High prices, dodgy produce, below par bakery, etc. i rarely shop here. Their variety is extensive and they have a well stocked international section. But their prepared dishes are mediocre at best. F.I. Italian dishes all have the same sweet sauce, almost as though it was made with cream of tomato soup. I bought some bakery sandwich rolls where the dough is so entrained with air they were almost hollow. Their pastry tastes bleh. Not much butter if any and some very waxy oil in other baked goods I could go on but you get it. And yet people flock there. My mother and grandmother wouldn't have set foot in there after their first visit. read more

Prices are good. Offers senior 10% discount on Tuesdays. (Every bit helps). Produce always fresh, plentiful, well stocked and good variety. Meat fresh. Shelves usually well stocked. Environmentally conscientious offering paper bags only. A + Only complaint - music. Loud, annoying selections. read more

Good place for snacks. Bought a delicious pecan tart for $3.50 & 3 pieces of fried chicken for $3. read more

Valli Produce - Grocery Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Big variety of foods, ethnic specialties not found elsewhere, helpful staff, large spacious store, different from standard grocery stores, It can be a bit crowded. I wish they had smaller carts too. read more

I love shopping at Valli. they have a decent selection of organic produce and prices are reasonable. Plus they offer a senior discount on Tuesdays. They have a good selection of grocery items and I can usually find what I'm looking for in stock. Though whole wheat pita bread is sold out on most Tuesdays. What's with that? Also, the store atmosphere is great. I have found the employees to be consistently pleasant and helpful. Valli is my go to store for groceries. read more

Valli "PRODUCE" is really a terrible name for this grocer. One might assume that the best thing they sell would be the produce........NOT TRUE. The best things they sell are simply the mass produced, package, pseudo food that all big box grocers sell. That is because their produce is terrible. Sure you can eat their produce provided it happens before you reach your car. Otherwise, it'll be expired by the time you get home. Admittedly they do have a good "International" aisle. read more

Food: LOTS of variety at Valli, to the point where I felt kind of overwhelmed by how much there was! You will definitely find what you are looking for. Service: The cashier was nice and friendly! Ambiance: It's not the most modern store in an older plaza, and the store is very big. read more

Great prices, selection, and sandwiches. They have subs and panini. Plenty of sides (pasta salad, potato salads, etc) to go with them. Especially on hot days like today (93° "feels like" temp). Grab a gelato by the entrance to cool off. The staff is helpful and knowledgeable. I have yet to encounter an employee who doesn't smile back. They may not have everything you need, but I run into that at other stores too. read more

Valli Produce - Sub sandwiches. The hard part is deciding. - Grocery Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

I bought a package of chicken thighs. When I opened them up I found two backs in with the five thighs. 1/3 of the product was not what was on the label. The backs are almost all bone. Talk about false advertising and bait and switch. This is a classic example of consumer fraud. How does a store like this get away with this? read more

Valli Produce - One of the 2 backs in my package of "chicken thighs ". - Grocery Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Valli has become one of my favorite grocery store in Evanston. Their produce section is unrivaled in the Chicago area, always well stocked and well maintained. They also have a remarkable deli along with some really great plus inexpensive fried chicken. read more

Fabulous produce, seafood and liquor department. Really helpful guy, possibly the manager was pleasant, informative and kind of funny.

This became my local grocery store after moving to Evanston and so far we like shopping here! Great produce, always fresh. They have a wide variety of food options and fresh bread at the bakery section! read more

I love the variety of produce, the multi-national grocery offerings, and the fact that I was able to complete some holiday shopping here! Prices have risen since the pandemic but that's to be expected. read more

I just had to try this Bubble'r Antioxidant sparkling water drink that was shared by fellow Yelper - Nina H, which prompted this visit to Valli Produce. I actually have a client that works at this particular location in Evanston, but I personally have never visited the inside until now. I visited Valli after visiting Dollar Tree, so I left my vehicle near Dollar Tree which prevented the headache of trying to find a spot closer to Valli. Plenty of parking space even though the lot coincides with several other stores within Evanston Plaza. Now, other than the exterior at Valli, I have to say its layout interior reminds me of Mariano's Fresh Market, which I visit every now and then. My visit to Valli came during the morning hours in admist of the coronavirus (COVID 19) outbreak going on worldwide, so the parking lot as well as the inside of the store was well congested with customers shopping for essentials. At first I could not find the sparkling water drink, but one of the employees that was stocking up items ended up assisting me as well as informing me where it may be located after finding that it was not located in the drink aisle. They had it stocked right next to the register which I always view as a stores way of selling a product quicker because of its lack of sales. I did myself a favor by keeping my visit short and only purchasing what I intended on purchasing which was the drink. However, I was borderline at purchasing either Dog n Suds Root Beer or Sioux City Pure Cane Sugar Root Beer until I found the Bubble'r Antioxidant sparkling water drink, thanks to the employee. To conclude, I had a pleasant experience at Valli Produce, but being that I live on the west side of Chicago, a return at this location in particular is very slim because it is 11 miles away, but if ever in the area leaving work most likely and I needed to pick up grocery items I wouldn't hesitate on stopping in. And besides! Two perks for me visiting are that I can visit the Goodwill or Dollar Tree which both sit within Evanston Plaza as well. ~Blessings~ Thomas G read more

