Black bear diner is located just off 101 and Leavesly road to the right when you're coming from San Jose. This restaurant has been here for a long time and it's a favorite for many locals. I eaten here many times. I have never had a bad meal at this restaurant. I particularly like their hamburgers because they're so big. Breakfast is also good always consistently prepared. Even though this restaurant is very busy the service is always good. I recommend you try out the Black Bear diner the next time you'd like to go to the Gilroy area. read more

No onion rings today sold out the waiter stated ,Sergio said sorry we are fresh out !! Aaaugh wanted onion rings with my food I'll try another black bear Diner far away from this one !! And no shrimp it was on the menu , stated Sergio the waiter again fresh out no shrimp and my boi Bob burger was not as good as the black bear diner in los Banos and the macaroni and cheese with bacon was too cheeses , sharp cheddar was to creamy , I !! I like black bear Diner a Little less today read more

Probably my favorite black bear dinner. This review is high because if you come to a dinner like this you know not to expect 5 star food. You get what you pay for and to be fare eating here is better then Denny's read more

Black Bear Diner Gilroy - Can't get any better than this - Diners Near Me - Gilroy, California

Wow the portions are huge, prices are right and decor kitschy, how much more can you ask for? Originally went to the first location in Mt. Shasta, and were totally sold. Later we happily found out that they were expanding and opening near us! More people should know about Black Bear, everyone that we've ever taken has been 100% satisfied and impressed, thanks sugar + papa bear! read more

Classic American diner - its really too bad there aren't more places like this around. My wife and I had stumbled onto this place while on a motorcycle trip. We had been on the bike all day having come in from Yosemite and were VERY tired, VERY cold and VEERRRY hungry. Consulting the GPS I found a hotel and across the way from lodging was this little place. It looked crowded which cant be bad so we checked it out. This place is great! The service was good, they kept my hot tea brimmed, the food REALLY hit the spot. My wife wanted just to taste the ollaberry ice cream (she had no idea if she would like it) and they brought us a bowl! And if you have never had ollaberry ice cream, GO over there right now! We liked this place so much that we have (a few times) moved the course of a trip so that we can hit this place. Definitely check it out! read more

This place is cute cute cute and the food is great. My boyfriend and I try to stop by here whenever we are in the area. Corned beef hash is always delicious as is the Biscuits and gravy. MMM! read more

We had an overnight stay at the Best Western (housed in the same parking lot) so, it was great to just be able to walk over here for dinner. We walked in and the first thing I noticed were all the black bears!! Very cute. It's got a home-y feeling, so you feel right at home. Their menu is plentiful and I had a hard time deciding what to get. But, I opted to get their "famous" chicken fried steak. The hubby went with one of their steaks topped with mushrooms and blue cheese. As for the kids, they had their usual, mac n cheese. Our food came out relatively fast and their portions are HUGE!! My chicken fried steak was really good! Crispy on the outside with a side creamy mashed potatoes. (Talk about a comfort meal!) The hubby's steak was flavorful and so juicy. We finished off our meal with their blackberry cobbler ala mode and it was heavenly!!!! Not overly sweet, with a buttery and flaky crust. The kids even got a free sundae that was customized to their liking by our waitress. Next time I visit a closer location, I'll be sure to try their breakfast! read more

Chicken fried steak was good but the rest was blah. Eggs were over cooked. Toast was limp. Hash browns were preboiled and limp. Fish and chips were pretty good though were probably prepackaged. Good coffee. Good pie. Friendly services. read more

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Usually come for the desert, their bread pudding is the best! :) Environment is friendly, service is usually pretty good, no complaints from me. The only down side for me is that if you're sitting near the jukebox, it can be hard to hear the person you're with. read more

Good choice for comfort food. Prices are reasonable. Portions are quite good. I nice place to take the family. There's a good variety of food selections to choose from, and breakfast is all day (is there anything better than breakfast for dinner sometimes?). It can get crowded, and the parking lot is not quite big enough to handle the restaurant's popularity, so be prepared -- especially if you go on the peak weekend times. Otherwise, I recommend it for an enjoyable, hunger-filling experience. read more

