Whether it’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s or dinner with Emily in Paris, coffee connoisseurs, foodies and fans of some of the most famous TV shows and movies will have made note of their favourite dining spots.
Yet while most fictional eateries are created for their respective productions, many do actually exist in the real world in some capacity.
We done the research and found 10 of the most iconic cafes and restaurants from popular culture that do exist and that you can still visit.
1. The Blue Box Café – Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Those who have seen the iconic 1961 movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, will remember the title-led opening scene of Audrey Hepburn’s character eating a croissant and drinking a coffee in Tiffany & Co’s flagship store in New York.
It wasn’t until 2017 that the store on 5th Avenue decided to open The Blue Box Cafe. Naturally you could order croissants and coffee, plus a number of other items.
The cafe is currently under maintenance, though will reopen later this year.
2. Les Deux Compères – Emily in Paris
The Netflix hit Emily In Paris, which returned for its second season at the end of last year, focused partly around the restaurant of Emily’s on/off love interest Gabriel.
Les Deux Comperes, a business Emily’s marketing agency took on as a client, is a real restaurant.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the same name and instead is an Italian restaurant named Terra Nera.
The bistro is situated in Place de l’Estrapade in Paris and sells all sorts of pizza and pasta to enjoy.
3. Magnolia Bakery – Sex and the City
The famous benches outside Magnolia Bakery where Carrie and Miranda share cupcakes and coffee is very much a real bakery – and even under the same name.
Conveniently situated around the corner from “Carrie’s apartment” in West Village of New York City, the venue was popularised when being featured in the series.
It currently operates like any other bakery, just with slightly bigger crowds than most, particularly with the show returning for its reboot last year.
4. The Lighthouse Cafe – La La Land
Ryan Gosling’s character Seb takes Mia, played by Emma Stone, to her first live experience of jazz music at The Lighthouse Cafe – a famous jazz spot in the 1940s.
The cafe does actually exist and is situated in Hermosa Beach, California.
If ever in the area, you can still pop in for a coffee and some food. And it still remains a part-time jazz club on Wednesdays and weekends, continuing its legacy.
5. Los Pollos Hermanos – Breaking Bad
Those who have seen Walt Whitman’s rise from science teacher to drug lord in the Breaking Bad series will be familiar with the chicken shop Los Pollos Hermanos, where a number of important scenes take place.
The diner itself doesn’t exist – but was later franchised following the success of the series.
However, the scenes shown in the series at Los Pollos were actually shot at a Twisters branch in South Valley, New Mexico.
6. Cafe Debussy – Inception
Another French entry. Arguably the most famous scene in the infamous Leonardo DiCaprio movie, Inception, is set in Cafe Debussy in Paris.
This is the moment where Cobb tells Ariadne how she is currently in a dream and that these dreams can be controlled before turning Paris into a small playground.
The cafe is now an Italian restaurant named Il Russo close to Segur metro station.
7. Bar De La Marine – Love Actually
Remember the scene in Love Actually, where Jamie (Colin Firth) tries to track down Aurelia. Then he finds her in a small French town with cobbled streets and the whole village comes for the walk.
Well, the scene filmed at her place of work is actually in Marseille, France, with the restaurant named Bar De La Marine in real life.
It sits right on the famous port in France’s second largest city.
8. Double R Diner – Twin Peaks
For Twin Peaks fans, a delicious slice of cherry pie is just an order away at Twede’s in North Bend, Washington, the home of the show’s Double R Diner.
The Double R Diner, owned by Norma Jennings in the series, featured in the original series in 1989 and the recent revival in 2017.
As a result of a fire in 2000, the Double R Diner backdrop was almost completely destroyed with Twede’s needing a full makeover. But when filming commenced again in 2015 for Twin Peaks: The Return, it’s said the Double R Diner renovations were left after filming ended – rebirthing the legacy.
9. Monk’s Cafe – Seinfeld
One of TV’s most iconic cafes, Monk’s Cafe, features heavily through the 90s series Seinfeld.
For fans of the show looking to visit the famous coffeehouse, the restaurant is actually named Tom’s Restaurant and it’s located on Broadway in New York City.
Unfortunately, it was only the exterior used for the show. But the eatery still remains a popular TV buff hotspot.
10. Luke’s Diner – Gilmore Girls
In the famous diner, where everyone knows each other in the show – Luke’s Diner plays a big part in shaping Lorelai and Rory’s world.
Writer and creator Amy Sherman-Palladino claims the diner came from a feeling she received when visiting the town of Washington Depot in Connecticut.
So, though this is a trick answer, Luke’s Diner was born out of the many eateries in the small town neighbourhood.
