Trolls of Big Bear

From the outside, it looks like a decent place to grab a beer and a burger. However, they employees were so disorganized that they didn’t remember whose order had been taken or who to take which order once the food was ready. It took me around 20 minutes to get my hamburger. When the food finally arrived it was decent, but besides taking my order and brining my order to the table, not once did the waiter come by to check on me, refill my glass, or give me an ETA… in fact, he seemed to be about 13 years old. Family member perhaps?

Let me preface this by saying rarely am I grossed out enough to take the time to write a review. But this experience takes the cake.
There were a few other people eating here when we arrived. The female waitress was super sweet and took our orders and everything. Then the trainee (?) who looked 12 decided to take over. Worst idea ever. He brought the mozzarella sticks with no dip. We asked for ranch and plates. He returns «we don’t have plates «uh really? No utensils. Two napkins. Lovely.
The food was whatever. It tasted average. But the next table asked for soda refills. The kid picks the cups up using his hands inside the rim of the cup, then adds soda (halfway) touches the inside of the cup more, then TAKES HER STRAW OUT OF THE CUP AND HOLDS IT. he proceeds to give it back to her.
The service was sooo slow. And there were at least 6 people working in the back. But no one was capable of taking orders. He also dropped the check and didn’t pick it up.
I hate this place.

No stars for me! A group of 6 thought we would check this place out. So disappointed with the food, we had to wait forever to get our food and when we got it it was cold or just boring. Do yourself a favor and walk across the street and get Jack in the Box!

This is a strange little restaurant located in the «village» area of Big Bear. From the outside, it looks like a fun, high-​energy bar. The troll theme attracts a lot of people and the outside seating where people are enjoying their food and beer is very inviting. When you walk in, the ambiance is quite different. There are frightening pictures of trolls everywhere, a bright yellow bar area, and a mysterious «$ 13.99» price tag above the food window. The servers are dressed in shorts, tank tops, and Toms.
We decided to give it a try because we were starving. The menu states that «All food orders are prepared ‘to-​go’» and that «Trolls cooks to order, we are not fast food.» Kinda oxymoronic, but whatevs.
I went with a group of 6 and here’s the breakdown of the food:
Chicken Philly Cheesesteak — Didn’t get to try because the server messed up and wrote down a regular Philly Cheesesteak. The person who ordered it didn’t ask for a correction because he didn’t want to wait another 20 minutes for his food when the rest of the table already had theirs.
Chicken Noodle Soup — Came 5 minutes after everyone else got their food after alerting the server that we had not gotten it yet. When the server brought it, she spilled it on a chair next to me and it splattered on my shirt and shorts. Also, the soup was fresh out of a can.
Tuna Sandwich — Tuna from a can, fresh tomatoes and lettuce, soft bread. Nothing really good or really bad. The french fries were hard and had obviously been frozen before being thrown in the frier.
Fish and Chips — Frozen, breaded fish and the same fries I had with my sandwich. Nothing spectacular.
Hot Wings — Straight from the freezer, looked small and underwhelming. Everyone at the table was raving about the hot sauce that was served with them.
Trolls Salad — Iceberg lettuce with stuff thrown on top of it. Didn’t look very appealing.
The soft drinks are served in large cups, which we concluded is because the servers don’t refill them on a regular basis. When the check came, we walked them to the bar because we didn’t want to sit around and wait for the server to take our money.
Long story short: Choose another place to eat. I would have rather had Jack in the Box across the street because you know what you’re getting and it’s a lot cheaper.

Weird bar tender… Wouldnt trust the food and it was $ 10 for 2 beers on tap on a friday at 5:00

Trolls was exactly what I was looking for when trying to find a simple lunch spot with my little boys. We sat on the small patio, which was nice, and watched all of the people coming and going in the village.
Trolls serves a typical lunch fare… burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, etc. I ordered a grilled cheese, which came out on the wrong bread, and it was fine. My boys weren’t excited by their food (a peanut butter and jelly and hamburger), it was just fine. Neither my son or I enjoyed the «special» homemade chips that come as an option for your side. I make better ones at home that have more flavor and that are not burnt. Service was slow and generic.
Bottom line with Trolls is that when I eat out I want to eat out because the food is prepared differently and/​or better than I prepare it at home. I could have made the exact food and saved myself the money.

