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Black Bear Saloon
Categories: Nightlife Bars Sports Bars Restaurants American (Traditional) Sports Bars, American (Traditional) [Edit]
124 Temple StNew Haven, CT 06510
(203) 562-2327
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 11 am - 1 am
Fri-Sat 11 am - 2 am
- Delivery:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Good For:
- Late Night
- Music:
- DJ
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Thu, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- Yes
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
36 reviews for Black Bear Saloon
Review Highlights
36 reviews in English
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Review from Pac W.
West Haven, CT
9/25/2011
My caesar salad was bland, but ok. My chicken sandwich was nicely presented on the plate with sweet potato fries. It was surprisingly good and I enjoyed it very much.
Warning, It is extremely loud in here, the place was empty but the TVs were turned all the way up. -
Review from Alice F.
Hamden, CT
2/8/2012
I go to Black Bear most weeks for trivia. The bartenders on Tuesday nights are friendly, but usually fairly inept and forget what you ordered and forget to come back and ask you if you'd like to order food or more drinks. The food is pretty much as you'd expect from a gimmicky sort of bar/club - you get what you expect if you order fries, nachos, etc.
On Saturdays, there are pretty big dance scenes so I'd only recommend going there if you're looking to dance, not to eat. To be fair, this would never be where I'd specifically go to eat. Their entertainment schedule (trivia, karaoke, dancing) is their key selling point. -
Review from James M.
North Haven, CT
12/7/2011
Horrific experience on a Sat night. We headed for the best burger in town at nearby Prime 16 only to find a 40 minute wait. We opted to move on and stopped at BBS. we were seated right away. There were only a few other couples and a large group of high school students in the place. 1 hour later we received our awful burger, salad, and sliders. The burger tasted like it had been cooking the entire time. We never received our appetizer. Will not return.
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Review from Amanda K.
ALLSTON, MA
11/17/2011
Stepping into a Black Bear on a Saturday night, you'd think you were entering Dante's forgotten 8th Circle of Hell from The Inferno. Not only do the waitstaff/bartenders bring back feminism at least 30 years by flaunting their cleavage, the beers are over priced, and the food tastes like cardboard. The bar area crawls with bros and people that you genuinely do not want to be around. Do yourself a favor and avoid this place.
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Review from scott v.
New Haven, CT
9/20/2011
Creepy, awkward mix of people hang out here. Poor liquor selection. Only one tequila? Blah.
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Review from Dave G.
New Haven, CT
4/12/2011
If you are looking for ambiance, style, or class this is the wrong place. It's full, it's loud, and there are more TV screens than I could imagine would fit in the place. Which is alright for a sports bar, I guess, but it's not a place I'd have a beer and then settle in for a couple more.
They pull a huge happy hour crowd, with beers for only $2 as of this writing. -
Review from Andrea J.
Woodbridge, CT
10/23/2011
My husband and I bought a deal on Groupon for Black Bear Saloon and decided to dine there last night. Our waitress was very attentive and friendly but the food was just an average meal you would expect from a bar. We had the spinach and artichoke dip which was runny but still tasted good. I was served with tortilla chips, pita bread, a single piece of garlic bread, and some celery and carrot sticks. I had the grilled veggie wrap and my husband had the blackened chicken wrap. Nothing to write home about...just okay.
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Review from Christine R.
Fairfax, VA
8/5/2009
-5 Stars.
I ordered a Goose and Tonic. Got Rail and Tonic. Went to another bartender, ordered same, because I missed the pour on the first. Again, RAIL and tonic, watched her pour from a Goose bottle.
Businesses like this make me sick. Literally. This place is trash. -
Review from Dominick M.
Syracuse, NY
3/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
Nice place, but it is typical of a New England sports bar. Looked like a bunch of white guys from an LL Bean catalog high fiven' each other.
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Review from Todd V.
Washington, DC
3/31/2009
The only redeeming qualities of this place are its televisions, Buck Hunter and Bass on tap.
The turkey burger was edible, my cheeseburger was awful, and the buffalo wings were more like buffalo bones. -
Review from Kiran U.
San Francisco, CA
12/30/2008
Depends on who you are, but I loathe this place. It's too noisy- you can tell their strategy is just to make conversation impossible so you end up buying more drinks. It has no character- Of course, it's a chain establishment. I'm not into the crowd- meathead guys and the girls that love them. So all in all I could see this bar being perfect for a lot of mall hopping suburbanites, but I will steer clear.
