This is as good as fast food gets. The line was out the door today....for hours, but the wait went by quickly. The selections for vegetarians is a breath of fresh air for downtown fast food....tempeh is delicious, vegetables are fresh, everything is tasty. I luv that their order sheet (although maybe a bit overwhelmingly detailed at first) allows me to build my lunch to my exact specifications. Freshii. Rock.
(5)
Sirsha C.
only been here once - it was a bit confusing - you can assemble your own meal or just order off the menu - i ordered their thai chicken soup and it came in a to-go jar which is kinda inconvenient...very watery and not very filling but the meal cost me about 8 bucks which about what i like to spend for lunch, not more.
(3)
Linda L.
I had been dying to try this place but found it to be just "okay". I was surprised that a place with fresh in the name served romaine lettuce with so much brown on it. Also, the veggies I had (tomatos, cukes and celery) could not have been chopped smaller - they really get their money's worth out of their veggies. Also, even though I had the blue cheese salad dressing, my salad seemed to have almost no taste. Can't for the life of me figure out how that could happen in a salad but it's true. I'll probably go back one more time to give it another chance but that's all I can offer them at this point.
(2)
Chris J.
If "wrap" is code for "wrap filled with rice and not much else, and by the way it's $8" then I'd give Freshii 5 stars.
(2)
Tabitha G.
I don't work near Freshii anymore and I'm extremely disappointed. Their bowls are so amazing! Everything I've ordered from here is delicious and you really can't go wrong. Try their buffalo chicken - I love it because they don't fry the chicken.
(4)
Ellen G.
Where to begin about Freshii? I have a complicated relationship with this place since I go there three times a week because it's too cold to venture beyond the office. It's exhausting to think of all the times they have screwed up my order and begin to list them. However I do kinda like the fact that they offer some of the healthier food available in the area.
(3)
vince m.
great people work here and the food is awesome.
(5)
Matthew J B.
I thought it was good. I had the quinoa burrito and tasted fresh and they had lots of nice selection. Not much seating at this location but there was some in the atrium.
(4)
Lauren L.
I really want to like this place; it's one of the only healthy fast food options near my office. I've tried it three times and each time it's just been gross. It's expensive, and the food has been bland each time. I've tried different things there and left each time feeling mad that I just paid $10 for a completely flavorless meal that I don't even finish half of. Never going back.
(1)
Vanessa H.
If you order avocado.. you literally will NEVER get it. Never fails, i pay the additional 1.25 for avocado and walk out with none. I think it must be an inside joke with these people to do it on purpose.
(3)
Bradley S.
I really wanted to like this place. The interior design looks modern and "fresh" and I love the idea of fresh healthy food. However, after giving it a handful of tries, I feel as if I will probably never go back. The food is just way to pricey for the amountand the quality. It is about 6 dollars for just rice/noodle with a small amount of vegetables. You have to pay another about 2 dollars and change to add protein! So after tax it is almost 10 dollars for a meal.
(1)
Sarah D.
This place is the worst deal. Super expensive. Meager. Not very fresh. Be aware that paying $2 to add a protein to your meal will translate to less than 2 tablespoons of said protein added to your meal.
(1)
Ben M.
My second time here, take out. I'm back at my desk. I'm wondering what on earth could have made this godawful bowl of noodles cost $7.76. The noodles themselves (85% of the dish) are bland, sort of like styrofoam. The veggies (which I ordered this dish for, yet only comprise maybe 10% of it), are soaked with oil and do not taste fresh or healthy. The rest of the dish is tofu, spices, and oil, none of which are that good. Wtf?? How do you get away charging $7.76 for this? The only benefit is that its filling, but I can go to, oh, anywhere for that. Maybe if this were in the $5.00 range, I'd be cool with it. Maybe if it were super fresh and healthy tasting, i'd be ok with it. But come on, this is a bland, oily mess.
(1)
Lizz M.
I think this place perpetuates the stereotype of food that's good for you tasting bad. Ordered the Asian Chopped salad as part of a big delivery for our team's lunch. "Salads don't need to be bland! Dressings don't need to be overly sweet and thick. Why are my wontons soggy? I need an adult!"--these are the thoughts that ran through my mind as I tried to navigate my salad. I say this because all of the non-lettuce ingredients were at the bottom of my salad. I don't understand this. The lettuce is going to make everything else soggy if it's on top. And so it did. The taste of the salad (minus wontons) was just okay. I've definitely made better salads at home. Not inedible, just not something I'd go back for.
(2)
Alyssa J P.
I have to say this place has one of the most confusing menu / ordering systems for a n00b to navigate, but the food was damn good. I wasn't really sure what to expect and was hoping for a hot vegan wrap, but the cold one suited me just fine. I like all the vegan options.
(4)
Eliot J.
Great for vegetarians. Had the lemon grass soup with tofu. Great for a rainy day like today. The berry smoothie was good too.
(5)
Stina N.
I still frequent Freshii on a semi-regular basis. More often than not I build my own rice bowl with black beans, corn, sprouts, salsa, tofu, broccoli, and carrots. I've also ordered the frozen yogurt several times. It's far more fro yo than I would ever eat in one serving and the staff really seems to struggle with the concept of giving me just a half serving. (Rather than taking a full serving and throwing half away.) They recently raised the prices a bit, but the rice bowls are plenty of food for the money. I can usually get two meals out of one rice bowl.
(5)
Hina Q.
My second time to Freshii and first time to this location. My first time and I immedietly fell in love with the healthy meal. It's not cheap, but atleast its a healthy meal with no grease and reduced fat. And it doenst break the bank. Although I didn't like this location as much as the other location I tried downtown Chicago - the service was a bit slow takes about 15 mins to wait for your meal after you place your order. Can't wait to have Freshii again!
(4)
Dorotka K.
Not going back, sorry. The music is way too loud in there and you literally have to scream your order. Plus, it looks like IKEA and has an IKEA concept. Don't get me wrong, I love IKEA (see my IKEA review), but not when it comes to food. You have to fill out your order on a sheet of paper with a pencil. Little do you know that every time to put a checkmark next to something, you run up your little food bill higher and higher. The food is bland and overpriced. I had two different bowls here and they both tasted very generic. There is something missing here, but I cannot put my finger on it... Perhaps they skimp on seasonings or something. Anyway, I came because I purchased a kgb deal and even then it was not worth it. The only nice thing about Freshii is that it is located in a nice building. But even the 311 Wacker location can't save that 10 dollar bowl of bland. With flavorful Panera Bread right across the street, why bother with Freshii?
(1)
Laila C.
Paying almost $8 is too much, even if it is a lot of soup. The flavors were fine but what's with all the raw veggies in the soup? My friends all hated their entrees too. Too much rice and not enough sauce. GIVE ME MORE SAUCE!
(2)
Unyime E.
On paper this place looks great. When it comes to performance, however, this place fell a little bit short. First off, they recently remodeled the store and switched up their menu items. While the menu isn't radically different than what's displayed on the corporate website, I was a little dissapointed that the option I was looking forward to ordering wasn't on their new menu. Whatevs, it seems like most people go here for a quick salad/noodle option. I didn't think my salad was the greatest. The "steak" in my salad was more like strips of roast beef. It was a nice-sized salad, but for what I paid I expected more from it. The chopped salad at the corner bakery is much better.
(2)
Matthew P.
This place is in my building, so unfortunately I go there a fair amount. Here's the thing - the food is fresh (as advertised) and (if they grilled it properly) would actually be very good. Here's the problem - I go here probably once a week and they mess up my order 80% of the time. All I get is a wrap, grilled, with no tomato. 75% of the time, the wrap isn't grilled at all (which I send back promptly because I can feel it) and a lot of the time, there is something in my order wrong (tomatoes, wrong dressing, etc.). Either the sheets they use to fill out the orders are too confusing for employees or they hire the stupidest people in the world because my order is so consistently wrong, that I had to write a review (which happens rarely). If you can, I'd recommend staying away from this place.
(2)
Colleen C.
I'm on a fro-yo bender, apparently... -Only size: $3.75. It's BIG. Probably a medium at most othre F-yo places. -Original is light and "flash frozen" for ultimate aeration. -fresh fruit (I had mango, which was a bit unripened) + granola I like Freshii. I wish they were in my office building...but um, I work from home. They have fresh options, the prices aren't crazy...and they aren't so UBER healthy that they skimp out on fountain sodas. I mean, I get it Whole Foods, et al. Sodas are bad for us, but I still want my Diet Coke, so fountain it over, why don'tcha!? Freshii score. A nice little afternoon treat, and after the lunch rush there isn't a soul in sight...and you can hang out in the luxe lobby seating and enjoy. Fro-yo week has commenced...
(4)
Andrea R.
I've got 10 of my colleagues in town and knowing we'd be hitting the dinners/drinks pretty heavily I promised everyone healthy lunches. So hello Freshii! I really liked their detailed website and so genius that it counts calories for you. I asked my colleagues to make their own salad, soup, freshii bowl...and send it to me. Um, not one of my most genius ideas because ordering 11 different types of salads, soups, etc for picky eaters was not fun! I'll admit it...i was cursing my colleagues by the time I placed the 11th order. The food was pretty yummy. I enjoyed a brown rice bowl filled with veggies and chicken. And I really liked my coworker's spicy lemongrass soup. A good, healthy option...just make someone else do the ordering if it's a large order.
(3)
Skyin Xiaoyu Y.
I only tried frozen yogurt here. This is the most yogurt flavor froyo I have ever had! Compared to this, other froyos are more like ice cream. However, the toppings are definitely not of different varieties as ordinary froyo store, but it is consistent with Freshii's healthy postion and image.
(3)
Farrah A.
Freshii's website alone gets 5 stars. I love online ordering, and the fact that you can create your own salad, wrap or soup on line, especially for a large company lunch order, this is awesome. When I initially made my order a few days in advance, I was stuffed, so the last thing I wanted to do was think about food, so I went for the lemon grass soup (I'm also a soupaholic). But when lunchtime came around yesterday, i sorta regretted it. I was famished. Luckily, this was no side soup. It was served in a large cup/container. I must say that it had a surprising amount of savory flavor. It had a zesty broth with hints of earthy spices and lemon. Loved it. The only reason why I knocked off one star was that I ordered mine with brown rice instead of rice noodles, along with cilantro and some other fixins that weren't included. Not too big of a deal; I still ate it all.
(4)
Karen T.
Never have I ever... 5-starred a Loop Lunch spot. But Freshii warrants that, and more. This place opened up two months ago in the building south of the Sears Tower next to Kamehachi, and I lament every day gone by that I missed out on this spot. The space is faintly reminscent of Jamba Juice. I'm not sure if it's due to the white walls/wooden floor, but it instantly brought to mind Southern California - the clean, fresh part of it at least. Or maybe it was the workers, who are so friendly I thought to myself, good Lord, your dosage of Valium needs to be taken down a notch. One bounded up to me - literally, bounded - and greeted me with a little clipboard, explaining all the options there were. I love you, my cute little elfish Freshii boy! not as much as my Pocket Gaysian, but then again, no one can match D. So once I ordered a southwestern chicken soup because I needed to get in and get out, and that was that. Cheese, croutons, tomatoes, black beans and chicken in a warm, well-seasoned broth..I was sold. A Huge Soup for $6. Trip 2: Yoggi. Don't judge too hastily my friends, I certainly wanted to gag at the trendiness of yet ANOTHER frozen yogurt..and melded into a salad/soup/wrap spot at that! But yoggi with reese's pieces and oreo crumbs? Berry Chill has got some serious competition, folks. Today I trudged over again - I knew I had to get a salad because I ate my weight in food last night at Morton's. I made my own salad wrap: cajun chicken, goat cheese, mangoes, blueberries, onion/tomato/pepper/romaine/corn/asparagus....this thing was bigger than a CHIPOTLE BURRITO. oui, c'est possible! and healthier. If you're a masochistic type like I am, you can calculate nutrition here: eatfreshii.com/menu.php This was $5 and 500 calories. I made all my coworkers salivate with the pronouncement that you could add bacon and four different kinds of cheese - FOR FREE. Last but not least: I immediately logged on to write a review before I passed out from food coma. What food coma? I am light on my feet, chipper, full but energetic. Someone get me a treadmill, I'm ready to run! (I say this as my salivating coworkers, lethargic from Panda Express, are nodding off, their drool about to spill out onto their keyboard.) Oh dear God and praise Buddha, all that is holy, Thank You For Freshii.
(5)
Jelena Z.
After reading Karen T.'s review last week, I couldn't stop thinking about Freshii. It's not often that I leave the confines of River North for lunch so it better be good, I thought to myself. Since I was on a tight schedule, I printed off their order form, checked off numerous boxes to create my salad wrap and then faxed in. Easy breezy. When I arrived, all I had to do was grab my bagged wrap as I had already paid for it as well. Good thing, because my little jaunt took much longer than expected due to *sniff* public transpo. And my cheap lunch would've been marred by taking a cab (i.e. $7 wrap + $14 roundtrip car fare. Methinks not). Back to my wrap. Fresh natural chicken, crispy romaine, celery, red onions, goat cheese and a smattering of cucumber dill dressing in a whole wheat wrap. That particular dressing is lo-cal and legitimately awesome (this from someone who despises fat-free foodstuffs). My wrap was healthy according to the online nutrition calculator, filling to my tummy AND delicious as reported by my taste buds. Yes, thanks to Freshii the impossible dream is indeed possible. But, I'm pissed off because now I know how great the goods are and they're just a bit out of my reach. We need you in River North, Freshii!
(4)
Andrew T.
So, I have a mixed opinion here. After seeing someone with what looked like a delicious bowl of soup from Freshii (and being hungry for such) a coworker and I abandoned a visit to Haifa Cafe to try this place out. I had the Thai Chicken soup, and my friend had a teriyaki concoction of some sort. My soup was good - spicy, good noodles, good veggies. Could have been more chicken, but there was enough. I would like it more without the red onion, but I can pick around that. And it was a massive quantity of soup. My coworker, on the other hand, complained of a strange taste in his teriyaki, to the point where he stopped eating it entirely, after just a few bites. I finished most of the soup. However, later that afternoon and evening, I was physically ill multiple times. The soup was not as good the second time. Now, I don't know that it was the soup, but you know how it goes, I can't help but associate being sick with food from here. And I can't help but wonder if that strange taste was something off about the food? And I couldn't tell in my dish? Anyway. It was good, but I don't think I'll be back. I'll give it two stars out of the benefit of the doubt.
(2)
Jeff S.
If you live downtown, here's the trick: Place your order online! You can build your meal at your own pace, and even prepay for it. They tell you what time it will be ready -- or -- you can schedule a pickup time. Then you just walk in and pick it up. In and out very quickly. I've now ordered online 28 times over the past few months and have zero complaints. And the staff at the Jackson St location is outstanding.
(5)
Lauren H.
This review is not for an in-dining experience, but rather, the food they catered for a work meeting. The salad looked delicious (with goat cheese and what I think were sun-dried tomatoes) but had avocado in it so I could not indulge (if I wanted to continue breathing). Caesar salad was fine. My brown rice veggie wrap, however, was moist and fresh and I enjoyed it very much. I intend to go there and try other menu items.
(4)
Bill M.
I was handed a mysterious packet as I walked to my office building this morning. I was told that Freshii is a new restaurant that is giving away free lunches today. How could I refuse this assignment? When I arrived a few minutes before noon, there was a line out the door and the staffers were handing out order forms and explaining how to order. Hmmm these gourmet salad places are known for having checklists on how to "design" your own order. I went with the steakhouse salad-wrap, with cold steak chunks, lettuce, caramelized onions, and ranch dressing. I love caramelized onions, but they just sat here in the wrap like innocent bystanders. Oh well, it was a free lunch (though I did have to pay 73 cents in tax). Considering the huge crowd of people today, everything ran fairly efficiently. I'll probably try it again someday, as it is conveniently located to my office.
(3)
Jacquelyn G.
