Miara’s Bakery Deli & Beverages

So sorry on my visit to Chicago to see that Maira’s Bakery has CLOSED. I grew up in Chicago, and on family visits back to the North Side in the last 30 years Miara’s was always a regular stop. We’ve celebrated countless birthdays and other family occasions with cakes and tortes from Miara’s. They had lovely cookies and a wonderful variety of fresh-​made pierogi that my daughters would pack into their suitcases, a to-​die-​for strawberry strip, butter-​struesel coffee cake and kowatz that I would pack into my carry on luggage to bring home to my mom and dad.
Miara’s also had a great range of Polish deli and grocery products, and a very nice wine selection. The place smelled like the Chicago bakeries of my childhood. I will miss it.

CLOSED… walked by Saturday 11÷23÷13 and was surprised to see the store dark and empty. It’s been there for at least 30 years. Sorry to see it go.

old bread, high prices, and unethical practices.

I’ll make this short and sweet. This is my local «bodega» as it’s walking distance from me. It’s hard not to be a fan of a place that’s a bakery/​liquor. I can get some fresh rolls, deli, crackalicious chocolate crullers, and booze in one convenient location. And the selection of booze is great, everything from top shelf, to bargain quality liquor you’ve never heard of, to the scummiest malt liquor. This is my kind of place, and it makes life on the NW side so much easier much of the time.

I love this place as it’s a convenient Euro deli/​bakery in my neighborhood. They typically open at 7am and on Fridays they have a counter full of fresh smoked fish. any kind you can imagine. They are a little high on some prices but if you shop the right time of the week you’ll find great deals.

I work in a factory so I have a real «fondness» for Hispanic and Polish people since there is a diverse population at my job. I actually needed some «bolillos» or Mexican «french» bread (does that make any sense?) for dinner so I stopped by Miara’s hoping to find something comparable. This place is grrrrrrrreat! (As Tony the Tiger would say!) They had some delectable cookies, cakes and other goodies, fresh loaves of bread for $ 1.69 and some great, discount wine (on clearance for $ 4.99 a bottle!) This is one cute little place! There are other grocery items and a really extensive selection of alcohol if that’s what you’re into. I didn’t really explore since I needed to get my bread and get home to Rogers Park –but this is really convenient and I would stop by again if I needed to pick up some basic necessities on the way home!

My gf and I had the strawberry paczki (aka bizmark), cheese danish, and two kolachkies (apricot and cherry?). Paczkis are pretty good here — nothing compares to the old Nyberg’s Bakery on Belmont though. The paczki was okay and even contained fresh strawberries. The cheese danish was nothing to rave about, but was interestingly good. Danish and cheese texture were a good combo, with a slightly grittier cheese and soft bun. The kolachky fruit was a little too dry and stuck in my teeth with every bite. My review doesn’t make Miara sound all that glamorous, but there are a couple things that save it from a little below 3 stars. The staff is friendly and helpful. and the bavarian cream cake is divine.
I pre-​ordered a bavarian cream cake for my mother’s birthday — it’s one of our favorite cakes. Imagine 3 flaky torte layers sandwiching 2 layers of flavorful, but not too sweet, vanilla cream filling with cherries. Everything tastes fresh to me, even though they had Easter cakes (one week ago) on sale. My gf and I rarely drink, so I can’t comment on the equally-​large, adjoining liquor store. The cakes and service bring this bakery up to a 4 in my book.