Black Bear Diner Fresno

We wanted to have breakfast somewhere different so we tried Black Bear Diner. I'm glad we did. The atmosphere is of black bears throughout the diner. The service was very attentive and friendly. The food we had ordered came out quickly and tasted wonderful. I ordered the California omelette with one pancake and creamy grits. It was very filling. I see myself coming back to Black Bear Diner next time I'm in California.

Excellent diner with rustic decor. Numerous food choices and fast service. The prices are reasonable and good sized portions. Clean bathrooms. The parking lot is not overly large but there is plenty of other parking as the restaurant is in the same retail park as numerous other businesses with plenty of shared parking

The breakfast was excellent and the waitress was so attentive. Large portions, see you again soon.

Alex served us today and he was an absolutely great waiter. We have a food allergy and he was very attentive to the allergy and paid a ton of attention to how the food was prepared for us. 100% will be back again. Update: it's 2025 and this is still our go to restaurant for dinner. Mari was super sweet and Ray was very nice! Will be coming back for years to come. (Get the chicken nest, it's amazing)

Good food, not too busy. The fish and chips was very good.

Our server was kind, checked in with us regularly. The food was good, not too greasy or salty and came out pretty quick. Their deserts looked really good but didn’t order any. The menu has so much to choose from; the prices I will say are a bit higher, maybe similar to what you would spend at Sizzler. The place was very clean, music wasn’t too loud. Actually the fanciest location I’ve been too. Only thing that was odd was that when my fiancé ordered a glass of water, there was something black floating in it. Waiter was kind and replaced the water for him. It was fairly quiet when we went. I recommend the Sour dough burger for sure. Been ordering for years

Once Our Favorite Spot—Now Sadly Disappointed For years, I would have given Black Bear Diner a solid five stars without hesitation. The food was great, the service was warm and attentive, and it had that cozy, family-friendly atmosphere that made it our go-to restaurant. It even became part of our family traditions—we rented out the back room so both of my boys could celebrate their birthday lunches there with family. It was always the winner of our “where to eat” car game. Unfortunately, over the last 6 to 9 months, things have really taken a turn for the worse. We’ve continued giving Black Bear chance after chance, hoping for the experience we used to love—but after six consistently rough visits, I feel it’s time to be honest. We’ve dealt with iced drinks being spilled with barely an apology (“it happens sometimes”), incorrect orders, food being sent to the wrong tables, and a steady decline in service and attention to detail. While removing the fried chicken (my favorite) was disappointing, the final straw for me was tonight: our orders were incorrect, and one item we specifically ordered was forgotten entirely—only brought out over 15 minutes later, after we had already finished our main course. To make matters worse, the waitress initially insisted we had ordered incorrectly. It was only after I reminded her of the details of our order that she acknowledged the mistake. She did apply a discount, but honestly, I don’t care about the monetary compensation—what matters to me is the quality of the experience, and that has been consistently declining. I understand that mistakes happen, especially in a busy restaurant. But when those mistakes become the norm, it’s hard to justify spending $80 on a family meal that leaves us frustrated or disappointed. Sadly, tonight’s visit was no exception. With a heavy heart, I’m lowering my rating to two stars. We’ll be looking elsewhere for a family restaurant where we can feel good about spending our hard-earned money.

Tried the all-you-can-eat fish fry. Turns out I could only eat one bite because of it being terrible. Dried out and old oil tasting.

Black Bear Diner is hands down our favorite breakfast spot in town! It's so good that we gladly travel across town just to enjoy their amazing food. We've dined here at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and every single meal has been exceptional. You simply can't beat the quality of the food, and the portions are big enough to satisfy even the hungriest bear! They have the best pancakes in the entire Central Valley! The atmosphere is welcoming, and the service always makes us feel right at home. This place has truly earned our loyalty, and we'll keep coming back for more. If you're looking for hearty, delicious meals, Black Bear Diner is the place to go!

Food was really good and came out fast. Server and host were both really nice. Also clean and quiet inside, perfect for a nice lunch.

Roaches crawling behind my sister while we're waiting for our breakfast overcooked poached eggs, hard waitress notice did nothing about it no stars Do not recommend filthy

Food is 10/10 Service 10/10 they are so nice and they came coming back to asks what we needed and everything is good. Ambiance 10/10 Overall clean and professional chefs inside here. And professional staffs The meat just melts in your mouth like I will come back here 10 times.

