3pm on a Sunday. Super sweet hostess quotes us 15 minutes. We get seated in 5 - awesome. We are left at our table with my explanation that the little newspaper on the table is actually our menu. Several minutes pass and our server, Desiree, finally arrives. She seems very busy - maybe her section is a little too big. She takes our drink order and points out the menu. She returns about 10 minutes later with our drinks and takes a food order. I ordered the bacon cheeseburger basket and my guest ordered the garden burger flatbread. There is about 40 minutes in between our order being placed and receiving our meals. Twice the wrong food was attempted to be dropped off at our table (it seems they don't know their table numbers). My basket meal came on a plate - I knew this was wrong, but I didn't see our server again until she dropped off the check to ask her. Our server had put in the more expensive version of what I had ordered - since I ate it I paid for it, but it was wrong. Also, I wasn't asked how I would like my burger prepared - it came out VERY well done. But I couldn't let my server know because she never came back. I had to ask how I was to pay my bill and I was directed to the host stand. An explanation of how to pay would nice when the bill is dropped off. Overall, service is lacking. It just seems that the staff needs further training. But the food was wonderful. 3 stars is purely for the quality of food.
(3)
Laylah S.
I took my daughter here for lunch today because I had heard how good the food is. We both ordered chicken fried steak and eggs with hash brown strips. --The chicken fried steak tastes like the frozen kind you can buy at the store. Yuck.... --The hash browns were so hard and stuck together that I couldn't even cut into them with my fork. --The eggs were good. --The overly HUGE biscuit was dry, but with a ton of jam on it tasted okay. --Our server, Veronica, was wonderful. Very nice and attentive. Needless to say, we will not be back.
(2)
paul s.
Been here twice now, both times I've been very happy with the food and service. Love the theme and big diner feel. Love the selection of desserts and choices for food, anyone will find something. Just a real fun place to go, I will be back again
(4)
MIKE J.
This place was nasty and over priced. Lots of empty tables and we still "waited" to be seated for 10 min . The food was not good or hot. I had a overpriced little burger basket that was a over salted and made McDonald's taste high end. I will not be back there are to many alternatives in the neighborhood from Elmers to sweet Betty's and yes this place was much better when it was sizzlers
(1)
Kyle R.
Well, that was a first! Arrived last Sunday afternoon. Walked in, were seated, only to realize that the place wasn't open to the public yet. Everyone eating, worked for Black Bear and they were doing a test run. Did they kick us out? No way! They served us free food and were super friendly. EVERYONE was super friendly and hospitable. AMAZING staff and service. So we ate a $30 meal for free, and left a big tip. Excellent food, way better than the Beaverton location we ate at a week earlier.
(5)
John C.
I knew that this restaurant was a chain, but I hoped that a new location would provide some great food and a great experience, at least for a little while. I was so wrong. First of all, I decided to check it out at 3:00 in the afternoon on a Monday. I thought they would be slow enough between lunch and dinner that I could get a real good feel for the place. I was correct, they were not that busy, but they were so unorganized it made it feel like they were slammed. They asked me if I wanted to eat at the counter. I informed them that I would prefer to eat in a spot with a little less activity since there were no less than 10 people running around right in front of where they wanted to seat me. My hostess didn't like that answer and asked me sarcastically "Then where would you like to sit?", after I already told her my preference for some place quieter. After I was seated, it was a mad rush to get me the heck out of there. They handed me a menu and came back within 30 seconds expecting me to be ready. When I had finally decided and gave them my order, they came back within several minutes because they had failed to remember what it was I ordered. When my food came, a blazing bear sandwich with fries, the sandwich was wrapped in paper then cut in half. This made all the sauce they poured all over it to seep out and get all over the outside of the sandwich. After my first bite, I realized that I was never given any napkins. With sauce on my hands and all over my face, I got up and asked where I could find a napkin. The answer I got was "Your server didn't bring you any?" before the waitress grabbed a few from her counter. Having made it back to my table to take another bite of my sandwich, my server came back and asked if I needed a box. I had literally only taken one bite of my sandwich and had an entire half of sandwich still wrapped up in its paper. I told her that I would rather just finish my lunch and no box would be necessary. Having said that to my server, she then went to the register and got my ticket and came back and laid it directly on the article I was reading and told me there was no hurry. I was so frustrated at this point at the level of service and the poor quality of food, I left the rest of my food and handed her the ticket with my debit card and followed her back to the register to pay for this meal and leave. When I handed her back the signed receipt, I purposefully did not leave a tip since I left over half my meal and was rushed out by poor service. As I was heading for the door, I heard the server make a comment about not leaving a tip and some rude comment about me to the other server next to her. It is a rare thing for me to not leave a tip, but in this case I felt it was warranted. I also felt that if they were worth their salt as a server they would have tried to figure out why instead of saying something rude. At this point I plan on telling everyone to not even bother with this place. It is yet another chain restaurant that excels in crappy food and poor service, something that Gresham has enough of thank you very much.
(1)
Christopher F.
Portions are huge! But the quality is low!! Ordered the corned beef hash, that and egg was only thing to eat. The biscuit was hard as a rock! Literally could use it in a sling shot. The table behind us said they even tried to put gravy on theirs to make it soft. Will not come back here. Gave it two stars for the atmosphere. Food is one star.
(2)
Mokihana W.
The first time we ever ate at a Black Bear Diner was in Shasta City in California. We were exhausted, coming back home to Oregon after my mother's memorial service/cleaning out her house. We'd heard good things about Black Bear, and pulled in just before 8 p.m. after driving most of the day. We were very pleased, and their comfort food was much needed. When we saw that a Black Bear Diner had opened in Gresham, we were delighted, and ate there last night for the first time. We got there about 5 p.m., and there was already a line. People were relaxed and friendly, so waiting wasn't bad. When we got seated, Tatasha was our server, and it was like walking into her own home; she treated us like family, and her smile could brighten up a city. Talk about Southern hospitality! Our food was delicious. Our salads were crisp and fresh and cold. Very impressive. Husband ordered fried chicken and mashed red potatoes. The chicken was crispy on the outside and tender inside. I ordered the pork cutlets with cinnamon apples and onion rings. The cornbread muffins were hot and tender. Tatasha was very attentive even though she was extremely busy. She was just as friendly to people at other tables as she was with us; she is an incredible asset to this restaurant. When we go again, and there will be an again, we will request to be seated at one of her booths. She is a keeper. We didn't order dessert but looked at the menu. The lava cake looked fabulous, and the peach cobbler is sugar-free, a real asset. The menu is varied, and you can get breakfast all day. The beary-y/rustic decor is also pleasing to look at. Yes, the place was crowded and a bit noisy, but Husband and I didn't have any trouble hearing each other. I think the music could have been turned down some; that would have helped. All in all, a very pleasant experience; we will be back.
(4)
Josie G.
First off - I would like to say how incredibly unfair it is that someone gave Black Bear only one star because they weren't open yet? That's the fault of the customer, not the restaurant. This was my first time to any Black Bear and I was afraid it had been too hyped up, I'd heard great things about it, but "hey, it's just breakfast food" I thought to myself. WRONG: IT IS BREAKFAST FOOD OF THE GODS. The pancakes literally confused me because they were so thick and fluffy I had a hard time accepting something so delicious could exist. The bacon was crispy but not over cooked and also amazing. The hash browns you could tell were made extremely fresh. Even the coffee was good! Not too weak, not too strong. Our server was incredibly sweet, and the service was quick despite the place being packed. Nice!!!
(5)
Victoria G.
Had breakfast there and the food was great! The service was a bit slow, however, it was a Sunday and it was busy, and they have only been open at this location since December 8th. The waitstaff was very nice, everyone was friendly. I ordered classic eggs benedict with out hashbrowns, asked for fruit instead and got extra fruit. Everyone loved the black bear guy wandering around. All in all a great meal, enjoyable staff...will definitely be going back!
(5)
Tammy B.
Glad to have them in Gresham. . Very very clean, staff was friendly and we loved our waiter Barlo. . Thank you Barlo for checking on us and tending to our needs but not being in our face lol food was also awesome. cooked like we asked and big portions. . Well worth the money.
(5)
Rusty S.
The one in Tualitan is much better... This place smells of varnish and the service is 'ok' I expected more from a BBD:( Boo!!!
(1)
Judy H.
I believe we came between lunch and dinner time. My server was Nicole and she was very nice! When we were seated there were a total of four tables seated at pretty much the same time. She handled it pretty well tho! Our food came out rather quickly and was VERY good!! He had The griz and I had a rueben sandwich. He ALMOST finished his food and my sandwich was oh so tasty! They definitely do not skimp on the meat for that one!! We will be back!!
(5)
Desiree D.
This place is a cutesy old timey kind of restaurant. Definitely harkens back to the "good old days". The food is fine, definitely high quality and fresh ingredients which were much better than you would get at other diners. The items were all typical diner kind of foods. They were all pretty good, but nothing you couldn't make at home. The staff was quick and attentive. A nice place overall
(3)
Dolores D.
We went tonight for the grand open great job food was cooked perfect service quick nice place we will go back and bring friends
(5)
Leah H.
They have been busy for months, so my husband and I finally got in for breakfast. Overall, they need a new cook. My husband got some pancakes, and I got the California omelet with hashbrowns and a biscuit. My omelet was way way overdone, and the avacado was not ripe at all. The mushrooms were not cooked all of the way, and it was pretty disappointing. My biscuit was HUGE, but it really could have used some honey maybe? It was missing something. My husband's pancakes came with a tiny solo cup of syrup, and it just didn't look professional. They were undercooked in the middle. When he asked for more syrup, they brought out a plate full of more tiny solo cups of syrup... it was kind of weird. Also, their garnish is the weirdest. It was the traditional slice of orange, but on top of a warm, wilted leaf of romaine lettuce. You know that smell when you heat up an old hamburger in the microwave with lettuce on it? That's what my food smelled like when it came out because of this garnish. Lettuce should not be held under a heat lamp. Ever. I don't think I want to come back for a while, if at all. It just seemed like these people have not worked in food service before, and haven't run a restaurant.
(2)
Melissa H.
Okay food, slow service. We came on a Saturday morning. ..not too busy. ..only a 10 min wait. Once sat, we were greeted fairly quickly and the server brought our drinks. Once we ordered. ....it. ....took. ....forever! We waited over 45 min for two breakfast burritos. The description said eggs, refried beans, sausage and some other fixings I can't remember. I took one bite and all you taste is refried beans. I saw no eggs and didn't taste anything else. I could have went next door to Taco bell and got a better tasting bean burrito for about $9 less. The hash browns that were served alongside were pretty but cold. The only good thing I have to say is our server was very nice (sorry, I don't remember her name) and the iced tea was delicious! I may give this place one more try but I will go when they are a bit slower and see if things improve.
(3)
Dolly D.
The chicken caeser sandwich is delicious! Most menus items are fine. They are helpful giving options. Service is "Ok". Fun atmosphere.
(4)
Jack M.
The food was horrible. Their meat loaf was about 10 % meat. I went back another time and tried the chicken parmesan. Yech! The worst I ever tasted. I think their cooks are high school kids or worse. I'll never set foot in there again...
(1)
Jeff M.
