My retired teachers group meets at Black Bear Diner in El Cajon on the first Monday of the month. We generally sit in the reserved side room and when we do, Agustin H. is our server. Agustin is AMAZING! We are always greeted with a big smile, and he has our beverage order to us in no time at all. He is helpful and makes sure our orders are just how we like them! He is efficient, checking with us several times during our meal to see if there is anything we need. Our group asks for separate checks, and he gladly accommodates us. Agustin makes our meal quite pleasurable. We are always happy to see him! Thank you, Agustin!! read more

Great service! Samuel and the manager took real good care of us. Kept the bread coming and drinks topped off. Enjoyed my birthday dinner with ny family. read more

We ordered: Chicken Sausage Scramble, Chicken Fried Steak & Biscuits. We were shocked at how big the portions were lol. The biscuits were MASSIVE. Like bigger than a hamburger bun lol. I enjoyed my chicken sausage scramble. The avocado it came with was shockingly fresh and my husband liked his chicken fried steak. I really liked that they offer a healthier section in their menu. The service from the host & hostess were ok. Our server was great. read more

Black Bear Diner El Cajon - Chicken Fried Steak - Diners Near Me - El Cajon, California

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Wow! Is an understatement. What a hidden treasure in California. I had first heard about this place from family and decided to check it out upon our spring vacation. I've seen pictures of the portion sizes and yes it is as they say. It was a wonderful experience from walking in and being seated in a relaxing diner setting and the food was exceptional! I thoroughly enjoyed my selection and was not in the slightest disappointed! Ordering a nice taco salad that could literally feed a party of four! The shell was delicious and the service overall for my family and It deserves nothing less than a five star review. The breakfast was portions were huge and just as tasty leaving all of us taking leftovers later to enjoy at the hotel. Can't wait to return to try other dishes very soon & will keep this place in mind when traveling. I highly recommend this spot to try if you have never been, it felt like home. read more

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Went a meeting with dinner. Placed my order at 6pm. The restaurant server started serving. Everyone buT me were servef by 7.30pm. The server keep on saying it will be right out. At 8 I decided to leave and get something to eat at Burger King. The item I order takes a while to cook and lots of others ordered the same. So for two hours they knew they could not serve me. Instead of doing the honest and smart thing of asking me to change my order they strung me allow. read more

Great food, great service. Maria was fun and provided great service!!!! She was the best!

Lillie is the bomb.com. she radiates so much positivity. Food was great as always. Genuinely loved the service this time around.

Black Bear Diner El Cajon BARELY (Bearly) misses the mark on account of food that was unfortunately undercooked (came out cold) but a generous and understanding staff were able to take care of our issues no problem. TLDR: Everyone has an off day, but the incredible service made the most of it. Will be back again soon to hopefully raise the grade ;)) read more

Black Bear Diner El Cajon - Cinnamon Roll French Toast* - Diners Near Me - El Cajon, California

I love this place. Went to brunch here with my friends. I have always wanted to try it and was so happy they recommended this place. I felt like I was on vacation camping. Such a cute place ! Friendly service ( I forgot our waitress's name) but she was so amazing! The food was just as amazing. Huge portions. Shareable. We each got a little of what we wanted ! The biscuits were fluffy and fresh. First time trying grits which were surprisingly tasty. Definitely trying another meal off the menu. The bear came and walked around ! Kid friendly read more

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I ordered the Bigfoot with some biscuits and gravy and I almost finished my food until I saw there was mold in my biscuit absolutely disgusting!!! read more

Black Bear Diner El Cajon - 2 Biscuits & Gravy - Diners Near Me - El Cajon, California

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We just ate the Thanksgiving dinner we ordered online on November 24th. The turkey was moist and tender-cooked to perfection, the potatoes and gravy and stuffing were all delicious, and the green beans were the best we have ever had. It came with salad and cranberry sauce too which we are saving for another great meal of leftovers. There was so much food we will have to enjoy that delicious pie later this evening. This is the first time we have ordered any Thanksgiving dinner on line and we're so glad we chose Black Bear Diner. We'll be ordering again next year. Ken and Sue Murray read more

