Alonti Deli

In terms of last minute dependability, this is one of my go-​to spots for lunch. We always order lunch for delivery, and it is a common favorite amongst everyone in the office. By the sounds of other reviewers, the actual location isn’t the greatest spot to dine. However, these guys are consistently on time and deliver great food. Not only that, but they LISTEN to everything anyone says when you give them feedback from their website. I’ve never been more impressed with a group who makes changes based on the feedback I give them.
Once, I let them know that their bread was lackluster and crumbled apart whenever I went to pick up my sandwich to take a bite. The manager wrote to me and thanked me for the feedback, and that they are working to figure out a different way to make the bread more satisfactory. Another time, I gave feedback on how difficult it was to see what their «Venetian,» «Milano,» or «Roma» sandwich/​wrap selections on their menu, and shortly thereafter, I noticed the site was adjusted to show menu items descriptions in a better spot.
Even as I write this, Meghan from the store just called me to let me know that they’re running behind with orders and that they won’t be able to deliver until about an hour after my intended delivery time. I said that was too long, and she is currently calling another store to see if they can fill our order instead. I understand that they don’t want the business going elsewhere, but still, the effort and customer service always blows me away.
The #1 absolute FAVORITE item on the menu is always the Cobb Salad. A coworker and I just discussed how they must sprinkle bacon fat or some type of cocaine in it, because there is *something* that just makes it stand out way above all other salads. Seriously, try it. Maybe it’s their balsamic dressing? No idea. It’s incredible.

Honestly, some of the grossest slop I’ve ever had the misfortune to be served.
It’s near my office and some coworkers brought me here. I tried it for both breakfast and lunch. Breakfast is heinously bad — almost 10 bucks for a meal that included scrambled eggs that were made from… uh, who the heck even knows, but it wasn’t any kind of real egg.
The lunch options here are equally paint-​by-​numbers, with a bajillion grams of sodium and/​or a layer of gravy slopped over top to give it the appearance of actual flavor.
Do not recommend. I would sooner go hungry.

Have been eating here for ages (office in the same building) but lunch here will no longer be an option for me. I usually get the vegetarian sandwich which the menu states comes on focaccia bread. Today was informed (after my sandwich was handed to me and I questioned the shape of the bread) that the restaurant no longer carries focaccia. The bread it came on was a disgusting, soggy onion bread. I hate onions with a passion and threw the thing out. If you change your written menu items which are still hanging above the counter or no longer offer something, you should tell people when they order!!! Thanks for ruining my lunch…

This has to be my favorite quick food. I usually get their a chicken pesto Caesar salad. Which is really good. They sometimes have blackened tilapia and steamed vegetables and it’s filled with flavor and seasoned perfectly. I usually have a late lunch and if I need something quick this is my go to place. They are fairly expensive but what restaurant isn’t expensive downtown. The hot bar/​salad bar is the way to go.

This used to be my go to place for a good sandwich, but the quality of the food has really gone downhill over the past year, or so. This week I decided to give it another shot and ordered the Big Al’s Club. I almost chipped a tooth biting into the bacon it was so hard, and then I found parts of what appeared to be a ham bone in the lunch meat. Disgusting. Never again.

Sad, sad, sad. So close and yet so far. Good selection, manager seems like a nice guy who cares, but they fall short in too many places. Had a sandwich yesterday, bread was dry, ham was flavorless. Went to grab a cup of chili a couple weeks ago, they had just brought out a new pot, there was a solid ¼″ of fat floating on the top. I soldiered through and skimmed the fat off when I got back to my desk, and I could not make it through the cinnamon. I appreaciate the effort to step it up a little, but the cninamon overpowered the chili. The salad bar has too much of the stuff that isn’t so popular and not enough of the stuff that is, though I will acknowledge the meats and dressing selections are good. far more often than not, I end up regretting my choice. Why do I keep coming here then? It’s in my building and sometimes I just don’t have time to go somewhere else. But more and more I find myself making time. As lazy as I can be, and as low as I can sometimes allow my standards to dip, Alonti and I have just about reached the end of the line.

