We don't love venturing to the 'burbs to eat at a chain, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Â We have been to Ted's a few times, but this most recent time was great. Â We both got the salt and pepper trout which came with tomatoes and grilled asparagus. Â It's so hard to find a healthy option at a lot of places, but this was perfect for our diets. Â The fish was so flavorful and filling and the sides were perfect. Â We had great service. Â Sunday is their turkey dinner special (which my grandma loved) and it looked delicious - roast turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, the works.
60/365
My reactions to this place are contradictory. The aura is in-genuine and manufactured, like Applebee's or Friday's, and the menu seems to try to shock-and-awe you with its size, which I am not receptive to. Â However I still had fun, our wait staff has always been professional and attentive and most of all I like the bison meat. Â I've been a fan of bison burgers for many years, but never heard of this chain (it was never in my area before). Â I don't recommend the bison meatloaf, which I found bland and indiscernible. Â But I look forward to returning and trying the bison steak.
Review Source:My wife and I wanted to finally check out this place and we were glad we did. Â I got the New Mexico bison burger and I have to say it was the best most flavorful burger I have ever eaten. Â Bison burgers there are expensive but to me it was well worth it. Â Their fresh cut fries are delicious. Â Their shrimp appetizer was excellent I wish I could have ordered three of them. Â Their dessert was so good we got the berry cheesecake. Â Can't wait to go back.
Review Source:For the first time, I ventured from my favorite, the Blue Creek hamburger, and attempted the Avalon burger. It was delicious, but it was no Blue Creek. No fault of the burger...it was not my flavor profile. My friend had the roasted chicken with cranberry glaze mashed potatoes which I tasted. The chicken was wonderfully moist and the potatoes were absolutely memorable! We talked about the potatoes several times after dinner...I should have taken an order to go!
 Dining at Ted's is the experience you would hope for. It makes you wonder why everyone doesn't try as hard. One last note: as we entered the restaurant, we were greeted by two happy faces, and when we left we were bid a pleasant goodbye by three happy faces. How nice!
First visit, and I really liked it. The ambience is great, and we had a fantastic server. Â Portions were good, food was tasty, kids enjoyed their meals, too. I had the duo so that I could compare the beef and bison, but I really didn't taste a big difference. I'd order the bison again.
Review Source:I love this place. Their bison burgers are so much better than any other burgers out there. Â I usually get the Naked burger, medium rare. Â Ive had their other bison burgers like the New Mexico, Vermejo, and the Mushroom Swiss burgers (all delicious), but the Naked has become my usual. Â It doesn't need to be dressed up in anything because the bison is so good. Â It melts in your mouth. Â
Their fries are awesome and so are their desserts.  I've had their milkshakes.  One of those is enough for two people.  I've also had their apple crisp and more recently the  strawberry shortcake.
The waiters and waitresses are very nice and knowledgeable and FAST! Â I have never had to wait long for a table or for the food. Â The service, like their food, is top notch.
When I first heard Bison Burger I was a bit skeptical to even try it like really who eats bison?? lol But to my surprise it's amazing!! and taste a whole heck of a lot better than a regular burger.
So I've come to this place twice and both times I leave happy and content with both the service and the food!!..
I usually get the Kitchen Sink medium well please topped with a nice over easy egg, bacon, mushroom, cheese, onions the works baby!! Â My dear friend and I NEVER seem to stray away from this one as it's just so damn good!!! Â The first time we came we order the Kitchen sink and for appetizer we had the chili nachos that are a meal on it's own and freakin AMAZING!!!
This second time we came we ordered a crab cake that was really good, it was garnished with guacamole and cole slaw. The guacamole was pretty good as we both enjoyed it. I am not a fan of cole slaw so I cant say if it was good or not but my friend seemed to enjoy it. Â Â However the crab cake it self was rather small to be shared as an appetizer if there are more than two people at the table. Â But for my first time having it, it was really good and we both devoured that sucker like no tomorrow lol.
Both experiences we've had the waitresses have been very friendly and attentitive and there isn't much wait time from the time we ordered until the time we got our food. Â Once we get our food everything is nice and warm and the fries... Well let's just say they are secretely my second favorite part of the meal lol.. The portion of the burger is HUGE I usually only eat half but save the rest for later lol..