Our food was brought to the table and we never saw the waitress again. I had to get up, go to waitress, and ask for assistance. One person in our party had the worst french fries A plate was brought to scrape off fries and no new fries ever appeared. Waitress said she made an adjustment for fries.... not the meal because the fries were a side. My friend didn't get to enjoy the full mean she ordered. Service was terrible ... probably because owners do not staff as they should. If the policy of the restaurant is they can refund $2.50 for one item when the whole meal was changed, it's not right. It' snot in the interest of giving the service they brag about. The claim to be family experience with good food and good service is false. Don't go to Black Bear! read more

What happened to your food?! Ordered delivery thru Doordash, 3 entrees. Every meal was bland, unseasoned, hospital cafeteria like. The puddle of gravy, rimmed with a smear of mash potatoes? What is that? What a disappointment! Pot roast was mostly carrots & potatoes, very little meat. read more

So delicious!!!! The food here is really good and portions are huge! On a Wednesday afternoon before the dinner rush service was beyond reproach! It's so cool looking inside and they even have a jukebox. In east county it's hot outside but theBBD has AC!! Even had the banana cream Pie to go!! We can't wait to come back again! read more

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2nd time is a charm! Had a family dinner last night July 20th about 7:00 pm. We had 5 diners and were quickly greeted by Jose the manager. Just like the first time the employees are just top notch! So great to see so many young people with incredible work ethics post Covid....seems no one wants to work anymore. Thank you to Angie who was so thoughtful and professional with us. OK! On the best part ... the food! Burgers are amazing! Juicy and Huge! My husband had the Turkey club, he is a Turkey club snob and he really enjoyed the roasted Turkey. Most places just use deli meat. My son devoured the chicken fried steak and loved the red skin mashed potatoes. Chocolate shakes are legendary! Sam was our waitress and she was fantastic! Very nice family diner. read more

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This place was wild! Felt like you were at Disneyland cause it was a vibe. They lean into the bear thing which is super fun and cute for kids. Inside are bear plushies and bear-like clothing you can buy and even a bear mascot. Learned this is a chain and I assume each one is this way. Portions here were HUUUUUUUGE. With that said, nothing was phenomenal but man for portions it's a bargain. Biscuits and gravy: homemade biscuits SLAPPED. But the sauce wasn't very tasty :/ Omelette: made my own omelette and had hashbrowns with them. The omelette was good and the hashbrowns were HELLA crispy which I loved but due to the thickness they were otherwise mushy after that crunchy layer. Bear choice: it was okay. Sausage, French toast, eggs. All in all it was okay food-wise but huge portions with really good and fast service. Would def be fun for kids though. Parking lot attached so that was nice! read more

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Their customer service could be improved. We ended up leaving after almost 50 minutes of waiting for a table. It would have been nice if they acknowledged our wait time but we were the ones kept asking for status, as we saw people got seated before us and we were there first. I'm not sure how they were choosing who gets seated first. There were 8 of us and we just decided to leave since it appears they did not want our business. We even told them we can be separated as a group if it would help to get seated. We saw empty tables. We were disappointed, as the location in Colorado was supposed to be nice and wanted to try this El Cajon location. read more

We've been here on three occasions. The food is good but the service is lacking. The second time we came, the waitress completely forgot about us and never refilled our coffee. So much for "bottomless" coffee. The third time, the waitress also forgot about our table entirely. Shame because if they trained their servers or fixed that, this place would be much better. They say third times the charm, but we won't be back. read more

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Family of 5 visited for dinner 9/20. Tri-tip for 4 of us and NY Steak & Eggs for 1. Coffee, Huckleberry ice cream, Cobbler with Huckleberry ice cream and a chocolate brownie dessert topped off the generous meal. Casey was a great efficient, knowledgable, fun server. Aldo(?) filled in during her break and our service was seamless. Thank you Black Bear Diner Delicious dinner and delightful staff. read more

