the "Little Less" menu options, though I will also admit my salad was incredibly tasty and I would gladly eat it next time I'm there. This restaurant was clean and well maintained. There are two restrooms available; they are single-person rooms and are not gender specific. I was there after the lunch rush, but still had to wait for a little bit before I could get into one of the restrooms. The toilet seat was a little uncomfortable; sort of pointy on the outer edges and not rounded/flat like I had hoped. The door had a hook for my handbag and there was a baby changing table handy. I also appreciated that they had hand hold bars available for handicap patrons. Decent service, spot-on food and convenient locations all make this a restaurant to keep on your list of places to eat at in Willows, California. read more

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Our best stop for breakfast on the road to Thunderhill Raceway - regular menu choices are all there - staff are exceptionally welcoming open at 6.00am on the weekends so a good choice when we have to set up early at the track. Can't sit at the counter because of COVID regulations but their booths are very clean and comfortable. We are regular customers here and enjoy it. read more

Came here at 7:30 on a Thursday night and it was packed. Literally everyone working was so overwhelmed and disoriented. Customers were being jerks and sending food back left and right, cooks were totally frazzled, wait staff were losing track of which table number went to which table and arguing with each other non-stop. I really did feel for them, but man it was bazaar. The food was basic, big portions, low-average prices. We ordered a taco salad and a tri-tip dip. Taco salad: the beef was literally just a partially-ripped up burger patty. The rest was pretty bland and basic. Salad was room temp. Tri-tip dip: the sandwich was REALLY good but the au jus was so super thick it was like it was a concentrate that didn't get water added or something. It was only 1/3 full so I filled the rest with my drinking water and mixed it up - even then, it was so thick it looked like I dipped the bread in motor oil or something, it was honestly pretty funny. Everything was room temp (water, food, salad, au jus, everything). We didn't complain, but it was all so weird. On the way out I was standing at the front counter to pay and two large groups came in and the staff started arguing in front of everyone about if they could help them all or not. One even looked at me like they expected me to agree with them or back them somehow, lol. read more

One hour wait for the food?!?!? Are you kidding me? Our waitress went on break and the one who took over claimed isn't a server so was asking for our understanding when she put the plate down the table and the French fries went all over the table. Half of our order wasnt available and they only found out after 30 mins of our sitting and waiting for our order. I guess this is small town service. read more

4/3/2023 The services was horrible!! Took waitress awhile to come take order. The lemonade was gross taste like watered down lemonade, when we told waitress she first said it fresh an it was strong then when we told her it tasted like water she then said it was last of the container an got attitude when we asked for new drinks. Ordered 2 to go orders when we made our order an when we were done an was paying waitress tells us the order never went through. She knew it didn't an didn't try an put it through again she waited tell we were done an paying to tell us an then said oh I'm sorry!! Do you still want to place the order!! Ugh! I've eaten here several times an never had service like this!! No smile an NOT ONE BIT HAPPY !! read more

We waited an hour for our food. We had to find the manager to go check on our order our waitress was overworked. Maybe they are short staffed? Once our food arrived my husbands beef dip had paper in it. The manager took $15 off but no one ever even apologized to us. read more

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

This place compared to others was okay. Nothing extraordinary, cord bread was hard as a rock! And staff was not wearing gloves and during this Covid is a huge no no! read more

Black Bear Diner - Willows - Nice to be able to sit down and have lunch... long drive! - American Near Me - Willows, California

Simply the best alternative on any California road trip. They have 57 locations in the west. Not much of selection of food here in Willows, so it was a clear choice for me. BBD offers very good meals at great values. Burgers are big and onion rings are not frozen commercial grade crap. For dinner, look for their specials. Prime rib/standing rib roast is a favorite and done well. Breakfast is always good too. read more

Like the large selection Small and large portions Easy on and off the freeways makes it nice chose them when road tripping . read more

Dependable, fast, friendly and excellent. It would be nice if our Rocklin location was this good but sadly, it's terrible. Love the Black Bear chain, but wish they were consistent. read more

This is the second time in two months that we've stopped at this BBD and again this location proved to be sub par to the other BBD's we've gone to in Tracy, Pleasanton, and Salinas. On both occasions the wait time at Willows was excessive, especially since the restaurant was not anywhere near full. The first time we waited 45 minutes from the time we entered to the time food was brought out and the second time we waited an hour and 15 minutes. There was plenty of wait staff this second time, so the lag time was due to the kitchen. Our waitress, who was very friendly and apologetic stated they were short a cook and the manager was helping cook. When the food arrived the eggs on the Benedict's were perfectly poached, but the country style potatoes were parboiled or steamed and not fried to make them softer and crisp-- they didn't taste right. Also missing onion s and bell peppers. The pancakes were of a more grainy texture and the over easy eggs were over cooked to the point of having a hard boiled egg yolks. The waitress was harried since the entire section was waiting for food. She handled all that well and even gave a discount for having to wait so long. The first time around the food was fine, it was just slow. If you are in a rush it's probably better to go elsewhere. read more

makes you full super fast, but the ice cream kinda tastes like cardboard. the service is pretty good, nice people but it takes awhile. not many good options for pickey eaters though. read more

Good food, good portions & cooked as ordered. Good prices & friendly staff. Smaller restaurant and tight fit in the right side dining area.

I have been to over 26 different Black Bear diners and this one is the absolute worst establishments I have ever been too. Black Bear should be ashamed to even have there name attached to this circus in Willows, CA. We waited over 1 and a 1/2 hours to get our food. We refilled our drinks ourselves at the soda machine drink area. You could hear the chefs yelling at the manager and the waiters and waitresses. This place should not even get any type of rating as it is a complete dump. The tables near the windows were playing tic tac toe killing flies on the window. Our waitress was verbally abused by the managers and chefs and she threatened to quit while we were there. I am appalled and I will never visit another Black Bear Diner again because of this experience in Willows, CA. Avoid this wanna be restaurant all costs. read more

Let me start out by saying what a joke ordered a rare burger that came to the table raw 100% never saw the grill and the wait was so long that all our other food was cold as well as undercooked pancakes. read more

I can't with good conscience give this place even one star but I have to give it one star to post a review. Unfortunately, this is the only full restaurant other than Mexican, Fast Food and Pizza. We will bypass this town on future travels. read more

I don't know what's up with BBD. This is my second time this year going and another location in a different state, I actually got up and left as no one came by to help me. We tried this location on a roadtrip through California. We were seated and greeted nicely. Ordered some water to start things off, one of the glasses was dirty. I ended up going to the front counter to get a new one. A member of my party has dietary restrictions and we asked about gluten in the hash browns. The response was yes, but kind of hesitant. Also asked if fries are cooked in different fryer. As it's really important to customers lives, please train your people, or have someone on site to answer the questions. I ended up having a french dip sandwich. I guess I could have stepped up and added some toppings, but it was a bit dry and the dipping sauce was overspiced for me. I know that the last sentence may sound contradictory, but it wasn't. read more

Stopped here on our way to Oregon, we were all hungry after spending 4hrs in the car. The restaurant was dirty and under staffed and the food was NOT good. We sat out side and the chairs and tables had not been cleaned and were cover in cobwebs. We ordered an almond croissant which was stale, a bacon and egg breakfast , the home fries tasted as though they were old and reheated. J6st a very disappointing meal. We are Black Bear Diner fans so we were not happy. Won't be going back to this one. read more