Big Bear Lake Village presents an eclectic mix of ice cream and gift shops, restaurants, the…read moretop-rated Yelp restaurant in America, nearby access to Big Bear Lake and Big Bear Mountain Resort, and boutiques! Street parking is predominantly available and a handful of businesses also offer parking lots. Visit during winter and enjoy the holiday lights on trees and lining the street... or visit during the summer months and spend even more time exploring the outdoors! *****FIVE STARS*****

Just 2 hours away from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles and your in a quaint mountain village…read more Small but packs a punch in the little village. It's right in the heart of town near the slopes. The village itself isn't that big. Maybe a few blocks radius. It's all walking distance from beginning to end. Depending on which end you start. There's a good amount of parking with public lots scattered around. Also street parking but those tend to go really fast. It's a lot of mom and pops shops. Basically catering to all the tourists that visits year round. You have a good amount of restaurants from traditional all around food, to the the one and only Thai restaurants in the villages. There's Italian, pizza shop, ice cream, breakfast place, Mexican, noodle place and a good amount of bars. There's also wine and beer tasting as well as a brewery. A pretty good selection of places to eat. Plus a small movie theatre right in the middle of the village. You could walk straight to the marina as the road lead you straight to the waterfront. Weekend and holidays is very lively. During the week, it's pretty quiet. Heads up, a lot of places closes early so if you're wanting a meal. Come early as majority does close by 9pm. In the morning, even at 8am, there was no one on the street. Maybe one or two coffee shop was open as most businesses don't open till later on. It's still a cute quaint town. Not only during the ski season when it does get pretty busy. Summer is beautiful here as well.

Bears play a pivotal role in my life: they are one of my spirit animals, my name means "Little…read moreBear" in Latin which is also a pet name moniker, I have a tattoo with a bear and another of the Ursa Minor constellation, my deceased father was obsessed with bears, etc. When I was a teenager before evening living in the state of California (which obviously has its own bear connection); I was obsessed with MTV just like every other hot-blooded teenage girl. One year, MTV production went to Big Bear for a winter skiing getaway. I was instantly drawn to Big Bear per the name and somehow felt my soul tugged (the same as to the entire state which is why I moved here nearly two decades ago). I vowed to someday visit Big Bear. I am also one of the proud members of the 'Eagle Fam' who is faithfully devoted to the world-famous bald eagle couple Jackie & Shadow watching their nest cam every day. My adult vow, added to the teen one regarding visiting, was to see Jackie and Shadow's nest in real life sans camera. Well, the day has come and Little Bear has finally visited Big Bear! If those of us living in Los Angeles aren't spoiled enough; we have the amazing San Bernadino Mountain range village of Big Bear just a two-hour drive away where we can escape the hustle-bustle of stressful LA and enjoy the alpine splendor that is Big Bear. Big Bear is known for its skiing season but is also a summer retreat with cabin life, hiking, boating, fishing, zip lines, shopping, etc; 7000+ feet above sea level surrounded by pine trees and mountains that kiss the sky. Even the drive to Big Bear is glorious on the winding road up the mountain that famously reveals Big Bear and its centerpiece model the lake in the distance glittering blue surrounded by mountains. Big Bear is breath-taking even before you formally arrive. As an Angelino, the energy and vibe of Big Bear can't be ignored. Not only is the air clean and devoid of smog, but it is peaceful, slow-paced and calming: a genuine retreat that feels worlds away from the LA proper. At the center of it all is the main showpiece: Big Bear Lake, itself. The lake is 7 miles in circumference but manages to appear sweepingly larger and is surrounded by cabins, boat docks, shopping, skiing, hiking trails, Big Bear Village (the central mountain tourist-y district) and the commercialized village center with everything from Vons, Starbucks, Dollar Tree, Marshalls and Grocery Bargain Outlet to nearby Big Bear Courthouse, post office and library. The lake is the prom queen of Big Bear. If you're thinking that it is probably just any old lake; you are sorely mistaken as it is a thing of beauty. As a Jackie and Shadow fan club member; I went to the Captain John's Marina/Dana Point Park shoreline Fawnskin section of Big Bear Lake which is the official, legal viewing point of the bald eagle nest (the land directly surrounding the nest and their famous roost trees is federally protected especially during nesting season and is a criminal act to trespass). Bring binoculars because looking up from the ground is further optically then from the nest cam in reverse. While I was there, Jackie was on the nest with the two babies but I was hoping to catch Shadow, the King of Big Bear either fishing or flying-in. I had waited and just when I literally verbally stated, "Shadow show yourself!"; I kid you not that he flew right over from the other side of the lake and soared above in circles only approximately 60 feet above for a minute in duration. I cried and this was one of the most magical moments of my life and a true spiritual encounter with the celebrity Shad Daddy. Big Bear is also magical in that even in the skiing off-season of April when I visited; a snowstorm hit and the pine trees and lake turned into a Christmas Card. Even I, this Los Angeles sun girl who loves heat and hates the cold; had snowflakes in my eyes and felt like a child surrounded by magic dust has I haven't truly been in snowfall in 17 years. A very dire and controversial topic effecting Big Bear at the time of this review is the fight against land developers who purchased the 'Moon Camp' parcel of land very close to the nest and want to bulldoze over 2k trees, create 50 boat slips and luxury housing even though there is NO housing shortage in Big Bear. The developers have agreed to sell Moon Camp to the Friends of Big Bear nonprofit/San Bernadino Trust for the hefty sum of $10 mil by July 31st to save Moon Camp and forever protect Jackie and Shadow's home area. The cause has gone worldwide viral and at the time of this review is up to $3 mil in donations (failure is not an option and financing will be the next step is $10 mil isn't reached). Big Bear Lake and the entire mountainous retreat city now hold a piece of my heart and I am chomping at the bit to return. This peaceful and heavenly mountaintop lake and city is the must-see of all Angelinos whether for skiing, boating or visiting the King and Queen, Jackie and Shadow.

