First look: Black Bear Saloon

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For those burger and beer-loving sports fans who missed the old Coach’s restaurant, the one place in downtown Hartford that offered lots of channels of any sport on any given day, you now have Black Bear Saloon, a slightly more sophisticated and richer take on the Great American Sports Bar. For one, there is a wall lined with booths that have—get ready for it—their own flat-screen TVs!

Black Bear Saloon is not entirely new—it has outposts in South Norwalk, Stamford and New Haven, and White Plains and Nyack in New York. But it is new to Hartford, where it has opened in the middle of the downtown club scene. And it has brought with it a huge lunch and dinner menu, all the DirectTV sports packages, a live DJ Thursday through Saturday nights and live bands on weekends.

The look: Black Bear Saloon has glossy hardwood flooring and hardwood paneling, 30 flat-screen TVs and three dining areas. Black Bear management wisely removed the large bar that Coach’s had in the restaurant’s center and put two smaller bars on the far walls of the restaurant. The effect is a much wider, more spacious restaurant split into three rooms. Each room opens into the next. If you’re in one room, you can see some of the football games two rooms away. The place also features high ceilings, large windows and cute pictures of little black bears.

The vibe: Black Bear opened the same day as the NFL season, and so it was pretty much a football lover’s place to be. So far, it seems to be mostly men who attend to watch the games, drink beer and eat a hefty meal. But Black Bear is not intimidating to those who could care less about sports. Shut off the TVs and Black Bear is a typical American restaurant with good food that is welcoming to families, groups of friends or the loner who wants a happy hour drink. Turn on the TVs and you get the same vibe, just with a little commentator action booming from the loud speakers.

The eats: Well, there’s plenty. For one, the kitchen will feed customers almost all day. The full menu is available until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. If you’re still hungry after that or want to ditch a nearby club to grab a snack, there’s a late-night menu available until closing.

Now, onto the food. The appetizers include chili, chicken fingers and mini pulled pork sandwiches. There are soups, of course, and large salads. The bear pear salad is delicious, with tender chicken and fresh pears and tasty dried cranberries. It’s enough for a full meal. The quesadilla list is longer than at most restaurants. In addition to the regular kinds, they’ve got shrimp, pulled pork and whole wheat vegetable. There are wraps, burgers and sandwiches. The California chicken sandwich is great and filling. The grilled chicken is well-seasoned, the guacamole is a nice touch and the bacon is perfectly crisp.

But all that is just the lighter fare. You want steak, prime rib, pasta, salmon? Yeah, Black Bear has that too. There also is a kids’ menu.

The booze: There are 12 taps of the kind of beer you would expect at this kind of bar, such as Sam Adams, Bass Ale and Guinness. The restaurant is very accommodating with dishing it out, fully expecting large groups of football fans to come at once. You and a few guests want to sip on some Bud? Order a mini-keg for the table.

It’s clear that beer is their business. While there is a full bar and a list of 10 red, white and blush wines, there is no special cocktail or martini menu. So if you want something a little fruity, you’re on your own.

The damage: Black Bear Saloon has prices a little higher than most typical American-style restaurants, but the bill isn’t terrible. After two beers and a sandwich, my bill came to $20, plus tip. But more than half the bill was for the sandwich.

Bottom line: The food is good, the drink is as expected, the prices aren’t bad and the atmosphere is alive with an excited buzz—although it’s hard to tell if that’s from downing a few beers or from the many sports fans yelling at their teams. Either way, Black Bear Saloon is the place to be. But, if you don’t want to deal with large crowds, you might want to avoid Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays through the fall.

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