We were traveling through to go to Lincolnshire and looking for a bite to eat. Stepped in to see if they had any hot food options but it appears that was already cleaned up. Nice store though. Fully stocked and clean. I was approached and asked if I needed help, but I didn't. Very nice gentleman. read more

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Thanksgiving food shopping reminded me how great this store is. It starts with the people. Friendly and smiling. Go there a few times and they recognize you. They're happy to see you. The food selection from meat, to fish to dairy, quality is there. read more

have my grocery store. Of late, it's very disappointing. You walk in the store at 7 PM hoping to grab some deli items and such and it's already taken down same thing for the fish area taken down you can't even see any items. Sunset, you have become a huge disappointment. read more

Love the personalized shopping Great selection of items Super staff, very helpful Love their cakes!!! read more

Sunset Foods in Lakr Forest is great. Everyone is nice; they're all helpful. When you ask for help finding an item, they walk you to the place on the shelf. One time, while getting soup, an employee saw I was having problems and rushed over to help. Also, if they don't carry a particular type of fish, the fish department will do a special order, instead of saying "we don't carry this." Today I needed a plastic platter for a party. I called and asked if I could purchase this from the produce department, Thank you Richard for helping me! The staff are terrific ! There may be lots of new grocery stores around, Sunset is still the best! read more

I pre-ordered a few trays: mini-sandwiches, pinwheels, fruit tray, veggie tray, and brownies/cookies tray to be ready this morning. My order was ready for me and the sandwiches and pinwheels looked fresh and inviting, the veg and fruit was brightly colored and stacked high and the brownies/cookies looked so tempting. All the food looked very appealing and of high quality. This will be a very delicious lunch (sorry, no pics). read more

Store is clean well organized. Have very nice products fresh fresh fresh. The down size is everything is very expensive . I go only occasionally''. Probably would go more but it is cost prohibitive read more

Great selection of both food and other products. Looking for a spice you can't find elsewhere? Sunset may have it! Are you tired of seeing the same brands only? Sunset offers a variety of food manufacturers. They also have helpful staff! read more

Sunset has everything, everything. Killer egg salad in the deli. From a free cup of coffee to fancy hand cream. This place is awesome - wine & beer shop attached. read more

Best family run grocery out there. My grandmother shopped at this store in the 50's-70's. Then when I moved to Illinois, I would come here for special occasions from Chicago. Now my mom is in LF and I come here regularly. The bakery, to go meals, deli, wow, and meats and fresh fruits are over the top best. You never get a fruit that is not sweet and delicious. They also have many unique products and every sauce made. I get my Chinese hot mustard here. Wines and flowers a plus. And they will load your car and offer drive up free service too. Sunset is the creme of the crop, small family high end grocery worth trying. read more

Probably the most substandard grocery store in terms of item quality you'll ever experience, certainly over time. Unbelievable lack of quality control for Lake Forest that's seemingly tolerated for some reason. Due to a family member that continues to shop there because they "know where everything is", I've returned numerous items that were spoiled including frozen food. The produce has a shelf life of about one day and is hit and miss, mostly miss. The bakery is sub par. I was poisoned this summer from the shellfish, particularly the mussels. Was diagnosed with the ciguatera toxin that came from them, 6 days to recover. Now, even the rawhide dog bones are bad as I noticed a rancid smell coming from the bone as it was chewed and the dog's intestinal system had a defensive reaction. I think it's time to make a report to the Lake County Health Dept. read more

This store is all sorts of amazing. I don't know why I thought it was just a cheapo food market but it's actually pretty nice. It's really well organized, tons of options for groceries, very clean, semi-friendly workers. Overall, a nice little surprise! Prices are so-so. They sell Glazed & Infused donuts! Whaaaa! That bit was awesome. Plus they have a smoothie bar, so cool. Sunset is like a smaller Mariano's in my world. Def would pop in if in need in the future & in the area. read more

Sunset Foods - Grocery Near Me - Lake Forest, Illinois

The smoked bbq ribs are absolutely delicious! You've got to ask for Doug, he's the very best, he's the only one I deal witj as his food has proven to be on point every time. Mmm mmmm good! read more

The Smokehouse is awesome. Doug is the best. He knows his stuff when it comes to all things smoked meats. He has the best customer service. Whether it's the brisket, pulled pork, turkey breast, or ribs, it all tastes like Doug smoked it with love. read more

I will never shop at sunset again. I bought a premade egg, ham and cheese breakfast sandwich this morning and within 30 minutes I was showing ALL the signs of food poisoning. It was definitely a staphylococcus bacteria that was on that sandwich. WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE PREPARING FOOD!!! read more

The meat department is very accommodating. They carry the best quality of any local business.

