Black Bear Diner Los Banos

I don’t usually leave reviews, but this time I felt it was necessary. We went to this location and everything seemed fine at first—we were seated right away. After that, however, the experience went downhill. We had to ask for water and coffee, and then waited quite a while before anyone came back. When we were ready to order, we asked another waiter if she knew who our server was. She was very nice and said she would find out, but even after that, no one came to help us. At that point, we went to the front and said we would at least pay for the coffee. They were kind about it and told us we didn’t have to pay. We ended up leaving and going to another place where we were served right away.

I don’t usually leave reviews, but this time I felt it was necessary. We went to this location and everything seemed fine at first—we were seated right away. After that, however, the experience went downhill. We had to ask for water and coffee, and then waited quite a while before anyone came back. When we were ready to order, we asked another waiter if she knew who our server was. She was very nice and said she would find out, but even after that, no one came to help us. At that point, we went to the front and said we would at least pay for the coffee. They were kind about it and told us we didn’t have to pay. We ended up leaving and going to another place where we were served right away.

I wanted to update my experience at Black Bear restaurant in Los Banos. We ate there with our granddaughters a while back and the experience was lacking in several respects. We have since eaten there a couple times recently and I did want to note that things have improved. There seems to be plenty of staff there now and the food is adequate for the price point. I do want to note a couple of issues though with our last meal. We have ordered the hot turkey sandwich many times before but this time it was more of a turkey lunch meat instead of the usual thicker slices of roast turkey product they've served in the past. That was a huge disappointment especially for my wife who ordered it which is why we decided to eat there that day instead of a new eatery in town. So there goes one of the menu items we could always count on now gone. The mashed potatoes seemed kind of, gummy, I noticed red potato skins in it which is a less starchy potato more suited for roasting than mashed. Also there was some dark, almost black, pieces of something in it that we couldn't make out. This was brought to the attention of our server and she asked the cooks what it was and they said it must have been some leftover overcooked pieces that accidentally made it onto the plate. Also the lettuce leaf garnish was old and starting to rot and should have not been anywhere near a diner's plate. All in all, I can see some improvements and am hopeful that this trend continues. I wish you all the best!

I wanted to update my experience at Black Bear restaurant in Los Banos. We ate there with our granddaughters a while back and the experience was lacking in several respects. We have since eaten there a couple times recently and I did want to note that things have improved. There seems to be plenty of staff there now and the food is adequate for the price point. I do want to note a couple of issues though with our last meal. We have ordered the hot turkey sandwich many times before but this time it was more of a turkey lunch meat instead of the usual thicker slices of roast turkey product they've served in the past. That was a huge disappointment especially for my wife who ordered it which is why we decided to eat there that day instead of a new eatery in town. So there goes one of the menu items we could always count on now gone. The mashed potatoes seemed kind of, gummy, I noticed red potato skins in it which is a less starchy potato more suited for roasting than mashed. Also there was some dark, almost black, pieces of something in it that we couldn't make out. This was brought to the attention of our server and she asked the cooks what it was and they said it must have been some leftover overcooked pieces that accidentally made it onto the plate. Also the lettuce leaf garnish was old and starting to rot and should have not been anywhere near a diner's plate. All in all, I can see some improvements and am hopeful that this trend continues. I wish you all the best!

One of the best BB I've been to. The staff was nice and attentive especially when it came to allergies. A lot of condiments is always good. Food was delicious and prepared well. There were a lot of flies in the restaurant and is why it got a 2.