First time is a charm. For dinner, my friends and I stopped here by a recommendation by my co-worker's fiance. Granted, he hyped up the place claiming that the portions were huge. Naturally, Margie's Diner serves way bigger portions, but I gave it a try. Seeing as it was dinner, my co-worker's fiance is a breakfast day no matter what time of the day it is. He ordered the California Bacon. My co-worker ordered eggs, bacon, and pancakes. I ordered the good old fashion, chicken fried steak with gravy, eggs, potatoes, and pancakes. Not your typical healthy food and no vegetables or fruits at all, but it was delicious. The eggs were excellent especially with the bear hot sauce they have there to spice things up. The potatoes were all the way cooked, but the chicken fried steak and gravy.... (*blows a kiss). I saved that for last since I love salty food. I proceed to the pancakes before the chicken fried steak and they were fluffy and sweet with maple syrup and butter. Again, not the healthiest, but delicious! The gravy on the chicken fried steak, I almost did not finish it, but I did. :) The thing was also covered with bear hot sauce to make it extra tasty and juicy!!! Portions were big, but it still does not top Margie's Diner, which I suggested to my friend for breakfast. Still, I like Black Bear Diner. Overall: Great service, Excellent food, Great price. I'll come back for more!!! read more

Hubby and I loved Black Bear Diner when we lived in Monterey, so while we were back up in the bay area, we decided to stop by the Black Bear Diner in Gilroy on the way back... This location doesn't compare to Monterey at all unless we just came on a REALLY off night. Food: There was a leaf in the soup. It didn't look or taste like a bay leaf, but I hope it was some sort of leaf used for flavoring... Or something. There was a large piece of onion skin in my sandwich. My sandwich had no onions, so I have no idea why that was in there. The waitress asked if everything okay as she was running by and I was pulling it all out of my mouth... The lettuce on the sandwich was also obviously from a bag of prepackaged salad since there were slices of carrots and cabbage in it. No big deal, but I'd rather have just lettuce, sans cabbage and carrots. My husband's steak was tough, dry, and overcooked. He loves steak and couldn't finish it which is a bit sad and very rare. Also, they don't serve ranch without bacon. I know America loves bacon, but I hate it... They also have a very limited choice of salad dressing, so if you don't love bacon... Sorry. Service: The waitress's check-ins were usually while she was walking briskly by, so there wasn't really room for any questions, concerns, or real answers. In the middle of taking my order, the waitress said, "Hold on" and walked off. Umm...??? She came back a few minutes later and couldn't remember what I had ordered. Drink refills were hard to come by, and they took a while. The host was nice at least... But he also didn't inquire further when my husband said that we were displeased with the food and service. Skip it and go somewhere else. This place is not worth it. read more

I have been to many Black Bear Diners and I must say this one is by far my least favorite. Went with a party of 11 and waited 30 minutes to be seated , however when I call prior to my arrival the lady stated there was no wait . Strike 1! Strike 2 - Our waitress was not so friendly and she didn't remember who ordered what . We had to assist her in getting food to the right people. If you want to be good waitress you need to have a Good Memory. Strike 3- the food sucked .. Was served room temp . And bland , no seasoning. Strike 4- the waitress was cleaning a table behind us and dropped butter all over my husbands shorts not even stoping to help clean or say sorry . Wth! When I told the manager she did nothing about the situation. Never coming back to this place again . It sucks read more

Timothy was our server and he was one of the best servers we've ever had. His personality was so upbeat and it was our first time coming here, and because of him we'll be back. We also overheard him notice a retired US Veteran and kindly thank him for his service, and that kind of compassion and kindness is what makes this industry so great. I work as a server so it means a lot to see someone care so much about their job. Thank you Timothy for the outstanding experience! read more

The breakfast here is great! We always stop by when in the area. We usually have breakfast so don't know about their other food. The staff could be a little friendlier, but service was ok. read more

It's okay. If i was in gilroy I'd rather hit OD's, in n out, or a taqueria. There menu looks kinda big but actually not a lot of good choices. Their BBQ ribs aren't, my guess they bake them. If you get them with the sauce on the side the ribs themselves are soggy and pretty flavorless. Real BBQ ribs have flavor without the sauce. Breakfast the couple of times I've been has been okay, but OD's is much better. Staff is friendly. if I was in the middle of nowhere on a road trip and saw a black bear diner I would go. But definitely not my first choice. read more