You want to be satisfied and happy...yeah, just go here, just do it! Awesome experience start to finish with our meal today with our family. We entered at 11am, and got seated immediately, like didn't even wait one minute, and we were given a booth as requested. Though they were busy, there was no, putting a name down, it was instant friendly accommodation. We had the most lovely server today, Juliana who anticipated our needs, provided service with a smile, and all our food was delicious, and comforting frankly. The portions are ridiculously ample, and we all had leftovers for another meal. We ordered both breakfast and lunch choices, and were incredibly satisfied. Kid's meals ordered: Kraft Mac and Cheese with fruit, chicken strips with fries, bear cub face pancake, One egg, pancake, & bacon. Also ordered, waffle with scrambled eggs and ham, side of potatoes, and another regular entree with over easy eggs, pancakes, and ham. The coffee got refilled before we asked, and seriously, we thought, hey it might be nice if...and there Juliana was anticipating our needs! She's a keeper, see if you can ask for her. The kid's meals also either came with a sundae or strawberries. Plenty of take home containers with handle bags were given, and we headed to pay. They really have a fun selection of gift items and reasonably priced. We picked up 2 items. In addition, great music was played throughout our visit today...and I can't say enough about our overall feel, just happiness! Thanks Black Bear Diner!

I don't normally leave reviews, but this experience was particularly bad. When we arrived it was not that busy. No one was waiting. Yet it still took 15-20 minutes before they were able to seat our party. It then took another 5-10 mins for a server to come and get our drink order. By then we were ready to order everything. It took a very long time for the drinks to come and our kids had had enough. They forgot to bring out one of the soups that went with a meal. Mixed reviews about the food around the table. The coleslaw was underdressed, potato was dry. When we were ready to pay, we heard the wait stuff talking negatively about our party. Not a good experience overall and I will never bring my guests visiting from out of town here again. I would definitely not call this establishment family friendly.

my family and I went in for Christmas. The service and food were amazing! Everyone there was very hospitable! We appreciate everyone being there on this holiday and making it at a great experience. Thank you to the management and crew merry Christmas.

The whole thing was awesome. Flavor of food and fresh. Service excellent. Atmosphere relaxing, empty plates taken away right away. Coffee good, dessert delicious, parking easy access in and out. Oh! Lots of parking

In May, my family and I visited and ate for the first time at Black Bear Diner on Shaw. We ordered the chicken tenders plate, the shrimp and steak plate and I ordered the tri tip plate. The waiter served us in accurate time and order. The food cost was reasonable for the area. Since we are a military veteran family I asked if they have an offers for senior citizens or military service. They do offer discounts just asked them do you be shy. Overall, my family and I had an excellent dining experience. The ambiance was great the restaurant was clean at that time of day. Check out the photos. We highly recommend for you to stop by this diner for your dining needs.

A great place for breakfast with generous portions that can last for another breakfast meal. Even though we took out breakfast as a takeout, the service was excellent and the food was delicious. Walking through the side door and into the dining area you'll see a large and comfortable dining room. The front entrance is closed at this time due to construction work on the front entrance, a driver plowed through the front entrance not too long ago. Other than that great food, service and ambiance.

The manager Mari called the cops on us saying we were disrespectful when they burnt my food twice. Horrible service they put my plate in the microwave when I sent it back burnt. I wanted to speak to the cook to give him another chance but she wouldn't let me. My husband ate his food but 5he never brought me a new plate.

Sometimes it is a great experience at Black Bear Diner and other times it's just bleh. Most of the wait staff are friendly but once in a while you can get someone who is having a bad day. All in all I recommend this place and eat there quite often. I give their food a thumbs up.

I was pleasantly surprised I enjoyed the food here. I was gun shy because I have NOT liked the food at other Black Bear diners - seemed to be greasy yet flavorless huge plates of food. We were greeted as we entered and were seated after just a few minutes wait on a Sunday morning around 9am. In Fresno, you have to come early or you'll be waiting 30 minutes, doesn't really matter the place. Anyway, we had great service from our waitress even though the dining room was full. My coffee never got cold because it was refilled often, nice. I didn't order my standard biscuits and gravy because I remembered theirs were that lighter airy style I don't care for, so I went for a scramble which came with a biscuit on the side. That biscuit was DELICIOUS! Yes light and airy but somehow also fluffy and dense but not in a bad way. It came with real butter that I slathered on with orange marmalade. Oh, man, do I need to come back for biscuits and gravy. My scramble was fine, lots of fillings not just potatoes. So much that I would have liked more egg haha. My husband also enjoyed his plate. We had to take home leftovers because there was so much food. I will never object again when my husband suggests comping here!