We both are always happy and would recommend this place to anyone willing to try a nice BIG bison burger.!!
Very friendly service, and a good, solid burger. Â I had the "New Mexico", since I just got back from a trip to that state and have been missing the food. Â The NM burger at Ted's is really nothing like any burger that I ate in the Enchanted State, but it was tasty nonetheless. Â Hand cut fries are always a bonus as well, in this era of frozen products. Â Lots of options on the menu and in general it's a good place to go if you want to catch a movie at the Glen.
Review Source:I know, I know. I give a lot of five star ratings. But honestly, I don't bother rating stuff that's merely "meh". Only the extremes get my time.
This restaurant is a favorite of the Manfriend, and me as well. Helpful staff, delicious food, good atmosphere, it's pretty much tops. Never have to wait more than a moment or two for a booth (though we tend to go on the early side to dinner), and the prices seem reasonable for what they're giving you. The Avalon burger is amazing. The bison nachos are delicious. Even the mixed drinks are great, and they don't have to be. Though I appreciate that they are delicious.
Order the bison when you go - - - it's their specialty and you won't be disappointed. I agree with other reviewers - - - order it medium rare. Don't overcook it because it'll turn into awful-rock-of-meat. It's an affront to man and country!
Great place for the ladies to take a more, ahem, "rustic", gentleman on a classy date that will satisfy both sides. Or heck, great place for a lad to take a "rustic" lady on a classy date. Can't be getting all gendered up in here.
In short, go. More than likely, you won't be sorry you did.
This our my second time here. The service was impeccable. Our waitress was attentive and friendly, and the manager also stopped by a couple of times to check on us. My wife and I couldn't decide between the salt and pepper and the almond encrusted trout, so we ordered both and shared. (We liked the salt and pepper better--it brought out more of the flavor in the fish.)
The restaurant presents itself as being environmentally friendly, and there are lots of organic options on the menu. Though I did have to explain to our kids why a green restaurant would have a large bison head mounted on the wall. ("Ted is using the WHOLE bison.")
Overall, an excellent experience.
I was very skeptical the first time I went in here. Â I generally not a big fan of chains but I had heard pretty good things about this one so I took a risk and took my sister and mom here when they came to visit. Â It definitely exceeded my expectations. Â
Ted's has a good atmosphere, the staff greeted us with a smile and were very friendly as they took our name for a table as the place was pretty crowded. Â We took a seat at the bar to wait and I was happy to see that they have a pretty good selection of beer on tap as well as appetizer service while you wait. Â Needless to say, almost as soon as we got our drinks our table was ready which was much faster than the fifteen minutes we'd been expecting. Â
Our waitress was great and very prompt in refilling our drinks and taking our orders. Â Ted's also does an interesting thing of putting cucumbers out on the table as a little snack, they were fresh and delicious. Â I had never had bison before and we were all feeling adventurous so we had the bison nachos as an appetizer. Â We all agreed that they were delicious. Â I would definitely order them again.
For our main meal my sister and I had bison burgers and my mom had the prime rib. Â Our burgers were great; bison meat is leaner and has a tangy taste to it that was brought out well in our food. Â My mom enjoyed her prime rib but did feel it was a little chewy, upon tasting it, I agreed even though it was still pretty good. Â The salt an peppar onion rings were delicious and unlike onion rings at so many places, were not greasy at all but rather crisp and tasty. Â
The major drawback of this place, as with all places in The Glen, is parking. Â There were very few spots so we had to walk a fair distance. Â Also, the valet parking was not very well staffed and people had to wait a fair amount of time. Â I'm not sure if that service is run by Ted's or The Glen though. Â The food is reasonably priced though a little on the expensive end of things. Â All in all, I've definitely enjoyed my meals at Ted's and would go back in an instant.
