I'm a big admirer of beer. Â It was my first trip to Big Bear. Â How could I not stop here?
I walk in to a crowded bar and every table full. Â Not surprising or disappointing, since it was dinnertime. Â After standing in the foyer for a few minutes, observing the three employees buzz about and feeling like I'm being watched by the locals, I finally approach an employee at the bar and ask if I can put my name on a list for a table - there's no list, I just have to hover about and find a spot when one opens. Â Oookay, wierd. Â I try to order a delicious brew while waiting for a table, but am told that I have be seated (any where) before I can order anything. Â Seriously? Â What bar in America (besides this one) does this?
I finally get seated. Â I order the beer sampler/flight, and it comes in plastic cups. Â Really? Â Overlooking that, I notice the menu is varried and looks decent. Â The food comes, and is a step above bar food. Â That's actually okay with me, since, well, I'm in a brewery. Â The service speed was good, though the waitress was scarce. Â (I also saw her mess up an order at an adjacent table.)
Like much of my experience in Big Bear, I was disappointed. Â Maybe my expectations were too high. Â Thinking Big Bear is the South Lake Tahoe of southern California is the wrong thing to do. Â Likewise, thinking BBMB is on par with a Gordon Biersch or a BJs will leave you sadly disappointed.
My hubby & I were up at mountain for 4th of July week and the hubby is a craft beer lover. Â So we had to try the local brewery. Â Good thing they are not know for quick service or good sandwiches. Â My hubby enjoyed the sampler and almost took a growler home, but decided nah. The most disappointing part of the visit was how long it took to make a turkey sandwich & chile cheese dog. Â We arrived to an unhappy server-no personality, maybe having a bad day. My hubby ordered a turkey sandwich and the description of the sandwich was a mountain of turkey breast - I guess one slice indicates a mountain, because that was all that was on the sandwich. Â I had a delicious chili cheese dog... Â what we found odd is it took 1/2 hour to make a hot dog and a sandwich. Â For a first time visit it was disappointing.
Review Source:My husband and I had an pale-ish ale and the Tangerine beer. Â Both great. Â I read a review where someone compared the Tangerine beer to Shock Top. Â I disagree. Â I think this Tangerine is much better. Â The smell and first flavor in your mouth is very distinct where with Shock Top, I feel it's more muted. Â I like both but would choose this place's Tangerine every time. Â Lots of stuff on the walls to look at. Â A lot of conversation pieces. Â I love that while we were there, an elderly couple walked in and sat down to eat. Â I liked that the atmosphere wasn't off-putting to any particular age group or culture. Â I thought it was a tad pricey. Â Not much outdoor seating...or indoor seating for that matter. Â We didn't eat there but the food we saw go out looked good.
Review Source:This place is pretty dodgy, we tried a flight of different beers which all tasted very similar to one another, and shared a basket of fried zucchini which was over battered and over fried. The waitress had a large knife at her hip and was less than friendly, an odd experience overall. They no longer brew any beer on site other than the oktoberfest. They allow pets on the patio only which is a dirty corner outside the front door, alongside the main road.
Review Source:(03.01.13)
BBMB was a friend's recommendation knowing we were comin' up for the weekend, but being a "yelper", I had to look it up all the same. I gotta tell ya, reading only the first page of reviews got me & the wifey a bit weary of poppin' in for a visit. "Let's just see for ourselves..." says the wife. God love her!
Well, here we are. Big Bear Mountain Brewery. We knew it was a yellow house looking building from the Yelp pics so if you missed it, you' weren't looking. Although there was only one other car in the parking lot, we found a family of four sitting at one of the tables in the "dining area", a couple sitting at the far end of the bar & what I can only assume is the bar's "regular" drunk guy sitting at the near end (he was on first name basis with the staff & vice versa).
We parked our butts on the vacant bar stools in between & greeted with a smile from our bar maiden, Taren. She was sweet, cherub looking hipster & quickly got a glass of wine in front of my wife & got started on my flight of beers.
Drunk guy was to my right & started yellin' at the T.V. monitor which was situated behind the bar & to my left. I found it very annoying that he moved over to the empty stool that separated us only to loudly slur out his comments towards the tube directly into my right ear-hole! That's when I got a whiff of his "ripeness". Not to publicly offend him, (hell, it's HIS "place" & I'm sure I've been in his position more than a handful of occasions), as soon as Taren had my flight in front of me, we moved over to the cozy love seat & coffee table behind us. It was much more comfortable & I felt perfectly "at home".