I was looking for blood orange juice EVERYWHERE You name it- I went there. Chain stores, ethnic specialty stores, upscale boutique markets... Why did I not got yo MY SUNSET in Lake Forest They escorted me right to the case & have a stash frozen if you ever need it LOVE MY SUNSET read more

Sunset Foods - Grocery Near Me - Lake Forest, Illinois

Sunset, Lake Forest -Opens the doors at 7am cannot get service in the Fish department until after 8am- I was chastised for requesting manager assistance. The owner John Cortesi finds this acceptable customer service. I shop for the elderly and needed to be at work by 8am. English is not the primary language for most employees at Sunset Lake Forest. John Cortesi struts the aisle like a Roman Emperor- and pays employees minimum wage- no benefits by employing part timIe help. All departments have taken a hit and are outsourced. The bakery is full of another baker's goods. The prices are 4 x the amount of similar stores- Heinans, and Whole Foods right down the block. A can of mushroom soup is 2.50 cents, at Lake Forset Sunset. I came for the customer srvice-" John Cortesi" proved that is no longer a priority. The store is grossly understaffed, long wait lines, no service behind the counters- The floor employees are not educated/ trained- under payed decide when and if they are going to work. The working conditions are long hours without assistance because John Cortesi does not want to pay a fair wage. The quality of the food especially the fish can be purchased right down the street at Heinans- keep driving, let the Empire fall. read more

I like the store set up & merchandising. Nice options of prepped foods & pre cut produce. The one downside is the customer service counter is very resistant to make exchanges or credit for bad product. On the few occasions I've received bad product, it has been necessary to escalate issues to the store manager. I have to push to obtain a credit or replacement when they have sold me spoiled product. My preference is to support local retailers. But their customer service has been difficult too many times, I will NOT SHOP here. Other stores offer more cooperative customer service. read more

Haven't shopped this store in awhile. Now unlikely to go back ever. Their customer service has noticeably declined. Two of the two open self checkout lines incorrectly detected extra items in the bag, and the attendant was slow to respond and in a foul mood!! read more

Love this grocery store, they really stock the right items/brands, only ding is that their isles are too narrow.

This local grocery store had the best wine and beer selections in an upscale neighborhood. The prices were very competitive and comparable to other local stores. read more

They sell food. But do they sell sunsets? As Yelper Dan B. asks? The answer is no. What is SUNNY the staffs demeanors, the bakery (fab cakes and cookies), the deli (bitchin chicken salad and te pasta salad is nothing to sneeze at), and the frozen dinners. Oy! So good especially the shrimp and the chicken one. The quality of all the prepared ready to serve and frozen food is stupendous. The SHADE. The prices. The cakes I mentioned are rich in flavor and cost and the single serving tv/frozen dinezos are 12 bucks. Yikes. But this is food for buying that's good for eating. read more

Sunset Foods - They sell soft drinks - Grocery Near Me - Lake Forest, Illinois

Sunset reminds me a lot of Wegman's... but shrinkified. Like, whoa. Imagine a similar selection... in half the space. [Insert sucking/shrinking noises.] Considering it's location maybe a mile away from my 'rents' place, it makes for really great shopping to pick up the one or two things that you need that you forgot. Or, in my case, all of the critical ingredients for steaming mussels as a contribution to the family New Year's Eve feast, including mussels, wine, and pancetta. Mmm. So obtaining mussels was probably the most challenging part of the trip. Even on New Year's Eve, the seafood counter was slammed. With three people back there working away there was still a line. I appreciated that you can purchase mussels here by the pound. At home, the local grocery store only has them by the bag, which is sometimes too little or too much (kind of like the hot dogs vs. buns phenomenon/evil sales tactic). Purchasing wine was easiest. A nice fellow simply asked if there was anything he could help us find and I asked for a drinking white I could use to steam mussels with. Without a word, he turned and walked down the hall and decisively picked up a bottle of Bordeaux Sauv, handing it to me. Whole transaction... no words. Whoa. Efficient! It's kind of neat that there's an entirely separate alcohol section in this grocery store. Again, similar to Wegman's, just way smaller, and in a separate room. They even have their own checkout counter, for the lushes who come in only for booze. When it comes down to it, seems to me that it's most economical to head down the street to pick up regular items from Dominick's for the cost savings, especially non-perishables. The selection for higher end items and the freshness of produce and seafood at Sunset definitely makes it worth a trip for just those items. And, as other yelpers have noted, I've never encountered any other grocery store where there are staff on hand to help you unload your cart onto the conveyor belt at checkout, someone else to ring you up, and a third person to bag your goods. I'm impressed by the expense on the part of the business to have so many people on hand, but it seems to really speed things up - always a bonus to my inner industrial engineer! read more

