Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt

DELICIOUS! My husband and I live walking distance to this Menchie’s, so needless to say we go very often! Staff is friendly, great flavors (…cinnayumm bun and harvest pumpkin swirl is currently my favorite combo!), and reasonably priced.

I wish I hated it here. They lure you in with their ‘check out our new flavor, Oreo just the cream OR just the cookie! OR swirl them!’ emails. They also lure you back with points so after spending $ 50 on frozen yogurt heaven you get $ 5 in rewards. So next to my gym pass card I have a freakin frozen yogurt card dangling from my keys. It’s like the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other.
I am seriously severely dangerously addicted to this place. I must remove myself from the email list soon. They always have new flavors and nobody seems to mind when you take samples of all 16 flavors before putting together your $ 5 bowl of heaven. Sometimes $ 7. My best friend got me a gift card from here for my birthday.
Seriously, any type of sweet craving you have can be fixed quickly if you just go to Menchies.

Great place for families! Many topping choices and flavors! Too bad the teens that come in are annoying and rude. But hey, not the stores fault…

popping boba (beads with passion fruit) make the circuses bearable (young kids). I do enjoy being able to pick and choose what I want in my yogurt.

Probably the best thing going for Menchie’s is their cadre of adorable mascots. The product itself tastes sort of flat compared to the best (Forever Yogurt), and the vanilla had a funny chemical taste. However, I do appreciate the creative variety of flavors, such as peppermint stick, ice cream sandwich, and eggnog.
I also have to give them props on toppings, which are numerous and diverse, especially in the cereal realm. On the other hand, I have to take away some of the props because at least one of the cereals – «Cinnamon Toast Crunch” – was not the real thing. Trust me, I can detect a knockoff brand of CTC within a nanosecond of first bite. I had my suspicions when the heft didn’t seem right, but I kept scooping anyway in vain hope. It was a sad day in my mouth. Shame on Menchie’s for false advertising.

It doesn’t get much better than Menchies for Frozen Yogurt. Menchies has the most choices and best tasting flavors of any of the places out there. It’s too bad places such as Red Mango and Forever Yogurt have more market penetration because these places are not even on the same level of quality as Menchies.

After dinner at a nearby restaurant, I suggested heading for dessert somewhere. My friend led me to Menchie’s, and boy was I glad she did.
I’ve heard about these yogurt bars before, but had never been to one. I was in for a real treat!
I walked in, and there were maybe 10 – 15 yogurt flavors to choose from. I was a bit overwhelmed, so my friend pointed me to the sample cups. I tried the pink lemonade, cake batter, and ice cream sandwich flavors. All were tasty, but I decided to go with ice cream sandwich.
Moving on to the toppings bar, I was blown away by the selection. There were the typical graham cracker crumbs, sprinkles, chocolate chips, M&Ms, etc., but a whole new range of items that I wouldn’t have even though of — cereal (like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, and Captain Crunch), yogurt dipped raisins, frosted cookies, and even chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough! They even had mochi and these little flavor globule things that were great.
There were fruit options as well (I didn’t really look in that direction), and finally there were maybe 6 sauce flavors to choose from including chocolate, peanut butter, and my personal favorite — marshmallow!
There were food allergen warnings on everything, which I thought was super helpful for those that need to steer clear of certain items.
I ended up paying a little over $ 3 for a great frozen yogurt treat. We ate at an indoor table because the outside tables were packed. Keep in mind this was around 8pm on a Thursday. Still, even with the crowd, it wasn’t that difficult to get my frozen yogurt, toppings, and pay.
I greatly enjoyed coming here and hope to be back as soon as possible!