I'm adding an addendum to this review after trying to go here with some friends a few days ago. Â I had called early in the day and made a reservation for 7:30 PM. Â My friends and I showed up at 7:20 and were told that it would be at least a twenty minute wait. Â One of my friends commented that she felt as though she were in a Seinfeld episode. Â What is the point of making a reservation if it isn't going to be kept? Â I could understand if we had showed up ten or more minutes late or having arrived early were told we would have to wait until 7:30 when our table is ready, yet we were treated as though we had no reservation. Â The host was dismissive when I asked about this and was not helpful. Â I would still go here again but it definitely has lowered my opinion of the service.
The waitstaff is absolutely lovely here. I just wish the food lived up to their excellent service. After two visits I can only give two stars.
On this last vist both my dining companion's meatloaf and my veggie burger came out cold. Hers so much so she sent it back to be heated. Regardless of the temperature issue, the food is serviceable at best. My veggie burger with guacamole and jalapeno was rather bland.
The atmosphere is nice and parking is easy.
Deep in mourning for the now-closed Schaumburg Ted's, I tried dinner at this Glenview Ted's, still draped in a black veil. Okay, it was a black scarf, but whatever. Sad yelper was very sad.
When we pulled up to the valet area, there was nobody there to park our car. We circled around and came back again, thinking maybe we'd just missed somebody. Nope. Since this is in The Glen, the parking here is, like everywhere in The Glen, kind of ridiculous. We managed to find a spot reasonably close to the restaurant, which is probably a certifiable miracle warranting a call to the Pope, but still. If you don't really have valet, take down the sign, please!
My expectations at this point were rapidly falling. I was soon to be surprised, however, by friendly staff, only a five minute wait on a Friday night, a choice of booth or table, and the same tasty pickles showing up on our table that I remember from the Ted's of yore. Also, while it doesn't appear on the menu for some reason, they do have not just regular iced tea but SWEET TEA. Trust me, there is a huge difference between dumping a sugar packet into regular iced tea and actual sweet tea. Ask for it! Maybe they put it back on the menu in the summer, but either way, it turns out I can get it year round. Mmm, mmm, diabetes in a glass.....
I do not eat any meat at all, including fish, so I got the skinny dip with a veggie pattie. As always, the avocado at Ted's is fresh and neither too ripe nor too firm. My husband ordered half a chicken and found it did not satisfy his hunger, although that was, in part, because he does not like dark meat and therefore did not eat that portion of the meal.
Refills were offered and delivered promptly, the beer selection was equal to that of the Schaumburg location, and the salt & pepper onion rings were crispy to perfection. In short, I will probably end up coming here as often as I visited the Schaumburg location, maybe even more often if they get that valet thing working.
The environment in this restaurant is excellent; there have been times when my friend dragged me to this restaurant because he wanted to sit in its booths THAT BAD. Also, unlike other reviewers, I haven't had bad service experiences here.
That said, the restaurant is well below spectacular. The burgers are just okay taste-wise. Worse, the buns are flimsy, making the burger fall apart in your hands. So, you'll probably end up with a mess on your plate. As someone else reviewing this restaurant pointed out, you should not have to use a fork to finish your burger. I think the prices are more than this food should be running for, too. Their lunch specials are definitely not a good deal considering some other offerings in Glenview. This restaurant is not completely awful, but I would say you could do much better. I'd recommend to pass this one up.
essentially: Â environmentally friendly (paper straws & recycled paper!), good for burgers, i've eaten their other food and found it overpriced and just ok, but customer service is pretty terrible.
I went  two weeks ago with friends for their burgers (and to use a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> certificate), and I have to admit that they're pretty darn good.  Huge, juicy, and well seasoned.  Their strawberry shake is also really good, made with real strawberries!
Our waiter was nice, and informative, but he (or the kitchen?) messed up two of our orders. Â And the entire place was empty except for us and one other table. Â Second, the buffalo burgers are supposed to have an American flag on a toothpick stuck in them, but my burger's flag was missing. Â So did I have buffalo? Â I honestly couldn't tell you. Â
Lastly, our waiter was nice enough to split up our check into our seats and apply the <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> discount to each seat. Â He took our credit cards, swiped them, and when our individual bills came the discount was no where to be found. Â We tried to explain it to him, then tried to explain it to the manager, with no luck. Â Eventually we just agreed to have one person pay the whole tab and have the discount deducted from there. Â Unfortunately, we were not only charged on our individual cards (w/o the discount), but one of my friends was charged the whole tab as well. Â Overcharged AND double charged!