Enjoyed breakfast after a medical appointment. Coffee was hot and strong, as we prefer. Pancakes were sweeter than I like and would not order them again. The Chicken Fried Steak tasted great. And we LOVED their home fries. Service was attentive. And no complaints there. Cute, cozy vibe. Bathrooms were clean. We've been to other locations, over the years. But this was our first time in El Cajon. Don't hesitate to stop by! read more

Many of my friends told me about this place, but I never gave it a try. We were in El Cajon and said let's swing by and give it a try and let me tell you the food here was so delicious. My kids really enjoyed their food. The service was really good as well our server she was very attentive and always was there when we needed her. It only took us about 15 minutes to get seated on a Sunday afternoon. We will definitely be coming back. Don't forget to try their pancakes and the ranch they serve so so delicious. read more

This place is always good and you get a large portion of food. They are always busy but I never had to wait to long.

Hands down this place has the best corn bread in San Diego! Went for dinner and ordered the chicken fried steak. The dinner portion was big enough to share. This place is big with plenty of seating. Server was nice and helpful with suggestions on the most popular dishes. read more

Black Bear Diner El Cajon - Cornbread Muffin - Diners Near Me - El Cajon, California

Great service, friendly and quick hostess and wait staff. I believe my server was the woman who took my order but it was Chris who got me started, took my drink order and kept checking on me...he was great. Food was good except for my bacon, I asked for crispy and they brought be burnt bacon. read more

Black Bear Diner El Cajon - Bear's Choice Breakfast - Diners Near Me - El Cajon, California

Whenever I eat here because my kids want to come here, I always find the food to be meh and never delicious. My kids go to the one in Sonoma with their dad's family and apparently that one's much better. It also is overpriced for the quality of the food. Ironically the menu has a comment from one of the owners talking about how if the food isn't amazing, that the chef must be thinking about the last restaurant that they were working at. The weight staff and other people that work at the restaurant were very nice though. I don't plan on coming back and I will have my kids just go there when they're back in Northern California. read more

Very bad service the waiters are so rude. My waiter was Alicia she was so mad and keep cutting us off when we order i asked my wife if she wants the brown or country potatoes. She was like no!!! when she took our order it fells like she want us out of the restaurant, really she made us very uncomfortable. I will never go back to this place just because of the waiters as very rude and disrespectful. By the way, this is not the first time. I wanted to give a chance. This is the third time. Same experience read more

Black Bear Diner El Cajon - Diners Near Me - El Cajon, California

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The customer service is horrible here i ask for coffee and it's took 45mins to get it and another 45mins to wait for my check i won't come back here read more

Came in Saturday morning for breakfast to meet up with a friend and they were packed. There is a huge parking lot so there was plenty of parking and that was easy. I was greeted right when I walked in and was seated in a booth while I looked at the menu before my friend arrived. I was surprised I didn't have to wait, but maybe because it was only for two people. I ordered the country fried steak breakfast with a pancake. I know I was hungry. My friend got the classic eggs Benedict. We both loved our food. We would definitely come back for breakfast again. read more

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Love this place. Service is down home service and hospitality like the Midwest. Food fresh to order and just a chill home vibe for dinning. Did I day I love this place yet? Yes check them out. read more

Stopped by for breakfast early Saturday morning. The restaurant was pretty empty, which meant speedy service and food delivery. There was a slight mistake with my order. I asked for the pork sausage links but received the chicken sausage. The waitress waited for me to ask for the food to be replaced, but having worked in the industry I was hesitant and decided to give the chicken sausage a try. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed them. I ordered a relatively simple breakfast with scrambled eggs and the red country potatoes. Both were cooked just right. There are plenty of condiment options. Including their three hot sauces. The papa bear (habanero) had a nice kick to it. The mama bear (chipotle) had good flavor. The food portion was big, even for a guy like me who likes to eat. The coffee is mild, but good. With vanilla or half & half creamer options available at the table. Even though this place is a chain, I have to admit, the ambiance was comforting. It felt like an old school diner, homey and welcoming. I'll definitely be back. read more

