Captain's Anchorage Restaurant and Bar

Great food, cozy atmosphere (not loud!), and friendly staff.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Highly recommend. The food was great, the service was excellent. I will be coming back here again.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Been coming here for over 30 years and never disappoints. Great food - great service. Especially from Lorraine.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Decent place with dim atmosphere food is good but extremely overpriced! I thought my hometown Miami was expensive but this place just beat it. 37$ for farmed salmon and 1 baked potato 🥔 is wild 🤪 pardon my French. Service is slow. Many vacant tables while the host is making you wait for 30 min to get a table … a bit disappointed

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 3

I am a long-time patron of the Captain's Anchorage. Due to family I haven't been able to come up since 2018. I just recently visited last weekend October 26, 2025 and I noticed a big change in food quality. The service is excellent. Lorraine, the head bartender is spot on. I ordered the anchor away filet mignon crab and bearnaise sauce, baked potato. Due to cost they no longer have a soup salad bar which is a major disappointment. They order the bread from Vons grocery up the street where in the past used to get an assortment of warm bread in a basket. They now give you a couple pieces of chewy bread and butter. They offer a dinner salad OR soup now with the entree. The fillet was practically flavorless and the crab was little to be found. The bearnaise sauce was very gelatinous and cold and did not have enough tarragon. As well they discontinued placing artichoke on the anchor away which added flavor to the dish along with a spiced apple slice on the side. The baked potato was dried out. I just now have read some of the recent reviews and it does concur with the experience that I had this last weekend. I did speak to the manager a little bit about my experience when I was there, he tried to be receptive but, I felt like I was brushed off and he didn't want to hear it. I hope the Captain's Anchorage returns to the high food standards and portions that they used to have pre-covid.

Food: 3

Tonight we enjoyed the whole Captain's Anchorage experience! Almost 80 years of tradition as an iconic restaurant in Big Bear, the rustic charm, the outstanding service, and the incredible food. This is always one of our highlights with each visit to Big Bear.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The food and experience were so great I went two days in a row! The Buffalo shortribs and the scallops blew my mind! Love it! Classic and themed old fashioned drinks made it a fun & tasty experience

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Obviously every restaurant is going to have it's good and it's bad days, and im willing to concede that perhaps I went on one of their off days and it's usually not so terrible, but all I can speak to is my own experience. It was two of us and we waited almost 2 hours, from 7:15 to 8:58, and all we got were our appetizers of exactly four pieces of shrimp and a steamed artichoke. When we finally got our food, around 8:55, my dish was ridiculously salty and the other dish was flavorless, it was actually kind of ironic. I can't even be that mad, it was such a silly situation. And yes, I documented the exact times because there was nothing else to do once the conversation had died without the first hour and a half. I get that the kitchen was having problems that day, but I still have nowhere else to vent my frustrations of wasting my time so here I am :)

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 2

Absolutely lovely dinner! Toni was the best, quick and friendly! Prime rib was excellent and the live music was really great.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Went there for the first time while enjoying a 3 day weekend in Big Bear Lake. Decided to check it out after playin rock-paper-scissors with my sons and soooo glad I won. Our food was hands down the best I have ever had in Big Bear! I got the ribeye and it was so tastey that it exceeded many other 5 star spots I have been to. The staff made you feel like you were at home. And Val, makes the BEST damn Old Fashioned ya will EVER drink!!! And by the friendly atmosphere with the other local patrons there, you can tell that they frequent there often for a reason!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Food is pricey but not any better than chain restaurants like Cattleman's or Coco. Very dark inside.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

The best restaurant in the town 10/10 :)

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Really enjoyed our dinner. The clam chowder was spot on. Wait staff was friendly and attentive, manager even came over to check in with us. Definitely will come back when in Big Bear.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

This has been my dad's favorite restaurant for 40 years. We always go for birthdays and anniversaries. It's too expensive to go on a regular basis. My parents always get prime rib and it's always been good. It's expensive but it used to be worth it. They went for his birthday on the 24th and the prime rib had no flavor. My mom said it tasted like it had been in the freezer for a long time. They like to drink scotch and water but there was no Chivas so they were given something else which didn't taste good at all. After 40 years of being a loyal customer my dad said I don't think we'll go here anymore. The service wasn't good either. There weren't enough servers and the girl was frazzled trying to keep up with everybody. People go there and pay the high prices for the good food so if you are cutting corners on the food people won't go there anymore.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 1

Service: 1

Fantastic old school vibe. Loved it.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Prime Rib Dinner, Clam Chowder Soup