Taren came over to see how we were doing & she was very knowledgeable on the beers that they brewed.
The wife wanted a lil sump'in to nosh on & ordered some onion rings. The order came out fairly quickly & they were thick & tasty akin to JITB's onion rings.
BBMB's interior is very quaint. The hand-crafted wooden bar is small & the room has a very relaxing rustic ambience to it.
The exposed wooden beams are lined with past patrons defaced U.S. one dollar bills. They boast home craft brewing but there are only two visible coppers. My inquiry towards Taren confirmed that they only brew 2 of the 6 beers on the list in-house. There was no detail as to where the other 4 are brewed but I can only think that they're brewed in home beer brewing kits in local garages.
THE BEER: (from l to r) <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/big-bear-mountain-brewery-big-bear-lake?select=KM0hIqY9a0YkFJBYX6Mu3Q#eh2iWHRF-YVt__pkq6W5gg">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
Old Miner's Gold - Honey Blonde (tasted like Bud Light)
Tangerine Wheat - Hef (akin to Shock Top)
Mountain Pub Ale - English Pale Ale (more like a lager light)
Little Beaver - Cali IPA (light IPA w/a pinch of hops & no bite)
Red Ant Hill - Red Amber (Fat Tire's lil sister on a diet)
Grizzly Bear - Choco Porter (carbonated coffee)
I can honestly say that these beers aren't anything special.
It's a wonder why everyone likes the Tangerine Wheat. It was the best tasting of the bunch.
I found that the service my wife & I received was top-notch. Taren deserves 5 stars right off the bat.
She was prompt, accommodating, helpful & all smiles. The only food we got were the onion rings the wife ordered & she demolished 'em...and that's a "good" sign.
On our way out, the dining area had filled to half the capacity so this place IS popular with the locals.
Will I re-visit on my next trip out to Big Bear? Yes. I'm a check-in whore.
Big Bear Mountain Brewery gets a solid 3-stars from me.
My name is deez® & I approve this review.
How hard is it to make decent food? Â My 13 year old son makes better nachos. Â The only good thing we consumed was the side salad (hard to mess up). Â They were also out of everything when we arrived for an early dinner. Â The service was bad, the restaurant was dirty and the beer was just ok. Big Bear really needs a good brewery with good food!!
Review Source:Don't let the full parking lot fool you . Â The only reason I am giving this place 1 star is because the tangerine beer was good. When we arrived they were out of burgers, the waiter seemed irritated to serve us and the food we did receive was inedible - after waiting an hour to get it. Â I ordered a BLT (which is one of the easiest sandwiches on the planet to make) and it was awful! Â My sisters ordered chili and a pulled pork sandwich - completely inedible and totally microwaved. Â Like another viewer said, don't stop here, go straight to the Jack in the Box down the street - you'll have a meter meal!
Review Source:The only reason I am giving this place 2 stars is because the beer was good. On a Friday night they were out of burgers, the bartender seemed irritated we were there and the food we did receive was inedible. I don't think they've ever changed their fry oil...ever....and the soup tastes like dirty dishwater. However,if you're just looking for a beer it gets a B+
Review Source:My husband and I first tried this place in Feb. 2012 and had the same complaints many of the reviewers had about the food and bad service. That being said, we decided to give this place another try because my husband loves craft beer and I am glad that we did.
We got here early (around 11:30am) and there were only a few other people in there. We were immediately greeted when we walked in the door and our server remained attentive throughout our visit.
I had the tangerine wheat beer and my husband got the sampler. The beers are really good! We did not order meals this time and split an order of chili cheese fries instead. The food is pretty much bar food, so you can't go in expecting an amazing meal, but the beers make up for that.
Overall, same good beer and 100 times better service this time around. We will be back on our next trip!
This place is good for what it is. Â Its bar food and beer in Big Bear. Â As long as you set your expectations youre good. Â However the FRIED GREEN BEANS are sooooo delicious!! I def recommend! Â The rancher beans were good also, spicy! and its better to get a pitcher of beer if you and someone else are going to drink more than 1.
