Black Bear Diner is by far one of the best diners I found in California and I am from News Jersey and we know diners. Conveniently located on 152 in Gilroy, CA, right next to Best Western Plus Forest Park Inn. read more

What can I say about a traditional American Diner? Lots of people in line to come in, luckily I came along and was able to seat at the bar, service is fast and friendly. A lot of carbs as expected but not as clean as it should be therefore I give a 4 star. read more

Black Bear Diner Gilroy - No comments ! - Diners Near Me - Gilroy, California

We came here with our kids on a monday morning-service was quick and friendly. I found the menus to be a bit busy and hard to navigate and when I asked for "crispy" bacon it came chewy. Other than that, portions were large and the restaurant was clean. I would recommend this place to others who were looking just for a regular diner experience. read more

I really don't want to write this review but feel I should. :( A couple years ago ('06 or '07) we went here regularly and enjoyed it. Then one trip I found tons of tiny black bugs all over my salad and I had already eaten some :( We told the waitress and she said something about "I thought they took care of this!" and said she would get the manager. Well the manager never came to the table. She came back and said my meal was on the house. I was so angry when i left that I wrote corporate and told them. They called me and were very friendly and apologetic and sent me a large gift card. I decided to go back and took my family. Bad idea because my mother's tomato had a LIVE spider on it! We have not been back since. I can see it happening once but twice? I gave up. read more

Black Bear is consistently good. I had the pancakes with the bacon in them!! Yum!! My husband ordered the chicken fried steak with minestrone and he loved. We ordered to go and got our food on the way home with no issues. After a long day of work PLUS commuting home, being able to order and pick the food up on the way home was super helpful. We love Black Bear! read more

Waitress gave herself a $40 tip. Usually i never check my receipts. The first ticket at the top showed my meal and the tip area blank.. the second receipt showed $40 were added. When i went to complain they promised they had reversed the transaction.. when i ask for the receipt back in case the charges still showed on my account , they told me that they threw away the receipt and couldnt find it. They denied me the right to have any of my receipts. How could you not find the receipt all the sudden? ALWAYS check your receipt and your bank account for the correct amount. This may have been an honest mistake or they just got caught this time around. read more

Black bear consistently gives us a good product. The staff is friendly and accommodating. The menu is large and there is something for every taste. The pies are good too so save room! read more

While it is just serves classic American food, Black Bear Diner was a nice treat during my excursion to Gilroy. We ate lunch about 2 pm so had all the breakfast, lunch, and dinner options (except baked potato) open to us. I had a very nice tri-tip steak with a skewer of shrimp, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, garlic bread, and salad. Needless to say that I had left-overs for dinner. Everyone else was also satisfied with their meals. My only complaint is that the service was initially a little slow, mostly the delivery of drinks and initial order, which was notable given how hungry and dehydrated we were after being on the go since 5:30 in the morning. read more

Very good place to eat but split a plate with someone. The servings are BIG for normal people. Just be aware that the coffee is WAY overpriced but, we shall return. read more

It's been three years now sense I was at this Black Bear Diner in Gilroy with my niece. It was a chilly day, the kind where only a warm meal can warm you. There was a meek woman in flip flops outside the dinner. My father had seen her earlier that day and was compelled to help her with a couple of dollars. Having gathered enough money to afford a proper meal she attempted to enter the Black Bear Diner. She was stopped by what I can only assume was the manager who, in an incredibly rude manner, informed this poor, hungry, cold woman that despite the fact that she had good American money that she would not be aloud to enter the establishment nor order food to go. To this day my father will not eat there and nor will I. read more

Not my favorite BBD, but it'll do. I've never really eaten at this chain for other than breakfast, but it fits the bill. Comfy coffee mugs, good ole Joe and and some biscuits. I love the California benedict and the mound of potatoes you get with your order. These pit stops are fuel for the road when we are on a wine tasting mission! Always friendly staff and I never tire of the bear kitsch. read more

Corned beef hash, well done. Also, the meatloaf and the Shasta scramble are great.

Disappointing. Very disappointing. Last week I went to my first Black Bear in Gridley. It was so good. Through the remaining of the week, I couldn't stop thinking about their food. So I headed out to the Gilroy location a few days ago. The service was extremely slow (I came in on Wed. at 11am). Receiving refills was slow as well. My Reuben sandwich was lame; imagine a thin grilled cheese sandwich with 1 layer of pastrami and barely no sauerkraut. And it took forever to get a to-go box. Unfortunately, I left hungry. So as we were driving away, I was eating my husbands leftovers. read more

Gilroy's Black Bear Diner has delicious food and wonderful, charitable owners. We are very grateful to have them as supporters of Unravel Pediatric Cancer! read more

