Bear Pit BBQ Restaurant Reviews

I would just like to say the ribs are very dry the desert was pathetic!

I've been going here since I eas a child. It's still the best place to go for the best BBQ.

Stepping back into time, I was a kid when I first went . foods still good.

Great service friendly atmosphere. Delicious food.

The only reason we came here was because it was the closest to the hotel .. By far the best bar-b-Q place I've been to!

There was a long wait for how slow it was at the time. Servers are very friendly but the restaurant was quite unappealing. I saw what looked like a cockroach on one wall, and some of the food looked like it was going bad. Bbq sauce was really tasty, but overall way to expensive for the quality.

The food is always perfect and amazing and the service is the best!!

It was delicious, I had dinner and lunch the day they gave me so much

As always the service was only outdone by the food.

Been eating at the Bear Pit since 1960. Best BBQ anywhere! Be sure to order their special sandwiches on garlic toast.

Have been going there for 45 years. Miss there smoked hole turkey takeout.

Delicious food, amazing staff, relaxed atmosphere, reasonable prices. The best BBQ spot for miles. My son and I enjoy going there a lot, we're there almost every week!!

Dry meat no barbecue sauce anywhere on the meats. I didn't even have to use the wet towels to clean my hands. Way overpriced for the low low food quality. How can barbecue meat be dry?? And Flavorless pickled something. SMH.
Never again

Still my favorite BBQ in the north valley. Love the spareribs and garlic toast.

Great food place. Dont miss to get the Garlic Toast

Just ordered. Hardly any sauce, I hate bare ribs!!! Now I have to wait to eat them tmrw because I have no sauce at home. Ribs need more seasoning or maybe it just needed sauce I'm not sure. They also need to be cooked a little longer. Probably won't order again, maybe it's best to go there and eat inside. I ordered delivery which I will never do again.

Extremely disappointed on my most recent (and my final) visit. The brisket sandwich looked like it came out of a lunch meat package from the supermarket and it had no taste and the fries were all sucks together. Very disappointing, never again.

Great food Love The Bear Pit special been going there for at least 40 years a bit rustic food value is great very tasty thank you for all the friendly staff

The staff is great. I would not come back. It wasn't terrible! Not worth the price. Had chicken and ribs.

Really bad bar b q ribs they were dry flavorless and the meat tasted old the service was great and the rest of the food

Each time I come here with family and enjoy a wide variety of good food. I recommend the baby backs and bbq beans. Now first time I tried the mac n cheese and it's pretty good so give it a try. I mix my choices from the sliders to the sandwiches on garlic toast. What's good about the beans is the sauce and texture of the beans. Mac n cheese not to cheesey; but just the right amount of cheese. The baby backs are fall off the bone. While garlic toast is seasoned to perfection. Great Job. Finally we always take sauce home back in Nor Cal. I love the original and sweet, but not a spicey person so I do not get the spicey sauce. Anyway did a quick post chow time FAM later #beblessed

We went there years ago and we were dissapointed... But before Christmas, my boyfriend and I decided to give them another try, and boy.... it was amazing! Our waitress, Sandy was such a sweet lady and her service was fantastic!

The next day, on Christmas Eve, we went back and ordered 2 orders of Ribs & Ribs for us. Sandy saw us and she gave us both hugs... lol..

We are definitely going to be their regulars customers

Hidden gem in the valley!! Check it out!!

I think they were a little under staffed but the waitress we had did a great job.. I'm sorry I didn't get her name. She said she was doing both the front and the back.. Good job

Love their food and a waitress always knows what I want

I been going here for over 30years and the food is always great

Consistent flow of customers. Their sandwiches on garlic bread are worth the extra cost. They have 3 different types of BBQ sauce: original, which is mild, sweet, and spicy. They have 3 choices of seating: both, table, and outdoor. Opens at lunch time through dinner. A favorite of my family for 40 years and has been remodeled.

The barbque beef is shreded. I like sliced beef better like in LA. But the food is good

Had the Kodiak. Been going here for over 50 years. St Louis BBQ at it's best

This is a landmark since 1959 when I appreciate here with my father. It is now on the fourth generation with my grandson. Excellent same flavor after all of these years. Regardless if it's crowded or not, service is very expedient.

I was just in the mood for ribs which I haven't had in ages because I'm on a low sodium, low fat Cardiac diet. I happened to be in Mission Hills and the car just took over the steering wheel and drove me to Beat Pit BBQ.
It was late afternoon around 330P, so there was no wait..
I ordered the Rib Sandwich consisting of 6 meaty, tasty Baby back ribs, BBQ Baked beans, homemade Cole slaw and a huge slice of garlic toast. There was a side dish of pickles, celery, carrots and a hot pepper to complete the meal.

Ummmm.... It was DEEEELISHUS!

The waitress was delightful. She knew from experience that ribs are not a 1 napkin meal. She gave me 6! LOL!!

I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED my Bear Pit BBQ lunch.

This is the absolute best place to eat ribs. No matter what I get here, it's always delicious. Drawback is that everyone else thinks so too, so there's always a line here. Some of the best foods you an get in the san fernado valley

This place has been here forever and is one of the best places to eat

I just loved their dishes. I always get fantastic service here. The place is neat and the cashiers are always nice. Will come back again.

Good old place for bbq... a long time established in the valley. I always have my meats with the spicy sauce though.

Hands down one of the best barbecue places in Los Angeles

Nice folks, good bbq. Been in this location for decades.

GO TRY (Buffalo Bruce's Mercantile) WAY BETTER BBQ

Dry meat, no flavor, fried chicken not bbq, bad service this my second time...I'm done! Its pet food! I'm taking it to my dog's. If you like this bbq you have no idea what's real BBQ!

