Customers Swear By The Pot Roast At This Regional Chain Restaurant

By Stephanie Oliveira Nguyen
two friends dine out at a casual eatery Dusanpetkovic/Getty Images

When you think about West Coast food chains, you probably picture In-N-Out's drive thru, yet, there's a diner that's located in 14 states to date. And if social media reviews are to be believed, the pot roast at Black Bear Diner is something special.

"First on the list is the Slow Cooked Pot Roast at Black Bear Diner," recited one Facebook patron of a Yuma, CA location. "The meat is slow cooked with onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, red skin potatoes, herbs and spices, then served topped with brown gravy. It was moist and delicious." A Tacoma, WA customer took to Yelp to gush about the pot roast as well: "I got the big course pot roast with seasonal veggies and mac n cheese and [my wife] and I both agreed that it was the BEST pot roast we have ever had in our lives. Legitimately felt like an out-of-body experience, haha! It was a perfect moistness, the sauce was breathtakingly tasty." 

Meanwhile, on TripAdvisor, a customer of the La Habra, CA location wanted to make sure the sheer scale of the massive plate was illustrated: "Another pic of the pot roast after I started mowing on it. Wanted to show how much I got so I put a fork in the plate for a reference."

Black Bear Diner is building a reputation on comfort food

pot roast platter at black bear diner Grace Grogan/Facebook

Making quality pot roast yourself can be stressful and time-consuming. First, you have to pick the right cut of beef – culinary doyenne Julia Child liked rump roast for her pot roast – and then you have to know how much fat to trim from your meat. That's not even touching upon the volume or type of liquid in your pot, what ingredients can supercharge your pot roast, or what vegetables will complement the dish. Black Bear Diner seems to have the formula down pat, however.

Black Bear Diner isn't fine dining by any means. You might compare it to a Denny's or an IHOP — it serves breakfast all day, and its casual menu is long on generous portions of beloved comfort fare. We think this is the real magic behind the pot roast at this beloved, growing chain, which has its sights set on becoming a nationwide brand (per NRN). You'll see chicken fried steak and enormous omelets on the menu, but don't sleep on that pot roast.