Wow… so embarrassed I dragged my whole extended family here for lunch while in Big Bear. I didn’t think it would be hard to make decent sandwiches, but our experience really sucked.
First, the waitress kept insisting that potatoes (fries) were made of wheat. Two in our party are gluten-​free. Potatoes are not made of wheat, and she said the fries were not rolled in flour as they are at some restaurants. She was clearly confused, and I was willing to forgive that one. So… ok moving on.
My brother and I both ordered the Philly Cheesesteak. As my brother said, they make it better at Subway, which is really pathetic. The meat was horribly dry and flavorless, and not even warm. I had to put mustard on a cheesesteak for flavor and moisture. That should clue you in to how desperate I was for flavor. Fries were also luke-​warm.
To top off our awful meal, my mom ordered a chicken salad. The menu clearly stated what was offered in the salad, we even double checked afterwards. For some reason, the cook (?) decided to put handfuls of blue cheese in my mom’s salad. My mom CANNOT have dairy, it makes her really sick. They then apologized and offered to take it off the check, which then they forgot to do. They have signs posted all over about how their food is «cooked to order and not fast food.» Well, we waited at least 40 minutes for all this junk, and with two small kids we needed to get moving. We paid the whole bill and I told the waitress about our bad experience. She didn’t care and didn’t offer again to remove any portion of the meal. What a crappy place, won’t ever go back and would seriously recommend against it.

I love big bear! After shopping in the village we were hungry. so we stopped into Trolls. I didn’t really know what to expect? maybe just average bar food? I would have been happy with that. The food at trolls was below average and the service was pretty terrible. Meanwhile, there are trolls all over the wall freaking me out. At the end the waitress kinda did a song and dance about splitting our bill halfway. I don’t think she knows how to divide by two?! Anyways, next time I’m going somewhere else. Sorry trolls! I should have got the burger.

I think it is VERY important for the public to see how this restaurant owner responded to my review about their establishment. I would also like to mention that they personally messaged me as opposed to responding on my post so that others could see. No doubt because they didn’t want others to see how rude and unprofessional they are.
This is from Sheree S.
«There is never a reason to attack anyone’s personal appearance. This is not a forum to do so. You are obviously a very unhappy person. The „overweight“ people you refer to just gave birth. There are signs on each table making you fully aware that Troll’s cooks to order we are NOT fast food therefore if you were in a hurry of any kind you should of gone somewhere else, there’s a Jack in the Box across the street, they serve people like you. I’m not going to attack your character because it is apparent the kind of person you are, karma comes back to haunt you. Please NEVER come to our restaurant again, it is a happy place that has NO room for people like you.»
HERE IS MY RESPONSE TO THIS OBNOXIOUS AND RUDE MESSAGE:
I didn’t attack ANYONE’S person appearance. Why don’t you re-​read my review!
I never said «overweight,» I said «heavy-​set» and the ONLY reason I mentioned that was so the OWNER would know who the two unpleasant TERRIBLE waitresses were. I couldn’t care less if they were 500lbs wearing a burlap sac if they were good waitresses with great attitudes. so maybe you should rethink ATTACKING me about my response.
I sure HOPE your food was made to order and I wouldn’t expect anything less. If I wanted Jack in the Box crap food I would have eaten there. I go to restaurants ALL THE TIME… ALL MADE TO ORDER… IF they happen to be running slowly the LEAST the waiter/​waitress can do is apologize and let us know that the kitchen was backed up. Your waitresses didn’t do any of that. They completely ignored us and talked with their friends for over an hour while we sat there wondering what was taking so long.
«people like me»? Really? You are attacking me because I came in to eat at your establishment and you had terrible service and food. are you kidding me? Any respectable business would have sincerely apologized for the bad food, rude and unpleasant waitresses and the rude comments that the waitresses made to me and my husband and friends. we are the kind of people that are very pleasant and ALWAYS tip 20%. I live in Los Angeles, so I can tell you that we have had some less than stellar experiences dining out and I have NEVER in my life had to leave a 2 cent tip. You reply to my message as if you know me. telling me I am attacking people’s personal appearances (never did that), that I’m unhappy (sorry to disappoint you, but I’m quite happy) and referring to me as «people like you.» Seems to me like the only one attacking anybody (without knowing a single thing about them) is YOU!
I based my review on your establishment. The waitresses. The food. The atmosphere, etc. and it was a very accurate review, supported by the people I was with at the time.
Karma coming back to haunt ME? really? As far as karma is concerned, the karma of how crappily you run your business is coming back to bite YOU in the ass with my review.
I don’t know anything about you, but what I do know is that if you have to attack ME based on your restaurants poor performance that sure as hell says something about YOU!