Review Source:I first started coming to Big Bear three years ago when I got stationed at the Marine Base in 29 Palms. Â I have since been back about 3-4 times a month since it is an hour from our home in Palm Springs. Â My wife and I had come to Big Bear to check it out and found the brewery. Â Surprisingly, the accepted pets on the patio. Â We came in, ordered, and ended up staying for a few hours enjoying the weather and people watching.
The food is pretty good.  It's nothing fancy, just simple American/German food.  I always go for the Oktoberfest (polish sausage sandwich) or the Hook, Line, and Sinker (battered fish sandwich).  The appetizers are great as well - tried fried zucchini or or the onion rings.  They also have a rare, ut fabulous soup of the day that is to die for - jalapeno cheddar potato.  It's rare but when they have it on stock it's  worth a cup or two.
The beer is fantastic. Â Some of the best brewed beer in Southern California. Â In the summer my wife loves the Tangerine wheat while I'll sip on a California Pale Ale or a Red Ant Hill ale. Â The Grizzly Chocolate Bock is a sure thing in the winter. Â Careful not to have too many liters of it or you're not walking out of there. Â If you're new to the place try the beer flight.
The best thing about the brewery is the atmosphere. Â It is an old house converted into a little bar and restaurant. Â There is lot's of flare and old pictures of the mountain on the wall. Â It'd dark, cozy, and it feels like you are sitting in a mountain lodge miles from nowhere. Â The bar is always a fun time - they have two TV's and great deals when NFL Football is playing. Â The staff is very chill and relaxed. Â Teran, the bartender is super nice. Â The thing about the staff is if you're disrespectful to anyone for no reason at all they'll boot you. Â I have seen a couple of rude people in there that have treated the servers bad - it's not cool.
Come to the Brewery, you won't regret it. Â Lunch can be SUPER busy so get there early to get a seat. Â Â Remember, it's doggy friendly, they'll even bring out a water bowl for your 4 legged compadre.
We stopped on the way up to see snow! It was a little crowded but we got a table and the kids did pretty good waiting for the food.  We liked the beer choices and the service was good for how busy it was. Felt like a local hangout  but seemed to be a prime spot for hungry travelers.
Review Source:do not eat here! they microwaved our pre cooked burgers!!! not like the food here is all the intricate to prepare, it's all burgers and dogs. with the most minute amount of effort it might have actually been good.
do yourself a favor, there's a jack in the box about a mile up the road, don't even slow down till you get there. at least you know jack in the crack cooks it when you order it.
Well, either they didn't give me an IPA I asked for or they have the weakest hops in the world. Absolutely NO hoppiness. So, I thought I'd try their Pale Ale...no hops here either. Couple those two disappointments with the chili size thing I had, more kidney beans than meat and I'd call this place a total waste of real estate.
Next time I head up the hill I'll stop at a liquor store and get anything to quench my beer craving.
Right off the bat, the food isn't great. Â Not horrible just not amazing. I had a burger and fries.
The beer, on the other hand is really good. I got the flight and enjoyed all 6 varieties. Everything is mellow and flavorful and none of them are overdone for the sake of making the alcohol content higher. My wife loved the Old Miners Gold and I was a fan of the chocolate porter. We talked with the manger for a good while and enjoyed ourselves.
Decorate a dollar and leave it on the wall if you stop by.
I wanted to like this place so much! It's very quaint and has a great home like feel to it. The pluses pretty much end there. Service was OK, they were attentive at first but seemed annoyed when we didn't know what we wanted as soon as we sat down. Â Beer was good and the prices were decent. Food was very bland, I think they were afraid to add flavor to any of the items they served. The portions were big however. Like most reviewers have pointed out- it's difficult finding great food in the area. If you stop in for drinks you will be sure to have a good time, just skip the food.
Review Source:This place is just as we expected. Big bear is notorious for bad food. We have nearly tried all the restaurants in the area since we have a vacation home up here. This place has horrible service. they are under staffed because they act like you are bothering them by asking for anything, even the check. For example, the server/bartender who brought us our food, spilled the sample beer all over my boyfriends leg and the table and offered to clean it but never did. I had to ask 3 times for napkins to wipe it up. The food was horrible. Frozen hamburger patties, and all the fried food seemed to be fried in the same oil (zucchini tasted like fish sticks). Beer sampler was good. I would say ONLY for the beer.
