Plot

Things get out of control. Carmy is faced with a decision.

Carmy is the host of a television show called The Bear where he demonstrates his dysfunctional family's signature dish, Beef Braciole. He tells the story of how his drug-addicted brother, Michael, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head while on the State Street Bridge in Chicago. Carmy resents that his brother did not leave a letter or say goodbye. Instead, his brother gave Carmy the restaurant in his will which Carmy finds insulting. Michael never allowed Carmy to work there with him, despite Carmy being overqualified. Before Carmy is able to prepare the food, his ingredients disappear and he burns himself on a smoking pot. As he is flustered, he begs the cackling audience and producers of the show to stop filming. He also has flashbacks to his nightmare of a literal bear attacking him on the bridge.

Carmy frantically wakes up to discover that those experiences were only bad dreams. He sees on his phone that Uncle Jimmy wants to meet with him which makes him feel worse. In his head, Carmy can hear Michael's soothing voice giving him encouraging words. Carmy continues to be haunted by the previous day's disastrous service involving the takeaway system, his former Executive Chef in New York who tormented him, and visions of wild bears.

As Carmy stares at his enormous collection of cookbooks, he hears Michael incessantly telling him that he is too good to be working at The Beef restaurant. To calm himself down, he thinks back to dishes like Shrimp and Grits, Pig's Ears with Accoutrements, Miso Black Cod, Casarecce in Tomato Sauce with Green Asparagus, Black Truffle Risotto, and a beetroot rose dish. Carmy takes the most inspiration from highly acclaimed chefs, Alain Ducasse of Le Louis XV and Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park.

Carmy attends an Al-Anon meeting and finally accepts the invitation to speak, as he has been to fewer than 15 meetings. He introduces himself by his real name and tells his story involving his brother being addicted to painkillers. Carmy also tells the group about his experiences as a chef, and cooking alongside Michael since they were children. He cherishes that their love for food was a commonality. They both had aspirations to open a restaurant together. He appreciates that his brother was there to support him during times of anxiety with his phrase of "Let it rip." Carmy remembers his brother being boisterous and hilarious, while also having great social awareness. He reflects that his own personality was the opposite. Carmy did not have many friends in his youth, had a speech impediment, and was poor in academics. He also did not have any amorous relationships and lacks a sense of humour. Carmy thought of his brother as his best friend, and comments that Michael also made others feel like he was their best friend purely from his charisma. Carmy is hurt that he did not know his brother was abusing drugs, as he thought they knew everything about each other. However, as they grew older, Carmy realised that he knew nothing about his brother. Carmy is bitter that his brother abruptly denied him entry to The Bear restaurants in recent years. Carmy used the rejection as an unhealthy motivation to excel in his career as a chef in fine dining establishments to spite his brother.

In his pursuit, he admits that it took a drastic toll on him physically and mentally. He gives examples of doing menial tasks of separating herbs, shucking shellfish, getting cut, having ingredients lodged into his fingernails, having dry and oily skin simultaneously, having callouses on his fingers, and having a disrupted gastrointestinal system due to frequently vomiting from anxiety. Despite the high pressure environments, Carmy was engulfed in his work.

Carmy states that it took him years before he felt comfortable as a chef and was able to work quickly and fearlessly. He had developed a strong palate, knowledge of flavour pairings, food theory, and technical skills. He had rivalries in the kitchen and was hostile towards his colleagues. He took pride in expressing his confidence through his food and creativity, all in the hopes that Michael would acknowledge his efforts. However, when he never received recognition from his brother, he continued to become antisocial and obsessed with his passion for cooking. As Carmy devoted all of his time to the restaurant industry, he was unable to see the signs of his brother struggling with his own issues where his brother eventually died.

Carmy now realises that his efforts in trying to fix his family's failing restaurant was a proxy for him trying to repair the damage done to his family in the wake of his brother's death. He acknowledges that the restaurant has significance for many people including the staff, his family and especially for himself. However, Carmy is in suspense if the restaurant held any meaning to his brother.

Back at the restaurant, the mood has shifted with an eerie quietness. Nobody has spoken to Marcus since he walked out. Richie is recovering from the stab wound from Sydney that narrowly missed his orifice. Ebraheim comments that he has had to provide first aid in many gruelling situations. During the pre-service meeting, Carmy regrettably informs the team that the restaurant will be closed at night in order to host a Bachelor party as a favour for Uncle Jimmy's friend. The staff are disappointed.

