Whether you’re heading out to start your day snowboarding or sledding or looking to warm up during a break or at the end of the day, Big Bear and the surrounding area has a restaurant with a warm winter meal that’s sure to please even the pickiest of taste buds. From breakfast favorites like pancakes and waffles to soul-warming traditional Italian foods, the only challenge to finding a warm winter food in Big Bear is deciding where you’ll eat.
Teddy Bear Restaurant
Start your morning out right with a breakfast to warm you up and fuel you up for the day ahead. From eggs and omelets to waffles and pancakes, there’s something for everyone. Try one of their “south of the border” breakfast specials like Machaca – two scrambled eggs with shredded beef, bell peppers, onions and tomatoes with hash browns and corn or flour tortillas, or a breakfast burrito stuffed with shredded beef or chorizo, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, two scrambled eggs and cheese. There’s classic French toast or the breakfast staple can be made with cinnamon raisin bread. Come back later and warm up with homemade soup or chili. Choose any of the 100% Angus beef burgers like the avocado bacon burger, the teddy bear burger, or the bear burger – a double-meat/double-cheese burger. Only open for takeout.
Peppercorn Grille
Get warm and stay warm with delicious food in Big Bear from Peppercorn Grille. Italian favorites ooze with warmth and flavor from appetizer to dessert. Whet your whistle with warm bruschetta with ciabatta toast, or calamari, sample the soup of the day or opt for the restaurant’s signature New England clam chowder. Choose from three types of lasagna or the vegetable-stuffed cannelloni. If it’s pasta you’re hungry for, try their lobster ravioli – topped with garlic, parsley, basil, and tomatoes in a pink cream sauce. Go traditional with their spaghetti bolognese, a mix of Angus ground beef, tomatoes, garlic, and shallots that is sauteed in red wine and tomato sauce and served over spaghetti noodles. There’s also a gluten-free and vegan kale mushroom ravioli topped with vegan pesto cream sauce, Roma tomatoes, and roasted pine nuts. There are several pork, chicken, steak, and lamb dishes to choose from, like chicken marsala, or the roasted five-spice pork tenderloin topped with brandy-dijon cream sauce, charbroiled rack of lamb, or their ‘surf n’ turf’ meal of a 6 oz. Filet mignon topped with garlic-herb butter and served with a 7 oz. lobster tail. Only open for takeout. Make orders in-person or over the phone.
Sonora Cantina
Turn up the heat in more ways than one at Sonora Cantina. Dine-in available. Enjoy homemade soups like menudo served with all of the traditional garnishing or albondigas – a meatball and vegetable soup made with homemade meatballs. Try traditional Mexican combos like shrimp tacos, chimichangas, or the fajita burrito combo, all served with beans and rice. Take the staff’s advice and order a house special, like traditional Mexican carnitas prepared with lean pork and the cantina’s secret ingredient, then grilled and served on a sizzling pan, or their arroz con pollo – another traditional Mexican dish that includes seasoned chicken, green tomatillo sauce, and melted cheese. If you’re really hungry – and they mean really hungry. You can step up and attempt their “Big Juan Burrito,” a seven-pound burrito stuffed with four different meats, a selection of cheeses, beans, and rice. Finish it in 45 minutes or less and earn bragging rights, as well as a t-shirt declaring your win. Currently, capacity is limited to 25% and parties of six or fewer. Pick-up is also available.
Oakside Restaurant & Bar
Starters like loaded potato skins, roasted Brussels sprouts, or fried green beans will on whet your appetite for the goodies to come. Choose a 10” pizza like lobster pizza with a house-made pink vodka sauce and topped with chunks of lobster, basil, tarragon, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese, or the “Butcher Shop Pizza” with pepperoni, Cajun sausage, prosciutto, mozzarella and Parmesan. If you’re looking for something more filling, try the half rack of baby back pork ribs, slow roasted in the house-made BBQ sauce, or the macadamia crusted filet of Alaskan halibut – finished with a passionfruit beurre blanc. Vegetarian options include the sweet chili Thai veggie bowl – mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and edamame over jasmine rice, and the Korean beef and Teriyaki chicken bowls, both made with meatless soy vegetarian beef or chicken accompanied by mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and edamame over jasmine rice. Not many restaurants offer a whiskey list, but Oakside Restaurant & Bar does. They have your favorite Jack Daniel’s, as well as selections of Scotch, Irish, Japanese, and Canadian brands. Open for takeout only.
Warm Winter Comfort Food in Big Bear
From a cozy one-bedroom to a sprawling five-bedroom, Big Bear Vacations has a vacation rental that is just right for you and your group. When you’re not making a home-cooked meal in the fully equipped kitchen at your rental, head out to any of the restaurants for the diverse food in Big Bear. Curl up and relax in front of a fire or enjoy the privacy of your own bedroom. Choose a premium rental for perks like a private hot tub, flat screen TVs, or a game room. Ask about pet-friendly units that give your furry friend a winter break alongside you.
