When in big bear eat here!
It is worth getting over the north shore regardless, Fawnskin and the views back across the lake to the resort are very cool. Also the lake trail is great with the kids. I digress.
This is great food and good prices. The service is relaxed but excellent. It is not very big and therefore is worth booking ahead for tables greater than 2.
The bread pudding french toast is amazing. The burgers are great (the peppercorn is my fav). I really love their cornbeef hash and joes special. They even do great salads which frankly are not normally my domain.
I have been looking forward to going to this restaurant for quite some time based on the reviews. Â
Really tried to make it by 3 for breakfast and got there at 2:55. Â Nope. Â Was told they would only serve us lunch.....
Portabello sandwich was very tasteless and the reuben seemed overly heavy/greasy.
The three stars were for the very sweet waitress/server.
The good reviews and recommendation from a local brought us here. The place is small and parking a challenge. We were surprised to get a table right away being 4th of July. Food was great but expensive for a café and you won't find any entrée less than $10. Service was ok at first but slow on drink refills because the same servers were busy serving customers outside. Still we were glad to have had the experience of being at such a hot spot in Fawnskin.
Review Source:We were in Big Bear on the 4th of July. Â In the area to get our pups out for a hike before the noisy night. Â We'd heard good things about the North Shore Cafe but always found it closed...I think they're closed on Mondays. Â Anyway, after our hike, we stopped in to give it a try.
We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful day. Â Our server, Erica, was very nice and although she was busy, she kept our drinks filled and checked in on us. Â We expected a menu of sandwiches and salads but instead found a wonderful diverse menu of great options. Â My husband chose the cold portobello sandwich with pasta salad and I had the wonton fish tacos. Â Erica let me know that it can with eel sauce which I was open to trying. Â Our lunch arrived quickly and was delicious! Â The eel sauce was on the side and wasn't to my liking; however, the wonton tacos were! Â My husband's sandwich was huge. Â I tasted his pasta salad which was fresh and had a homemade taste -- not the preservativey taste that some pasta salads can have.
We'd definitely stop here again as there were many choices on the menu we'd love to try.
Recommended by someone at the Big Bear Discovery Center. We arrived at 2:45pm after hiking and greeted by the friendly staff. Food was excellent! Â We ordered their specials of the day (crab cheese melt, and crab avocado sandwich) and traditional cheese burger. When asked how many stars we should give, our 5-year old picky eater said,"100 stars because the hamburger was soooo good.":). Our entire family enjoyed being at this little local chef-owned gem.
Review Source:On the recommendation of Grace at the Quali Cove Lodge, we headed to North Shore Cafe for lunch after a 4-mile hike. We were bummed to miss breakfast (Grace's rec.) but happy to enjoy a tasty lunch of ahi tacos and an artichoke melt. Everything was delicious and we could see why many locals and visitors to Big Bear Lake were raving about this little cafe.
Review Source:I've been to this place twice, and I have nothing but good things to say. First off our server was great! very attentive not only to the paying adults but to the children we brought with us. Tip to all servers if you have a happy child you have happy parents so get the food to those kids ASAP. What you really need to know about this place is 4 words BREAD PUDDING FRENCH TOAST! by far now my favorite breakfast food, I recommend getting the sausage patties with it. FYI the type of bread pudding they make for the toast is always changing and never a disappointment.
Review Source:I try to update my reviews about my favorite restaurant in the Big Bear Area every month.The North Shore Cafe is, without a doubt, the best restaurant in Big Bear. Richard, the owner/chef, Â is outstanding. The soups, salads, pastas and special dinners on the weekend are out of this world. I have frequented every restaurant in Big Bear, but no chef can compare to Richard Ortiz. The service is impeccable. Erika and Lacy are, without a doubt, the best waitresses in Big Bear.
Just 5 star service that I usually only get in Rancho Mirage at Wally's and Cuistot's in Palm Desert.
No reservations, but during the summer you can order lunch and eat at Fawn Park across the street.
On the holidays, people drive up to this spectacular restaurant and are willing to wait to eat Richard's dishes.
If you are in the Big Bear area, and want to eat unbelievable food, visit the North Shore Cafe.