PS- Amazing, you can now also visit Black Bear at the CT Post Mall in Milford. How convenient! -
Review from Michael H.
Guilford, CT
5/7/2008
It pains me to give this place 3 stars but there isn't a better place to watch sports in New Haven. Especially Sunday Football. It's loud and crazy but that's the point.
Besides the cute blonde bartender that keeps her bottle opener tucked in her tight pants pressed against her sweaty hip (hey, is that safe...?) the service here is horrible. If you DON"T have a personality and want to wait tables at a snails pace apply for a job here.
The food is average to below average. You'll be safe with a sandwhich but don't order a burger here. Wings = awful. And even though this place claims that one of the house specials are the sliders they are more bun than burger and what little burger there is is god awful. -
Review from Matt D.
3/12/2011
If you like hole in the wall or authentic bar food, this place is not for you. We went for a Sunday night Pats game. The crowd was what we expected. The wings were reasonable, the onion rings were good, and the burgers were decent. The service was a little spotty and they weren't really full. There's just nothing memorable or particularly interesting here.
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Review from Art S.
New Haven, CT
9/10/2007
Five bear claws for the amount of televisions here. If you want to watch sports, there isn't a better bar in the downtown area (they win by default, basically).
Four bear claws for replacing Neat Lounge. That bar sucked an egg.
Three bear claws for the decor. It's all wood, it looks clean and nice, and the layout ain't bad.
Two bear claws for their happy hour specials. Nothing spectacular, but they do have deals on food which can be appealing if you want a cheap bite to eat and a frosty beverage or two while watching said sporting event.
One bear claw for the crowdedness on weekends. I'm sure it will die down at some point, but for now this place can get kind of annoying. It's really one of the only few "hangout" bars downtown, so I wish it was a place where I could, you know, hang out.
One big bear bite right to the ass for the quality of their sliders. Their mini-burgers are $1 each on Tuesday nights, but they taste like sliced hockey puck boiled in water. If you don't care about flavor in your food (I do) then you can fill your belly with these, I suppose. -
Review from Lisa M.
3/22/2010
Average food, made better by a http://restaurant.com certificate.
This place is super loud, so def not a place for a first date! It probably didn't help there was a quarter-flip game goin on. I had the southwestern burger--the lettuce was like a slide, taking all the bbq sauce and onions with it as it fell out of my burger! The fries were advertised to be shoestring but got steak fries, which were a bit on the cool side. My hub had the bacon bleu burger--said the blue cheese was very very strong and the burger was ok, sweet potato fries were good. We also shared a plate of the all-american nachos--not bad, but again, a bit on the cool side.
On a good note, service was friendly. Can't say we'll be returning anytime soon. -
Review from Claudette B.
New Haven, CT
8/31/2009
It may not be obvious, but don't order the food here. As nice as the booths are with the tv's in them, I'm sure the food sucks because this is a crappy, no character 'Chili's' or 'Fridays' type place - but without the quality control of those chains... No, I haven't eaten here, but I just wouldn't.
That said this is a nice place to grab a pint if you brought your own company and need nothing more than a place to drink and talk, they have some okay stuff on tap and bar specials. I like the u-f-o hef they have right now. The music is the horrendous hip-hop kind where the sweat goes down someone's balls and all these females crawl.
Nonetheless, while the service is good, the staff is encouraged to dress as skimpy as possible and flirt loudly with the overweight lovers who come in for the attention. Yea, I'm overweight, too - but what are they selling in there? I think it might be flirtatious attention with a hint of short-shorts over 'Go Shorty, It's your birthday' and a wrestling match. . -
Review from Shin e.
Saint Louis, MO
3/16/2011
Most pubs in the area were closed the lunchtime after New Haven's St. Pat's Parade so we settled on the Black Bear. My spinach pear salad was large and delicious (~$9) and service was pleasant and timely. Nothing exciting but nothing bad.
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Review from Jess M.
San Francisco, CA
7/17/2007
Caveat: I've eaten here once for lunch.
That being said, I thought the food was fine. Pretty standard stuff in large-ish portions. We ordered nachos to share among 4. It was HUGE and I was told the chili con carne was really good (I made them put it on the side, as I don't eat red meat...). It was more than enough for the 4 of us. So much so that I could not finish my BBQ chicken wrap and had it for dindin that night.