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Finding a decent and affordable grocery store around Evanston has been a challenge for me since I'm new to Chicago overall. I think Valli has the best price on produce and meat selections. I like the fact that I can find a lot of Asian and Hispanic products in the store also. I think the place is pretty clean and they made sure they have wipes available for the carts and their is plenty of spacing in the store and the clerks are super sweet and accommodating when it comes to separating items you would like to bag yourself or they can help you as well. Probably my new go to spot to pick up groceries. read more

Valli Produce - What a bargain for ready to go slice papaya and mangoes. - Grocery Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

I was accused of stealing food from Valli that I bought from Dollar Tree then the Manager accuses me of influencing violence there was no violence a tall older man with a broad nose,glasses and white hair read more

Great little market with a lot of ethnic food, ranging from Latin to Asian to a large selection of Italian-American groceries. Good homemade salsas, too! read more

If there is one thing I will miss about leaving God-forsaken Illinois in the next few months, it is this fabulous grocer. I probably visit for reasons few others do but regardless, I love this store. Certain items can be rather pricy but if you know how to shop, you can make this place work for you. I can often get most of my produce from the $1.99 reduced racks. I can get reduced cheese ends at $2.99 a lb. and do all sorts of things with it. I used to be able to say the same about the lunchmeat ends but since the store recently jacked it up from $2.99 to $3.99 a lb., I've had to forgo one of my favorite buys. $3.99 is too high for lunchmeat ends, especially when they begin to get greasy and go bad in a couple days. Store personnel, if you're reading this, rethink this one. But no worries, I still get great stuff. At the prepared meal section where all you do is heat and eat, I've gotten salmon dinners, pot roast dinner, pasta dinners and more at good prices (the red tag markdown prices), though recently a tad higher than previously. I may buy one or more for myself or the elderly couple I am caregiver for on nites I don't feel like cooking. But back to the lunchmeats and cheeses ends section, you can sometimes find Chester's chicken marked down to $1.99 for 3-4 pieces. Sometimes the chicken is good, other times rather hard and dry. Other times, occasionally you will find in that same area exotic and premium cheeses and spreads for a fraction of the original price here and far cheaper than elsewhere. That is often due to an approaching or past expiration date but I have bought lots of these items over the years and NOT ONCE has any cheese or spread failed to meet my high taste buds standards. I crave when Valli's puts these out. They are nearly impossible to get anywhere, especially at these prices. You cannot visit this store without checking to see if any of these items are in the open. I also periodically plunder the small bakery cart when items are on it as well as the general reduced rack at the southeast corner of the store. And you must check the reduced frozen and refrigerated section at the back of the store. Not always will there be items but this past weekend there were, for example, a dozen or so Dutch Farms sharp cheddar cheese blocks for 79 cents. I got three. The price was insane. An orange juice markdown - same price. Granted, the markdowns are usually due to expiration dates but still, these foods are good and not spoiled. I cannot ever recall a bad purchase. I do often hit their fresh meats but you have to look closely for the bargains as they can be trickier to find now. But they're there. And the fish section is a must to shop, particularly for calamari, cuttlefish, shark, shrimp, breaded tilapia, catfish and other similar items. Not all prices are worth crowing about but like the needles in the haystack, you have to look for them, particularly if you love to both cost cut and eat well. And I do both. I love this place. You can see how virtually all the staff is professionally trained, polite and cordial. Only drawback - I can't see all their faces since some employees are still wearing facial diapers. Other than that, best place to shop, clean, fresh and professional appearance throughout. And for the record, the Arlington Heights store on Golf Rd. is good too, a bit older and in need of updating but the food quality is near impeccable here as well. Overall I'd say Valli's deserves a 4 1/2 star rating but in the end it's closer to 5 stars than 4 in my book so 5 is what Valli's gets. read more

Probably the best grocery store in Evanston - great selection, good prices, always clean, and the staff are always available, friendly, and helpful. We used to go to Jewel and Trader Joe's to get what we want; now, though, we can get just about everything we need at Valli. They have a good variety of organic stuff, a wide variety of cultural cuisines, and all-around good selection. The produce is diverse and fresh. If there's any drawbacks, it's that the frozen food section is small, just one aisle. However, the rest of the store more than makes up for that with how much it has to offer. read more