... and I'm out. They just redid the store layout and ordering process, and it sucks. I used to always get a rice bowl loaded with veggies--unlimited. Now, you only get four free toppings and have to pay extra for more. Seriously? Best of all, they are charging more now! So I got a lousy bowl of brown rice with four veggies (most of which were cold, I might add) and paid about $8. No thank you. I am officially over you, Freshii.
(1)
Kathy S.
I was very excited to try this place since it's near my work and especially since I love frozen yogurt. Unfortunately, theirs isn't up to par as with some of my favorites places to get frozen yogurt. The texture of their frozen yogurt is icy instead of creamy and I'm not too fond of the flavor. Their fruit is okay but not great. I guess I'll have to go to Wow Bao for my frozen yogurt fix (even though I'm not too happy with them right now, see Wow Bao update) unless I can actually make the trip to Red Mango. Onto the food, I tried one of their salads and they do give you a good portion and it's cool that you can add so many different ingredients but it's a bit ridiculous that it is almost $10. I am a little hesitant to try one of their fresh bowls with the combination of the cold and warm ingredients but maybe I'll give it a try next time I go.
(3)
Will V.
I can't say anything about the food without saying something about the ordering process. Why does it have to be so complicated? And why are there no checkboxes on the order form for their pre-made recipes? The easiest things to order aren't actually listed on the order form! Freshii needs an information architect for their order form. The food is fresh, but it's just not that great. There's nothing particularly offensive about the food, it just doesn't stand out from anything you can get at Panera, Corner Bakery, or a bunch of other sandwich places. The best thing about this place is, if you absolutely must "create your own" there are so many options here. But I'd rather have lunch somewhere else.
(2)
Tera D.
I absolutely loved the idea, and wanted to love the food. The concept of adding exactly what you want to a wrap, rice bowl, soup or salad is awesome, especially if you are trying to eat healthy. I went in after work to grab something to take home for dinner. It was more or less empty at this point (it closes at 5:30), but all the staff members were frantically recovering from what was apparently an insanely hectic opening lunch hour. After an overly helpful worker talked me through the order sheet, I went with the Buddah bowl and added a few extra veggies. While I was waiting the overly eager, but very nice, manager chatted me up and gave me a free drink. My disappointment came once I started chowing down. I ordered it with the spicy peanut sauce, but there was hardly any on it. While I'm thrilled that they use brown rice for health reasons, it's a bland food that desperately needs sauce. I added some soy sauce from my fridge and it was perfectly edible, but I just wish there was more peanut sauce. I'll try it again sometime and request extra sauce.
(3)
Irah H.
I love this place. Apart from just selling usual salad n wraps, they have bowls where you can have brown rice or noodle , and it's with Asian flavour as well which is perfect for my mom who need to have her rice everyday, I'll definitely will be back for sure n bringing my mom to try cos I think she'll appreciate it.
(4)
Rachel E.
I still don't like freshii, but i need to update and say that the list of veggies/toppings has been drastically reduced, and most now require an additional fee (75c for sundried tomatoes, 75c for olives, etc). Oh and as much as i thought 'soup't' was a stupid name for soup, they now just call it plain 'soup' and that's kind of boring.
(1)
Kate D.
This is a review of Freshii's fat free, probiotic frozen yogurt because I didn't know they served food until I saw the menu in my frozen yogurt bag (co-worker brought me dessert). I tried Starfruit for the first time at the Yelp Shedd event last month. The kefir fro-yo taste is either love it or hate it... and I love it. It's wonderfully sour and magically fat free; I can't get enough of the stuff. Insatiable yet lazy, I was on the lookout for a kefir source closer to work. Lo and behold, Freshii! They have around 20 toppings to choose from ranging from chocolate chips to sunflower seeds. The yogurt is delicious and apparently they have a menu full of organic brown rice dishes and wraps. I'm salivating just reading it. Finally, a new option for lunch in the loop!
(5)
Caitlyn S.
I'm so disappointed by the changes Freshii has made. You can no longer build your own meals. Instead, you have to go off the menu options and add .25cents per vegetable if you choose to add them in. It's still $1.00 charge for chicken/beef/tofu and they still don't give you very much. The portion sizes have also gotten smaller, but the prices are the same. I used to go in there at least once a week but I'm going to have to find a better option if they keep these changes.
(2)
Aaron S.
That's right - I ate a salad today. For everyone who knows me and just slapped their hands to their cheeks á lá Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone - hear me out. You KNOW me - and the only way I would eat a salad is if the thing is more "bowl of goodies" than "salad", and Freshii actually allowed that to happen. I saw the place when I was trying out Kamehachi next door and glanced inside only to be greeted by walls covered in clipboards and menus displaying what seemed like nothing but vegetables and brown rice. I am not a fan of the brown rice. I am not a fan of veggies or anything "vegan" or "organic". I am not a health nut. I am just a nut. Or at least a squirrel, trying to get a nut - so move your butt to the dance floor... ...but I digress. I was disgusted and stormed out with my sushi in tow. And today, I got curious. What was that Freshii place, REALLY? A look online and I discovered that while the facade is an organic, healthy, vegan-friendly, brown-rice-pushin', tofu-fartin' foodatorium - they somehow still left me with the power to make something awesome... So I put my reviewing pants on and sacrificed half of my 30-minute lunch break to make it over there and order and head back to the office to chow down. I stepped into that familiar nightmare and reached for a clipboard. I eventually found the basket of golf pencils and started the crafting of my lunch. Step 1: Select Your Meal The wraps and bowls were out, because of the brown rice factor. The soup seemed like an interesting concept, but I was in work attire and am prone to soup-related spills and dribbles so that was out. And so I was faced with my mortal nemesis: the Salad. Romaine itself is too bland. Spinach by itself is too gross. I went with the "Freshii Mix" - which it turns out is more than just romaine and spinach (I learned later I could have just checked both boxes instead, but the Mix wasn't bad). Step 2: Unlimited Toppings Now THIS is a lunchtime option I can be down with. Unfortunately, the selection is void of most of the really GOOD items I like in a salad - they're in the Premium section. Also, while the Premium section offers the choice of "double", the Unlimited section does not. I went with Broccoli, Crispy Wonton, Egg Whites, House Croutons, Mushrooms and Red Onions. I pondered getting Sliced Eggs as well, but the whites are my favorite part, so I was set. Step 3: Premium Toppings Here's where they get you. They gave you a bland base of greens and you're already at $5.95. The unlimited toppings are freebies, but nothing spectacular about them (and you can't double). I understand that proteins are where the real flavor and filling comes from, so I went the route of Buffalo Chicken for $2.00 extra. And then I "doubled" it for another $1.25 extra. Step 4: Choose Your Flavor I'm still trying to understand Freshii's categorizations of "24/7", "Balance" and "Splurge". I guess the first is good "any time", the second is for "trying to be healthy" and the third is for "not trying to be healthy". So it's pretty obvious I splurged and went with the regular Ranch dressing (not the Lite version). I appreciated their additional option of "half", "regular", "heavy" and "on the side" - especially since the "heavy" option I chose doesn't cost any more than "half". Name at the top and gave it to the guy, who handed me the carbon copy and I took that to the register to pay. And yea, for a salad this awesome, the damage was about $10 - but I can at least say that it was worth it. It's almost two meals, and I'm a guy who can handle a lot of food. The croutons are gigantic, the dressing managed to cover everything I needed at the "heavy" setting, and I felt like they actually gave me "double" on the buffalo chicken which paired splendidly with the Ranch dressing. I'd love to give this place a bad review. I love knocking down the hippy-dippy health-food craziness places. But they let me get something as unhealthy as I could create it. I'm still not going to give them anything higher than 3 stars because the brown rice factor eliminated half the menu right off the bat. Freshii, I understand that you want me to eat healthy - but if you'll let me splurge on fatty dressing and chocolate chips on the frozen yogurt you sell, why can't I splurge and get plain white rice or something just as filling but TASTY like refried beans or fried rice or chocolate? This place apparently isn't as scary as it looks from the outside with walls of clipboards and a creepy-looking metal sculpture holding chips and organic candies. Unless you're afraid of brown rice, whole grains and vegetables...
(3)
Brittany B.
Since nothing else was open in the loop at 7:00pm, I stopped in here to get a salad. The salad was very fresh and yummy, though a bit pricey for the Centurion Salad that I ordered ($14!) The salad was a perfect size and really delicious. I looked up the calories on the restaurant's website and it was 625 calories. Not that bad for all of the various toppings on it. The salad came with a piece of brown pita type stuff, which looked and felt like cardboard, but tasted SHOCKINGLY yummy!!! Next time, I will try a make-my-own-salad (so it wont be so pricey!!!) or maybe a wrap, given the yumminess of the bread.
(4)
Elizabeth R.
I really love this place! I came here because of a recommendation from a friend. As part of your salad, a tortilla comes on the side. I felt it was too dry and lacked any real flavor. I had the Fiesta Salad which was amazing. I was impressed that they lived up to their name of being fresh. You can make your own salad or get a chef creation. Either way, you will not be disappointed by eating here. The service was quick and the people were friendly. However, I found the price point was much too high. The product they offer is wonderful but I plan to go somewhere else next time.
(4)
Kate F.
I had the fiesta burrito for lunch today, and while all of the individual ingredients seem healthy, the whole thing weighed about two pounds and had about 1,000 calories in it. BUT, it was delicious!
(4)
kevin c.
Freshii -- I'm addicted to your Chicken Teriyaki Bowl. When I first tried Freshii, I was a little displeased with what I got. I had chosen roasted red peppers, goat cheese and olive oil over brown rice. The thing tasted healthy but my tastebuds almost died of boredom. Then I tried their garden tuna wrap -- another healthy choice but it was just veggies and tuna and there was obviously something missing ... oh yeah ... FLAVOR. So Freshii was 2 for 2 in the department of healthy but flavorless meals. I decided to give it one last chance and I ordered the chicken teriyaki bowl. BINGO!!! This is the perfect healthier alternative to its fattier, carb-overloaded counterpart. The "bowl" (I put bowl in quotation marks because it's not actually a bow but a Chinese take-out container) starts off with brown rice. This is already a great substitute for white rice -- less carbs and more fiber. Then they add a little pre-chopped chicken breast -- none of that fatty, juicy delicious pan fried goodness .... whoops! Healthy ... we're thinking healthy. Badness, fatty, juicy delicious pan fried badness. And then they add bean sprouts, carrots and broccoli. The carrots and broccoli are either raw or blanched, so they retain most of their nutrients. Lastly, they add the teriyaki sauce (I usually add 1/2 the sauce because the regular amount has over 1,700 mg of sodium). And there you have it ... Chicken Teriyaki done "healthy". All of this for under 500 calories! Your fat ass will thank you, I know mine does.
(3)
sarah p.
I was quite impressed with the online ordering and website. More businesses should take note. The delivery service was prompt, and as we were ordering for a large group, it was appreciated that they took the time to label each meal for easy grabbing. I had the lemongrass soup with rice noodles. It was ok. Nothing to write home about.
(3)
Jonathan A.
First time to Freshii because they were giving away $10 with the download of the LevelUp application for your phone. I must say that I am overly impressed. I ordered a chicken burrito and it was AWESOME! I will definitely be going back to Freshii! Burrito tasted healthy, filled me up (I am 230 lb) but did not make me feel groggy or weighed down. What a great experience! Excited to try breakfast!!!
(5)
AJ G.
Loved this place! I was visiting from San Diego for a training in this area and could not stand the lunch scene here. I don't eat fried food and I do not eat poultry or beef. I found this place on Yelp. My colleague and I walked over here and boy were we surprised. Healthy, fast, fresh, and yummy food. We wish we had a place in San Diego like this besides Whole Foods, which is much more pricier.
(4)
Mikaela S.
I used to really enjoy this place, but the past few times have just been a disappointment, and the guy who takes your order is very abrupt and rude. i am currently wanting to puke, as their food had made my stomach all sick and sad and angry. and last time they messed my order up, the rice was crunchy and burnt, and there was chicken in my VEGETARIAN entree. i will not be going here again.
(2)
Clare K.
OK, so now I am a huge fan of freshii...though I like the Monroe location better. Online ordering is really where it's at. No waiting! I've also fallen in love with the tuna garden wrap and a couple of their salads. nice work freshii.
(5)
Rebecca S.
I am not all that impressed with this place. Mediocre wrap and really rude staff - really not worth the $30 that was spent for 2 lunches. I'd go back if I had to but otherwise, I'd rather try some other "healthy" choices in this city. There is plenty to choose from. I also read another reviewers review about a bug at the bottom of the salad and that is enough to make me not want to go back. I am glad I read the review AFTER going.
(3)
Rene P.
Gross. Just gross. So many better places to get a salad in the loop or this area. Weird combinations, weird dressing, just blech.
(2)
Christina P.
Freshii is my go-to Loop lunch spot lately. I know it's a tad overpriced, but the salads and brown rice bowls are huge... ingredients are so fresh and service is nice and speedy. A winner! I really enjoy customizing my own salad. They are super health aware and you are able to modify your order however you want. Also, any restaurant that has all nutrition facts on their website (with a calculator feature that does the math on each ingredient) is already a favorite in my book. I don't really do math... so if someone else does it for me, I'm in. Anyway, a great, healthy option in the loop!
(5)
Johnny B.
First off, their soup is called "soup't"... which is stup't. Secondly, they have the most convoluted ordering process I've ever witnessed. Instead of just going to the counter and ordering what you want, you have to fill out a freaking checklist to adequately convey what you want. While I can see how this would be a good idea if you want to build-your-own meal, how is this helpful to the other 80% of the population that just wants something off the menu? Hey Freshii - you're the restaurant; why don't you tell me what tastes good together? It's obvious that the creator(s) of this system think it is cute, novel, and exciting. In actuality, it's lame, burdensome and annoying. I don't want to fill out an MF-ing SAT test just to get some stup't soup't. Thirdly, their food just ain't all that good. I had a buffalo chicken wrap that had nary a hint of spice to it. Was I supposed to check "buffalo sauce" on my frickin scantron sheet? I figured the buffalo chicken wrap CAME with buffalo sauce. In all seriousness, I'm pretty sure the sauce was on there, and it's just that bland. I've also had the cobb, which was underwhelming. How can a wrap with blue cheese, bacon and avocado be bland? And what of the stup'tly named soup't? The southwestern chicken was decent, but almost $9 with tax. It is big, but for $9, I don't care if it comes in a Rubbermaid garbage can, it should be some of the best damn soup I've ever had. It isn't. Overall, I have to agree with the reviewer who said it's lameii. Also, more than one of their employees looks like an elf.
(1)
Erica W.
I went to Freshii about a month ago and ordered a bowl without onions. Guess what I got? A bowl with onions. They gave me a free coupon for an entree next time I come in. I go in today, and order a Bankok Burrito to go. I get back to the office, bite into the burrito into a hard piece of metal. I looked, and there is a SMALL METAL RAMEKIN INSIDE OF THE BURRITO!! I was mortified and disgusted. Needless to say, I didn't eat the rest of the burrito. I called the store and talked to the manager who said that they would give me a free entree... again. I'm done with the free entrees. I'll pass. What next? This never should have happened. I took a picture for proof and showed my coworkers, who were also stunned. How does someone put a metal ramekin in a wrap??? Talk about negligence! This is unacceptable. If you decide to go, be sure to check your food for foreign objects before you eat it.
(1)
Andy S.
Somehow this slipped through my review net, so take this with a grain of salt (it's been ~6 months so things may have changed there). I used to order Freshii at least 3 times a week at my old job when I worked downtown. The online ordering made it ridiculously simple, the massive number of options made it irresistible, and the fact that they used bike messengers who never cared that a massive weimeraner assaulted them everytime they entered the office sealed the deal on me approving of Freshii. I always opted for the wraps, and was never let down. The things were huge, and always accurately made, with (mostly) fresh ingredients so far as I could tell. One of my old co-workers would get the soups, and never had any complaints--and if I had to guess I'd say the soup contained at least 1.5-2x as much food as my already big wrap. The one crazy incident I had with Freshii dealt with my wrap being late...3 hours late. When it finally arrived, it was brought to me by the manager, who apologized, gave it to me for free, and also brought along tons of tasty treats for myself and my officemates, all on the house, so really I can't complain too much. If nothing about Freshii has changed in the last six months, I'd say hit it up!