Their fries deserve their own paragraph. You see, I love potatoes in all its beautiful forms, but ESPecially fried. Sometimes, I go to a place just because of their fries. I'm not sure if Black Bear will be one of those, mostly because there are better fry options in New Haven. But they were still pretty good. They were the crispy, slightly batter-y and salty kind, which are my favourite.
As a bar... I couldn't attest to its credibility. But I can say that the Black Bear has a pretty large space, which could work to its advantage. I.e. it probably never gets overly crowded, but I can't say for sure. -
Review from Alex Z.
Lancaster, PA
8/29/2007
This place did not excite me and it is doubtful I will ever go back.
This bar has a somewhat unique atmosphere. It's new looking; all the surfaces seem shiny and pristine, and it's brighter than most bars with wood surfaces. It's also very open, with very high ceilings. Although there's plenty of space in the restaurant/seating area, the bar area is much smaller and can become very cramped. For such an open room, having such a cramped bar area doesn't seem to make sense.
My main issue with this place is the noise level. While there are louder places in town, this place is simply too loud to carry on a conversation. The room is rather live but the main reason it's too loud is that they play the music much too loud. And yet it's not a dance club. I don't quite see the appeal...what's the point of going somewhere where there is no dancing, and yet the music is too loud to comfortably carry on a conversation with the person standing immediately next to you? I'm sorry, but if you're gonna have loud music, I want to be getting my groove on.
On the drink end, this place does have a few decent/interesting beers on tap, more so than the typical bar. When I was here though, none of them were local brews, they were all big names from elsewhere in the U.S. or overseas. I'm not sure how often they rotate their beers.
Drink specials? Nothing exciting; the usual bar offering cheap quality drinks at slightly reduced prices, nothing enough to actually bring me in the door.
Bottom line? This seems like a "big", "generic" bar...one of the corporate enterprises, a money-making deal. I guess it's just not my style. I prefer places that are more genuine and have more character. -
Review from Al J.
Boise, ID
8/20/2008
A Burger joint which has some drinks and other food for non-burger eaters. What else do you want? This place is just that. Its an american restaurant/bar kind of a place. The service is always cordial (i've been there twice) and the place is reasonably filled for lunch.
The food is average at best and their prices are reasonable. Generally, there's so much to write about a place, but there's nothing outstandingly good/bad about this place so I end my review here :) -
Review from Amy T.
Wallingford Center, CT
12/11/2010
For clubbing? Go elsewhere. Yeah there is no cover charge, but have fun trying to get a drink or make your way through the crowd. The only reason they didn't get one star is because they managed to keep the bathrooms clean on such a busy night.
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Review from Heather P.
Dayton, NV
7/2/2010
Recently watched the USA/Ghana soccer game at Black Bear and that was my first time there. Decor is average sports-bar stuff and I'm told this place turns into a yuppie-filled dance party on weekends...which seemed fitting. Waitresses were scantily-clad and supertanned...also seemed fitting. We got there much earlier than the game because we were worried about getting a table for 8, but we got a good spot with plenty of room for everyone. They were having some sort of luau-themed party (I think to commemorate the bar's 'birthday') so they had pretty good drink specials. We ordered the "Bucket o'beer": A beachy bucket of ice with 5 random bottled beers stuck in it. It was $10 and in New Haven, that was a screaming deal. We got everything from Budlight Lime to some sort of Ed Hardy beer. I loved the blind variety of it all. Along with our buckets we ordered Mac & Cheese Bites, Chicken Finger Sliders, Onion Rings, and Piglets. All were good but not appropriately good for the price we paid. Very little food.
Bathrooms were clean and plentiful, which was a godsend when the place became packed during the game. Bartender was accomodating...when the bar ran out of the buckets for the drink special they sent out regular ice buckets to try to compensate. We ordered bucket after bucket...it got pretty fun. The busboys were awesome at clearing away our table! They were hard workers. All in all it was a fun place for the game...because of the drink special...I wouldn't go otherwise. -
Review from Juan T.
Hamden, CT
2/15/2011 4 Check-ins Here
Good bar food. If you go try the French onion soup. Their service is pretty good as long as they are not full
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Review from Tim R.
Philadelphia, PA
1/4/2011 1 Check-in Here
Really a nice if formulaic corporate bar. Bartender was attentive and helpful. Happy hour was wierd. 2X10oz drinks for the price of 1 16oz. I suppose thats a 25% good deal ? Twice as much work for the bartender since they cant serve both 10ozs at a time.
