Classic diner style with a touch of country chic. Their orange juice is real and they know how to make good crispy bacon! There is rarely a long wait for two, even during busy weekend breakfast hours. Their service is prompt & polite. To top it off, they actually have good coffee! We will definitely be back. read more

Black Bear Diner Tempe - Sunday Brunch - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

My mother in law really likes diner food. Our waitress was very sweet 5/5. The mashed potatoes and brocolli were good! The gravy was pasty and I did not care for the chicken fried steak - it tasted like badly reheated frozen food. The restaurant was not very clean, there was food on the floor of the booth where we sat and the table was sticky. I might try a newer location with her for breakfast, but this one is a no for me unfortunately. read more

If you want comfort food this is the place to go. Had the meatloaf. And as always, it was good. The service was great. She had lots of tables on a Saturday night and she was nice and efficient. Recommend for breakfast and when you want your food to give you a nice hug. read more

Black Bear Diner Tempe - Housemade Meatloaf (1630 cals.) - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

I've heard about this chain when in CA and saw that it was also in AZ, so I decided to give their pies a try. They only sell individual pies, each for $5.99, which didn't seem too bad, until I tried it. First of all, I was assured they use fresh whipped cream on their cream pies - 95% sure they do not! It tasted like that cool whip stuff just piped on top of a very thin pudding with scant amount of coconut. There was no body to the pie and could have easily been a frozen pie that was just thawed. The chocolate cream tasted a little better - a little fluffier - but similar to the coconut, was too sweet for me. From the top to the crust, nothing had texture. This makes me miss Marie Calendars in CA and House of Pies in TX! read more

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The food was good but service was baaaaad. There was no silverware so we asked for it. The girl said yes and then proceeds to go take someone's order. We had to get someone else to get our silverware. Anything we needed we'd go get it ourselves. My friend didn't get her soup yet was charged. As I said the food was good. Another girl named Alexandria took over to help out. She was professional and kind. Note to mngr: Get your trainees more training. read more

Worst place I've ever been! Level below Denny's! All the food was cold and microwave! I went into the bathroom and threw up! UGH!

All servers wore masks. One person in the kitchen wore his below his nose and sometimes it did not even cover his upper lip. That spoiled the experience for is. Eve is a very good server. Friendly and attentive. If the kitchen employee had a mask, this trip would have been 5 STARS! read more

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Every time we pass thru Tempe we have to stop and eat here! Both the food and the service is always amazing. Food was cooked to perfection and the serving portions was very very generous! read more

Black Bear Diner Tempe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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Good home style breakfast foods. We had a nice and very experienced waitress like you would find in an old greasy spoon. We will be back for breakfast in the future. read more

The first time I ordered from there, the food wasn't great and they got a few items wrong

I don't usually write reviews but feel I have to. this year I was alone for Thanksgiving so I decided to take myself out for a nice dinner. several restaurants near me were overflowing. one had a 3 hour wait! so I went to this diner for their dinner but was very disappointed. first of all I waited 10 minutes to be waited on and finally asked someone if there was a waiter assigned to my section. (I was the only one there in this section.) The broccoli cream soup wasn't creamy, the turkey was undercooked, the green beans were cold. The only thing I could finish was the warn cornbread muffin and the mashed potatoes. Even the pumpkin pie wasn't acceptable. now it sounds like I'm a finicky eater but I assure you I'm not. I should have expressed my complaints while there but chose to just let it go. I left very disappointed.I will not be going back and I now understand why it has only 3 stars. read more

We made it for brunch and then black bear delivered a great dining experience. Pancakes were excellent as well as everything else we had. No disappointments here! read more

I wanted to give a different location another try. My daughter loves the bear pancakes, and specifically requested them today. We started off with tea, which was a great experience- it came with a refill of water, a lemon, mixing spoon, and some honey. Our waitress was very friendly, and helped me on a dinner recommendation which I appreciated very much. I ordered the pot roast with beef gravy, and the husband ordered the Grizz with the fruit side. I have to say... this was the experience I was expecting! I loved the pot roast, and the veggies were done so well too. Our waitress was wonderful- and I would also like to mention that the team work at this location is really commendable. If something needed to be done or given any attention, someone always took initiative. Okay side note: I tried the pancakes and holy Batman, they were magical. Really truly magical. If we had one of these next to the house I am pretty sure I'd completely tank my diet. I am stuffed, you guys. Either way, we are beary much coming back. read more

