There’s a lot of great takeaways from The Bear’s third season: forgive those you love, empower your employees, Thomas Keller’s secret to trussing a chicken, to name a few. But the greatest takeaway of them all? An updated restaurant bucket list. The Bear has become known for highlighting some of the greatest restaurants in Chicago and beyond, and this season is no exception. Here is every restaurant shown and mentioned in The Bear Season 3. 

Everywhere Carmy worked or staged (aside from that one unnamed restaurant with a toxic chef, David Fields, played by Joel McHale)

Ever, Chicago

In the first episode of The Bear Season 3, viewers are able to learn more about some of the restaurants Carmy worked at before returning to his family’s sandwich shop. Although it’s unclear which job came when, the first one we see is at Ever, a fictionalized version of a real restaurant in Chicago. Chef Curtis Duffy and restaurateur Michael Muser opened the actual Ever in 2020 in Chicago’s Fulton Market District. With an eight to 10-course experimental New American menu and impeccable service (similar to how the restaurant is portrayed in The Bear), Ever has maintained two Michelin stars since its first year in operation. No wonder Carmy is such a fan. 

Noma, Copenhagen

For the second season in a row, The Bear takes us to Noma. Previously ranked as number one on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, the pioneering New Nordic restaurant in Copenhagen is known for its experimental use of preservation methods and hyper-local grown and foraged ingredients. In the Season 3 premiere, we even get a special cameo from chef and co-owner René Redzepi as he gives Carmy — likely one of dozens of stages working there at the time — a polite nod. Although you might not a get a chance to visit Noma before its dining room closes for good next spring, you can purchase products from their fermentation lab online or look out for a pop-up near you. 

Daniel, NYC

Another place where we see Carmy cutting his teeth is Daniel, 1988 F&W Best New Chef Daniel Boulud’s flagship restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The two-Michelin-starred French institution offers a five-course or nine-course menu driven by the seasons. On Carmy’s opening menu at The Bear, he pays homage to his time cooking at Daniel by serving sea bass topped with a potato chip — a nod to Boulud’s paupiettes of sea bass, where the fish is wrapped in thinly sliced, crispy potatoes. 

The French Laundry, Yountville, California

The Season 3 finale opens with one final flashback — Carmy’s first day working at The French Laundry in the Napa Valley. 1988 F&W Best New Chef Thomas Keller opened the ultra high-end restaurant in 1994, serving a prix fixe menu that highlights French technique and the bounty of California’s farms and gardens. The three-Michelin-starred restaurant has gained a reputation for being a training ground for up-and-coming chefs, so it’s no surprise that Carmy learned so much from simply preparing a roast chicken for the restaurant’s famed family meal. 

All the restaurants in that Chicago montage

D’amato’s Bakery, Chicago

In Episode 2 of The Bear’s third season, a montage portrays some of the most iconic establishments in the Chicago hospitality industry. It begins with a shot inside the kitchen at D’amato’s Bakery in the West Town neighborhood. Since 1970, the D’Amato family has been making Italian-style bread, sandwiches, and pastries, as well as sheet-pan pizzas — one of which you can spot topped with tomatoes and basil at the very end of the sequence. 

Schneider Deli, Chicago

Later in the montage, we see the outside of Schneider Deli, what is perhaps the newest restaurant on this list. Founded by chef Jake Schneider, the Jewish deli opened in August, 2023 inside a space that once housed the Ohio House Motel, a 63-year old Chicago landmark. The menu features classic Jewish deli fare with some subtle, innovative twists like corned beef burgers and pizza bialys. 

Lou Mitchell’s, Chicago

Continuing the breakfast portion of the Episode 3 montage, The Bear viewers get a peek inside Lou Mitchell’s, a century-old diner in the West Loop Gate neighborhood of Chicago. Lou Mitchell’s is about as classic as diners get, and you can pick up that sense in just three shots: a light-up “Lou Mitchell’s” sign turning on, a pan of perfectly fluffy scrambled eggs, and the chef who made those eggs waving at the camera. The only thing missing is the enormous jug of maple syrup that sits on every table. 