Review Source:Loved the feel of the place upon walking in. Divey and Cozy. Good selection of their own beer on tap. I decided to go with the sampler and enjoyed all of them. I did like the tangerine wheat, it was a nice change from a normal wheat beer. That was the good, now for the bad...
I tell the waitress I want a plain burger, nothing on it. She nastily replies, "do you want the bun?" Umm yes dipshit I want the bun. I did not realize plain burger meant just a patty. Well when my plain burger arrived, it arrived with cheese, lettuce, tomato, special sauce... you know plain just like I asked. The server took it back and brought me a plain one. It was definately a premade frozen patty and the fries were straight out of the freezer too. The waitress never came back to check on us and if I recall there were two, maybe three other tables and a couple of dudes sitting at the bar. I had to walk up to the bar in order to get the check and pay for my piss poor meal.
This place has real potential, small mountain town charm, but whoever owns/manages it needs to put the employees through some customer service classes/training and maybe try to tell them to look a little more professional!
I had low expectations. Food in tourist towns tends to suck, but the brewery has delicious beer and some very tasty food.
My friend graciously shared his beer sampler with me - most were pretty good. I was very impressed by the California Pale Ale (especially as I tend to dislike most American IPAs) and the Chocolate Stout, but thought that the Tangerine Hefeweizen was a bit too sweet.
I ordered a patty melt, done medium. It came out medium well, but I was too hungry to send it back. It was still delicious. I enjoyed the zucchini fries, and the tomato bisque soup was exceptional.
I was here with a big group of people who were ordering food and drinks at varying times, all on separate checks, and oftentimes switching locations between the bar and the tables. The staff dealt with our difficult-ness very well.
I'd visit this place if it was located in LA, which is very high praise for tourist town food.
I have been to Big Bear twice in the past 3 months, I went to the Big Bear Brewery a few times, I will not be back. I hesitated the first time to leave a review because I work in the service industry and I understand, but come on guys! Â It is so disappointing to me to see such rude people in a mountain community like Big Bear. I have had less attitude from the city slickers in Los Angeles. I am also from the mountains in North East Tennessee and coming from a small town, we thrive on tourism and appreciate those tourists coming into our town to spend money and help pay our bills. The Big Bear Brewery seems like it's very last priority is to make money and second to last is to satisfy their customers.
There is actually ONE employee who knows customer service there and both times I encountered him, he had a smile on his face and was eager to tell you about the beers. He is a younger guy behind the bar, dark hair, huge smile on his face. Everyone else here looks miserable so he is easy to spot.
The first time I came in was with my boyfriend and we got the good guy who talked beer with us, which is important since my boyfriend does Marketing for a HUGE beer company. Our cabin was actually behind the brewery a few blocks and we could walk to it. The nice young man behind the bar encouraged us to come back later so we did. We arrived at 8;45 to the place being closed down, the hours said until 10 or maybe it was even 11, I can't remember. Anyway, way to lose money ya jerks! Not only are my boyfriend and I food and beer aficionados, but it was HIS BIRTHDAY, and we were ready to spend money and always tip generously. Â But ya know what I did? I brushed it off, said I understand and went down to the Mexican restaurant down the road.
Now, this last time I was in Big Bear, which was a couple of days ago I was working on a cookbook for a celebrity Chef. I came in to the Brewery mid day with another Chef that I work with and we split a beer, again that really nice young man was behind the bar and he did a great job and actually talked me into buying a growler to take back home. I was going to buy it before I left town so that it was fresh. Fast Forward from Wednesday afternoon to Friday morning. I'm on a tight schedule, I have to be back in LA by  1:00 to unload and have a meeting. I am on a serious mission to take back some Big Bear Mountain Brewery home brew. Not only was I getting a growler for my boyfriend who does marketing and is a brand manager for a HUGE BEER COMPANY, but I was going to get a growler for each of the  Chefs and the bar manager at the restaurant I manage. One Chef actually threw me $20 to grab him a growler, the rest would have been on my credit card. I added it up and it would have been $160.00 worth of beer if rounded up to $20 a growler and that isn't including tip. I started at 9:30 am waiting outside for someone to arrive so I could ask if I could get beer to go down the mountain, I went next door to the dress shop and talked to the owner there and he said that no one every came in too early. Opening time said 11:30, but I couldn't wait that long as I had to be back in Los Angles by 1:00. So I headed down to The Tea and Coffee exchange and got a few things to take home. As I was driving back by the brewery on my way out of town around 10:30, I spot someone entering the brewery. I pulled right up in front, the guy looked at me and then ran inside and locked the door right away, although it was obvious I was trying to talk to him. When he came to the door I told him my story, about how I was working there and really wanted to take some beer back to Los Angeles, he said "We don't open for another hour, I don't have any change" I told him change wouldn't be necessary as I had a credit card and he said rudely ,"NO".
