Marinos Deli

It took me 16 years to finally stop by this deli near my home. So on a deep-frozen day, I decided to give it a try. Right away, I loved the old-school deli vibe. The owner and his sister were there to greet customers, making the experience feel warm and welcoming.The verdict? The Reuben sandwich was fantastic--stacked with meat and melted cheese that was incredibly satisfying in every bite. However, the meatballs and sauce were just okay for me. I found the meatballs a bit underseasoned and on the mushy side. The stuffed pepper soup was fun and had a nice sweetness, but it was a little greasier than I prefer.Overall, if you're looking for a great sandwich, this spot is definitely worth a visit!

Finally visited Marinos Deli for a quick sandwich at lunch after I read a story about this mom-and-pop business in NE Minneapolis. Conveniently located off Johnson NE (free parking on the street), this local restaurant serves up some good hoagies, sub-marino sandwiches (see what I did there?), pasta, and other Italian food. It's a unique restaurant because it's kind of like a deli and fast casual restaurant with a few tables inside, but when I arrived shortly after 1 pm, it was pretty empty. Overall, the service was great, it's a family-owned place and the mother and daughter were working and were very pleasant. The place smells terrific, if you like Italian food and good sauces. While the decor is a step-back in time, I really enjoyed the taxidermy walleyes which is a true reflection of being a Minnesota business. The sandwich I selected was good, came with a small bag of chips, and wasn't too pricey - the prices are actually pretty good, but the only thing I would say is the sizes aren't huge. I recommend Marinos if you are in the neighborhood and definitely want to try the pasta and meat ravioli next time!

I had an outstanding meatball sandwich and my husband had the gyro which he loved too. Served with a little bag of ripple chips; not too big of a bag, the perfect portion. I moved from the neighborhood in 2005 and had not stopped in since I moved. So glad I did. The owner is an absolute gem. Genuinely friendly and welcoming. I'm thrilled to see his business there after 40 years. Well deserved for him and his family.

TL:DR; The lasagna was delicious, the service left a lot to be desired. We wanted to love this place, but in all honesty, we didn't have a great experience. We needed to cater a party for our small nonprofit yesterday, and wanted to support a local family owned restaurant. My initial communication was via email and went fairly well. I was looking for a vegetarian entrée, and happily I learned that their lasagna is made vegetarian by default. They recommend buying meatballs if you want meat with it, or you can also purchase a meat sauce. I ordered a full pan of lasagna, which I learned they make without the sauce, (apparently some people prefer it that way). So I also had to purchase 2 quarts of sauce. We also needed some good bread for the party, and I had planned to get that at a bakery, but when I saw they made hard rolls, I thought that I could save myself a trip and kill two birds with one stone. So I ordered two dozen hard rolls and butter cups. The party was at noon, so I asked to pick everything up at 11:15 AM. When we got there at 11:15, our order was not packed and ready. Additionally, the proprietor realized he forgot to thaw out the hard rolls. They offered to just nuke them in the microwave and send me along with them. I told them the venue does not have an oven so there's no way partially thawed rolls are going to work. If they had apologized at this point and tried to make things right, it would have gone a long way toward our good will. But they said "how about this sliced white bread instead, it's less expensive anyway", and we were out of time, since we had to go set up the party before the guests arrived. So I said OK fine. Then he starts ringing us up, and I object because none of the prices seem to match what was on the website. I had a specific budget to stick to, not spending my own money, as it was for the nonprofit we volunteer for. I meticulously researched places all week in order to stick to the budget. Never once did we get an apology for the incorrect pricing, and he did not try to make things right by honoring any of the prices on the website, either. (i.e. the hard rolls were supposed to be $4.99 a dozen, the white bread was not cheaper at $5.39 a loaf). I get that they are a small business and they need to make a profit, but customer service should still mean something. It's just wrong to force a customer to pay more than your advertised price. We didn't have much choice at that point, so I decided to just pay for it and get out of there. My husband was offering to pay the extra out of his own pocket, which is also wrong. We ended up being late, because all of that back-and-forth while they were packing up the order took 15 minutes. He kept saying he had emailed me a photo of the receipt, but I had not seen that last email. When I saw it today, the total was within our budget, I think because he forgot to put the hard rolls on there. The good news is the lasagna was a hit, everyone said it was delicious, and we barely had any left at the end. The red sauce was tasty, and even had a bit of heat, which was a pleasant surprise. But no one ate the bread. It wasn't anything special, just kind of your basic sliced white bread. But the unpleasant pickup may have soured our group on using them in the future. Probably not really worth making a couple extra bucks if you're losing a group of potential future customers.

