#1: The Bear is gritty and uncomfortably realistic, but one scene that’s pure fantasy is Sydney walking into an empty Kasama and getting a table. Kasama is one of the best restaurants in the city, with lines that wrap around the building. The one thing that is accurate is the Filipino food is incredible, and you should absolutely add a hashbrown to the breakfast sandwich.

#2: Chiu Quon in Chinatown isn’t just one of our favorite bakeries in the city—we also have it on our best restaurants in Chicago list, as wildly controversial as it may be for a bakery to be there. You can’t go wrong with anything from their pastry case, like the incredible pork buns, sponge cakes, or sesame balls. The pork buns get a couple of close-ups in the season three montage, a glaring sign you should get one when you visit.

#3: This casual spot in Archer Heights (with another in Uptown) has some of the best goat we’ve ever tasted. You can get it per pound, in a bowl with extra consomme, and—if you call ahead—with a side of goat head. Their process of preparing their mole-marinated goat is given a brief mention in the season three montage.

#4: When all else fails, go to Avec. We’ve said this for years, and the writers at FX agree because that’s where they sent Syd for some light corporate espionage. OK, she was clearly invited, and swapping out the fish of the day isn’t exactly a trade secret. Either way, the food at this West Loop Mediterranean small-plates place is always great—particularly staple dishes like the bacon-stuffed, chorizo-wrapped dates, and the taleggio flatbread.

#5: Our hearts were in our throats waiting to see which pizza Richie would get for the woman who had never had deep dish. He chose correctly—unlike traditional Chicago-style deep dish (the often maligned version with sauce on top), Pequod’s does pan-style pies with a spicy sauce underneath the toppings and a thick, airy crust. What really sets the pizza here apart, though, is the caramelized crispy cheese around the edge.

#6: Despite the amount of train riding, walking, and somewhat odd winter-boat-touring going on in season two episode three, almost all of the restaurants shown are in roughly the same part of the city. And those delicious-looking handmade noodles, dumplings, and cong you bing are from Lao Peng You in Ukrainian Village. This small BYOB Chinese spot has great food and feels like a party—and just like a party, you shouldn’t come empty-handed.

#7: This fine-dining spot is like the sea in Old Man And The Sea, or all the appliances in The Brave Little Toaster. It’s a metaphor. It’s not actually Ever, more of an amalgamation of several fine-dining restaurants. Yes, the chef’s jacket and the tickets say Ever, and they serve the signature frozen hamachi (which is delicious). But Ever is in the West Loop and opened in 2020, and as far as we know, Olivia Colman doesn’t work there.

#8: Cafe Tola is a growing empanada chain with four locations in Chicago (including two near Wrigley Field), and The Bear gives us a brief look into the making of their tennis ball-sized wonders. Our favorites include the chicken mole and the birria, but their big burritos and tacos are also tasty.

#9: Schneider is a small deli in the parking lot of River North's historic Ohio House Motel, and it briefly appears in the season three montage. Their sandwiches are particularly good, especially the pastrami or corned beef done reuben-style, and they come with a housemade pickle spear. And the breakfast options, like lox and bagels “imported” from Highland Park, definitely beat the grocery store croissant going stale in your pantry.

#10: Sydney’s life isn’t exactly the same in season three after she visits Doma in River North, where she has a talk with Chef Adam about possibly leaving Carmy’s kitchen. This Croatian cafe’s cevapi wrapped in fluffy flatbread is similarly life-changing. No internal struggles about abandoning your dysfunctional work family required.

#11: Kasia’s is a Polish deli in Ukrainian Village and the rare Chicago spot to cameo twice on The Bear. In season two, Sydney tastes their delicious pierogies during her citywide food crawl. But in season three, we get to see where the pierogies—like the potato jalapeño, our favorite—are made, and some of the people who make them.

#12: Another kitchen we get a brief tour of belongs to this Italian counter-service spot in Wicker Park. In real life, though, you don’t need to sneak behind Tortello’s counter and into their kitchen to get a behind-the-scenes look. There’s usually someone making their delicious pasta at the front window right on the Division Street sidewalk.

#13: Before you do anything at this busy 75-year-old Lakeview deli, grab a number from the pig’s mouth up front. Whether you’re there to get an excellent freshly made sandwich—like the 1949, with leberkase and Hungarian salami—or secure cured meats from their store-wide butcher counter, you’ll get to interact with the butchers, who are featured in the season three montage.

