The Black Bear Pub Nanaimo in Vancouver Island

Traditional food menu, excellent gravy, generous food portions, outdoor seating with great view

Haven't been for a while really impressed great food and great service

Fun great atmosphere & fish n chips was good.

Food was good unfortunately the service was poor. Said she had only been working a few days. Not a well trained server.

Enjoyed the best chicken pot pie I've ever had! Friendly, fast service. Eating outside on the patio was lovely - thinking we have finally found "our favourite pub" .... until someone lit up a cigarette 2 tables down which ruined the whole experience. What's that about??!!

Under new mgmt and it shows. Great new menu and lovely setting. Poutine was great, try it again!

Wow!!! Such an amazing atmosphere. Young and old alike enjoy the food and excellent specials that change daily. Love the vibe as I walked through and shared pleasantries with the locals who feel just as comfortable as I did. The owners....well let's just say their pride shines bright at The Black Bear Pub!!!

Amazing staff and food!

The five star rating is based on previous experiences. Today we were part of 21 people in a group. The overall service was slow and kitchen organization was lacking. As a couple our experiences have always been positive.

The food had improved tremendously in the past 6 months and is back up to its excellent standard of 2 years ago. The chef is awesome. We are foodies and their burgers are wonderful. We loved the large Swiss cheese and mushroom burger. Even asked to meet the chef. This is probably the most serene place in all of Nanaimo overlooking Mtn Benson, Brannen Lake. We go there to watch the rabbits running around in the open grassy field. True relaxation.

Good selection of beer and good service however the nachos we ordered were not good. Stale tortilla chips and small serving size for $16.....

Havent been here since the new owners took over. Love the new menu, food was excellent and service was top notch. Beer list was okay, would like more craft options but overall definitely pretty decent. Will be back soon!

Good food and service

Used to be our go to place..not anymore...the newowners have squeezed the original staff out...been their 28 years so the new owners felt very threatened by them...nobody goes there anymore...it is a disaster waiting to happen...thank goodness there are better places close by...

Great spot, good food and good price.

Unfortunately very poor, the service was slow and the place was empty, servers were inattentive and worked on closing the place down we arrived, at 9 pm

Excellent service! Good food and drinks

Good service. A little run down. The soup was terrible. Way too salty and no flavour.

Nice locale. Food was good pub fare.

New, karaoke on Saturday nights!! Great set up. Good food. Black bear is where it's at!

Didn't eat but the new menu looks great. Enjoyed the drinks and service. Like the new open concept.

Great little pub with an out-in -the-country feel.... Great service and menu and good prices

Very nice atmoaphere. Decent food. Can't wait for patio season.

Food isn't the best, but it's ok. Outside Scenery is nice. Quite Dusty on the inside. The inside is neat, staff is friendly. I wouldn't go back unless there was a group event I had to attend. I've only been there once, I'm sure the locals like it :). I wouldn't say anything bad about my experience, just not my type of put.

Great patio to sit and enjoy a drink with friends on. Lake view. Food is great as well offering pub fare. Good value for your money and friendly staff.

Great price for delicious and generous portions. Great atmosphere. I definitely recommend :)

Unfortunately this place has a reputation for poor service, and has so for years. The food is pretty good (yum!), and the patio view is stellar, but that's about it. When are they going to get a decent standard of service?

EXPENCIVE, too much money for what you get!!!

Feel good pub. Simple food. Friendly server. Fish & chips were disapointingly under seasoned.

Very disorganized and extremely slow service. We waited the better part of 1 hour for our meal with no contact from staff until we flagged her down to inquire. At that point all we got was an embarrassed laugh and “sorry we are having problems in our kitchen”. Problems = forgot the order? The meal was unimpressive not to mention finding the staff hanging outside the establishment having a smoke break when we left. We won’t be back

Good to see it coming back to its once famous standards.. we had a beef dip and two Oduols near beers. Price was good and service was quick. I understand their are new owners. They are to be congratulated.. sign says kitchen open until 10:00 pm. That's good. Clean neat and tidy.. bathrooms spotless.. nice surrounding area.

Friendly staff, and a nice atmosphere. Great views over the lake.

Great view very cool staff!

New owners are doing their best to alienate both their long-time staff and customers. Sad to see this place fall so far, so fast. Avoid.

Good food there wings are the best

Bad food, small menu, horrible staff and owners. I have had friends who have worked here and says its one of the most unclean restaurants hes ever worked at. And from personal experience the staff are rude, slow, and get your order wrong. They have double charged my friends and I on several occasions. Dont bother coming here.

Disappointing celebration dinner with family and friends. Food was great, but service needs some improvement.

They have a great 3 pack of ingress portals accessible from the parking lot. I've never been inside the building, but I spend lots of time out front.

Great patio great wings

Awesome patio, staff are well anniversary expectations! Just a great little pub!

The Staff here are incredible!! They always make you feel welcome. Great selection of English/Irish beers on tap and very good food. Luv this place!!

They went out of their way to help Sears employees to have their fair well party. They closed their doors to the public and took such great care if us. The food and drinks were great. No complaints here

Love the outside patio on a sunny day. Food, wine and beer list are good. Staff friendly.

Great food well priced menu Good selection great flavor Great staff Great location When camping at Brannen Lake Campsite we always have to come for lunch or dinner

Good view from deck

Lousy service. Took forever to get food.. willnot go back again ever!

The staff are friendly and the place is clean. It's a little way of the beaten path but well worth it. Good food good people what more could you ask for.

Was a Great place...... another management change has resulted in two of their long time servers feeling the need to walk away.... some of thier bright new staff have felt the need to leave and or are actively looking for better conditions....Food was looking up but now who knows ..... been going there for years... I'm moving on

Stopped in for lunch Delicious chicken wings will definitely be back to try other menu options.

Great food, excellent staff, wonderful view. Hidden jewel.