This is a great place to eat if you want to go on a diet. The food is so shit, you won’t eat any of it and will lose tons of weight. Even if you do manage some down, it will not digest properly.
I would only do this diet for a few days. I heard one girl in my building died of starvation on the alonti diet. So, if you want to go somewhere with food you can eat, this is not your place.
I ate a bagel there 3 months ago. It was the first bagel I ever threw out in my life.
I have attempted to eat items with bacon on them three times. The first time, the thick parts of the bacon had a rancid fishy flavor. I decided to give them another chance, fish. I went back a few months later and accidentally ordered something with bacon, fish.
Need I say more? Need I say more?

I work in the building and I still rarely, if every, stop here.
First off, the food. You actually never see them ‘make’ any of it. They just bring it out in big warming trays from the back and put them under warmers. Therefore when you order, they just scoop your eggs and grab your bacon, sausage and potatoes out of buffet style trays. Are those real eggs or are they powdered/​mix? Also, if you order a breakfast taco or anything along those lines, be prepared for them to scoop the eggs, potatoes, sausage, etc. out of the buffet-​style warming trays into your soft taco shell, then microwave it right in front of you for 30 seconds or so. Really, microwave? If you’re going to do that at least do it in the ‘kitchen’ where nobody can see.
As for the prices/​portions go, they can do better on that as well. For $ 6 you get one scoop of eggs (maybe an egg and a half at best?), two small strips of bacon and a scoop of potatoes. And $ 2 and change for a bagel w/​cream cheese isn’t too bad, if they would actually put a decent amount of cream cheese on the bagel, not this tiddly little amount to cover both sides of it.
Until prices and portions change, I doubt I’ll be back for a long time. Plenty of other options across the street at the Union Station food court.

If you are looking for two pieces of bacon on a BLT, this is the place for you.

Haven’t tried too many things from his restaurant. I have had the chicken pesto pasta, which is a nice big portion for about $ 6 – 7. Plenty for lunch and very filling. My favorite thing there is their Italian Wedding soup. Has to be one of the best soups they have. Every time I go there it’s a large cup and a breadstick. Everything else doesn’t look bad, its made to order and so far tasty. They have outdoor seating facing the river.

Alonti, I wouldn’t go out of your way to go here, but definitely some good food if you are looking to grab something real quick or you work in the building and it is raining or too cold outside.
I’m a big fan of their breakfast and will occasionally stop in, in the mornings to get the Bacon Egg & Cheese on the Jalapeño Bagel, and this combination is really good. Could maybe use an extra slice or two of bacon, but do I really need the extra calories? Their breakfast special (eggs, toast, meat and potatoes) is also pretty good and they do have a good selection of cream cheese to throw on the bagel of your choice. I think the oatmeal is terrible and would not recommend it.
For lunch, I used to be a fan of their different sandwiches, but those have come overrated and a little pricey. Recently I’ve stuck with the Chicken Pesto or grabbing some Brisket off the Hot Bar, but once again I think you are more paying for the convenience of having a Deli in the building than the quality of food you would receive. Plus things are a little cheaper across the hall at the little Merchandise Mart, so spend your money wisely.
Giving the Convenience 5 stars, Breakfast 4 stars, Lunch 3 Stars for an average of 4 Stars.

It’s cold, It’s gray And I just want a decent bowl of soup without having to venture into the outdoors. But a decent bowl of soup is not located in this building.
You would think with the amount of employees in this building that the deli would be better. No, that is asking quite a bit.
There is no reason to make every soup spicy! The best part of the soup section is that they don’t seem to care how many packages of crackers you take. Which is a bonus especially when you need to sop up the funky flavors.
Too bad a person can’t live healthily on their Lemon Bars, because those are the best item they sell.

I’ve worked in this building for almost five years now… good lord, shoot me. Every morning I walk past Alonti and every morning it smells delicious.
However, I do think they are pricey and nothing really special. I only go there when I need something quick and/​or it’s raining outside.
The salad bar is always good and fresh and if you don’t stock up on heavy veggies, not too expensive. Usually around $ 7 for me. I can’t imagine how pricey it would be if you put any of the hot items in there though, yikes.
If you love super crispy, salty bacon, this is your place. I drool staring at their big platter of bacon when they make my sandwiches. And they are very precise making sandwiches so you have a good amount of time to stare and drool at the bacon. Get the California Club… I try to eat half and be reasonable and then by 3pm, the other half is mysteriously gone.
Also, their cookies are fab.