I called them the next day after we'd looked at our credit card statements and spoke to the manager on the phone to get it sorted out. Â Not gonna lie, I expected to get something free out of the deal for being double charged. Â Not so. Â I received no apology at all, no incentive to come back, and was just told to "wait a few days" and the cancellation should appear. Â The manager's tone of voice was cold and unhelpful.
Is it just me or do the pickles taste a little bitter? (not that it really stops me from eating  them each and every time I go there) The only thing that I can think of that prevents me from coming to Ted's more often are the prices. You can expect to shell out $20+ per person for a burger and maybe an appetizer to share, not including drinks. Other than that I can't really complain about Ted's.  I've been here on serveral occasions and have never been dissapointed  with the service or food.
I have to admit, my first time trying the bison was a little nerve racking, but after the first bite I am now a lover and a believer!! The meat is leaner than regular beef and has a distinct taste (not  game-y in my opinion) that is not over bearing.  I highly suggest ordering your meat cooked at medium rare (if you can handle it) or at most medium to get the best flavors. I find that the more  meat is cooked  the more it tastes just like any other burger in which case you might as well have gone to Ruby Tuesdays instead!
Overall, as long as they keep serving bison, I will continue to come to Ted's!
Come here for the buffalo..really, it's not that bad. We've been frequenting this place for a while, and although a bit pricey-er than your regular burger joint, it's decent food. Our fav thing here actually are the little rolls that they serve to you with the pickles. They come out warm and a comforting start to the meal. We've had the steaks (which you can taste the slight gamey-ness of the buffalo), burgers (there are so many kinds to chose from, and you can have it beef or buffalo), and every so often, we'll order off of the rest of the choices as comfort food. Portions are fairly large, even the burgers, so bring yo appetite.
Notes: the bathroom has cool powder soap and some of the things found on the table are earth friendly. Â Kudos for trying to keep green!
Know that everything in The Glen is a tad overpriced. As in, chili cheese fries, a chopped salad, a burger, and 2 iced tea = almost $40. That's a pretty dollar, no?
I enjoyed my time there. Our server was super sweet and the food was alright/mediocre. The chili cheese fries needed less salt and far more cheese - ooey gooey cheese! The salad wasn't too memorable but I liked how they had chick peas, artichokes and salami in there. It was a shame that I had to ask what they had in their salads. The menu descriptions in this department are seriously lacking.
Still, as far as suburban "mall" type destinations go, the parking and general roominess of the place makes it a win over Old Orchard. The next time I'm in the mood for a burger, bison in particular, I'll come back here. The booths are crazy comfortable and I like their recyclables everywhere! Paper straws are WEIRD but being green is so trendy now. Good for you Ted!
Came here on a Wednesday night with my husband and his best friend. The restaurant was fairly empty at 7pm (we made reservations but clearly wasn't necessary if not a Friday or Saturday night) but got busier as the night went on.
Our food and our server were fantastic. If you go, ask for Carl to be your server. He was attentive and nice without being overly in your face. His food suggestions and humor were a welcome addition to our experience.
Here's a rundown of what was ordered between the three of us for our app, dinner and dessert.
Appetizer: Onion Rings were amazingly good with the right amount of crunch and breading. I think it came with honey mustard sauce for dipping.
Dinner: I had the Skinny Dip Bison burger with an oatie wheat bun. Decided to substitute my fries for the asparagus and made the right choice. After a hard day at work, this was just what my eyes and appetite devoured. Hubby got the S.O.B. Bison burger and friend got the Beer Can Chicken. Both men seemed pretty pleased.
Dessert: I was eyeing the freshly baked cookies but really wanted ice cream so I got the ice cream with a cookie. The Haagen-Daas vanilla was good but the cookie was subpar. Didn't taste like freshly baked that day to me. More like something I could have purchased. The boys both got vanilla malts and they were delicious.
Overall, we had a great time at Ted's. They are running a special right now if you buy a $100 gift card, you get a $25 gift card for free (to be used within 45 days though). What was nice is that the $100 was applicable to our current meal right away. We'll be back!