This place is okay. They have salads, burgers, and sandwiches. Nothing special, though.

Pretty decent. We came in her with two little ones and is was as easy of Lunch you can have with beers included.
I had the turkey burger. Not as good as Fatburger but what is? I liked it.
Wife has a great looking Chicken salad. She liked it a lot.
Kids took down some Mac n Cheese bites from the kids menu. Tasty.
Service was good. Only complain was that the beer selection could have been better.

Welcome to the grease party… oh my yack.
Clam chowder was bomb though, but what hot soup isn’t bomb in Big Bear???

We wandered into Trolls during a trip to Big Bear. I had the Monte Cristo with fries, my husband ordered the fish and chips, and my daughters shared the foot long hotdog with homemade potato chips. We left satisfied, immortalized on the wall, and with every intent to return next time we’re in town.
Visited on 4÷17÷12

We were pleasantly surprised by Trolls! I had a hankering for a burger, and this place seemed to fit the bill. Everything was delicious, and they had a lot of nice touches like peanuts at the tables and they put an onion ring on all the burgers as a sort of garnish. It was great!
Be advised that there are numerous trolls around the restaurant, and pretty much all of them are super-​creepy.

We stopped Trolls, a sports-​bar located in the heart of Big Bear Village, during our July trip to the lake.
I liked the theme, which is even carried out with a creepy troll mask tacked up behind the bar. I’m guessing there is a point in which the staff might don the mask?
I liked that they have bowls of peanuts as snacks.
We visited on a very crowded Saturday and grabbed seats at the bar. We had beers and burgers. This is definitely a beers and burgers type of place. The food and service were both decent. I would come back although I would be inclined to give other local establishments a try on my next trip.

I stopped by here for a late lunch while visiting stores in the village. Out of the restaurants we walked by, this one seemed like the best choice.
I ordered the New England Clam Chowder and a salad. The clam chowder was thick and creamy and tasted pretty good. The salad contained a lot of ingredients and was a big portion for the price. My bf ordered the Troll Burger, which was cooked well and tasted pretty good.
Service was okay. The waitress was friendly, but the food took awhile to come out even though the place wasn’t busy. This place also isn’t very clean. There was food and stuff caked onto the tables, and the floor was full of food scraps.
Overall, the food here tasted good and the prices were pretty cheap. I was kind of turned off by the dirtiness of the place, so I’d rather try out a different restaurant the next time I’m in the area.

