My friend and I arrived close to 11am and were seated right away. I'd ordered the mini volcano…read morewhich was 2 large pancakes, 1 egg, 1 slice of bacon, 1 sausage. The pancakes were huge and sweet , I took more than half home, it heated up well. Coffee was good, waitress kept our mugs full. All in all it was pretty good. I'm so happy there's another diner in town. 5 stars is a bit too high but 4 is a bit too small. I'll be back to try other menu items.

I had never actually eaten inside a Black Bear Diner before, even though I've heard people rave…read moreabout it for years. The only other time I tried it was for takeout from a location in California, and honestly it was pretty underwhelming. After moving to Washington, though, I figured I'd give the Olympia location a fair shot and try it as a sit-down breakfast spot, though they do offer breakfast/lunch all day. My husband and I came by for a little breakfast date around 9 a.m. It wasn't busy yet, but the parking lot was starting to fill up and it looked like the morning rush was on its way. One thing I did notice right away is that the parking lot feels a bit compact when it starts getting busy, so it's probably a good idea to be mindful of your surroundings when pulling in or backing out. We were seated right away with no wait, although it did take a couple minutes for someone to bring us the paper menus. I will say the menu design was cute -- it's styled like a newspaper. I also liked the aesthetic of the restaurant itself. There were bear decorations and forest-themed designs throughout the place that gave it a rustic, oaky cabin-type vibe, which fit the theme really well. Once we decided what we wanted, our server (I believe her name was Amy) came over. She was an older lady and seemed nice enough throughout the meal. I ordered what I think was the Big Grizzly breakfast, which was about $20. It came with three eggs (I chose sunny side up), sausage, bacon, one side, sweet cream pancakes, and a country ham steak. Since I'm not a big pancake person, I substituted the pancakes for a Belgian waffle instead. The food itself tasted good, but I'll admit I expected the portions to be bigger for the price since I had heard Black Bear Diner was known for huge breakfasts, but they were more moderate than I anticipated. The country ham steak in particular surprised me because it was just a small square piece rather than a larger cut. Maybe that's how it's normally served and I just didn't notice on the menu, but it was a little disappointing considering the price point. One small mix-up happened when our food arrived -- the server accidentally swapped my plate with my husband's. We didn't say anything about it since she was very friendly and it wasn't a big deal to us; she realized later when she stopped by for refills and apologized. My husband ordered a burger (I can't remember which one), and he said it tasted okay. Nothing amazing, but not bad either. It was decent enough for him to finish his meal. I did like that they offered bottomless soda refills, which was nice since I could steal sips from my husband's Pepsi lol. I also liked that there were options for some pepper sauces and condiments already on the table, which made it easy to customize my food without having to request it from my server. Before we left I stopped by the restroom, which could have used a little more attention. The stall I used didn't have a toilet paper holder at all, so the roll was just sitting on the floor. That felt a little unsanitary, but I made do. When the bill came, we were told that card payments are handled at the table, while cash payments have to be taken up to the front register. I paid with card and Amy came back to run it for us without any issue. Including a 20% tip we chose to add, our bill totaled out to $57.71 for our food and one soda, yikes. By the time we were leaving, several families had gathered at the entrance waiting for tables, so it definitely seems like this place gets busy as the morning goes on, probably closer to the brunch crowd around 10 or 11. Overall, the experience was just okay for me. The food tasted fine and the service was friendly, but the portion sizes didn't quite match the price in my opinion. It's a decent breakfast option in the area, but personally I think I might just stick with IHOP next time when it comes to chain breakfast spots.

The Tri-Tip was amazing! We are definitely coming back. Fish & chips were good as wellread more

Had a lovely brunch with my good friends. Uptown Grill is halfway between us now that I've moved to…read moreVancouver, WA, so she drive from Seattle & we meet for Sunday brunch. It was my lucky day, I found parking right outside the front door! The downtown is super cute and decorated for Christmas & quite busy with shoppers so my friends had to park a few blocks away. The food was great. We split the French toast sandwich and a side of bacon. Tasty! I drank a coffee and it was delicious. My friend had a mimosa. I would definitely go back!