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Able to be seated immediately without a reservation on Saturday morning. Took almost 10 minutes for a server to come by to take our drink order. Food was also slow coming out. Not all good was cooked as ordered and one of the waffle toppings supposed to be included they no longer offered but didn't tell us until after our food came. read more

The location had a forest like vibe inside and super cute. There is limited space in front of the restaurant to park. The food was okay nothing special. The prices do not reflect the quality and quantity of the food , it was bland and cold. I honestly had higher expectations but wasn't terrible. read more

Black Bear Diner Tempe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Had no idea this location existed. We were looking for breakfast in Tempe that opened at 6:AM on a Sunday and this one popped up. Having had a good experience in several other locations this was a no brainer. Food and service were good except one item, they had forgotten to make grits. From experience their grits are better than most. read more

Breakfast there, which we have gone before at this location was cold. Eggs, hashbrowns, sauce was all cold when we got it. The service was excellent even thought there was only one guy working the whole place on Thursday, May 11, 2023. The music was a bit old fashioned and country. We got the eggs Benedict with country fried steak. Possible the country fried steak took a while to fry before everything was done and was left on the heating pad to keep warm. Disappointed it got to us cold because it was good. read more

I had the pleasure of having Tatum as our server when I took my two grandsons for lunch. She was very sweet and offered suggestions for the boys with our order. She was kind enough to keep my older grandson engaged in conversation when I had to take the little one to the restroom. Our food was delicious and the boys were so thrilled with the mini desserts that were brought after their lunches. Thank you Tatum for a great experience and making our lunch so enjoyable! read more

This is a hidden gem! Food servings are HUGE, very nicely done home cooked food. Service was attentive and spot on!

This place was pure entertainment! Took my nephew there for his bday. The food was good, the waitress Heather was awesome and very professional because even though they were extremely short staffed she handled the tables like a G!!! She has a rude waitress Donna complaining about being short staffed and even the manager. It was a little bit of a mess but Heather saved the day!! She got a great TIP that day. Food was delicious and the price is very reasonable!! read more

I went to my very first-ever Black Bear Diner in Grand Junction, Colorado back in 2008 with my dad. Ever since then, I wished for one to open in my area here in Tempe and one did this year. I've been to this location twice & have also ordered online & picked up food from this one. Great service, very friendly staff, & amazing food each time, plus a wide variety to choose from whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I also recommend my friends to try this place. I always give places I like lots of good word of mouth. read more

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Went for breakfast today. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the restaurant. We were seated immediately, great coffee & orange juice, we weren't rushed, placed our order, got piping hot food quickly (bacon ROCKED!), and we had a very enjoyable time. Will be back to try out pancakes and other things! Eggs Benedict was made to my perfection. Michael Murdock, US NAVY VETERAN read more

It's good comfort food, but each plate has about 1,000 calories (or more). Best thing about Black Bear Diner: the coffee!! It's SO good I bought a bag of it online! read more

Black Bear Diner Tempe - Open-Faced Hot Turkey** (1200 cals.) - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Like others who've been here I wasn't sure what to expect, but after finally biting the bullet and giving them a try I'll definitely be back for other meals. Best lemonade I've had (don't drink caffeine or sodas anymore) so I'm usually limited to water or lemonade. Tried their Friday fish fry and wished it had a lighter batter, but all in all it was good. Definitely want to go back for their breakfasts since I'm a sucker for harvest pancakes and thick cut bacon. read more

Food was wonderful. Sweet cream cakes and blackberry stuffed French toast. Waitress was super nice and attentive. Even for a Sunday afternoon quick service and quick seating. Nice seating areas you don't feel like you are sitting on top of each other. Will be back to try more. read more