(4)
Ayako M.
Let me preface this with, "I heart Freshii, hard" The key to getting a satisfying Freshii meal is knowing how to order! The most important thing for you to know is, if you ask for just two ingredients you will receive the most boring and minuscule rice bowl/wrap/soup they only use one measured amount of ingredient, asking for just Chicken and Broccoli is not going to get you a container filled with 50% chicken and 50% broccoli it's going to get you a mostly empty container! If you order a salad or rice bowl, they aren't going to toss it all together unless you specify! Tossing includes the dressing or sauce, so if that's a no-no, you have to tell them on the side. I've had the most luck with ordering the Chef's choice creations and adjusting the ingredients to my liking, they seem to have the proportions down for these options, where sometimes the "build-your-own" options can be hit or miss. Also, they only charge .25 cents for delivery! Now that it's getting cold out, my lazy ass is going to utilize the hell outta that one!
(5)
Robyn T.
Delivery. Eco-friendly packaging. Loads of options. Healthy. Yummy. Lots of great reasons to get Freshii! I was impressed with my brown rice bowl - it was exactly what I was craving on a cold snowy day. My only complaint was that I wish there were more veggies, but I did have a generous portion of salmon and for under $10 this is a fantastic lunch option!
(4)
Michael F.
At Freshii you can design your own wrap or bowl. A sheet of paper with a list of about 10,000 items is available where you make your selections and hand them over. In about five minutes you have basically a burrito that you have chosen to fill with beans, spinach, corn, monkey, and caviar. It took be about three trips there to mix and match enough to get the wrap just right. The selection affords the chance to get a combination of vegetable colors and is great for a vegan. The Wacker drive location is the best choice because building it is located in has a huge lawn with chairs and tables, across from the Willis Tower.
(5)
Kristin M.
I'm sorry to do this... I really didn't want to, I wanted to like Freshii. But now I'm sitting here at my desk at work with a less-than-half eaten salad for the second time! The last time I went to Freshii I was also very disappointed, however I thought I would give it a second try, big mistake. If your going to call your self "Freshii" that implies that you have FRESH food, not wilty lettuce which is what I got both times. Not only that but both the veggies and the turkey taste like they have been frozen and thawed. The veggies were completely flavorless and seriously lacking in quantity. I think maybe there were three pieces of broccoli and like 1 artichoke, not only that but every thing is diced up into ridiculously small pieces. The turkey (maybe their other proteins are better) tastes like really bad/cheap deli-style turkey (like the kind with 80% fillers and solution and 20% meat) but cut up into chunks instead of slices. -yuck The turkey was so bad they should really just take it off the menu, that's not something you should give to your customers unless they plan on taking it home to their dog. Its just so disappointing because it is such a great concept, but in order to pull this off they need to source better ingredients. Maybe they should change their name to Frozenii or something.
(1)
Lauren B.
I ordered a salad from here and got it delivered. It came within 15 minutes, faster than I had expected. But the salad wasn't all that great. I was pretty disappointed! My salad consisted of spinach, beets, mandarin oranges, goat cheese and tempeh with balsamic vinegar dressing on the side. I thought this would just be balsamic vinegar, but it was a creamy dressing. Not healthy at all. The salad was lacking flavor. They didn't really flavor the tempeh at all and the beets were dry. Although I will give them props because it was a big salad. And it did come with some bread....but that was flavorless. So all in all, I wasn't impressed. I'll eat it again if I really need to. Meaning, I don't have groceries and am too lazy to walk down to the grocery store.
(2)
Eric M.
This place could be awesome - four stars - but it's just too confusing. It's like they don't really want customers, or else they've never been an office worker who has a lot of options and wants healthy, but also doesn't really want to have to figure out a convoluted system just to eat lunch. They need to have photos of how the styles of prep look. My food was okay, but I would have ordered differently if I knew what it looked like first. They also need to greatly reduce the complexity of it. It's great to have such total control over your food, but I couldn't tell how the system worked or what pieces went together or how much it would end up costing me based on what I picked. I may be back, because it seems like a cool concept, but despite all the options, the system makes it more work than lunch should be. Also, since they don't have any photos when a person offers to help you, it's really hard to visualize what the heck they're talking about, so even when they try to help, it's not very effective. I don't understand how they don't realize that reworking their system, making their entrance and customer flow more user-friendly and intuitive and actually letting people SEE how their food will come out would easily double their customer base. I walked by this for a year, even walked in several times before I tried it out because it was confusing and I'm not in the mood to deal with confusion over lunch.
(2)
Niki C.
Thought it would be funny to take my friend, who harbors a vivid dislike for salads to this place in order to see what the hoopla was about. I'm so sneaky. She had no idea until we walked in. The interior looks more like a shop as there is zero seating. Zero. There is seating in the hallway & outside (if it is a nice day), but the space is too small for seating. "Really? This is a restaurant?" she asked. I had done my homework, so I made up my own mix in my head already. She needed more persuading, so this guy who was standing about (I think he's the COO?) talked her through it, which was nice of him to do. She decided on the "soup't." Question: What's that supposed to stand for? Soup't? Souped? Like our car is all souped up? I dunno. Anyways, back on track. So part of my evil plan was to get a shot of Ms. Salad-Hater in this restaurant so I could pass it along to her family & friends, who know her as such. But, to my shock & awe, the moment -& I am talking about the MOMENT- I took my camera out, I was bombarded with questions. "Are you from the press?" No, uh, I just wanted to take a picture of my friend. But, alas, because, as the dude explained, "All of this (he motions to the wall) is proprietary." Whatever, dude. There are, like, 7-10 different salad restaurants in Chicago alone; you're not reinventing the wheel here. But he did comp us some goodies, so that was cool. Gotta give him big props for that - Thanks, man! So after that buzzkill, we went to eat our food in the hallway (where we DID take pictures of ourselves in various levels of stupidity). But as we were situating ourselves, this other guy came up to us & gave me his business card. He's the founder. So he tells us that they have pictures that he will send us if we want photographs. Yeah ... that's all nice & good, but the point wasn't to take pictures of the restaurant. It was to take a picture of my specific friend IN the restaurant. My friend said that she noticed that while the COO was grilling me about my camera (it's a Canon PowerShot, hardly a press-worthy camera), this guy rushed to the entrance & started a feverish conversation, nodding in my direction. Wow. Really? I mean, I get the whole intellectual property thing & all, but ... really? Anyways ... to the food. It was pretty decent - I think I would have changed my dressing if I were to go there again cuz it's kinda bland (cucumber dill), but the COO (who came out again to talk to us - were we being punk'd?) said that you can do a half & half that may be really good ... interesting ... may try that. On the Soup't side, my friend seriously - SERIOUSLY - had to wait 20 minutes for her soup to cool down to a temperature suitable for eating. We timed it. She said, "It's really f---ing hot." I said, "McDonald's lawsuit hot?" She said, "Honestly, uh, yeah." I would post pictures of it to show you all, but the Gestapo wouldn't let me. ;) Just kidding, man. Thanks for the tasty treats.
(3)
Blake B.
I was thinking this is a simple cafe for the Equinox gym and kept walking by for months. What finally made me walk in was the lunch crowd huddled inside. I'm impressed with this new North American chain. You can make just about anything and there are a lot of vegan options. Keep in mind it is a to-go place with minimal seating. What make the place even better is that you can order for delivery or pick up here: gomobo.com/Order/Order.a… At $5 minimum for delivery anywhere downtown, this is a no-brainer. I rate this in the same category as Protein Bar on Franklin or Market Creations in The Civic Opera House building, but more vegan friendly.
(5)
kelly c.
One of the few places in the loop that can offer a few options for vegans. Seriously, when is there going to be decent vegan food available in the loop? And if I am missing something please let me know! (I am not vegan but my bestest co-worker is, and to have lunch with her is nice). To be frank, I am not that impressed with the food here. It seems like everything comes with a sauce and a lot of extra junk that make the veggies seem not so freshii. They also have those weird corn flat wares, which are totally better for the environment, but are thick and feel weird. Star Fruit also has these weird wares. The strangest thing about them is that I can bite a hole in them! If they're so easily torn apart, they must be super-biodegradable. But I can't get used to them. I'd rather just try to reuse plastic ware to be envi-friendly (or not use such transient wares at all). So strange saucy food with weird wares makes my mouth not so satisfied with a loop lunch. The structure for ordering is also odd. Why must I write everything on a half sheet of paper? I am a simple gal - if you put something on a menu, I will point to it and say, 'one of those please.' Now, I appreciate the effort to make everyone feel like an individual and get the chance to write down exactly what they want, but if I don't plan on getting specific then why must I waste paper? I'm trying to imagine myself as a regular here... I just can't.
(2)
Mary T.
I like the idea, I just didn't like the food. I came across Freshii a few weeks ago when I made a stop at the Kamehachi next door. I took a menu and was excited to give this place a shot; I'm on a healthy eating kick so this place sounded great. Here's what I liked and didn't like: 1) The menu, it's really just an order form, there's no info about the items or how the bowls are prepared. This drives a picky eater like me nuts. The guy who handed the menu to me told me that and offered me a ginormous catering menu, which is apparently more explicit. Not wanting to tote something around the size of a record album, I passed. 2) The website. I liked that you could put together your meal and see the nutritional information too. When they get online ordering up it will be really nice. 3) The greeter. The guy working the door was trying too hard, he came off as being really artificial and unnaturally enthusiastic. He did a good job of answering my questions, but kept hovering over me even after I was all set. 4) The order system. They don't assign a number or take your first name, instead they take your initials. I don't know about you, but I don't respond to someone shouting my initials, especially since they sound like "empty." I just figured someone was signaling a co-worker to replenish something. 5) My bowl. The greeter told me that the ingredients in the bowl are cold, but that the warm rice and one of their warm sauces (there are only 2) heats it up. Not true, I ended up popping my bowl in the microwave since it was lukewarm/cold. Even though all of the ingredients were nice and fresh, my bowl was bland (bleh). I had to spice it up with quite a bit of salt and pepper to make it passable. I also wish the bowl was a bowl and not one of those deep Chinese food containers, it was awkward to eat out of. 6) Sauces. It would be nice to have more than 2 choices for warm sauce. I would also like to see some sort of Asian Wasabi sauce, I think it would taste good on the bowl. I had the spicy peanut sauce, it wasn't very spicy and a bit bland, sigh. The only other spicy one that looked appealing was the Sriacha which is the red stuff in those big bottles at Asian places. The guy cautioned me that it's be really hot, he probably was right, but I'd have liked something in between. 7) Speed. My order was ready to go in under 5 minutes. This was key since I only had a short amount of time to go from work to class and eat in between. Bottom line is my meal was just eh. I don't think their bowls are for me. I will probably give this place one more shot at some point, but next time try a salad or wrap.
(3)
Monica J.
GROSS, FOREIGN-LOOKING, HUGE-ASS BUG at the bottom of my colleague's salad. Literally, this critter was at least an inch long! I will no longer wonder where he was getting those seemingly delicious salads. I am disgusted, Freshii. Get your shit together. unfortunately, zero stars is NOT an option!!!!
(1)
Jen A.
I'm not going to fight the lines (out the door, usually) at Freshii, but I'll get it delivered. Sometimes, I forget to bring a lunch to work, so it's pretty convenient that this place exists. They're quick, too - I've never waited more than 20 minutes to get my lunch. I'm a fan of the salads. Romaine + chicken + goat cheese + blueberries + green apples + strawberries + almonds + cracked pepper + a side of raspberry vinaigrette = my new lunch staple. I've also had some less-than-awesome food here, but I have to blame myself for that. After all, I was the one who thought that cilantro might be good in a stir-fry (it's not). It's a little bit pricey, but the salads are huge. Also, if you happen to order from the restaurant itself, grab a bag of kettle corn. It's yummy!
(4)
Kim J.
It seems this place currently averages out to a 3.5, which is what I would give it (if yelp would get with the program and allow us to award half stars, dangit!). I'm rounding down due to my annoyance with the rice bowls, which I'll talk about a little below. I got a brochure for Freshii from our secretary. The concept sounds great - make a wrap, salad, soup, or rice bowl and add lots of veggies and healthy proteins to make a custom healthy meal. And I think the food is good - you just kind of have to know how to work it. I almost always order the buddha bowl, which is a rice bowl with veggies and tofu served with peanut sauce. The rice bowls are actually served in containers that look like what you'd get at a chinese take-out place. The way the bowls are presented, all of the toppings are on top and the bottom is a brick of rice. The container makes it kind of hard to mix everything up, and the sauce often never makes it down to the rice. I think I've solved this problem though - order the sauce on the side, and use a separate container or bowl and dump everything in there - makes it easier to mix up. Once you figure out how to work it, it's delicious. Freshii, if you're reading this, PLEASE get a different container for your rice bowls. I recently had a wrap for the first time and found it to be quite flavorful and good. I'm not a big wrap kind of girl, but I'd have one here again - it felt more like a really healthy burrito than a wrap. The system for ordering is kind of scary - a long line of people ordering custom wraps, salads, and bowls takes awhile to get moving. I'd suggest going sometime other than right at noon - I usually go at 12:30 and the line is much more manageable by then. Such a great concept - if they work out a few kinks this place would be a go-to spot every day.
(3)
Sylvia W.
Healthier than your average lunch take-out, online ordering is easy, staff is friendly. Salad was meh and they forgot a topping. Good thing my meal was free thanks to LevelUp. For my money I'd go down the street to Protein Bar where the food is tastier, meats are antibiotic-free and/or organic, and prices are similar or less. Don't pay for Freshii's CEO's Glamour Shot.
(3)
T S.
My husband and I just dropped in this place before hitting up a play at the Goodman Theater. We were happily surprised how good it was--tasted like something homemade and delish! Great pit stop for a quick lunch fix.
(4)
Gen S.
I'm torn about this place. I like the idea of fresh ingredients and a healthy lunch option downtown. (They're hard to find!) The portions are pretty big and the food tastes good for the most part. BUT. The two times I've gone here, some of the veggies have look a little droopy (not too bad, but not crisp) and it can get a little expensive when you start adding on fancy ingredients like chicken or avocado. Overall I'd say it's worth it, especially if you just avoid adding extras to your dish. I recommend faxing in your order as they get really crowded during lunchtime.
(3)
Tara M.
I went to Freshii with a coworker last week for lunch after one of our other coworkers couldn't stop raving about it. All of us were disappointed for a number of reasons. First of all, everything just seemed really cheesy. While we were in line, the employees started cheering 'Freshiii!' over and over for no apparent reason...those poor souls. But let's get to the important part: the food. I made my own salad, and while I was impressed by the number of ingredients, I went a little overboard to the point where the things I put in my salad didn't go together at all. But that was my own fault, and I recognize that. I ordered chicken in it, and I swear there were only two bites of chicken in the entire thing. I also ordered feta cheese, and there were maybe four crumbles. I also questioned the quality of the romaine lettuce--not only were there several pieces of iceberg in it, but it was overall pretty wilted. The salad was big, but the cost ($9.89 with tax) still seemed a bit high. Ultimately, both of us were still hungry because of the lack of protein included in our salads, and were disappointed with the corny atmosphere and high cost.
(2)
N P.
OMG what happened to this place? I was out on maternity leave from work for three months and I just ordered a salad for delivery - it was the saddest looking salad I've ever seen! Not only was the lettuce/mixed greens soggy, witled, and brown, there was no avocado and no flatbread and the container was HALF EMPTY. I guess you have to "ask" for the flatbread now or something. So I called and complained and they sent another salad the next day - except this was worse! I had to go through and pick out all the brown pieces. It was so disgusting!!!!
