Great location. Pretty darn good food. And a beautiful lake with tons of recreational opportunities.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Kayla Stokes
It was busy, but the staff was amazing! The food was really good and we loved sitting out on the deck at the water. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Flounder
Elizabeth Compton
Parking: On the water so only on front ofbuilding
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Michael Cantrell
The Philly cheese sandwich was to dry and old meat did not taste
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 1
Karen Histed
I don't know what happened to this place but it's the only place on Lake James to eat. Maybe it changed owners or something. Got there at 12:30. Took an hour and a half for us to get a seat for two. They told us it would be 15 minutes half the place had empty tables. I found out later that the manager told them to have everybody wait because they didn't have enough staff to cook for us it's a destination place so there's no place close to just go to so we waited when we finally got or ders in. It took 10 minutes or 15 minutes to get our water because he had to wait for the bartender to give him ice. We ordered some flounder sandwiches. They came with no knives, no pepper salt. They were very thin and it took us an hour to get it. I had no tomatoes with mine at all and a skimpy little piece of lettuce. Pretty poor quality. We had a couple of drinks at the bar while we were waiting to even get her table but we couldn't sit at the bar because people were sitting there so we had to stand for an hour and a half. I would not recommend this place anymore. I'm 68 years old and have bad knees and had no place to sit. I own property at Lake James and in Morganton I would not suggest anybody to go there at this time.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Jennifer Parker
Food and service was amazing! We were a large party of 9 and was well taken care of. Waitress was amazing! Didn't get name but working hard while with child. 10/10 recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Flounder
Mitchell Elliott (NecroPlague)
If you are here for dinner and not the band, they forget about you. Seems to take care of you if you sit outside with the band. Took an hour and half to get seated to a half empty dinning room. Flounder was great but the sweet potato fries was cold. They cannot split bills more than two ways.. will not return and highly do not
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Fried
Ike Digman
Great location... dinner... not so much.Table not cleanVery slow serviceNo olives so no martini for G, had to have just water. Water refill was a little yellow... not clear so didn't drink.Okra was coldCatfish was warm, not served when done.No silverware till well after we got our entree.Salad served after entrees.Overall disappointment
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 1
Chrys Mouser
Long wait to get in and people that came after us were seat before us. Waited 5-7 min for drink order to be taken. Table was never wiped off. Waited an hour for our food and the appetizer came 5 min before food. When we ask for silverware they questioned who needed it instead of bringing us all utensils. Food was Luke warm not really hot. Then the check came. There were three couples and they would only split two ways or evenly 3 ways. They would not split the ticket for what each group got. Once we questioned the waitress got attitude and did not come back to get our payment card. Had to go complain at that point. Avoid at all cost.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Flounder Platter
Greenspan Wellness Center Testimonials & Tips
wow...what a fun evening for my wife and I. Put our Malibu ski boat in at the boat ramp across from the marina. Putted out a bit and dropped anchor. Layed on the deck basking in the sun listening to great tunes in the boat. About 7 pm we piloted over to Black Bear Marina, docked at the very easily accessible dock. Walked up to the restaurant and got a table overlooking the water on a magical evening with a slight breeze. The DJ had an incredible sound system and was killing it this eve to a full house. Our wings came in short time and wre perfectly cooked and seasoned. My Margarita was delicious. Burgers came out shortly after and were incredible. We REALLY enjoyed ourselves and thank all the staff at Black Bear for doing an amazing job tonight.
