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Black Bear Inn

2.7 (59 reviews)
ModerateAmerican, Beer Bar
Open • 11:00 am - 12:00 AM (Next day)
Updated 3 months ago

Black Bear Inn Photos

Business Info

BLACK BEAR INN ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Divey
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - Black Bear Inn

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Reviews With Photos

Cheese ravioli, served after 5 pm. Includes a trip to the salad bar.
Angela S.

This is the hole-in-the-wall that the wannabe's in Madison are looking for. A northern cabin-themed bar with a large menu. The food is as American as you'll find, with decently sized portions. Service was lovely. And you can almost always get a $5 coupon off of the back of your Piggly Wiggly receipt!

BLT on sourdough
Aaron W.

I ordered the BLT on sourdough and it was very good. Plenty of bacon! I sat at the bar and the bartender was friendly and attentive.

The spaghetti is pretty good!
Vannessa W.

My husband and I spent a couple nights at the Black Bear Inn and ate at its adjacent bar/restaurant. The accommodations are certainly not fancy but they get the job done. It is a very small and simple inn with just the basics. As far as the food/drinks - two thumbs up! I didn't have drinks but my husband did and thought they were great. He also loved his meal as did I. I had the spaghetti with their signature marinara and it was very good! I would return here if I happen to be in the area again.

Chicken Parmesan sandwich
Tricia C.

My husband and I had an event to attend in Cottage Grove, and we decided to check out the Black Bear Inn for dinner after. When you first walk in, it looks like any old bar in Wisconsin - until you look left, and then you will see a gorgeous log cabin-like dining room. I was blown away by the number of options, as well as the unexpected ones like crab legs! Never in a million years would I have thought I would be able to dine on crab legs in a bar. I actually didn't, because I ended up choosing the chicken parmesan sandwich, which did not disappoint! The sandwich was very well put together, and despite the ability to be a potentially messy meal, it was easier to eat than I thought! It was a great night out, and if I make it back to Cottage Grove for dinner I will definitely eat at the Black Bear Inn again.

Edmund Fitzgerald -Great Lakes Brewing
Dianne J.

I would really like to give this place more starts, but there were several key elements lacking that prevent me from doing so. That being said, food quality and service were good. When we arrived ( a little after 1:00 pm on a Monday) there were 7 other patrons already there. 2 of the other parties present ordered food in addition to us (party of 2). Otherwise the patrons present were just having beverages. We ordered fairly simple items for lunch. Soup & Salad ($8.99) and a regular plain BLT like you would make in your own kitchen & Fries ($8.99). It took 37 minutes from the time we ordered until we got our food, which was not served all at once. The soup took a couple additional minutes to come out. I was a bit concerned with the holding temperature of the soup (I strongly suspect it was microwaved prior to serving) it was warm but definitely not hot. We would be willing to consider another visit however this was a bit disappointing considering all factors.

The owner eating with his family while I wait a hour and half for my food

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5 months ago

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4 days ago

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4 months ago

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3 months ago

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2 months ago

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5 months ago

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5 months ago

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6 months ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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6 years ago

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4 years ago

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2 years ago

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4 years ago

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5 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

Food was poor, service extremely bad (Monday, January 15 around noon) Left a $1 tip and that was too much!

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4 years ago

Pretty standard Wisconsin bar fare. Good fish fry. Good service. Decent cheese curds. Cold beer on tap. I liked it.

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2 years ago

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4 years ago

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3 years ago

Waited over an hour for our breakfast! Ridiculous! Very dark and drab atmosphere. Will not be going back. Food was decent however.

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4 years ago

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6 years ago

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11 years ago

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6 years ago

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4 years ago

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6 years ago

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4 years ago

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7 years ago

The bartender is playing pool and the customers have no drinks. All the regulars have stopped coming here.

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12 years ago

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12 years ago

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10 years ago

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12 years ago

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7 years ago

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5 years ago

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8 years ago

Last year was great, came 3 tines in the last 3 weeks now and really feel I got robbed, stay away go to outpost

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8 years ago

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8 years ago

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7 years ago

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9 years ago

Ive only been here once. The food was overcooked. Staff wasn't very friendly. Save yourself a bad night out and avoid this place.

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Oakstone Recreational - Cajun Shrimp Po'boy with beer battered fries

Oakstone Recreational

4.0(50 reviews)
1.5 mi
•$$

Sports bar with great food! Don't miss this one!…read more This gem is unassuming and tucked back off the main streets cottage grove. It has a large indoor and outdoor recreational area attached, but the food is what stands out. This was our first time for breakfast. The Bloody Mary was delicious, tasted like a homemade mix, with the perfect portion of garnishes. I had the breakfast sandwich, which was build your own, with potato pancakes. The ingredients were fresh and flavorful. The potato pancakes were some of that best I've had, and such a great idea for breakfast. My husband had the biscuits and gravy with seasoned diced potatoes. The portion was not overwhelming and the biscuits were fresh with a very flavorful gravy - some of the best around. Service was efficient and attentive. Excited to come back again!