Yesterday I got 3 individual thanksgiving meals for me and parents. I scheduled to pick up at 245pm. They did not give them to me until 317. By the time I got to my destination (about 20 min. A rehab facility where my dad is at) the food was all cold. Everything was mixed up on the plate. This was my 2nd year being disappointed with them. Never again.

Don't come on a holiday. Not regular menu! Can't order what you want. Management bad.

Just to know when bad things happen. Its the way the backend workers (managment) deal with issues, really nice too know they are going to handle issues fast and the right way, do not see that much these days, so thank you for your hard work.!

Taken care of as soon as we walked in, it looked packed as well too. It's a casual ambience with low music playing in the background. The host sat us down and soon after our waiter came to get our order. Did not take long to get our food out. I got The volcano and my husband the chorizo breakfast burrito. The pancakes were hot warm and fluffy. They were sooo good. The potatoes were crispy, but I felt like they lacked seasoning, so we added some salt and pepper. No biggie. The burrito was more eggs and cheese than chorizo but still darn good with the salsa they provided. Loved the service and food we got, def coming back

My family and I arrived around 9am. There was a slight wait, but not too much. We waited outside and sat on the bench, taking pics of the bear statue outside. Once our table was ready, we walked in towards the back. Our table was near the server station, which was kind of nice, since we were able to get our drinks right away. I ordered eggs benedict with chicken, and my family ordered salads and pancakes. The portions are good to share. Food came out hot and our server was nice and attentive. Definitely a nice breakfast spot to enjoy with the family.

Haven't been here in a couple years. Unfortunately, I have to say that service has gone way down. We went during the lunch rush and there was one host working the front who was clearly overwhelmed. He was the only one taking payments, which left lines of people waiting to even be put on the list for seating. This lead to him getting confused about who had come in first and people getting out of order, including us, which is very frustrating when you've already been waiting. It probably took us 15 minutes to get seated, which wouldn't have been a problem if we weren't getting bumped on the list. Waitresses were coming in and having to just ask who was next, which could potentially create issues amongst guests. Once we got to our table, it took awhile to get our order in and the better part of an hour to receive our food. The waters were never refilled during the visit. We used to like this place but the understaffing has turned it into quite an unpleasant experience. I doubt that we will return because we really left unhappy today. As far as the food itself goes, when we finally received it, some things were good and some weren't. The biscuits are huge, impressive height. The veggie burger, however, is absolutely horrid. It was crumbly like sand and tasted like sand as well. The "fresh fruit" side is a sad couple chunks of melon. Good quality ranch dressing though.

I love Black Bear Diner! Great food, great service, great atmosphere. And I love that they have grits on the menu! Don't be fooled by the plywood on the front door. Just like the convenience store in the movie Clerks, I assure you they are open. Go to the door around the side and have some breakfast.

Last week for dinner, the family and I were in the area and decided to stop and get a bite to eat. We were pleasantly surprised by this place. The inside was nice and had fun merchandise! Prices are ok but what makes up for it are the big portions and decent quality food . At first service was slow but we had a great server, super kind and attentive. My oldest got the cinnamon roll French toast, this was so good 5/5 for sure.$11.29 (3 pieces of French toast and fruit) My mild got the grilled cheese sandwich and fries from the kids meal 4/5 $4.69 My youngest got the Mac and cheese with fruit $5.29 , he seem pleased with the meal. The hubs got the chicken and waffles 4/5 which was about $16 and it came with cheesy bacon grits which was not good unfortunately but the rest of the meal was great I got the tuna chef salad $12.99 4/5, not bad , tuna was good and seemed fresh . We saw the seasonal dessert and had to try! Pumpkin cheesecake $6.99, 4.5/5 , this was so good not dense but airier than normal cheesecake, like it was whipped. Yum!

The Fresno location doesn't disappoint and impeccable. Amazing food, portions and service. The new CFS omelette is beyond amazing and the art direction with bears is charming. They have an impressive array of bear-themed merchandise at this location and the employees are wonderful. Normally I write extensive reviews but BBD is consistently so excellent it's not necessary. This is the fifth location I've visited and I love the excellent consistency. I love going to a new BBD location and this one was no exception. This location also has a bus stop right outside and is conveniently located on Shaw.