Went here on a Saturday for lunch and breakfast for my wife. Looked on line and their website said freshly prepared home cooking. I ordered the chicken noodle soup, and when it came out I instantly recognized it as Campbell's chunky chicken noodle soup straight out of s can! Then as soon as I tasted it, sure enough that IS what was. I have had the Campbell's many times so I know what it tastes like. Now I know most places don't make everything from scratch, but come on, if you are going to advertise fresh made food, at least make the soup!! I don't like deceptive advertising so I won't be back. Makes suspect that everything is ready made cans and packaged. Also the wait for the food was way too long.
(1)
Jason A.
Waaaaay overrated! LONG wait. We were passed over 2x to be seated. We waited over an hour after we were seated to get our food. Very disorganized staff: servers cashiering, cooking, traveling in a herd. My Belgium waffle was basically an eggo. Food portions were small and everything tasted pre-made (frozen and re-heated). I give it 1 star for fresh squeezed o.j. Won't be back
(1)
Crystal A.
We came in this afternoon we were seated at the bar. When we were seated we were the only ones at the bar first there were 2 other couples that were seated a few minutes after us. Waited maybe 10 minutes our server finally came up to us we were ready to order she asked if we ordered yet we told her no but we were ready she left and took everyone else's order before our this is the first time we have had poor customer service from our server here
(1)
See Y.
You better bring a good appetite when you come to this place. The portions are "mansized" and the food is very good! Making this a regular stop when I am in the area!
(5)
Glenn R.
It's interesting how busy they are every time we go for a meal. We now just drive by when the lot is full and people are milling around the front door. I really don't have anything bad or good to say about the food as it is better than most Gresham fare. Last visit had entire section of the restaurant closed during dinner because wait staff called in sick. Seems like there should be a plan "B" in place.
(3)
Dustin H.
I think this restaurant is going to be successful in Gresham for a long time if they address a few small but important things. When we showed up for breakfast there was staff everywhere but no one greeted us or even acknowledged us for over 5 minutes. When We were seated the waitress took our orders promptly, Gave us or food then disappeared and never refilled or asked to refill or drinks. We even had to ask for the check after sitting there for a while. To be fair this was my first visit and the place is always packed so this might not be a common problem. The food was absolutely great and I will be back in the future to give them another try.
(3)
Ernie W.
Service was unacceptable....waited 25 minutes for food after we ordered, and they were not busy and no one came by at all to refill coffee. I won't be returning, especially with Heidis is right down the street and Heidis is the best.
(2)
Judy K.
Had a delicious breakfast. Huge biscuits and BlackBerry jam. Great service. Wish they had one in our city.
(5)
Bev B.
I was very excited to try this new restaurant out in Gresham!! I've heard so many good things. So to start off, it was pretty busy. The hostess did say it was a 15 minute wait and it was exactly that. However, the food... Ordered a chicken ceasar salad. After stirring and tossing with my fork, found a dill pickle slice, 2-3 pieces of shredded carrot, a couple small pieces of red onion and some clumped together parm cheese. Felt like it was the bottom of someone elses salad. OH and 1/2 a peanut! Stop right there, The server came back and we showed her what was in the salad, and she said "Oh Treasure Hunt"! I don't think we'll be back anytime soon!
(2)
Shelli B.
Got breakfast this morning from here, and honestly I was surprisingly impressed. We were seated pretty quickly which was awesome because I was friggin starving. The food: ordered chicken fried steak, and it was delicious!! Perfect breading, seasoned just right, and the gravy was pretty damn good. Hubs got the eggs Benedict and said he enjoyed it. I scarfed down every last bite. I'm a total chicken fried steak snob, I was surprised at how much I really loved it! The joint: super family friendly, I brought along my 1 year old and was happy to see other babies there. The staff: this is why they received 5 stars instead of 4!!! Our waiter Barlow was very prompt and attentive. Super cool dude. Andddd this sweet waitress who was not even working our section walked by us and my son practically leaped from my arms into hers. It was weird, my son does not do things like that!! She's a friggin baby whisperer, all the kids loved her. We were pretty satisfied and happy when we were on our way out the door, when Frances came over and gave my son a big hug and a teddy bear! We felt like family, and will be returning for the awesome staff, decent prices, and huge portions of delicious food.
(5)
Katie P.
Our first time eating here and the service was great! I had the Fresh squeezed OJ and it really was fresh!! The Black Bear's choice was the breakfast I had and it was really tasty, I only wish the bacon was less fatty and cooked longer. It was very flimsy and undercooked and I could tell it had been in a microwave. Also, wish I had more syrup for my pancakes. The serving was waaayyy too small for such large pancakes. My friend says the burger patty was not cooked the way he likes and we shortly realized he had not been asked his preference for how he'd like it to be cooked. He didn't finish his burger. Overall the service was good, but the food has a few more kinks to work out.
(3)
Egg P.
My parents raved about this place after going here a few times. I went with them for dinner last night and the first thing I noticed was how crowded it was. there were people sitting outside waiting for their table. we walked in and say at the bar immediately. there was no one else at the bar so we got our pick of seats. Their beer selection is minimal, no ciders either. Their food wasn't bad, comparable to what you'd get at Elmers or Sharis. And because of the issue with this place being crowded I'd probably suggest going to a different diner-type place. Ridiculously large portions, not saying that's necessarily a bad thing...but eating so much food at once can't be healthy. especially the traditional diner food that isn't the healthiest anyway. I got biscuits and gravy. My huge biscuit was on the dry side. The gravy was alright but a bit too salty for my personal taste. overall, I wouldn't refuse to go here again, but it would not be my first pick.
(3)
Jeff M.
Great service, good food. Ryan is a great waiter, both our meals were great. Nice find!
(4)
Angela W.
We went here for dinner tonight and had a great experience! We all had breakfast for dinner. I had the Mexican Omelette, it was very good. The avocado was nice and fresh as were the potatoes for the hash browns. My husband loved the pancakes and my daughter lived her French toast. We were all very happy with our meals and look forward to heading back to Black Bear Dinner again and again. I'm so glad they got rid of that Sizzler's so we could have such a gem right here in Gresham!
(5)
Stacy O.
The location in madras is horrible but this new one out in Gresham is great. Good breakfast and good service
(4)
Curtis V.
Terrible Food. When I sent it back I was still charged even though I did not eat. I was given Black Bear Dollars to come again, but still expected to pay?!?!? Horrible policy! Never eat the Tri-Tip Dip here! Bland, overcooked to the point of the meat being crispy from being on the grill for so long. Then to be trapped into coming back again to get my money back. B.S. I say!!
(1)
Brian O.
This place is new and probably has some kinks to work out with staffing and process so I wasn't overly critical. The food was okay with the emphasis on large portions which doesn't impress me. The staff was friendly and trying to keep up with what seemed like a backed up kitchen. It took over an hour to get our food and nobody ordered anything overtly complicated or out of the ordinary. I was hoping it wouldn't just be another boring chain but unfortunately it is.
(3)
Sharon B.
Friendly greeters! Great food! Our server was outstanding--Tattasha loves what she is doing and it shows. Some of my friends ate there the night before me and Tattasha was also their server--they were also very impressed with her. Thank you Tattasha for making my evening a happy one.
(5)
Natalie T.
It was our first visit. We went there for brunch on Sunday and since this restaurant opened last month,we had to wait for 30 minutes. We spent that time playing music on their awesome looking jukebox,they had speakers in every part of the diner,but I wish the songs weren't played that quietly. The food was good,I think,their sweet cream waffle is the most flavourful waffle I have ever had,well done! Vegetarians concerning complaint: I chose the Griddle Vittles breakfast option,which comes with two eggs and one choice from two categories,one of which contains only meat products. I asked if I could get an extra egg instead of bacon or sausage and it turned out they would charge me 99 cents for it. This was a bit disappointing,since I have asked for a substitute at other places before and they wouldn't charge me. At Black Bear diner,they could offer a piece toast,a few spoons of hash browns or vegetable instead,anything would work as long as I am not being charged. I think,we will be back soon to try other things on the menu,everyone seemed to like their food during this visit. Hope that next time it will be less crowded. The service was great,by the way.
(4)
Courtney S.
Food was excellent and serving sizes are huge. Service was friendly but kinda slow and forgetful.
(4)
Julie w.
As usual black bear diner did not disappoint. As a gresham native it was really nice to bring back the diner scene to what used to be our Dennys. Although they were really busy this evening service was still good and the food was delicious. Do not, I repeat do not go there if you are watching your calories. Although they have light items it is difficult to keep control when you see mile high biscuits and bowl sized pies. But definitely go especially if you are looking for yummy comfort food.
(5)
Yvonne R.
Very nice restaurant. Will definitely go back!
(4)
Kristi T.
I know they just opened. I am not complaining about the service..she didn't cook our food. It should have been comped!. I'm complaining about the food. There was 2 of us. I ordered the chicken club...i had the skin of my avocado still on the avocado!! Then my friend ordered the patty melt. It came out raw! Even the onions were raw. Sent it back. Recived a 2nd patty melt. This time the patty was cooked. But there was no dressing and barely any onions or cheese. We complained to the cashier. She said she believer that our food was crap. She asked if we told anyone. Yes of course!!! We told our server. The cashier replied...well you should have told someone else!!?? Hey thanks but no thanks..we will never be back.
(1)
Ron C.
I gave this restaurant one star on Feb 28. We returned today and were given complementary meals after complaining to the manager for past service. Everything was excellent and the service was wonderful. BBD has made things right for us and we intend to be back.
(5)
Windi T.
Everyone was cheerful. The food was very good.service was great.the only negative thing I could say is it was busy and I had to wait 20 minutes to get in.for a chain it's a thumbs up.
(4)
D C.
Still trying to figure out this place. Go with a small fam 3/4 peeps and get seated really quick, need a table for 6+ and it can be a long wait while they get tables arranged which means they have to wait for others to vacat at the same time. Overall food portions are huge and they are great with kids.
(4)
Susannah B.
I haven't been to Black Bear but intend to dine there after they've been open a few months. I'm writing a review because I've read several comments slamming the diner for what appear to be minor hiccups (slow to seat patrons, confusion as to responsibilities of younger employees, minor oopses in food presentation) that would be expected from a newly opened restaurant. This establishment has been open a matter of weeks. My guess is that although employees have been well trained, it will likely take a while to work out any kinks, which of course there will be. Perhaps nay-sayers could consider a return visit at a later date? Just a thought.
(5)
Cassondra L.
We have been here a few times now, the food is pretty good. I've ordered 2 different turkey sandwiches which were piled with meat. The only problem at all is my husbands meal they forgot his ham steak, but to be fair he ordered something (can't remember what it's called!) that came with a lot of food items. Very cute diner, LOVE the decor.
(4)
Pam G.
Took my kids there last night. There were about 20 employees running around and we stood at the front for about five minutes waiting to be acknowledged. Got seated and ordered food all went Well. Once finished sat and waited about 20 minutes until someone asked if we needed a box or our bill. Almost thought about just leaving. Seemed they didn't want my money or care that I was there. And it wasn't that busy. Food was OK but huge service failure.
(1)
Debbie D.
Went for breakfast everything we tried looked and tasted homemade! ! Don t know how the biscuit s were there was to much food to get to them. The California Benedict was GREAT and the corned beef hash some of the best I ve had. The geavy for the chicken fry wasn't the best but not bad. Even the fruit was good decent strawberries and melon in February
(4)
Theresa C.