Also, Richard's wife, Barbara, makes the most delicious desserts.
I am very critical since my husband and I eat at 5 star restaurants in the desert  in Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert at least twice a month. Again, The North Shore Cafe is wonderful!
Bring your dogs and sit outside, Beautiful views of Fawn Park and the mountains.
Beautiful views of the lake and mountains! Bring your dogs during the summer!
Visit the North Shore Antique Shop next door. The owners, Carol and Ernie, Â are so awesome. So nice and so honest!! If you have time to visit Fawnskin, visit the North Shore Cafe and the North Shore Antique Shop.
Also, peek into the restaurant on Mondays and Wednesdays and meet Dillon, the chef''s assistant. Most awesome young man!!!
try the black bean soup with salsa and sour cream if in the area this weekend. Again, incredible soups!!!
This has to be the best restaurant in Big Bear. We had lunch there this afternoon. I had the cold portobello sandwich and my hubby had the grilled portobello sandwich. Both sandwiches were amazing, generous portions, fantastic service. Â Very nice waitresses! We had our lab with us so we dined on the outdoor patio. Â Will we be back? You betcha!
Review Source:North Shore Cafe actually goes beyond my expectations! Sometimes you wouldn't anticipate a spectacular eating experience in a place like Big Bear (no offense to the people living there), but boy am I wrong. Their pancakes are amazingly fluffy and its portion is quite humongous! One of my friends ordered the Fish burger and it is very decent indeed! Being said, North Shore Cafe definitely is worth every penny; and with the park just right across from the restaurant, this place is an outstanding brunch spot!
Review Source:This is one of our favorite breakfast spots in Big Bear. It is rather small, but quaint and charming. My favorite menu item is the bread pudding French toast. The servers are super sweet, especially the lady with the dreadlocks. There is parking in front ,and across the street in front of the park.
Review Source:Absolutely delicious! I had the artichoke melt w/o bacon and added tomato. It was awesome. The bread it came on was like garlic bread! I chose soup as my side dish. It was a cream of spinach w/ couscous. Everything was delicious. My boyfriend had a double peppercorn burger w/ avocado and he loved it.
The waitress was amazing.
After Bear Mountain Ski Resort switched out the yummiest burger patty known to man that I have ever graced my tastebuds on, to some disgustingly flavorless and obsolete meat groundings-up sorry excuse for a burger patty, I had to go in search of another burger to take its place in the area. When mentioning what occurred to my all-time favorite burger to the locals whenever I stopped for coffee or gas (obviously this is one of the hardest breakups I've ever been through), the locals seemed to mention North Shore Cafe. While I was skeptical, it was worth the venture to that mythical place called Fawnskin (aka North Shore Big Bear Lake).
I ordered The North Shore Double Cheeseburger, can't go wrong if the burger is named after the place, right? It was 18 ounces of beefiness and cheesiness stuffed between what seemed to be an arbitrary bun/meatholder if you will. If size was all that mattered, then this burger and I would be walking down the aisle together in an instant. This, just like being in the wake of other breakups, proved to be a formidable rebound: juicy, fresh, and two seismically large...patties. You can also choose from a large selection of side dishes, broccoli, pasta salad, home fries, salad, etc...
While this burger was yummy, it was still no match for the late Bear Mtn burger from Christmases past. All the signs are there: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance. It's going to be awhile before I can ever taste another burger without comparing it to the Bear Mtn burger. For the meanwhile, North Shore Cafe's burger will do.
NOTE: My gf ordered the Peppercorn Burger, which was delicious, topped with bacon and stuffed with crushed green peppercorns. This burger was like a meat bomb of flavor! And a better contender to the Bear Mtn burger than the North Shore Double Cheeseburger.
Fantastic lunch spot and one of the better burgers I've had in a long time. I'm a bit fussy about bacon cheeseburgers in that I feel that bbq sauce is an absolute must, and they don't have any there - bummer. Anyway, our server was great and the space itself is really cute. Oh and dessert. Mud pie. With oreo crust. DO IT.
