I love this store! You can buy their deli products along with a wide variety of European wines and liquors. The service is good, just as you'd expect from a small shop. read more

The next best since Koenemann's German Deli in Volo closed. A large variety and as I understand, they bought, or licensed some of Koenemann's meat recipes under the Koenemann name. read more

Excellent Hungarian food love it . The Hungarian sausage is amazing. They have a variety of KOLBASZ. I was able to find a lot of pickled items and especially love the jar of plums . Excellent to use if you're making plum dumplings. read more

Good Hungarian deli and European fry goods. Also a liquor department. Great place ware house . Hidden gem. Forgot about this place. Warehouse supplier for European goods. read more

Bende - So good . Wanted to eat but to many choices . I'm glad I chose Bende . All I needed was a knife and a spoon - Meat Shops Near Me - Vernon Hills, Illinois

Pleasant environment with friendly salespeople. Wonderful selection of hard to find food items and the alcoholic beverages offered are delightful. Each visit is always a memorable and much enjoyed experience. read more

Been a Bende customer since their Chicago location, I miss the proximity of the Glen Ellyn store. Fresh Hungarian products, sizable selection of European items, happy to see some Koenemann choices and growing (yay!). Staff is not too friendly, but efficient. For those that grew up on these foods, it's worth a regular visit. read more

Service is the negative issue. I arrived 20 minutes minutes before the 3 pm closing time and took a number, as there were 2 people ahead of me. After about 5 minutes I noticed one person behind the counter start cleaning one of the slicing machines It was now my turn and they would no longer slice meat because they cleaned the machine. I could only get sliced cheese. Closing time at this deli means the time they walk out and not the time you can get service! read more

Bende is quite a hidden gem. It's a small European grocery (German, Polish, Eastern European) in the middle of an industrial park in Vernon Hills. When we arrived, we were quite puzzled - was this it? Were they even open? (Spoiler - yes and yes - but go early because they close at 3:30) Inside you'll find a small but comprehensive selection of condiments (tube mustard and mayo!), snacks (paprika chips, hell yes), liqueurs, wine and beers and plenty of locally made sausages. They have a nice deli counter as well with all of those scary head cheese options. In the front is a small beauty section with authentic Nivea, Fa, Herbacin and Penaten - the prices are a little more reasonable than Merz's. There isn't a bakery department but they do have lovely cake by the slice from a local baker. They do offer authentic Eastern European service, so don't expect smiles or any appreciation for your patronage. read more

I just bought 10 packages of their Christmas candy called "szaloncukor". $9 for 350gr on his website! I bought it for $11 from one of his retailers. I am okay with the price if it is original and good. BUT! Bende packs these and inside the candies are cheap imitations of the original Hungarian ones in cheap, thin folio with funny aftertaste! He should sell the original in original packages like he did last year. I can't imagine where he got them but I am sure it was sold by a ton. Bende gave the word grid a new meaning! Don't buy them! read more

While I've found many local European/Mexican grocery stores carry 'Bende' products I enjoy making a trip out here once in a while. Great selection of Hungarian (and other European such as German) foods and drinks. Prices are descent, the Bende products are cheaper than if you were to buy them at other grocery stores. Deli always seems fresh and very nice variety of spirits and wines including lots of Hungarian ones! Always had nice interaction with the workers, everyone is very helpful but don't expect super smiley happy faces, typical European service which I don't find anything wrong with! Owners are usually on site too in case you have any questions or would like to make a special order for platters or other things. I recommend checking this place out as you don't find any other strictly Hungarian shops or establishments in the general area. read more

Great to have a Deli/outlet for German and Eastern European foods. Love the sausage and Cheeses. They carry a few Stieglemeir and Konneman products which we really like We find the old world cookies tough to pass up and usually leave with a case of German beer and a couple bottles of liquers you don't find in most places. If your German, Polish or Hungarian it's sorta visit. I believe the do a lot of online business I think the store as a wider selection and fresh meats and cheeses as well. read more

Excellent , authentic European Deli. Good selection of purchased specialty items, as well as a line of smoked meat products and mason glass items of their own production. German Polish and Hungarian customers will feel right at home, and it is a treat for all others! Try some things that look good to you, and you will not be disappointed! read more

I have been to both this store, and the outlet in Glenn Ellyn. I prefer this store as it's bigger - and is quite clean. The meat counter is stock full of plenty of smoked meats that will tickle your taste buds for weeks to come. First off - I think my favorite is the smoked pork loin. I used to drive the 2 1/2 hours to get up there, but now that they have delivery that will show up on your doorstep in two days - why bother with the drive - tolls - and whatnot. The ONLY thing you'll have to deal with is the vacuumed sealed stuff and to let it air out and dry any condensation. I have several meats hanging out right now drying out and getting acclimated to the B/N air. I should also mention that it is quite common that Hungarians keep the meat in a cool area (no refrigeration) to the point that mold might grow on the outside casing of the sausage. This, my friends, is when the sausage is at it's best. Just scrape off and slice . . . . I have been to Hungary several times, and I have to say that their sausage and other meats are as close as you're going to get in the states without flying to Hungary! Someone else commented that Bende (the outlet) is a little on the German side. I'd have to disagree with that. While it's true you can get German and Swiss favorites here - I'd say it's primarily Hungarian with a few western European offers here and there. Some other eastern european delights from poland and russia really round this store out as a European deli! Liquor and juices can be found in abundance here. They carry the "good" Tokai wine from the Tokai region - there are some "knock offs" of Tokai wine as well. Just bite the bullet and get the 5 puttonyos (stars) version of it. Unlike anything you've had for a desert wine. All the liquor and wine there you WILL find in hungarian stores in the country. Try the Csabai or Teli salamis. But don't forget to get the smoked bacon slab. How I was taught to eat it is a slice of the smoked bacon, a slice of onion, and a slice of garlic on a bread of some sort. To - die - for! read more