I have a love hate relationship with Sunset Foods. There are things I love but this review is for the "bakery." I recently ordered another birthday cake from Sunset. But here's the deal. They farm out the work. So you can't actually talk to the person making the cake. Instead some other company makes them, which I discovered after their snafu. I brought in a transformer emblem for them to use. I was very clear what I wanted. And they drew it on UPSIDE DOWN. It was obviously upside down. I couldn't believe it. What do you tell a 4 year old? I had to ask for the manager because the person behind the counter just expected me to take the cake. And there wasn't enough time to make a new one. I showed the manager the mistake and said I was not going to pay. I walked away with a free cake. At least they got that right. read more

In response to an answer below re: the fact that Sunset says "In an effort to have fewer points of contact for the safety of our customers and staff we no longer aid with your items during checkout. We are committed to socially distant practices. However, we will work with our team to make sure they are consistent with the new normal-" I love Sunset, but really, the cashier touches everything, the bagger touches everything AND the biggie, they put it in a NEW cart (one the customer hasn't cleaned yet and there are no wipes to clean it!!). So things aren't really thought out well for the customer really. I asked the cashier for a twisty tie on a muffin yesterday and she couldn't find one so proceeded to knot the bag with her hands. How sanitary is that? I clean everything off when I get home, so if someone asked me if I wanted things taken from my cart and put on the conveyor- I'd say YES!! So, for all great customer service reasons I go to Sunset...they are all gone. Customer service is not fantastic and the shelves are generally empty. read more

When we lived in Lindenhurst, we would drive to Libertyville to shop at the Sunset Foods store there. Now we're close to the one in Lake Forest and shop there most of the time. It's rare that we can't find what we need there, but it does occasionally happen, but less so than at the competing stores in the area. For me, the best aspect of shopping at Sunset is the service. There is NEVER a wait at checkout. The staff bends over backwards to help you find something, and if they don't stock it, they will try to get it for you. They have a good selection of wines, beer and liquor on that side of the store too. Try Sunset, you'll not regret it. read more

I came in unknowingly at what I now assume was 5 minutes to closing (9pm), lights and music were on, just a couple customers shopping, employees walking around, etc. I had no idea they were about to close. I shopped around and went to check out at about 5 after 9pm and they'd shut down all the registers and no one was in sight. That's fine but not knowing they were closing an intercom notice, or turning the music off could've let me know to hurry up or leave. I found one employee near the registers and asked where I should check out. He looked at me and walked away. I walked the other way and looked around the corner and saw the store manager counting money. I walked over and politely asked her how I should check out and she also plain out ignored me, like I wasn't even there. I stood and waited another minute. Thinking she would address me after counting the money but nothing. At this point I just put my two items down and walked out. Wait.. nope, the door was locked. I paused and looked around. Still no one responding. So I just unlocked it and the next door myself and left. The best part is that as I looked back inside when going to my car (the front is all windows) I could see both employees who ignored me laughing with each other as the first guy was already locking the doors I had reopened. The place was dirty and garbage anyways with limited selection. MARIANOS is right down the street and is much better. Go there. read more

if I wanted the taste of chicken in my tuna salad I would have gotten a chicken salad sandwich. you don't put tomato paste or tuna flavored sauce or spread in a chicken salad so don't put chicken salad paste in your tuna salad. stop pulling in chicken flavored paste or whatever the hell you're doing in your tuna salad it tastes awful and almost made me puke. read more

Sunset Foods Lake Forest is my favorite grocery store. Customer service here is top notch. Everyone that works here is always pleasant and attentive. I love Boars Head delis, and Sunset's deli is a Boars Head deli--a very unique attribute. Sunset always has everything I am looking for. Sunset does not wow you with presentation, but it makes up for it with customer service, cleanliness, and selection. The drive-up grocery bag service is invaluable when shopping with my handicapped father. This service and the Boars Head deli make Sunset Foods Lake Forest worth it every time. read more