I finally got to try Katsu Burger with my son earlier this week (weekday afternoon), and I can…read moreconfidently say it lived up to the hype! When I initially walked in, it wasn't too busy, but it filled up quickly while I was still figuring out how to order. They use a kiosk system where you choose dine-in or takeout, and it's nicr that each menu item had photos and ingredient descriptions so it made it way easier to decide, especially for our first visit. The space itself is small and quaint with a couple tables, but full of lovely art. There's lots of cute anime and Japanese-themed decor, including figurines, plushies, and artwork, giving the place such a cozy, cutesy aesthetic. I also noticed they might be hiring, based on the sign at the entrance. I came here because my cousin-in-law (who lives in upper Washington) mentioned the place, and I needed a redemption meal after being disappointed by another chicken spot recently. Katsu Burger definitely delivered! The burgers here aren't your typical American-style burgers. They don't taste as greasy and sub cabbage instead of lettuce, similar to garnish for a tonkatsu plate. And surprisingly, the photos on the kiosk actually match what you get (no false advertising here!). The employee behind the counter was super kind and helped guide us through the ordering process. I don't think they take cash so maybe that's why orders are placed through the kiosk. For food: My son ordered the Tokyo Tower burger as-is, and I tried the Umami Burger with light cabbage (not a huge fan of crunchy water veggies like lettuce/cabbage/etc.). Both were AMAZING. I have heard of tonkatsu but I had no idea what beef katsu was before this. Thought it was just a regular beef patty, but wow.. it was crispy, flavorful, and just overall delicious. We ordered takeout and didn't even get home for about 30 minutes, but the food was still warm enough to enjoy without reheating. Portion-wise, my burger was perfect: filling but manageable (i think i made the right choice with light cabbage). My son's Tokyo Tower was massive (almost too big for him to handle xD), but we both agreed everything tasted incredible. I was tempted to try a bento box, but I knew I wouldn't finish it if I was already ordering a katsu burger. Next time though! My son already has his eye on the enormous Mt. Fuji burger, so we'll definitely be back. Parking is decent, though it can get busy during the day since it's near a gym and other businesses. Overall, if you're in the Lacey area, you HAVE to try this Katsu Burger at least once. It looks like they have about 8 other locations too in the other towns so if you're not in Lacey, there still might be one nearby you. The burgers are absolutely the star of the show :) I'm already looking forward to our next visit!

I was happy to find out that Lacey had its own Katsu Butger. I'd been to the one in Georgetown in…read moreSeattle. I recently moved back to Lacey from Seattle and am glad to see great restaurants from Seattle choosing to open up shop here. I absolutely love burgers, I actually prefer mine no frills and class. But I also love Japanese food--Katsu Burger is the perfect solution when I can't decide between something Asian or a burger for dinner. The Lacey location is at a spot that once served great burgers when I was a kid and was also a Thai joint for a while.

We were in Olympia for a visit to The Evergreen State College and since we were in town, a stop at…read moreState & Central was mandatory. We've eaten here several times over the years, this was the first time we eat dinner here. Fam. Let me tell you, the very reasonable lunch size portions? They're significantly bigger on the dinner menu. Almost disturbingly so Being able to get a selection of interesting regional beers is always a draw, tonight was no exception. And the pretty good lunch menu is expanded for the dinner hour - as well as the portion sizes being expanded. I ordered the fish and chips, my partner ordered the bar steak (which was New York strip), and her daughter ordered the salmon burger with fries. Because it was a special, we also got a giant order of poutine. Despite being in almost at closing, the service was absolutely spectacular. We very nearly had the place to ourselves, so the overall vibe was very homey and welcoming. As noted, the portions were enormous. I opted to finish my fish at the expense of the chips. My partner wound up with a significant take home portion as did her daughter. Couldn't possibly have been happier about our decision to stop in. Since we seem to have a new Greener in the family, I'm sure that we will be in Olympia significantly more frequently. And frankly, I am pretty happy about that, just based on being able to stop in here on the regular again.

Besides having a scrumptious menu, the server at lunch today, Cayla, was amazing. She was…read moreattentive, professional and friendly! I had a turkey, bacon, cheese sandwich and fries. I asked her to box up half as I can never eat a whole one. The ambiance is awesome but be sure to wear your hearing aids if you need them. It's a small place and can get hard to hear when its crowded. Overall though, this place rocks!

There's a Cajun creole on the vegan menu that's to die for, nice and just the right amount of…read morespicy. But as a non-vegan i just had to un-vegan it by having them add some chopped up bratwurst. EXECELLENTAMUNDO! Great food, great wine choices and really great service.

It's a cute diner without that cheap diner feel. I ordered the steak frites, which came as one…read morethick piece of steak with quite a bit of fat. I was a little confused by the cut--it felt like a larger piece with a small section still attached, almost like a chicken breast cut into uneven portions. I ordered it medium-well; the edges were cooked that way, but the center leaned more toward medium-rare. The fries were okay, but a bit cold and sad, honestly . The Diet Coke was flat. On the positive side, the service was super nice and attentive, the bathroom was very clean, and the overall vibe was pleasant. Because of the great service, I'm still giving them 5 stars. I'd definitely come back if I'm in the area and try something else on the menu.

