Mariano’s – Lakeshore East

This Mariano’s is my go-​to place for grocery shopping. Compared to Jewel, the most obvious competition, the prices tend to be better and the perishables (particularly meat) tend to be fresher. I’d compare the produce to what you’d find at Whole Foods.
It’s not as big as the one in Greektown or the new one up by North and Clybourn, but it usually has what I want. If I were equidistant I’d go to one of those instead, but the Lakeshore East store is unquestionably the best full-​service grocer downtown since Dominick’s went under. We still go to Jewel for small trips since it’s closer to our apartment, to Trader Joe’s for wine and certain processed foods, and Whole Foods as the occasion merits, but if there could only be one, it’d be Mariano’s.
Roundy’s private label products tend to be superb; hopefully the new owners at Kroger won’t mess with that too much.

Even before moving downtown, I’d stop by this Mariano’s occasionally just because I love it so much! Now that I live nearby, I do all my major grocery shopping here. But in addition, they also have a hot food selection, sushi bar, smoothie bar, and wine bar on the lower level. When the weather is nice, they even have a grill with seating outside. What more could you ask for?
Oh did you want a piano player too? Well actually, they have one playing sometimes! Fancy, huh? The only drawback is that this location is no secret. It can get super crowded sometimes, so I just try to time my trips accordingly. Pro tip: if the checkout line upstairs is ridiculously long (e.g., lunch rush), try the registers downstairs. Good lookin’ out Unilocalers!

I love Mariano’s! It has everything you need from fresh and organic fruits and veggies to chocolate covered strawberries and a great selection of wine! It also has a salad bar, sushi, coffee shop and gelato. An outside seating is available which is nice when the weather is warm. The staff is always friendly and willing to help.

When the Mariano’s on Benton Place/​East Randolph opened over 5 years ago they made a huge splash. Service was great, food quality and pricing were tremendous and everybody in the Near East Side neighborhood was excited. Unfortunately I have noticed a steady downward slide over the past year or so. It has gotten so bad that I am now doing more and more of my shopping at other stores, even though they are farther away from where I live.
Here are a few of the problems I have experienced:
Seafood
I love seafood and used to buy it from Mariano’s. Not any more. Over the past year I got bad seafood (spoiled or very close to spoiled) on four separate occasions. A bad trout, some bad salmon (twice), and most recently, totally spoiled shrimp. The shrimp was slimy, smelly and disgusting. The seafood crew varies from day to day. Sometimes they have someone good, but most of the time, they have people who are poorly trained or sloppy. One person did not seem to know what «pin bones» are.
I do not think the staff pays enough attention to storage or cleanliness. I saw them cutting salmon on a filthy cutting board. The ice in the display case is sometimes not sufficient to keep the fish cold. Bad seafood can lead to major illness, or even death. The seafood department needs to be fixed, from top to bottom.
Grade: F
Deli
I have complained on multiple occasions about the deli department. I even got a call from their customer service department saying they took my complaints seriously. But months later, the same problems are there. The biggest issue is not cleaning the slicing machines or the scales often enough. I have seen piles of dried meat and cheese pieces under and on the slicing machines The scales are often covered with bits and pieces of dried deli products. When I ask them to clean them off before using, most of the staff are good. Some of them give me a sneer. The other day a young woman cleaned off the slicing machine, then placed my order on a dirty scale.
I occasionally see people working on large orders (for takeout or delivery?). They just dump cheese or deli meats on counters that have not been cleaned in hours. This is not sanitary.
The slicing machines and scales should be sprayed with a disinfectant cleaner and wiped down after each customer, or at a minimum, every hour. Instead they are not cleaned for hours on busy days, resulting in bits from dozens of customer orders on the machines.
Grade: D
Meat/​Poultry
This area is better managed than seafood or deli, but could still use some improvement. The counters are sometimes stained with meat juice, and the staff just plop orders down on the dirty counters.
Grade: B
Fruits and Vegetables
This area has been going downhill for a long time. Mislabeled vegetables and fruits. half spoiled lettuce mixed in with good lettuce. Snow peas mixed up with sugar snap peas. Veggies all over the ground (mostly around the organics/​lettuce area; spills are not cleaned up promptly). Improper prices or missing prices.
Grade: C+
Chipotle is reeling from e coli, norovirus, and other problems. I would think Mariano’s would wake up and clean up their act.