This review is for their mail-order products as I have not been to any of the actual stores. I recently returned from an expat assignment in Europe and one of the things I miss from there is all the access to the great meats. One of my favorites has always been the Teli and Csabai salami. I discovered Bende online and I was excited about being able to order 2 of my favorite treats. I quickly ordered the bigger versions of both. I waited for them to arrive with great anticipation. I was a bit surprised that they were being sent via UPS and it took over 5 days, which normally would not work for these salamis as they need to be refrigerated. I quickly discovered why when I opened the package. Their products are very poorly made copies of the originals you can get in Hungary. My first bite of the Csabai salami reminded me more of a 50c slim-jim then the awesome flavor you get from the real thing in Europe. I then tried the Teli salami, hoping for better, but I was sorely disappointed. It lacked any flavor and was far short of the real thing. I then took a look at the ingredients and saw that they add Sodium Nitrate. This is not something you would every find in the products made in Hungary. I guess it also explains why they weren't worried about keeping it off ice for five days. I also noticed that they spray the Teli salami with Potassium Sorbate to inhibit mold growth. Maybe someone should have told them that one of the things that adds flavor to great salamis, both Italian and Hungarian, is mold. It's actually encouraged in the process. If they knew how to properly cure these meats, they wouldn't need all these chemicals. I was truly disappointed with this product. I will not order it again and will resume my search to hopefully find someone that actually imports the real thing into the US. read more

i haven't been to the vernon hills location, as it's quite a drive. we had one in glen ellyn for awhile, and it was fabulous. was so sorry to see it close. read more

A great place for European products, great employees treating you like family. Highly recommend

FYI. During the COVID out break, their hours have changed. They currently are not open on Sunday or Monday. Call to make sure they are open before making a trip there read more

Bende is the place to go for good German meats. I use to order directly from Stiglemeier for their products and found them cheaper here and you don't have to pay shipping. read more

I remember going to Bende off of Lincoln Ave. in Chicago when I was a little girl and then to Vernon Hills. When I moved out of state , I was glad to see that the European Market carried Bende items. I moved again recently and after 4 months found a place near me... happy happy :) read more

Our consistent stop to pickup fresh salami to bring home to our friends in Arizona and California. We and our friends all love their salami. If you're flying and the salami is in your carry on remember to keep the salami in a separate baggie and outside of your bag like a computer. X-ray does not go through salami so security will separate your bag for inspection otherwise. read more

I've been shopping here for quite a few years now and I love the deli, and the food is always fresh. But my complaint is not about the food, my complaint is about the people serving me the food. Every time I have gone to the Deli, I buy a lot of meat from there and I like them freshly sliced. But it seems like that every time I ask for the meats to be sliced, the person at the Deli counter has an attitude. I have spent close to $300 every time I go there, and a majority of my money goes to the Deli. You would think that someone who brings in business would be treated with respect. At one time, I was even told by the Deli person, and this was her exact words, "Oh my god, I have to slice those too." It just seems that every time I go there, they make me feel like I am bothering them when I kindly ask them to slice a salami or any kind meat that I purchase. I love coming here and I buy big amounts because I shop for my neighbors or co-workers, but I have dreaded coming here the last few times because I knew the person who was going to serve me was going to have an attitude. I have gone to other grocery store deli's and the person there didn't make me feel like I was bothering them when I asked them to slice my lunch meats. They need to have better employees with a positive attitude. read more

Made the drive and glad I did .. they have some imported European candy and liquor to go along with the awesome sausage they have.. I will return read more

Small store but great wit European items

We love the European delicacy`s from Bende. We have a friend who visits us from Chicago frequently and we are always asking them to bring some of our favorites. The good hungarian pickles and the good old hungarian Palinkas,of course! The palinka ( Hungarian Brandy) is always a great hit on party`s. We love it!!! read more

Who knew? There's a really awesome European market and deli hiding in a giant office park just a couple miles from my office? Yep, Bende is apparently a huge distributor of all sorts of Eastern European goods and I just struck the motherlode! Walk inside their office and saunter straight ahead into a rather large multi-aisled emporium of dry goods, sauces, fresh and smoked meats, liquor and more! Prices might be 20-25% lower than I'd expect at the local German market and that means 20-25% more smoked meat for me! I picked up a couple slabs of smoked bacon and had all sorts of fun turning it into wonderful savory treats over the next couple weeks. There's a full deli serving all sorts of interesting meats and cheeses as well. It's all just a little spooky seeing that I was the only patron in the store during my lunch-hour visit, but everyone I spoke to was friendly and I'll be returning to satiate my next smoked meat fix! read more

Bende is AWESOME!!!!!! We were able to order delicious Hungarian salami and pickles and had them shipped to our location. It was super yummy and arrived in perfect condition. Will definitely be ordering from them again. read more

It is small, but it is the BEST! You will never see as good products and workers that work there, as you will here. Great place to go to buy products for the holidays read more

I have ordered on line as well purchased from their stores in the Chicago area for years. Frankly, there is no better place in the USA for Hungarian meat and deli items. Some can complain that the kolbasz is not nearly as good as in Budapest. Well guess what, the wiesswurst in any German deli in the USA is not as good as the weisswurst in Munich. The Bende staff is very nice. the stores are immaculately clean, the prices reasonable, and the quality is the best in the US. For this Magyar, Bende is prima. read more