Review Source:The outside of the North Shore Cafe consists of a blue-gray wood-paneled building shadowed by towering trees. The menu is sophisticated, not what you would expect from a place with the word "cafe" in the name. It's a very small place both inside and out, of the sort where you can overhear conversation on the other side of the patio or dining room and also from the kitchen. As such, it's probably not the best place for large or boisterous groups, especially during peak hours. The good: Many ingredients, from soup to salad dressing, are made from scratch. The service my spouse and I received was friendly. Of course, it helped getting there early in the dinner hour before the staff was overwhelmed (this place is popular, as such!).
The atmosphere is casual with minimalist decor, dark colors and low lights. To an entirely new customer driving by, one might expect fast food-type service from North Shore Cafe but dishes are made-to-order and one should expect to wait accordingly. As for my own experience, I would say that there are probably other things on the menu to try that would have been more exciting and novel than what I ordered. At this point, I can't conclude it's the best place I've eaten in Big Bear but I would be happy to try other dishes of the sort people rave about elsewhere in these reviews in order to update my review on a future visit.
In conclusion, having read the reviews on Yelp beforehand, it's clear you can't keep all of the patrons happy all of the time and some here have complained (hey, it happens!). Overwhelmingly, however, Yelp reviews are extremely positive. Still, having said that, I wouldn't want to get on management's bad side judging from some of the responses they've left for less-than-happy Yelpers. At this point I can't consider myself a regular by any means --- I'm on vacation like many others who eat here --- but I appreciated the service we received and would consider sampling the offerings at North Shore Cafe again when I'm in town.
The incident involved our party of 6 waiting over 45min for a waitress. To help her we took it upon ourselves to clearly and legibly write down all of our orders on a napkin to save her time. She came and re-copied the whole order on her pad, put the napkin in her pocket, then one by one confirmed with each persons order with them adding stuff to her pad.
Even though none of us had coffee or even water at this point, she continued to seat an additional 20 plus people over the next 30 minutes. Restaurant 101 is take care of the people sitting down first.
When the meal came out 45 minutes later, Â it was missing one persons meal and several sides. Although we all started eating because we thought she would show up soon with it. Â We never saw our waitress again. Meanwhile we gave my uncle a little bit from all of our meals so he could have something to eat. At this point we had been there 2 hours and were given one cup and never another refill. I don't even drink coffee and good thing I brought my own water. A new waitress came on, and started helping all of the new tables and ignored ours. We asked the other waitress if she could ask our waitress what happened to our sides and missing meal and if it was possible to get coffee because every time the other waitress came out everyone got coffee but us.
Our waitress then showed up angry and started picking up our plates very disgruntled saying that she would have to put that order in behind the 30 plus people that had now come after us, as she TOOK MY UNCLES PLATE OF FOOD we had given him, right out from under his fork! We were all in shock, still not sure if she was serious.
We asked why our meal she missed would go in behind everyone else's and she didn't have an answer. Later I figured out that she didn't want you to know she made the mistake and that is why.
Still I did not leave a review (until now), nor did I encourage or have knowledge that anyone else at our party did, until Sunday, when they refused to serve me in front of my friends (completely innocent bystanders) and asked me to leave after my terrible review.
I have never left a bad review for anyone in my life and have only shared the positive side of your food and establishment with my friends and family. I make excuses for peoples actions all the time. When I see something that is unfair I usually get out of the way, UNLESS it involves innocent people.
I did not post a negative review in the past like you accused me of, nor was I responsible for one in any way. I was respectful and forgiving.
I will not be attacked for helping make your waitresses job easier. I did whatever I could to make my family feel comfortable and cover up for your waitresses terrible mistakes and shocking attitude. But her actions just got worse and worse to the point of no return. My family are still talking about their experience there and I'm sure forever will be now. Good thing for you that they aren't from here and they don't have yelp accounts. Â
Let me remind you yelp is a place to review service and product. I tried to discuss this with you in the kitchen away from the public and offline after you involved innocent bystanders and then threatened me with the police if I didn't leave, because you wanted to be angry and make me your scapegoat. Your behavior was not appropriate, your accusations unwarranted. Your excuses and actions are ridiculous.
This isn't a forum for bashing customers that share their experiences. I had to change my name on my profile because frankly seeing that kind of anger lash out in public scared me.
I think people should be warned about your place. I see there are people on yelp that agree. Your attempt at making this personal to divert the attention from the issue is in poor taste.