Only after I purchased a Ted's Montana Grill $25 gift certificate for $10 from <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurants.com&s=8b83bf0ff8b716aae84527dc95577a310f201b166dcca25c8ca3824b15703869" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurants.com</a> did I read the reviews from Yelp. Had I read some of the horror stories first, I would never have picked this restaurant to take out-of-town guests.
I'm glad I went. Here's my take:
Food:
The garlicky pickles on the table were a hit, we asked for seconds. Great way to start.
I had the bison meatloaf. Not a very pretty looking thing, but better-than-average tasting. The sliced tomatoes served with it were fresh and tasty.
I ended up finishing some of my son's sliders (small bison burgers). They were FANTASTIC! I would strongly suggest getting the sliders, the bun was so buttery and delicious, pairing very nicely with the flavorful burgers. My older son LOVED the salmon ordered off of the kids' menu and my wife liked the naked chicken sandwich.
Service: I was petrified it would be as bad as described. While the waitress did have a thick eastern European accent that made comprehending a bit challenging, as described in other posts, she was attentive, courteous, helpful and nice. I'll take a slight language barrier and good service over poor service from a native born every day of the week.
Also, the manager came over twice to see how we were doing. Very nice touch.
This may not be my favorite place, but I would not hesitate to come back.
Burgers are the way to go here. Â And why not go lean and get a bison burger? Â I got a take out cheeseburger earlier this week, and it was quite the satiating meal.
The only downside: there was a single triangle of cheese atop the mass of meat. Â Ted doesn't skimp on the meat, but he sure does on the cheese.
A good place for either lunch or dinner.
It's a unique menu with some western classics, I'm a fan of the Buffalo burgers myself, but they have a great selection and the food is always good.
I dig the decor which has a rustic, almost old west feel to it.
The service is average, nothing too special, but the kicker is the complimentary pickles you get as a snack before the meal.
My wife and I tried Ted's a few weeks ago and had a mixed experience. Â My wife ordered fish and about 10 minutes after we placed the order, the waiter came back to tell us it was unavailable. Â He suggested an alternate fish, which my wife agreed to. Â Another five minutes later, the manager came by to inform us that the other fish that the waiter had suggested was also unavailable. Â She offered us the crab cakes "on the house." Â
I remarked to my wife how this is how restaurants stay in business and keep people coming back, despite the mistakes. Â Incidentally, my meal was unremarkable, but some of the sides were really good, so we decided to return.
Well, unfortunately, our return meal tonight was disappointing at best. Â
The cedar plank salmon was bland, dry, and very overcooked.  My wife's entrée-the beer can chicken was also overcooked and dried out, and had soggy skin.  When our waiter asked how the food was, and we responded "not very good," he left without comment.  As I was recanting the problems with the order from our previous meal, our waiter came by to tell us they were out of chocolate chip cookies (this was at 6:00.)  We both laughed at the irony.
I'm sorry to say that I don't plan to return to this establishment.
We had burgers from lunch and they were excellent. Â We had a skinny dip bison burger (avocado slices) and a beef burger with grilled onions, Monterey Jack cheese, and mushrooms. Â The bison burger didn't seem as lean as another we once had and it was a little more greasy, which made it better in my opinion! Â It must have been an inch thick.
If we didn't have to pay $11 per burger, I might go with 5 stars.
Will be back sometime.
I'll have to admit, I've been to this place well over 20 times. Â I used to work right over here and we'd convince the bosses to take us out to eat. Â The lackeys and I were so happy with our burgers we started taking long lunches there on special days and now, even though I don't live or work anywhere near this place, I still come back here now and again because I like it.
Let me just say, I don't get adventurous with the menu. Â I've had a few things and everything was good. Â You don't need to have a salad here, people (well, that salmon salad is pretty good) Â you need their BURGERS. And when I say need I mean NEED.
Honestly, their burgers are so freakin' tasty, juicy, big, well-seasoned, fresh, natural and perfectly cooked it's totally worth trekking up here.