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Review from PJ M.
New Haven, CT
4/16/2009
The service wasn't very good....we were not checked on and it was to loud for the time of night it was. It was just to early to be that loud in there.
The amount of food for the price was not even close to enough. With Buffalo Wild Wings right down the street you would think they would try a little better to match or be better then a sports bar.
What sucked is that i have heard it was good and i was let down! -
Review from Austen P.
Portland, CT
1/1/2010
This place is less then sucks.
paid 45 for all you can drink for NYE 2010 and I am sorry I even went. -
Review from David P.
5/31/2009
This is basically a TGI Fridays without the flair. I think my BBQ pulled pork sandwich was cold and may have been soaked in spaghetti sauce. The fries were cold. The chips and salsa were pretty clearly dumped out of a bag and a jar.
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Review from Steph C.
12/24/2008
There is no reason Black Bear should be as loud as it is, and it is a bad sign when karaoke night is the most aurally pleasing a place gets. Conversation is a struggle. The layout is also inconvenient, with a divider between the bar and the tables that inevitably results in overcrowding at the bar and cramped socializing around it. I've also had at least one terrible service experience, where I received a screwdriver in a leaky cup, lost half of it before I could grab another cup to nest it in, and was not only unaided and uncomped by the bartender inches away, but told that they were all out of orange juice when I tried to order a new one. Not cool, Black Bear.
Listed in: The Ones Where I BlTCH
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Review from a l.
Troy, NY
9/16/2010
Ok, so the food is decent and standard comparable to any chain bar/restaurant. I was actually quite happy w/ my pulled pork sandwich and sweet potato fries.
INside there's a nice seating area where the large patio door like window opens up for additional fresh air.
Waiter service was decent, although the day we were there they only had 2 waiters...one guy was new and the other guy was in training....yeah. So anyways, that day there was a race so it was crazy busy in the city and so the restaurant was busy and they were NOT prepared at all which was even confessed by the waiter. So of course, it took forever to get food out and the poor 2 waiters were going crazy. The one waiter even said one of the bar employees was out waiting tables. Anyways, not a good thing on their part as the waiter said they weren't expecting many people and thought it'd be slow...hello there was a race w/ thousands of people just down the road....someone didn't do their homework.....
However, none the less, had a good time and food was pretty good even though we waited forever for it to come out. -
Review from Byron B.
Boston, MA
1/12/2009
I would like to give this place 2.5 stars, but since I can't I will be on the generous side. This place seems like a typical chain restaurant. The food was average. Inside it was very loud....between the music, TVs and people. IMO the food and drinks are overpriced for what you get. This place is just OK.
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Review from Stephen W.
Woodbury, CT
7/27/2010
Black Bear is fairly popular with Yale employees and students...at least it was when I lived in the city three years ago. I'm sure things haven't changed. It's a noisy sports bar, clean and well-maintained, but ultimately a mediocre place to take your friends in pretty much every way.
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Review from Ben H.
Bridgeport, CT
9/2/2009
Lame. Black Bear is where you go when you want to wait 20 minutes for a drink, not be able to hear what you or your friends are saying, and try to dance while being surrounded by really gross, sweaty popped collar d-bags--in other words, its where you go when you're an underage girl and you don't know any better. Lame.
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Review from Colin C.
New Milford, CT
5/20/2010 2 Check-ins Here
Can't really complain. I've stopped in for a few drinks whenever I'm around and bored. The bartender was social, the place was clean, and the prices were in line with the nearby bars.
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Review from Sara Tiffany L.
New Haven, CT
8/8/2007
I finally went! And I couldn't tell you a damn thing about the drinks (I simply don't remember), the whole atmosphere (I never got past the front of the bar) or anything of real, significant importance. I do know that I had a good time even though it was really crowded because I bumped into some fabulous old friends that I hadn't seen in forever and a couple of new ones. What I do remember is finding comfort atop of a chair to chat with said friends, which I didn't dare move from for fear of being stepped on. Damn my little-ness!
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Review from Indira P.
West Haven, CT
4/12/2011
Went there once, will never go back again. Nice decor and youthful atmosphere, but reminded me of an American Pie movie. Way too crowded that your friend won't even hear you if you scream at her ears. Not a place I would go to hang out and hang out with friends.
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Review from Nanxi L.
New Haven, CT
11/13/2010
just go for the bar at night. n that's it... noisy, unclean place to go.. ha ha
