My daughter and I had a great night out after watching one of favorite dancers on The Crimsonette Team. We had NO wait, received fast, and friendly service. The Breadsticks with delicious marinara, and our cheese pizza were truly the best we've ever had. There are SO many options for vegetarians, as well as a kids menu, and SO much more than only breadsticks, and pizza. We can't wait to dine there on our next visit to IIU. read more

When I first moved to Bloomington years ago I was surprised that the town did not have a Little Caesar's Pizza. Locals told me that it was because the local pizza places, especially Mother Bear's, are so popular, that college students would go there instead of getting cheap, mid pizza. I have now been to Mother Bear's three or four times and really wish that there was a Little Caesar's Pizza in town. This most recent trip was during lunchtime and I ordered a cheese slice, a small house salad, and a drink. I fortunately got there early enough to get a clean table, though I saw probably fifteen to twenty people come in after me who were not so lucky. Following the sign at the door, instructing them to "Please Seat Yourselves," I heard several people ask out loud how they were supposed to do that if there were no clean tables. Some employees frantically cleaned a few tables and had them sit down. A few minutes after I ordered, the waitress brought the house salad. It looked fresh at first but the more I ate the more I realized that several of the romaine pieces were either clearly out of date or simply bad. In a moment when cyclospora is running rampant through the US, the lack of care in selecting the lettuce was worrying. Several moments later I began wondering if the cheese slice was going to be brought to my table soon. Instead, it was probably twenty minutes between getting the salad and the cheese slice and it was pretty obvious (see the photo) that the slice had been sitting under a heat lamp for around that same amount of time. The crust was dry, the cheese had become stale and too salty, and it was not a very enjoyable experience. Eating around the bad lettuce was, unfortunately, more enjoyable, and it was also better than the pizzas I've had here in the past, where the dough, toppings, and cheese aren't integrated in a way that blends their flavors together very well. The one thing I can say about this time is that the Dr. Pepper was fine, which is not something I can always say about restaurant sodas. I think for me this will probably be my last time going to Mother Bear's. It seems like one of those places that probably was good at some point in the past but now they rely on the fact that undergrads and locals will go to the restaurant no matter what. I'll probably just keep dreaming of eating Little Caesar's instead or, more likely, I'll just go get better pizza at Osteria Rago. read more

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I actually found this place when someone walked by with a pizza. It smelled so good! Meatball app. Yes please. Thin crust pepperoni & sausage. Yummy. Plenty filling. My associate also had the "works" salad. Very fresh and filling. Limited wine choices. Server Abby. Took great care of us. Sorry. Scarfed it down before I could get a pic! read more

We ordered takeout from here to our hotel and perhaps we ordered wrong... I would definitely not recommend the pesto pizza as I threw away the whole thing since I couldn't find anyone to donate it. I added meatballs to the pizza and the meatball flavor was off. The cheesy breadsticks were horrible. My husband enjoyed his honey barbecue wings. read more

It's been here for a long time for a reason. The charred edges of the pizza stays the same Really good pizza really good service Right off the IU campus read more

Visited Bloomington for the day and was excited to try Mother Bear again! It's definitely a must-try if you are visiting Bloomington. Love their pan-style pizza, and there's so many different flavor options. I probably would pass on the breadsticks, but they are cheap and taste good with the sauces. The service was great, and everyone was very nice. There's limited parking, so recommend walking to the restaurant, if possible. Definitely a great place to get pizza! read more

Mother Bear's Pizza Campus - The Deluxe - Pizza Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

I had a piece of pizza at the taste of Bloomington and it looked much better than it tasted. It was thick and cheesy but it really lacked any pizzazz or flavor. I was disappointed. read more

Love this pizzeria. It has a nostalgic, hometown feel. Love all the handwritten names throughout the restaurant, it shows the years of love it has received from its customers. It's a fun, relaxed, enjoy pizza with friends environment. Staff were very nice and attentive to our needs. They have a great selection of pizzas and food. Pizza was full of flavor. Breadsticks were great as well. Try the root beer, it's so good. So glad we stopped to visit on our trip. read more

Mother Bear's Pizza Campus - Westside Story pizza - Pizza Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