Great place to spend your lunch hour.
Something for everyone (soup, salad, hot meals, etc), ample seating, nice river veiws, outdoor eating in the summer, free refills, reasonable prices.
Their Italian Wedding Soup cures all winter blues.
The salad bar is always fresh and full of variety.
For a lunchtime deli, you really can’t go wrong. What’s with the hate, people?

I love you Alonti. You’ve never let me down. In 5 years. Never
When I’m hung over, you make me an amazing breakfast burrito to get me through the day.
When I’m feeling guilty for eating a breakfast burrito, you feed me a light salad with only a dollop of cottage cheese as the dressing but plenty of crisp delicious veggies.
When the light salad doesn’t nearly tide me over for the rest of the day but I still feel fat because of the breakfast burrito, you provide a perfect hard boiled egg and banana later in the day.
This morning, you gave me great coffee. Later on, some colleagues on my office floor had a conference that was catered by you. I ate your coffee cake leftovers. It was amazing.
Also, the Latino dude with the well-​plucked eye brows is an expert at customer service. He’s pleasant, quick, efficient and takes care to make everything the way you want it. He even calls me «Dear» every morning. He should be teaching proper hospitality at The Four Seasons. That is not an overstatement.
I love you, Alonti.

Where to begin…
I have worked in this building for almost 6 years. This place has a monopoly and needs some competition. Their food is GROSSLY overpriced and their service is awful.
First of all, the pasta, salad, sandwich line would be a lot more efficient, if the staff wasn’t giggling and chatting the whole time and then glaring when you interrupt them to remind them, «No, I asked for no egg on that cobb salad» as they are chatting and getting a big, hefty scoop to plop on top. Sorry, for interrupting.
Then, their hot bar/​salad that is charged by weight? You will never find lettuce that isn’t drenched and forget about getting mashed potatoes or cottage cheese. You’ll end up paying over $ 20…easy.
Also, there have been several times that I’m in a pinch and I go to grab something from the bar only to have the bowl snatched away for some reason and have the staff treat me like I’m not there.
I have seriously considered raising capital to open some competition in this building, because it would be SO easy to win.

This particular Alonti (I didn’t realize there are so many of them downtown) is fortunately located within a nice glass atrium over looking the south branch of the Chicago river, and basically straight across, but far enough away from Willis Tower to offer a great vantage point of the monstrocity.
Yes, I just referenced Willis (not Sears) Tower. Go ahead and yell at me if you want…
As for the food, it is your typical modern-​day corporate building lunch room offering soups, salads, sandwiches, coffee, drinks and a few other items. The lines move pretty quickly which is important for the corporations so that they may get their sheep back upstairs to their cubicles as quickly as possible.
Food is hit and miss. I have had some pretty bad sandwiches one day and some cheap and flavorful pastas the next. The tequila chicken pasta is consistently good.

I’ve used Alonti Deli to cater a couple of lunches at work. Their sandwiches and salads are pretty a-​ok. They are friendly, fast and pretty convenient.
I needed food delivered at 11:30am with less than 24 hours notice and Alonti delivered. They were even a couple of minutes early. I have used Alonti a few other times and the service has always been the same.

When I’m trying to get out of my winter jeans and into my summer jeans, visiting the salad bar at Alonti is the best way to get the job done! You can choose iceberg, romaine or even spinach for your base, and with a surprisingly large amount of low-​fat toppings like veggies, egg whites, cottage cheese, etc., it’s easy to fill up, but stay low-​cal. AND they have fat-​free ranch. Which kind of sucks, but if you mix it with a touch of the full fat ranch, it’s very, very tolerable.
All that healthy goodness doesn’t come cheap, though. Expect to shell out between 8 and 11 bucks for your salad (it’s based on weight).
Also important to note: Next to McDonald’s, I’m convinced that Alonti has the best fountain drinks on the face of the planet.

The best view of the damn Sears tower in town.
I’m not sure how much of a selling point that is, considering that you can see the monstrosity from every corner of our fair city… and generally you don’t need to do it over a mediocre sandwich…
But… Tour buses should stop here and unload camera-​toting Iowans. The Discovery Channel should film their «Modern Marvels: Building the Tower» specials here.
A glass enclosed atrium that makes you feel like the skyline is yours.
Ho hum food.