Teriyaki Madness — Restaurant in Vernon Hills

My girlfriend and I were having trouble deciding where to eat so we decided to walk into the new and unknown state of Teriyaki Madness. This is the first time we’ve ever set foot, heck, even laid out eyes on one of these restaurants. We weren’t that disappointed.

Upon walking in, we were greeted by some cheerful employees and had so much to look at. For being a family owned and operated location, the restaurant had a very corporate feel to it, but it didn’t necessarily take away from the experience. It was bold, flashy, and even fun. I liked how they had a Ratatouille quote high up on the wall. Dining space felt a little limited but for being a fast-casual restaurant during a pandemic, it felt reasonable. One thing that stood out to us immediately was the fact that we couldn’t see the kitchen. For being a fast-casual restaurant that focuses on fresh/healthy ingredients, it felt a little odd not being able to see our food being fried up. (Chipotle, Noodles & Co., Roti, etc. are examples)

The ordering process was pretty simple- choose your base and then choose your protein. I ordered steak teriyaki “yakisoba style” (noodles) while my girlfriend ordered chicken teriyaki over brown rice. Our meat was super tender (my steak nearly melted in my mouth, I think they might’ve used some tenderizer) and the loaded teriyaki sauce made it explode with flavor. Super satisfied with that. The veggies were definitely fresh. They were generously mixed into my bowl but for my girlfriend, an uninspired clump of a few veggies sat in her bowl of mostly rice. My noodles were fried nicely but became soggy as they sat in meat juice and extra sauce towards the end of my meal.

The pricing is a tiny bit high for such simple dishes but it’s nothing over-excessive. They did have other menu options such as egg rolls and other appetizers as well as wrapped baked desserts.

All in all, I wouldn’t come in here expecting authentic Japanese teriyaki dishes. If you want some quick adventurous comfort food that’s filling and nutritious- this is your spot. I’ll definitely consider coming again in the future to try some of their other...

Ordered online today 8.30.21. Got 2 teriyaki bowls both with drinks and eggrolls. Also an order of potstickers. Sent my boyfriend to pick up the food, he didnt check the bag because usually our online orders are correct. However today it was not. We only received two teriyaki bowls and our drinks. Our eggrolls and potstickers were missing. I immediately called in and spoke to some girl, i advised my boyfriend was just there and they forgot to add our potstickers and eggrolls to the bag. I was polite the entire time. The girl asked for our order name and looked it up. She told us "you guys didnt order eggrolls" i said the eggrolls come with the bowls/drink yes we did. My boyfriend will be on his way to pick up the missing eggrolls and potstickers. She said that was fine. So my boyfriend gets there and this girl has the nerve to say they put everything in the bag. As if we were trying to get free food?? Why would we waste our time driving back?? So I feel that was very wrong of her to say. We will no longer order from this location (Vernon Hills, Il) going forward.

Edit to owners reply: Thank you for your sorry but that is a poor LIE on the workers part. My boyfriend was handed 1 bag of food. The food was not left on a shelve for him to grab himself, the worker HANDED it to him. Not to mention she forgot our 2 drinks, my boyfriend had to ask her where the drinks were. Please train your staff to review the receipt for the order in its entirety before passing out to the...

Extremely disappointed with my recent experiences at Teriyaki Madness, especially as someone who’s been a loyal customer for years. I visited one evening around 8:20 PM (they close at 9:00 PM), and I was shocked to be told they only had one item available — just chicken with white rice, no noodles, no variety, and they were “getting ready to close.” I was understanding the first time and left without ordering. But then I gave them another chance, visiting around 7:40 PM — well over an hour before closing only to get the exact same response. Again, they told me they were “closing soon” and only had the same single item. I asked how this made any sense when closing time was 9:00 PM, and they reluctantly said they could make noodles, but it would take 30 to 40 minutes. Clearly, they just didn’t want to make the effort. The staff gave off the impression they were trying to push customers out early.

If this is how they treat returning customers, cutting off most of the menu over an hour before closing and acting like they’re doing you a favor by serving basic items? I’m done. This is the first time I tried them for dinner, and it will be my last. Really disappointing to see a place I used to enjoy...