Year round fun and beauty - not just the winter! Big Bear offers so many different activities that…read moreis sure to please. Whether you're an outdoor enthusiast, someone who enjoys shopping, eating, or enjoying a slower pace vacation with your family pet, Big Bear offers it. Some activities our family makes sure to enjoy for our Big Bear visits have been: Holloway's Marina to rent a dog friendly pontoon boat to enjoy lunch on the lake (they also offer Pirate Ship Charters), popping over to The Village to stroll with our dog and do a little shopping and eat some good foods (there's also many good food places outside of The Village - like the Grizzly Manor Cafe and Blanca and Pierres!), visiting the Big Bear Discovery Center, strolling along the Stanfield Marsh Boardwalk, and horseback riding at Baldwin Lake Stables. In July, Big Bear puts on their "Fireworks Spectacular" which explodes over Big Bear Lake every July 4th and is FREE to spectators. A helpful tip: always check for road closures and road conditions before visiting/leaving and on the day of your travels. CalTrans has not been reliable, but Big Bear's website (Big Bear Mountain Resort dot com) has been. Just click on the "Road Conditions" tab and it'll take you to a page listing real time road updates and conditions. Enjoy beautiful Big Bear!

Great ambiance was great , the food was delicious, the service was great! We love the patio!read more

We've been coming to Barrel 33 every time we visit Big Bear for about 7 years now, and I can't…read morebelieve it's taken me this long to leave a review! This place just keeps getting better every single year. Every time we come back, they've added something new, remodeled part of the space, or made it even more inviting. You can tell they really care about creating a great experience and making the most of their space. The customer service is always amazing. Everyone is so friendly, welcoming, and genuinely happy to see you. It feels like one of those places you're excited to come back to year after year. A special shout-out to Trisha, the GM. She is so friendly, welcoming, and helpful. You can tell she's doing great things for this place. Her positive attitude and attention to customers really make a difference, and I truly think she's a big part of why Barrel 33 keeps getting better. The wine is delicious, and while they originally had a smaller food menu (which made sense since they're a wine bar), they've expanded it over the years and now have even more great options. Everything we've tried has been so good! They also have beer, tasty bites, and a cute little shop that's always fun to browse. Barrel 33 has become one of our favorite Big Bear traditions. We literally make it a point to stop here every single trip because we know we're going to have great food, great wine, and a great time. If you're in Big Bear and haven't been here yet, you're missing out. We can't wait to come back again next year!

We ordered 4 cheeseburgers. Very juicy and flavorful! Everything tasted so good! Esme, the cook did…read morean excellent job! Patricia, the server was very friendly and attentive!

SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES! My husband and I were in Big Bear for our anniversary and decided to have…read moredinner our first night at Jakobe's, a lovely little mom and pop Italian restaurant also serving more regular diner options. Patty greeted us when we came in the door and said we could sit wherever we wanted. She was lovely, very attentive and helpful. Her sister owns the place. She even gave us scads of recommendations for other local places to try and things to do. My husband ordered the chicken parmesan with a side house salad while I got the scallop fettuccine dish and splurged the $3 extra to get their Caesar salad (totally worth it, made in house). Everything is made to order and each dinner came with a board of homemade bread and house made butter for the table. Folks. That bread. Was So Good. Soft and tasty and the parmesan, garlic, parsley butter melted right on it. There was something that didn't hit my palate right on my dish, so Patty offered to get me something else. I decided against that (because the scallops themselves were stellar) but I agreed to some extra Alfredo sauce to mellow out the flavors in the pasta, which worked great! When she learned it was our anniversary, Patty gave us a slice of cheesecake on the house the likes of which I have never tasted before. I don't order cheesecake often, but this was beautifully creamy and sweet. If you want to support local businesses, I highly recommend Jakobe's. They're good people who cook great food and care about their community. SUPPORT LOCAL! DON'T LET THE CHAINS WIN!