#14: Does Margie’s Candies have the best ice cream in Chicago? No, but it doesn’t need to. This Logan Square shop has been around since 1921, and no scene in The Bear is as cathartic as when Syd eats a giant sundae in an old-school clamshell bowl by herself, with literal gravy boats of housemade hot fudge and caramel on the side. Coming to this classic spot is an experience, one that gives you the chance to order a terrapin sundae that comes with 15 scoops of ice cream and hopefully a therapist.

#15: It’s easy to dismiss the scene where Syd stares at grocery store shelves, but she’s actually at 88 Marketplace. This giant supermarket is on the border of Chinatown and Pilsen, and has a bunch of restaurants inside, including 312 Fish Market one of our favorite sushi spots in the city. There is a separate section where you can sit down and eat during the middle of your weekly grocery shopping. Then go open a restaurant with your dysfunctional family screaming in the kitchen.

#16: PQM is a cafe, bakery, and mini market from the group that owns Avec, and does its job remarkably well. This is why we heartily endorse Syd’s choice to come to this Fulton Market butcher shop, presumably for cuts of meat that will eventually become fine dining’s largest steak course. But PQM’s best role is as a casual cafe from morning until early in the evening, where you can get great sandwiches.

#17: You don’t see the physical Superdawg in Norwood Park, but that's who caters the breakup party Carmy and Claire go to. It’s an A+ food choice, but the dogs are even better at the actual restaurant, an old-fashioned drive-in that’s been around since 1948. Pull up to any carport, place an order through the retro menu/speaker box in front of you, and the staff will come out and hook a tray onto the edge of your car window. Plus, there is a giant plastic hot dog couple on top of the building.

#18: The Bear is such an Italian beef show that, aside from Superdawg, it rarely features hot dog stands. That changes a bit with the season three montage’s shots of Jim’s Original Hot Dog in University Village. We get to see the inside, where their famous Maxwell Street Polish is packed with grilled onions, and the outside, where we like to stand while eating the polish and other delicious $10 meals, because Jim’s doesn’t have seats.

#19: This bright narrow space in North Center serves classic skillets with a diner feel, complete with a counter with spinny stools, naugahyde booths, and a server that you hope will call you “hun.” Alexander’s gets a brief part in the season three montage, which features one of their solid pancakes being served at their counter. Someone was probably called “hun” right after the cameras stopped rolling.

#20: Those thick donuts made in the season three montage belong to Firecakes, one of the city’s best spots for donuts. This boutique shop has four spots in Chicago, and is known for their donuts with excellent toppings. Their seasonal specialties include limited-time donuts inspired by the show, like a cherry bismarck named Sydney, and a wildflower honey Bear bun. But our favorite mainstay is the vanilla donut with crunchy pearls on top.

#21: The season three montage also features glimpses of another institution, Lou Mitchell’s in Greektown. The spot—like the diner version of Cheers—has a classic menu of pancakes and skillets, and is no stranger to notoriety. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places, and is known as the “first” restaurant on Route 66.

#22: In a season three flashback, Sydney eats solo in a wide atrium, with a large white staircase behind her. That setting in real life is The Exchange, a restaurant with a regular American menu that’s also popular for weddings. Located in the Loop, the opulent space is more memorable than the solid orecchiette or mango creme brûlée. And because the atrium has such a big echo, it’s ideal for eavesdropping to see if anyone’s also there because of The Bear.

#23: We would have pointed Sydney in another direction for a NY-style slice (like Jimmy’s in Lincoln Square), but considering how much commuting she already had to do on the train, perhaps Pizza Lobo was based on convenience. But Lobo is serviceable and has two locations in Logan Square and Andersonville. You’ll find options like the Borgata (pepperoni, Calabrian chile honey, and basil), and white pies topped with ricotta.

#24: D’Amato’s is an Italian bakery in West Town, with a factory down the street (the latter gets a shoutout in the season three montage). Their decent vodka chicken parm can scratch an itch for breaded chicken and tomato sauce. But for a more memorable sense of D’Amato’s homemade goods, go for their fluffy arancini and cookies.

#25: Vienna Beef makes hot dogs that are consumed far beyond Chicagoland, and the season three montage has a brief glimpse to how these encased meats are packaged. While we’ve yet to eat a hot dog inside this Bridgeport plant, Vienna Beef has a factory store and counter right across the street. You can enjoy a spicy and snappy Maxwell for just $5, and watch another part of the Vienna Beef process—employees packing semi-trucks with boxes of hot dogs, a form of real-life Tetris.

#26: In terms of featured spots from The Bear, this one is for completionists only. There are four of these in Chicago alone (along with 140-plus worldwide), the first being in Utah. One of their Chicago kitchens, with a server carrying their airy Dutch baby signature dish, gets a shout-out in the season three montage.