This place was such a cool find! We came here to celebrate one of my kid's friend's birthdays and…read morethey all had such a blast. Perfect for all ages really, but our crew of ages 5+ loved it and we could've stayed much longer than we did. When we parked we didn't expect this place to be so big but it's absolutely massive. They have a full bar, a restaurant space, the arcade area, axe throwing lanes, and even party rooms. It's huge! There's a tonnnn of games to choose from. Modern day ones, old arcade machines, claw machines, you name it! My son who is the gamer of the family was in heaven here. We ended up grabbing a couple drinks from the bar and it was so cool! They have fun themed cocktails plus a you-pour-it tap wall. And they have a ROBOT BARTENDER! I got a drink made by the robot and it was pretty good albeit very sweet. I got the Princess Peach one. My husband used the you-pour-it wall for cider and they had awesome local selections. We ended up eating at the restaurant too and their menu is pretty extensive! We got a couple different types of pizzas and for an arcade, it was pretty dang solid. We got a chicken pesto pizza as well as a cheese pizza. The kids loved their cheese pizza (hard to mess that up) and we scarfed down the chicken pesto! Also, did I mention your food is also delivered by robots?! Such a fun touch for the kids! They also have tables with game consoles and tvs on the wall which is a great way to keep hungry kiddos distracted. Definitely suggest checking this spot out, with or without the kids!

It was a fun stroll through to kill an hour. Was busy but didn't feel too crowded. A number of…read moregames were broken and didn't have out of order signs. Most were fine though. Lots of pinball. You add money to a plastic playing card and then scan the readers at games you want to play. Just like the casino. Where you try to do the math in your head.. how much is 20 points costing me? We were excited to try out the robot bartender. It made us giggle, but mostly just a novelty. The robots make limited drinks, the drinks are pretty sugary, and a real person still finishes it off. So honestly, do it once for kicks, then switch back to the actual bartenders to get a drink you want. It's just kind of for show. Did not try the pizza or any food.

This is a cute space with great food and service. It would benefit from some cozier decor…read more We came in on a Sunday afternoon and were the only guests there. We tried the Sunday School Iris wine flight, which came with four 2oz pours ranging from white to red (I loved the chardonnay; my partner loved the Rogue Valley Pinot Noir). We also split the Filbert Sandwich +turkey, which I cannot recommend enough. It was delicious and even came with a side of beans. Despite splitting the wine flight and sandwich, we both left satisfied. It was the perfect amount of food for 2. We loved the dark decor but think it needs more. Some dark hanging curtains would go a long way. We think the hanging art should be lower, with shelves full of intentional books and accoutrement up top. Maybe more of a dog-theme to match the name.

We really enjoyed our visit. Kind staff and the food we shared was delicious. The chopped salad…read moreisn't actually chopped which was confusing but was still quite tasty! Not pictured great wine selection but that was to be expected. Look forward to going back when we can also enjoy the patio as it looked like a great space.

We've been there several times now. Mike, our server was even willing to do a little dance for us…read more It was short but fun. Seriously, the food was excellent, the service, as always, was spot on. We started with the burrata and it was delicious. As an entree we had the Beef Stroganoff and it was better than my grandmother's. Excellent evening out. Don't skip the cheesecake. Light and fluffy. A perfect end to a fantastic meal.

Sat at the bar on Valentines evening around 4pm. The place was getting busy for the big rush…read more Luckily, we were able to get a bar seat w/o having reservations. We split the $190.00 special with choice of salad or onion soup, split 16 oz sliced sirloin and dessert for one. The sirloin came with a lobster bisque poutine and it was delicious. So was the peach cobbler dessert!!! The service was top notch. Drinks were amazing especially the "dirty politician" martini. The two bartenders were a little slow taking our food orders but they got our drinks really fast. Overall it a clean and inviting place. I would like to go there sometime for happy hour. They do need a big brass railing for your feet to rest on while sitting at the bar besides having to rest your feet on the bottom rung of the bars seats.

Glad a friend suggested to eat here! Food was phenomenal, youll have to try the mac and cheese with…read morefried chicken. My server Sierra suggested it along with a pinapple upside down mocktail. Both were delicious. She was so helpful and kind. I will definitely be back.

Service and especially Cierria was friendly, polite and attentive to our needs. Cierra went out of…read moreher way to make sure we had an excellent experience.

Held my mother's 80th birthday brunch in the lake room at Octapas.... Wonderful service, great…read morefood, and they took the best care of all the 80+ year old guests'

We tried this place while in Olympia looking for something new, and it was definitely worth the…read morewalk. The interior is amazing--honestly such a surprise compared to the outside, which doesn't really hint at what's waiting inside. You have to go in. The food was great, drinks were good, and everything was so enjoyable that my guy and I honestly don't even remember exactly what we ordered. Not because it wasn't good--but because we completely finished everything. No takeout boxes needed. The service could have been better, but it also felt like they were short-staffed and doing their best to keep things moving. Overall, a great find and we'd go back again. Thank you.