Great selection of dishes and everyone was happy with their plate.Nice to sit on the side of the lake and enjoy a relaxing meal!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Landshark
Beth Avent
After going to the Emerald Village, the whole family was hangry. I Google a place to eat nearby on the way down the mountain. I saw a lot of potential places, but they were all closed or closing within the hour since it is Sunday.By the time my cell service stabilized, I found the listing for Bear Creek Marina & restaurant. We quickly set the destination into the GPS and went through new winding roads until we arrived at this amazing river front establishment.We sat on the patio bar and ordered our food. Our waitress was kind but unattentive. We received water from a passing waitress and additional sauces from the food runner. Everyone was nice enough, but we had to ask the passing waitress (that brought us a pitcher of water) to hunt down our waitress for additional items to our order.I asked for fried shrimp but received grilled. We had a bit of a wait for our food and the waitress had disappeared (even with all of our waters drained) so I didn't send it back, I just ate it. I probably needed at least *one thing* on my plate *not* deep fried, anyway.The food was delicious. Everyone was pleased with what they ordered. For the price, the serving portions are good. I saw a lot of smiling faces around the patio. It felt like our service issue was an isolated case.Kid-friendliness: There is a kids' menu that is reasonably priced.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Shrimp Basket
G.W. Weber
Arrived at 7 pm on a Sunday evening during the rain, after checking online that they were still open (until 8 pm). They turned us away, saying they were too busy to allow anyone else in. I'm glad their business is doing so well. I've never been turned away by a restaurant before, an hour before closing time. Keep this in mind before deciding to eat here, you may have either an exceptionally long wait or be turned away completely. Since it's way off the beaten path, it's off-putting to drive all the way there just to be turned away and have to drive all the way back to town to look for somewhere else to eat. Maybe they'd do well to stay open later if they're so busy they're turning diners away. Just a thought.
Joyce Gerlits
Beautiful scenery, great place to visit. Very good food. Live band music on the deck on weekends when acheduled. Worth the drive.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Gregory Pack
We stopped by Bear Creek marina on a weekend camping trip to Lake James State Park. The staff was friendly and inviting the food was delicious. We had the buffalo chicken pizza which I highly recommend. Our server Alexis did an awesome job and checked in on us regularly. At one point the manager came over with a smile to make sure everything was great - and it was. We were able to pull our boat up to the dock behind the restaurant, and there was plenty of space. Even though there was a decent crowd we did not have to wait to get a table, and our food came right out. I think a lot of reviews on this restaurant are old because there were servers buzzing around all over and smiles on faces everywhere. I highly recommend stopping by Bear Creek Marina and Restaurant if you are in the local area , it was a five-star experience.
Great location. Pretty darn good food. And a beautiful lake with tons of recreational opportunities.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
It was busy, but the staff was amazing! The food was really good and we loved sitting out on the deck at the water. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Flounder
Parking: On the water so only on front ofbuilding
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
The Philly cheese sandwich was to dry and old meat did not taste
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 1
I don't know what happened to this place but it's the only place on Lake James to eat. Maybe it changed owners or something. Got there at 12:30. Took an hour and a half for us to get a seat for two. They told us it would be 15 minutes half the place had empty tables. I found out later that the manager told them to have everybody wait because they didn't have enough staff to cook for us it's a destination place so there's no place close to just go to so we waited when we finally got or ders in. It took 10 minutes or 15 minutes to get our water because he had to wait for the bartender to give him ice. We ordered some flounder sandwiches. They came with no knives, no pepper salt. They were very thin and it took us an hour to get it. I had no tomatoes with mine at all and a skimpy little piece of lettuce. Pretty poor quality. We had a couple of drinks at the bar while we were waiting to even get her table but we couldn't sit at the bar because people were sitting there so we had to stand for an hour and a half. I would not recommend this place anymore. I'm 68 years old and have bad knees and had no place to sit. I own property at Lake James and in Morganton I would not suggest anybody to go there at this time.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Food and service was amazing! We were a large party of 9 and was well taken care of. Waitress was amazing! Didn't get name but working hard while with child. 10/10 recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Flounder