Excellent grocery store for cheap prices like Food4Less but much nicer and clean environment eg this week I got HealthyChoice canned soup for $.79/ea, Chef Boyardee canned goods for $1/ea, Chobani Yogurt for $1/ea, produce from the Reduced Rack for $1.49/package (2 lb green beans that looked fresh, dunno why it was even reduced! AND 8 Bartlett pears for the same price), Ragu pasta sauce for $0.99 (they carry premium Rao's too....I've tasted "high end" brands and there's absolutely no difference to my taste buds...it's just marketing...but yes they sell Rao's for $7/bottle), delicious a la carte bakery cake slices for $1.50-2.50/ea, cannoli's (plain or chocolate covered) for $1.50/ea, a HUGE bag of fresh in house made tortilla chips for $.99 plus in house made green or red salsa for $0.99/pint, etc etc. Their produce, bakery, and meat/seafood departments are outstanding. There are 2 aisles for different kinds of ethnic foods. Love their selection of frozen goods and beverages too. Nice liquor and craft beer and wine selection. The bread aisle is amazing. You can get Naan here (fresh or in the frozen section) for a great price. They sell Hawaiian bread and rolls. Jewish Challah. Sourdough bread. Italian bread. Jewish rye. Bimbo Bakeries goods. Extremely fair prices. I'll be shopping here from now on, now that I know of it! Very reasonable pricing, outstanding selection, huge cheese selection, dried fruits and seeds/nuts selection, attractive deli items like deviled egg potato salad, 2 types of arancini, Greek salad, Italian pasta salad, fried chicken, rotisserie chicken, etc. read more

There's a great produce section, great vegan options (even though I'm no longer eating vegan, it's great for non-dairy cheeses) and plant-based milks, substantial GT's kombucha selection, the store layout makes sense and doesn't feel like the maze of other city grocers, and great tea selection. Everything I need close to home! read more

I've been several times but it's just not that great. My strawberries were all moldy within 24 hours, the pork chops were pretty bad. I do like the wall of dried fruit and nuts but otherwise I'm sticking with Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. read more

Valli offers a good variety of foods, including some Japanese foods that I've had trouble finding at other stores. I don't buy meat or fish here, so I can't comment on that. Their produce isn't always as fresh as it should be. I find that if I don't eat it or cook it within a couple/three days, it's already going bad. Also, they have most of their organic produce wrapped in plastic. If you want one organic apple or one pepper, you're out of luck. Plus, wrapping organic items in plastic is a bit of a problem for those of us concerned enough to pay extra for organic, yet end up with a lot of unnecessary plastic packaging. However, points for offering compostable bags in the produce department (for customers' use.) I find the staff to be competent, except for baggers, who insist on filling my bags so that they're too heavy, even when I've asked not to make them too heavy. Then they put the unused bags I've provided back in my cart, which they could have used so my bags weren't so heavy. The manager in the liquor department was really helpful, recommending an option when they didn't have what I wanted. It was a good suggestion; just as good and less costly. It sounds like I have a lot of gripes, but actually I shop here at least weekly and have no inclination to change stores. read more

Huge place. Variety of produce and meat. You can find anything you want here. The cashiers are very nice, always smiling and welcoming. I like to shop here. Prices are great too. read more

Why the low reviews? This place is super cheap and they really have a huge variety of items to choose from. No they don't have a piano player or a popcorn machine but they have affordable fruits and veggies that are cheaper than other grocery stores. They also have a huge selection of bulk nuts and candies and in store gelato. Their deli counter workers are really nice too. Minus one star: Please bring back the shredded coconut bulk food strips!! read more

Valli Produce - Love the bag :) - Grocery Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Prices are rocketing out of site. The sign said "$1.72 EACH. The cashier argued that the computer is correct for $1.79/lb. Took a picture of the sign and showed it to her. Refused to accept what she saw with her own eyes. Probably cannot read English. Very sad. To drive from Chicago for the few items they carry not easy to find is not worth it! read more

Stuck at home due to COVID-19? - Valli Produce is open! Here's what I found: The entire staff was wearing a mask and/or gloves. The isles are wide enough to feel "okay" when you're shopping within 6 feet of other shoppers. The store had disinfectant wipes at the entrance, as well as staff spraying down and cleaning all over the place as I shopped. The selection of groceries is just as big as before, though the hoarded items, (limited here), were still low on stock. The employees are now protected a bit more by sneeze-guards at the registers. In Evanston, you can get paper instead of plastic, or you can simply skip the bags all together and bag your goods at your car instead! Stay Safe, dear readers! read more