Sydney hosts a dinner in her house for Marcus so they can process their emotions after leaving the restaurant. Sydney has not used her time to relax and has constantly been cooking at home. Marcus and Sydney share stories that both of their parents were very driven people. Sydney reassures Marcus when he feels guilty for nearly having a mental breakdown, and states that it is normal in the restaurant industry. Sydney cooks him a pan-seared sea bass with tomato confit, garnished with herbs and lemon zest. She tells stories of when she was in culinary school and spent her meagre savings to dine at fine-dining restaurants in New York, but she avoids sharing her favourite restaurant experience. Sydney speaks about her work experience where a Head Chef only allowed her to grate lemon zest as her sole duty for eight months.

At the restaurant, Carmy reviews Michael's financial bookkeeping systems again and Tina asks him how he is doing. She is concerned as Carmy is not as animated as usual. Carmy notices that Tina has finally embraced the blue apron team uniform that she used to avoid in the beginning. He asks Tina if she knows about a company called KBL Electric, but Tina answers that she had no idea what Michael was doing. In the account-keeping books, Carmy notices large transactions each month which totals the $330 000 that Uncle Jimmy had loaned him. Tina tells the story of how Michael refused to pay vendors, especially for napkins, as he felt it was futile due to struggling on finances. The depressed and cynical attitude was highly uncharacteristic of Michael which concerned Tina at the time. Tina tells Carmy that she loved Michael a lot.

Back at Sydney's house, she tells Marcus that she tried some of his donut that was on the floor of the restaurant, and thought that it was amazing. They both make fun of Carmy for his temperament, but Marcus contemplates going back to work at the restaurant. Sydney admits that the stress of being a delivery driver was worse than being a chef. She mentions that her family did not go to restaurants often, which made every occasion feel special, likewise in Marcus' situation. Sydney uses her life experience as her career goals; she wants to make people happy with her food and provide them with the best dining experience. Sydney is unsure of where to work next and is constrained by her financial debt, making it difficult to pursue her dreams. Marcus thanks Sydney and Carmy for teaching him invaluable skills in the restaurant. Sydney finally reveals that her favourite dining experience was in Carmy's restaurant when he worked in New York. She acknowledges his culinary skills but insults his character.

As The Beef hosts the Bachelor party, there are strippers, illicit substances and guests behaving wildly. While Richie and Carmy have a cigarette break outside, Richie expresses his resentment that Michael's poor management put them in this situation. He regrets not forcing Michael to seek help for his addiction despite Michael making promises. Richie expresses disbelief that Carmy had not realised that Michael was addicted to drugs. Carmy defends his own ignorance and blames the fact that he never saw Michael, and that Michael rejected his phone calls. Richie comments that Michael's larger-than-life personality made Richie believe that he was never capable of committing suicide.

An altercation inside the restaurant interrupts their conversation and they run inside to intervene. Richie punches a guest in the face which causes the guest to hit their head on the counter, being knocked unconscious. Richie is placed into police custody as the guest was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit. He is fearful that he will be charged with manslaughter if the guest dies. Richie exercises his right to make a phone call; instead of calling for help, he calls his ex-wife and leaves an unrelated message apologising for having a poor relationship with her father. Richie is awoken with good news from the police officer that the victim has regained consciousness and that the charges were downgraded to aggravated assault.

Carmy picks Richie up from the police station and discovers that Carmy had used the restaurant's emergency funds as bail. Richie thanks him, and Carmy tells him to prepare the arcade game machines in order to raise revenue. Richie breaks into tears and tells Carmy that he is the only family he has remaining, as they both sit in silence.

At the restaurant, Carmy and Richie clean up the mess from the party the night before. Carmy sees Marcus in the kitchen and apologises for the way that he treated him and is glad that Marcus has returned. Marcus accepts his apology. Ebraheim feels disrespected when he finds a stripper's garment on his workstation, but Gary takes it away. When Tina sees Richie after being bailed out, she is elated and gives him a hug. Gary gives Richie the stripper garment as a present which makes him laugh.