We've always enjoyed Black Bear diner. The one's in Bend and Sequim particularly. This one is only about a week old so we'll forgive them some growing pains. However, the biscuits were so undercooked they were gluey and inedible and I had, strangely enough, chocolate syrup on my country potatoes. Quite a bit of chocolate syrup. Hubby's hash browns and omelette were pretty oily also. They'll need to work on consistency and quality control but we hope that soon they'll be as good as the others. I did tell the manager who thanked me for letting her know.
(2)
Tracey C.
This is a cute place with all the bear stuff all around. The seats at the counter all have different sayings on on them. I had the breakfast eggs chicken fired steak and pototes and a huge big biscuit. I have to say it was the best chicken fired steak I have had. I will be going back.
(5)
Armando M.
Got there and wait was fairly short, about 10 minutes. I ordered the turkey club sandwich and it was pretty good but was pretty cold and the fries were cold too. The server was very nice though.
(3)
Linda A.
Do wonder if some of the great reviews are from friends/family of the owners. Words like great experience are NOT justified for this place. My friends and I made a reservation only to learn when we called to confirm that they don't take reservations even for groups. Would have been nice if all their employees knew this.. Man was uncivil in the telling.. And I do mean uncivil. We arrived to a packed waiting area. Two in my party had obvious disabilities. No one offered a seat f.or them to sit. Waited 30 minutes and then we were seated. Waited another 40 mins before we got any food and then half of us did not have silverware. Waitress said they ran out and she had to make more sets. I had clam chowder which was by no means chowder - very thin. Another was undercooked and another the food was not warm. When we left we spoke to Frances Herring, the Manager. she was a total waste of breath. Why she is hired as the manager is beyond comprehension. This is a service industry and she doesn't understand that. She told us to call an hour before so she could put us on a waiting list. We called 90 mins before this time so that was useless. Several of us wrote to corporate with rapid apologies received. They might be busy now as a new novelty but can't last. Word is spreading. The other day at the bank the teller told me I was the 4th person to complain to her. No surprise there. Those that posted quality is low are accurate. Shame too because they did redecorate it well.
(1)
Penny V.
I am so happy to be able to change my last review! The Black Bear is THE place to go to in Gresham! After a disjointed start they finally have everything running great. The food is served hot and the servers finally got it together. Great job, guys. Love, Love, Love the BBD and can't wait until our next road trip so I can get my BBD passport filled up! Don't forget to order the garlic fries - they're not on the menu but they are available if you ask!
(2)
Jaylynn M.
My sister and I went to breakfast this morning at 10:10. Frances was our server. Being both 19, Im not sure if that's why she treated us the way she did, idk. I ordered coffee, and we both ordered oatmeal. 2 minutes later, our oatmeal is out. We are eating and enjoying our time together and she comes and asks us if we are seperate checks.. Then shortly after she comes and brings our bills and says "can you guys pay quickly? I'm trying to get out of here". Then asks me if I'm done with my oatmeal that is over half way full. I said "yeah" just for her to leave us alone because I was so done with her rushing us. then as Im signing my bill she was pacing back and forth watching for us to be done so she could grab her tip! It was awful. Not to mention she didn't give us silverware after asking for it twice. Black bear diner was my first choice of a breakfast place, now I don't want to go there at all. I'll be going somewhere new.
(1)
Neil R.
went on Saturday 1pm for lunch. Parking lot was full and was told there was a 15- 20 minute wait which is understandable. We got seated and waitress took our order. We then sat for 45 minutes for our food which we were told will be here soon. the part that really drives me crazy is when other parties are seated after you but then get their food and leave before you get your food. I don't know if she lost our order or what because our waitress offered no apology or excuse. There is a problem here that needs to be corrected because if everyone stops tipping because of poor service; the waitress starts looking for a different restaurant. I usually tip 20% but not today
(2)
Tracy Y.
My family of 4 went on a Friday evening, it was packed as it always is. It was about a 15 minute wait for a seat, server was ok - like she was there only to get her job done but not much friendlyness as she seemed hurried every which way. My son odered the 2/3 pound burger & loved it. Hubby liked his order, daughter liked her pancake & eggs but said hash browns were gross. I like my rueben however was offered onion rings and got 5 of them, while my sons burger had a half plate of fries. The server dropped off the check and walked away. We weren't sure where to pay the bill so waited until another server walked by and asked, then stood up front at register waiting as no one was there. Maybe they need more staff....
(3)
Pam C.
First time...great experience. 2nd time, corn beef was flavorless and had no seasoning which I was assured was unusual. Manager gave me two 5$ bear bucks for my next visit. 3rd visit...new waitress completely overwhelmed. Waited 10 minutes to take our order, 35 mins to get our food and mine was disappointing to say the least. Cold, overpriced basic chain restaurant. I've heard such great things about the location in Bend and the ones in California. Polar King or Elmer's is 3x the place this is.
(2)
Timbers 1.
Nothing really stood out for me on my visit. My wife had been talking it up as one of the greatest restaurants in America lol but I found the food to be average, similar to elmers or sharis. The service was speedy and we got our food and bill pretty fast, But I wouldn't wait in line to get seated if I came back..... They do have very large portions of food.... Average food.
(3)
Barbie D.
WATCH OUT THEY CAN'T KEEP TRACK OF THE WAITING LIST!! THEY WILL CROSS OFF YOUR NAME AND NOT CALL YOU! I have gone here twice. Dinner was not impressive I had a french dip and it was very grisly and chewy, although I not impressed I figured I'd give them another chance. My honey decided to take me to breakfast on Valentines day. So, we went. Got there around 9 AM and found the parking lot full. I signed us in about 9:05 and sat down. The waiting area cleared out and we started seeing people being called who came in after us, assuming they were waiting outside or in another area, we just figured they were busy. But finally after about 40 minutes and seeing several other families being called after us, i went up the hostess and asked where we are on the list. They were at the bottom of the list that our name was on top of and guess what? Our name was crossed out!!! WTF? when I got upset with the hostess, they let us take the table that they already called for another family and told us to take their table leaving that family standing there. We sat down and the person who said us, said I remember putting your name down and she said she told the manager what happened to us, SO..I figured we would get a visit from the manager and an apology and something?? We were sitting right next to the hostess I would have HEARD our named called and it never was.. Already angry when seated the 10 minutes just to get water to us, added to the already frustrating situation. Little things like, the people they sat after us, got their order taken first, we had to ask for refills on coffee and i never got one water refill .. etc.. When we finally got our food we had been in the place well over an hour. The breakfast was actually good and fresh. I NEVER saw a manager and other then the first person saying "sorry" that was it and in my opinion something should have been done to at least make us happy. The person crossing out names needs to PAY ATTENTION!!!!! If they can't use a name system then do something else.. STILL ANNOYED.
(2)
Adam R.
Good service, cute atmosphere. Food has large portions, but lacks some flavor.
(3)
Randy W.
We were hoping the 3rd time we were there it would finally be good but yet again after being open for over a month they can't get there STUFF together. We love the one in Redmond and Madras but Gresham can't figure it out. After 2 bad dinners we decided to take my family and in laws to breakfast after all how can you mess up breakfast but they figured out how to my food was way over done and my fathers was raw. NEVER AGAIN
(1)
Tom O.
I just had breakfast at the black bear in Gresham my waitress Cami Copeland... She is the best waitress I have run across in a long time friendly and courteous she has a mesmerizing smile that welcomes you like no other. The food and service was awesome thank you cami for an awesome breakfast experience
(5)
Jeanine C.
Reading the reviews certainly gives a quick note of those who know a bit about the gift of restauranteur business and those who have no clue about the business world and especially restauranteurs. I have been so pleased and in wonder at the exceptional service, food and managership of this newly opened Black Bear Diner and its ability to keep up with the great demand us Gresham folk have placed on it being excited to have our first new restaurant in a while! Having had many visitors coming to see me, since the recent loss of my husband. It has been great to have a new place not many have experienced like our amazing new Black Bear Diner. It has such a great variety of meals to fit everyone's appetite flair for the day and has personnel both young and new, taking orders and serving meals and those who I know from previous food business places that have the great experience of seating, serving, planning for large groups, etc. I respect and admire Black Bear managers for giving new folks in the land a chance and also placing those who can model and assist these new employees in their staff repertoire. Most of all, I am so pleased and excited to have this new place to share with relatives and friends when they come to visit and also to just go and enjoy when out by myself. I like to be served at this wonderful family place. I enjoy my meal served by all concerned, or when sent back if needed, know Black Bear desires to please and that Black Bear can be the best, that we, the customer, can assist them in being by our words and recommendations in person to the staff and/or manager when needed! Thanks, Black Bear for making, Gresham, be your new location!
(5)
Sierra C.
Me and my boyfriend wanted to try this place out and we finally made it in. My boyfriend had the giant burger and he was it was okay and i had the biscuit and gravy which i thought was good. 3 out of 5 because i thought it was okay
(3)
Jeremy M.
It sucks to eat cold food when you want a good hot meal! But cold is what you get at black bear in Gresham!
(1)
Angelina W.
I love this place sooooo much! they have super cool bears and the most delicious fired chicken I've ever had. One time, they got me wrong side dishes, and they gave me free fries for that! thanks so much for the nicest service!
(5)
Kay H.
Food is good like home cooking. A little loud and this location is sooo busy so the service can be lacking at times but they really try to make it the best experience they can.
(3)
Rena G.
I was looking for some good lunch around where I was. My boyfriend and I saw the Black Bear Diner. He told me it was supposed to be good so we went in. First impression was that it was busy. We walked up to the counter and stood there for a couple minutes before one of the 5 employees in front of us said hello to us. There was one Hispanic girl who said hello with a nice tone of her voice then turned to the other white girl at the podium and said "where do you want to sit them at" with slight annoyance. The other girl hunched over her podium and scribbled some stuff down then pointed somewhere without another word. Then the girl who asked rolled her eyes and grabbed a couple menus and started to walk away until she realized we weren't following her then turned to us and put her nice voice on and said "I will take you to your table right this way." It's interesting to see someone's facial expressions not match their tone of voice because she did not look happy at all. We soon felt very uncomfortable because every associate we passed stared at us until we sat in our booth. After sitting down she gave us our menus and said someone would be with us. My boyfriend looked at me and told me almost everyone working went to high school with him and he recognized every one of them. Although none of them were actually his friends. And my boyfriend and i are quite young. All of a sudden I look up to see another young staff member put his arm on the ledge of our booth and stared at us out of the corner of his eyes then nod his head at someone else who then came over and glanced the same. Our waitress Jasmine made her was to us and took our drink order and we both ordered our food as well. When I asked if I could have regular ranch she looked at me like I was crazy. She said they didn't have regular ranch. Only bacon ranch. I wondered to myself no ceasar? Nothing for vegetarians? That couldn't be all they had. There was a ceasar salad on the menu. I'm not a vegetarian I just don't like bacon very much and don't really want bacon ranch. She said she thought she saw a Chipotle ranch on the computer and went to check for me. When she came back she informed me that there wasnt. Just the bacon ranch and offered to bring me their only other sauce BBQ, But I told her I would taste it. So out for came about 30 minutes later and I give them it was hot. My boyfriend ordered a bacon cheese burger and I chicken strips. When she brought me the bacon ranch I have to say it tasted like blue cheese dressing that has gone terribly bad. There was the tiniest hint of bacon. There wasn't even bacon chunks in the dressing, it looked normal. Be that as it may we ate and the food was good. After we took our receipt to the register and I noticed my receipt didn't say my actual servers name on it so I wondered as I left if she would get my tip. Because the young girl cashing everyone out with arm compression sleeves didn't seem like she could be bothered I decided not to ask. My over all thought of this place it's just Dennys by a different name, but with teenagers fresh out of high school that don't know what it means to be a good server. Servers who for some meant wearing arm compression sleeves, sweat bands, a couple girls where wearing crazy bright blue eye shadow and messy hair for some strange reason. No smiles and no sense of urgency except for our server Jasmine who was fairly quick though she herself barely smiled. I think if the food can be kept consistent because I know this place has just opened so everyone's standards are probably higher. I say fire the kids who don't smile and get some nicer ones.