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Very unique pizza at Mother Bear's. I haven't tried pizza quite like this anywhere else. The pan pizza is like an intermediate between a regular thick-crust and deep dish. You get a thick, rich crust with lots of toppings piled on and cheese all the way to the crust, crisped up around the edges. It's indulgent but very tasty. I can normally eat a 10" pizza by myself for dinner no problem, but I cannot easily finish a 10" Mother Bear's pan pizza in one sitting because they're pretty loaded. They have several interesting pizzas on their menu, or you can create your own pizza, and they also welcome modifications to menu pizzas (some places limit substitutions, but I've done a handful of changes here without getting a hard time - ordered a cosmo pizza with dairy-free mozzarella instead of regular, no sausage or bacon, added onions, and I regularly switch out the mozzarella for the dairy-free). The toasted ravioli and garlic knots are delicious. I also think the goldfish (the crackers) in the salads are fun. They do have some other meals on the menu besides pizza which I will try one of these days but for now I keep coming back to the pizza because it's so satisfying. The service is not as good as the pizza. The main issue is it's just slow often, whether it's servers telling you "I'll be right back" and then taking 10+ minutes to be back or delays from the kitchen. I advise deciding what to order quickly so that you're ready to go when the waiter asks the first time and don't have to ask them for a few more minutes because the "few more minutes" could be more than a few, and in general just don't come here for a quick meal. They've also been very inconsistent when I've come here with big groups on what the rules are for split checks. I've been told in a group of 12 they can only split 8 ways, but then they split for all of us individually when we just asked nicely, another time with a similarly large group it was max 5 ways, and another time no limit on splits. The waiters are not rude or anything, but they just seem disorganized. The vibe is very much a college town hangout spot, but family-friendly. There's writing all over the walls but I haven't noticed anything objectionable. The style of the building is cool and most of the booths/tables feel secluded which is nice. read more

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Fantastic all around flavors, texture, fresh ingredients, many options, friendly helpful staff on phone and carryout order, as we were traveling through. The whole family can't wait to go back to enjoy the in house service, but it was very busy even for a middle of the afternoon. Call ahead! read more

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It's a nice venue; colorful and fun. The pizza was kinda mid though. The dough was chewier than I tend to like and the sauce a little too sharp. The menu is quite thick though, which lowers quality I imagine. read more

Literally my favorite pizza. I'm from louisville but if I'm even in the vicinity of this place I'm going. The crust is perfect, it has that snap to the edges but the inside is soft and doughy. The sauce is great, not too sweet. Toppings are always fresh. Just an all around great pizza spot! I also absolutely love their deals page where you can score a great price depending on what day it is. Oh and do not overlook their brownies. Perfect fudgy texture but with that glossy crackly top and sides! Can't recommend this place enough! read more

Pretty average. I like pizza hut, dominos, papa johns or even rockets better. The pies were not awful, just subpar and I totally do not understand the hype about this place. The sauce is alright (just alright). Nothing epic that justifies the hype/pricing of the pizzas here. The service was great! The restrooms weren't the cleanest, but it happened to be super busy that time so it might just be that they didn't get to cleaning after everyone at that particular time. Our server was super sweet and checked on us twice despite the rush and attending to multiple tables. The place is cozy and located in a convenient area- close to everywhere else in town. read more

We stopped in when we were in Bloomington for a basketball game. It had been a long time since I'd been to Mother Bear's, and it did not disappoint. We started with some breadsticks and beer. The Ten Inch Tuesday Special where you get a one topping 10 inch pizza sounded perfect. We went with thin crust pepperoni with Mother Bear's Sauce. We also had breadsticks and beer. The breadsticks were soft and hot. The pepperoni was nice and crisp. It was all tasty, but that pizza sauce is crazy good! Our server was friendly. The atmosphere is cozy. I definitely won't let as many years pass again before I go back! read more

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Best pizza I've had in the US. I love how it's really cheesy but not as thick as deep dish pizza (nothing wrong with deep dish, just can feel too full at times). It's so good that my brother even once asked my parents to bring back a box halfway across the country (which they did!). My favorites are the Monte Cristo, the Monet, and West Side Story. Be sure to get their pesto cheese sticks! Not a lot of people know that option from what I've heard. It tastes especially delicious when you also ask for pesto on the side to dip the cheese sticks with. Mother Bears was definitely an essential part of my college experience :) read more

Mother Bear's Pizza Campus - Pizza Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

Went in for dinner it smelled great we were so excited to try the food then we sat down to wait for a table and seen a cockroach crawling on the floor of the kitchen and instantly got up and left . read more

Tried this place for dinner. Service was quick and pleasant. College pizza hangout spot that accommodated a large group of people. Pizza tasted fresh and delicious. Loved the crispy edges. I would come back here. read more

Mother Bear's Pizza Campus - Deluxe pizza fan deluxe pizza no mushrooms on the bottom. - Pizza Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

Great place for very good pizza! And they have Guinness on tap! Add in the friendly service and you have all you want! Rustic vibe with plenty of space as well. read more

This place is a really nice restaurant for a sit down meal. I will admit the food does take a while to come but it is worth the wait. I highly recommend the house salad and the margarita pizza. read more

I was down in Bloomington for work, and had to gather a large group of my students together for dinner, I've heard of mother bears and decided to check this place out. They rock, not only did they accommodate my large group, they rocked it out with service! I enjoyed a very tasty tomato and mushroom pizza with some reinghesit bubbly. All of my students had great food, and seemed to really enjoy it! Cool ambience, great staff and food, can't wait to go back read more

Mother Bear's Pizza Campus - Pizza Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

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Underrated! Place was packed after an IU basketball game and we got seated in a reasonable time. Service was very good and the deep dish was excellent with very fair prices. read more

