Maria Market

One of my all time favorite lunch spots. I travel worldwide and eat out often — this is a real gem for lunch. It’s Romanian, but basically Ukrainian as far as I’m concerned. Cabbage rolls, chops, all kinds of great food on a hot table. Every bite here has been perfect. It’s very nice as well, and great service. The deli is world class as well.

Recently had the delicious lunch buffet here and yes, your selections are weighed before you sit down and eat. It brilliantly prevents food from being wasted like at so many buffets.
The restaurant is very clean and service is friendly. The price for my full plate of six items from the buffet came to only $ 9.52. A very tasty, filling and frugal meal.
Would highly recommend.
To reviewer «Frank B», your $ 23.86 plate must have contained a gargantuan portion size, completely unrealistic for the average human being.
Hardly a reason to give this great restaurant 2 stars because you’re a pig.

We went to the lunch room right next to the market and was greeted promptly by the staff who explained how the lunch is priced by the weight of the food taken. It is a ‘buffet’ style, served yourself type place. The food tasted great and the price is actually not bad if you don’t treat it as an all you can eat buffet. I got a reasonable lunch portion plate and a soft drink for $ 13 (tax in). All in all, not a bad deal for a hot lunch.

They have recently opened a nice little lunch room in which they serve a number of European dishes, soups, salad, and bread. It’s set up like a buffet, but don’t be fooled! You’re plate is weighed and you are charged accordingly. I had lunch there yesterday, and although it was good, it was an unbelievable $ 23.86 for ONE plate of food. No soup, salad or bread included.
Good food, but priced waaaaay to high. I wont return at those prices.

I first went to maria’s market after seeing them on tv. They didnt have as much of a variety as they did when they were on tv. The sandwiches are good… not that big but good. I do enjoy their perogies.

I love markets/​delis like this and I found it quite by accident while in the area. If you are looking for a place to eat, you will save money on lunch/​dinner as you can buy a long HOT spicy sausage, a small brick of cheese (cow or sheep feta) and a nice whole grain fresh sub bun/​sourdough loaf for under $ 10 total. AND you will have enough for at least 3 – 4 meals! The bread is baked on site — the bakers come in at 5am to make sure everything is ready for the day.
I met the owner Joanna today and while I wish she was ¹⁄₅ as enthusiastic as I was about her store, she was pleasant and offers you a sample so you can try before you buy.
The store was nice and quiet at 3pm but gets busy of course after work hours and gets packed on weekends. I can see why.
The store was full of European goodies, spices and chocolate, jarred peppers etc and was well maintained/​clean. There are quite a few desserts in the showcase area at the back but I missed the Tiramisu by one day. They make it on Thursdays! :(
I had a wonderful noshing of the store’s meat, cheese and bread when I got home this afternoon and I was very happy with the freshness and quality.
I would not hesitate to return and try some other items!

The service is warm and swift. It is a homey environment enhanced by the typical East-​Central European country style front of a house created arround the till.
The products are carefully selected and reasonably priced (mostly EU export quality),
The smart design with U-​shaped middle island alows a nice balance between deli and café sections. And at the back is the wonderfull fresh baked desserts.
It is excessively clean and, well, the smell! You don’t want to leave the sweet, smokiness ambiance, even you have had a 3 course meal lunch.
As a great late addition you can find the greatest selection in Calgary of herbal teas. If you want a flavourfull and also healthy cup of tea you’re in the right spot.
Every day in the kitched is a bee-​hive like activity sustaining the wonderfull flow of delicious meals coming out almost at any hour of the day.

I’ve been eating here about 3 times a week for the last 3 – 4 months.
I might be a bit biased here because I am a Romanian, and this a Romanian deli, but this place is fantastic ! Beats any food restaurant on 10 mile radius ! Food is good-​good-​good. Always fresh, large portions, all kinds of meals every day. Vegetable soup, bean, tripe, chicken, dumplings soup, then sirloin stakes, beef, pork, chicken roast, cabage rolls with mashed potatoes, stuffed mushrooms, rice, salads as sides and some other things that I don’t know the names for in English., sorry, but yummy non the less; sandwiches too. of course there are lots of other things there too — they have a website. Go there with all the confidence !

Maria’s Market is a great Eastern European Market and lunch counter. The huge deli counter in the middle of the store is elaborately decorated in a tiki hut fashion for some bizarre reason — a nice quirky touch, but not exactly in keeping with the obvious Romanian theme.
But it was almost like they were trying to disguise their obvious Romanian theme.
A dead giveaway for me was the hot Romanian meatballs in the deli counter, not to mention the Transylvania Puffs in the snack section. As well, the ladies behind the counter we dressed up in traditional garb with colourful scarves around their heads.
This would be a great place to come grab a deli sandwich and sit at one of their many café tables at the front of the store.
I wasn’t hungry on this outing, though, so I purchased some hard to find European chocolate for my lady and made a mental note to revisit for lunch one day.