This Restaurant at first appeared very nice for a small place in a small town. It looked like it had recently been redone and had nice new equipment and menus.
From the minute we sat down though there were issues that continued throughout the whole experience. We were addressed for almost 15 minutes after having a seat, even though all the tables around us had been addressed and orders had been taken. We had to ask the server to come help us out. Once we finally got someone to take our order, we ordered one appetizer and multiple entrees. We waited about 40 minutes and after asking what the hold up was, the server told us that were sorry the appetizer didn’t come out that she would void it off the bill, didn’t offer to ever bring it anyways just took it off the bill. Another 10 minutes passed and at this point we were frustrated after being there for over an hour and were about to leave. Our food finally came out at this point. The Manager (I’m assuming, she didn’t introduce herself) came out and asked us how everything was. We let her know we were disappointed we didn’t get our appetizer and that it took so long to first be addressed and then it took a great deal of time for a simple order to come out. She didn’t apologize only let us know that everything in the restaurant is «cooked to order.» Very poor service recovery, they didn’t offer to void or reduce our bill, we never received our appetizer and we left feeling worse than when we came in hungry.
I would not eat here again. They take the «Fast» out of Fast Food.

Great Hog Dog!
It was nice to sit outside and have my dog with me.
Staff was great, so happy I conviced my Husband to try this place instead of going to Jack N the Box.

I’m a hamburger-​holic and went here with high expectations; but, I left a bit disappointed.
The service was AMAZING. My soda glass never dipped below half and I drink a ton of Diet Pepsi. Debbie was REALLY friendly and enthusiastic. The atmosphere is excellent with big screen TV and high rise tables with very comfortable and stylish seating.
As for my burger… presentation was excellent (see photo) but as for the burger itself, the patty represented a pre-​formed patty which was EXTREMELY dry, not the 1/​b slab of a fresh juicy burger patty I expected.
The bun was excellent, a very soft outer shell with the inside toasted to a slight crunch, just how I like it. The blue cheese was plentiful and contributed to a nice taste. If the patty was not so dry and less compacted it would have been much better.
Opting for the potato chips, they weren’t at all warm and were cooked to the point of being TOO crisp making it a task to chew. My friends fries were pretty bland too.
I did see one of their hot dogs being served. I think it was $ 6.95 and it measured from one end of the bar to the other (Ok. I exaggerated but it was very long, quite thick and looked pretty good.)I
It was my opinion that everything on the menu was priced more than a buck too high… my soda at $ 2.95, Burger at $ 9.95 after tax and 20% tip was $ 17. That’s alot of money to spend at a fast food joint for lunch.
As with all Big Bear restaurants, I wish them success, but I’m not sure a burger joint with top of the line prices and food that wasn’t, is going to have a hard time. I hope I’m wrong.
My suggestions: Hand press the burger pattys from fresh ground beef, and dont’ compact them to the density of most frozen burgers, drop the price to $ 6.95 for the burger, a $ 1.95 for a the soda, provide free wi-​fi, and get some happy hour pricing on the $ 4 domestic beer. That would bring me back.

This is the old Desi’s place across from Jack In The Box. We tried it this last Friday and were extremely impressed. Simple menu (a very good sign in my book) of mostly burger variations and some other pub type fare. I had the Blue Cheese Burger and my wife had the veggie burger. Mine was so big, I couldn’t finish it all and it was piled with so much blue cheese crumbles, I removed some of it. The soft bun was the standout and simply outstanding. It was fresh and had a very slight chewy texture, enough to keep it from falling apart. All of this was served with a bit of flair, topped with a very tasty onion ring and olive on a wood skewer.
We also tried their fresh potato chips, served in a paper cone with ranch and thousand island for dipping. I LOVE fresh, hot potato chips and these were no exception. I didn’t realize until later that you can get these chips as a side with your burger instead of fries, but that’s okay. It gave me a chance to enjoy their thick cut fries, which were also very good. All of this burger goodness was complemented with a Sierra Nevada on tap.
Dare I say this is my new favorite burger in Big Bear, simply for the wonderful fresh bun alone. Prices are moderate (about 10 bucks), but still reasonably in line for a burger and potato side of this caliber. When I’m in a hurry or want to spend a bit less, I’ll still drop by Get The Burger or Broadway café (two other good burger joints in Big Bear). But when I want to indulge, Trolls will be it. JohnnyT says check it out.