(2)
Gagan A.
Everything about this food is amazing. Big portions that actually taste great. Awesome ambiance, love the newspaper menu, every staff member was freaking cool as heck. This food is so good, and satisfying. I'd much rather skip ihop, dennys and that other bullshit to have good quality food at such a lower price. Expect to have leftovers so you are technically getting two meals. Try the bacon avocado chicken sandwich!!! One bite and I saw how much was left and let out a nice big sigh.
(5)
Bo A.
This place pretty much met my expectations! Now I am a fan of bears, they're my favorite animal, so you can say this place piqued my interests. The interior is so cute and cozy and well air conditioned. When I sat down I was greeted by a huge menu with all day breakfast lunch and dinner. I shed a tear of delight. I wanted a steak that night so I got the ribeye with a baked potato. Also dishes come with a good sized soup and salad! My dad loved his French dip! Only docking a star because the steak didn't have a lot of flavor. It was ok. Good size and very yummy potato. This meal left me very satisfied. I want to give five stars to Tattasha my server. If you guys get her you'll be blown away, she's sweeter than every piece of pie they serve there COMBINED. Definitely coming back for the breakfast and dessert!
(4)
Sarah R.
My husband and I have been looking for a new favorite breakfast spot for a long time. This morning we decided to try out the Black bear diner. I cannot express how pleased we were with everything. First, this place appears to be very clean (minus the bathroom). That's a huge thing for me. Second, we were seated and served quickly. The coffee was good and I had many refills. The food was good also in the portions were huge. I packed half of mine up and had it for lunch also. The only thing I would suggest, is that they have a professional clean their bathroom. I'm only saying this because it wasn't a top-notch bathroom. There was grime around the edges and several places that I could tell had been looked over for a while. Despite the restroom - we love this place!
(5)
Gina D.
I wish yelp allowed for half stars as we would give Black Bear Gresham 3.5 stars. (I would rate BBD Medford 3.75 & BBD Bend 4-4.5). Seated quickly and allowed to peruse the menu far longer than needed. Had to wait for silverware as it was 'in the washer'. Coffee was drank at a LEISURELY pace & refills didn't happen without asking. Food was massive in portion, but not terribly cheap ($10 -15 for bfast plus drink cost). Tasty, but nothing "to write home about".
(3)
Just A.
We used to love this place but the service has gone downhill over the last month or so. They say this is a "family" establishment yet we never see the same people working. So it's quite obvious they can't keep people due to poor management. There are rumors all over gresham about their gm Frances, just ask around and you'll see. We had an encounter with her ourselves on a recent occasion. Completely unprofessional and not to mention RUDE! We complained to her about our server who got our entire order wrong and the food was cold, and just gross! When we tried talking to her she rolled her eyes and acted annoyed. She offered no solutions just excuses. My friends have found hair and plastic in their food on more than one occasion. I know of several people who won't go back, and they can add us to that list now too.
(1)
Dave D.
Meh. I'd skip it. Go to Elmers or Shari's for the same type of food instead. I wanted to like this place. It is new to Gresham, although I've seen many of the chain throughout southern Oregon and northern California. They have a nice looking building, and the bear motif is OK. Service was fine (I think they've worked out most of the service kinks that plagued them when they first opened). But a couple issues that will keep me from going back: - Food quality: Just not that great. Nothing was terrible, but nothing stood out as "wow, that was high quality". I had the Huevos Rancheros Eggs Benedict; The eggs were overcooked (no yellow runniness, the essence of a benedict), and the pork was just kind of low quality meat (I ended up pushing it off to the side since it just was not appetizing). - Food quantity: Just kind of ridiculously large. Way, way too many calories for a meal. Honestly splitting a meal might still be too much. I wouldn't consider this a negative if the food quality were better (after all, why not order something great and split it?). But with the quality being low, it just doesn't help to overload the plate with size.
(2)
Deja A.
I've been to the one in Beaverton before but since this was a new location that opened up not to far from my house. I took my grandma the other night. I can't say I was very pleased with the service. My waitress seemed scatter-brained. She didn't bring us any water, forgot what we had ordered for drinks & didn't bring our silverware till I had to ask for them. Barely ever checked on us, until I paid our bill. There was another waitress, which I wish we had. She seemed so kind, personable & had such a strong southern accent. Loved her from a far. . Next time if I come to this location, I think we'll request her if possible. About the food.. I did get the chicken fried steak which was great. My grandmother got the fried chicken which she seemed to of enjoyed. We had more than enjoy to take home for another meal from both of our dinners.
(2)
Meagan S.
Gresham needed another restaurant badly and Black Bear diner has delivered. The salads here are massive. Well, come to think of it everything is massive here. The chicken fried steak with gravy is excellent. The juevos rancheros are just ok. They are not spicy. Although they always seem busy I've never had to wait for a table.
(5)
Angela S.
Kids liked it, but me, not so much. Biscuits were huge, but not edible and very unattractive. Food was so greasy I was ill afterwards. We only had breakfast, but for the price, won't be going back again.
(2)
Herb W.
We ate there tonight and it was great as usual. We had hot apple crisp ala mode. One of the best I've ever had! I was told they make it every morning! Great! This was our choice of places to go on our 46th Wedding Anniversary to get this. Works for us kids. Try it, you'll agree! Thank you for reading this.
(5)
Holly K.
First off, I REALLY MISS the Sizzler that was here. They had a small, but decent, salad bar we loved coming too. There isn't much of that in Gresham. I have been to Black Bear in a few other locations and was going to accept my loss of Sizzler happily once I saw the bears going into place out front. We waited awhile for the new crowds to die down, but we still waited about twenty minutes for a table at 5:30. We got lucky and got a booth. The tables all seem crowded together, so there isn't any privacy if you want to hold a conversation. The prices are moderate, a fried chicken dinner was $15. The flavor was decent, but the the leg was lacking size. I don't usually like gravy, but I needed it to add flavor the mashed potatoes. The salad was fresh and a decent size, so I liked that part. My husband had the pea soup and potpie. He said he enjoyed it. The waitress was nice and service was good for the most part. She was honest, when I asked if they had slaw, when she said they had a lot of complaints about it not having enough mayo and being flavorless cabbage, but that on other nights, it was pretty good. Service was slow at times, but they were packed, so that was almost to be expected and it gave us time to visit. The food at the Bend location, for some reason, is a little bit better. I was thinking it, but my husband said it. We had onion rings, two dinners, two desserts, two drinks and the bill was around $55 before tip. That is about our bill for Saylers Steak house, and the quality couldn't even be compared. If the price had been more in line with the food, I would have bumped up the stars. It wasn't bad but it could have been better. Will we go back? Yes, I think so, to try a few other things on the menu that looked good.
(3)
Carrie S.
I am surprised at some of the negative reviews on here. We had a great experience. We came here on Christmas Day with my husband's side of the family. To note, they do not have gluten free bread, pancakes, or rolls of any kind. But they make some great omelettes, hashbrowns, and have fruit on the side. They offer menu choices for those who do not care what they put in their bodies, and some for those of us who choose to eat lighter options. Brian was our server, and he was outstanding. Brian was the kind of server who was straight forward with us when we ordered, letting us know that half of us would get our food, and then it would probably be another 5 minutes until the rest were served so that we could all eat our food hot. Thank you for that. He also made sure that we had everything that we needed, and checked in regularly. They also have other servers who walk around to fill coffee and water, so you feel like someone is always checking in on your table. I thought the food was amazing, and I have ate at a lot of diners in my past. I think this is a great breakfast option in Gresham, and I think it will give Dea's a run for their money.
(5)
Daniel C M.
Portions were good and staff was excellent. Nothing negative to say. Will be back. Breakfast is served in the evening
(5)
Kellie B.
Perhaps a trifle spendy, but food, service and beautiful and fun bear decor are worth it! I've found most all Black Bear Diners to be just as wonderful. Club sandwich is HUGE and delicious. Great place for the kiddos!
(4)
Shonna B.
If your requirement is huge portions at a fair price then you'll love this place. Don't come here expecting al from scratch home cooking, or excellent service or an inventive menu. Its a child friendly, family setting with shareable desserts. I mean BOWLS FULL of desserts! All the staff was friendly but just way you busy to make you feel welcome. I must say they were ALL working their tails off which I always appreciate seeing. I'd say, share a meal and get your bowl full of dessert to yourself!! Loved the huge desserts loved family setting didn't like seeing my food microwaved didn't like the from the can soup and from the bag fries!! didnt like the really slow service or really slow then average food served
(2)
Betsy B.
An earlier reviewer couldn't understand all of the negative reviews, I can't understand all of the positive ones! The food is low quality and basically poorly prepared comfort food. I'm convinced that most items are dumped from a bag and then microwaved. And, in agreement with another poster, for such a new place, the bathrooms are quite filthy. I understand that we don't many good dining options out here in Gresham but that doesn't mean we have to over-inflate reviews. Crap is crap, and the Black Bear diner unloads a ton of it.
(1)
Katey P.
Amazimg food,amazing service . Never disappointed and always leave full and happy. Great wait staff, especially T, she is the most amazing waitress we've ever had in any restaurant we've ever been to. Thank you!
(5)
Brian H.
Service was very good but the breakfast dishes i ordered on two occasions were lacking in flavor, except for salt. Lots of salt. Go to Elmers for breakfast
(1)
Kim P.
It's just not very good and the service isnt either. The cooks suck and the bathroom was dirty. I just dont have the energy to go into detail but I wouldn't ever go to a black bear diner again. They rush you to order You wait forever Then you are served bug portions of piss poor food that's prepared hideously bad
(1)
Jenni B.
Very disappointed in the entire experience at the Black Bear Diner. We waited 25 minutes to be seated although there were plenty of open tables. The young man who was hosting clearly had no idea what he was doing. Many groups were being seated out of order, and we witnessed a few other families having to check 2 or 3 times about getting their table. After we finally were seated and had ordered our lunch we waited another 40 minutes to get our food. When the lunch arrived all of our meals were cold and definitely not worth the wait. I will not be going back.
(1)
Nick G.
Black Bear Diner does not just lack management failure but descent food. The wait staff is less then attentive and we were excited when it was coming to Gresham and gave it many chances, as its gets worse every time.
(1)
M M.