So, BBD replied, but it seems canned. Did they actually READ my review to understand what happened? Do they understand *Yelp reviews are specific to location unless otherwise noted? We gave them 5 chances; 3 breakfast, 2 lunch, 3 were tolerable-to-disappointing, 2 were failures, so we're done. They don't need my contact details to solve their personnel issues or operational problems. *To be clear, we have had better (3-4 star) experiences at their Tulare and Modesto locations. Peace, out...

This black bear diner is a huge disappointment. The portions are small. The food doesn't even fill the plate. I've eaten at other black bear diners, and they are 100% much better. I will never return to this black bear diner in Fresno.

All in all I had a solid 3.5 star dining experience. I'm rounding up. After a little confusion with my turkey club, I ended up with what I ordered. But I don't think I ever ended up with double turkey as originally requested. Unfortunately the entree came out before the salad appetizer. But the server was kind enough to comp the salad in the end.

Food wasn't so bad. Atmosphere around us felt welcoming. Most restaurant managers don't come to make sure the customers are happy but they do!

Great food and atmosphere. Emmalie was the absolute best waitress. Phenomenal personality, made us feel so welcome and checked if we needed anything. The world needs more servers like Emmalie!!!!

very good service, excellent food and family atmosphere!! We love this place !!! Thanks

Sunday breakfast are always so awesome here! You want a good breakfast, great portion, and good vibes.. Black Bear is the place to go to. Mari and her team gave us great service. We sat at the breakfast bar and got a bowl of mango mimosa. Thank you Mari.

We've been to their restaurants many times over the years . Stopped in for breakfast and everything we ordered was way overcooked! My wife's hash browns overcooked on one side and raw on the other. My over easy eggs were more like over medium well. My country fried steak was so overcooked it was had to cut it. Hope they can find a real cook!

Driving down Shaw looking for breakfast. We were going to settle for IHOP but then we saw Black Bear! Hubby and I were so excited to get a breakfast date and Blackbear was the perfect spot. There is plenty of parking close to the entrance. When you walk in you'll notice the country decor. I really love all the bear decor and merch for sale! There are shirts, slippers, mugs, stuffed animals, stickers, everything. They also have a lovely dessert display counter that is stocked with pies and sliced cheesecake and more. We were seated right away and I noticed it was pretty packed. Not uncomfortably but it was busy. We got a booth and we're given menus which looked like newspapers! It was SO cute! I love the newspaper menu idea for sure!! Only thing is you can see pictures of the food but oh well haha. Our waitress was really sweet and took our order with patience and answered all of our questions. I ordered the corned beef hash with country potatoes and a side of grits. My husband got an open faced breakfast sandwich topped with gravy and a side country potatoes and 2 sweet cream pancakes. It was a lot of food! We were so happy when we got our plates. The waitress gave me tips on how to eat grits because I hadn't tried them before. She brought extra butter so they could be nice and creamy. They were so good! The sweet cream pancakes were delicious and yes, sweet! They tasted like donuts! Mmm they were good. Yeah all our food was really delicious. Blackbear is pretty much our favorite spot for breakfast. The coffee is super hot. The food is amazing. The people are nice and attentive. Just an all around solid American diner.

The servers were very very nice. Very nice. The bathrooms were a little musty but it's okay. The mac and cheese was absolutely delicious. As well was the blueberry cheesecake. It wasn't anything special though.

Service sucks!!!! We did not get checked on once by our server during our meal. Not a single time. Checked on every single table down the line but skipped ours on top of that attitude by some of them needs help lma what the hell this location needs home training. I'd give zero stars if i could.

Love this place and it's been a few months since I came this way!!! Huge menu that really takes a while to read!!! The have lots of souvenirs and Bear themed stuff!!! Huge bear feet house slippers!!! I first went to a Santa Rosa and San Jose diner!!!

Went to Ojai for the afternoon and, on our way back to Oxnard, stopped at the Black Bear Diner for the first time and so glad we did. We ordered the fish and chips dinner and really enjoyed it! Generous portions of everything and the fish were nice and crispy. Big shout out, and thank you to Scott, our server. He was super professional and a really nice person :) We will be going back :)

In my experience the service was good but the food it was fresh but the price was not worth the food. do your research before going anywhere.