Saw some of the bad reviews, mostly for service. Maybe because it was my birthday, but our waitress, Liz, was super friendly and quick to take our order, refill drinks and bring out our food. Huge chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, country gravy and very tasty veggies including summer squash. My son had a huge portion of cinnamon bun pancakes, unfortunately my wife's eggs Benedict was not poached, otherwise 5 star! And then they came out with a full pie on the house along with requisite singing. Thanks BBD! read more

Arrived at 10am for late breakfast, food arrived at 10:55am. Spoke w manager over how disappointed we were w food taking so long. She came over to say she couldn't even find our ticket. But at least brought my plate, last one in our party. Gave them another try after years of NOT and unfortunately won't be back. Yes we were given a discount but didn't justify almost an hour wait. read more

Nice decor and friendly service. Food - not so great. Baked potato was undercooked and clam chowder tasted like flour. Bf said meatloaf was good, but after eating the clam chowder, my appetite disappeared. read more

Can't believe how terrible this place has gotten. Came here Tuesday afternoon and got lunch. Horrendous service. My grandmother got the ol fashioned burger in a basket. Buns were rock hard. Asked got mustard and they never brought us any. Not even asked how we were doing during our meal. Completely ignored. Terrible! read more

Just left this location and service sucked my simple breakfast meal came out cold potatoes was hard and manager didn't even try and make things right I'll never eat here again please step ur services up read more

Ok I live in San Jose and I drive to Gilroy just to eat here now and then. LOL The food is great and the service is awesome. It is a great place to stop if you are road tripping or even just out in the Gilroy area. It has a nice family feel to it and I like trying new things there. The menu has a great spread from classic breakfast food to burgers and sandwiches to steak and salmon. I recommend eating here. read more

My kids LOVE this place! They have the typical "diner food" and the portions are HUGE. On weekends, this place gets very busy. Expect a half hour wait or longer if you go on a Sunday morning. Breakfast is probably their best meal served, although their meatloaf dinner is pretty good too. The service is always good, and the free jukebox is an added bonus. I was a little sad when they stopped "Teddy Bear Tuesdays" where kids ate free, but I'm sure that ended because people were taking advantage. read more

This place isn't a choice on my menu. Can't say that for all black bear diners. I have eaten here 3 times in the course of a year and the last time did it. Horrible service each time I've eaten here. My last experience I ordered a burger and fries and my fries came over cooked so I let the waiter know and they fixed it but I was given the looks by the staff haha! Funny but not. read more

This place used to be pretty good. Today however, the meal I got was horrible and I likely won't go back. Ordered the classic eggs Benedict with fruit and cottage cheese. Benedict was cold and served with lunch meat Ham rather than Canadian Bacon (Although it was edible and the sauce was pretty good). The 'cottage cheese' was a runny mess and the fruit was served rotten.... These two I sent back in exchange for some hash Browns (which also came cold). read more

The food was pretty big portions and quite good. We had breakfast there. The service wasn't great. The people there couldn't even crack a smile. The waiter came to our table to refill our coffee and didn't even pay attention to my breakfast companion when he asked if he wanted more coffee & he politely said "no thanks" yet the waiter gave him more. I sat down and didn't have a complete table setting and mentioned it but the waiter forgot, so I got up & took a table setting from another table since the waiter was no where in sight read more

Was really wanting a Chef Salad, seeing as it is way to hot to cook. Just called in, phone was answered quickly and i was asked to hold a moment after I stated the reason for my call. I just now hung up after 12 minutes on hold! !!! I don't think you're that busy people! !! Taking my business to Cielito Lindo, better food and service there, and a small local business. Get it together Black Bear. :( read more

My friends and I stopped there the afternoon of Saturday, January 28, 2017. Our waiter was fantastic, and our food was delicious. The restaurant was clean, everyone was friendly, and the patrons were all enjoying themselves. I will return the next time I'm in this area. read more

I have finally given up on Black Bear. Over the last two or three years they have steadily gone down hill. This review is for breakfast only. Our grandchildren live in Gilroy, so we visit quite often. I haven't had an acceptable meal in the last two years. We only return because the children love the ch chip pancakes. What do they know? : ) I wonder at times if the cook (I refuse to call him/her a chef) knows what the heck their doing. I asked for my hash browns crispy, they came back slightly cooked on the outside and raw on the inside. I sent them back (which I rarely do) and they came back cooked nearly the same. I gave up and left most on the plate. On another visit sausage and eggs, I almost gagged on the uncooked sausage. Left them on the plate along with uncooked hash browns. The last straw was last Thursday, they actually screwed up my eggs! How the hell do you screw up eggs! The hash browns were overcooked on the outside and mush on the inside! Enough is enough! I'm sure I can find a restaurant that does ch chip pancakes. Also, their portions have been cut drastically. Not worth it anymore. read more