Just your average American diner with oversized food. I would call this comfort food to say the least. The environment is loud and children's laughter rings from all four corners. I don't have anything negative to say its just ordinary.
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Breakfast, Brunch Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Jordan S.
3pm on a Sunday. Super sweet hostess quotes us 15 minutes. We get seated in 5 - awesome. We are left at our table with my explanation that the little newspaper on the table is actually our menu. Several minutes pass and our server, Desiree, finally arrives. She seems very busy - maybe her section is a little too big. She takes our drink order and points out the menu. She returns about 10 minutes later with our drinks and takes a food order. I ordered the bacon cheeseburger basket and my guest ordered the garden burger flatbread. There is about 40 minutes in between our order being placed and receiving our meals. Twice the wrong food was attempted to be dropped off at our table (it seems they don't know their table numbers). My basket meal came on a plate - I knew this was wrong, but I didn't see our server again until she dropped off the check to ask her. Our server had put in the more expensive version of what I had ordered - since I ate it I paid for it, but it was wrong. Also, I wasn't asked how I would like my burger prepared - it came out VERY well done. But I couldn't let my server know because she never came back. I had to ask how I was to pay my bill and I was directed to the host stand. An explanation of how to pay would nice when the bill is dropped off. Overall, service is lacking. It just seems that the staff needs further training. But the food was wonderful. 3 stars is purely for the quality of food.
(3)Laylah S.
I took my daughter here for lunch today because I had heard how good the food is. We both ordered chicken fried steak and eggs with hash brown strips. --The chicken fried steak tastes like the frozen kind you can buy at the store. Yuck.... --The hash browns were so hard and stuck together that I couldn't even cut into them with my fork. --The eggs were good. --The overly HUGE biscuit was dry, but with a ton of jam on it tasted okay. --Our server, Veronica, was wonderful. Very nice and attentive. Needless to say, we will not be back.
(2)paul s.
Been here twice now, both times I've been very happy with the food and service. Love the theme and big diner feel. Love the selection of desserts and choices for food, anyone will find something. Just a real fun place to go, I will be back again
(4)MIKE J.
This place was nasty and over priced. Lots of empty tables and we still "waited" to be seated for 10 min . The food was not good or hot. I had a overpriced little burger basket that was a over salted and made McDonald's taste high end. I will not be back there are to many alternatives in the neighborhood from Elmers to sweet Betty's and yes this place was much better when it was sizzlers
(1)Kyle R.
Well, that was a first! Arrived last Sunday afternoon. Walked in, were seated, only to realize that the place wasn't open to the public yet. Everyone eating, worked for Black Bear and they were doing a test run. Did they kick us out? No way! They served us free food and were super friendly. EVERYONE was super friendly and hospitable. AMAZING staff and service. So we ate a $30 meal for free, and left a big tip. Excellent food, way better than the Beaverton location we ate at a week earlier.
(5)John C.
I knew that this restaurant was a chain, but I hoped that a new location would provide some great food and a great experience, at least for a little while. I was so wrong. First of all, I decided to check it out at 3:00 in the afternoon on a Monday. I thought they would be slow enough between lunch and dinner that I could get a real good feel for the place. I was correct, they were not that busy, but they were so unorganized it made it feel like they were slammed. They asked me if I wanted to eat at the counter. I informed them that I would prefer to eat in a spot with a little less activity since there were no less than 10 people running around right in front of where they wanted to seat me. My hostess didn't like that answer and asked me sarcastically "Then where would you like to sit?", after I already told her my preference for some place quieter. After I was seated, it was a mad rush to get me the heck out of there. They handed me a menu and came back within 30 seconds expecting me to be ready. When I had finally decided and gave them my order, they came back within several minutes because they had failed to remember what it was I ordered. When my food came, a blazing bear sandwich with fries, the sandwich was wrapped in paper then cut in half. This made all the sauce they poured all over it to seep out and get all over the outside of the sandwich. After my first bite, I realized that I was never given any napkins. With sauce on my hands and all over my face, I got up and asked where I could find a napkin. The answer I got was "Your server didn't bring you any?" before the waitress grabbed a few from her counter. Having made it back to my table to take another bite of my sandwich, my server came back and asked if I needed a box. I had literally only taken one bite of my sandwich and had an entire half of sandwich still wrapped up in its paper. I told her that I would rather just finish my lunch and no box would be necessary. Having said that to my server, she then went to the register and got my ticket and came back and laid it directly on the article I was reading and told me there was no hurry. I was so frustrated at this point at the level of service and the poor quality of food, I left the rest of my food and handed her the ticket with my debit card and followed her back to the register to pay for this meal and leave. When I handed her back the signed receipt, I purposefully did not leave a tip since I left over half my meal and was rushed out by poor service. As I was heading for the door, I heard the server make a comment about not leaving a tip and some rude comment about me to the other server next to her. It is a rare thing for me to not leave a tip, but in this case I felt it was warranted. I also felt that if they were worth their salt as a server they would have tried to figure out why instead of saying something rude. At this point I plan on telling everyone to not even bother with this place. It is yet another chain restaurant that excels in crappy food and poor service, something that Gresham has enough of thank you very much.
(1)Christopher F.
Portions are huge! But the quality is low!! Ordered the corned beef hash, that and egg was only thing to eat. The biscuit was hard as a rock! Literally could use it in a sling shot. The table behind us said they even tried to put gravy on theirs to make it soft. Will not come back here. Gave it two stars for the atmosphere. Food is one star.
(2)Mokihana W.
The first time we ever ate at a Black Bear Diner was in Shasta City in California. We were exhausted, coming back home to Oregon after my mother's memorial service/cleaning out her house. We'd heard good things about Black Bear, and pulled in just before 8 p.m. after driving most of the day. We were very pleased, and their comfort food was much needed. When we saw that a Black Bear Diner had opened in Gresham, we were delighted, and ate there last night for the first time. We got there about 5 p.m., and there was already a line. People were relaxed and friendly, so waiting wasn't bad. When we got seated, Tatasha was our server, and it was like walking into her own home; she treated us like family, and her smile could brighten up a city. Talk about Southern hospitality! Our food was delicious. Our salads were crisp and fresh and cold. Very impressive. Husband ordered fried chicken and mashed red potatoes. The chicken was crispy on the outside and tender inside. I ordered the pork cutlets with cinnamon apples and onion rings. The cornbread muffins were hot and tender. Tatasha was very attentive even though she was extremely busy. She was just as friendly to people at other tables as she was with us; she is an incredible asset to this restaurant. When we go again, and there will be an again, we will request to be seated at one of her booths. She is a keeper. We didn't order dessert but looked at the menu. The lava cake looked fabulous, and the peach cobbler is sugar-free, a real asset. The menu is varied, and you can get breakfast all day. The beary-y/rustic decor is also pleasing to look at. Yes, the place was crowded and a bit noisy, but Husband and I didn't have any trouble hearing each other. I think the music could have been turned down some; that would have helped. All in all, a very pleasant experience; we will be back.
(4)Josie G.
First off - I would like to say how incredibly unfair it is that someone gave Black Bear only one star because they weren't open yet? That's the fault of the customer, not the restaurant. This was my first time to any Black Bear and I was afraid it had been too hyped up, I'd heard great things about it, but "hey, it's just breakfast food" I thought to myself. WRONG: IT IS BREAKFAST FOOD OF THE GODS. The pancakes literally confused me because they were so thick and fluffy I had a hard time accepting something so delicious could exist. The bacon was crispy but not over cooked and also amazing. The hash browns you could tell were made extremely fresh. Even the coffee was good! Not too weak, not too strong. Our server was incredibly sweet, and the service was quick despite the place being packed. Nice!!!
(5)Victoria G.
Had breakfast there and the food was great! The service was a bit slow, however, it was a Sunday and it was busy, and they have only been open at this location since December 8th. The waitstaff was very nice, everyone was friendly. I ordered classic eggs benedict with out hashbrowns, asked for fruit instead and got extra fruit. Everyone loved the black bear guy wandering around. All in all a great meal, enjoyable staff...will definitely be going back!
(5)Tammy B.
Glad to have them in Gresham. . Very very clean, staff was friendly and we loved our waiter Barlo. . Thank you Barlo for checking on us and tending to our needs but not being in our face lol food was also awesome. cooked like we asked and big portions. . Well worth the money.
(5)Rusty S.
The one in Tualitan is much better... This place smells of varnish and the service is 'ok' I expected more from a BBD:( Boo!!!
(1)Judy H.
I believe we came between lunch and dinner time. My server was Nicole and she was very nice! When we were seated there were a total of four tables seated at pretty much the same time. She handled it pretty well tho! Our food came out rather quickly and was VERY good!! He had The griz and I had a rueben sandwich. He ALMOST finished his food and my sandwich was oh so tasty! They definitely do not skimp on the meat for that one!! We will be back!!
(5)Desiree D.
This place is a cutesy old timey kind of restaurant. Definitely harkens back to the "good old days". The food is fine, definitely high quality and fresh ingredients which were much better than you would get at other diners. The items were all typical diner kind of foods. They were all pretty good, but nothing you couldn't make at home. The staff was quick and attentive. A nice place overall
(3)Dolores D.
We went tonight for the grand open great job food was cooked perfect service quick nice place we will go back and bring friends
(5)Leah H.
They have been busy for months, so my husband and I finally got in for breakfast. Overall, they need a new cook. My husband got some pancakes, and I got the California omelet with hashbrowns and a biscuit. My omelet was way way overdone, and the avacado was not ripe at all. The mushrooms were not cooked all of the way, and it was pretty disappointing. My biscuit was HUGE, but it really could have used some honey maybe? It was missing something. My husband's pancakes came with a tiny solo cup of syrup, and it just didn't look professional. They were undercooked in the middle. When he asked for more syrup, they brought out a plate full of more tiny solo cups of syrup... it was kind of weird. Also, their garnish is the weirdest. It was the traditional slice of orange, but on top of a warm, wilted leaf of romaine lettuce. You know that smell when you heat up an old hamburger in the microwave with lettuce on it? That's what my food smelled like when it came out because of this garnish. Lettuce should not be held under a heat lamp. Ever. I don't think I want to come back for a while, if at all. It just seemed like these people have not worked in food service before, and haven't run a restaurant.
(2)Melissa H.
Okay food, slow service. We came on a Saturday morning. ..not too busy. ..only a 10 min wait. Once sat, we were greeted fairly quickly and the server brought our drinks. Once we ordered. ....it. ....took. ....forever! We waited over 45 min for two breakfast burritos. The description said eggs, refried beans, sausage and some other fixings I can't remember. I took one bite and all you taste is refried beans. I saw no eggs and didn't taste anything else. I could have went next door to Taco bell and got a better tasting bean burrito for about $9 less. The hash browns that were served alongside were pretty but cold. The only good thing I have to say is our server was very nice (sorry, I don't remember her name) and the iced tea was delicious! I may give this place one more try but I will go when they are a bit slower and see if things improve.
(3)Dolly D.
The chicken caeser sandwich is delicious! Most menus items are fine. They are helpful giving options. Service is "Ok". Fun atmosphere.
(4)Jack M.
The food was horrible. Their meat loaf was about 10 % meat. I went back another time and tried the chicken parmesan. Yech! The worst I ever tasted. I think their cooks are high school kids or worse. I'll never set foot in there again...
(1)Jeff M.