Fak fixes the Ballbreaker arcade game and imagines the in-game character giving him advice to bottle up his emotions when he is upset. The staff do a full clean of the kitchen and begin their preparation. Carmy is in charge of completing Sydney's duties in her absence. Tina jokingly warns Carmy that if he treats her in the same manner that he did with Sydney, she will annihilate him. As there is the Taste of River North Festival, Carmy instructs everyone to prepare extra ingredients for the increased demand.

Carmy stumbles upon Sydney's notebook that she left behind and sees her recipe for the cola-braised beef short rib risotto. The meat delivery man arrives but brings pork instead of beef. He refuses to fix the error and tells Carmy to contact the distributor.

Carmy realises that the restaurant has no beef remaining and laughs at his misfortune. Carmy has flashbacks at how the restaurant previously operated in squalor, had unpaid invoices, and had broken equipment. As he turns on the stove to light his cigarette, there is an eruption of flames. Carmy has another moment of catharsis as he stares at the flames engulfing the stovetop, thinking about how his anxiety will disappear if the restaurant is destroyed. Tina and Gary intervene and extinguish the flames. Richie slaps him out of his daze and shows genuine concern.

As Carmy takes a break in the locker room, Richie takes out the hidden letter from Michael and finally gives it to Carmy. Richie admits that he hid the letter from Carmy and wanted to spare him the pain of having to read a potential suicide note from his brother. Carmy quietly forgives Richie and steps outside to read it alone. Before he opens the envelope, he sends a message to Sydney to give feedback that her braised beef needed an acidic component. Sydney is continuing to experiment with recipes in her home kitchen as she responds to the text messages. Carmy apologises for his abusive behaviour but she does not accept it. He tells her to come to the restaurant to pick up her final paycheck.

When Carmy opens the letter from Michael, the words "I love you dude. Let it rip." brings him to tears, as he still resents Michael for abandoning him. On the other side of the letter, there is a recipe for the Spaghetti meal that involves the 28-ounce cans of tomatoes. Michael thinks the smaller cans of tomatoes taste better than the large ones which makes Carmy laugh.

Ebraheim tells stories, reminiscing about being a grill master when he lived in Somalia. It is Carmy's turn to cook the pre-service family meal and he decides to cook Michael's Spaghetti. However, he chooses the 108-ounce cans of tomatoes instead of the smaller ones that Michael suggested.

Marcus is making another chocolate cake and applies a dark chocolate ganache on top. This cake looks like a noticeable improvement over the first few cakes that he baked, which shows his progress.

Richie monitors Fak as he is repairing the soda machine and offers him an opportunity to become a full-time employee instead of a contractor. Fak compliments Richie on how he was able to valiantly handle being stabbed by Sydney.

Carmy reminds the chefs to keep up the hygiene in the kitchen while he is preparing the family meal. When he pours the canned tomatoes into the pan, he notices a tightly-wrapped roll of cash. He opens it to discover a significant amount of money and screams for help from Richie. All of the staff members grab the cans of tomatoes to open, each revealing a roll of cash inside as they dump it on the floor. Everybody is in awe and makes jokes.

When Sydney arrives at the restaurant, she is astonished by the money and the mess on the floor. Richie tacitly forgives Sydney by telling her to join in and grab a can opener. Carmy also offers a truce by suggesting ideas on how to renovate the restaurant, such as having a new restaurant with two-seat tables and booths while serving the food in an unpretentious manner. Sydney accepts his apology as she suggests her own ideas of a Danish design fine dining restaurant, which concentrates on a functional and sleek decor, with a tasting menu at the bar. Carmy agrees and suggests continuing to serve Italian Beef sandwiches as a takeaway option by having a window where guests can collect their food. When Sydney asks Carmy what they should call their new restaurant, he takes time to consider it. After taking one last look at the restaurant from the outside, he puts up a sign stating that The Beef is closed and thanks the customers for their patronage. There is another note that reveals that the new restaurant will be called "The Bear" which is a reference to the restaurant that he wanted to open with Michael.

The staff enjoy the family meal of spaghetti with tomato sauce. Friends and family are also invited, including Pete, Natalie and Chester. Everyone banters and shares a joyful moment together, including Carmy who has a big smile on his face. Carmy is finally able to heal after all the moments of anguish, and begins to associate good memories with his family's restaurant and his brother.