This was our second visit here and a year or more had passed. We were excited to have a good, hearty breakfast. Once we entered, things went wrong. The host mumbled something at us that sounded like "Would you like to be seated?" Why of course! Why else would we be standing here? We said yes and headed back. He turned around and mumbled something again and I just nodded. We were seated at a table for two. Five to 10 minutes later, another couple was seated next to us. We placed our order with a nice server and relaxed. After waiting a bit, and starting to feel like our order was taking a long while, I saw our plates float by and delivered to the table next to us. Hmmm... We were here first and got out order taken first. Come to think of it there is my husband's special and my bacon and eggs. The look on the woman's face as the order was placed in front of her was shock. She told them it was not her order and it was whisked away. The man kept my husband's special and began to eat. Shortly after, our server returned with my dish and told me it got delivered to the wrong table. No way was i going to 1) eat a plate that had been in front of someone else 2) eat cold eggs. I asked for them to re-do with my order. The server apologized over and over and I get it, he wanted his tip. It took about ten more minutes to make our order. Frankly, I was ready to walk out. My husband's order was correct but I don't think mine was re-made. I'm pretty sure my SAME ORDER was plopped down in front of me. I asked for scrambled eggs but what I got was an omelette chopped into pieces. Come on! You don't think I know what scrambled eggs should look like? Truly disappointed. Our server returned and I asked for coffee. What I got was probably the worst coffee I've ever had. It was so weak it was practically undrinkable. Yuck. The saving grace? The bacon. It is really, really good here. If you love bacon, you'll their bacon here. Bottom line, we won't be back. read more

Black Bear Diner Tempe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

In my continuing quest for good food at reasonable prices, I was convinced by two companions to try Black Bear Diner. They are a chain of about 50 restaurants in the western states. We arrived at dinner hour and were promptly greeted and seated. The atmosphere is a bit eclectic and kind of reminds one of a hunting lodge in the mountains. Our waitress came promptly to the table and asked about drinks. The menu is written on a kind of newsprint, and makes interesting reading. Apparently, each one is tailored to the state it is printed in, and is replete with interesting facts about the state. Companion 1 ordered the Cobb Salad ($8.99). The portion size was enormous, and two could have easily made a meal of it. Nice smoky bacon, a large portion of blue cheese, and tons of assorted salad on a plate that was more than 12 inches across. Companion 1 was unable to finish half of it and ended up with a doggie box to take for the next day's lunch. Companion 2 ordered the Bacon Burger ($10.49). I'm not sure, but I'd bet that the patty was a half-pound of meat. By the time it was all stacked up with all the fixings, I couldn't figure out how anyone could get their mouth around it - but companion 2 managed it along with the cheese on it and a portion of onion rings instead of fries. For myself, I ordered the Chicken Fried Steak. It came on another huge plate (a necessity for the size of the portion) along with mashed potatoes smothered in gravy and fresh cooked assorted veggies. There was little doubt that the veggies were cooked to order as they were still a little crisp and done to perfection. All this came with a delicious corn muffin to add to the calorie count. None of us could avoid desert. Other than Washington State and Oregon, I've never been served anything with huckleberries - perhaps it's because the bears like to eat them as much as the humans do, so they are expensive and hard to come by. Nonetheless, they had huckleberry ice cream - the only correct word for it was yum! Companion 1 had it over a deep dish cherry pie, and companion 2 had it as a shake. Neither of my companions could finish their deserts. I had mine as a simple ball of ice cream in a dish, and just managed to finish it. I have also had breakfast there, and once again the portions are huge. You will probably need a wheelbarrow to exit the restaurant, but the food was delicious and I love the bottomless coffee pot. This is a place that knows how to feed a hungry person. If it is crowded, its well worth the wait. Service was outstanding, and everything was nice and clean. I give them 4 stars for quality, portion size, and cleanliness. read more

We were given a wait time of 30 minutes but waited for an hour. Do yourself a favor and learn to over estimate rather than under to avoid upsetting your diners. Only reason we waited was because i had a job interview and could not afford to go somewhere else and possibly wait longer. Our server was great but the poor thing looked stressed, probably because this is the worst Black Bear diner I have ever been to, correction, this is the only one I've ever eaten at that I can say for certain I will never be returning to. The food all came out at different times, the Hollandaise sauce looked suspicious, my child got old bacon that hurt her mouth because it was stale, the water tastes like tap water, took a while to get drinks or be attended. The only good part of our visit was our server and the leaving part. read more