I currently reside in Evanston and honestly there isn't enough cheaper grocery stores! Valli is definitely on the more affordable end and I like shopping here way more than at Jewel-Osco. It's a quick bus ride from downtown Evanston (5-10 minutes). The prices in general are affordable here. They had this pasta deal where it was 11 boxes for $10 ($0.90/box). That's insane! They also have decent deals on fruit and other produce too. In the summer I grabbed a lot of golden delicious apples for a good price. Their yellow onions here were pretty cheap as well. Much more affordable than Whole Foods' prices. read more

Skip Jewel-Osco and Whole Foods and head to Valli Produce! I walk to my local market and take public transit to Aldi and other niche markets. Rarely do I enjoy moving my midsize sedan out of its parking spot and having to deal with reparking in a Chicago neighborhood short on parking, but I am willing to do this to go to Valli Produce. It's definitely the best "big supermarket" I've found in the area. The produce really is a huge highlight. They also have a nice selection of olives, cheeses, and fancy cured meats, as well as a nice selection of Indian and Latin food ingredients. It's very reasonably priced and a nice one-stop shop when I want to get everything on my list and carry it around in my automobile. read more

Would have been 5-stars but minus-2 for terrible customer service. I've been shopping here for years. I cut open a watermelon last night that I purchased at the store that day. It looked perfectly fine, but had started rotting and fermenting. I saved the sticker and dug the receipt out of the trash and, naturally, tossed the bad melon in the garbage. I go to the store this morning and the unfriendly gal at customer service reprimands me for not having called right away (they weren't even open when I cut the melon), and tells me I should have "at least" (her words) taken a picture (you wouldn't have known by looking at a photo that it was fermented mush), or brought it back. Sure, I'm going to schlep around a 12 pound rotten melon! She went to the back for a few minutes and spoke to a colleague. Comes back out and tells me they're going to refund my $7 "this time" but in the future I need to bring the product back to the store. That was it. No "sorry for your trouble", nada! Sheesh! I hope a manager or owner reads this review. Is this really how you want to treat your customers? read more

Excellent selection of imported products-- so impressive that it's a bit chaotic and hard to find what you're looking for. The prices are a little high too, but overall a great market. read more

I have purchase lunch meat ends in Evanston only to find, older slices are green and are covered up by other meat pieces. Not cool. BEWARE

6/2022 5* Nice large grocery store. Lots and lots of Produce! Bakery was a bit disappointing. Bakery items look great. Just disappointing when you bite into them. But everything else here is top notch! read more

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This is a great place to shop. The produce is fresh and has good flavor. They have a lot of different ethnic foods and the country is marked on the aisle. And they have a great cheese and smoked sausage section. I love cheese so I always walk by it and get something. There is a lot of parking around. The store itself is clean. read more

Valli Produce - Grocery Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

I feel cashiers need more training, they seem more interested in chit chatting with the bagger than acknowledging customers. Mine barely talked to the customer in front of me, nor acknowledged the customer when she said thank you, and then didn't tell me what the total was for my groceries, leaving me to look at the screen to see for myself. * things have improved greatly. read more

The bakery Dept is the stores highlight. Employees for the most part there are friendly. Prices are a roller coaster sometimes good other times over priced. The few times that I've been there I haven't really found any great deals that would make this place a routine grocery stop however the Sushi there is decent and fairly priced but their bakery Dept is definitely the reason worth stopping by for, especially if you're looking to take over sweets that are a little different from the average grocery chains like Mariano's or jewel. Their bakery prices are also very reasonable. read more

Valli Produce - Chocolate covered cream horns. - Grocery Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

The suchi here is a hit or miss. They have some Hispanic ladies making it. Most of the time it's not rolled properly . They also make weird sushi mixes like Mexican sushi ‍. They should keep it traditional and have the Japanese guys like how they have at Jewel Osco. read more

Valli Produce - Grocery Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

I go to this store about once a week and really enjoy it. I live about three minutes away from both Walmart and Marianos but prefer coming here which is just a little further cause the produce is both better quality and better priced then both of the other stores. They also have a great grocery section with a nice variety of international selections, I always come here after I get off work and love the deli section. They have several premade food selections which are easy to heat up quickly and taste very good! Parking is easy and the workers are all very nice. It is located in a strip mall with a pet food store and dollar tree so it is also very convenient when you have several errands to run and you can get them all done at one location, read more

A wide range of selections with competitive price among grocery stores in the area. The store is always clean and well stocked. And the staff? They are the most friendly and helpful people you'll meet! read more

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Great neighborhood grocery. Secret hint Italian sub in the deli. Inexpensive and fabulous. Used to go to mellini's until we had this sub. Better and half the price. Always find what we need. read more