We were in Bloomington for a basketball game and decided to stop in for pizza and beer. I was not disappointed. We ordered the Tuesday Special 10 inch one topping pizza. We got the thin crust pepperoni with the mother bear red sauce. Great flavor, crispy cooked pepperoni and flavorful spicy sauce. The bread sticks were fluffy and had great flavor. Definitely a must stop when you visit Bloomington! read more

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An update many years later: this pizza is better than I had previously given it credit for. Not 5 stars, sure, but reliably a good quality dough and sauce (particularly with more traditional toppings). Both the traditional pan and the extremely thin thin-crust are comparable to a standard-ish place in Chicago. I'm not a huge fan of the square "deep dish," though. read more

This pizza place definitely lived up to the hype. I was recommended it by some friends who live close by and decided to give it a try. We got sat quick and received our food just as quick. The restaurant itself gave almost a party, night out with friends feel and I can imagine how lively it would be during the school year. The menu had tons of options for a variety of preferences and had some fun recommended/signatures. I wish there was more easy parking but it such a busy area I can only assume how difficult that would be to coordinate. Overall, I would recommend this restaurant to others. read more

Mother Bear's Pizza Campus - Pizza Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

Mother Bear's has always been a loudly hyped spot as the best pizza in Indiana, and I can say.. it lived up to the hype!! It was amazing, the deep dish crushed the bigger brand names that advertise it in the Mid West. I will definitely be back. Very cool atmosphere, though we had to wait an hour at 9pm at night. read more

Mother Bear's Pizza Campus - BBQ CHICKEN PIZZA - Pizza Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

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My husband spent 7 years going to IU. We recently visited and I have never been to Mother Bears. I loved it. Great sweet waitress and the food was really good. Thank you! read more

Our friend who is diabetic didn't feel well, was laying her head on the table. A worker approached us and told us she needed to leave if she couldn't stay awake. Mind you we already ordered our food and she just started to feel terrible as the lady left. She decided to get an uber and go home. We nicely asked the waitress to cancel her food, she rolled her eyes and walked away. Then, she came back with an attitude and told us she canceled our entire order when we clearly asked her to just cancel the one girls order. When she left to go back to the kitchen again, she rolled her eyes again. We had called an uber and were waiting for it to arrive for our friend, she rudely comes over and says "She needs to leave, is her uber coming?" Food also wasn't good, don't recommend if you have any self respect. read more

They have a huge menu to meet everyone's taste! Great beer & wine choices. Excellent pizza & wings! read more

Outstanding pizza and outstanding service and everything is a great price! All around great experience every time

The service was excellent! The food was good but not extraordinary. We ordered the stuffed mushrooms. They were good but we probably would skip them if we go back. They were just cheese stuffed mushrooms. We also ordered a side salad. It was fresh and very good the blue cheese dressing is incredible. We ordered two pizzas. One was the original crust with extra cheese. It was good but a little dry and bready. The other was a deep dish. It was also a good Sicilian style pizza. It was slightly soggy but tasty. When reheated in the air fryer it was crispy and delicious. It's a nice place with a good menu, reasonable prices and great service. read more

Excellent in every way!! Pizzas are fabulous!! They are very busy, but once you get to the table, efficiency is superb! Ambiance is remarkable--all about Indiana University!! Would put their pizza up against any in the states!! read more

Love this place. Been going here for decades. The decoration is amazing, it has so much history even with the silly notes everywhere. Food is fantastic, really fills you up too if you're hungry. Every employee is super nice! :) read more

Working down here and wanted good for. We got great food from Mother Bears. It's hot, fresh and delicious. The inside is very college campus like! Give it a try! read more

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Music is so loud that the venue is inaccessible to people with autism, auditory processing disorder, and PTSD.

Great pizza. Definitely a fun, loud, hole in the wall vibe college joint. The pizza is huge and you won't leave hungry. Eat in to enjoy the atmosphere. Regardless of where you went to college, this place will bring back those memories. Good times for sure. read more

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Mother Bears pizza is a must try if you are ever in Bloomington! It is a little pricey but it isnt too bad. The service is hit or miss but it is usually good! You have to try their lasagna and their fried ravioli with the pesto sauce! read more

Pizza well done and breadstick were fat and warm. Everything was delicious! The best pizza in Bloomington for us for over 30 years The service tonight was exceptional by a new server by the name of Dakota. Try it, you won't be disappointed . There specials are amazing as well. read more

Bloomington's best pizza place by far. When I went to IU, I worked here before I graduated and after that I still made trips to come back here. read more

Mother Bear's Pizza Campus - IU: The mural on the backside of the place. Epic - Pizza Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

I am dreaming of this pizza. I cannot remember what the name was, but I had the pizza with Asiago cheese, mushrooms, sausage, and vodka sauce and MAN was it delicious. Plus, I came for my birthday and was surprised to find out they have amazing birthday discounts! Loved this place and can't wait to come back. read more

Mother Bear's Pizza Campus - Pizza Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

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dont get the chicken parm!!! pizza was good though. fair pricing, a bit of the main drag from downtown.