All the Real Life Chicago Locations Seen in 'The Bear' Season 3
You won’t be hungry after.
Within a few minutes of the full season three premiere of The Bear on Hulu, I received an email from the PR team representing Chris Duffy and his restaurant, Ever, in Chicago. It’s a real life restaurant presided over by fictional Chef Terry (played by Olivia Coleman), where Cousin Richie undergoes his transformation from Chicago jerk to front of house, fine dining superstar. [SPOILER ALERT] Because Chef Terry closes Ever at the end of season three, the email states: “Finally, we want to impress upon you that the real Ever is notclosing and is open for reservations here. In fact, tonight we opened up September reservations, a few days early.”
This is the power of The Bear, a fictional television show that has gotten closer to understanding and relating the restaurant industry than any other work of food fiction that came before it. The show is beloved by restaurant industry workers, the chefs it deifies, and casual foodies. The owners of Ever were justifiably concerned that the show is so good at capturing the reality of Chicago’s food scene, viewers and potential diners might mistake the end of Ever on the show as documentary.
Last season Thrillist covered all The Bear’s real restaurant locations, which were already hotspots in Chicago, but became national landmarks overnight thanks to being enshrined by the show as places where Sydney might visit, in search of inspiration during R&D. This season is a little different. It takes place primarily on the set of the tense and claustrophobic fictional, titular restaurant, so the viewer is given very few opportunities to bounce around Chicago and eat. But there are a few exceptions, particularly the memorable montage that opens episode two, “Next”, which among shout outs to sausage making plants, coffee roasteries, tortillerias, chocolate factories, and seafood markets, highlights some of Chicago’s oldest, sturdiest, working class friendly, day to day, establishments.
So spend a few months getting to all these great places (including Ever!) and perhaps if we’re lucky, pre-shot season four will drop before next summer, just in time to refresh your Google map. First, we’ll go over the new spots featured in season three and then we’ll cover everything from season two.
SEASON THREE
Westside
D’amato’s is a 63-year-old Italian bakery with a 112-year-old coal-burning oven on the Westside that serves a menu of savory lunch and dinner items like deep-dish pizzas and subs as well as Italian pastries like cakes and cannolis. The place is perpetually packed, having found newlife on Tiktok for their chicken caesar sub, and this placement surely won’t help ease that demand, so come expecting a wait.
River North
Opened last summer in River North, Schneider is a relative newcomer that aspires to cover both prominent forms of American Ashkenazi cuisine: appetizing, with bagels, smoked and cured fish, and various cream cheese spreads, as well as deli, with staples like matzo ball soup and pastrami sandwiches.
Downtown
The century old Greek diner in downtown Chicago is a landmark because it’s the “first stop” on Route 66. The diner is known for its large portions, making the platonic ideal versions of the diner cuisine mainstays it helped popularize, and giving away free milk duds or donut holes, and orange slices.
Various locations
A small chain in the city with three locations, Original Pancake House doesn’t suffer any false modesty, billing its cinnamon apple pancake “The World’s Greatest” and its offerings “some of the finest breakfast food in the business”.
Various locations
Another generational small chain of Greek delis, bought out by its Ecuadorian chef and his family five years ago. Sydney and her dad, played by the great Robert Townsend, visit the uncredited diner in season two, but here it finally gets its shout out. The biscuits and gravy look sick.
Various locations
A four location franchise of donut shops that also makes in-house ice cream. Firecakes is currently featuring a limited edition donut collection inspired by The Bear.
West Town
This Italian restaurant in West Town also serves as a retail pasta shop selling a wide variety of handmade pastas, and hosts pasta making classes.
Various locations
One of Chicago’s famed, long standing Polish sausage stands that has been around in one form or another for 80 years. There is dubious parentage but Jim’s is certainly one of the originators of the famed Maxwell Street Polish Sausage Sandwich: a one-third pound griddled sausage, topped with sweet grilled onions, yellow mustard, and hot sport peppers.
Various Locations
A 38-year-old Chinese bakery with two locations that makes bread, dim sum items like shu mai, and pastries like egg custard tarts.
Ukrainian Village
A 42-year-old Polish deli in Ukrainian Village that also wholesales their famous perogies to stores all over the country, and does catering in Chicago.
Various locations
A beloved three location new school Mexican bakery that features empanadas and recently expanded into New York.
Various locations
Another small chain that, as the name implies, specializes in massive braised goat platters, but also serves head and stomach tacos.