Went here on a Saturday for lunch and breakfast for my wife. Looked on line and their website said freshly prepared home cooking. I ordered the chicken noodle soup, and when it came out I instantly recognized it as Campbell's chunky chicken noodle soup straight out of s can! Then as soon as I tasted it, sure enough that IS what was. I have had the Campbell's many times so I know what it tastes like. Now I know most places don't make everything from scratch, but come on, if you are going to advertise fresh made food, at least make the soup!! I don't like deceptive advertising so I won't be back. Makes suspect that everything is ready made cans and packaged. Also the wait for the food was way too long.
(1)Jason A.
Waaaaay overrated! LONG wait. We were passed over 2x to be seated. We waited over an hour after we were seated to get our food. Very disorganized staff: servers cashiering, cooking, traveling in a herd. My Belgium waffle was basically an eggo. Food portions were small and everything tasted pre-made (frozen and re-heated). I give it 1 star for fresh squeezed o.j. Won't be back
(1)Crystal A.
We came in this afternoon we were seated at the bar. When we were seated we were the only ones at the bar first there were 2 other couples that were seated a few minutes after us. Waited maybe 10 minutes our server finally came up to us we were ready to order she asked if we ordered yet we told her no but we were ready she left and took everyone else's order before our this is the first time we have had poor customer service from our server here
(1)See Y.
You better bring a good appetite when you come to this place. The portions are "mansized" and the food is very good! Making this a regular stop when I am in the area!
(5)Glenn R.
It's interesting how busy they are every time we go for a meal. We now just drive by when the lot is full and people are milling around the front door. I really don't have anything bad or good to say about the food as it is better than most Gresham fare. Last visit had entire section of the restaurant closed during dinner because wait staff called in sick. Seems like there should be a plan "B" in place.
(3)Dustin H.
I think this restaurant is going to be successful in Gresham for a long time if they address a few small but important things. When we showed up for breakfast there was staff everywhere but no one greeted us or even acknowledged us for over 5 minutes. When We were seated the waitress took our orders promptly, Gave us or food then disappeared and never refilled or asked to refill or drinks. We even had to ask for the check after sitting there for a while. To be fair this was my first visit and the place is always packed so this might not be a common problem. The food was absolutely great and I will be back in the future to give them another try.
(3)Ernie W.
Service was unacceptable....waited 25 minutes for food after we ordered, and they were not busy and no one came by at all to refill coffee. I won't be returning, especially with Heidis is right down the street and Heidis is the best.
(2)Judy K.
Had a delicious breakfast. Huge biscuits and BlackBerry jam. Great service. Wish they had one in our city.
(5)Bev B.
I was very excited to try this new restaurant out in Gresham!! I've heard so many good things. So to start off, it was pretty busy. The hostess did say it was a 15 minute wait and it was exactly that. However, the food... Ordered a chicken ceasar salad. After stirring and tossing with my fork, found a dill pickle slice, 2-3 pieces of shredded carrot, a couple small pieces of red onion and some clumped together parm cheese. Felt like it was the bottom of someone elses salad. OH and 1/2 a peanut! Stop right there, The server came back and we showed her what was in the salad, and she said "Oh Treasure Hunt"! I don't think we'll be back anytime soon!
(2)Shelli B.
Got breakfast this morning from here, and honestly I was surprisingly impressed. We were seated pretty quickly which was awesome because I was friggin starving. The food: ordered chicken fried steak, and it was delicious!! Perfect breading, seasoned just right, and the gravy was pretty damn good. Hubs got the eggs Benedict and said he enjoyed it. I scarfed down every last bite. I'm a total chicken fried steak snob, I was surprised at how much I really loved it! The joint: super family friendly, I brought along my 1 year old and was happy to see other babies there. The staff: this is why they received 5 stars instead of 4!!! Our waiter Barlow was very prompt and attentive. Super cool dude. Andddd this sweet waitress who was not even working our section walked by us and my son practically leaped from my arms into hers. It was weird, my son does not do things like that!! She's a friggin baby whisperer, all the kids loved her. We were pretty satisfied and happy when we were on our way out the door, when Frances came over and gave my son a big hug and a teddy bear! We felt like family, and will be returning for the awesome staff, decent prices, and huge portions of delicious food.
(5)Katie P.
Our first time eating here and the service was great! I had the Fresh squeezed OJ and it really was fresh!! The Black Bear's choice was the breakfast I had and it was really tasty, I only wish the bacon was less fatty and cooked longer. It was very flimsy and undercooked and I could tell it had been in a microwave. Also, wish I had more syrup for my pancakes. The serving was waaayyy too small for such large pancakes. My friend says the burger patty was not cooked the way he likes and we shortly realized he had not been asked his preference for how he'd like it to be cooked. He didn't finish his burger. Overall the service was good, but the food has a few more kinks to work out.
(3)Egg P.
My parents raved about this place after going here a few times. I went with them for dinner last night and the first thing I noticed was how crowded it was. there were people sitting outside waiting for their table. we walked in and say at the bar immediately. there was no one else at the bar so we got our pick of seats. Their beer selection is minimal, no ciders either. Their food wasn't bad, comparable to what you'd get at Elmers or Sharis. And because of the issue with this place being crowded I'd probably suggest going to a different diner-type place. Ridiculously large portions, not saying that's necessarily a bad thing...but eating so much food at once can't be healthy. especially the traditional diner food that isn't the healthiest anyway. I got biscuits and gravy. My huge biscuit was on the dry side. The gravy was alright but a bit too salty for my personal taste. overall, I wouldn't refuse to go here again, but it would not be my first pick.
(3)Jeff M.
Great service, good food. Ryan is a great waiter, both our meals were great. Nice find!
(4)Angela W.
We went here for dinner tonight and had a great experience! We all had breakfast for dinner. I had the Mexican Omelette, it was very good. The avocado was nice and fresh as were the potatoes for the hash browns. My husband loved the pancakes and my daughter lived her French toast. We were all very happy with our meals and look forward to heading back to Black Bear Dinner again and again. I'm so glad they got rid of that Sizzler's so we could have such a gem right here in Gresham!
(5)Stacy O.
The location in madras is horrible but this new one out in Gresham is great. Good breakfast and good service
(4)Curtis V.
Terrible Food. When I sent it back I was still charged even though I did not eat. I was given Black Bear Dollars to come again, but still expected to pay?!?!? Horrible policy! Never eat the Tri-Tip Dip here! Bland, overcooked to the point of the meat being crispy from being on the grill for so long. Then to be trapped into coming back again to get my money back. B.S. I say!!
(1)Brian O.
This place is new and probably has some kinks to work out with staffing and process so I wasn't overly critical. The food was okay with the emphasis on large portions which doesn't impress me. The staff was friendly and trying to keep up with what seemed like a backed up kitchen. It took over an hour to get our food and nobody ordered anything overtly complicated or out of the ordinary. I was hoping it wouldn't just be another boring chain but unfortunately it is.
(3)Sharon B.
Friendly greeters! Great food! Our server was outstanding--Tattasha loves what she is doing and it shows. Some of my friends ate there the night before me and Tattasha was also their server--they were also very impressed with her. Thank you Tattasha for making my evening a happy one.
(5)Natalie T.
It was our first visit. We went there for brunch on Sunday and since this restaurant opened last month,we had to wait for 30 minutes. We spent that time playing music on their awesome looking jukebox,they had speakers in every part of the diner,but I wish the songs weren't played that quietly. The food was good,I think,their sweet cream waffle is the most flavourful waffle I have ever had,well done! Vegetarians concerning complaint: I chose the Griddle Vittles breakfast option,which comes with two eggs and one choice from two categories,one of which contains only meat products. I asked if I could get an extra egg instead of bacon or sausage and it turned out they would charge me 99 cents for it. This was a bit disappointing,since I have asked for a substitute at other places before and they wouldn't charge me. At Black Bear diner,they could offer a piece toast,a few spoons of hash browns or vegetable instead,anything would work as long as I am not being charged. I think,we will be back soon to try other things on the menu,everyone seemed to like their food during this visit. Hope that next time it will be less crowded. The service was great,by the way.
(4)Courtney S.
Food was excellent and serving sizes are huge. Service was friendly but kinda slow and forgetful.
(4)Julie w.
As usual black bear diner did not disappoint. As a gresham native it was really nice to bring back the diner scene to what used to be our Dennys. Although they were really busy this evening service was still good and the food was delicious. Do not, I repeat do not go there if you are watching your calories. Although they have light items it is difficult to keep control when you see mile high biscuits and bowl sized pies. But definitely go especially if you are looking for yummy comfort food.
(5)Yvonne R.
Very nice restaurant. Will definitely go back!
(4)Kristi T.
I know they just opened. I am not complaining about the service..she didn't cook our food. It should have been comped!. I'm complaining about the food. There was 2 of us. I ordered the chicken club...i had the skin of my avocado still on the avocado!! Then my friend ordered the patty melt. It came out raw! Even the onions were raw. Sent it back. Recived a 2nd patty melt. This time the patty was cooked. But there was no dressing and barely any onions or cheese. We complained to the cashier. She said she believer that our food was crap. She asked if we told anyone. Yes of course!!! We told our server. The cashier replied...well you should have told someone else!!?? Hey thanks but no thanks..we will never be back.
(1)Ron C.
I gave this restaurant one star on Feb 28. We returned today and were given complementary meals after complaining to the manager for past service. Everything was excellent and the service was wonderful. BBD has made things right for us and we intend to be back.
(5)Windi T.
Everyone was cheerful. The food was very good.service was great.the only negative thing I could say is it was busy and I had to wait 20 minutes to get in.for a chain it's a thumbs up.
(4)D C.
Still trying to figure out this place. Go with a small fam 3/4 peeps and get seated really quick, need a table for 6+ and it can be a long wait while they get tables arranged which means they have to wait for others to vacat at the same time. Overall food portions are huge and they are great with kids.
(4)Susannah B.
I haven't been to Black Bear but intend to dine there after they've been open a few months. I'm writing a review because I've read several comments slamming the diner for what appear to be minor hiccups (slow to seat patrons, confusion as to responsibilities of younger employees, minor oopses in food presentation) that would be expected from a newly opened restaurant. This establishment has been open a matter of weeks. My guess is that although employees have been well trained, it will likely take a while to work out any kinks, which of course there will be. Perhaps nay-sayers could consider a return visit at a later date? Just a thought.
(5)Cassondra L.
We have been here a few times now, the food is pretty good. I've ordered 2 different turkey sandwiches which were piled with meat. The only problem at all is my husbands meal they forgot his ham steak, but to be fair he ordered something (can't remember what it's called!) that came with a lot of food items. Very cute diner, LOVE the decor.
(4)Pam G.
Took my kids there last night. There were about 20 employees running around and we stood at the front for about five minutes waiting to be acknowledged. Got seated and ordered food all went Well. Once finished sat and waited about 20 minutes until someone asked if we needed a box or our bill. Almost thought about just leaving. Seemed they didn't want my money or care that I was there. And it wasn't that busy. Food was OK but huge service failure.
(1)Debbie D.
Went for breakfast everything we tried looked and tasted homemade! ! Don t know how the biscuit s were there was to much food to get to them. The California Benedict was GREAT and the corned beef hash some of the best I ve had. The geavy for the chicken fry wasn't the best but not bad. Even the fruit was good decent strawberries and melon in February
(4)Theresa C.