Let's just say the pickles were good and leave it at that.

Very good service on a Saturday afternoon for lunch. The beef ribs were fine. The garlic toast isn't as flavorful as I was hoping for.

Best bbq in the valley and maybe LA. This is how bbq is supposed to taste. Very close to southern style (not Texas) and Midwestern style BBQs. Everything was delicious. We will definitely be returning.

Old school BBQ joint. Bbq sauces are on the sweet side and they sell bottles of it at the register. Plenty of parking. Good white bread style garlic toast. Smoked meats are thinly sliced and piled high. Sides are simple like taters, BBQ beans and mac n cheese.

Great Food..... Highly recommend, if you can handle a large portion of delicious food.

I have been eating here for over 50 years...amazing food and great service

This is a pretty good spot for work lunches - not the fastest service, but you're seated quickly and the food is great. The restaurant itself has a lot of character. There's a thick layer of sawdust coating the floors, and the walls have a mural of some cartoon bears and various kitsch thrown around. It's a rib place first, but the BBQ sauce is so good that it doesn't really matter what you order - chicken, pulled pork, turkey or even the smoked bear meat. The salad isn't a standalone meal at The Bear Pit, so vegetarians will have a hard time.

My first few experiences at The Bear Pit were for work lunches, and my coworkers and I had seen smoked bear meat on the menu before but we just assumed it was a joke to go with the bear theme. It wasn't until I was eating there for dinner and had a few drinks before I decided to ask the waitress if the bear meat was a real thing. She was awesome enough to bring me out a sample and I was really surprised how good it was. I'd eaten bear once while vacationing in Pigeon Forge, TN, but it wasn't smoked and they only offered one variety. The Bear Pit lets you choose between a black or brown bear, either as a sandwich or a loaf (appropriately named "The Yogi Bear"). She gave me samples of both varieties and assured me they'd be less gamey than other bear meat because they only served meat from "nuisance" bears, which obviously eat a lot of human food before they're caught. She was right. It was less gamey than venison, maybe even less than lamb.

Better than finding a new type of animal to eat was the story she told me about how it all came about. There's a pool out back that used to be a pit, and in the 20's the owners had an actual bear in it for exhibition but they had to shut it all down when an employee had his arm ripped off. The guy tried to sue for so much that the insurance company hired investigators, and they found out the guy was lying and cut his own arm off accidentally with the woodcutting machine out back. They'd already euthanized the bear by that time so they tried firing the guy but he threatened to sue, so they started covering the floors in sawdust to shame him. At this point I asked her if serving bear meat was part of the guy's punishment too and she told me no, they started serving bear meat because when they killed the bear, they set fire to his pit. I asked her what the hell that meant and she smiled wide as hell and said

"The pit walls were hickory."

Didn't make the bear meat taste any better but the walk to the tables is a lot more entertaining.

Hands down the Best "B" "B" "Q" in town, been coming here for years and never walked out disappointed....

Very friendly and good baby back ribs ,but BAD spare ribs Very Fatty and tough

This came highly recommended to me. Unfortunately I was underwhelmed.

Hi- this is the owner of the Bear Pit:

SOME DISTURBED PERSON HAS POSTED MULTIPLE TIMES ON GOOGLE THAT THE BEAR PIT IS RACIST.

THIS IS A DISGUSTING LIE! WE HAVE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR 58 YEARS AND SERVE ALL THE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT.

OUR EMPLOYEES COME FROM MANY ETHNIC, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL BACKGROUNDS. OUR DAY AND NIGHT MANAGER WHO STARTED IN 1982 AND 1983 ARE BOTH HISPANIC. HALF OF OUR EMPLOYEES ETHNICITIES ARE NOT ANGLO, BUT WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT. WE CARE ABOUT THE CONTENT OF YOUR CHARACTER NOT THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN.

MANY OF OUR CUSTOMERS COME FROM ALL RACIAL, ETHNIC AND SOCIAL BACKGROUNDS, THEY ARE ALL TREATED WITH THE SAME COURTESY AND

WE ARE A SMALL FAMILY RUN OPERATION, AND CARE DEEPLY ABOUT SERVING ALL MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WITH DECENCY AND RESPECT.

ON THE INTERNET YOU CAN SAY ANYTHING AND GET AWAY WITH IT BECAUSE YOU ARE ANONYMOUS.

PLEASE DISREGARD THE LYING, MALICIOUS POSTS BY THIS HATEFUL PERSON. WHY HE IS DOING THIS, I HAVE NO IDEA, BUT WE HAVE NEVER HAD A COMPLAINT LIKE THIS EVER BEFORE

SINCERELY, ANDREW SCHATZ, THE BEAR PIT

Best BBQ in San Fernando Valley. I also buy a bottle of their original BBQ sauce for home use.

bbq and the setting here is very good. Honestly my favorite evening place.

This place has gone down to the pits of bad food. Our ribs were dry and had no taste. I

So delicious. Great service. The pickles, coleslaw, fresh veggies were yummy. Then comes the meal. I'm full but so greedy because of what's set before me. First time there, not the last though. My friend, a long-time patron, invited me to come with her. Friendly and long-term staff. Ample parking, easy access, egress. I'm an oinker but I wasn't judged by all the others, as fingers were being licked unabashedly by all.

This place is fantastic !!!! From friendly smiles to amazing food... been going here since I was a little girl, and it's still my number one spot for barbeque!!!

Best restaurant ever. I live in Northern CA, but have to stop there any time I'm near. Wish there was more like it.