I have been seriously craving breakfast lately, and rather than going to Denny's and ordering their plastic-y eggs and grand slams, we opted for Black Bear. The plus? It was open on Christmas Day, til 10PM! Whoa. We ordered to go, as we weren't really feeling the whole sit-down thing. We each ordered the breakfast combo with one carb, one protein, and eggs. I forget what it was called. My brother ordered another thing like steak or something, and also came with chili. When we went to pick it up, the parking lot was pretty packed and there were people waiting in the restaurant for a table. Let me tell you, that place is CRAMPED! The tables/booths are low and they are small, as is the whole place it seems, and so if a waitress or a group of people were walking by, they would be close to your face/food/table. I hate that about a restaurant! I was really glad we didn't opt to dine in. With people moving about and requesting tables, and us picking up our to-go order, it was definitely a sardine session there. When they brought out our order, I noticed immediately that the styrofoam plates that they used to pack the food were all piled on one another, and that the ones on the bottom were broken. This didn't look too good! It all seemed like it was packed haphazardly. The chili came in a styrofoam drink cup, literally, because it had a drink lid to close it. Not cool. We paid and left. We brought the food back and chowed! I ordered pancakes with scrambled eggs, and the pancakes were dense yet tasted fluffy and they were sweet without the syrup. They were delish! The eggs were not plastic-y :) however, since my plate was one of the ones on the bottom, it was smushed and the butter flew all over my plate and soaked my breakfast. I wasn't too happy about that since I'm not too big on butter, but oh well. I pinched some potato salad from another's entree and it was pretty good. Their onion rings were delicious as well. Later on, I had some banana cream pie from there, and it was not bad either. Overall, not a place I'd dine at but I think I'd order to-go from them again provided I ask them not to stuff the plates like that again! read more

Their bacon model here is "bacon makes a plate, a party". Couldn't be more true with their bacon stuffed French toast. I love bacon. I love French toast. I love them even more when smacked together and filled with sweet butter cream. Now that IS a party! This can not be good for my heart but boy, making those four chambers pump harder never tasted so damn good. Alright, I promise to hit a gym class this week to make up for my unhealthy ways. Try this place. If you enjoy a good breakfast, you'll love it. If you don't like breakfast they have other options on the menu. ( While waiting for my food to arrive I gawked at my neighbor's burger for a little longer than a bit and it looked pretty juicy.) And, btw, their menu is in the form of a newspaper--how cute is that?! The extra creativity earns 4 stars and makes me a fan! :D read more

Went for Mother's Day. Boy were they busy. The food was ok. Everything looked good. I had a small club sandwich. I saw on someone else's plate the regular club and thought I should have ordered the full size. But the small was just the right size. It was good but I had to move the meat around so there would be meat in every bite. Why is it so hard for places to even it out? The fries were limp. We all ate all our food. It was fine. On a non-food topic... I have to say the bathroom was nice. It was clean and supplied even after the mother's day rush. read more

05/29/17 5:35 pm I came in for dinner sat at the counter for faster service ordered a steak medium rare. The waiter brought my salad and drink right away. But after 40 minutes waiter came back to apologize. I could not stick around any longer and requested it to go. The cook wearing plain clothes wearing a red hat said in Spanish "why can't they make up their mind" , loud enough for me to hear. When the meal was brought to me I opened the container and the steak I ordered came in pieces and was charred to a crisp. I decided to cancel my order. By this time it was 6:25 pm the manager who was wearing purple wasn't happy that I cancelled my order as it was unacceptable. She wasn't happy about it and told me to leave. Salad was tasty though. Don't think I'll return to this Black Bear Diner again. read more

As diners go, this is the one to go to.There might be some better diners in gilroy when it comes to the quality of the food but it's always upsetting when I pay good money for a meal and leave the joint still hungry. It's all about BIG PORTIONS and they have a few things on every menu that will NOT leave you hungry. Breakfast has a ton of good options. The chicken fried steak breakfast is delicious and GIGANTIC. Bob's big bear burger at lunchtime really hits the spot. It's a 3/4 pound burger with a mountain of fries. The quality of food is good for a diner, the service is usually pretty quick, and the eggs over hard actually taste pretty good. WAY better than dennys and lyons. This actually use to be a Lyons.....the worst Lyons ever. If you want to get full for breakfast lunch or dinner for not much money this is the place to go. read more