I go to Mariano’s almost every day and I do love most things about it. However we have to be careful about some things. The shrimp and corn soup today was tasty but it had imitation shrimp.
I wanted a pork tenderloin so passed up the large packages of Roundys loin and got the small pack of what is always tenderloin. Inside I found pork with fat running through the middle so it’s not even a loin cut. And that sneaky small pack says Loin. I don’t know if they sell tenderloin.
Last year I got a box of sushi that was distinctly not fresh. I checked the date and found that someone had altered the date with a pen. Customer service denied the obvious.
Please be honest with us, Mariano’s. I want to trust you while I enjoy so many things you do.

One trip here, and you’ll swear-​off going to Jewel forever and maybe Whole Foods. Beautiful store, and an amazing layout. It’s not your standard cookie-​cutter rectangular layout. It’s a labyrinth over two floors, and when I’ve asked employees help to find something, they don’t just point… they take me to the aisle. That’s service! Just when you think you’ve turned the corner to find one thing, there’s a whole other section of the store to explore.
It has a decent produce department and hella-​huge grocery areas; plenty of organic goods and bulk bins (though not a big enough selection to put Whole Foods to shame). They used to have a caramel apple dipping station, but it morphed into a fine chocolates section. The only problem is their tiny fresh seafood case. It’s relegated to a side of their larger meat counter, and every time I’ve gone, they’ve been out of whatever I’ve wanted. No salmon? Come on guys.
Prices are a tiny bit higher for most things at this Mariano’s than other city locations but not by a lot; that’s expected downtown.

First of all, Mariano’s is the nicest grocery store I’ve ever shopped at. The produce is always fresh and beautiful, the meat counter always has great cuts (and they’ll cook anything for you in the store), the prepared food section not only looks appetizing but is, they have a full-​blown sushi bar, and a huge selection of beer and wine including a build your own six pack section.
All of this however, is not what kept me coming back to Mariano’s. It was Gwendolyn. Gwendolyn is the bartender — thats right, they have a small bar area — who hosts the mimosa party every Saturday and Sunday. Gwen welcomes every person as if they are at her home. She never turns away a guest even if it’s well past the time for her to go home. Gwen is so great to talk to and is very knowledgable about what Mariano’s has to offer in the beer/​wine section. She has single-​handedly turned what used to be the worst part of my week-​grocery shopping-​into something I look forward to every weekend.

I sure love this Mariano’s but ALL FIVE of my stars go to Gwendolyn at the wine bar! She hosts a mimosa party Saturday and Sundays. We love going to sit and chat, have a mimosa (or 3!), partake in the free appetizers Gwen supplies (sushi and pizza, anyone?!), then do our grocery shopping.
You’re the best, Gwen! MIMOSA!

Mariano’s is great, but this one has been slipping up the last few months. Just make sure to check the dates on the food you buy. I’ve purchased several expired food items by accident. :(
I wanted to respond to my above comment — I spoke to the manager on staff and he was very apologetic and promised to look into the issue. He was also very kind and sent over a meal to make up for the problem. Good customer service in response to the issue.

Mariano’s is a really cool place! A nice fresh market grocery store that is two levels! The bakery items are delicious and fresh. They’ve got almost anything you need, and plenty of precooked options. Got a cannoli filled there that was excellent. They also have an extensive wine and spirits section too. I loved their craft beer and soda selection area, plenty of options to try something new. When I’m back in the area will be making another stop here.