People that come to your restaurant are forced to overlook their service because they have no choice once they're already all the way over there on the other side of the lake, and would have to wait in long lines elsewhere. People be warned.
I was a chef for many years overseas and in the U.S. and my family have owned many restaurants. I understand the restaurant business, people, their problems and will not take your abuse or any of the other unscrupulous people you keep as your company.
I have run my own business now for 15 years, I am a life coach, ski race coach and mtn bike coach, a body worker, spiritual healer, and philanthropist, which is why I am still in shock that not only you can act like that and get away with it, but that you would. I ask MY customers how I can be better, and am constantly improving my skills. This is the way of service. Choose your battles, I am not the enemy.
5-staff. Friendly. Interesting. Cares about making sure you order a dish you'll enjoy! Â I believe this is still family owned.
4-not enough seating. They really need to make this place handicap friendly, so they lose a star:(. The bathroom isn't even large enough for a mom, I can't imagine being elderly or disabled.
5-food. Isn't it alway about the food? Â :). Hot, well cooked and seasoned JUST right.
They make their own sausage!!! Â You HAVE to try it!!
Arrived ten minutes before closing. One waitress said they would take a dine-out order. When we walked in the other waitress said no. When we told her the one cleaning outside said she would take our order she went along and helped us. The one taking our order was friendly enough, Philipina looking girl. She turned away a group of 11 which if I were working there I would have stayed open considering that is practically half of their entire occupancy. That is neither her nor there. Just worth mentioning because it looks like from other yelpers that they are lacking in customer service.
The food was good, well, the sandwiches.
My order, Patty melt: Good flavor, thick patty, cooked medium rare as requested and executed properly. Was a little greasy, but I wasn't shocked by that.....it is a patty melt afterall. I would recommend this dish. I order it with fries and they were under cooked and I didn't finish them because of that. They didn't strain them very much either as the grease ran off of them a started to saturate my patty melt. That didn't ruin it though, I saw it coming and transferred it elsewhere away from the grease.
Girlfriend's order, Artichoke grilled cheese: Very tasty sandwich with a strong garlic taste which I like and so does she. I would highly recommend this if you are out for a sandwich. I believe she ordered it with onion rings and there were no complaints there that I recall. Â
Two of our friend's orders: Both ordered teriyaki burgers. They both really liked their burgers  and called it BOMB. One had the same problem with the fries as I did. The other got pasta salad and thought it was great. She had no complaints and he rarely if ever gets heart burn and complained of having really bad heart burn after. I am gonna guess because the food overall was pretty greasy.
No real service issues, but I am the type to make it very known if I have an issue so it can be rectified right away. Usually it gets resolved and further complaint is not warranted, but I will make people aware.
Thanks, hope this helps. Maybe it would be best to stay away from that muscle dish everyone complains about and stick to the basics. If you're out for the basics, I would recommend this place to a friend.
"Nothing like piling on old pancakes and syrup after a night of beer drinking."
The quote above is from the classic, hilarious party movie Dazed and Confused. On a recent trip to Big Bear my large group and I found ourselves doing exactly what the line says, getting down on pancakes after a crazy night of drinking at the lake.
Located in the tiny city of Fawnskin, North Shore Café is a cozy little restaurant that offers both indoor and outdoor seating. The indoor dining room closely resembles a cabin you'd find on the lake, which was cool.
North Shore is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but they are mostly known for their breakfast fare. Besides their large everyday menu, North Shore also has daily specials they post on a chalk board.
Since my dining party was over 15 people, I won't list all the food we ordered (yes, I did go person to person and sample their food) but I will list what I thought was the best.
Banana nut pancakes
Buttermilk pancakes w/ eggs and a sausage loaf
Joes special (ground beef, spinach, onions, eggs and cheese) w/ hashbrowns
Stuffed pancakes w/ strawberries and whipped cream
Corn beef Hash w/ eggs and potatoes
Onion rings (I was craving them)
The banana nut pancakes were the best out of all the sweets at the table. The batter was loaded with banana slices and nuts. The stuffed cakes were also really good but SUPER sweet. The Joe's Special, which was like a scramble, was good but I thought it could have used a tad more seasoning or spices. The Corn Beef Hash was delicious, as was their homemade onion rings but my favorite thing during breakfast was their sausage loaf. Technically, it's called a sausage patty but this huge piece of pork was MUCH bigger than any patty I've ever seen. It looked like a mini loaf of bread. It was AMAZING, one of the best pieces of breakfast sausage I've ever had.