(1)
Courtney B.
I work very very close to Freshii so it's one of the 3-4 really easy options for lunch every day. I was intimidated at first by the process of their clip board ordering system, but once you do it once, you get it. I've tried the Thai soup which was about 2 lbs of noodles and a tiny bit of broth. Not a fan. The salad didn't impress me. But then I started making my own wraps. They have 100 different ingredients to choose from and you can include as many as you want. Some things, like smoked turkey or grilled mushrooms are extra. It's not cheap- about $7, but everything is super fresh and you can make it as healthy as you want. I like how they put the ingredients in columns, listing them as most healthy to "splurge" items like the cheeses or sauces. I load up on smoked turkey, beets, bean sprouts, cranberries- I like the make-my-own concept very much. I really love their yogurt as well. It comes with 2 toppings- anything from fruit to chocolate. The vanilla chips are an extra tasty treat!
(4)
Eric V.
This place turned out to be a decent healthy option to pick up lunch. I typically go for a wrap, which can be a tad pricey, but the ingredients were indeed fresh. The ordering system can be a bit confusing for first timers. Basically you pick up one of the clip boards on the wall near the entrance, fill out every exacting detail of your order, then hand it off to the person behind the counter. I suggest checking their online menu ahead of time just to familiarize yourself.
(3)
Bryan H.
I truly wanted to love this place; after all, what could be better than a fresh and healthy option located in the lobby of my building. After seeing the long lines every day at lunch, i finally decided to try it out for a quick afternoon snack; Specifically the Yogi. I've been craving frozen yogurt for a while, so I gave it spin. It was $4.40 for a very delicious treat that was woefully undersized. Now while I realize that portion control is certainly an aspect of healthy eating, i still expect a decent portion for the price. I ordered a strawberry banana Yogii, and received a meager portion of barely 4 oz of frozen yogurt (which was delicious) and maybe 2 strawberries worth of chopped strawberry and barely a spoonful of banana. It was a tease... Even though what was there was incredibly delicious, I was very disappointed in the portion/price ratio. The carton it was served in was 1/2 empty..... If you don't mind splurging on a small but expensive snack, I would recommend it; but I cant see going back often for this healthy treat.... At some point I will likely try a salad or the soups there, but again, the prices don't seem to be worth it for a quick lunch.
(2)
Cherie E.
Freshii is a solid lunch option in the loop - fresh ingredients and tasty food (I've tried several of the fresh bowls, one of the salad wraps and one of the soups). I wasn't disappointed with anything! However, I must manage expectations: - It isn't the cheapest option (I paid $7.75 today for the Asian Vegetable soup) but the portions are quite filling. - Ordering can be tricky if you're a newbie - the form they have you fill out is pretty comprehensive and it's not exactly clear what to do if you want a menu selection versus a make-your-own item. I just stick to the menu items with little customizations (e.g. add avocado, no meat) b/c they're fantastic. - Don't come here if you're in a hurry; it might be due to slow employees or the fact that the ordering process isn't as straightforward as most, but expect it to take 15 min. from when you walk in to when you walk out.
(4)
Albert L.
A week ago, my friend had suggested this place. It's a few blocks from my work and after trying it, I'm now hooked. I've only been their twice and each time I custom built my wraps so I have no bias whether their preselected items are good or not. However if you are as creative as I am with food, then you're in for a good surprise. There are soo many options of selections for meats, cheeses, dressings and vegetables. If you choose wisely you'll be feasting on the most awesome wrap or salad you've ever had. Best way to procure... - Go to their website and print out their fax form - If you're a health freak like me, then use their nutrient calculator to guide you - Order via fax for pickup - Right after you fax your order, they'll call you to confirm it - Pick it up 15 minutes after they call - End result: no waiting in line and enjoy your meal
(4)
April S.
I always want to like Freshii every time I go because I love the idea so much. Fresh, healthy ingredients--a place where I can load up on my veggies and my "good carbs". The problem is that they screw up my order every. single. time. Seriously. Today, for instance, I ordered a soup with the thai broth, tofu, spinach, carrots, bok choy, broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, rice noodles, and chili powder. I got almost everything I asked for, except they left the spinach and decided to add... brown rice. ? Weird. Do they ever read the little sheets that you fill out? Not to mention that the soup was particularly overloaded with noodles and had about 2 pieces of bok choy, 3 tomatoes, and 4 broccoli. I'll keep going back every once in a while, but it does get to be an expensive lunch when they just can't seem to get the order right! I hope one day they get it together so I can really love them.
(3)
Yan P.
This is a rating for their salads only - Pretty average sort of place serving fast healthyish food at average-to-overpriced (for the area) prices. They don't really understand olive oil and lemon proportions too well (I had to tell them to double the olive oil). They're a bit stingy with portions of egg whites and avocado for 50 cents. A 3 dollar thing of salmon in the salad is pretty decent sized - bigger than what you'd get in a panera salmon salad. You can customize the salads and get a lot of ingredients for free but they give you tiny portions of all the 'free' ingredients. Overall I don't know any better place serving healthy food near my work so I have to live with this one until I open one of my own :)
(3)
Eddy C.
Freshii reminds me a lot of Flat Top Grill, which in and of itself is a double-edged sword because: 1) I LOVE having lots of options and being able to customize my meal and 2) I HATE having lots of options being able to customize my meal. Let me explain. Freshii is great because you get to pick and choose what you want. You start by choosing either a wrap, salad, stuff over brown rice or a soup base with brown rice or rice noodles. Then you pick your meats, veggies and sauces. So it's great if you're hankering for something very specific, though Freshii does have pre-designed menus in case you have trouble figuring our what goes well with what. Unlike Flat Top, you don't get to go back for more (unless you want to pay for it, of course) so it's probably best not to get too creative with your concotion. I got the the Soup't (I picked a spicy thai soup base) with brown rice, chicken, a crap load of vegetables (the non-meat toppings are unlimited) and the warm spicy peanut sauce and the srriacha sauce. It as tricky having all the toppings together, as I very easily could've added some strawberries or feta cheese to my soup concotion, but I managed to not screw it up. The broth was delicious and the portion was pretty hefty, with tons of chicken and veggies. I was impressed how quickly my order came out too, which is nice considering how the line was snaking out the door. If you do decide to go, I would highly encourage you to get there before noon. I would definitely go back to Freshii again.
(5)
matthew c.
I went to Freshii for the first time today, looking for a healthy spot to grab a quick carryout lunch. I got the warrior chicken (brown rice, chicken, corn, cilantro, onions, tomatoes, black beans, carrots tossed in a light ranch sauce) and a side of Greek Yogurt with honey. The serving was very large (i'm stuffed right now) a little spicy and great overall taste. Strongly recommend!
(5)
Wing W.
What can I say, I love Freshii! It is an oasis amongst an endless field of sandwiches and...sandwiches. The customization of your order is awesome and the food is super fresh like all the other reviewers have already mentioned. But no one has mentioned that their "Yoggi" is nothing short of Pinkberry! All of you out there from L.A. and NY knows what I am talking about. The swirly goodness that you waited hours for when you never wait in line for anything... the "frozen yogurt" you see the celebs eating in the trashy magazines... the only thing missing at freshii is the green tea powder but I will take what I can get until Pinkberry decides to move out to the windy city. The only reason I took one star off is for inconsistency. I have gotten significantly different portion sizes and missing/extra ingredients with my orders. However, I give them the benefit of the doubt that because they are relatively new and have not worked out all the kinks in the process yet. Hopefully they will earn that last star soon. Freshii is definitely my new favorite lunch place!
(4)
Chella G.
After eating here about 4 times in the last week, I decided it was time to write a review. I really love vegetables, but most lunch places disappoint me with their measly selection. I'm over Subway, done with Panera and bored out of my mind with Salad Spinners. When a co-worker came back with soup from Freshii, I was immediately interested. She said that you can add all the different veggies you want for the same flat price. For someone who doesn't eat much meat, this place sounded like a dream come true. I filled out my little order form and got a vegan wrap that was delicious. Of course, I went back the next day and tried the basmati rice bowl with lots of chopped eggs, black beans and chick peas. A-ma-zing! I love adding fresh vegetables and protein options that don't cost me an arm and a leg. Meat is extra, but there are plenty of other items that will fill your protein needs.
(4)
Job E.
Unique, but underwhelmingly bland. Maybe its bland because it tries to be healthy. I still come here regularly though because its a nice break from all the sub-shops nearby.
(3)
Mira T.
We went here because it was close to the theater. Big mistake. I should have walked another way, The rice bowl was horrible and it came cold. They had no way to heat it up except to put it through the hot water net again. Then at least it was sort of warm. I;m not coming back to this overpriced place again.
(2)
Kay S.
I come here for one thing....an afternoon frozen yogurt treat. You get quite a bit of yogurt with the choice of two toppings. I usually go with almonds and coconut but yesterday I deciced to switch it up a bit with strawberries and concunt (crazy, I know). Well, I think they add sugar to their strawberries because they were a bit syrupy. WHY WHY WHY do they do this? There is no need to add sugar to a perfectly sweet fruit. So, I guess it's back to my coconut and almonds.
(3)
Chuck K.
We loved this place. I had a "bliss bowl" which I'm sure I will be making at home. The "spicy lemongrass" soup was hot and delicious. Only one thing bothered me about the soup. The small pieces of chicken tasted funny. I've had chicken in some Chinese places that tasted similar. I asked a server about it, and she said it was pre-cooked and she thought it was OK. Oh, one other thing. I place has a real healthy vibe - the Equinox health spa is connected to it.
(5)
Madelyn H.
after going to freshii three times, i feel like i can legitimately review it. i love the idea of freshii. they have so many ingredients that definitely live up to the namesake and they have lots of interesting drink and side options. but all three of the meals i've tried have lacked flavor. it's strange because all three sounded amazing, but just didn't deliver. when you go, you get a clipboard where you can either choose from the selections that freshii has put together or you can make up your own salad, wrap, or rice bowl. i've had two of the signature rice bowls and one salad, and all were fine. i may try going back later in the summer when the produce is perhaps a bit more flavorful. one other thing is that although the prices are slightly higher than other standard lunch places, the portion sizes are huge. on all three occasions that i've been to freshii, i have a big enough meal for two lunches. it's a good lunch option in the downtown area, but it's missing something.
(3)
Nicole R.
I like this place. Ive only had the salads (probably all i'll ever have there). I like that I can customize it and they have tons of options including things like lemon juice, soy sauce, or vinegar for peeps who think salad dressing is disgusting.
(4)
Elizabeth H.
EDIT: I went back and asked for my meal to be mixed and it was perfect. I had the brown rice bowl with portabella, grilled asparagus, spinach, peas and goat cheese with balsamic vingar. I loved it and I do crave it all the time now. I now know to ask for it "mixed" and when I do, it is heaven in a bowl. ------------------------------------ I won't be craving my meal for days on end but I didn't hate it. Maybe it is my fault. After all, I am the one that "created" the meal by choosing the options and the rice and the sauce. My complaints aren't really about taste though and more about preparation. The portions are a good size which is a plus. I do not like how the rice bowl is created. The rice is on the bottom, the veggies are just thrown in on top and then sauce drizzled on top of that. The rice bowl is packed and it is very dificult to mix everything together. You end up eating just veggies and sauce for a few bites. By time you get to the bottom, it is just plain rice without much flavor. Another complaint is how the rice was warm but the vegetables were freezing. Maybe on a salad I would be okay with very cold mushrooms and asparagus but in a rice bowl I would have prefered at least something above freezing. I love the concept and I am not opposed to trying Freshii again. It just won't be anytime soon.
(4)
Eitan S.
one of my fav' lunch places in the loop. you can make your own salad, unlike most of the other salad joints, you can add any amount of ingredients to your salad with no extra charge (with the exception of proteins) love it, love it , love it its really becoming a gem during the summer time, where you can eat in the park and get some sun.
(5)
Electrolux B.
My wrap was pretty tasty but with chips it was almost $10. That's a shit ton. The layout of the venue (and the building that houses it) are not very inviting. I felt like i was in a cold, sterile gift shop. I'll go back but probably not as much as i initially thought i would. eh.
(3)
Matt R.
I felt the need to write a review of Freshii because in the past week they changed up their menu and the it is hugely improved. They have added a lot of "chef's creation" items...as in they decide what goes in your meal. You can still do custom whatever you want, but for those that don't like the pressure of having to decide what you want, the option is there. They have lowered the prices. The biggest change is that they have increased the quality of their food a lot. The salads are much bigger and better now. The bowls are much bigger and more flavorful than before. Also, they have added burritos, which they did not have before. I went from feeling kinda ehhh about this place to loving it. It is still a little bit more expensive than other places, but now it is at least worth paying for when you go there. Now that it is becoming more popular they need to work on keeping the line shorter so that I can give it 5 stars!
(4)
m c.
not one piece of chicken in my grilled chicken burrito
(1)
Kirsten C.
10/14/08: So my first experience with Freshii was admittedly not the greatest. I thought maybe they were just working out some opening day issues, and decided to go back a couple of weeks ago. I was a bit skeptical at first given what happened the first time around, but my coworker really wanted to try it, so I tried to go into experience #2 with an open mind. The line moved much quicker, but the food was still horrible. My coworker ordered a rice bowl, and I decided to try a salad. Neither of us are very picky eaters, but we couldn't even stomach what we got. She was unpleasantly surprised that the vegetables and other ingredients mixed into her warm rice were left cold (not room temperature, but cold). It made such an awkward and unexpected combination to have cold veggies on warm rice (which was one of my complaints the first time around). My salad was so unbelievably tart that I couldn't eat a single bite without puckering my mouth. The sundried tomato dressing was harsh, and the sundried tomatoes in my salad were completely unbearable. My coworker had sundried tomatoes in her bowl as well, and her sentiments were the same. Normally, both of us are huge fans of sundried tomatoes, but WOW - they were both ridiculously tart AND chewy. It was like chewing leather in my salad. Suffice it to say, both of us were incredibly disappointed - especially because each of our dishes + drink came out to be nearly $10, and we couldn't even stomach a few bites of it. Save your money, and go somewhere else - there's a ton of other equally healthy, but more delicious places to eat nearby!!!!! 6/16/08: I was really excited to eat at Freshii after hearing about it on Daily Candy. I thought, finally - a great place to eat healthy for lunch. Many people have the misconception that healthy food has to taste bad, and Freshii did nothing to counteract that. First of all, I spent a good 30-40 mins waiting in line. Maybe it was because they just opened or maybe it's because they were featured in Daily Candy, but a fast food place should NEVER take that long. It was clear that they did not have the staff to support a grand opening, and the behind-the-counter area seemed so cramped that the employees they did have on staff kept bumping into one another. It was chaotic and inefficient, to say the least. The menu itself was also not only confusing, but daunting. When a giant, folder-sized pamphlet and an accompanying clipboard of options still can't answer your questions, then you know you're in trouble. When I finally got my food, my lunch hour was pretty much over. I was hoping the food would be worth the hassle, but it was quite the opposite. I ordered a rice bowl with different toppings, one of which were supposed to be roasted potatoes. The potatoes were COLD (not room temperature, but COLD) and they seemed drenched in water. Every time I took a bite of the potato, cold water surged out of each piece. It's as if they were frozen (not "freshii") and not entirely defrosted. The sundried tomatoes were also rough and chewy, as if they hadn't soaked in water long enough to soften after being sundried. The teriyaki sauce was incredibly salty, and the "grilled" tofu was more like raw tofu straight out of the package and just cut into cold, little squares. Nothing about my meal was salvagable, and at over $10 for the meal (including a drink) and close to an hour of my time, I should've been able to get a few good bites in. I appreciate the effort in trying to get Americans to eat healthy, but it was an effort gone horribly wrong, and I don't plan on going back or recommending it to anyone else!