Meagerly-meated Italian submarine with interesting flavor profile, yet poor condiment execution. We ordered the standard Marino's Italian which is made like a new-world Italian sub (Genoa salami, capocollo, provolone, topped with onion,lettuce, tomato, Italian dressing). They also slide a crushed meatball in there. The meatball is a surprisingly nice addition. The breaded pork/beef blended meatball with the sharper flavored leanish meats makes for a nice hot/cold combo. The meatball is well-executed and flavorful.However, this sub has some fundamental flaws. 1) The portion of meat is inadequate. It's an overstatement to call it a "sub." It's more of a lighter sandwich on an Italian roll. 2) The sub had hot and wet lettuce on it. Hot/wet lettuce is perhaps one of the worst possible addition to any sandwich. This mangled wet ingredient adds an unpleasant and slimy consistency that deadens the palate and disappoints especially on sandwiches with a dearth of meat.

I started a new job not far from this place. I was brought here to give it a try, and informed that for roughly 15 years my coworkers having been coming to this place. It's a tiny spot, but they would pack it full with a group regularly. Great hole-in-the-wall divey atmosphere, with only a handful of tables so come early or plan on taking it to go! Parking is a small lot, trucks will not fit.Walk up and order from the handwritten menu on the wall. If you happen to snag a table, they will bring the food out to you. We ordered the special, which was a meat sauce ravioli with bread. Only about $7 and surprisingly tasty! I have heard great things about their subs, and if you don't go for the food, go for the people. Everyone was very friendly and the staff were overly accommodating. They offered to bring up extra chairs when a few too many people showed up during the lunch rush! Overall lots of relaxed conversation, and it's clear everyone knows each other! When you're finished eating there is a trash can and a bin to set the dishes in.What a great local deli!

SUPER SANDWICHI love searching for hidden gems and Mariano's deli delivered. When I arrived at the icy parking lot I met a sweet old lady who asked me to help her through the snow. She told me how she was buying her son a gift card for Mariano's Deli. All I could think about was that her son is a lucky guy. As we walked in the store, I told her I was going to order my food and then I would walk her back to her car, after she bought the gift card. Finally, all of my years as a Boy Scout were finally paying off. Mariano's Deli opened in 1985 but the recipes were born in Italy in 1896 with Ralph Marino. He is the one who taught Mary Marino about cooking. Mary Marino known as "Nana" established her reputation cooking from the 40's through the 70's in various Minneapolis area restaurants. The best part...her recipes live on here at the restaurant every single day. The Meatballs are amazing and I'd highly recommend them. They even put sliced meatballs on their Italian sub sandwich. That's a first for me and it was really delicious. This sub sandwich was actually created by a customer who loved their daily Meatball sandwiches but wanted to eat something new on the menu. All I can think is that this customer was a culinary genius. They literally mixed two sandwiches and created something new. I learned that I could order the sub "Old School". Which means they will actually smash the whole Meatball on the sandwich. That is how they first made it for the customer who created it. I didn't learn this great tip from the owner Ralph, until I was leaving. I'm totally ordering it that way the next time I dine here. The bread is baked fresh daily using a family recipe. The sandwich is the best here and I'd totally get it again. I had the lasagna too but I wouldn't recommend it. I ordered it with a side of meatballs and that was the highlight. The lasagna is very simple with noodles, sauce and cheese. It lacked any complexity or depth. I guess I was hoping for more from the lasagna. You definitely do not want to miss this five table grocery store gem. You might even catch Ralph doing his paper work on two of the tables. No really. When I walked in it looked like he was doing his taxes. Ha! I simply love family businesses because they have all of the charm in the world. I can't wait to come back for that fantastic sub sandwich again. Every deli should add fresh meatballs to their Italian sub sandwiches.

Always really good food!!! Comfort food that hits the spot every time, highly recommend!

Been here twice. Thought the first time was a fluke. Will never go back. Low quality. Not sure how this place gets these rave reviews. Disappointing for being so conveniently located in the neighborhood.

The "subs" are 60% warm soggy bread and warm soggy lettuce. The flavors of some of the meats are good, but it's a shrimpy little sandwich, not a sub, and the way it's prepared makes it honestly pretty disgusting. I live nearby and tried a number of different sandwiches over maybe ten visits over the span of a year or two, always hoping I maybe was just catching someone on an off day, but no. This is just how they roll. A lot of people say the pastas etc. are great. I haven't tried any of that, but a lot of people also say the sandwiches are great, when in fact they are even worse than Subway. Shockingly. So. Guess take that for what it's worth. It's one of those local institutions than I have to assume stays in business on reputation/tradition, not the current quality of the food. Sadly. Some people seem to like it, which is cool for them. I wanted to support a local independent business but just can't do this one.