The Original Pancake House, multiple locations

Although The Original Pancake House isn’t necessarily a Chicago institution, it’s surely beloved. Since its first Portland, Oregon location in 1953, the Original Pancake House has expanded to over 130 locations around the world; five of them are in Chicago owned by the same family. There’s no shortage of options on any OPH menu, but follow the server’s lead and order the Dutch Treat, an oven-baked German pancake filled with fresh fruit.

Roeser’s Bakery, Chicago

The montage also shows doughnut magic being made at Roeser’s Bakery. Opened in 1911 in Logan Square, the family-owned bakery is known for many things: beautifully decorated layer cakes, ice cream, and of course, old fashioned doughnuts. The same doughnuts inspired Marcus in Season 1 to learn more about the craft of pastry and perfect his own recipe. 

Metric Coffee, Chicago

It’s hard to work a 12-hour shift in a restaurant without a cup of coffee! On The Bear, we see how a cup of Joe gets made at Metric Coffee, an artisanal roastery and cafe. Founded by Darko Arandjelovic and Xavier Alexander, Metric sources beans from a select number of sustainable coffee producers around the world, and roasts them on-premises. Buy their whole coffee beans online or visit their cafe in West Town for a latte, a pour-over, or the Fulton Street Handshake — a small drip coffee served with a double espresso on the side. 

Tortello, Chicago

Next, viewers get a three-second-long tour of the kitchen at Tortello, an Italian restaurant in Wicker Park that specializes in handmade pasta. Tortello would be an excellent place to freshen up your chef skills; you could sit at the counter and watch chef Dario Monni in action or sign up for one of their weekly pasta-making classes. Either way, if you start with a bag of their fresh pasta (and maybe even a jar of Tortello sauce) for dinner at home, you’ll feel like a pro in no time. 

Jim’s Original, Chicago

After seeing how the sausage gets made — literally — at the Vienna Beef factory, we’re taken to Jim’s Original, a hot dog stand that’s lived in Chicago’s Little Italy for over 80 years. Although they have regular beef hot dogs, Jim’s Original is known for inventing the Maxwell Street Polish Sausage, topped with mustard, grilled onions, and sometimes pickled sport peppers. A shot inside their kitchen shows a flat-top holding a pile of the sliced onions and juicy sausages that have become a classic Chicago flavor combination.

Chiu Quon, Chicago

The shot of pork and egg custard buns being shaped and handed off on a tray comes from Chiu Quon, a Chinese bakery with two Chicago locations (one in Uptown and the other in South Loop). Founded by Pui Yip and Cora Chiu in 1986, the bakeries are now run by their daughter, Joyce Chiu and her husband, William Chan. They’re known for their baked and steamed buns (as seen on The Bear) as well as their dim sum, pastries, and cakes. Look out for Chiu Quon’s upcoming projects, Chill Shuimai and Chill Tea. 

Cafe Tola, Chicago

The next restaurant depicted is Cafe Tola, a small empanada chain with four locations across Chicago. Although this is one of the newest businesses in the Episode 2 montage (the first location opened in 2012), Cafe Tola has quickly become beloved by the city for their combination of traditional and innovative empanadas stuffed with things like Buffalo chicken, PB&J, vegan coconut curry, and their staple, beef sirloin. 

Birreria Zaragoza, Chicago

You see tortillas being pressed? Those come from the hands of Jonathan Zaragoza, executive chef of Birreria Zaragoza. Similar to The Original Beef in The Bear, Birreria Zaragoza is a family-run business, founded by Jonathan’s parents, Juan and Norma, in 2007. After leading the kitchens at top-ranked restaurants around the world, Jonathan returned to his family’s restaurant in order to carry on his family’s legacy, making some of the best birria Chicago has ever seen.