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : Yes Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch Parking : Street Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : No Good for Groups : No Attire : Casual Alcohol : No Outdoor Seating : Yes Has TV : No Waiter Service : No
Kim Li M.
This is as good as fast food gets. The line was out the door today....for hours, but the wait went by quickly. The selections for vegetarians is a breath of fresh air for downtown fast food....tempeh is delicious, vegetables are fresh, everything is tasty. I luv that their order sheet (although maybe a bit overwhelmingly detailed at first) allows me to build my lunch to my exact specifications. Freshii. Rock.
(5)Sirsha C.
only been here once - it was a bit confusing - you can assemble your own meal or just order off the menu - i ordered their thai chicken soup and it came in a to-go jar which is kinda inconvenient...very watery and not very filling but the meal cost me about 8 bucks which about what i like to spend for lunch, not more.
(3)Linda L.
I had been dying to try this place but found it to be just "okay". I was surprised that a place with fresh in the name served romaine lettuce with so much brown on it. Also, the veggies I had (tomatos, cukes and celery) could not have been chopped smaller - they really get their money's worth out of their veggies. Also, even though I had the blue cheese salad dressing, my salad seemed to have almost no taste. Can't for the life of me figure out how that could happen in a salad but it's true. I'll probably go back one more time to give it another chance but that's all I can offer them at this point.
(2)Chris J.
If "wrap" is code for "wrap filled with rice and not much else, and by the way it's $8" then I'd give Freshii 5 stars.
(2)Tabitha G.
I don't work near Freshii anymore and I'm extremely disappointed. Their bowls are so amazing! Everything I've ordered from here is delicious and you really can't go wrong. Try their buffalo chicken - I love it because they don't fry the chicken.
(4)Ellen G.
Where to begin about Freshii? I have a complicated relationship with this place since I go there three times a week because it's too cold to venture beyond the office. It's exhausting to think of all the times they have screwed up my order and begin to list them. However I do kinda like the fact that they offer some of the healthier food available in the area.
(3)vince m.
great people work here and the food is awesome.
(5)Matthew J B.
I thought it was good. I had the quinoa burrito and tasted fresh and they had lots of nice selection. Not much seating at this location but there was some in the atrium.
(4)Lauren L.
I really want to like this place; it's one of the only healthy fast food options near my office. I've tried it three times and each time it's just been gross. It's expensive, and the food has been bland each time. I've tried different things there and left each time feeling mad that I just paid $10 for a completely flavorless meal that I don't even finish half of. Never going back.
(1)Vanessa H.
If you order avocado.. you literally will NEVER get it. Never fails, i pay the additional 1.25 for avocado and walk out with none. I think it must be an inside joke with these people to do it on purpose.
(3)Bradley S.
I really wanted to like this place. The interior design looks modern and "fresh" and I love the idea of fresh healthy food. However, after giving it a handful of tries, I feel as if I will probably never go back. The food is just way to pricey for the amountand the quality. It is about 6 dollars for just rice/noodle with a small amount of vegetables. You have to pay another about 2 dollars and change to add protein! So after tax it is almost 10 dollars for a meal.
(1)Sarah D.
This place is the worst deal. Super expensive. Meager. Not very fresh. Be aware that paying $2 to add a protein to your meal will translate to less than 2 tablespoons of said protein added to your meal.
(1)Ben M.
My second time here, take out. I'm back at my desk. I'm wondering what on earth could have made this godawful bowl of noodles cost $7.76. The noodles themselves (85% of the dish) are bland, sort of like styrofoam. The veggies (which I ordered this dish for, yet only comprise maybe 10% of it), are soaked with oil and do not taste fresh or healthy. The rest of the dish is tofu, spices, and oil, none of which are that good. Wtf?? How do you get away charging $7.76 for this? The only benefit is that its filling, but I can go to, oh, anywhere for that. Maybe if this were in the $5.00 range, I'd be cool with it. Maybe if it were super fresh and healthy tasting, i'd be ok with it. But come on, this is a bland, oily mess.
(1)Lizz M.
I think this place perpetuates the stereotype of food that's good for you tasting bad. Ordered the Asian Chopped salad as part of a big delivery for our team's lunch. "Salads don't need to be bland! Dressings don't need to be overly sweet and thick. Why are my wontons soggy? I need an adult!"--these are the thoughts that ran through my mind as I tried to navigate my salad. I say this because all of the non-lettuce ingredients were at the bottom of my salad. I don't understand this. The lettuce is going to make everything else soggy if it's on top. And so it did. The taste of the salad (minus wontons) was just okay. I've definitely made better salads at home. Not inedible, just not something I'd go back for.
(2)Alyssa J P.
I have to say this place has one of the most confusing menu / ordering systems for a n00b to navigate, but the food was damn good. I wasn't really sure what to expect and was hoping for a hot vegan wrap, but the cold one suited me just fine. I like all the vegan options.
(4)Eliot J.
Great for vegetarians. Had the lemon grass soup with tofu. Great for a rainy day like today. The berry smoothie was good too.
(5)Stina N.
I still frequent Freshii on a semi-regular basis. More often than not I build my own rice bowl with black beans, corn, sprouts, salsa, tofu, broccoli, and carrots. I've also ordered the frozen yogurt several times. It's far more fro yo than I would ever eat in one serving and the staff really seems to struggle with the concept of giving me just a half serving. (Rather than taking a full serving and throwing half away.) They recently raised the prices a bit, but the rice bowls are plenty of food for the money. I can usually get two meals out of one rice bowl.
(5)Hina Q.
My second time to Freshii and first time to this location. My first time and I immedietly fell in love with the healthy meal. It's not cheap, but atleast its a healthy meal with no grease and reduced fat. And it doenst break the bank. Although I didn't like this location as much as the other location I tried downtown Chicago - the service was a bit slow takes about 15 mins to wait for your meal after you place your order. Can't wait to have Freshii again!
(4)Dorotka K.
Not going back, sorry. The music is way too loud in there and you literally have to scream your order. Plus, it looks like IKEA and has an IKEA concept. Don't get me wrong, I love IKEA (see my IKEA review), but not when it comes to food. You have to fill out your order on a sheet of paper with a pencil. Little do you know that every time to put a checkmark next to something, you run up your little food bill higher and higher. The food is bland and overpriced. I had two different bowls here and they both tasted very generic. There is something missing here, but I cannot put my finger on it... Perhaps they skimp on seasonings or something. Anyway, I came because I purchased a kgb deal and even then it was not worth it. The only nice thing about Freshii is that it is located in a nice building. But even the 311 Wacker location can't save that 10 dollar bowl of bland. With flavorful Panera Bread right across the street, why bother with Freshii?
(1)Laila C.
Paying almost $8 is too much, even if it is a lot of soup. The flavors were fine but what's with all the raw veggies in the soup? My friends all hated their entrees too. Too much rice and not enough sauce. GIVE ME MORE SAUCE!
(2)Unyime E.
On paper this place looks great. When it comes to performance, however, this place fell a little bit short. First off, they recently remodeled the store and switched up their menu items. While the menu isn't radically different than what's displayed on the corporate website, I was a little dissapointed that the option I was looking forward to ordering wasn't on their new menu. Whatevs, it seems like most people go here for a quick salad/noodle option. I didn't think my salad was the greatest. The "steak" in my salad was more like strips of roast beef. It was a nice-sized salad, but for what I paid I expected more from it. The chopped salad at the corner bakery is much better.
(2)Matthew P.
This place is in my building, so unfortunately I go there a fair amount. Here's the thing - the food is fresh (as advertised) and (if they grilled it properly) would actually be very good. Here's the problem - I go here probably once a week and they mess up my order 80% of the time. All I get is a wrap, grilled, with no tomato. 75% of the time, the wrap isn't grilled at all (which I send back promptly because I can feel it) and a lot of the time, there is something in my order wrong (tomatoes, wrong dressing, etc.). Either the sheets they use to fill out the orders are too confusing for employees or they hire the stupidest people in the world because my order is so consistently wrong, that I had to write a review (which happens rarely). If you can, I'd recommend staying away from this place.
(2)Colleen C.
I'm on a fro-yo bender, apparently... -Only size: $3.75. It's BIG. Probably a medium at most othre F-yo places. -Original is light and "flash frozen" for ultimate aeration. -fresh fruit (I had mango, which was a bit unripened) + granola I like Freshii. I wish they were in my office building...but um, I work from home. They have fresh options, the prices aren't crazy...and they aren't so UBER healthy that they skimp out on fountain sodas. I mean, I get it Whole Foods, et al. Sodas are bad for us, but I still want my Diet Coke, so fountain it over, why don'tcha!? Freshii score. A nice little afternoon treat, and after the lunch rush there isn't a soul in sight...and you can hang out in the luxe lobby seating and enjoy. Fro-yo week has commenced...
(4)Andrea R.
I've got 10 of my colleagues in town and knowing we'd be hitting the dinners/drinks pretty heavily I promised everyone healthy lunches. So hello Freshii! I really liked their detailed website and so genius that it counts calories for you. I asked my colleagues to make their own salad, soup, freshii bowl...and send it to me. Um, not one of my most genius ideas because ordering 11 different types of salads, soups, etc for picky eaters was not fun! I'll admit it...i was cursing my colleagues by the time I placed the 11th order. The food was pretty yummy. I enjoyed a brown rice bowl filled with veggies and chicken. And I really liked my coworker's spicy lemongrass soup. A good, healthy option...just make someone else do the ordering if it's a large order.
(3)Skyin Xiaoyu Y.
I only tried frozen yogurt here. This is the most yogurt flavor froyo I have ever had! Compared to this, other froyos are more like ice cream. However, the toppings are definitely not of different varieties as ordinary froyo store, but it is consistent with Freshii's healthy postion and image.
(3)Farrah A.
Freshii's website alone gets 5 stars. I love online ordering, and the fact that you can create your own salad, wrap or soup on line, especially for a large company lunch order, this is awesome. When I initially made my order a few days in advance, I was stuffed, so the last thing I wanted to do was think about food, so I went for the lemon grass soup (I'm also a soupaholic). But when lunchtime came around yesterday, i sorta regretted it. I was famished. Luckily, this was no side soup. It was served in a large cup/container. I must say that it had a surprising amount of savory flavor. It had a zesty broth with hints of earthy spices and lemon. Loved it. The only reason why I knocked off one star was that I ordered mine with brown rice instead of rice noodles, along with cilantro and some other fixins that weren't included. Not too big of a deal; I still ate it all.
(4)Karen T.
Never have I ever... 5-starred a Loop Lunch spot. But Freshii warrants that, and more. This place opened up two months ago in the building south of the Sears Tower next to Kamehachi, and I lament every day gone by that I missed out on this spot. The space is faintly reminscent of Jamba Juice. I'm not sure if it's due to the white walls/wooden floor, but it instantly brought to mind Southern California - the clean, fresh part of it at least. Or maybe it was the workers, who are so friendly I thought to myself, good Lord, your dosage of Valium needs to be taken down a notch. One bounded up to me - literally, bounded - and greeted me with a little clipboard, explaining all the options there were. I love you, my cute little elfish Freshii boy! not as much as my Pocket Gaysian, but then again, no one can match D. So once I ordered a southwestern chicken soup because I needed to get in and get out, and that was that. Cheese, croutons, tomatoes, black beans and chicken in a warm, well-seasoned broth..I was sold. A Huge Soup for $6. Trip 2: Yoggi. Don't judge too hastily my friends, I certainly wanted to gag at the trendiness of yet ANOTHER frozen yogurt..and melded into a salad/soup/wrap spot at that! But yoggi with reese's pieces and oreo crumbs? Berry Chill has got some serious competition, folks. Today I trudged over again - I knew I had to get a salad because I ate my weight in food last night at Morton's. I made my own salad wrap: cajun chicken, goat cheese, mangoes, blueberries, onion/tomato/pepper/romaine/corn/asparagus....this thing was bigger than a CHIPOTLE BURRITO. oui, c'est possible! and healthier. If you're a masochistic type like I am, you can calculate nutrition here: eatfreshii.com/menu.php This was $5 and 500 calories. I made all my coworkers salivate with the pronouncement that you could add bacon and four different kinds of cheese - FOR FREE. Last but not least: I immediately logged on to write a review before I passed out from food coma. What food coma? I am light on my feet, chipper, full but energetic. Someone get me a treadmill, I'm ready to run! (I say this as my salivating coworkers, lethargic from Panda Express, are nodding off, their drool about to spill out onto their keyboard.) Oh dear God and praise Buddha, all that is holy, Thank You For Freshii.
(5)Jelena Z.
After reading Karen T.'s review last week, I couldn't stop thinking about Freshii. It's not often that I leave the confines of River North for lunch so it better be good, I thought to myself. Since I was on a tight schedule, I printed off their order form, checked off numerous boxes to create my salad wrap and then faxed in. Easy breezy. When I arrived, all I had to do was grab my bagged wrap as I had already paid for it as well. Good thing, because my little jaunt took much longer than expected due to *sniff* public transpo. And my cheap lunch would've been marred by taking a cab (i.e. $7 wrap + $14 roundtrip car fare. Methinks not). Back to my wrap. Fresh natural chicken, crispy romaine, celery, red onions, goat cheese and a smattering of cucumber dill dressing in a whole wheat wrap. That particular dressing is lo-cal and legitimately awesome (this from someone who despises fat-free foodstuffs). My wrap was healthy according to the online nutrition calculator, filling to my tummy AND delicious as reported by my taste buds. Yes, thanks to Freshii the impossible dream is indeed possible. But, I'm pissed off because now I know how great the goods are and they're just a bit out of my reach. We need you in River North, Freshii!
(4)Andrew T.
So, I have a mixed opinion here. After seeing someone with what looked like a delicious bowl of soup from Freshii (and being hungry for such) a coworker and I abandoned a visit to Haifa Cafe to try this place out. I had the Thai Chicken soup, and my friend had a teriyaki concoction of some sort. My soup was good - spicy, good noodles, good veggies. Could have been more chicken, but there was enough. I would like it more without the red onion, but I can pick around that. And it was a massive quantity of soup. My coworker, on the other hand, complained of a strange taste in his teriyaki, to the point where he stopped eating it entirely, after just a few bites. I finished most of the soup. However, later that afternoon and evening, I was physically ill multiple times. The soup was not as good the second time. Now, I don't know that it was the soup, but you know how it goes, I can't help but associate being sick with food from here. And I can't help but wonder if that strange taste was something off about the food? And I couldn't tell in my dish? Anyway. It was good, but I don't think I'll be back. I'll give it two stars out of the benefit of the doubt.
(2)Jeff S.
If you live downtown, here's the trick: Place your order online! You can build your meal at your own pace, and even prepay for it. They tell you what time it will be ready -- or -- you can schedule a pickup time. Then you just walk in and pick it up. In and out very quickly. I've now ordered online 28 times over the past few months and have zero complaints. And the staff at the Jackson St location is outstanding.
(5)Lauren H.
This review is not for an in-dining experience, but rather, the food they catered for a work meeting. The salad looked delicious (with goat cheese and what I think were sun-dried tomatoes) but had avocado in it so I could not indulge (if I wanted to continue breathing). Caesar salad was fine. My brown rice veggie wrap, however, was moist and fresh and I enjoyed it very much. I intend to go there and try other menu items.
(4)Bill M.
I was handed a mysterious packet as I walked to my office building this morning. I was told that Freshii is a new restaurant that is giving away free lunches today. How could I refuse this assignment? When I arrived a few minutes before noon, there was a line out the door and the staffers were handing out order forms and explaining how to order. Hmmm these gourmet salad places are known for having checklists on how to "design" your own order. I went with the steakhouse salad-wrap, with cold steak chunks, lettuce, caramelized onions, and ranch dressing. I love caramelized onions, but they just sat here in the wrap like innocent bystanders. Oh well, it was a free lunch (though I did have to pay 73 cents in tax). Considering the huge crowd of people today, everything ran fairly efficiently. I'll probably try it again someday, as it is conveniently located to my office.