Working in the industry I know it's a pain when people try to be served AFTER closing time and I get it. At first I thought maybe this guy didn't know how to pour beer or use the credit card machine, maybe that's why he refused me service. It wasn't like I was asking to sit in the restaurant and have him cook me a sandwich and dirty up everything before they opened, I was asking him to pour draft beer into a jug. It would have taken NO time at all, and he would have been tipped healthily. They can close way too early, but get beer to go an hour early, you would think I would have asked to hurt him personally. I still let it slide though, I thought it sucked but I thought the guy didn't know what he was doing. WRONG! Going home to research The Big Bear Brewery I discovered that not only was that guy THE BREW MASTER but THE OWNER of the whole damn place!! How could you as an owner not want to profit and as a brew master, it looks like you would be flattered that people wanted to come early on their way out of town to get your beer. Well sorry Don, but you missed an opportunity to expand your little mountain brew and you've lost a loyal customer due to sheer laziness and rudeness!
How and the heck do you review this place? Â Here is the real issue, the rating goes one way then another. Â
First let me say, the inside is pretty cool and cozy really nice. Also the beer is some of the best I have had easily if it was based off this alone it would be 5 stars, I left with two growlers lol. I would love to be able to buy the beer down her in SD.
The staff, oh boy where do I go with this. Well to me and this is trying to be fair, they seemed liked overworked kids. I would not say they were screwing off. I wouldn't say that because you could see them hustling back and forth and getting kitchen prep done and everything like that, however they were really bad at servicing the customers. I can say that this place is understaffed, and would greatly benifit from having an older manager and maybe a girl to be the waittress.
If you are in the area, stop in though and get the beer it is well worth it.
WHAT A JOKE THIS PLACE WAS, SO SAD THAT ITS NOT EVEN FUNNY...SORRY EXCUSE FOR A "BREWERY"
Im not a beer snob, just like to explore different breweries in my travels. This one was highly disgraceful in all aspects. I was here Saturday with a few friends. I got the sampler and all but 2 of the beers were served warm. It being a "brewery" I was expecting atleast cold beers to be served. And they were watered down tasting. The tangerine wheat was good but tasted an awful lot like the lostcoast tangerine wheat...ooh wait, it was the lostcoast tangerine!! I saw their logo on the keg when they changed it. So I asked about it and the bar tender who realized I saw the keg had no choice but to admit that they dont even brew any of their own beer! NONE OF IT IS THEIR BEER!! Whatt???
But they still call themselves a brewery....humm...
The first give away should have been that it didnt smell like a brewery inside at all. The room that they have the brewing equiptment in had obviously not been used in a long time, if at all...its now their storage room for food instead. The very old and outdated brewing equiptment was too clean and shiney to have actually been used. The red amber that they claim to brew and bottle to sell says right on the bottle that its brewed somewhere else by someone who isnt big bear mountain brewing.
Back to the beer, they still claim they brew all 6 of the beers themselves to other customers who asked about it. Actually, the first thing they say when you walk in after they tell you to seat yourself is about the beer list at the tables of the beer that they brew themselves.
We sat on a couch that was behind the bar seating and in my opinion we had the best seats for the show. Although the couch was very nasty, outdated and dirty.
