Teriyaki Madness - Madison

Had hopes this place would meet the fix I needed. Trying to find a teriyaki place similar to the teriyaki houses experienced in my college days in Seattle. This place wasn’t even close.Had read a review mentioning how messy the place was in the customer area and took a quick scan of the place on my way to the counter. Everything seemed in order (more on that later). My first impression was the girl at the counter, not sure if she was hung over, sick or what, but she was pale, slow moving, slow to respond, and could barely hear her when she barely whispered out an answer to a question. Asked her to repeat and the effort portrayed to say, “yeah” was concerning. Even worse when she asked if it was eat in.Ordered anyways and took my drink cup to the drink area, not visible walking in. Prior review was correct. Not usually very critical of this cause I know customers can be sloppy but it was an absolute MESS. Heading to the tables, first seat encounter had all sort of stuff on it and table was sticky. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th tables totally sticky. I wiped the least sticky down slightly wetted with my unsweetened tea.Food was brought out pretty quick. Figure I can over look the above for good food as I often do at so many of the dives I love to frequent. This was not the case.Upon opening my plastic container lid, it was what looked like a flat frozen chicken breast from Costco on of rice with a bit of teriyaki sauce lightly drizzled over. Luckily additional sauce on the table, regardless of the stickiness I do mean bottle.Sautéed/steamed vegetables were 4, so hence the 2 stars.When leaving the girl at the counter was on one knee resting her arms on the counter, on her phone paying for something with credit card.Wasn’t busy in there so I suggest management has a discussion regarding intermittent wipe downs and clean ups of the customer area.This day in age, I sure do hope she was just hung over…..

OMG. The food is fantastic. Walked in to order and stood in line. The few minutes I had to wait were well worth it! The girls were pleasant and efficient. The portions were perfect. I have found my new favorite place to eat.Food: 5/5

I don't understand why some people are so quick to complain. The food here is fantastic, and despite being short-staffed, the team does their best to provide a good experience. When there's a long line and lots of orders coming in, things can understandably slow down—this happens everywhere. I've been here many times and have seen customers place their orders, which are repeated back to them for clarity. They then receive their food, eat most of it, and still claim it was wrong, likely hoping to get free food. It's frustrating! All my orders have been fulfilled exactly as I asked, without exception. It's no wonder that fewer people want to work in such an environment. If I had to deal with such entitled and dishonest people, I wouldn’t want to work either. Kudos to the hardworking employees who do their best to serve us!

The food was pretty underwhelming. I ordered the teriyaki tofu, and there was hardly any sauce on it. I expected steamed broccoli, but it came raw instead. It wasn't terrible, but I definitely wouldn't choose it again. Rating: 3/5.

I ordered takeout and while I was waiting, I sat on a bench near the drink area. I couldn't help but notice how dirty everything was. The floors, walls, drink station, and even the area behind the counter looked filthy. If the customer-visible areas are in such poor condition, I can't imagine what the food preparation areas must be like. After I received my order, I left, but with the state of the place on my mind, I could barely eat more than a few bites because I felt so repulsed. If you’re looking for a place that might give you food poisoning, this would be it.