The best incredible staff very personable and attentive each one of them went above and beyond to…read moreprovide the most incredible experience from hostess to waitress to table attendant to everyone else Really clean restaurant and bathrooms Great menu choices and drinks The best dining experience July 3 2026

The Peppercorn Grille has the highest end and best food in Big Bear Village. You will find pasta,…read moreseafood, burgers, and a variety of steaks and salads. The price is going to be a bit more expensive than your typical Big Bear Village experience, but it is worth it. My family and I enjoyed the lobster salad, lobster ravioli, French dip, and fettuccini Alfredo. All of these dishes were delicious! Furthermore, the service was friendly and accommodating. As for the ambiance, we sat outside and it was lovely. I highly recommend dining at the Peppercorn Grille.

Starting with the negative as to why it's not a 5 star review:…read more The decor on the inside and the theme is very very busy. It kinda seems like an entire hobby lobby was purchased and put into the restaurant. 3/5 design The salad was not anything special. It was good lettuce but just that, some croutons, and dressing of choice. 3/5 salad When we got there, no one came to greet us and we were waiting in the main entrance area for about a good 10 Minutes while I saw what looked like all the staff members on the left side of the restaurant hanging out and joking around. Once I went over to say that I was there, the server was attentive and polite. 3/5 service I felt the price was too high. For 2 meals and water we ended up paying around $50. I would have been more pleased with around 35-40. 3/5 price The good: The portions are really great. I love to have big portions and this place did not disappoint. The food was better tasting than expected: I was nervous with such a giant place and only 2 other parties were there. However, I really enjoyed my chicken Parmesan and my wife's nachos were good with a good amount of cheese. I would come back but not every time I visit big bear on vacation. Maybe like every 3rd visit.

We had read all the the reviews that said service was quite slow, so we were prepared for that…read more Turns out that was only part of the problem. Service started with 2 glasses of tepid water. Not even cool water, and not an ice cube to be found. After finally ordering and waiting quite awhile we were told the dish we ordered was "not available" today. Ok. Then the table next to us was told - no pizza or garlic breads tonight. A third table was told they weren't carrying one of the deserts they ordered. Mind boggling on a Saturday night. We replaced my husband's dish with a chef salad. It came out looking like they had dropped the plate. (I'm sure they didn't, but it was a mess.) As he started to mix the salad, he discovered it was sitting in a puddle of water. Literally, standing water. We almost walked out at that point. My soup was delicious, and the Asian sampler was pretty good so we stayed and ate those. The final straw was a 4% charge to use a credit card!!!!! Yes, they soften the blow by offering a 10% discount for cash, but if you don't know that going in! Anyway, we won't be back and cannot in good conscience recommend the restaurant.

I contacted Carissa with a very generic idea of what I wanted and she was so receptive and kind. I…read moregave her an idea of the floral design I wanted on the side of my Little Free Library and she provided a proof. She met me within my budget, did what she said she would do, and produced absolutely stunning artwork. She knew the correct products to use for this outdoor project and really cared about making sure it would last. I would recommend her over and over again! Carissa is the kind of person you WANT to work with: communicative, friendly, and incredibly talented.

We couldn't be happier with the mural painted in our hallway! From the very beginning, [Artist's…read moreName] took the time to truly understand our vision -- and then went above and beyond to bring it to life. Her creativity, attention to detail, and professionalism were exceptional every step of the way. If you're looking for someone who will not only meet your expectations but exceed them, Carrisa is the one. Her talent speaks for itself, and her passion for her craft truly shines through.

Is there anything better than a tasty pizza made with fresh quality ingredients and friendly people…read morewho actually seem excited to serve you?! You find all this and more at Maggio's Pizza. On our visit to Big Bear we ordered pizza from Maggio's not one, not two, but three times!!! We were there for 5 weeks, so don't judge. Anyway, we had never eaten here before so we decided to give it a whirl and it was a hit! From the moment they answered the phone it was like chatting with an old friend taking my order (this happened every time). The atmosphere is so incredibly friendly and welcoming it makes you want to stay a while and make friends. We ordered large pepperoni, cheese and mushroom pizzas as well as a Cesar salad and it was all delicious. The pizzas were huge and the sauce, ingredients and bake of the pies had our tastebuds dancing a happy dance. Prices are more than reasonable, we fed our family of 4 for $30 and it was good! Next time we come to town we will have to try all the other specialties on the menu. I highly recommend Maggio's for the food, ambiance, and the service. You'll leave with a full tummy and might make a few friends as well.