The owner was a joke...we all stuck around just to watch her be a full on bitch to her employees. It was so pathetic how she acted...so unprofessional. It was very busy and the guy and girl working the front were doing a very good job handling it all by themselves. They were having fun and interacting with the customers and were very professional and pleasant while busting their asses serving the whole place by themselves...they are why I gave this place a star at all. The owner then yelled at them saying that she was just going to sit back and bark orders since nobody wanted her there...which is exactly what she did. She moved herself to sit next to some people at the end of the bar and went on to bitch about her workers to them the whole time!! Highly unprofessional. They left after one drink and the next two people that sat there left after one drink each too because of it. People go in places to have a good time, not listen to the drama of the place.
Anyways, to sum it up...great staff who served me.
Warm beer that they dont brew.
Ok food, not worth the price though.
Ugly decor...looked like a junk yard storage with everything on the walls. Too cluttered.
Loved the dollar bills on the wall though, I left one to hang up even!
The beer was delicious and I definitely recommend the Tangerine Wheat. The service unfortunately is severely lacking.
I ordered the North Shore Melt ($7.95) which SHOULD be - melted swiss and cheddar cheese grilled on your choice of white, wheat, rye, or sourdough bread. And you have the option to add ham or turkey for an extra $2. I went with the turkey on white. I received a plain grilled cheese. No Swiss. No Turkey. When I bring it to their attention - they just add in the cold shredded turkey. No melts at all. Sigh.
Patience is definitely suggested if you plan on making a stop here.
This place is terrible. Service = 1/10. Food = 4/10. Beer = 3/10..
Service - this was not an enjoyable experience for our party of 7. The kid, who is probably way too young to serve beer, could not Multitask if his life depended on it. The music was way too loud, so we asked him to turn it down because it was hard to communicate.. He stomped off with a bitter attitude.
After we ate the bill came and we were overcharged a good 60 bucks from our $50 bill.. After informing the waiter, he takes it away to correct it.. The manager returns and says "I don't know what he did, it's all fucked up," and throws the original ($110) bill on the table and walks away to eat her lunch. He comes back over and we demand that he just put them on separate bills.. We left a minute tip..
Beer - this was nothing fancy. Just a simple homebrew. The one positive note is that $10 for (6) 5oz tasters was a pretty good deal. Their porter seemed watered down. The Cali pale ale and tangerine wheat were truly the only good beers, but was nothing to rave about..
Just go to Hanger 24 instead..
It's quite possible that I am just be a beer snob, but the beer here is terrible. The Tangerine Wheat is the only quasi-drinkable beer they make and I suspect the only thing that makes that beer OK is the fact that all of the flavor is masked by an overpowering orange taste I liken to Trix cereal.
I could l look past this and order another's brewery's beer they have in stock, but the service was slow and a good amount of our table's food/drink orders were messed up and had to be sent back for changes. I don't blame this on the staff though... they were trying hard and doing the best they could but there was only a bartender and a busboy/runner on the clock to help the entire bar/restaurant.
I'm come twice and had a blah experience both times. In the future I'll have to get over my desire to drink local beers and find a nice Mexican or Italian restaurant in the village with Stone on draft.
As a disclaimer to hopefully avoid you thinking I'm just a dick... I bussed/served/bartended for a good 10 years or so and always leave 20% regardless of the service.
My husband and I stopped into this place back in 2009 and then again this past February without realizing it's the same place we've been to before. We didn't realize it until we stepped in and remembered the decor. A small place with Big Bear charm to it and maybe stepped into the 1960s.
My husband is a fan of beers, so this is why we stopped in, he had a few samples of beers before ordering his favorite. For me, I just wanted to order food. The food is made to order, which is great. Fresh and hot. Portions are great, not the drinks though, you get a small cup, so if anything, get a beer, the glasses are bigger.