I went in one night on a whim with a sweet craving. It was super busy inside with tons of children running around.
All you do is grab an oversized cup and fill it up with whatever you’d like, and when you’re finished, you weigh it (charged by ounce).
I like the fact that they provide taster cups so you can try any of the flavors before filling your cup. I didn’t care for most of the flavors from the selection, and of the ones I tried, I didn’t like any of them. Especially the birthday cake — super generic and quite frankly, tasted like Playdoh. I ended up with strawberry banana, which I thought was pretty good. Not out of this world good, but I thought it was the best from the ones I tried.
The toppings bar was pretty extensive. I liked that in comparison to Yogli Mogli, that they had a lot more toppings to choose from. I thought it was cool that they had mini peanut butter cups, frosted animal cookies, chocolate chip cookie dough, nonpareils and various candies. The fresh fruit selection was small and not much to choose from. I prefer fruit over candy toppings, but I had to settle with candy toppings because the only fruit available wasn’t very fresh. The strawberries, kiwi and blueberries were all mushy.
For two people, we paid $ 11 — not too bad.
We ultimately tossed our cups before getting through half of our sundaes. I just felt the more I ate, the worse it tasted.
Perhaps it’s a fun place for young children who haven’t developed an advanced flavor palate, but for those who have a more refined palate, I wouldn’t recommend it.
I won’t be returning. I thought Yogli Mogli was better — fresher fruit selections and I really like the banana froyo there.

It’s an ok fro-​yo place and conveniently located in the new Uptown area and a short walk from the quaint ol’ Pickwick theatre. It’s the typical pay by the ounce model here.

Just went to Menchie’s for the first time in Park Ridge– LOVED it! The interior was colorful, inviting and there was a lot of nice seating inside and outside. I especially liked the «party room» in the front of the store. I thought the workers were very happy to be working there also.
I like the fresh fruit they offer and the sugar free options for a low-​calorie healthy dessert option.
The owner is very generous with fund raising around the town it looks like.
I love the location and the parking right in front.
We will go back!

Went to try Menchie’s last night. I walked in looked around and walked back out. Being in the food industry in the past and being in sales throughout my life, I was appalled.
The girl working was behind the counter was in her own little world. She wasn’t welcoming anyone, talking with anyone, offering help, or keeping the check out area clean.
The chairs were all over. Tables were dirty. Food spread all over the floors and counters. Yogurt dripping all over the machines. Spoons in the wrong topping jars and a lot of them had yogurt on the spoons.
If this is what’s going on in the front, what’s going on in the back?! Never again.

I’ve been a big Menchies fan since trying it while out in LA awhile ago. Glad they finally decided to open a Park Ridge location not far from me!
The selection always varies but they do have a few of the norm that are always there (cake batter, chocolate and vanilla) but mix it up with unique flavors like buttered popcorn, fruit punch, pink lemonade. you name it.
This location is often overrun by kids but if you’re patient. you’ll make it through in decent time. Hard part is trying to find a seat (after you struggle to find parking)!
Overall, definitely worth checking out and more cost friendly then Baskin Robbins/​31 flavors/​Dairy Queen with more options

