Black Bear Diner Chico

We got all of our food super fast and it was all super good. Our server Ronnie was on top of everything and kept making sure if we needed anything and to check on us. The whole experience was super good. Thank you Ronnie and thank you black bear.

Mandy was a phenomenal hostess. The atmosphere was really cute. I took pictures of all the bear pictures. High quality fresh ingredients. They make their fresh OJ daily. I loved that the menu was like a newspaper. Surprisingly, the first page showed all of the company’s MVPs and store locations. I felt that that showed the pride they have for their most valuable assets. Their employees. The chef made me a special off the menu sauce that was delicious with my sourdough burger. Usually I’m leery of such large menus, but everything that was ordered was really good. The only thing I noticed was that my moms chicken tender on her waffle was pretty salty, but was actually really good. I can’t wait until they come to Wisconsin! Fingers crossed. Thank you for the exemplary customer service. It was really refreshing. Oh! I also had the huckleberry malt. I highly advise it. Enough to share with 3 or 4 people, so bring malt friends.

Positive things: Holly and Ben. Great people with big nice attitudes, great servers that never wavered in their professional demeanor. Water had no after taste. Apparently their Tomato Cream Soup/Corn Bread impressed my female sidekick regardless of its almost $10 price tag for a well served bowl. The way she started eating it told of a good ending. Coffee and Tea, refillable both, a tad better than most. Was it the norm? The time of the day around 5 PM with 25% full? Guess it was.
Not so wonderful: my plate ($20+) consisting of 3 Eggs to order, 2 Sausage Links, 2 Bacon Strips (limp instead of crispy per request), Hash Browns more steamed than crispy, slice of Ham, and 2 hefty Pancakes, Butter and Smuckers Sugar Free per request. Oily eggs, sausage average, bacon better, ham slightly salty but edible. Their supposedly well appreciated Bread Pudding made on the house, $6.99? We shared it later and at the risk of shattering their accolades for their home made concoction, it was average at best, sweet for sure and ingredients barely discernible, an indulgence soon after regretted which seems to be my thing, temptation easily defeating common sense way too often. Oh well.
Total $48.99 plus 20% gratuity just because of the good vibes from Holly. 3.5 Stars.

4/7/2023 I always take the side of the customer versus the cook when something(s) need severe attention specially food. We returned one more time to Black Bear Diner to try their Friday All You Can Eat Fish, since this Easter Friday bans meat, and I have developed a certain kind of respect for the tradition. Happy Easter, Chico!
Fish plate, $18+? 3 deep (deep!) fried fish, cole slaw, fries, hush puppies, tartar sauce. On paper it looked good that’s why we went.
What arrived had one common denominator: overly salty. The batter for the fish, the fries, the hush puppies, is that what they’re called? Aggressively salty, almost like a boycott against the whole group. Had to discard the batter/overly fried crust, and save the little fish inside. The first 3 hush puppies were almost black, and therefore dry solid. Travis?, our fine server, replaced the neglectful fry, and brought 3 in better status. Fries untouchables sodium driven.
My friendly partner ordered the Clam Chowder, which was thick but not a winner recipe. Was accompanied by what the first time was an outstanding corn bread, this time around stale, old, the opposite. We arrived around 7:10 PM, and the place was way below full.
The staff I have found to be very nice and efficient. My criticism is for what is coming out of the kitchen, for as far as fried fish is concerned it was a terrible show. How hard is to find a willing, prideful chef/cook in Chico? Potentially speaking The Black Bear could be filled to capacity if they only could sustain the pace and quality of all items in the menu. Is not mean spirited on my part, but food thrown away is a defeat of sorts for this and all food places. Why some places are always crowded, while others are dormant! Better to sell fewer items cooked to perfection than allow mediocre fare. 1.5 Stars.