My wife and I went to Black Bear on Sunday at 10:30 am. They told us that it would be a 10 to 15 minute wait. We only waited 5 minutes the most. We sat down got our drinks fast. I ordered the 2 eggs and ham breakfast. I really enjoyed it. The portions are big and worth the money. My wife ordered the turkey club. She really enjoyed it. It was made well, the fries were crisp and fresh. Even though it was busy we got our food quickly. This was my first time eating at this location and I was not disappointed.

Poor service. I waited 1 whole hour for my and my babies food 3 tables got serviced before us. I had to leave and take my daughter to get fast food because she was hungry so pathetic. I will Never come here again. Horrible service you will better service at the Taco Bell down the street. Over priced food for bad service nah I'm ok

I've been craving the Hot Sausage Patty Breakfast for the longest time. Drove the 15 miles to this location only to be disappointed. Place was crowded, but no wait at the counter. Usually you get great service at a counter... not at this location. We waited 15 minutes to get our drink order in. We were ready to order, but the server wasn't. After our order was taken, took roughly 30 minutes only to be delivered lukewarm food. One of my over easy eggs was trashed.

My family and I came to visit a family member who is in the hospital here in Fresno. We live in Northern California. We stopped by black bear diner for breakfast. The restaurant was very clean and the food was delicious. This was great after a long drive!!! We were a party of 8. Mari the manager was very nice and professional. Mari made sure that we were happy with everything. Fatima the server was great too. We appreciated that they were bilingual. We will definitely be back, if we are ever in town. We didn't take any pictures of the food because we were starving but everything was great!!! We even ordered food to go. Mi familia y yo venimos a visitar a un familiar que está en el hospital en Fresno. Nosotros vivimos en el norte de California. Llegamos a black bear diner para desayunar. El restaurante estaba muy limpio y la comida deliciosa. Esto fue excelente después de un largo camino. Éramos un grupo de 8 familiares. Mari la manager fue muy amable y profesional. Mari se aseguró que estuviéramos satisfechos con todo. Fátima la mesera también fue excelente. Apreciamos mucho que son bilingües. Definitivamente vamos a volver cuando regresemos a la ciudad. No tomamos fotos de la comida porque teníamos mucha hambre pero todo estuvo muy bien. Incluso llevamos comida para llevar.

To the waiter attending us.....learn to take a payment. If I'm handing you my card take it and walk yourself to the register process the payment and bring back my receipt. Don't tell me sorry you need to go to the register! That is why you didn't get no tip and a bad review!

I love blackbear diner so much! I wish you guys kept your little breakfast sandwiches tho! They were so yummy! I hope you can bring them back! I always make my way over there when I know Sonia is working, she's such a great server! She always makes sure she takes care of us when we go, her personality is definitely one of a kind, she's funny, and always makes sure everything comes out perfect! I highly recommend going when she's working!

The food was really good and the service was good as well. Giant portions. Enough to take home a meal for the next day . If I had to complain about something the only thing was that my corn muffin was a little stale. I'm sure if I would have said something he would have brought another. Good food bottom line

I love black bear diner and drive across to go here love my dinner well prepared sd presented

Brandon made our day!!! Very professional and very kind!!! We had our granddaughter from Bologna, Italy...she love her American Hamburger and French Fries The Grizz Rocks!!!! Thank you

I just have to say wonderful things about the manager here I believe her name is Mari I'm deaf lol! Either way they had some people that called in and we asked if we could sit at the counter since we had just landed at the Fresno airport from an early flight and we were starving, originally she had mentioned she had closed it off and we totally understood. She ended up sitting is there which was much appreciated. While sitting there my husband and I were amazed how professional and smooth she was running the restaurant being short staffed. It's rare to find people like her. Thank you for making our dining experience wonderful!!

Amazing. Haven't been here in quite some time and it was every bit as good as the last time. I don't know the cooks name but he was a white gentleman with glasses. Please tell him our food was flawless. Great food, great service. One of my go to spots in town.

Good food, great service. Was not the cleanest, and I slipped on the wet floors a few times. Not very clearly marked, but that was really the only issue. Plus it was super late at night, so it wasn't really their fault. Honestly I was impressed with the great service.

Great place to eat. Food is excellent and employees are nice and attentive to your needs. Bought a Chocolate Cream pie this evening from the Hostess and thought she was a delightful and welcoming addition to the diner. Will be back soon. Michael