(3)Jacquelyn G.
... and I'm out. They just redid the store layout and ordering process, and it sucks. I used to always get a rice bowl loaded with veggies--unlimited. Now, you only get four free toppings and have to pay extra for more. Seriously? Best of all, they are charging more now! So I got a lousy bowl of brown rice with four veggies (most of which were cold, I might add) and paid about $8. No thank you. I am officially over you, Freshii.
(1)Kathy S.
I was very excited to try this place since it's near my work and especially since I love frozen yogurt. Unfortunately, theirs isn't up to par as with some of my favorites places to get frozen yogurt. The texture of their frozen yogurt is icy instead of creamy and I'm not too fond of the flavor. Their fruit is okay but not great. I guess I'll have to go to Wow Bao for my frozen yogurt fix (even though I'm not too happy with them right now, see Wow Bao update) unless I can actually make the trip to Red Mango. Onto the food, I tried one of their salads and they do give you a good portion and it's cool that you can add so many different ingredients but it's a bit ridiculous that it is almost $10. I am a little hesitant to try one of their fresh bowls with the combination of the cold and warm ingredients but maybe I'll give it a try next time I go.
(3)Will V.
I can't say anything about the food without saying something about the ordering process. Why does it have to be so complicated? And why are there no checkboxes on the order form for their pre-made recipes? The easiest things to order aren't actually listed on the order form! Freshii needs an information architect for their order form. The food is fresh, but it's just not that great. There's nothing particularly offensive about the food, it just doesn't stand out from anything you can get at Panera, Corner Bakery, or a bunch of other sandwich places. The best thing about this place is, if you absolutely must "create your own" there are so many options here. But I'd rather have lunch somewhere else.
(2)Tera D.
I absolutely loved the idea, and wanted to love the food. The concept of adding exactly what you want to a wrap, rice bowl, soup or salad is awesome, especially if you are trying to eat healthy. I went in after work to grab something to take home for dinner. It was more or less empty at this point (it closes at 5:30), but all the staff members were frantically recovering from what was apparently an insanely hectic opening lunch hour. After an overly helpful worker talked me through the order sheet, I went with the Buddah bowl and added a few extra veggies. While I was waiting the overly eager, but very nice, manager chatted me up and gave me a free drink. My disappointment came once I started chowing down. I ordered it with the spicy peanut sauce, but there was hardly any on it. While I'm thrilled that they use brown rice for health reasons, it's a bland food that desperately needs sauce. I added some soy sauce from my fridge and it was perfectly edible, but I just wish there was more peanut sauce. I'll try it again sometime and request extra sauce.
(3)Irah H.
I love this place. Apart from just selling usual salad n wraps, they have bowls where you can have brown rice or noodle , and it's with Asian flavour as well which is perfect for my mom who need to have her rice everyday, I'll definitely will be back for sure n bringing my mom to try cos I think she'll appreciate it.
(4)Rachel E.
I still don't like freshii, but i need to update and say that the list of veggies/toppings has been drastically reduced, and most now require an additional fee (75c for sundried tomatoes, 75c for olives, etc). Oh and as much as i thought 'soup't' was a stupid name for soup, they now just call it plain 'soup' and that's kind of boring.
(1)Kate D.
This is a review of Freshii's fat free, probiotic frozen yogurt because I didn't know they served food until I saw the menu in my frozen yogurt bag (co-worker brought me dessert). I tried Starfruit for the first time at the Yelp Shedd event last month. The kefir fro-yo taste is either love it or hate it... and I love it. It's wonderfully sour and magically fat free; I can't get enough of the stuff. Insatiable yet lazy, I was on the lookout for a kefir source closer to work. Lo and behold, Freshii! They have around 20 toppings to choose from ranging from chocolate chips to sunflower seeds. The yogurt is delicious and apparently they have a menu full of organic brown rice dishes and wraps. I'm salivating just reading it. Finally, a new option for lunch in the loop!
(5)Caitlyn S.
I'm so disappointed by the changes Freshii has made. You can no longer build your own meals. Instead, you have to go off the menu options and add .25cents per vegetable if you choose to add them in. It's still $1.00 charge for chicken/beef/tofu and they still don't give you very much. The portion sizes have also gotten smaller, but the prices are the same. I used to go in there at least once a week but I'm going to have to find a better option if they keep these changes.
(2)Aaron S.
That's right - I ate a salad today. For everyone who knows me and just slapped their hands to their cheeks á lá Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone - hear me out. You KNOW me - and the only way I would eat a salad is if the thing is more "bowl of goodies" than "salad", and Freshii actually allowed that to happen. I saw the place when I was trying out Kamehachi next door and glanced inside only to be greeted by walls covered in clipboards and menus displaying what seemed like nothing but vegetables and brown rice. I am not a fan of the brown rice. I am not a fan of veggies or anything "vegan" or "organic". I am not a health nut. I am just a nut. Or at least a squirrel, trying to get a nut - so move your butt to the dance floor... ...but I digress. I was disgusted and stormed out with my sushi in tow. And today, I got curious. What was that Freshii place, REALLY? A look online and I discovered that while the facade is an organic, healthy, vegan-friendly, brown-rice-pushin', tofu-fartin' foodatorium - they somehow still left me with the power to make something awesome... So I put my reviewing pants on and sacrificed half of my 30-minute lunch break to make it over there and order and head back to the office to chow down. I stepped into that familiar nightmare and reached for a clipboard. I eventually found the basket of golf pencils and started the crafting of my lunch. Step 1: Select Your Meal The wraps and bowls were out, because of the brown rice factor. The soup seemed like an interesting concept, but I was in work attire and am prone to soup-related spills and dribbles so that was out. And so I was faced with my mortal nemesis: the Salad. Romaine itself is too bland. Spinach by itself is too gross. I went with the "Freshii Mix" - which it turns out is more than just romaine and spinach (I learned later I could have just checked both boxes instead, but the Mix wasn't bad). Step 2: Unlimited Toppings Now THIS is a lunchtime option I can be down with. Unfortunately, the selection is void of most of the really GOOD items I like in a salad - they're in the Premium section. Also, while the Premium section offers the choice of "double", the Unlimited section does not. I went with Broccoli, Crispy Wonton, Egg Whites, House Croutons, Mushrooms and Red Onions. I pondered getting Sliced Eggs as well, but the whites are my favorite part, so I was set. Step 3: Premium Toppings Here's where they get you. They gave you a bland base of greens and you're already at $5.95. The unlimited toppings are freebies, but nothing spectacular about them (and you can't double). I understand that proteins are where the real flavor and filling comes from, so I went the route of Buffalo Chicken for $2.00 extra. And then I "doubled" it for another $1.25 extra. Step 4: Choose Your Flavor I'm still trying to understand Freshii's categorizations of "24/7", "Balance" and "Splurge". I guess the first is good "any time", the second is for "trying to be healthy" and the third is for "not trying to be healthy". So it's pretty obvious I splurged and went with the regular Ranch dressing (not the Lite version). I appreciated their additional option of "half", "regular", "heavy" and "on the side" - especially since the "heavy" option I chose doesn't cost any more than "half". Name at the top and gave it to the guy, who handed me the carbon copy and I took that to the register to pay. And yea, for a salad this awesome, the damage was about $10 - but I can at least say that it was worth it. It's almost two meals, and I'm a guy who can handle a lot of food. The croutons are gigantic, the dressing managed to cover everything I needed at the "heavy" setting, and I felt like they actually gave me "double" on the buffalo chicken which paired splendidly with the Ranch dressing. I'd love to give this place a bad review. I love knocking down the hippy-dippy health-food craziness places. But they let me get something as unhealthy as I could create it. I'm still not going to give them anything higher than 3 stars because the brown rice factor eliminated half the menu right off the bat. Freshii, I understand that you want me to eat healthy - but if you'll let me splurge on fatty dressing and chocolate chips on the frozen yogurt you sell, why can't I splurge and get plain white rice or something just as filling but TASTY like refried beans or fried rice or chocolate? This place apparently isn't as scary as it looks from the outside with walls of clipboards and a creepy-looking metal sculpture holding chips and organic candies. Unless you're afraid of brown rice, whole grains and vegetables...
(3)Brittany B.
Since nothing else was open in the loop at 7:00pm, I stopped in here to get a salad. The salad was very fresh and yummy, though a bit pricey for the Centurion Salad that I ordered ($14!) The salad was a perfect size and really delicious. I looked up the calories on the restaurant's website and it was 625 calories. Not that bad for all of the various toppings on it. The salad came with a piece of brown pita type stuff, which looked and felt like cardboard, but tasted SHOCKINGLY yummy!!! Next time, I will try a make-my-own-salad (so it wont be so pricey!!!) or maybe a wrap, given the yumminess of the bread.
(4)Elizabeth R.
I really love this place! I came here because of a recommendation from a friend. As part of your salad, a tortilla comes on the side. I felt it was too dry and lacked any real flavor. I had the Fiesta Salad which was amazing. I was impressed that they lived up to their name of being fresh. You can make your own salad or get a chef creation. Either way, you will not be disappointed by eating here. The service was quick and the people were friendly. However, I found the price point was much too high. The product they offer is wonderful but I plan to go somewhere else next time.
(4)Kate F.
I had the fiesta burrito for lunch today, and while all of the individual ingredients seem healthy, the whole thing weighed about two pounds and had about 1,000 calories in it. BUT, it was delicious!
(4)kevin c.
Freshii -- I'm addicted to your Chicken Teriyaki Bowl. When I first tried Freshii, I was a little displeased with what I got. I had chosen roasted red peppers, goat cheese and olive oil over brown rice. The thing tasted healthy but my tastebuds almost died of boredom. Then I tried their garden tuna wrap -- another healthy choice but it was just veggies and tuna and there was obviously something missing ... oh yeah ... FLAVOR. So Freshii was 2 for 2 in the department of healthy but flavorless meals. I decided to give it one last chance and I ordered the chicken teriyaki bowl. BINGO!!! This is the perfect healthier alternative to its fattier, carb-overloaded counterpart. The "bowl" (I put bowl in quotation marks because it's not actually a bow but a Chinese take-out container) starts off with brown rice. This is already a great substitute for white rice -- less carbs and more fiber. Then they add a little pre-chopped chicken breast -- none of that fatty, juicy delicious pan fried goodness .... whoops! Healthy ... we're thinking healthy. Badness, fatty, juicy delicious pan fried badness. And then they add bean sprouts, carrots and broccoli. The carrots and broccoli are either raw or blanched, so they retain most of their nutrients. Lastly, they add the teriyaki sauce (I usually add 1/2 the sauce because the regular amount has over 1,700 mg of sodium). And there you have it ... Chicken Teriyaki done "healthy". All of this for under 500 calories! Your fat ass will thank you, I know mine does.
(3)sarah p.
I was quite impressed with the online ordering and website. More businesses should take note. The delivery service was prompt, and as we were ordering for a large group, it was appreciated that they took the time to label each meal for easy grabbing. I had the lemongrass soup with rice noodles. It was ok. Nothing to write home about.
(3)Jonathan A.
First time to Freshii because they were giving away $10 with the download of the LevelUp application for your phone. I must say that I am overly impressed. I ordered a chicken burrito and it was AWESOME! I will definitely be going back to Freshii! Burrito tasted healthy, filled me up (I am 230 lb) but did not make me feel groggy or weighed down. What a great experience! Excited to try breakfast!!!
(5)AJ G.
Loved this place! I was visiting from San Diego for a training in this area and could not stand the lunch scene here. I don't eat fried food and I do not eat poultry or beef. I found this place on Yelp. My colleague and I walked over here and boy were we surprised. Healthy, fast, fresh, and yummy food. We wish we had a place in San Diego like this besides Whole Foods, which is much more pricier.
(4)Mikaela S.
I used to really enjoy this place, but the past few times have just been a disappointment, and the guy who takes your order is very abrupt and rude. i am currently wanting to puke, as their food had made my stomach all sick and sad and angry. and last time they messed my order up, the rice was crunchy and burnt, and there was chicken in my VEGETARIAN entree. i will not be going here again.
(2)Clare K.
OK, so now I am a huge fan of freshii...though I like the Monroe location better. Online ordering is really where it's at. No waiting! I've also fallen in love with the tuna garden wrap and a couple of their salads. nice work freshii.
(5)Rebecca S.
I am not all that impressed with this place. Mediocre wrap and really rude staff - really not worth the $30 that was spent for 2 lunches. I'd go back if I had to but otherwise, I'd rather try some other "healthy" choices in this city. There is plenty to choose from. I also read another reviewers review about a bug at the bottom of the salad and that is enough to make me not want to go back. I am glad I read the review AFTER going.
(3)Rene P.
Gross. Just gross. So many better places to get a salad in the loop or this area. Weird combinations, weird dressing, just blech.
(2)Christina P.
Freshii is my go-to Loop lunch spot lately. I know it's a tad overpriced, but the salads and brown rice bowls are huge... ingredients are so fresh and service is nice and speedy. A winner! I really enjoy customizing my own salad. They are super health aware and you are able to modify your order however you want. Also, any restaurant that has all nutrition facts on their website (with a calculator feature that does the math on each ingredient) is already a favorite in my book. I don't really do math... so if someone else does it for me, I'm in. Anyway, a great, healthy option in the loop!
(5)Johnny B.
First off, their soup is called "soup't"... which is stup't. Secondly, they have the most convoluted ordering process I've ever witnessed. Instead of just going to the counter and ordering what you want, you have to fill out a freaking checklist to adequately convey what you want. While I can see how this would be a good idea if you want to build-your-own meal, how is this helpful to the other 80% of the population that just wants something off the menu? Hey Freshii - you're the restaurant; why don't you tell me what tastes good together? It's obvious that the creator(s) of this system think it is cute, novel, and exciting. In actuality, it's lame, burdensome and annoying. I don't want to fill out an MF-ing SAT test just to get some stup't soup't. Thirdly, their food just ain't all that good. I had a buffalo chicken wrap that had nary a hint of spice to it. Was I supposed to check "buffalo sauce" on my frickin scantron sheet? I figured the buffalo chicken wrap CAME with buffalo sauce. In all seriousness, I'm pretty sure the sauce was on there, and it's just that bland. I've also had the cobb, which was underwhelming. How can a wrap with blue cheese, bacon and avocado be bland? And what of the stup'tly named soup't? The southwestern chicken was decent, but almost $9 with tax. It is big, but for $9, I don't care if it comes in a Rubbermaid garbage can, it should be some of the best damn soup I've ever had. It isn't. Overall, I have to agree with the reviewer who said it's lameii. Also, more than one of their employees looks like an elf.
(1)Erica W.
I went to Freshii about a month ago and ordered a bowl without onions. Guess what I got? A bowl with onions. They gave me a free coupon for an entree next time I come in. I go in today, and order a Bankok Burrito to go. I get back to the office, bite into the burrito into a hard piece of metal. I looked, and there is a SMALL METAL RAMEKIN INSIDE OF THE BURRITO!! I was mortified and disgusted. Needless to say, I didn't eat the rest of the burrito. I called the store and talked to the manager who said that they would give me a free entree... again. I'm done with the free entrees. I'll pass. What next? This never should have happened. I took a picture for proof and showed my coworkers, who were also stunned. How does someone put a metal ramekin in a wrap??? Talk about negligence! This is unacceptable. If you decide to go, be sure to check your food for foreign objects before you eat it.
(1)Andy S.