The Tamale Spaceship, Chicago

The final food business in the Episode 2 montage is The Tamale Spaceship, a catering company that focuses on Mexican cuisine. The Tamale Spaceship can park their food truck at your next outdoor event for plates of fresh tamales, tacos, and more. Don’t have space for the truck? You can order large party platters via Grubhub and Doordash instead.

Where the characters eat, shop, and work

Longman & Eagle

In Episode 4, “Violet,” Tina picks up produce at the farmers market for the restaurant and talks to a real farmer, Jerry Boone of Froggy Meadows Farms in Beloit, Wisconsin. That makeshift farmers market set took place at Longman & Eagle, a modern restaurant and inn. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to purchase trays of brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and smoked garlic at Longman & Eagle, but you could grab a table for a Sunday brunch after perusing the Logan Square Farmers Market, just a five-minute walk away.

Long Grove Confectionery Co., Chicago

With or without Tina, Long Grove Confectionery Co. is going strong. The chocolate and sweets company that employed Tina for 15 years, as we learned in Episode 6, “Napkins,” began operation in Long Grove, Illinois in 1975. Since then, they have moved to a 85,000-square-foot production facility and opened multiple retail stores across the state of Illinois, including a small retail shop in Avondale. You can order Long Grove Confectionery sweets online, including “The Bear Bundle,” packed with English toffee, a mint chip bark bar, dark chocolate nonpareils, milk chocolate meltaways, and white mini pretzel twists.

Doma, Chicago

When Sydney meets with Ever’s executive chef Adam Shapiro in Episode 7, “Legacy,” they sit down for coffee at Doma Cafe. While we don’t see Sydney and Adam eating, the casual daytime restaurant is known for more than just their matcha (Syd’s drink of choice). Doma’s Croatian-influenced menu features strudel, sausage-filled ćevapi, burek, and a really good breakfast sandwich. 

All the restaurants we hear about but don’t see

We’d be remiss not to call out the many restaurants behind the real, professional chefs in Episode 10, “Funeral.” In the Season 3 finale, Carmy, Sydney, and Richie visit the fictionalized version of Ever for a dinner celebrating the restaurant’s legacy, among some of the world’s most respected chefs and restaurateurs playing themselves. 

2002 F&W Best New Chef Grant Achatz made an appearance with Will Poulter’s recurring character, Luca, picking his brain about the iconic helium balloons, lavender pillows, and truffle explosions at his experimental Chicago restaurant, Alinea. There were many alums of the now-shuttered wd~50, 2001 F&W Best New Chef Wylie Dufresne’s former New York City restaurant that helped propel molecular gastronomy into the mainstream. Dufresne himself was in attendance (he now owns Stretch Pizza in NYC), as well as the Milk Bar founder (and wife of restaurateur and The Bear co-producer Will Guidara who also appears in the episode), Christina Tosi, who worked at wd~50 early in her career. Plus, Malcolm Livingston II (who co-founded the Ghetto Gastro collective and recently launched the frozen dessert brand August Novelties) and Rosario Sanchez (the chef and owner of Mexican restaurants Sanchez and Hija de Sanchez in Copenhagen), who both held the title of executive pastry chef at wd~50. Just like The Bear’s version of Ever, Dufresne’s restaurant was clearly an incubator for extreme talent. 

Also at the dinner is Anna Posey, co-owner and pastry chef at Elske, a modern, Danish-inflected restaurant in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood, as well as 2022 F&W Best New Chef Genie Kwon. Kwon and her partner, Tim Flores, own Kasama, a Filipino cafe-by-day, sit-down restaurant by night. Last season, we got an inside look at the restaurant and their now famous longanisa egg and cheese sandwich. This season, we’re able to learn more about why Kwon loves to cook and bring joy to her guests every day. And anyone who has been to Kasama can agree: pure joy comes in the form of a black truffle croissant. 

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