This is a five-star diner. They have so much kitsch and style that it just pushes it over the edge from just merely having excellent food. Their menu is in newspaper format, as a small example. I mostly go here for breakfast, because their pancakes are to die for. And I don't say that lightly--the pancakes will probably be my doom. The doctor will be looking at my MRI going, "I'm not sure how it happened, but his arteries are full of pancake batter." They have their standard pancakes, and also sweet cream. If those weren't heavenly enough, they have the monster force of their 7-grain almond granola pancakes. These are _amazing._ Best pancakes I've ever had. It's as if they took fluffy clouds and whipped them up with sweet chunky almond butter and cream. I know I leave uncomfortably full but it is so worth it. Their scrambles are awesome, their omelets as described, and their eggs benedict is excellent--even better when it's their "country" benedict with sausage gravy instead of hollandaise. Yes, you heard me right. It's biscuits and gravy with ham and eggs between them. Take that, heart! Their lunch and dinner fare is also excellent. Diner greasy without being overly so. Fried and gravy galore. If you order anything with chili on it, like a burger, you'll need a knife and fork, for example. But as I said, I'm all about the breakfast, and they serve it all day long. A fine dining establishment, this is not. They know they're a diner, and to that extent, they are a diner par excellence. read more

Okay, so it's not a high-class joint. Hey, you're in Gilroy! The Black Bear Diner is awesome. The menu offers a variety of items to appeal to just about any appetite. The service was excellent. The portions were excessive. My son ordered a burger and there were enough fries on his plate to feed the entire family. The Black Bear is located just off Hwy 101 on the opposite side from the Gilroy Outlets. It is conveniently located adjacent to the Forest Park Motel (Best Western), which is another excellent establishment. Yeah, I'm a fan of the Black Bear. I don't get to Gilroy very often, but when I do, I wouldn't hesitate to stop there for a meal. read more

Service was fast and friendly, portions are generous, but the food was so so at best. I like a good marbled steak, but my ribeye had a knot of fat the size of a golf ball. The taste was okay, but again, nothing to get excited about. My wife had a Mexican breakfast platter, and while the churizo was very good, she said her fried potatoes were not completely cooked, and the tortilla was stale. If we were hungry and it was nearby, we might go back, but I would not make a special trip for it. read more

We have eaten at Black Bear Diner many times, but just for breakfast. Good portions, consistently good food, good service, and a great family atmosphere. The pancakes are big and fluffy and the waffles are nice and crispy. They also have a really good selection on their breakfast menu, offering something for everyone. If you go on a weekend, parking can be difficult, but you can park at the hotel next door. A lot of Black Bear Diner customers park there, and as far as I can tell, it doesn't seem to be a problem. Wait times can be long, so drop someone from your party off at the front while you find parking. If your alone or with a friend I suggest sitting at the counter. We'll have to try them for lunch or dinner one of these days! read more

my bf and I just had dinner at the Salina's BBD the night before and wanted to try out the one in Gilroy on the drive back to Fremont. The atmosphere is nice, just like the one in Salinas. Bears everywhere!! =) We ordered a cheeseburger with garlic fries (must be a gilroy thing), chicken pot pie with veggies and a banana cream pie. The burger was pretty good and their fries, like the other BBD, was not salty enough but the garlic taste was good. The chicken pot pie was decent. The banana cream pie is a lot bigger than it looks... their mini-pie tins are much deeper than regular pie tins... it was really good. Overall, it was very delish and we'll look forward to the next time we have an excuse to go there again (maybe try the Milpitas branch). We even get to use our 10% coupon from our inn back in Salina. =) read more

A Gilroy institution, Black Bear is well known and established with locals. Having just moved here, I've been there a few times and have come to love the place too. The food has always been delicious, I've had sandwiches, family and friends also, as well as burgers. I've had the Denver omelette for breakfast and it was delicious as well. The most recent visit with the in-laws we all got the prime rib special, mine with mashed potatoes, gravy and veggies, was outstanding!!!! I love a good prime rib, one of my favorite meals, and it was tender, juicy and cooked perfectly! Yum! The gravy on the potatoes was to die for!! Service is friendly and prompt and ulu can tell the servers enjoy working there. I am a big fan and will definitely keep coming back. Please do not take away the Friday night Prime Rib Special!!! read more

I have only been here for breakfast, and the food is good, portions are INTIMIDATING. I am not a big fan of huge portions, just too much waste, and anyhow, just how much food can you be expected to eat that early? The breakfasts woulod probably serve two, if you ordered an extra plate. Service is always good, never have to wait long. It is right by the place where I stay in Gilroy, so I usually walk. I usually eat here before I go on into Milpitas to do my car business. read more