It has been five years since we've been in. Glad we came back. This will be a normal stop when…read morewe're up at the cabin. This place is a unique pizza shop. Not sure where to start. My last review I gave them a five out of five and this time if I can give them a 10 out of 10, I definitely would. The restaurant had a fair amount of people in it when we walked in. We were promptly greeted given some menus and told we could find a seat and when we were ready to order come back to the counter. At her seats, we looked over our menu and decided what we want, and I went back to the counter to order. The young lady who took my order was just delightful. She was very friendly and asked some clarifying questions about what we were ordering gave me a number and our cups and the transaction was made. When we sat down, we came back up to get our drinks, and there was a young man at the drink station who was very polite willing to help with anything we needed. We went back and sat down after a few minutes. Our pizza was delivered by the same young man. He was very attentive asking if we needed anything. And went back to the front of the drink station. He immediately bust and clean tables as they became available and checked on people periodically. There was another young man there with him. Both of them were extremely polite and professional with all of the guests. The service is out of this world. We had our pizza and it is amazing. There is a huge difference between pizza cooked and a pizza oven and pizza cooked on a conveyor belt. The pizza had a crisp bottom crust which always sets pizza apart. The crust was amazing and the toppings were abundant. The wife ordered a salad, which was your typical run of the meal salad for a pizza place. The food was outstanding. We will definitely make this a stop when we're up here. Can't wait to bring the grandkids.

I don't understand why the yelp reviews are as low as they are, but this place is definitely…read moreunderrated. My boyfriend and I came out here on Valentine's Day and had a wonderful time. The ambience is really nice, both inside and out. We only needed to wait for about 20 minutes on Valentine's Day and we didn't even make a reservation. The food was excellent! We each got a glass of wine, and for our main entrée - we ordered chicken piccata, and the chicken Parmesan pasta dishes. We also got the fungi pizza + garlic truffle fries (both requested well-done), and they were absolutely delicious! We would definitely be willing to come back again the next time we visit Big Bear!

Had a nice visit at La Pergola Trattoria. I ordered the chicken piccata -- it was good and very…read morefilling. We also shared the fresh bruschetta and cheesy garlic bread, which were both delicious and perfect for sharing. They're dog-friendly, which was a huge plus. My Stella came with me and, as always, was a total lady. I'm incredibly thankful she's my ESA because my anxiety was definitely overloaded with the extremely rowdy kids seated next to us, playing with silverware like swords. Having her there helped keep me calm. The food did take a bit longer to arrive, but overall it was a pleasant experience with good food and a welcoming atmosphere. I'd come back again.

New to this where do I start? How about with WOW! I'm a…read moreflatlander from the OC area, who went up to see friends in Big Bear they invited us out for a lovely Italian meal at a friend's place this place is truly a diamond in the rough. When in a sleepy mountain town, you never expect to find a fabulous place like this. Quality, well prepared and properly presented with reasonably priced menu. I have eaten some of the best family run small Italian places throughout Orange county and this one rivals all of those. It is absolutely a go-to destination for a proper meal made with love. All with fresh ingredients and presented properly, generous portions served by a small family oriented staff the owner Allison is charming smart and knows true value of quality food and ingredients. After some fabulous conversation we came to understand that she has a great knowledge of food and preparation don't ask her to speak Italian but she will talk to you in French if you like! Do not miss chance to be part of something that is bigger than being on the mountain. Cheers to the Sweet Basil bistro family.

If you come to Big Bear, Do Not skip this little Gem of a place. It is off the chart Amazing! Best…read moreItalian/American fusion you will find for 100 miles! Let's start with the owner, Ali. She took over ownership about 5 years ago and has really turned this place around.She is so Amazing and knows her stuff. Welcomes you in with a beautiful smile and is happy to welcome you in and serve you. Her staff is beyond professional! Friendly and courteous with a smile. Now the food, Unbelievable!!! The portions are enough to take some home on. The flavors were exquisite. Can't say enough wonderful things about this little treasure. It is downstairs underneath the bowling alley and you may need to wait on the weekend but it is worth it!!! So going back again and again. Wishing the owner Ali much luck, tho she doesn't need it cus she will go far!! Great job everyone at Sweet Basil Bistro. You were the Highlight of our weekend!!!