I love this store! The staff is courteous and engaging, the facility is clean, and the variety of products are great! Gwendolyn at the weekend mimosa bar is fantastic! She is truly a gem and has a wonderful disposition and is warm and full of smiles. I enjoyed an hour of great conversation, tasty bites, and some awesome blood orange mimosas. I will definitely return often. Good move, Mariano’s…

I love this branch of Mariano’s!
The staff here is friendly and efficient. The store is always clean and well-​stocked. While it can get crowded, I haven’t found the store to ever be too swamped or the lines to be to long.
The way this Mariano’s really stands out is in its prepared foods section. Mariano’s has the best rapport between quality and price. In fact, they have the lowest prices that I’ve seen compared to other chains! They have good variety and an excellent quality of food. Besides that, they have a coffee bar, smoothie bar, and gelato counter! You can enjoy your meal in the indoor seating area as well as a patio that is open during the warmer months.
This is a great supermarket in the heart of downtown! It’s definitely worth shopping at if you are in the area!

I ONLY come here for Gwen at the Wine Bar. She is the most wonderful employee this company has. She is a delight. I come every week now just for her!!!

The second time this week that I’ve come home from this Mariano’s with bad product. First I get some stale crunchy croissants from the bakery and now some expired food from the freezer section. Not to mention the ridiculous wait times when checking out. At peek times of the day they have only one or two registers open and a line through the store. Customers are definitely not a priority at this store.

I think I’m in love.
I’ve always considered the ultimate grocery store to be Southern California’s Gelsons (although many vote for Wegman’s, where I’ve never been) with The defunct Florida Gooding’s a close second. But Mariano’s certainly has those two beat.
Basically it’s like Whole Foods plus normal foods, plus a good wine, spirits and liquor store.
I love the vast variety of produce, the way everything is displayed, the logical arrangement of the two levels of the store, the extensive cheese offerings, and the large international section.
It’s great to be able to get organic produce, gourmet products and everyday packaged foods (okay, junk) without having to visit Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Jewel. Mariano has it all. Although I’m not a comparative shopper, prices also seems quite reasonable.
The employees I met were very helpful and cheerful, and the whole store seems like a great place for everyday shopping and discovering new goodies.
I think it will be a long honeymoon.

I am here, literally everyday since it’s next door to my work building. Although I usually don’t do my major grocery shopping here, I always run in a get the few things I need that day. This place is huge. The freezer section downstairs just goes on forever and ever, and you could probably get lost in it. They also have an awesome bakery, which is the best part of the entire store! All their breads are super fresh and they have THE best chocolate chip cookies and really large alcohol selection.

I’m keeping the 5 star review because Marianos is amazing and better than all other grocery stores in the area.
But this specific review is for the relatively new crêpe station that has opened up. Crêpe with fruit and 1-​scoop gelato for $ 5. Great deal, crêpe comes with nutella inside, and the option to add powdered sugar and drizzle chocolate sauce and whipped cream on top. The only thing I can fault them with is not having good crêpe-​making talent. They don’t seem to have the T-​shapped crêpe spreader. And so they just kinda make a crêpe pancake and then fold it afterwards, so it’s thicker than all other crepes I’ve had.

OK, so I’ve actually only been here once. But I already know that this will become our go-​to place for some good times with wine. All you have to do is purchase the bottle, and then there’s a «bar» area downstairs where they don’t have ANY corkage fee. Grab a table and enjoy! Maybe even grab some desserts from the grocery upstairs, which is totally what we did because you know, #desserts

Mariano’s is a neighborhood grocery store PACKED with all kinds of delicious, reasonably-​priced groceries on its two floors. You have just about everything from produce to baked goods (wsg. Crumbs cupcakes) to international foods to snacks to meats and cheeses to – my favorite – beer.
Mariano’s has an AWESOME beer selection downstairs with a TON of options to build your own 6-​packs, from the local Chicago brews (Goose Island, Two Brothers, Revolution) to regional (Lakefront, Great Lakes, New Holland, Bells) to national favorites (Dogfish Head, New Belgium).
Long story short: head there, beer aficionados!

Mariano’s is great, but this location is prb my fav. Catering to all the nice condos by upper Randolph, if you didn’t work/​live around here you might not stop by. Lucky for me my buddy lives right across the street so we often come to pick up things. They got a great selection of baked goods, deli, salad, pizza u name it! What makes this place so nice is the patio outside, many booths inside and the urban trendy feel unlike the family grocery store vibe from the other locations.