we spent our night tonight there together just myself and my fiance. we had an absolutely wonderful experience. The owners were the most wonderful people. It was nice and quiet just him and I with a little music in the background with nice dim lighting. The food was out of this world! Very generous food portions! we will definitely be thinking about this place for a while!!! Honestly I don't think we could have had a better night! Thank you for making our night special
Andrew Mokhur
I do not understand why the reviews are so high for The Black Bear Bistro. Tuna Tartare gave off a taste of ground. Grilled Calamari with chutney served with mashed potatoes… Why the potatoes? Poblano peppers stuffed with lobster and shrimp with cheese. Served with quinoa veggies and … mashed potatoes… disappointed with bland taste and waste of seafood. Sesame Crusted Swordfish is sesame drizzled swordfish served with undercooked wild rice risotto veggies and… mashed potatoes… with a burnt reduction sauce. I don’t know whether I am more appalled by the incoherent pairing for sides, abysmal quality of dishes, or the fact that somehow this bistro has, at the moment, 326 reviews with 4.5 star average. Thankfully the light drinks were half decent and helped water down the aftertaste. Small place with a few-item menu should have the dishes perfected. To each their own but I am not planning on coming back here again. $210 for food and drinks.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Fish, Grilled Calamari
Nick Rodriguez
Absolutely amazing, the food was amazing, every item we ordered was spectacular including the wine pairing suggested by the chef. Service was phenomenal. Hands down the best restaurant in the NW suburbs and greater Chicagoland area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
William R Charles
Grill calamari is the best to die for and the snapper with that sauce they put over it is a bomb. Love it great chef. Was there for dinner 10th oct
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Caitlyn Wiley
The most delicious dinner and kind service!! I love how creative the menu is. The food is so yummy and the presentation is beautiful. Can’t wait to go again!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Marcella Mecher
WOW! This place is absolutely incredible. Each dish is a work of flavor art. Service is truly wonderful.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rachel L
My husband and I were absolutely blown away by The Black Bear Bistro. While the space itself is quaint and unassuming it sets the stage for the real stars the staff and food. From start to finish our server, Sarah, was warm and welcoming. She was very knowledgeable and made sure all our questions were answered. She informed us that everything is made in house and from scratch making dishes completely customizable and allergen friendly. The honey chipotle vinaigrette is the best salad dressing I’ve had in my life! My husband got the bison steak and I had the flank steak both were cooked perfectly. My husband has a gluten allergy and Chef Santiago went above and beyond to make sure my husbands food was safe. (He even made sure my meal was safe too) Their customer service was above and beyond. Even though this was our first time it felt like we had been going for years. Thank you to every single staff member at The Black Bear Bistro! This was honestly the best restaurant experience we have ever had and we will definitely be back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Bienvenida Amir
The menue attracted us to this restaurant. These are NOT your run of the mill dishes.
These dishes are an ochestration of pure pleasure for your taste buds. Chef's creations are the most beautiful and unique and he delivered! The service was outstanding and the atmosphere was great. Our experience was nothing short of perfection.
Had dinner with a group of friends. Everyone enjoyed their food. Calamari was excellent (I'm really fussy), the poblano pepper stuffed with salmon also delicious but very rich.
The menu tries lots of new things. Good if you want to explore a little outside your comfort zone.
Highly recommend asking for a table in the back room. The front is a bit crowded and gets very loud, the back is much more subdued.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fish
tom gust
Top notch chef Food prepared ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
andy gust
The flavor of everything I had was out of this world. The sauces blew my mind. You cant get food with flavor this good anywhere outside top restaurants in major cities. I cannot recommend this place enough.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ryan Nunsure
Food was either underwhelming or overwhelming, depending on dish. The presentation on these dishes were awesome, but when it came to the taste, a lot of flavors I found to clash. Specifically- the crab cakes and its sides were all delicious on their own, yet, when combined as one it was all too strong and left me quite unhappy and I’m not generally a picky person. An underwhelming dish I would say was their fried pickle and avocado starter. It was good, but still felt like it was lacking something. Not a big fan of the orange (creamy chipotle?) sauce on both the crab cakes and pickle starter. The best dish I got to taste however was the grilled flanked steak, as it was juicy, moist, and very well seasoned. Cooked the way I expected it to be! Service was warm yet inattentive at the same time. Workers were gone for the most part and only checked in here and there. I was left without water for a quite some time. Atmosphere is small, quaint, and simple. Personally, I do not mind this sort of setting but some might. I found it to be cozy. Not lots of decor if that matters. I would be open to visiting this place again and trying out new dishes to see if anything would change my mind and this review.