Prices here were cheap and the service was wonderful. The staff worked hard to get a bunch of tables together in their small dining room to accommodate our large party.
Next time I find myself at Big Bear Lake I'll definitely be making a return visit to North Shore Café for breakfast.
We rode in from Orange County, this was the highest rated eatery around the lake. Â Small and quaint, a hidden gem on some magnificently twisty roads. Â Highly recommended for anyone else that is out for a motorcycle ride through Big Bear Lake as their destination for breakfast/lunch.
I ordered the bread pudding french toast with eggs sunny side up, and a sausage patty. Â Spread on the fresh buttermilk cream and maple syrup, just amazing as you get that sweetness mixed with the cinnamon in the bread pudding french toast. Â The sunny side up eggs were cooked just right. Â The sausage patty was spiced and my first time having it in the form of a square patty. Â I did not want to leave until I finished. Â The portions were large so I had a lot of work ahead of me, but I sat triumphant happily rubbing my round stuffed stomach.
I did have to walk and pace around a little before hopping back onto the bike to continue our trip out to Arrowhead through the Rim of the World. Â I'm definitely stopping by here again next time I riding through the area!
Service was a bit slow, but that was because there was only one waitress on-shift hustling from table to table. Â It would appear the locals approve of this cafe for their morning breakfast. Â Food did take a while to prepare, but from my vantage point I could only see one person in the kitchen as well. Â We weren't in a hurry so we just relaxed. Â It was a great day. Â This was all on a lazy Thursday morning around 11:30AM.
If you are looking for a great little place to  have a wonderful casual home cooked breakfast this is the place to go.  It's located about 10 minutes away in Fawnskin.  It's very homey and you are treated like family there. Â
Be hungry, because this place is a place you can go to satisfy a big hunger. Â The food is great. Â And when you are done eating there is a great little antique shop next door that you can walk around and let some of that digest before you drive back into town. Â
This place gets two glowing thumbs up.
Yum Yum Yum!
When you go to a touristy place... you don't expect there to be good food around. You really don't! You expect mediocre at best... but don't let this predilection get the best of you... this place is amazingly tasty! I mean... really really good!
We actually ended up coming here twice... once for dinner and the other for a brunch? in the early afternoon.
Thanks to this place... I now have a new favorite soup... Cream of Celery and Cauliflower.
Now, don't laugh. That doesn't sound good at all... but it was amazingly amazingly tasty!! Ahhh! My mouth is watering just thinking about it... It was creamy and delicious.... didn't taste at all like either. It was just sooo yummy!
For dinner, I had an artichoke multicolor bow tie pasta... which was yummy. I'm actually going to eat the leftovers right now... fresh basil, Â garlic, artichokes! Yum! It was delicious.
For brunch, I had a pastrami sandwich. The bread was a garlic bread...with provolone cheese. It was yum! The only negative was that maybe the pastrami was a bit too thick for my taste... but it was still good...and the side of the soup (again!) was to die for!
It's a small little place... but the food will definitely surprise you with how absolutely amazing it is! :)
On a side note:
We saw a bald eagle on the way here in the afternoon!
If you look out the window, into the little park across the street, you can see "the world's largest tire".
When i saw "french toast" and "bread pudding" - two of my favorite things, melded into one delicious breakfast item, I didn't even need to look at the rest of the menu.
When the server asked me if it was okay that ther were cherries in the bread pudding, I nearly fainted out of joy. THREE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS ALTOGETHER!
I nearly died of happiness eating here, and although the portion was huge, I wanted to order second one to take with me in the car to nibble on the drive down. My friends all ordered various things, burgers, hash, etc. etc. and enjoyed their food as well... but my blissful bubble of cherries and breadpudding and french toast made me oblivious to the exact details of their meals. All I know is.... North Shore Cafe... I WILL BE BACK.