If you are here for dinner and not the band, they forget about you. Seems to take care of you if you sit outside with the band. Took an hour and half to get seated to a half empty dinning room. Flounder was great but the sweet potato fries was cold. They cannot split bills more than two ways.. will not return and highly do not
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Fried
Great location... dinner... not so much.Table not cleanVery slow serviceNo olives so no martini for G, had to have just water. Water refill was a little yellow... not clear so didn't drink.Okra was coldCatfish was warm, not served when done.No silverware till well after we got our entree.Salad served after entrees.Overall disappointment
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 1
Long wait to get in and people that came after us were seat before us. Waited 5-7 min for drink order to be taken. Table was never wiped off. Waited an hour for our food and the appetizer came 5 min before food. When we ask for silverware they questioned who needed it instead of bringing us all utensils. Food was Luke warm not really hot. Then the check came. There were three couples and they would only split two ways or evenly 3 ways. They would not split the ticket for what each group got. Once we questioned the waitress got attitude and did not come back to get our payment card. Had to go complain at that point. Avoid at all cost.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Flounder Platter
wow...what a fun evening for my wife and I. Put our Malibu ski boat in at the boat ramp across from the marina. Putted out a bit and dropped anchor. Layed on the deck basking in the sun listening to great tunes in the boat. About 7 pm we piloted over to Black Bear Marina, docked at the very easily accessible dock. Walked up to the restaurant and got a table overlooking the water on a magical evening with a slight breeze. The DJ had an incredible sound system and was killing it this eve to a full house. Our wings came in short time and wre perfectly cooked and seasoned. My Margarita was delicious. Burgers came out shortly after and were incredible. We REALLY enjoyed ourselves and thank all the staff at Black Bear for doing an amazing job tonight.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Great selection of dishes and everyone was happy with their plate.Nice to sit on the side of the lake and enjoy a relaxing meal!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Landshark
After going to the Emerald Village, the whole family was hangry. I Google a place to eat nearby on the way down the mountain. I saw a lot of potential places, but they were all closed or closing within the hour since it is Sunday.By the time my cell service stabilized, I found the listing for Bear Creek Marina & restaurant. We quickly set the destination into the GPS and went through new winding roads until we arrived at this amazing river front establishment.We sat on the patio bar and ordered our food. Our waitress was kind but unattentive. We received water from a passing waitress and additional sauces from the food runner. Everyone was nice enough, but we had to ask the passing waitress (that brought us a pitcher of water) to hunt down our waitress for additional items to our order.I asked for fried shrimp but received grilled. We had a bit of a wait for our food and the waitress had disappeared (even with all of our waters drained) so I didn't send it back, I just ate it. I probably needed at least *one thing* on my plate *not* deep fried, anyway.The food was delicious. Everyone was pleased with what they ordered. For the price, the serving portions are good. I saw a lot of smiling faces around the patio. It felt like our service issue was an isolated case.Kid-friendliness: There is a kids' menu that is reasonably priced.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Shrimp Basket
Arrived at 7 pm on a Sunday evening during the rain, after checking online that they were still open (until 8 pm). They turned us away, saying they were too busy to allow anyone else in. I'm glad their business is doing so well. I've never been turned away by a restaurant before, an hour before closing time. Keep this in mind before deciding to eat here, you may have either an exceptionally long wait or be turned away completely. Since it's way off the beaten path, it's off-putting to drive all the way there just to be turned away and have to drive all the way back to town to look for somewhere else to eat. Maybe they'd do well to stay open later if they're so busy they're turning diners away. Just a thought.
Beautiful scenery, great place to visit. Very good food. Live band music on the deck on weekends when acheduled. Worth the drive.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
We stopped by Bear Creek marina on a weekend camping trip to Lake James State Park. The staff was friendly and inviting the food was delicious. We had the buffalo chicken pizza which I highly recommend. Our server Alexis did an awesome job and checked in on us regularly. At one point the manager came over with a smile to make sure everything was great - and it was. We were able to pull our boat up to the dock behind the restaurant, and there was plenty of space. Even though there was a decent crowd we did not have to wait to get a table, and our food came right out. I think a lot of reviews on this restaurant are old because there were servers buzzing around all over and smiles on faces everywhere. I highly recommend stopping by Bear Creek Marina and Restaurant if you are in the local area , it was a five-star experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Traditional Bone