We've always enjoyed Black Bear diner. The one's in Bend and Sequim particularly. This one is only about a week old so we'll forgive them some growing pains. However, the biscuits were so undercooked they were gluey and inedible and I had, strangely enough, chocolate syrup on my country potatoes. Quite a bit of chocolate syrup. Hubby's hash browns and omelette were pretty oily also. They'll need to work on consistency and quality control but we hope that soon they'll be as good as the others. I did tell the manager who thanked me for letting her know.
(2)Tracey C.
This is a cute place with all the bear stuff all around. The seats at the counter all have different sayings on on them. I had the breakfast eggs chicken fired steak and pototes and a huge big biscuit. I have to say it was the best chicken fired steak I have had. I will be going back.
(5)Armando M.
Got there and wait was fairly short, about 10 minutes. I ordered the turkey club sandwich and it was pretty good but was pretty cold and the fries were cold too. The server was very nice though.
(3)Linda A.
Do wonder if some of the great reviews are from friends/family of the owners. Words like great experience are NOT justified for this place. My friends and I made a reservation only to learn when we called to confirm that they don't take reservations even for groups. Would have been nice if all their employees knew this.. Man was uncivil in the telling.. And I do mean uncivil. We arrived to a packed waiting area. Two in my party had obvious disabilities. No one offered a seat f.or them to sit. Waited 30 minutes and then we were seated. Waited another 40 mins before we got any food and then half of us did not have silverware. Waitress said they ran out and she had to make more sets. I had clam chowder which was by no means chowder - very thin. Another was undercooked and another the food was not warm. When we left we spoke to Frances Herring, the Manager. she was a total waste of breath. Why she is hired as the manager is beyond comprehension. This is a service industry and she doesn't understand that. She told us to call an hour before so she could put us on a waiting list. We called 90 mins before this time so that was useless. Several of us wrote to corporate with rapid apologies received. They might be busy now as a new novelty but can't last. Word is spreading. The other day at the bank the teller told me I was the 4th person to complain to her. No surprise there. Those that posted quality is low are accurate. Shame too because they did redecorate it well.
(1)Penny V.
I am so happy to be able to change my last review! The Black Bear is THE place to go to in Gresham! After a disjointed start they finally have everything running great. The food is served hot and the servers finally got it together. Great job, guys. Love, Love, Love the BBD and can't wait until our next road trip so I can get my BBD passport filled up! Don't forget to order the garlic fries - they're not on the menu but they are available if you ask!
(2)Jaylynn M.
My sister and I went to breakfast this morning at 10:10. Frances was our server. Being both 19, Im not sure if that's why she treated us the way she did, idk. I ordered coffee, and we both ordered oatmeal. 2 minutes later, our oatmeal is out. We are eating and enjoying our time together and she comes and asks us if we are seperate checks.. Then shortly after she comes and brings our bills and says "can you guys pay quickly? I'm trying to get out of here". Then asks me if I'm done with my oatmeal that is over half way full. I said "yeah" just for her to leave us alone because I was so done with her rushing us. then as Im signing my bill she was pacing back and forth watching for us to be done so she could grab her tip! It was awful. Not to mention she didn't give us silverware after asking for it twice. Black bear diner was my first choice of a breakfast place, now I don't want to go there at all. I'll be going somewhere new.
(1)Neil R.
went on Saturday 1pm for lunch. Parking lot was full and was told there was a 15- 20 minute wait which is understandable. We got seated and waitress took our order. We then sat for 45 minutes for our food which we were told will be here soon. the part that really drives me crazy is when other parties are seated after you but then get their food and leave before you get your food. I don't know if she lost our order or what because our waitress offered no apology or excuse. There is a problem here that needs to be corrected because if everyone stops tipping because of poor service; the waitress starts looking for a different restaurant. I usually tip 20% but not today
(2)Tracy Y.
My family of 4 went on a Friday evening, it was packed as it always is. It was about a 15 minute wait for a seat, server was ok - like she was there only to get her job done but not much friendlyness as she seemed hurried every which way. My son odered the 2/3 pound burger & loved it. Hubby liked his order, daughter liked her pancake & eggs but said hash browns were gross. I like my rueben however was offered onion rings and got 5 of them, while my sons burger had a half plate of fries. The server dropped off the check and walked away. We weren't sure where to pay the bill so waited until another server walked by and asked, then stood up front at register waiting as no one was there. Maybe they need more staff....
(3)Pam C.
First time...great experience. 2nd time, corn beef was flavorless and had no seasoning which I was assured was unusual. Manager gave me two 5$ bear bucks for my next visit. 3rd visit...new waitress completely overwhelmed. Waited 10 minutes to take our order, 35 mins to get our food and mine was disappointing to say the least. Cold, overpriced basic chain restaurant. I've heard such great things about the location in Bend and the ones in California. Polar King or Elmer's is 3x the place this is.
(2)Timbers 1.
Nothing really stood out for me on my visit. My wife had been talking it up as one of the greatest restaurants in America lol but I found the food to be average, similar to elmers or sharis. The service was speedy and we got our food and bill pretty fast, But I wouldn't wait in line to get seated if I came back..... They do have very large portions of food.... Average food.
(3)Barbie D.
WATCH OUT THEY CAN'T KEEP TRACK OF THE WAITING LIST!! THEY WILL CROSS OFF YOUR NAME AND NOT CALL YOU! I have gone here twice. Dinner was not impressive I had a french dip and it was very grisly and chewy, although I not impressed I figured I'd give them another chance. My honey decided to take me to breakfast on Valentines day. So, we went. Got there around 9 AM and found the parking lot full. I signed us in about 9:05 and sat down. The waiting area cleared out and we started seeing people being called who came in after us, assuming they were waiting outside or in another area, we just figured they were busy. But finally after about 40 minutes and seeing several other families being called after us, i went up the hostess and asked where we are on the list. They were at the bottom of the list that our name was on top of and guess what? Our name was crossed out!!! WTF? when I got upset with the hostess, they let us take the table that they already called for another family and told us to take their table leaving that family standing there. We sat down and the person who said us, said I remember putting your name down and she said she told the manager what happened to us, SO..I figured we would get a visit from the manager and an apology and something?? We were sitting right next to the hostess I would have HEARD our named called and it never was.. Already angry when seated the 10 minutes just to get water to us, added to the already frustrating situation. Little things like, the people they sat after us, got their order taken first, we had to ask for refills on coffee and i never got one water refill .. etc.. When we finally got our food we had been in the place well over an hour. The breakfast was actually good and fresh. I NEVER saw a manager and other then the first person saying "sorry" that was it and in my opinion something should have been done to at least make us happy. The person crossing out names needs to PAY ATTENTION!!!!! If they can't use a name system then do something else.. STILL ANNOYED.
(2)Adam R.
Good service, cute atmosphere. Food has large portions, but lacks some flavor.
(3)Randy W.
We were hoping the 3rd time we were there it would finally be good but yet again after being open for over a month they can't get there STUFF together. We love the one in Redmond and Madras but Gresham can't figure it out. After 2 bad dinners we decided to take my family and in laws to breakfast after all how can you mess up breakfast but they figured out how to my food was way over done and my fathers was raw. NEVER AGAIN
(1)Tom O.
I just had breakfast at the black bear in Gresham my waitress Cami Copeland... She is the best waitress I have run across in a long time friendly and courteous she has a mesmerizing smile that welcomes you like no other. The food and service was awesome thank you cami for an awesome breakfast experience
(5)Jeanine C.
Reading the reviews certainly gives a quick note of those who know a bit about the gift of restauranteur business and those who have no clue about the business world and especially restauranteurs. I have been so pleased and in wonder at the exceptional service, food and managership of this newly opened Black Bear Diner and its ability to keep up with the great demand us Gresham folk have placed on it being excited to have our first new restaurant in a while! Having had many visitors coming to see me, since the recent loss of my husband. It has been great to have a new place not many have experienced like our amazing new Black Bear Diner. It has such a great variety of meals to fit everyone's appetite flair for the day and has personnel both young and new, taking orders and serving meals and those who I know from previous food business places that have the great experience of seating, serving, planning for large groups, etc. I respect and admire Black Bear managers for giving new folks in the land a chance and also placing those who can model and assist these new employees in their staff repertoire. Most of all, I am so pleased and excited to have this new place to share with relatives and friends when they come to visit and also to just go and enjoy when out by myself. I like to be served at this wonderful family place. I enjoy my meal served by all concerned, or when sent back if needed, know Black Bear desires to please and that Black Bear can be the best, that we, the customer, can assist them in being by our words and recommendations in person to the staff and/or manager when needed! Thanks, Black Bear for making, Gresham, be your new location!
(5)Sierra C.
Me and my boyfriend wanted to try this place out and we finally made it in. My boyfriend had the giant burger and he was it was okay and i had the biscuit and gravy which i thought was good. 3 out of 5 because i thought it was okay
(3)Jeremy M.
It sucks to eat cold food when you want a good hot meal! But cold is what you get at black bear in Gresham!
(1)Angelina W.
I love this place sooooo much! they have super cool bears and the most delicious fired chicken I've ever had. One time, they got me wrong side dishes, and they gave me free fries for that! thanks so much for the nicest service!
(5)Kay H.
Food is good like home cooking. A little loud and this location is sooo busy so the service can be lacking at times but they really try to make it the best experience they can.
(3)Rena G.
I was looking for some good lunch around where I was. My boyfriend and I saw the Black Bear Diner. He told me it was supposed to be good so we went in. First impression was that it was busy. We walked up to the counter and stood there for a couple minutes before one of the 5 employees in front of us said hello to us. There was one Hispanic girl who said hello with a nice tone of her voice then turned to the other white girl at the podium and said "where do you want to sit them at" with slight annoyance. The other girl hunched over her podium and scribbled some stuff down then pointed somewhere without another word. Then the girl who asked rolled her eyes and grabbed a couple menus and started to walk away until she realized we weren't following her then turned to us and put her nice voice on and said "I will take you to your table right this way." It's interesting to see someone's facial expressions not match their tone of voice because she did not look happy at all. We soon felt very uncomfortable because every associate we passed stared at us until we sat in our booth. After sitting down she gave us our menus and said someone would be with us. My boyfriend looked at me and told me almost everyone working went to high school with him and he recognized every one of them. Although none of them were actually his friends. And my boyfriend and i are quite young. All of a sudden I look up to see another young staff member put his arm on the ledge of our booth and stared at us out of the corner of his eyes then nod his head at someone else who then came over and glanced the same. Our waitress Jasmine made her was to us and took our drink order and we both ordered our food as well. When I asked if I could have regular ranch she looked at me like I was crazy. She said they didn't have regular ranch. Only bacon ranch. I wondered to myself no ceasar? Nothing for vegetarians? That couldn't be all they had. There was a ceasar salad on the menu. I'm not a vegetarian I just don't like bacon very much and don't really want bacon ranch. She said she thought she saw a Chipotle ranch on the computer and went to check for me. When she came back she informed me that there wasnt. Just the bacon ranch and offered to bring me their only other sauce BBQ, But I told her I would taste it. So out for came about 30 minutes later and I give them it was hot. My boyfriend ordered a bacon cheese burger and I chicken strips. When she brought me the bacon ranch I have to say it tasted like blue cheese dressing that has gone terribly bad. There was the tiniest hint of bacon. There wasn't even bacon chunks in the dressing, it looked normal. Be that as it may we ate and the food was good. After we took our receipt to the register and I noticed my receipt didn't say my actual servers name on it so I wondered as I left if she would get my tip. Because the young girl cashing everyone out with arm compression sleeves didn't seem like she could be bothered I decided not to ask. My over all thought of this place it's just Dennys by a different name, but with teenagers fresh out of high school that don't know what it means to be a good server. Servers who for some meant wearing arm compression sleeves, sweat bands, a couple girls where wearing crazy bright blue eye shadow and messy hair for some strange reason. No smiles and no sense of urgency except for our server Jasmine who was fairly quick though she herself barely smiled. I think if the food can be kept consistent because I know this place has just opened so everyone's standards are probably higher. I say fire the kids who don't smile and get some nicer ones.