If you are ever in the Big Bear area, take the trek over to Fawnskin and try this place out. This is probably the best restaurant in the big bear area. The food is great! I had the patty melt and it was the best I have ever had. I highly reccomend the onion rings. They are not the greasy, falling apart, bite into and the onion comes out type of onion ring. They are nicely battered and don't leave a pool pf grease on your plate.
North Shore Cafe only has 10 tables, so you wil have to wait. Just to warn you, large parties dine here(i.e. parties of 8, 10, 21). No matter what, expect to wait. The wait staff busts their butts so make sure to tip them well. It may take them a little while to acknowledge you when you walk in, but don't be offended.
The people that dine here are a good mix. Lots of 20 something college kids. So if you like hearing the word "like" as an adjective, this is the place for you. I am 34 and find it hillarious.
Despite whatever you may think from the name, Big Bear Lake isn't very big. Â Driving the perimeter takes like what...30 minutes? Â 45 maybe?
But needless to say, whatever it is that draws you out to the mountains, you will more than likely be wishing you could trade that 30 minutes of plush, tree ridden scenery in favor of something a little more substantial -- to the stomach, that is. Â Find yourself wistfully looking out the window for the next pit stop and then ... hark! Â A helpful sign announces that you're now "in Fawnskin", and then you see this place. Â The North Shore Cafe.
At first glance, the North Shore Cafe is just a greasy spoon HOWEVER, they most certainly are much much more. Â In fact, it's a charming little place -- dark and woodsey like a log cabin with that comfy, cozy, homey little reminder that yes, you are in...the mountains. Â Food is excellent...in that homestyle, larger portions, cooked-on-a-grill flavorful kind of way. Â I give the homemade corn beef hash and eggs 5 stars: delightfully grilled to extra crispy on one side, perfect for breaking your eggs, over medium, so that the yolk oozes all over. Â A spinach and feta omelette was also outstanding -- a winning combo with sauteed spinach and garlic, might I add?
Overall, I wholeheartedly believe that this is the best breakfast place NORTH of Big Bear Lake and definitely worth stopping in for. Â Friendly service too!
If you want a quick review, friendly service, but food was HORRIBLE.
It looked like your cool local cafe, with indoor and outdoor seating.
Was in the mood for some pasta in the afternoon.
Ordered Chicken Carbonara.
The soup that came with it was SALT soup. Horribly salty and omg, it haunts my tongue, it shivers whenever i think of the food there.
And then came the pasta.
The garlic bread was horrid! I mean, c'mon, how bad can you make garlic bread. They proved me wrong.
The worse was the GREEN coloured pasta. At first taste, i literally DROPPED my fork. It was SO SO bad!
Bland, Thick full of i think it was cheese. And it tasted like...omg....
sorry i need to go to the bathroom to throw up again now.....
I left still very hungry. The soup and pasta looked untouched.
Gotta get away? Â Yes, even further away than Big Bear Lake? Â Head around to the North Shore Cafe, in the little town of Fawnskin. Â
I was there during the Labor Day weekend, when all of the tourists (myself included) were running wild all over Big Bear Lake, and even in the small "city" that it is, there was still a slight sense of hustle and bustle as they dashed to-and-fro, shopping and eating, and dodging those strange wet things that kept falling from the sky. Â (The locals called them "rain.")
So on the last day of the weekend, upon the recommendations of the Good People of Yelp, I struck out with my dear wife for an even quieter morning repast at North Shore Cafe. Â We drove right past it the first time, but quickly circled back.
The breakfast menu offers the standard fare, but the quality is some of the finest I have ever had. Â The pancakes were nice and fluffy, with the edges being ever so gently crisped. Â Maple syrup was available upon request (for a small charge). Â Everything about the food was nothing but exceptional.
As we sat there, enjoying our meal, we saw and heard birds in the trees. Â A giant squirrel with a big bushy tail scampered up the roof of a nearby building. Â And a woman at the next table over told her grandchildren tales of when her father had fought in World War II.
We sat outside, right next to the road. Â While we waited for our food, we counted 5 cars driving past in 10 minutes. Â
Next time I head for Big Bear, North Shore Cafe is absolutely going to be on my list.