Mark’s On 59

I had the fish and my wife had the large shrimp. Food and service was very good. We will be back here often.

Always good food here, we’ve never been disappointed. My husband says they have the best beef sandwiches in town.

Amazing! I work down the street! They make awesome food and often walk food over to me if I cannot leave my retail store unattended.

Mark’s on 59 is a hidden gem — quite literally on that «hidden» part. While you’re speeding down Route 59 (come on, you’re approaching I-​55 at this point, you’re going much faster than 45MPH) you’re likely to fly right past Mark’s without ever noticing they are here. Lucky for me, it’s 2014, and we have Google Maps and GPS galore. It’s on the east side of Route 59, next to a liquor store. The «Mark’s» sign is partially covered by trees, and there isn’t much around in terms of shopping and dining.
When we pulled into the parking lot, it was empty. It looked dark inside, but I walked to the front door and saw two employees inside. The lights appear dim from outside, so don’t leave! The exterior and front counter lead you to believe that Mark’s is a «dive,» just another greasy little fast food spot in suburbia. But turn around: the dining area is unexpected. There are a few TVs, sturdy oak tables, and a very attractive bar area.
The shrimp is outstanding! The shrimp were generously sized and portioned, breaded evenly, crunchy, and not too greasy. Mark’s offers large shrimp and jumbo shrimp in ½ lb and 1 lb baskets. I had the ½ lb of large shrimp, which to me, where jumbo. And the ½ lb filled me up like 1 lb would. The shrimp baskets come with two sides, so I chose the hush puppies and the fries.
I would come back here just for sides of the hush puppies. Oh my YUM. Surely hush puppies alone don’t merit a meal… but what if nobody’s looking?
Mark’s menu also offers Italian beef, Polish sausage, hot dogs, and more. Prices are reasonable too.
Lately, it takes a lot for me to get enthusiastic about anything featured on «Chicago’s Best.» As my husband says, «what restaurant HASN’T been on Chicago’s Best?» Well, I can say with certainty that Mark’s on 59 is one of the best spots on all of Route 59. If you’re heading south, you’re almost at I-​55, so stop here before it’s too late!

Well, we were trying to decide where to go for lunch. By friend recommended a place we’ve eaten numerous times and I almost agreed. Instead I did a Unilocal search nearby and found Mark’s on 59. The reviews are good and when I suggested it my buddy was excited about it because he’d eaten there before and loved it. Done, Unilocal expanding horizons daily!
Like so many places in Joliet/​Plainfield/​Shorewood areas Marks looks pretty scary from the outside. It is in a little strip mall attached to a really sketchy liquor store.
Once you walk inside you immediately realize that you can’t judge a place by its outward appearance. When you walk in you turn left and order at the kitchen window. The kitchen looks well maintained and extremely clean, good start.
The entire restaurant looks custom decorated. I would be willing to bet that the owner has some contractor skills because the tiling, the fish tank and even the bar in the back look like they were done very meticulously. Only an owner puts that kind of time and effort into that work.
Now, I read on Unilocal that the Shrimp basket was the way to go and my friend echoed the sentiment. So when ordering at the window we each got a bowl of beef barley soup then split a 2# shrimp basket and a 1 pound smelt basket.
I am a giant soup snob. This beef barley soup was far and away the best I have ever had. A++++ Huge hunks of beef and only a mild/​moderate amount of barley. Usually it is the other way around (barley is cheaper than beef!)
Shrimp Basket. A+ You may think, and I have always thought that a shrimp is a shrimp is a shrimp. I will now tell you that you are wrong. These shrimp were HUGE (like four bites huge), perfectly breaded, and tasted amazingly fresh. I can honestly say that Marks has re-​set the bar for breaded shrimp, all others will be compared to these giant tasty scrimps!
Smelt basket. B+ Smelt in general freak most people out due to the fact that you are consuming the entire fish. These were some of the better fried smelt that I’ve had. The taste was something along the lines of fresh pillowy fish-​flavored dough sticks. I enjoyed them, but I have had really fresh fried smelt and these were certainly frozen (kind of an unfair comparison). I will order them again, they just werent the perfect consistency for an excellent grade.
So, all in all, Marks will be my go to when I am craving beef barley soup or fresh fried shrimp. That’s a pretty amazing culinary change for me in one sitting! Give them a try, you will not be disappointed!

Always have been satisfied with marks on 59. They make a good Chicago style dog!
Clean facility good service and pricing. I don’t understand why they are so hidden! You could drive by every day and never know its there! There’s a lot of traffic on 59, put up a sign and some lights! Trim/​remove the trees blocking the whole building! From the street it looks like you don’t want business! Nothing grabs the eye when driving by.