Being a member of the service industry, as a general rule, I refrain from griping, I do not send back my orders, and I leave my 20% for the server. Â I lead with that so as to squelch some of the guilt I will surely feel after leaving this critical review. Â
On Saturday, at this establishment, my girlfriend and I had an extraordinarily poor experience. Â Looking for a place to grab some dinner and a beer, we searched through Yelp for local bars. Â I came across the word 'brewery,' and thought, "Hmmmm...local micro brews! Â I will ignore all the Yelpers who left 1 and 2 star reviews. Â Everyone deserves a shot! I got your back Big Bear Mountain Brewery!" Â
Naive Johnny I turned out to be. Â
Around 8:00 We saunter into what we assume will be a relaxing place to experience the local fare of Big Bear Lake. Â I open the door, take three steps toward the bar and am greeted with, "It will be 15 minutes before I can get you ANYTHING!" Â I glance around and notice there are customers sitting around about 6 tables. Â Now granted, that is 6 of 9 or 10 tables so it appears to be popping in there, but any of you script writers would love use this scenario in a comedy sketch. Â "But isn't this a bar? Â Can't we order drinks from you?" Â "NO. Â You must sit." Â "Huh? It's a bar. Â Ok, so do we put our names on a waiting list?" Â "NO. Â Just sit." Â
The message is understood, "Get out. Â You are not welcome here." Â
However, hoping that their product justified this kid's poor manners, we chose to sit. Â Our waitress comes to take our order before the 15 minute time frame; I am pleased, the "bartender" (apologies for the loose use of the title) is not. Â "That table was here before them! Â You have to get their order first." Â Frozen. Â A deer in head lights. Â It is unpleasant for everyone when a staff member corrects his team member, who is on the floor, from behind the bar. Â
In a panic I put in an order for my beer.  Astonished that I seem to be crashing some high school party, I  want to apologize for showing up, and encourage the waitress to take care of her  guests who have official invites and come back to us. Â
Eventually we get our drinks and place our food order. Â My girlfriend orders a chicken sandwich and I order fish and chips. Â We chat. Â Time passes. Â We empty our glasses. Â The food comes out...to the wrong table. Â We claim it as if we were desperate buyers at an auction. Â I glance at my empty glass, then at my food, then at the staff with their backs to us. Â I stand up, start to walk towards the bar, imagine the repercussions of asking for a drink FROM THE BAR, get nervous, spin in a confused circle a few times, look back at my girlfriend, she shrugs, I shrug, I sit, I frown, I want to go home now; Big Bear is not cool anymore. Â
I shuffle through my "fish and chips." Â There are 2 pieces of fish comparable to the size of a fish stick, but with less fish. Â It was 80% batter and burnt. Â Fried batter and ranch dressing was my evening meal. Â The beer was strong, I'll give them that. Â The chips were supposedly house made. Â I got them buffalo style. Â They were overseasoned; i.e. UNEATABLE...and, remember I just ate burnt batter dipped in ranch. Â
My girlfriend's fries were not bad. Â They were edible. Â The chicken on her sandwich resembled the grilled chicken on my Jr. High lunch trays back in the day. Â She pulled it apart, examined it, made the wise choice of leaving it be. Â Oh yeah! We did get to put in our second order of drinks. Â We downed that. Â Waited for the check.
It's 9:00. Â Our waitress begins closing up shop. Â I look at the sign on the door. They close at 10:00. Â We inquire. Â "Oh. New hours." Â "That's interesting." Â "That's interesting?" a random voice from a table behind us pipes up. Â It's a member of the kitchen who, I suppose, has clocked out and is enjoying some of his delicious fried fish.
"You know what's interesting...yada, yada, yada."
"What's your owner's name?"
"Lil and Don."
staff member behind us...again, "yada, yada, yada." Â
jaw clenches, face turns red, not relaxed, "time to go."
Cross out the tip. Â Rip up the copy. Â Walk out. Â
Worst dining experience of my life. Â Bar none. Â All for $40. Â
Thanks Big Bear Mountain Brewery!
All things being equal, this one falls below the average mark. I was going to give it three stars considering that Big Bear probably doesn't have a lot of dining options, and certainly not to the quality of those in LA, but then I realized the error of my potential ways. That'd be like saying that Eli Manning is better than Tom Brady, based on the fact that the NY defense is SO much better than the Patriots defense. Don't do it!
Two stars, here we go. Everything was about as good as the food you'd get at a lodge or maybe a nice sports stadium. The soup of the day was broccoli cheddar, but whatever they served instead looked like cheese water and tasted like you were licking a clove of garlic. Service wasn't bad and the prices are certainly reasonable. If Yelp would let me, I'd give it a 2.5. Could be worse, but don't expect much and you'll be alright.
As per your typical Big Bear establishment, the serve was terrible.
We were a group of 5 that went for lunch on a Sunday. There wasnt anyone else in the place when we got there, and we were sat immediately. There was football on, but on one TV, that is hidden behind a post. You can see it from three bar stools, but nowhere else in the place.