15 min and no one has been at my table. First and last time here. Hard not to notice every table around me with no food. I dont care how good food is, 15 min and not one server has come up to my table and I have to be somewhere in 25 min. read more

This gets five stars for 2 reasons. The food and my amazing waitress. I decided I was hungry for their all you can eat fish fry. It was fresh and crispy. And super hot. Yummy. I had Alexandria as my waitress. She was super nice and attentive. But the best part was her homemade tater sauce. When she brought me my first plate she told me that she ran out of their tater sauce. So she tried to substitute ranch. I ask her if she had mayo and pickle relish. She asked me to wait and she would check. I fully expected to make it myself. She came back with it already made and she added lemon to it. It was really good read more

It was raining that day. The diner was still packed with customers. We went in and the wait was about 30 mins. The food server was great. She was friendly and served us well. The wait time for our food to come was about 20 mins. The pancakes were really good. I had a breakfast meal and hubby ordered the lunch hamburger special. We both enjoyed our meal and everything was really good. We bought their hot sauces to go. Really good for eggs, steaks and burritos. Will be returning :-) read more

I've been to many Black Bear Diners and I'll always understand waiting because it's a popular place. I've never had an experience where I stand to check in and wait for 10 plus minutes without even being acknowledged. Brought my son to IHOP read more

The service was great and I'm a pancake foodie. Chicken sausage was tasty as well, highly recommend the Grizz for a great sampler plate option. I even purchased a lazy bear oven mitt and a mini black bear diner teddy bear. I would come back... read more

Everything was delicious, they forgot my grits but it wasn't that deep lol. The service was wonderful and the space was clean. read more

Black Bear Diner Tempe - Chicken and Chicken & Waffle & Eggs (1400-1440 cals.) - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

The service is extremely terrible this is my first time at one of these establishments and yeah easy to say it's the last. My daughter ordered a omelette with no onions and then when I ask to get the plate fixed I get little attitude huff and puffs as she walks away this was fucken ridiculous read more

They had a nice selection of food. Was able to get seated fairly quick. Great atmosphere friendly staff. Would come back again. Great prices. Enough for leftovers.. read more

Black Bear Diner Tempe - Scrambled eggs with cheddar with sausage bacon and English muffins. Great portions. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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The wait about 15 mins on a Sunday, not bad. I'd really like to recommend for breakfast, pancakes were good as was the breakfast sandwich that we noticed on the placemats not on menu. Our server checked on us a few times, all was fine. Our 2nd time, last night we ordered takeout.. hmmm 2 orders of the fish, fries and coleslaw. Shocked and disappointed the 3 fish were very dry on the inside and on the outside clearly they had cooked and "recooked" I tried one bite out of each fish filet, just awful. We had asked for tartar sauce but they had left that out. The coleslaw unfortunately brown, I wouldn't even taste that, yuck. The fries, however were good and freshly made/cooked. I was really hoping we'd found a good fish fry restaurant, guess we'll keep looking. read more

First time eating here's, the service was good but it was Father's Day so the wait time for food was a little longer than normal. The player is called the Grizz read more

Black Bear Diner Tempe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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I am so upset. It is my birthday dinner and I came to Black Bear to get the one thing I really love at the Bear and after I ordered a Pot Pie, the waitress waited to tell my friend they didn't have any 10 mins after we ordered and I was in the restroom. When I got out, I waited 10 minutes to get a menu and then another 10 mins before anyone came back to check in with me. I was so disappointed and frustrated I told the waitress that I wasn't hungry. My friend received his food and his order was incorrect. They didn't seem overly concerned about me or my business. I am not returning. read more

The food and atmosphere were amazing. Portions are huge so bring your appetite. The decor is cozy and rustic with cabin feel and tons of bears. Our server however was a little off. She seemed very stressed and like she couldn't keep up, but the restaurant wasn't very busy. What bothered us the most was how she went on about her late husband. Not even sure how we landed on the topic, but it felt a little forced like it was a larger tip angle she worked. We just didn't appreciate it while we were trying to enjoy a morning out. read more