4 /5 Pearl Lee: Updated review (for visit 1/7/26): After my last review, Black Bear Diner and the manager of the Federal Way location, Tanisha reached out to me to hear what went wrong. Tanisha asked me a lot of questions to see what went wrong and the alternatives of how my visit could have gone better. She told me that my experience should have not happened and that she was going to re-train staff members from all the negatives of my visit from happening. She was extremely professional, understanding and wanting to prove that this was how they operate normally. After hearing how passionate and truly wanting to avoid this from happening to anyone else, I told that I would love to give them another a try.
My boyfriend and I were running errands but I was hungry and Black Bear Diner was close by so we ended up stopping on Wednesday morning. The host was at the stand ready to seat us and he was very professional. Our server who was Maria again was definitely much more better this time around as she came to not only our table several times but other tables too to check in on them. It was much more busier than the last time I went but Maria was making rounds around the restaurant to all the times when appropriate which shows that the manager did indeed re-train the staff after the incident. I went with a sweet tea and their fish and chips while my boyfriend got a vanilla iced coffee and The Grizz. Although there was one issue, my boyfriend said he wanted the bottomless coffee drink but then he looked at the wrong item and said he wanted vanilla which was just a specialty iced coffee that does not come with a refill. I feel that the waitress should have clarified that it wasnt bottomless refill as my boyfriend hastily was trying to pick out his drink. Although I also think he should have read more carefully, but if I always clarify with the customer if they mix things up so I know that they get what they actually want and dont have any issues later. That vanilla iced coffee was really good though, I definitely wished I had gotten that instead of the sweet tea which was just okay.
The food was pretty good for the most part. My issue was that the fries that came with my food was soggy and not crispy which is upsetting as I detest soggy texture. However, they seemed busy and I was really hungry so I just ate a few and boxed up the rest to air fry later. I also asked for a refill of my sweet tea in a to go cup and this time, Maria filled up the cup perfectly. Im so glad to hear that customer feedback does matter and when the manager and a team that strives to provide everyone with a great experience. I look forward to coming back and thank everyone at Black Bear Diner, especially the staff at Federal Way for their services.