Somehow this slipped through my review net, so take this with a grain of salt (it's been ~6 months so things may have changed there). I used to order Freshii at least 3 times a week at my old job when I worked downtown. The online ordering made it ridiculously simple, the massive number of options made it irresistible, and the fact that they used bike messengers who never cared that a massive weimeraner assaulted them everytime they entered the office sealed the deal on me approving of Freshii. I always opted for the wraps, and was never let down. The things were huge, and always accurately made, with (mostly) fresh ingredients so far as I could tell. One of my old co-workers would get the soups, and never had any complaints--and if I had to guess I'd say the soup contained at least 1.5-2x as much food as my already big wrap. The one crazy incident I had with Freshii dealt with my wrap being late...3 hours late. When it finally arrived, it was brought to me by the manager, who apologized, gave it to me for free, and also brought along tons of tasty treats for myself and my officemates, all on the house, so really I can't complain too much. If nothing about Freshii has changed in the last six months, I'd say hit it up!
(4)Ayako M.
Let me preface this with, "I heart Freshii, hard" The key to getting a satisfying Freshii meal is knowing how to order! The most important thing for you to know is, if you ask for just two ingredients you will receive the most boring and minuscule rice bowl/wrap/soup they only use one measured amount of ingredient, asking for just Chicken and Broccoli is not going to get you a container filled with 50% chicken and 50% broccoli it's going to get you a mostly empty container! If you order a salad or rice bowl, they aren't going to toss it all together unless you specify! Tossing includes the dressing or sauce, so if that's a no-no, you have to tell them on the side. I've had the most luck with ordering the Chef's choice creations and adjusting the ingredients to my liking, they seem to have the proportions down for these options, where sometimes the "build-your-own" options can be hit or miss. Also, they only charge .25 cents for delivery! Now that it's getting cold out, my lazy ass is going to utilize the hell outta that one!
(5)Robyn T.
Delivery. Eco-friendly packaging. Loads of options. Healthy. Yummy. Lots of great reasons to get Freshii! I was impressed with my brown rice bowl - it was exactly what I was craving on a cold snowy day. My only complaint was that I wish there were more veggies, but I did have a generous portion of salmon and for under $10 this is a fantastic lunch option!
(4)Michael F.
At Freshii you can design your own wrap or bowl. A sheet of paper with a list of about 10,000 items is available where you make your selections and hand them over. In about five minutes you have basically a burrito that you have chosen to fill with beans, spinach, corn, monkey, and caviar. It took be about three trips there to mix and match enough to get the wrap just right. The selection affords the chance to get a combination of vegetable colors and is great for a vegan. The Wacker drive location is the best choice because building it is located in has a huge lawn with chairs and tables, across from the Willis Tower.
(5)Kristin M.
I'm sorry to do this... I really didn't want to, I wanted to like Freshii. But now I'm sitting here at my desk at work with a less-than-half eaten salad for the second time! The last time I went to Freshii I was also very disappointed, however I thought I would give it a second try, big mistake. If your going to call your self "Freshii" that implies that you have FRESH food, not wilty lettuce which is what I got both times. Not only that but both the veggies and the turkey taste like they have been frozen and thawed. The veggies were completely flavorless and seriously lacking in quantity. I think maybe there were three pieces of broccoli and like 1 artichoke, not only that but every thing is diced up into ridiculously small pieces. The turkey (maybe their other proteins are better) tastes like really bad/cheap deli-style turkey (like the kind with 80% fillers and solution and 20% meat) but cut up into chunks instead of slices. -yuck The turkey was so bad they should really just take it off the menu, that's not something you should give to your customers unless they plan on taking it home to their dog. Its just so disappointing because it is such a great concept, but in order to pull this off they need to source better ingredients. Maybe they should change their name to Frozenii or something.
(1)Lauren B.
I ordered a salad from here and got it delivered. It came within 15 minutes, faster than I had expected. But the salad wasn't all that great. I was pretty disappointed! My salad consisted of spinach, beets, mandarin oranges, goat cheese and tempeh with balsamic vinegar dressing on the side. I thought this would just be balsamic vinegar, but it was a creamy dressing. Not healthy at all. The salad was lacking flavor. They didn't really flavor the tempeh at all and the beets were dry. Although I will give them props because it was a big salad. And it did come with some bread....but that was flavorless. So all in all, I wasn't impressed. I'll eat it again if I really need to. Meaning, I don't have groceries and am too lazy to walk down to the grocery store.
(2)Eric M.
This place could be awesome - four stars - but it's just too confusing. It's like they don't really want customers, or else they've never been an office worker who has a lot of options and wants healthy, but also doesn't really want to have to figure out a convoluted system just to eat lunch. They need to have photos of how the styles of prep look. My food was okay, but I would have ordered differently if I knew what it looked like first. They also need to greatly reduce the complexity of it. It's great to have such total control over your food, but I couldn't tell how the system worked or what pieces went together or how much it would end up costing me based on what I picked. I may be back, because it seems like a cool concept, but despite all the options, the system makes it more work than lunch should be. Also, since they don't have any photos when a person offers to help you, it's really hard to visualize what the heck they're talking about, so even when they try to help, it's not very effective. I don't understand how they don't realize that reworking their system, making their entrance and customer flow more user-friendly and intuitive and actually letting people SEE how their food will come out would easily double their customer base. I walked by this for a year, even walked in several times before I tried it out because it was confusing and I'm not in the mood to deal with confusion over lunch.
(2)Niki C.
Thought it would be funny to take my friend, who harbors a vivid dislike for salads to this place in order to see what the hoopla was about. I'm so sneaky. She had no idea until we walked in. The interior looks more like a shop as there is zero seating. Zero. There is seating in the hallway & outside (if it is a nice day), but the space is too small for seating. "Really? This is a restaurant?" she asked. I had done my homework, so I made up my own mix in my head already. She needed more persuading, so this guy who was standing about (I think he's the COO?) talked her through it, which was nice of him to do. She decided on the "soup't." Question: What's that supposed to stand for? Soup't? Souped? Like our car is all souped up? I dunno. Anyways, back on track. So part of my evil plan was to get a shot of Ms. Salad-Hater in this restaurant so I could pass it along to her family & friends, who know her as such. But, to my shock & awe, the moment -& I am talking about the MOMENT- I took my camera out, I was bombarded with questions. "Are you from the press?" No, uh, I just wanted to take a picture of my friend. But, alas, because, as the dude explained, "All of this (he motions to the wall) is proprietary." Whatever, dude. There are, like, 7-10 different salad restaurants in Chicago alone; you're not reinventing the wheel here. But he did comp us some goodies, so that was cool. Gotta give him big props for that - Thanks, man! So after that buzzkill, we went to eat our food in the hallway (where we DID take pictures of ourselves in various levels of stupidity). But as we were situating ourselves, this other guy came up to us & gave me his business card. He's the founder. So he tells us that they have pictures that he will send us if we want photographs. Yeah ... that's all nice & good, but the point wasn't to take pictures of the restaurant. It was to take a picture of my specific friend IN the restaurant. My friend said that she noticed that while the COO was grilling me about my camera (it's a Canon PowerShot, hardly a press-worthy camera), this guy rushed to the entrance & started a feverish conversation, nodding in my direction. Wow. Really? I mean, I get the whole intellectual property thing & all, but ... really? Anyways ... to the food. It was pretty decent - I think I would have changed my dressing if I were to go there again cuz it's kinda bland (cucumber dill), but the COO (who came out again to talk to us - were we being punk'd?) said that you can do a half & half that may be really good ... interesting ... may try that. On the Soup't side, my friend seriously - SERIOUSLY - had to wait 20 minutes for her soup to cool down to a temperature suitable for eating. We timed it. She said, "It's really f---ing hot." I said, "McDonald's lawsuit hot?" She said, "Honestly, uh, yeah." I would post pictures of it to show you all, but the Gestapo wouldn't let me. ;) Just kidding, man. Thanks for the tasty treats.
(3)Blake B.
I was thinking this is a simple cafe for the Equinox gym and kept walking by for months. What finally made me walk in was the lunch crowd huddled inside. I'm impressed with this new North American chain. You can make just about anything and there are a lot of vegan options. Keep in mind it is a to-go place with minimal seating. What make the place even better is that you can order for delivery or pick up here: gomobo.com/Order/Order.a… At $5 minimum for delivery anywhere downtown, this is a no-brainer. I rate this in the same category as Protein Bar on Franklin or Market Creations in The Civic Opera House building, but more vegan friendly.
(5)kelly c.
One of the few places in the loop that can offer a few options for vegans. Seriously, when is there going to be decent vegan food available in the loop? And if I am missing something please let me know! (I am not vegan but my bestest co-worker is, and to have lunch with her is nice). To be frank, I am not that impressed with the food here. It seems like everything comes with a sauce and a lot of extra junk that make the veggies seem not so freshii. They also have those weird corn flat wares, which are totally better for the environment, but are thick and feel weird. Star Fruit also has these weird wares. The strangest thing about them is that I can bite a hole in them! If they're so easily torn apart, they must be super-biodegradable. But I can't get used to them. I'd rather just try to reuse plastic ware to be envi-friendly (or not use such transient wares at all). So strange saucy food with weird wares makes my mouth not so satisfied with a loop lunch. The structure for ordering is also odd. Why must I write everything on a half sheet of paper? I am a simple gal - if you put something on a menu, I will point to it and say, 'one of those please.' Now, I appreciate the effort to make everyone feel like an individual and get the chance to write down exactly what they want, but if I don't plan on getting specific then why must I waste paper? I'm trying to imagine myself as a regular here... I just can't.
(2)Mary T.
I like the idea, I just didn't like the food. I came across Freshii a few weeks ago when I made a stop at the Kamehachi next door. I took a menu and was excited to give this place a shot; I'm on a healthy eating kick so this place sounded great. Here's what I liked and didn't like: 1) The menu, it's really just an order form, there's no info about the items or how the bowls are prepared. This drives a picky eater like me nuts. The guy who handed the menu to me told me that and offered me a ginormous catering menu, which is apparently more explicit. Not wanting to tote something around the size of a record album, I passed. 2) The website. I liked that you could put together your meal and see the nutritional information too. When they get online ordering up it will be really nice. 3) The greeter. The guy working the door was trying too hard, he came off as being really artificial and unnaturally enthusiastic. He did a good job of answering my questions, but kept hovering over me even after I was all set. 4) The order system. They don't assign a number or take your first name, instead they take your initials. I don't know about you, but I don't respond to someone shouting my initials, especially since they sound like "empty." I just figured someone was signaling a co-worker to replenish something. 5) My bowl. The greeter told me that the ingredients in the bowl are cold, but that the warm rice and one of their warm sauces (there are only 2) heats it up. Not true, I ended up popping my bowl in the microwave since it was lukewarm/cold. Even though all of the ingredients were nice and fresh, my bowl was bland (bleh). I had to spice it up with quite a bit of salt and pepper to make it passable. I also wish the bowl was a bowl and not one of those deep Chinese food containers, it was awkward to eat out of. 6) Sauces. It would be nice to have more than 2 choices for warm sauce. I would also like to see some sort of Asian Wasabi sauce, I think it would taste good on the bowl. I had the spicy peanut sauce, it wasn't very spicy and a bit bland, sigh. The only other spicy one that looked appealing was the Sriacha which is the red stuff in those big bottles at Asian places. The guy cautioned me that it's be really hot, he probably was right, but I'd have liked something in between. 7) Speed. My order was ready to go in under 5 minutes. This was key since I only had a short amount of time to go from work to class and eat in between. Bottom line is my meal was just eh. I don't think their bowls are for me. I will probably give this place one more shot at some point, but next time try a salad or wrap.
(3)Monica J.
GROSS, FOREIGN-LOOKING, HUGE-ASS BUG at the bottom of my colleague's salad. Literally, this critter was at least an inch long! I will no longer wonder where he was getting those seemingly delicious salads. I am disgusted, Freshii. Get your shit together. unfortunately, zero stars is NOT an option!!!!
(1)Jen A.
I'm not going to fight the lines (out the door, usually) at Freshii, but I'll get it delivered. Sometimes, I forget to bring a lunch to work, so it's pretty convenient that this place exists. They're quick, too - I've never waited more than 20 minutes to get my lunch. I'm a fan of the salads. Romaine + chicken + goat cheese + blueberries + green apples + strawberries + almonds + cracked pepper + a side of raspberry vinaigrette = my new lunch staple. I've also had some less-than-awesome food here, but I have to blame myself for that. After all, I was the one who thought that cilantro might be good in a stir-fry (it's not). It's a little bit pricey, but the salads are huge. Also, if you happen to order from the restaurant itself, grab a bag of kettle corn. It's yummy!
(4)Kim J.
It seems this place currently averages out to a 3.5, which is what I would give it (if yelp would get with the program and allow us to award half stars, dangit!). I'm rounding down due to my annoyance with the rice bowls, which I'll talk about a little below. I got a brochure for Freshii from our secretary. The concept sounds great - make a wrap, salad, soup, or rice bowl and add lots of veggies and healthy proteins to make a custom healthy meal. And I think the food is good - you just kind of have to know how to work it. I almost always order the buddha bowl, which is a rice bowl with veggies and tofu served with peanut sauce. The rice bowls are actually served in containers that look like what you'd get at a chinese take-out place. The way the bowls are presented, all of the toppings are on top and the bottom is a brick of rice. The container makes it kind of hard to mix everything up, and the sauce often never makes it down to the rice. I think I've solved this problem though - order the sauce on the side, and use a separate container or bowl and dump everything in there - makes it easier to mix up. Once you figure out how to work it, it's delicious. Freshii, if you're reading this, PLEASE get a different container for your rice bowls. I recently had a wrap for the first time and found it to be quite flavorful and good. I'm not a big wrap kind of girl, but I'd have one here again - it felt more like a really healthy burrito than a wrap. The system for ordering is kind of scary - a long line of people ordering custom wraps, salads, and bowls takes awhile to get moving. I'd suggest going sometime other than right at noon - I usually go at 12:30 and the line is much more manageable by then. Such a great concept - if they work out a few kinks this place would be a go-to spot every day.
(3)Sylvia W.
Healthier than your average lunch take-out, online ordering is easy, staff is friendly. Salad was meh and they forgot a topping. Good thing my meal was free thanks to LevelUp. For my money I'd go down the street to Protein Bar where the food is tastier, meats are antibiotic-free and/or organic, and prices are similar or less. Don't pay for Freshii's CEO's Glamour Shot.
(3)T S.
My husband and I just dropped in this place before hitting up a play at the Goodman Theater. We were happily surprised how good it was--tasted like something homemade and delish! Great pit stop for a quick lunch fix.
(4)Gen S.
I'm torn about this place. I like the idea of fresh ingredients and a healthy lunch option downtown. (They're hard to find!) The portions are pretty big and the food tastes good for the most part. BUT. The two times I've gone here, some of the veggies have look a little droopy (not too bad, but not crisp) and it can get a little expensive when you start adding on fancy ingredients like chicken or avocado. Overall I'd say it's worth it, especially if you just avoid adding extras to your dish. I recommend faxing in your order as they get really crowded during lunchtime.
(3)Tara M.
I went to Freshii with a coworker last week for lunch after one of our other coworkers couldn't stop raving about it. All of us were disappointed for a number of reasons. First of all, everything just seemed really cheesy. While we were in line, the employees started cheering 'Freshiii!' over and over for no apparent reason...those poor souls. But let's get to the important part: the food. I made my own salad, and while I was impressed by the number of ingredients, I went a little overboard to the point where the things I put in my salad didn't go together at all. But that was my own fault, and I recognize that. I ordered chicken in it, and I swear there were only two bites of chicken in the entire thing. I also ordered feta cheese, and there were maybe four crumbles. I also questioned the quality of the romaine lettuce--not only were there several pieces of iceberg in it, but it was overall pretty wilted. The salad was big, but the cost ($9.89 with tax) still seemed a bit high. Ultimately, both of us were still hungry because of the lack of protein included in our salads, and were disappointed with the corny atmosphere and high cost.
(2)N P.
OMG what happened to this place? I was out on maternity leave from work for three months and I just ordered a salad for delivery - it was the saddest looking salad I've ever seen! Not only was the lettuce/mixed greens soggy, witled, and brown, there was no avocado and no flatbread and the container was HALF EMPTY. I guess you have to "ask" for the flatbread now or something. So I called and complained and they sent another salad the next day - except this was worse! I had to go through and pick out all the brown pieces. It was so disgusting!!!!