Number of Stars: The bear claw was to die for and the portions were huge. The service was incredibly slow. Experience: I'm a sucker for pastry and had already decided on the bear claw as soon as we arrived. Let me just say I was not disappointed! It's huge and they serve it warm! If anything I'll be back just for that. My friend had an omelette and we couldn't believe how much food was on the plate and how large the biscuit was! I had a bite of the biscuit and it was really good! Buttery and fluffy. My friend said the omelette was nice and fully and not over cooked. I'd say you definitely get a bang for your buck here. The downside? The wait time and the parking. It was about a 15-20min wait just to be seated. Another 20-25mins was spent getting our order and and getting our food. The parking lot is small, but extends into the hotel area. However it's still pretty crowded. All in all I think I'd come back! I'd like to try having lunch or even dinner here. Cost/Ordered: Bear Claw (Classic) and a side of bacon Bruce's Meat Lover's Omelette with hash browns and a biscuit read more

Love Black Bear! Good service, good atmosphere and the staff is great! Never had sub par service. Always quality! M Balloons for the kids! They love it read more

I enjoy stopping in at this location- The service is great along with the quality of food. The BLT and salad, is just enough to fill me up without feeling overly stuffed. Great place to grab a quick sit down lunch! read more

This will be our first and last time here. We came for dinner and it was ok. Service was a little slow but we didn't mind it. Our server, April, was very nice. We did have a hair in our soup we ordered. Then we get our bill and we see that we've been over charged. Easy fix...so we thought. After speaking with 3 managers and our server, we finally got our bill fixed. Sucks that all 3 managers weren't in the mood to help resolve this. Instead, we were treated very poorly. We felt bad for April because we knew she was new and it was a simple mistake. The managers' behavior, no excuse! If you can't give the same customer service from the beginning of your shift to the end of your shift, to every customer...find another place that doesn't require as much effort. We hope that the management service improves in the future. read more

Took very long food was cold bad service food was hard and we didn't even get are drink like 30 minutes after we asked for them and it wasn't even packed. read more

Today 5 of us went to lunch, spur of the moment. We were seated and told our waitress would be with us. We waited 8 minutes more or less and she comes and takes our drink order, Meantime waiting for them to come, no one takes our food order. There may have been 5 other tables in the place eating, so I know they weren't busy, we were the only ones in the back dining area. So we're waiting for another 6 minutes and our 5 waters, 2 decaf & 1 sweet tea comes. WOW. This is baloney already. So the waitress takes our food order, mind you, none of it was complicated or substituted. 22 minutes later, TA-DA we get food. I was annoyed and her tip amount was already in the negative, So if you like slow service, no communication or apologies you will be at the perfect spot. I for one won't be waisting my time or money here if I was given a free meal. The End read more

Big Food!!!! Its a good family restaurant and overall pretty decent food. Breakfast is my favorite there.. They also have a really good chicken cashew caesar salad. The one thing that I do not like are their bear claws which they are known for. I think they are too dry for my taste. read more

We had brunch at Black Bear Diner. Pros: - fast and good service - good tasty food - nice diner style atmosphere - decent price - good old songs from old jukebox Cons: - hash browns were not that good :( - french fries were not any special Overall nice place for breakfast or lunch if you like old American style diners! read more

Food not hot Had meatloaf and baked potato Food poor quality This same place in Walnut Creek is great Poor quality control Cornbread muffin tasteless and undercooked read more

First time trying black bear diner after shopping at the outlets. Jukebox was pretty cool. They have big portions here for big people. Everybody looks like a bear in here. Burgers are bomb.com Probably come back next year. read more

The Fiesta scramble is outstanding with a nice jalapeño-powered kick, the biscuits are light and fluffy, the fresh fruit and coffee are both fine. The weekend brunch wait wasn't unduly long for a small party. All in all an excellent meal with perfectly fine service. And yet... it's a tough challenge to find low-carb fare on the menu. If that isn't a priority, do make a visit. read more

Went for breakfast yesterday and had the veggie omelette. It was very tasty. Then I decided to take a bear claw home with me, as it was apparently one of there specialties. What a disappointment! It was very dense and the filling just crumbled out and made a huge mess. Fail! I'll prefer panera's bear claw any time! read more

Black Bear Diner Gilroy - This is not how a bear claw should look... - Diners Near Me - Gilroy, California