The Bear Pit

I've been going to the Bearpit since I was young with my family loved it then and still hasnt changed (LOVE it today!) Now tradition with my own kids and yes *family Favorite to this day! Brisket beef on garlic toast or turkey(yummmm) oh also babyback ribs with barbeque beans and taters. Its all good and real barbeque. more

I had lunch here while visiting from Chicago and had an OK experience. The staff was friendly and took care of us the entire meal, but what's with the sawdust on the ground? Is that how BBQ is done in the West? Anywho, I got the spare ribs which were a little dry, but that was easily fixed by throwing on some of their BBQ sauce. more

I didn't feel ilke cooking for Labor Day so we decided to get some food at ""The Bear Pit"". Upon entering the place the staff was extremely friendly and when I tasted the ribs I thought, ""They'd better be!"". We ordered the ""Hungry Bear Delight"" with cole slaw, deep fried taters, Bar-B-Q beans, and garlic toast. My husband ordered the Bar-B-Q ham sandwich with fries and beans. The beans were absolutely delicious, the cole slaw was great, the ham was succelent, the garlic toast was good but the ribs tasted like ""boiled bear hide"". Now I know why they call it ""The Bear Pit"". These ribs did not have any seasoning nor even a drop of hickory smoked flavor in them. So if you go to the ""Bear Pit"" do NOT order the ribs. Order the ham sandwich on their famous garlic toast because it is loaded with flavor! more

So, this is barbeque at it's best? This place serves some of the worst barbeque I have ever had. Small portions at gargantuan prices for mediocre food does not make great barbeque. And those potato balls, what in the hell are those unedible things? I feel sorry for anyone who can give this place more than 1 star, they really must be deprived. I highly recommend finding a better barbeque restaurant as this one is terrible. Pros: Plenty of off street parking Cons: Terrible, overpriced food more

After driving past this place for 30+ years, thought I'd give it a shot. After all, the parking lot's nearly always full. It must be very good. Well, it's not good. Actually it's horrific. I picked up take-out ( Beef Ribs,Pork Ribs, chicken,turkey, potatoes, beans, cole slaw and garlic bread) and nearly gagged all the way home in my car from the odor. And--I might add--not one whiff of smoke--pretty weird the restaurant calls itself Missouri BBQ. Starving when I arrived home, I attacked the food. Yikes, bad move. Most of it was totally inedible. The Beef Ribs were a fright, nothing but gristle and fat, tasting less than fresh and certainly never smoked. Pork Ribs had decent texture, but tasted like a swanson's frozen dinner from 1957. Chicken was passable. The turkey? Surely this was a joke. The nearest smoke this turkey had been near was when the guy at the processing plant (2-3 years ago?) put it on the truck to send to California while smoking a cigarette. The cole slaw was not bad. The potatoes were ghastly--How do you screw up potatoes? Is that even possible? I couldn't even look at the beans, let alone eat them. The whole take-out horror is now in my garbage can, where it truly belongs. 45 dollars worth. Pros: Big Parking Lot Cons: Every morsel of food, except cole slaw more

The only HUGE portion you get is a piece of garlic powder toast, other than that the chicken and ribs I had today were tasteless, and dry to brittle dry if there is such thing. I started to wonder if I ordered ribs or beef jerkey. I asked the waitress if the ribs had been fried, because they were greasy, and she said that the bear pit has a different way of locking in the moisture after smoking them. I didnt taste anything smoked, they were so dry the only meat on them was like fried jerky, if there was ever such a thing, and dripping with grease. I think they knew they were overdone, and the way they reheat them is to dip them in hot grease to make them seem moist. The beans were okay, but there was 3 spoonfuls of those. The best part of the whole experience was the soda, and leaving. Also, for those mixed, or minority people out there, this place is full of caucasian people, my friend is light skinned black and my kids are mixed, and we had a ton of weird looks being there. For 30 dollars I could have ate better at Tony Romas, or really ate at a fast food joint and been more satisfied for half that price. I will NEVER go back there, nor do I recomend anyone go. The only good reviews they have are probably from thier own extended family. Pros: easy freeway access to get home Cons: Dry meat, rushed servers, overpriced more

Best BBQ in town. Great friendly atmosphere. It's hard to find a great place with sawdust on the floor. My family has been going since the day I could walk....over 35 years. The Bear Pit Special on Garlic toast is the first thing everyone should try. We love it! Pros: Location Cons: Not more of them. more

when i first walked in i was surprised to see sawdust on the ground, thats just a litlle bit to weird for me. didnt seem hygenic to me. our server was nice but seemed very rushed. i ate the kodak which is ay-okay considering what you pay for it, it comes with Sandwich, Choice of Beef, Pork, Ham, or Turkey on a French Bread, PLUS: Two Spareribs or One Beef Backrib, Served with Choice of Two: Beans - Cole Slaw - Fries (On Garlic Toast....which is not bad, but the people that work there are like zombies....you would think you are in ghost town for a secong. For a good deal Bear Pit...for great service and good beef brisket..hands down to dr hogley wogley Pros: the brisket sandwich Cons: poor service more