Pulled off the 101 for lunch during a driving day of our road trip. Never had eaten at a Black Bear Diner before but really enjoyed the food. The coconut cream pie was fantastic!! definitely a 2 person dessert... The juke box is fantastic!IIII Highly recommend this diner. read more

gilroy is home to me. and im glad we are being known for more things than just garlic and the outlets. black bear diner is a must breakfast joint. come early for breakfast before the outlets open and you can walk off your gigantic meal. the concept of the place is old fashioned...and i love it. the menu is like a news paper...literally. made of recycled paper and all. they have a wide variety of foods from omelets to steak to pancakes n waffles. you can get pretty much any breakfast item...and lunch! they have the best chicken fried steak EVER. and if you get the big bear meal....this chicken fried steak is BIGGER than your head. no joke. also comes with a huge fluffy biscuit and hash browns. pancakes are always delicious and so are their omelets. ive only come here for breakfast so im not sure about lunch n dinner. service is always great here. very welcoming people. everyone seems to know each other here...gilroy is a small place. usually packed saturday/sunday mornings but the wait usually isnt too bad. sometimes service can be a little slow. but its crowded and fast paced, i dont mind. read more

Another epic fail by BBD! Was convinced by my husband to give it "one more try" for breakfast.... showed up at 8:45 on a Saturday and waited 15 minutes for a table... not bad considering it's a weekend... BUT... waited 15 minutes for someone to take our order... AND now it's been 47 minutes and no sign of food..... this is ridiculous! I don't know how they stay in business ... but they won't be getting any more of my hard earned money! There are too many choices in town to spend my "food dollars".... time to go and speak with the manager... futile I'm sure! read more

Good diner with big portions and friendly service. Can be very busy at peak hours. But well worth the wait!

Love BBD! huge portions.... service was a little slow, food made up for it.

Hello, we went this morning for breakfast and from the time we entered the diner til the time I paid and stepped out the service and environment was what you would hope for. We were greeted right away and sat down with a friendly host. Our waitress was friendly, got our order right, and checked up on us to make sure we were still doing ok as she refilled our drinks or just walked by. When it came time to pay once again greeted with a friendly smile and great customer service even with the place buzzing with patrons. It's nice to know places like this still exist. Also the decor matched the name of the diner and was clean. Way to go Black Bear Diner in Gilroy, Ca. You made my day. read more

This place was great. We came during a busy time and had a bit of a wait but their wait time was pretty accurate. Our host was great despite being busy she was very attentive to our needs. Food was fantastic and came out pretty fast. Everything was great! read more

honestly, i really wanted to like this place.. actually, i do like the atmosphere.. the decorations are cute.. i came here with the BF we both ordered the same thing.. eggs and corned beef.. the beef was probably the best thing.. everything else was alright.. my BF didn't get much hash browns, on the other hand, i got a lot.. obviously they didn't split it fair enough.. my toast was so burnt! so i asked for unburned toast and it seriously took 10 minutes for toast. come on!! i finished my whole meal until i got my toast.. i really wanted dessert too.. and was expecting our waitress to ask if we wanted any, but she just dropped the receipt on the table and left.. lame.. she never came back to give me my toast, someone else did.. and she never came back to refill our water.. then i paid some lady (which looked like a manager) she asked how everything was.. i said it was ok.. she didn't bother to ask why or anything.. good job caring about customer satisfaction! read more

Black Bear Diner Gilroy - Looks good... buuutt... - Diners Near Me - Gilroy, California

See all

Place was ok for gilroy lol. I liked the food but the service was sketchy. Are seats were right by the bathroom , which I didn't care for. I had the big country fried steak. It was pretty good like I said but nothing to write home about. I give this place a 3 star. I would return if that's what area we were in but I wouldn't drive to the area to re visit it. read more

Black Bear Diner Gilroy - Chicken fried steak and eggs w biscuits - Diners Near Me - Gilroy, California

Tasty inexpensive food, quickly served. Building is nicely decorated inside and outside and close to highway

Went here for the first time the other night and thought it was awesome, the food was all delicious, came out hot and fresh, good service and a great value. I'm gonna have to go back here this weekend and do it again I'm thinking. read more

Delicious chicken fried steak and the portion left me feeling perfectly content after splitting the plate with someone. Ordered to-go but decided to dine in before we continued our road trip. Counter service was excellent, I'll be back for a full meal next time! read more

GIANT portions. I ordered a 'small' plate 1/2 ham sandwich and split pea soup. I receive a bowl of soup and a regular sized 1/2 sandwich. My guest ordered the 'small portion' club sandwich and received a regular sized diner meal. I can't imagine what the regular portions consist of. Food is good. Service is good. :-) read more