Various Locations
A mobile catering company with a food truck and a wide ranging menu of platters, apps, tacos, deserts, and obviously, tamales.
Cabrini Green
Doma is “Home” in Croatian, fitting for this all day cafe, located on Orleans, with a menu of diner staples offset by more eclectic Croatian dishes.
SEASON TWO
Avondale
Alice’s is a beloved 40-year-old karaoke bar famous for staying open till 4 or even 5 am. During her season-long arc in culinary school, Tina transforms from a steely, stand-offish, hardass cook to a linchpin and leader on the line. The key beat in that evolution can be seen in episode five, when she joins her peers for after-school drinks at this dingey karaoke bar in Avondale. Karaoke requires a willingness to perform, and a degree of vulnerability we would’ve thought Tina incapable of in season one. When she crushes a rendition of “Before the Next Teardrop Falls“ by Freddy Fender, we see her growing into the head cook the restaurant will need her to be.
River North
During her whirlwind food tour Sydney meets with restaurateur Donnie Madia at his oldest restaurant, Avec, which serves Mediterranean via Midwest cuisine including classics like their truffled focaccia and bacon-wrapped, chorizo-stuffed dates. Sydney gets to hang out for a menu rundown with chef Dylan Patel, and futilely attempts to poach some staff off Madia.
West Loop
Chef David Posey’s Danish-influenced new American restaurant that features a regularly changing menu (and separate regularly changing tasting menu) Elske served as the refurbished eponymous restaurant in season two. It’s also where Ayo Edibiri trained and prepped for season one.
West Loop
In episode seven, Richie goes to a fictional fine dining temple (run by “Chef Terry,” played by Olivia Colman) to learn the meaning of hospitality. The actual restaurant is Ever, a two Michelin-starred tasting menu establishment run by Chef Chris Duffy and his longtime collaborator Michael Muser.
Ukrainian Village
Sydney goes on an epic food tour of Chicago trying to eat her way to inspiration working through a dish of marinated radicchio, burnt grapefruit, and chili. Her first stop is at this hit Filipino bakery/restaurant where she orders their famous breakfast sandwich with longaniza and a hash brown, with mushroom adobo and a mango tart (and a matcha latte). Kasama was an obvious reference for the show because chef/owner Timothy Flores is one of the only people who have managed to update and refine the Italian beef sandwich in an additive, innovative way (a question Chicago chefs have long struggled with). There’s a great Spielbergian close up on Sydney as the kitchen puts her order together, watching with wide eyes, and thinking.
Ukrainian Village
A hit BYOB Northern Chinese shop owned by brothers Daniel and Eric Wat Sydney goes to town on during the episode three food tour. They’re famous for their in-house, freshly made noodles and dumplings, and liberal use of chili oil.
Bucktown
The titular “Sundae” of the third episode, we see Sydney going in on a towering Jackson Pollack of Whipped cream, ice cream, maraschino cherries, nut crumble, and liquid fudge. Margie’s is a candy store/creamery over 90 years old, famous for their monster sundaes.
River North
The inspiration for season one, and still the dressed up storefront/edifice of the show, as well as where the entire pilot was shot. If it wasn’t for this institution of Chicago Italian beef sandwiches, The Bear might not exist.
Lincoln Park
During Richie’s week staging for Chef Terry in episode seven, a guest requests deep dish pizza, sending Richie running out to this spot known for its platonic rendition of Chicago’s famous, and infamous style pie (which won the Tribune’s 2022 poll for “Best Chicago Style Pizza”). It’s a reflection of the restaurant’s over-the-top, do anything philosophy of hospitality.
Logan Square
Sydney goes for a slice of roni cup topped pizza from Lobo, a New York-style pizzeria that is famous for a slice featuring pepperoni and Calabrian hot honey. It’s a burgeoning chain with clubby design and eclectic toppings.
West Loop
Sydney gets an anatomy of beef and the exact location of the short rib, and a cautionary tale, from chef/butcher Rob Levitt during the episode three montage. Publican Quality Meats is an artisanal butcher that makes charcuterie in house, offers sandwiches, does pop-up dinners and offers to go packages for holidays.
Garfield Ridge
When Richie’s daughter, Eva, recounts celebrating his ex-wife’s promotion in episode three, the gut punch is they got “the good cake from Weber’s,” possibly referring to the nearly century-old bakery’s famous buttermilk pound cake.