(1)Courtney B.
I work very very close to Freshii so it's one of the 3-4 really easy options for lunch every day. I was intimidated at first by the process of their clip board ordering system, but once you do it once, you get it. I've tried the Thai soup which was about 2 lbs of noodles and a tiny bit of broth. Not a fan. The salad didn't impress me. But then I started making my own wraps. They have 100 different ingredients to choose from and you can include as many as you want. Some things, like smoked turkey or grilled mushrooms are extra. It's not cheap- about $7, but everything is super fresh and you can make it as healthy as you want. I like how they put the ingredients in columns, listing them as most healthy to "splurge" items like the cheeses or sauces. I load up on smoked turkey, beets, bean sprouts, cranberries- I like the make-my-own concept very much. I really love their yogurt as well. It comes with 2 toppings- anything from fruit to chocolate. The vanilla chips are an extra tasty treat!
(4)Eric V.
This place turned out to be a decent healthy option to pick up lunch. I typically go for a wrap, which can be a tad pricey, but the ingredients were indeed fresh. The ordering system can be a bit confusing for first timers. Basically you pick up one of the clip boards on the wall near the entrance, fill out every exacting detail of your order, then hand it off to the person behind the counter. I suggest checking their online menu ahead of time just to familiarize yourself.
(3)Bryan H.
I truly wanted to love this place; after all, what could be better than a fresh and healthy option located in the lobby of my building. After seeing the long lines every day at lunch, i finally decided to try it out for a quick afternoon snack; Specifically the Yogi. I've been craving frozen yogurt for a while, so I gave it spin. It was $4.40 for a very delicious treat that was woefully undersized. Now while I realize that portion control is certainly an aspect of healthy eating, i still expect a decent portion for the price. I ordered a strawberry banana Yogii, and received a meager portion of barely 4 oz of frozen yogurt (which was delicious) and maybe 2 strawberries worth of chopped strawberry and barely a spoonful of banana. It was a tease... Even though what was there was incredibly delicious, I was very disappointed in the portion/price ratio. The carton it was served in was 1/2 empty..... If you don't mind splurging on a small but expensive snack, I would recommend it; but I cant see going back often for this healthy treat.... At some point I will likely try a salad or the soups there, but again, the prices don't seem to be worth it for a quick lunch.
(2)Cherie E.
Freshii is a solid lunch option in the loop - fresh ingredients and tasty food (I've tried several of the fresh bowls, one of the salad wraps and one of the soups). I wasn't disappointed with anything! However, I must manage expectations: - It isn't the cheapest option (I paid $7.75 today for the Asian Vegetable soup) but the portions are quite filling. - Ordering can be tricky if you're a newbie - the form they have you fill out is pretty comprehensive and it's not exactly clear what to do if you want a menu selection versus a make-your-own item. I just stick to the menu items with little customizations (e.g. add avocado, no meat) b/c they're fantastic. - Don't come here if you're in a hurry; it might be due to slow employees or the fact that the ordering process isn't as straightforward as most, but expect it to take 15 min. from when you walk in to when you walk out.
(4)Albert L.
A week ago, my friend had suggested this place. It's a few blocks from my work and after trying it, I'm now hooked. I've only been their twice and each time I custom built my wraps so I have no bias whether their preselected items are good or not. However if you are as creative as I am with food, then you're in for a good surprise. There are soo many options of selections for meats, cheeses, dressings and vegetables. If you choose wisely you'll be feasting on the most awesome wrap or salad you've ever had. Best way to procure... - Go to their website and print out their fax form - If you're a health freak like me, then use their nutrient calculator to guide you - Order via fax for pickup - Right after you fax your order, they'll call you to confirm it - Pick it up 15 minutes after they call - End result: no waiting in line and enjoy your meal
(4)April S.
I always want to like Freshii every time I go because I love the idea so much. Fresh, healthy ingredients--a place where I can load up on my veggies and my "good carbs". The problem is that they screw up my order every. single. time. Seriously. Today, for instance, I ordered a soup with the thai broth, tofu, spinach, carrots, bok choy, broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, rice noodles, and chili powder. I got almost everything I asked for, except they left the spinach and decided to add... brown rice. ? Weird. Do they ever read the little sheets that you fill out? Not to mention that the soup was particularly overloaded with noodles and had about 2 pieces of bok choy, 3 tomatoes, and 4 broccoli. I'll keep going back every once in a while, but it does get to be an expensive lunch when they just can't seem to get the order right! I hope one day they get it together so I can really love them.
(3)Yan P.
This is a rating for their salads only - Pretty average sort of place serving fast healthyish food at average-to-overpriced (for the area) prices. They don't really understand olive oil and lemon proportions too well (I had to tell them to double the olive oil). They're a bit stingy with portions of egg whites and avocado for 50 cents. A 3 dollar thing of salmon in the salad is pretty decent sized - bigger than what you'd get in a panera salmon salad. You can customize the salads and get a lot of ingredients for free but they give you tiny portions of all the 'free' ingredients. Overall I don't know any better place serving healthy food near my work so I have to live with this one until I open one of my own :)
(3)Eddy C.
Freshii reminds me a lot of Flat Top Grill, which in and of itself is a double-edged sword because: 1) I LOVE having lots of options and being able to customize my meal and 2) I HATE having lots of options being able to customize my meal. Let me explain. Freshii is great because you get to pick and choose what you want. You start by choosing either a wrap, salad, stuff over brown rice or a soup base with brown rice or rice noodles. Then you pick your meats, veggies and sauces. So it's great if you're hankering for something very specific, though Freshii does have pre-designed menus in case you have trouble figuring our what goes well with what. Unlike Flat Top, you don't get to go back for more (unless you want to pay for it, of course) so it's probably best not to get too creative with your concotion. I got the the Soup't (I picked a spicy thai soup base) with brown rice, chicken, a crap load of vegetables (the non-meat toppings are unlimited) and the warm spicy peanut sauce and the srriacha sauce. It as tricky having all the toppings together, as I very easily could've added some strawberries or feta cheese to my soup concotion, but I managed to not screw it up. The broth was delicious and the portion was pretty hefty, with tons of chicken and veggies. I was impressed how quickly my order came out too, which is nice considering how the line was snaking out the door. If you do decide to go, I would highly encourage you to get there before noon. I would definitely go back to Freshii again.
(5)matthew c.
I went to Freshii for the first time today, looking for a healthy spot to grab a quick carryout lunch. I got the warrior chicken (brown rice, chicken, corn, cilantro, onions, tomatoes, black beans, carrots tossed in a light ranch sauce) and a side of Greek Yogurt with honey. The serving was very large (i'm stuffed right now) a little spicy and great overall taste. Strongly recommend!
(5)Wing W.
What can I say, I love Freshii! It is an oasis amongst an endless field of sandwiches and...sandwiches. The customization of your order is awesome and the food is super fresh like all the other reviewers have already mentioned. But no one has mentioned that their "Yoggi" is nothing short of Pinkberry! All of you out there from L.A. and NY knows what I am talking about. The swirly goodness that you waited hours for when you never wait in line for anything... the "frozen yogurt" you see the celebs eating in the trashy magazines... the only thing missing at freshii is the green tea powder but I will take what I can get until Pinkberry decides to move out to the windy city. The only reason I took one star off is for inconsistency. I have gotten significantly different portion sizes and missing/extra ingredients with my orders. However, I give them the benefit of the doubt that because they are relatively new and have not worked out all the kinks in the process yet. Hopefully they will earn that last star soon. Freshii is definitely my new favorite lunch place!
(4)Chella G.
After eating here about 4 times in the last week, I decided it was time to write a review. I really love vegetables, but most lunch places disappoint me with their measly selection. I'm over Subway, done with Panera and bored out of my mind with Salad Spinners. When a co-worker came back with soup from Freshii, I was immediately interested. She said that you can add all the different veggies you want for the same flat price. For someone who doesn't eat much meat, this place sounded like a dream come true. I filled out my little order form and got a vegan wrap that was delicious. Of course, I went back the next day and tried the basmati rice bowl with lots of chopped eggs, black beans and chick peas. A-ma-zing! I love adding fresh vegetables and protein options that don't cost me an arm and a leg. Meat is extra, but there are plenty of other items that will fill your protein needs.
(4)Job E.
Unique, but underwhelmingly bland. Maybe its bland because it tries to be healthy. I still come here regularly though because its a nice break from all the sub-shops nearby.
(3)Mira T.
We went here because it was close to the theater. Big mistake. I should have walked another way, The rice bowl was horrible and it came cold. They had no way to heat it up except to put it through the hot water net again. Then at least it was sort of warm. I;m not coming back to this overpriced place again.
(2)Kay S.
I come here for one thing....an afternoon frozen yogurt treat. You get quite a bit of yogurt with the choice of two toppings. I usually go with almonds and coconut but yesterday I deciced to switch it up a bit with strawberries and concunt (crazy, I know). Well, I think they add sugar to their strawberries because they were a bit syrupy. WHY WHY WHY do they do this? There is no need to add sugar to a perfectly sweet fruit. So, I guess it's back to my coconut and almonds.
(3)Chuck K.
We loved this place. I had a "bliss bowl" which I'm sure I will be making at home. The "spicy lemongrass" soup was hot and delicious. Only one thing bothered me about the soup. The small pieces of chicken tasted funny. I've had chicken in some Chinese places that tasted similar. I asked a server about it, and she said it was pre-cooked and she thought it was OK. Oh, one other thing. I place has a real healthy vibe - the Equinox health spa is connected to it.
(5)Madelyn H.
after going to freshii three times, i feel like i can legitimately review it. i love the idea of freshii. they have so many ingredients that definitely live up to the namesake and they have lots of interesting drink and side options. but all three of the meals i've tried have lacked flavor. it's strange because all three sounded amazing, but just didn't deliver. when you go, you get a clipboard where you can either choose from the selections that freshii has put together or you can make up your own salad, wrap, or rice bowl. i've had two of the signature rice bowls and one salad, and all were fine. i may try going back later in the summer when the produce is perhaps a bit more flavorful. one other thing is that although the prices are slightly higher than other standard lunch places, the portion sizes are huge. on all three occasions that i've been to freshii, i have a big enough meal for two lunches. it's a good lunch option in the downtown area, but it's missing something.
(3)Nicole R.
I like this place. Ive only had the salads (probably all i'll ever have there). I like that I can customize it and they have tons of options including things like lemon juice, soy sauce, or vinegar for peeps who think salad dressing is disgusting.
(4)Elizabeth H.
EDIT: I went back and asked for my meal to be mixed and it was perfect. I had the brown rice bowl with portabella, grilled asparagus, spinach, peas and goat cheese with balsamic vingar. I loved it and I do crave it all the time now. I now know to ask for it "mixed" and when I do, it is heaven in a bowl. ------------------------------------ I won't be craving my meal for days on end but I didn't hate it. Maybe it is my fault. After all, I am the one that "created" the meal by choosing the options and the rice and the sauce. My complaints aren't really about taste though and more about preparation. The portions are a good size which is a plus. I do not like how the rice bowl is created. The rice is on the bottom, the veggies are just thrown in on top and then sauce drizzled on top of that. The rice bowl is packed and it is very dificult to mix everything together. You end up eating just veggies and sauce for a few bites. By time you get to the bottom, it is just plain rice without much flavor. Another complaint is how the rice was warm but the vegetables were freezing. Maybe on a salad I would be okay with very cold mushrooms and asparagus but in a rice bowl I would have prefered at least something above freezing. I love the concept and I am not opposed to trying Freshii again. It just won't be anytime soon.
(4)Eitan S.
one of my fav' lunch places in the loop. you can make your own salad, unlike most of the other salad joints, you can add any amount of ingredients to your salad with no extra charge (with the exception of proteins) love it, love it , love it its really becoming a gem during the summer time, where you can eat in the park and get some sun.
(5)Electrolux B.
My wrap was pretty tasty but with chips it was almost $10. That's a shit ton. The layout of the venue (and the building that houses it) are not very inviting. I felt like i was in a cold, sterile gift shop. I'll go back but probably not as much as i initially thought i would. eh.
(3)Matt R.
I felt the need to write a review of Freshii because in the past week they changed up their menu and the it is hugely improved. They have added a lot of "chef's creation" items...as in they decide what goes in your meal. You can still do custom whatever you want, but for those that don't like the pressure of having to decide what you want, the option is there. They have lowered the prices. The biggest change is that they have increased the quality of their food a lot. The salads are much bigger and better now. The bowls are much bigger and more flavorful than before. Also, they have added burritos, which they did not have before. I went from feeling kinda ehhh about this place to loving it. It is still a little bit more expensive than other places, but now it is at least worth paying for when you go there. Now that it is becoming more popular they need to work on keeping the line shorter so that I can give it 5 stars!
(4)m c.
not one piece of chicken in my grilled chicken burrito
(1)Kirsten C.
10/14/08: So my first experience with Freshii was admittedly not the greatest. I thought maybe they were just working out some opening day issues, and decided to go back a couple of weeks ago. I was a bit skeptical at first given what happened the first time around, but my coworker really wanted to try it, so I tried to go into experience #2 with an open mind. The line moved much quicker, but the food was still horrible. My coworker ordered a rice bowl, and I decided to try a salad. Neither of us are very picky eaters, but we couldn't even stomach what we got. She was unpleasantly surprised that the vegetables and other ingredients mixed into her warm rice were left cold (not room temperature, but cold). It made such an awkward and unexpected combination to have cold veggies on warm rice (which was one of my complaints the first time around). My salad was so unbelievably tart that I couldn't eat a single bite without puckering my mouth. The sundried tomato dressing was harsh, and the sundried tomatoes in my salad were completely unbearable. My coworker had sundried tomatoes in her bowl as well, and her sentiments were the same. Normally, both of us are huge fans of sundried tomatoes, but WOW - they were both ridiculously tart AND chewy. It was like chewing leather in my salad. Suffice it to say, both of us were incredibly disappointed - especially because each of our dishes + drink came out to be nearly $10, and we couldn't even stomach a few bites of it. Save your money, and go somewhere else - there's a ton of other equally healthy, but more delicious places to eat nearby!!!!! 6/16/08: I was really excited to eat at Freshii after hearing about it on Daily Candy. I thought, finally - a great place to eat healthy for lunch. Many people have the misconception that healthy food has to taste bad, and Freshii did nothing to counteract that. First of all, I spent a good 30-40 mins waiting in line. Maybe it was because they just opened or maybe it's because they were featured in Daily Candy, but a fast food place should NEVER take that long. It was clear that they did not have the staff to support a grand opening, and the behind-the-counter area seemed so cramped that the employees they did have on staff kept bumping into one another. It was chaotic and inefficient, to say the least. The menu itself was also not only confusing, but daunting. When a giant, folder-sized pamphlet and an accompanying clipboard of options still can't answer your questions, then you know you're in trouble. When I finally got my food, my lunch hour was pretty much over. I was hoping the food would be worth the hassle, but it was quite the opposite. I ordered a rice bowl with different toppings, one of which were supposed to be roasted potatoes. The potatoes were COLD (not room temperature, but COLD) and they seemed drenched in water. Every time I took a bite of the potato, cold water surged out of each piece. It's as if they were frozen (not "freshii") and not entirely defrosted. The sundried tomatoes were also rough and chewy, as if they hadn't soaked in water long enough to soften after being sundried. The teriyaki sauce was incredibly salty, and the "grilled" tofu was more like raw tofu straight out of the package and just cut into cold, little squares. Nothing about my meal was salvagable, and at over $10 for the meal (including a drink) and close to an hour of my time, I should've been able to get a few good bites in. I appreciate the effort in trying to get Americans to eat healthy, but it was an effort gone horribly wrong, and I don't plan on going back or recommending it to anyone else!
(1)Megan M.
Good and fresh
(3)