I immediately ordered the sampler, which is their 6 types of beer, 4oz a piece for 8.95. Solid deal. All of them are pretty good, except for the chocolate porter. That might be good with some Baileys and Jamison, but not as a beer to sip on. My friend ordered a pint of the honey blonde. So he brings my sampler, but doesn't bring my friends beer. The server comes back after giving us a few minutes to look at the menu, and my friend asks for his beer, and the guy says, "Oh, you ordered a beer?" We ordered the sampler, sprite, and waters in addition to the beer. It really shouldnt be that hard to remember.
Anyway, food was pretty average. Between all of us, we got a burger, chicken strips, club sandwich, and salad. All pretty much your average of each kind. Not something to write home about, but not something to really criticize either. I will say with the salad though, my wife ordered ranch. She ate half of the salad and stopped because she didnt like the ranch. Every place up here has different ranch, so its hard to tell. So I decide to finish it, and immediately spit it out, because it was blue cheese, not ranch. I cant stand blue cheese, so thats the reason for my 3 year old response! I dont know how she couldnt tell that was blue cheese, but either way, they messed up, and too much was gone to make an issue of it.
Once we got our food, our server disappeared. I wanted another sampler, and we finished all our food before I even got a chance to order. The dude was walking around with the hood of his sweatshirt on his head, and was impossible to get a hold of. He walked outside with the only other server to clean up a table that had plates on it from a previous customer, and they literally stayed out there 10 minutes. Even if you say they were on break, there's no sense in allowing both servers to go on break at the same time, when you have customers inside! I had to flag down a person behind the bar to order another sampler, and everything was good from there.
I went to try the beer, and overall, it was pretty good. So thats why it gets a 3 stars from me. The food wont leave an impression, and the service is typical for big bear - garbage - but if you go for the beer, you'll probably enjoy it.
Tangerine Wheat. The Grizzly. 8.9. Surprisingly good beer. The Grizzly is delish and a couple could be a meal in and of themselves. It's busy on the weekends this time of the year. If there isn't a wait, it's worth the stop. Service is terrible due to understaffing, but they're pleasant enough considering.
I've never had any food but my son gets the hotdog which is huge. If you like craft brews, its definitely worth the lovely drive that gets you on the mt.
This place isn't bad. It's worth a visit while you're in the area. We always like to stop by for a visit when we are in Big Bear. They have great sweet potato fries. I love the unique, quirky, semi-divey atmosphere. The fact that this place is a house adds to the fun feel.
Their beers aren't bad. Not amazing, but there are a few that are quite pleasing. They have a nice English pale ale, and a Red ale I like. The Grizzly [?] porter is pretty tasty also. I don't tend to like lagers, but theirs is decent. I also thought the tangerine heff was interesting and pleasant.
So awesome!!! Super chill pub/restaurant. The home made potato chips r to die for! I had the fish n chips and it was so good. They make their own beer which is equally amazing. Loved the Mtn pub ale. and the beer in mason jars w/ handles!?!?! LOVE IT!!!
Such a cool place to hang and grab a bite. Can't wait to come again! :). Need to come for $2 beers on Tuesday nights.
I'm really surprised at all the negative reviews of this place, I thought it was great! Â We had been on the lake for a few hours having some beers and while driving back to our place we saw the "Fresh beer brewed here!" sign and decided to stop by and check it out.
Everybody got a different beer and everybody seemed to like what they got. Â I had the Little Beaver IPA (8.9% I believe?) and it was great. Â A pint is $4.75 and comes in a mason jar type thing, a quart is $8 and a 64oz growler (jug) is $13 regardless of which beer you get. Â We ended up getting 3 growlers to go.
We also had the french fries and the fried zucchini sticks, and both hit the spot. Â Great fries, great zucchini. Â All in all a killer place, but with a phone number like 866-BEER, what else would you expect?
I imagined a classy upscale microbrew place and instead got a tiny dive with a metal tub in the corner. Â This place is super small.
The food was weak. Â Our group had burgers, melts, and a french dip. Â Nobody was too thrilled. Â Everything was pretty greasy...something you might expect from a snack bar.
The beer was watery. Â Three of us sampled all the local brews. Â None of them were exciting.
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