The Bear Pit Bar-B-Q Restaurant

Reviews 4

RO

Robert Edward Meres

This is a pretty good spot for work lunches - not the fastest service, but youre seated quickly and the food is great. The restaurant itself has a lot of character. Theres a thick layer of sawdust coating the floors, and the walls have a mural of some cartoon bears and various kitsch thrown around. Its a rib place first, but the BBQ sauce is so good that it doesnt really matter what you order - chicken, pulled pork, turkey or even the smoked bear meat. The salad isnt 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 wasnt 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. Id eaten bear once while vacationing in Pigeon Forge, TN, but it wasnt 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 theyd be less gamey than other bear meat because they only served meat from "nuisance" bears, which obviously eat a lot of human food before theyre 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. Theres a pool out back that used to be a pit, and in the 20s 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. Theyd 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 guys 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." Didnt make the bear meat taste any better but the walk to the tables is a lot more entertaining.

A

A Private User

Listen, Ive been a lot of places in my life. Normally I like to say that Im 45 years young, but when I consider all of the places that Ive been, really been, in my life, I dont think that itd be strange for me to say 45 years ANCIENT. Ha! But, theres a point to all of this: The Bear Pit, out of everywhere Ive EVER been, provides by far the absolute 100% BEST, and I mean OUT AND OUT BEST, of everything you could ever possibly imagine. And I dont mean just the ribs or the sawdust on the floor, though of course those things are FANTASTIC, but I mean that this place is literally the most wonderful space on Earth, and to that end, if you follow the logic here, the entire universe. Sure, maybe in a thousand years, some nutty astronaut will discover a better place on some distant planet or galaxy (though I really highly doubt it), but THAT HASNT HAPPENED YET. And until it does? The Bear Pit is the GREATEST PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE. I challenge anyone to contest this theory, as I have a trove of research and data backing up my claim. Yeah, Im not just some opinionated jerk with a computer, Im a scientist and I did the work. I made the hypotheses. I designed the experiments. I collected the evidence and went through the numbers. The fact of the matter is, I hate this place and was actually trying to prove how terrible it is, but it just goes to show you the power of science, because the numbers dont lie: The Bear Pit cannot be beat. Its physically impossible. So, you know, if youre in the area, and youve got a couple extra bucks, give it a shot. Also, be prepared for everything else in your life to seem so unbelievably stupid, trivial and meaningless after that you either go straight back for more or just give up. Dont fool yourself into thinking you can kind of do both, because it just isnt true. You either eat at The Bear Pit or you simply cease to matter. Thats all there is to it.

A

A Private User

NEVER GOING THERE AGAIN! I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS PLACE AT ALL !
<br/>people in there are very rude, the food is not the best, bad atmosphere ! So I went today and the minute I got in there my little sister and my father and I were looked at weird(in a rude way) FIGURED since were COLOR people, there were only cockasian people there. This customer in there TURNED AROUND LOOKED AT MY LITTLE SISTER IN A FACE OF DISGRACE AND NODDED HIS HEAD as in if he had a problem with us being there because were not white . It was such a BAD vibe we got from the people, being thee only COLORED people in there. The food is a bit expensive for its ugly quality ! The ribs barely had any meat it was just gooie stuff . IF YOUR COLORED PEOPLE AND DON&#39;T ENJOY THE BEING JUDGE BY THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN DON&#39;T GO THERE ! you&#39;ll be judged like my family and myself were today! You can find another BETTER restaurants with better quality in food, service, &amp; customers.
<br/>I Highly Recommend &quot;Safari&quot; the ribs are simply the best ! It&#39;s also located in sepulveda &amp; the service, people, and food are the best yet. There is also Sport tv in its bar &amp; its a great place for family as well .
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<br/>DO NOT GO TO THE BEAR PIT !
<br/>by the way I&#39;m European, if they knew I was that I wouldnt of gotten a strange look.
<br/>A LOT OF RACIST PEOPLE IN THERE.
<br/>don&#39;t repeat history...

LI

Lily Yip

This is one of my boyfriends favorite places to go! Hes been a loyal customer for years. And since he has great taste in food, I had to check this place out. This place used to have saw dust on the floor. But they recently just renovated so now there are new booths, tables and chairs. It looks a little bit more modern but all the drawings and the walls are exactly the same. It definitely has a homey feel. The service is pretty good here. It can get busy on the weekends, especially around dinnertime. Its a good place for couples, families, or small to large groups of people. My usual order here is the BBQ Beef Sandwich on Garlic toast! They give you a generous portion of sliced beef thats very tender. They dress it with their special BBQ sauce (and theres a bottle of it on the table if you need more!) which is slightly tangy. And the best part is the garlic toast! I dont know what they do to it but its perfectly toasted and you can taste the buttery, garlicky goodness of the bread! SO GOOD! And you get two sides with it. I like the fries and the beans. Ive also tried their beef ribs which I didnt care for. The meat seemed a little dry for me. FYI, you can ask them to bring a cup of their other sauces (sweet and now spicy!). Theres plenty of free parking in the lot behind the restaurant. Overall, definitely come here and try one of their sandwiches on garlic toast! You wont regret it! :)