I got to check out Menchie’s on the first weekend it opened and have since returned for more. Located in the new Uptown shopping area, Menchie’s fills a void in the vacant storefronts along Northwest Highway. In fact, when I came there it was a Tuesday night after 9 PM and I was surprised to see so many people inside and outside the shop. After all the grand opening promos have come and gone and my kids had received their Menchies cone plush toys, this place is clearly about the fro-​yo and not the superfluous marketing. Good thing they are open late since it has clearly become a popular destination, especially with the high school crowd at that hour.
Now last year, I ripped Yogli Mogli in nearby Niles for their pay by the ounce yogurt racket. It was not that I opposed the fro-​yo movement, but what I saw wrong at Yogli Mogli, Menchie’s gets it right. They have a reasonably sized container rather than an oversized tub that makes a «sensible serving» look tiny. Menchie’s also clearly labels all their products. While I am not shackled to any dietary restrictions like gluten-​free, kosher, etc., I appreciate seeing every frozen yogurt clearly marked for what it has or does not. I am happy to go there for the quality ingredients and hormone-​free milk as the basis for their frozen yogurt.
Menchie’s has maybe a dozen flavors that can be served individually, or paired in swirls of flavors that complement each other. For example, on my first visit, I had an interesting mix of strawberry and peach. The same pairing was not available the next time I came but other combinations were possible. However, after sampling a bunch of flavors, the peach has won me over as my favorite.
I also love their toppings, especially the fresh fruit choices. They had blueberries the size of large grapes! I have never seen berries so big, yet there they were in a dish for the taking as an ultimate topper. Needless to say, peach yogurt and blueberries go well together. But you can add other fresh fruit pieces, candies, cookie bits and so many other choices to make your fro-​yo the ultimate concoction. My older son was able to create a smores-​like combination with graham cracker crumbs sprinkled on marshmallow and chocolate yogurts.
There is plenty of room inside to eat there. Because of its unusual location, there is a wall that wraps around to the other side of the building, to what is often a forgotten dining area, save for being in plain sight along NW Highway. There is also a colorful mural on the wall that grabs your attention. If you like a view of the parking lot instead, then you are welcome to enjoy it outside since there’s some tables too.
In all, I can say I like their variety of flavors and the cheerful, boldly colorful ambience of the place, though the weird sheepish eyes on the Menchies cartoon characters displayed on signs there give me the creeps.

Previous reviewer Elizabeth did a great job detailing the product and how to go about getting it. I swung by here for a quick treat on a Sunday around 6pm. Due to the lack of quick parking (not their fault and there is a below deck parking garage) my husband dropped me off by the door to just run in and grab a small cup. (Cost me 2.50)
It was quite busy with more kids than adults which made it hard to maneuver in the small shop. I think the staff did their best to manage the crowd of kids and parents attempting to pay for multiple things that need weighing to pay. The staff was also quite friendly.
As for flavor, I did a twist of marshmallow and chocolate bar. (I know– rather simple) but I was interested in flavors and all the add ons. I added mini m&ms and some hot fudge. I found the flavor OK. But the environment cute. My full gut says that I’ll probably be back here once in a blue moon… I won’t be banging down their door. It was just too chaotic for me. However, I trust that in P.R. it will do well, especially in the summer with that location.

This is a pay by weight, self-​serve fro-​yo restaurant. You can get a waffle bowl or plain bowl, select one or more flavors, and load up on toppings. The variety of toppings is quite good, and the store was very clean on my visit. Keep an eye out for special promotions, like free waffle cone days or «date nights» where you can buy one, get one free. There are also sometimes in-​store events like face painting for kids or (so far just once) celebrity book signings. There are always extra things for kids, like a chalkboard, board games to play with while you visit, and coloring pages.
Menchie’s is a great place to get a treat for anyone who has a food allergy/​sensitivity, is vegetarian/​vegan, or tends to read ingredients very closely for some other reason. In addition to clear labeling at each yogurt station, there’s an easy-​to-​find binder with all the nutritional info for each flavor in the seating area. All flavors are kosher. Some are vegan, gluten-​free, nut-​free, low in sugar, low in fat, fat free, or low in carbs. Most flavors use only natural flavors, and the yogurt is made from milk that contains no artificial growth hormones. In short, your Menchie’s dessert or snack can be either totally decadent (chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips, brownie chunks, and hot fudge) or quite healthy (mango sorbet with fresh blueberries) depending on how you want it, but it will always be a step above regular soft serve.
My husband thinks the flavors he’s tried are just OK. While I agree that the version of Cherry Garcia I tried to build did not hold a candle to what they have at Ben And Jerry’s, this is a heck of a lot closer to where I live than a B and J’s Scoop Shop, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t scarf it down at warp speed. Also, I highly recommend adding the cookie dough balls to your fro-​yo. Delicious! Also, keep off the corporate web site. It’s really bizarre, and not in a fun way (unless you think dancing cows called Cowabungaz are fun).