One of the few grocery stores around where you can go in and get a great deli sandwich made while you wait. They make their own roast beef which I always prefer over the supposedly high quality Boars Head (which they also have, I believe). I ordered a sandwich on sourdough with provolone cheese and onions - it was delicious. They have a spot to eat if you wish to use it as well, though it's nothing special, it does the job. I didn't really venture much into the rest of the store, though I can only assume that their fresh fish offerings are as high a quality as their other stores - one of the best places I know of to find great seafood. Thumbs up on this store and the entire group. read more

So we pull into the parking lot of this place and it is 75% full of Jags, Mercedes, BMW's, Land Rovers, Hummers, Cadillacs...I think we even saw a Bentley. The store is in a strip-mall designed to look like a quaint villa. We walk in and I am half expecting all the stiffies in there to be talking to one another through their teeth. I think I even saw a guy in an ascot. This place is like an upscale version of Treasure Island (think Treasure Island crossed with Fox & Oble) in how they organize their products, what they offer, how they handle their produce (an employee weighs it for you), etc. I must say, they do NOT skimp on the samples here. They stock a lot of international and gourmet brands, have good-quality deli, meat, bakery and floral products, and the staff is actually quite pleasant. But, make no mistake, you PAY for all this. This place is NOT CHEAP. But somehow I don't think that guy in the ascot, loading his purchases into the trunk of his Bentley, is too worried about the cost of Tea in Lake Forest. read more

Seriously, would you want to change places with the staff? Sunset has been short handed but they are doing their best. Everybody is fearful of the virus but their staff comes in everyday because they need to support their families and assist you in buying food for yours. I have found Sunset's ability to keep their store well stocked impressive considering many larger stores are having difficulty staying fully stocked. They don't have the staff to unload groceries onto the counter right now, however neither does Heinens or Marianos. It was disappointing a few weeks ago seeing a Sunset employee in the parking lot picking up disposed gloves just thrown on the ground by customers. They have served the Lake Forest community well for many years. It's time to check our privilege. read more

I have been shopping at Sunset Foods in Lake Forest for decades. Lately, during this pandemic, some of their employees are too freaked out to even work and should NOT be in their positions. There is a lady with her head almost entirely wrapped that yells at anyone if they don't maintain at least 10' away from anyone and is not nice about it. Forget it! Everyone has a mask on and 6' is fine. You don't need my money if that is the way you let your employees behave. read more

Great BBQ in the Smokehouse. Probably the best Texas brisket outside of Texas. All areas of the store are great. The management is top notch. The employees are knowledgeable and helpful. Love the handles on the paper grocery bags and curbside loading of groceries by their staff in your car. No one else does it like Sunset. read more

Fresh produce and bakery are available. There are many new brands groceries which i think are homemade or are new to the market.

I love Sunset. Everyone is nice and helpful. They have a great selection of cheeses, prepared foods, meats, wine/beer, produce - all good. I do agree with the other reviewers that you are probably much better off getting most of your pantry items from Dominick's. When you get to a register, someone is there to unload your groceries for you...customer service is tops here. And they all seem to love their jobs - that speaks volumes. Sure it's more pricey than Dominick's, but the quality is far superior. They have valet for the groceries. You get a number, pull up to the side and they bring your groceries out and load them in your car for you. An excellent perk on those cold winter days. read more

While this place is overwhelmingly huge, it has incredible service, with tons of free samples and amazingly helpful employees. The selection is unbeatable... If you can find your way around! read more

Sunset Foods is without a doubt my favorite grocery store of all time. I was familiar with the Northbrook store, and then moved to Lake Forest. I am elated to still have a Sunset Foods nearby. The staff is always friendly and helpful, and the Deli at this Sunset is unbelievably good! For a smaller store, the variety of items they offer in the Deli are amazing. They have items that will appeal to any palate and any lifestyle choice. In other words, if healthy eating is your main concern you will find many things to choose from. If you are looking for home cooking there are a variety of dishes to satisfy that desire. This particular store is small for a grocery store, but you can find everything you need. I love this place! read more

Just discovered this store not too long ago and I really like it. I'm a fan of smaller grocery stores in general. Keeps me from getting too overstimulated..lol. Anyway, their brisket and smoked turkey are amaze balls. The staff is so friendly and it's easy to actually find someone when you need them. read more