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Craving some good American breakfast this is the place to go food a+ service is ok it was a Friday after a holiday so it was busy so I can understand the service Waite time to sit about 15-20 min. All in all it was good Garcia family approved. read more

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I love this place. It's family friendly, a fun theme and overall, great food. The biscuits are huge and the Chicken fried steak omelette!? Delicious. The staff were very nice and engaging even though it was pretty busy. BUT... I ended up getting REALLY bad double dragon food poisoning. Edit: My husband and I both ended up sick. It ended up being Norovirus. read more

Came here the other day for breakfast. There was no wait time so we were sat immediately upon entrance. I really like the inside decor it gives me cabin vibes. I ordered the chicken fried steak and eggs at my boyfriend ordered a two egg breakfast. Since it wasn't that busy we kind of expected to get our food pretty quick but that was not the case. We waited about 30 to 35 minutes before we started to feel like they have forgotten us. Other people that order before us were getting their food so we flagged on our waitress and asked what was taking so long and she said she would go and check out where our food was. I guess the kitchen had made a mistake and our food was brought out shortly after. For the food itself it was pretty decent nothing over the top good but definitely worth a try. Our only issue was getting our food. read more

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This place stilllll has the best pancakes I've ever had! They're like a sweet cream pancake! They're fresh, soft, thick and fluffy! Pancakes that just melt in your mouth. They were pretty hush for a Monday morning, but our waitress was so kind, fast and attentive! This place is always a great go-to for breakfast! And their whole menu is served morning, noon and night! read more

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Came for a late lunch. The California burger was tasty and juicy. However, the turkey club was mostly bread. One of the quartered sandwiches had zero turkey on one side and one small piece on the other. Disappointing. We will come back. We know breakfast is good and now know the burgers are, as well. read more

Black Bear Diner El Cajon - California burger - Diners Near Me - El Cajon, California

Great food and service. Open Christmas which made having lunch a great experience. A little bit of a wait, but definitely worth it

I have been to the Black Bear diner in Buena Park. Finally came to the El Cajon location down here in San Diego. I will say that the food, service and feeling that you have when you go in, is just about the same. And I'm glad that you have a great welcoming feeling went at this location just like the other one. read more

Our group stopped by here after a leisure hike around Oak Oasis on Memorial Day with big appetites. My brother in law was actually the one who introduced us to this place, which reminded me of Knott's Berry Farm. The wait was about 10 minutes to be seated and once inside it was really packed and all the servers were on fast-forward, ducking dodging and delivering food. We ordered drinks and it took a while to have our server take our food order, then it took almost 35 minutes to deliver our breakfast. No big deal to me because the anticipation of eating was on my mind and trying to be considerate of the holidays and how busy restaurant businesses must be. I was in between a cheesy breakfast sandwich on their promotion menu or a scramble with some veggies and I chose the latter. Portion wise it was a massive serving and it almost defeated me. The scramble by itself was good but with heaping dashes of their Papa Bear hot sauce it turned it up a notch. The gigantic fluffy biscuits were a great tool to soothe the numbness from the hot sauce, as they provided a sweetness with a slathering of orange marmalade jelly. Overall I really enjoyed the food it was tasty and hearty, their service was good too (all things considered). Definitely would like to come back to try their other offerings. read more

Black Bear Diner El Cajon - The Original ScramBOWL - Diners Near Me - El Cajon, California

Great dinner, well done comfort food! Fair prices, nice portions, I was looking for a traditional American dinner and I would say it's the best one that I've been in San Diego so far. read more

Black Bear Diner El Cajon - Fish 'N Chips (1740 cals.) - Diners Near Me - El Cajon, California

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Great food at a good price. Always a good experience when we eat a Black Bear. Great place for family meal on Thanksgiving too.