Here are some key bullet points for you in the front row:
-Their beef and bison are good quality. Â
-The patty is hand made and not super pressed together dry. Â
-I love the combinations of toppings you can add on there
(I'm sorry, I think I have to take a drool break)
-The oatie bun is super tasty with this burger
-The chicken sandwich is great (although I admit to ordering it less often just because the burger is so good) and really seasoned...not the usual grilled chicken dry tasteless nightmare you usually get.
-You can sub out asparagus for fries or even get a sweet potato. HOLLAH!
-They have sweet tea
-I like that the bison comes from Ted Turner's own personal ranch
-Oh, I almost forgot about those half-pickled cucumbers you get to eat! Â AHH! Yum!
Yeah, the straws are paper but I kinda like that in a way. Â I like that they have the crazy old-fashioned soap in the bathroom. Â
I've been to the Yard House and that other place across the street and their food is fine - nothing super exciting good or bad - but honestly, if you want a burger this place is a slam-dunk. Â It's waaaay better than those places for that. Â The other food on the menu? I dunno! Â Don't care! Â I'll never want anything other than their perfect hunk of meat on a bun.
So below is my original review written immediately after eating here and it was 3 stars. An hour later I became very ill most likely from my salad. I obviously have to drop this down to 1 star.
We had lunch here after a trip to Kohl's children's museum. We had the $13 lunch special where you get your choice of soup, salad, onion rings app and entree of burger, salmon, and 2 salad choices and cookie for dessert. Considering all these items are $11, you'd be a fool not to get it. Baked potato soup great. Slad with BLT ranch was ok with the dressing saving it. We had bison burgers. They came out a bit overcooked but were tasty as were the fries. Service was alright but those straws were wierd.
This could be the most irritated I have ever been during a dining experience. Â To start, the service sucked. Â Things like my sister ordered a no-ice cherry coke, which came to the table with lots of ice. Â Then when the 2nd cherry coke was brought (after the first one was quickly consumed due to lack of ice), it was promptly spilled by the waiter alllllll over our feet. Â They brought us some paper towels to wipe off the sticky liquid, but didn't bring anything wet to get the sticky off. Â Drinks were not quickly refilled, when water was requested it was forgotten. Â The burgers were fine, but a HUGE mess. Â I literally had to eat my burger with a fork, which defeats the whole point. Â To top things off, I kind of expected to have something comped on our tab... like, say, the cherry coke that was on my feet. Â No such luck. Â
Needless to say, I will never be going back to you, Ted's Montana Grill. Â Never.
Wow, I expected so much more from this place. Â I mean, when you first walk in you are very impressed. Â The interior is decorated in a sort of "old elegance" way, with tile floors, warm wood paneling, and milk-glass pendant lights. Â
However, why it is run by folks that look and act like they are 12 and never have worked in a restaurant before baffles me. Â The service was so spotty and unprofessional I thought maybe we had accidentally stumbled into a Chuck E Cheese by accident. Â
The food was good, even though it took FOREVER to order and FOREVER to get - and this is after we told our server we had to be out by a certain time to make the movie showing across the street. Â
The clam chowder was lovely and maybe if they offered take out I would go back for that, but until they remedy the very poor situation with their help, Ted's will sink like a stone among the other restaurant selections at The Glen.
Well I expected taxidermy... so the clean interior and mock art deco lights with pseudo tin tiles were classier and pleasant (for a chain). Â
They make the chain restaurant risk averse mistake of cooking a level above what you order to be safe. Â That to me is screw the customer we just don't want to get sued. Â The service was not sharp.
Ted Turner should stick to snake farms and initiating global cable news channels. Â Maybe Ted Nugent should own this place instead?
I visited this restaurant for the very first time in January, 2007. . The
food was excellent, but the service left a lot to be desired. The server seemed very nervous and ill-at-ease throughout our entire visit, was not at all well versed in the menu nor in enacting his responsibilities as a server.
Though the restaurant was not crowded, our server
brought our drinks and then made us wait 15 minutes before he
returned. Even then, we had to flag him down. He continually walked past our booth without looking at us. Then he served the chili and it was only lukewarm, not hot, certainly not HIS fault, but we had to wait too long for him to return in order to return the chili to the kitchen. Â By the time he arrived, the chili was outright cold and we canceled it from our order.