EDIT: I wish the menus were more specific in what the dishes contain. I wasn’t aware of what was coming with the crab cakes so I ordered a side thinking that was it but of course that was not the case. Doesn’t really state much aside from a few ingredients. It would make more sense to state the sides each dish comes with??
we spent our night tonight there together just myself and my fiance. we had an absolutely wonderful experience. The owners were the most wonderful people. It was nice and quiet just him and I with a little music in the background with nice dim lighting. The food was out of this world! Very generous food portions! we will definitely be thinking about this place for a while!!! Honestly I don't think we could have had a better night! Thank you for making our night special
I do not understand why the reviews are so high for The Black Bear Bistro. Tuna Tartare gave off a taste of ground.
Grilled Calamari with chutney served with mashed potatoes… Why the potatoes?
Poblano peppers stuffed with lobster and shrimp with cheese. Served with quinoa veggies and … mashed potatoes… disappointed with bland taste and waste of seafood.
Sesame Crusted Swordfish is sesame drizzled swordfish served with undercooked wild rice risotto veggies and… mashed potatoes… with a burnt reduction sauce.
I don’t know whether I am more appalled by the incoherent pairing for sides, abysmal quality of dishes, or the fact that somehow this bistro has, at the moment, 326 reviews with 4.5 star average. Thankfully the light drinks were half decent and helped water down the aftertaste. Small place with a few-item menu should have the dishes perfected. To each their own but I am not planning on coming back here again. $210 for food and drinks.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Fish, Grilled Calamari
Absolutely amazing, the food was amazing, every item we ordered was spectacular including the wine pairing suggested by the chef. Service was phenomenal. Hands down the best restaurant in the NW suburbs and greater Chicagoland area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Grill calamari is the best to die for and the snapper with that sauce they put over it is a bomb. Love it great chef. Was there for dinner 10th oct
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
The most delicious dinner and kind service!! I love how creative the menu is. The food is so yummy and the presentation is beautiful. Can’t wait to go again!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
WOW! This place is absolutely incredible. Each dish is a work of flavor art. Service is truly wonderful.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My husband and I were absolutely blown away by The Black Bear Bistro. While the space itself is quaint and unassuming it sets the stage for the real stars the staff and food. From start to finish our server, Sarah, was warm and welcoming. She was very knowledgeable and made sure all our questions were answered. She informed us that everything is made in house and from scratch making dishes completely customizable and allergen friendly. The honey chipotle vinaigrette is the best salad dressing I’ve had in my life! My husband got the bison steak and I had the flank steak both were cooked perfectly. My husband has a gluten allergy and Chef Santiago went above and beyond to make sure my husbands food was safe. (He even made sure my meal was safe too) Their customer service was above and beyond. Even though this was our first time it felt like we had been going for years. Thank you to every single staff member at The Black Bear Bistro! This was honestly the best restaurant experience we have ever had and we will definitely be back!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
The menue attracted us to this restaurant. These are NOT your run of the mill dishes.
These dishes are an ochestration of pure pleasure for your taste buds. Chef's creations are the most beautiful and unique and he delivered! The service was outstanding and the atmosphere was great. Our experience was nothing short of perfection.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Raisin & Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding, Salad, Key Lime Pie, Bistro Jambalaya
Persimmon mojito. Everything was to die for
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had dinner with a group of friends. Everyone enjoyed their food. Calamari was excellent (I'm really fussy), the poblano pepper stuffed with salmon also delicious but very rich.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
Love this place. One of my all time favorites
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The menu tries lots of new things. Good if you want to explore a little outside your comfort zone.
Highly recommend asking for a table in the back room. The front is a bit crowded and gets very loud, the back is much more subdued.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fish
Top notch chef
Food prepared ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The flavor of everything I had was out of this world. The sauces blew my mind. You cant get food with flavor this good anywhere outside top restaurants in major cities. I cannot recommend this place enough.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food was either underwhelming or overwhelming, depending on dish. The presentation on these dishes were awesome, but when it came to the taste, a lot of flavors I found to clash. Specifically- the crab cakes and its sides were all delicious on their own, yet, when combined as one it was all too strong and left me quite unhappy and I’m not generally a picky person. An underwhelming dish I would say was their fried pickle and avocado starter. It was good, but still felt like it was lacking something. Not a big fan of the orange (creamy chipotle?) sauce on both the crab cakes and pickle starter. The best dish I got to taste however was the grilled flanked steak, as it was juicy, moist, and very well seasoned. Cooked the way I expected it to be!
Service was warm yet inattentive at the same time. Workers were gone for the most part and only checked in here and there. I was left without water for a quite some time.
Atmosphere is small, quaint, and simple. Personally, I do not mind this sort of setting but some might. I found it to be cozy. Not lots of decor if that matters.
I would be open to visiting this place again and trying out new dishes to see if anything would change my mind and this review.
EDIT: I wish the menus were more specific in what the dishes contain. I wasn’t aware of what was coming with the crab cakes so I ordered a side thinking that was it but of course that was not the case. Doesn’t really state much aside from a few ingredients. It would make more sense to state the sides each dish comes with??
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
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