I have been going to the Bear Pit BBQ Restaurant for over 35 years. This restaurant is a Landmark. My favorite is the BBQ beef, pork or ham served on garlic toast with BBQ beans and Cole Slaw. This is a must try. all the food is good here. After you place your order they bring a bowl of crushed ice, with pickles, carrots and cellery to munch on until your order arrives. Its a great place for the family with saw dust on the floor. Pros: Casual Dining, family atmosphere Cons: prices are climbing more

I've been coming here since my college days 30 years ago. It is as good now as it always was. The BBQ sandwiches on their ultimate garlic bread is heavenly. Worth risking a heartattack over!!! The sauce is smokey, vinegary & thinner than some, but excellent. The service is always awesome. They bring a ""relish"" bowl to your table filled with carrots, celery & yummy pickles on ice to munch while you decide what to order. They use to have 2 other locations, but this is the only one left. I hope it goes on for a long time. Yummy & delish, the best BBQ in the L.A. area, hands down. Pros: Sandwiches, hush puppies, service, BBQ Cons: Nothing more

I STARTED GOING TO THE BEAR PIT 40 YEARS AGO WITH MY DAD, AND NOW I TAKE MY KIDS AND GRANDKIDS, I LIVE 50 MILES AWAY BUT WE WILL MAKE THE DRIVE TO EAT, HAVE TO HAVE BBQ SANDWITCH ON GARLIC CHEESE TOAST, AND THE BEEF RIBS ARE REALLY GOOD ALSO, IT'S A MUST GO Pros: GREAT FOOD, PARKING, SERVICE Cons: I LIVE TO FAR AWAY more

tonight i was craving bbq. i searched for bbq places in my area and the bear pit was not only the closest, but had really great ratings...so we took a chance. it was so yummy! we can't wait to go back! at first you think ""oh no is this some trashy place""? the restaurant is very casual and good for kids too. they have an outside area and we did not have to wait at all on a saturday night. everyone was there from the young to the old! i can't believe we've never been here before! Pros: parking, lots of food, seated quickly, good service more

i hate the fact that this place is so far into the valley. as if it couldn't get any further, it's at the tip of the 405. nonetheless, the drive is well worth it. this place is finger-licken good. they remind me of that place in k.c. ...burnt ends? more

This is a place that if you go enough, they'll remember you. The floor is covered in sawdust and the appetizer is pickles, carrots, and celery. Don't go here if you're a vegetarian! It is a meat haven. Ribs, chicken, sandwiches. The regulars get the Bear Pit special on garlic toast or the Kodiak for big eaters. Pros: casual, good value Cons: no vegetarian options more

The portions are HUGE, tastes great, and at a good price. Not large selection of dishes, but the quality makes up for it. They make thier own garlic toast, that you want everything to be served with. more

I have tried many BBQ places before and after the bear pit, but I just keep going back to them. The food is great, the price very reasonable. Even if the parking lot is full, I have never waited very long to be seated. The service is friendly and as quick as you might expect from a place as busy as this one is. The portions insure you will need a box to take it home in. Im not sure what happened to the people that left bad reviews for this place, but I have never had bad food or a bad experience here. If you love BBQ, you have got to try this place!! Pros: great food, great prices, friendly service Cons: limited parking, on a busy night more

This is arguably one of the best places for bbq in the valley. The portions are huge, the sides are excellent, and the service is outstanding. The menu is extensive with different combinations to suit your taste. After ordering the ""taster's treat"" and the ""ribs n ribs"", me and my wife realized that we ordered food for 6. Our server was fantastic, even going as far as giving us extra bbq sauce and garlic bread so that we can make some sandwiches with the leftovers. Pros: Huge portions, Great Tasting Sides, Service more

I've been going to the bear pit for years and now my wife and children probably go about once a month. I've never left hungry and the quality is always good. Those that complain might've received something less than perfect, that can happen at the best of restaurants. My friend married a woman from Missouri (Bear Pit is Missouri style bar-b-que), he's eaten a lot of Missouri bar-b-que, and he still claims that the best place in Missouri left and went to Mission Hills. Pros: great food, never wait too long, good selection Cons: haven't found one yet more

Bear statue's, bear murals, bear logo'd bbq sauce bottles, and sawdust! If thats all it took to make a restaurant great, than this place would be bearriffic. Unfortunately, this place is the opposite of being terrific. I ordered the ""Ribs'n'Ribs"" platter and a side of hot links. The ribs were dry and slightly on the tough side because its most likely due to the fact that they pre-cook and have these ribs sitting till its reheated again. This might be a quicker way in getting your dinner on the table, but having the meat sit for hours results in some mediocre food. Its also SAD to see that everybody who did rate this restaurant excellent, also has only 1 REVIEW! Sounds like the only good reviews, is the reviews reviewed by themselves for the record: One of the sauces was way too sweet, and the garlic bread was tolerable. Pros: price, great for family's Cons: badly prepared, soggy pickles, tired waitress more

To all the people that wrote bad reviews about this place...its because you ordered the wrong thing. I have been going there since I was a kid and all I have ever had is the bbq beef on garlic toast. Its their specialty. One time I veered and tried a chicken sandwich and it was about the same as any other place, but I have never found a bbq beef sandwich like Bear Pit's elsewhere! It comes with a choice of two sides and the sandwich is fairly large. I have introduced many to the bear pit and they have become lifelong fans. If you weren't satisfied the first time, give it another chance...you won't be dissapointed! Pros: food, laid back setting, friendly staff Cons: can get crowded more