Finally, he made an error on the check, charging us for something we did not order. When this was brought to his attention he attempted to
correct it, then told us that the manager informed him they would have to exchange one item for another, subtract the first item and instead add a new item to the check which would then balance it out.
We had no idea what he was talking about and he had to re-do the check TWICE more before it even began to make sense. He apologized profusely, but in the meantime we wound up staying in the restaurant twenty minutes longer than we intended while the mess was being straightened out. Though our server kept telling us that the manager was giving him instructions on how to correct the problem, the manager never once made an appearance in the restaurant to communicate with us on any level, much less to apologize for the confusion, none of which was our fault.
I felt the biggest disappointment was the manager never making an appearance to help settle the issues and stand behind the establishment.  I was going to request to speak to the manager that evening, but was already upset and didn't want to further exacerbate the situation nor spend any more time there than I had already.  As it was our visit there had been extended at least 45 minutes longer than intended due to bad service and mistakes made by the restaurant staff. Had the manager come out to discuss the situation  I would have addressed the problems directly, but he/she chose to employ the server as a spokesperson.  This is a bad reflection of the professionalism for a restaurant of this caliber.
I feel that my $33.00 could have and should have been spent elsewhere.
I subsequently wrote the restaurant with my concerns and the so called "proprietor" replied saying he was sorry and requested that should we ever return we should ask for him and he would make sure we were treated right. Wondering how he could ever imagine that we would ever return, Â I brought this to the attention of the corporate office for TED'S Â in Atlanta. Â They apologized for everything and said the proprietor would once more be in touch with me. Â This time he sent a full refund and a gift card. Â I thought this was a very professional response and thanked them, though I really had no intention of ever going back there.
In August, 2007, while once again visiting the Chicago area, I decided to return to TED'S to see if things had changed.  I asked for the proprietor to  introduce myself as per his request, but I was told he no longer ran the restaurant.  I decided to stay anyway, use the gift card and then determine if the service had improved.  The "manager" who usually worked as a server  tried to seat us in the bar area without even first asking us if that was okay.  Given that it smelled of spilled stale beer, we told him we would rather not eat there. As such, he claimed they were busier than usual and that we would have to wait for a table in the dining area.  While we were waiting more customers came in and he immediately sat them in the bar booths, once again never asking people if that was alright with them, a practice most hosts/hostesses will do at just about ANY restaurant.
Finally we got a booth and then waited about 15 minutes for our server.  When she arrived her first words to us were: "Wow, I am exhausted! I can't wait for this night to end."  It was 6:30pm and this is how she greeted us.  Neither our appetizer nor main course was as we requested.  As our server was not the one who brought out any of the food, it was left up to the "busboy"  to straighten it out.  It was also at this point that we noticed  the guy who was bussing tables had apparently switched places with the "manager," who was now wearing an apron and bussing tables while the former busboy had taken off his apron and was seating people. ??? HE was the one we eventually had to signal for our check as our server never returned to our table, not once.
Needless to say, while the food is excellent  this restaurant has a lot of problems.  YELP won't allow ZERO STARS, but that's my rating. I do not recommend TED'S at all.
The "Ted" is Ted Turner and they have locations in around 18 states now, including Illinois locations in Glenview and Schaumburg. Â The interior is supposed to remind you of a Montana ranch, but other than extra deep booths, it was nothing special.
As you'd expect, the menu is all about meat, but they do it very well and at surprisingly fair prices. Â I know people rave about the hamburgers at Charlie Beinlich's, but, although I like to support local businesses, the burgers are better at Ted's. Â I was even more surprised by their buffalo burgers - in my experience, buffalo tends to be somewhat drier and less flavorful than beef, but not here. Â I strongly encourage you to opt for buffalo - even if you've had bad experiences with it in the past.
Our server was trying very, very hard but lacked experience. Â He was about 18 years old and clearly nervous... maybe it was his first day? Â He made one small error with our order (brought someone mushrooms on their burger when they had asked for no mushrooms and, when told, claimed that they hadn't asked for no mushrooms) but it wasn't a big deal, we are all pretty easy going so he just picked the mushrooms off.
So, if you're in the Glen, try the buffalo burger at Ted's.
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