(2)Gagan A.
Everything about this food is amazing. Big portions that actually taste great. Awesome ambiance, love the newspaper menu, every staff member was freaking cool as heck. This food is so good, and satisfying. I'd much rather skip ihop, dennys and that other bullshit to have good quality food at such a lower price. Expect to have leftovers so you are technically getting two meals. Try the bacon avocado chicken sandwich!!! One bite and I saw how much was left and let out a nice big sigh.
(5)Bo A.
This place pretty much met my expectations! Now I am a fan of bears, they're my favorite animal, so you can say this place piqued my interests. The interior is so cute and cozy and well air conditioned. When I sat down I was greeted by a huge menu with all day breakfast lunch and dinner. I shed a tear of delight. I wanted a steak that night so I got the ribeye with a baked potato. Also dishes come with a good sized soup and salad! My dad loved his French dip! Only docking a star because the steak didn't have a lot of flavor. It was ok. Good size and very yummy potato. This meal left me very satisfied. I want to give five stars to Tattasha my server. If you guys get her you'll be blown away, she's sweeter than every piece of pie they serve there COMBINED. Definitely coming back for the breakfast and dessert!
(4)Sarah R.
My husband and I have been looking for a new favorite breakfast spot for a long time. This morning we decided to try out the Black bear diner. I cannot express how pleased we were with everything. First, this place appears to be very clean (minus the bathroom). That's a huge thing for me. Second, we were seated and served quickly. The coffee was good and I had many refills. The food was good also in the portions were huge. I packed half of mine up and had it for lunch also. The only thing I would suggest, is that they have a professional clean their bathroom. I'm only saying this because it wasn't a top-notch bathroom. There was grime around the edges and several places that I could tell had been looked over for a while. Despite the restroom - we love this place!
(5)Gina D.
I wish yelp allowed for half stars as we would give Black Bear Gresham 3.5 stars. (I would rate BBD Medford 3.75 & BBD Bend 4-4.5). Seated quickly and allowed to peruse the menu far longer than needed. Had to wait for silverware as it was 'in the washer'. Coffee was drank at a LEISURELY pace & refills didn't happen without asking. Food was massive in portion, but not terribly cheap ($10 -15 for bfast plus drink cost). Tasty, but nothing "to write home about".
(3)Just A.
We used to love this place but the service has gone downhill over the last month or so. They say this is a "family" establishment yet we never see the same people working. So it's quite obvious they can't keep people due to poor management. There are rumors all over gresham about their gm Frances, just ask around and you'll see. We had an encounter with her ourselves on a recent occasion. Completely unprofessional and not to mention RUDE! We complained to her about our server who got our entire order wrong and the food was cold, and just gross! When we tried talking to her she rolled her eyes and acted annoyed. She offered no solutions just excuses. My friends have found hair and plastic in their food on more than one occasion. I know of several people who won't go back, and they can add us to that list now too.
(1)Dave D.
Meh. I'd skip it. Go to Elmers or Shari's for the same type of food instead. I wanted to like this place. It is new to Gresham, although I've seen many of the chain throughout southern Oregon and northern California. They have a nice looking building, and the bear motif is OK. Service was fine (I think they've worked out most of the service kinks that plagued them when they first opened). But a couple issues that will keep me from going back: - Food quality: Just not that great. Nothing was terrible, but nothing stood out as "wow, that was high quality". I had the Huevos Rancheros Eggs Benedict; The eggs were overcooked (no yellow runniness, the essence of a benedict), and the pork was just kind of low quality meat (I ended up pushing it off to the side since it just was not appetizing). - Food quantity: Just kind of ridiculously large. Way, way too many calories for a meal. Honestly splitting a meal might still be too much. I wouldn't consider this a negative if the food quality were better (after all, why not order something great and split it?). But with the quality being low, it just doesn't help to overload the plate with size.
(2)Deja A.
I've been to the one in Beaverton before but since this was a new location that opened up not to far from my house. I took my grandma the other night. I can't say I was very pleased with the service. My waitress seemed scatter-brained. She didn't bring us any water, forgot what we had ordered for drinks & didn't bring our silverware till I had to ask for them. Barely ever checked on us, until I paid our bill. There was another waitress, which I wish we had. She seemed so kind, personable & had such a strong southern accent. Loved her from a far. . Next time if I come to this location, I think we'll request her if possible. About the food.. I did get the chicken fried steak which was great. My grandmother got the fried chicken which she seemed to of enjoyed. We had more than enjoy to take home for another meal from both of our dinners.
(2)Meagan S.
Gresham needed another restaurant badly and Black Bear diner has delivered. The salads here are massive. Well, come to think of it everything is massive here. The chicken fried steak with gravy is excellent. The juevos rancheros are just ok. They are not spicy. Although they always seem busy I've never had to wait for a table.
(5)Angela S.
Kids liked it, but me, not so much. Biscuits were huge, but not edible and very unattractive. Food was so greasy I was ill afterwards. We only had breakfast, but for the price, won't be going back again.
(2)Herb W.
We ate there tonight and it was great as usual. We had hot apple crisp ala mode. One of the best I've ever had! I was told they make it every morning! Great! This was our choice of places to go on our 46th Wedding Anniversary to get this. Works for us kids. Try it, you'll agree! Thank you for reading this.
(5)Holly K.
First off, I REALLY MISS the Sizzler that was here. They had a small, but decent, salad bar we loved coming too. There isn't much of that in Gresham. I have been to Black Bear in a few other locations and was going to accept my loss of Sizzler happily once I saw the bears going into place out front. We waited awhile for the new crowds to die down, but we still waited about twenty minutes for a table at 5:30. We got lucky and got a booth. The tables all seem crowded together, so there isn't any privacy if you want to hold a conversation. The prices are moderate, a fried chicken dinner was $15. The flavor was decent, but the the leg was lacking size. I don't usually like gravy, but I needed it to add flavor the mashed potatoes. The salad was fresh and a decent size, so I liked that part. My husband had the pea soup and potpie. He said he enjoyed it. The waitress was nice and service was good for the most part. She was honest, when I asked if they had slaw, when she said they had a lot of complaints about it not having enough mayo and being flavorless cabbage, but that on other nights, it was pretty good. Service was slow at times, but they were packed, so that was almost to be expected and it gave us time to visit. The food at the Bend location, for some reason, is a little bit better. I was thinking it, but my husband said it. We had onion rings, two dinners, two desserts, two drinks and the bill was around $55 before tip. That is about our bill for Saylers Steak house, and the quality couldn't even be compared. If the price had been more in line with the food, I would have bumped up the stars. It wasn't bad but it could have been better. Will we go back? Yes, I think so, to try a few other things on the menu that looked good.
(3)Carrie S.
I am surprised at some of the negative reviews on here. We had a great experience. We came here on Christmas Day with my husband's side of the family. To note, they do not have gluten free bread, pancakes, or rolls of any kind. But they make some great omelettes, hashbrowns, and have fruit on the side. They offer menu choices for those who do not care what they put in their bodies, and some for those of us who choose to eat lighter options. Brian was our server, and he was outstanding. Brian was the kind of server who was straight forward with us when we ordered, letting us know that half of us would get our food, and then it would probably be another 5 minutes until the rest were served so that we could all eat our food hot. Thank you for that. He also made sure that we had everything that we needed, and checked in regularly. They also have other servers who walk around to fill coffee and water, so you feel like someone is always checking in on your table. I thought the food was amazing, and I have ate at a lot of diners in my past. I think this is a great breakfast option in Gresham, and I think it will give Dea's a run for their money.
(5)Daniel C M.
Portions were good and staff was excellent. Nothing negative to say. Will be back. Breakfast is served in the evening
(5)Kellie B.
Perhaps a trifle spendy, but food, service and beautiful and fun bear decor are worth it! I've found most all Black Bear Diners to be just as wonderful. Club sandwich is HUGE and delicious. Great place for the kiddos!
(4)Shonna B.
If your requirement is huge portions at a fair price then you'll love this place. Don't come here expecting al from scratch home cooking, or excellent service or an inventive menu. Its a child friendly, family setting with shareable desserts. I mean BOWLS FULL of desserts! All the staff was friendly but just way you busy to make you feel welcome. I must say they were ALL working their tails off which I always appreciate seeing. I'd say, share a meal and get your bowl full of dessert to yourself!! Loved the huge desserts loved family setting didn't like seeing my food microwaved didn't like the from the can soup and from the bag fries!! didnt like the really slow service or really slow then average food served
(2)Betsy B.
An earlier reviewer couldn't understand all of the negative reviews, I can't understand all of the positive ones! The food is low quality and basically poorly prepared comfort food. I'm convinced that most items are dumped from a bag and then microwaved. And, in agreement with another poster, for such a new place, the bathrooms are quite filthy. I understand that we don't many good dining options out here in Gresham but that doesn't mean we have to over-inflate reviews. Crap is crap, and the Black Bear diner unloads a ton of it.
(1)Katey P.
Amazimg food,amazing service . Never disappointed and always leave full and happy. Great wait staff, especially T, she is the most amazing waitress we've ever had in any restaurant we've ever been to. Thank you!
(5)Brian H.
Service was very good but the breakfast dishes i ordered on two occasions were lacking in flavor, except for salt. Lots of salt. Go to Elmers for breakfast
(1)Kim P.
It's just not very good and the service isnt either. The cooks suck and the bathroom was dirty. I just dont have the energy to go into detail but I wouldn't ever go to a black bear diner again. They rush you to order You wait forever Then you are served bug portions of piss poor food that's prepared hideously bad
(1)Jenni B.
Very disappointed in the entire experience at the Black Bear Diner. We waited 25 minutes to be seated although there were plenty of open tables. The young man who was hosting clearly had no idea what he was doing. Many groups were being seated out of order, and we witnessed a few other families having to check 2 or 3 times about getting their table. After we finally were seated and had ordered our lunch we waited another 40 minutes to get our food. When the lunch arrived all of our meals were cold and definitely not worth the wait. I will not be going back.
(1)Nick G.
Black Bear Diner does not just lack management failure but descent food. The wait staff is less then attentive and we were excited when it was coming to Gresham and gave it many chances, as its gets worse every time.
(1)M M.
Just your average American diner with oversized food. I would call this comfort food to say the least. The environment is loud and children's laughter rings from all four corners. I don't have anything negative to say its just ordinary.
(3)