We ordered 2 salads tonight for takeout one Salmon, 1 Asian Chicken. We were underwhelmed on both…read moreof them. The salmon had a good size chunk. It was supposed to come with pears and candied walnuts. I've included picture, there weren't any. Both salads were to come with "French Bread" per menu. You will see it was like an inch piece of bread. The Asian Chicken had tough chicken, limp tortilla strips (salad dressing was on side so that wouldn't have impacted this) and about 4 mandarin slices 2 of which were mushy. There were no bean sprouts or sesame seeds as indicated on menu. The only thing that saved this meal was a breadstick we found in our refrigerator. Too bad, would not get either again.

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Oakstone Recreational
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Park Side Pub - Bar Interior

Park Side Pub

3.8(15 reviews)
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We stumbled upon this place randomly one night after dinner. I believe the basketball playoffs were…read moreon so it was busy. Only had one drink and left. We decided to come back mid afternoon on a Sunday. There were a few tables wrapping up but the bar was pretty full. Service was a little iffy at first (seems like a place that definitely has regulars) but once the bartenders spotted us the service was great. The beer is really cold and the drinks are strong. We ordered the suggested house burger w sweet potato fries and some wings. The wings had a lot of breading on them but meaty. The fries were good and the burger was awesome! I ended up having to eat it with a fork bc it completely fell apart. The bun is on the sweeter side (not sure exactly what kind it was) but it just couldn't contain all the delicious toppings. We will absolutely be back. Looking forward to football season here - they have a TON of TVs and Sunday ticket. Score!!

Photos are from the Friday night menu. We had broiled cod, broiled shrimp, grilled salmon & clam…read morechowder soup. I also got the drool worthy cheesy potato casserole as a side - this is only available on Fridays and runs out as the night goes on so get there early! My absolute favorite item on the normal menu is the Chicken Salad Sandwhich Melt on sourdough bread. It's SO good. This bar is an excellent spot for cheap drinks & watching sports since it has a million TVs. I've never had the burgers here but I've heard good things.

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Park Side Pub - Grilled Salmon

Grilled Salmon

Park Side Pub - French dip

French dip

Park Side Pub - Meat-raffle time -- and NO, these are NOT Vikings colors!!!

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Don Maguey Mexican Restaurant

Don Maguey Mexican Restaurant

3.0(28 reviews)
1.5 mi

Friendly staff, and very busy, but we got our chips and salsa immediately and our drinks were…read moreserved quickly Tried something new - Enchiladas Rancheras - Quite possibly the best enchiladas I have ever had. She had her usual, a combo plate, and she was happy with that as always Would strongly recommend this place for anybody who is on the east side of Madison and has a desire for tasty, hot (temperature) Mexican food.

Went there to celebrate a combo of a birthday and Mother's Day. At start the waitress that seated…read moreus gave my family and myself a stank face and a bit of an attitude. Chucked it up to it being busy and they were tired. No worries. We were sat by kitchen so every server no matter what, passed our table. And pass by they did. All not making eye contact or even asking if we'd like water. We ended up waiting 20 minutes for our own server to finally come. When he did he apologized and took our drink order. Left to make them. When he brought back, which granted that part was kind a quick, he took our food order. We waited 35 minutes for our food. Drinks were almost gone. All the servers once again passed by us. Never checked on us or anything. And again, Wouldn't make eye contact. When the food finally did arrive. Two of the dinners were ice cold and looked like slop. Like I literally went to grab one of the nachos and it was so soggy it was drippy some type of watery goo. The other two dinners were lukewarm at best. Uneditable. And definitely done deliberately. As I watched my waiter and other servers attend other tables quickly after they were seated. Even offer them water. Anyway, Tried to find someone and a waitress at the bar made eye contact with me and then quickly turned around and ignored me. Took another gentleman, not our waiter, coming out the back to ask if we needed anything. Probably because at this point, the birthday girl started crying and he noticed something. Kudos to him. The only decent person that night. I said no, that I refuse to pay for the food and I wanted my check. He went to finally find our waiter to bring him back so I could again tell him. The joke being he even walked over to my table wearing an oven mitt. So hey someone there probably got a hot meal. He took the food off my check and tried to smooth everything over with a "fist bump". I did as he and his employees did to me, turned around and grab my purse. The whole situation was ridiculous. Not sure why they felt the need to be rude. But I won't be going back. I'd advise against anyone else going as well. Good luck.

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Don Maguey Mexican Restaurant - Bar

Bar

Don Maguey Mexican Restaurant
Don Maguey Mexican Restaurant - Inside

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Inside

Black Bear Inn - tradamerican - Updated May 2026

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