Great spot for lunch takeout on Pitt campus. Roots has done a good job filling the fast casual…read moreniche with some healthy feeling, largely vegetarian options. Most bowls are rice, greens, and/or beans based with various vegetables for toppings. Heartier than a salad but healthier than Chipotle. I've gotten lunch there a few times and have always been satisfied. My favorite bowl is El Jefe, which comes with rice, kale, black beans, corn, red onion, avocado, and a protein topping (I like the miso tofu but you can also get chicken). The bowl also comes with cilantro/lime sauce, which I do not get because it's very salty. That's my one complaint about Roots - despite their healthy ingredients, their bowls can get quite saucy and salty if you go with the default options. This particular location is well-staffed, so service is usually quick, but it can get a rush of students around 12pm.

I came in to try the limited time Garu bowl for lunch. The place itself is nice, it's always clean…read moreand I've never had any issues with the staff while ordering. The bowl was good but I was a little disappointed in the portion. Roots is a little bit more expensive than other similar options but I usually don't mind as they often give me a very full bowl, but that wasn't the case with the Gary bowl. It was less full than the bowls I usually get along with being very heavy on the rice and not too much chicken or even the kale. Aside from that it was still yummy but I think I'll be going back to my regular order next time.

Food was delicious. Quick service. Countertops were clean. Great place to go for a quick dinner.read more

I absolutely rarely go out and my friends really wanted me to try this place. I was super nervous…read morebut all of that went away whenever I came in contact with Aironna. Literally the most sweetest person I had ever met, the food was delicious and it matched the great atmosphere. Will definitely be coming back.. along with my friends who can't stop saying "We told you so!!"

This place instantly got on our rotation for take-out. We're vegetarians and the food is fantastic…read moreand very customizable to your tastes. We will be back soon!

So happy this opened up in Lawrenceville. It's a great fast casual option for healthy vegetarian…read morefood. They also had meat options, but majority of the toppings were plant based. I got the mediterranean bowl which exceeded my expectations. For how simple it was, it actually was packed with a bunch of flavor. Will be back soon to try make my own bowl next time!

So Fresh definitely lives up to the name! I stopped by for lunch and got the Cali salad with a…read morestrawberry banana smoothie--everything was super fresh, flavorful, and filling. As someone with celiac disease, I really appreciated how easy it was to customize my order to be gluten-free. I let the staff know about my allergy and they were super kind and careful with my order, which made me feel safe and confident eating here. It's such a great option for a quick, healthy meal in the city. I'll definitely be back soon!

I was in the mood for something healthier, so I tried SoFresh for the first time since I was…read morenearby. Ordering online was easy. I got a warm bowl with brown rice, spinach, cucumber, apple, edamame, citrus chicken thigh, and organic tofu. The portion was solid and filling, especially with the two protein add-ons at extra cost. I also tried the avocado creme sauce, but it was a little spicier than I expected, so I was glad it came on the side. Without it, the bowl tasted a bit plain. I'd still come back and try a different sauce or mix-in combo because it feels like a solid healthy option. Also worth noting: adding a smoothie to a bowl order drops the price to $6 instead of $8, but you have to add it through the bowl order rather than as a separate item. The Tropicolada smoothie was really refreshing and I'd definitely order it again.

We stopped by on Saturday at 3pm and it was pretty empty because it was an off time. There was one…read moretable with a bench and one chair outside and they graciously moved one more chair and table outside for us so that we could dine on their small patio. We ordered and paid inside at the counter and grabbed sauces, napkins, and utensils. They brought the food out to us. Everything we had was pretty flavorful and my favorites were the banh mi and the wings. It is a little pricey but considering the fact that Pittsburgh has very few Vietnamese restaurants, it's probably a normal price for Vietnamese food in Pittsburgh. I would come back for the banh mi and wings and to try their pho!

This i would recommend on the bus line and pretty affordable some pho shops starts higher than this…read moreplace in the city. broth amazing portions are great .. it Im a pho person can eat it all day. and the broth matters ! service is okay they hand you the food not really a server environment

Imagine fast food, but healthy... and actually tastes good…read more High quality ingredients, with real preparation (roasted veggies, pickled items) and even fun seasonal options (candied pecans and honeycrisp apples for fall) The options are endless. Every thing was delicious. Portions are absolute huge. At first, you'll think the bowl is not full until you realize the bowls are huge. You could easily feed two people with a single entree. The staff is always ahead of schedule. I've never walked in and had to wait. Plus, the place is super clean and welcoming.

Roots is currently one of my go-to's - I regularly order lunch for pickup while driving to my…read morein-office work day. That means I haven't actually eaten inside Roots itself; maybe one day I won't be picking up my meal on the go? But until then, I can't comment on what a sit-down experience here is like. If the name didn't give it away, this is an eatery focused on "natural foods", AKA whole foods. So if you want a salad or a bowl, this is a good place to get one. They have a limited number of "set" menu items, and they let you make custom creations, too. This is where I reveal how lame I am, because I found my favorite order back in 2023 and I've never changed it up! If you see me here I'm probably ordering a Mayweather salad, which includes kale, bulgur, sweet potatoes, beets, red onions, goat cheese, and chicken. One day I might shake things up and try their cobb salad...but until then, I'll let the Mayweather continue to delight my tastebuds. Disclaimer that Roots is not the cheapest eatery on the block, but for me, it's my weekly treat. I could never make a salad as tasty as theirs, and a good (i.e. healthy and yummy) meal makes my in-office day a little better! I can't wait to pick up my regular order again later this week (although I might steal another reviewer's idea and get the BBQ tofu instead of chicken...it sounds good AND it would make me a slightly less boring regular!).

10/22/2025 Ate list:…read more Crispy Chicken Sandwich - 8.6 Corn Chowder - 8.2 Elevate feels like a mainstay within Bakery Square's food hall and understandably so. The Crispy Chicken was delicious, had much more a kick than I was expecting. As did the Corn Chowder. But the flavors were remarkable. The corn chowder had so much going on but was never unpleasant. The two caused a bit of heartburn for me so might keep that in mind if I were to ever try their options that are actually advertised as spicy. Minor gripe - ordered a diet Pepsi that never came. Think that was the food hall and not Elevate though. Happens but still. No Fountain Drink while my mouth is lighting up didn't help.

I had a really bad Nashville chicken sandwich here, the breading slided off, the chicken was soggy…read more There was no crispy chicken to speak of. It didn't taste like Nashville chicken and had chipotle mayo on it. It didn't come with fries though you could pay extra for it, came with a salad. Very expensive for such low quality food that was just totally gross. I wouldn't order from here again. Any fast food restaurant would have been way better than this icky sandwich. Do yourself a favor and skip!

Placed a large order (42 people) online. Everything was correct,…read more for the build your own burger, salads, French fries, ketchup and ranch for the fries. Was very impressed. Was ready when we came to pick up. Wraps were excellent.

This place is right near my office in central Oakland so I have always wanted to try it out. I…read morestopped in for a burger recently and unfortunately it was very underwhelming. The burger could have been from Wendy's for how small and generic the patties were and how soggy the bun was. It had a few sorry little slices of avocado and some chopped red onion; again, just not much to get excited about. The fries were fine, though very skinny. Service was low-key and my food was ready quickly; in general this is good, but it added to my sense that the burger was glorified fast food. The restaurant has lots of seating.

Enter the world of Twin Peaks! at @hemlockhouse412!…read more "I have no idea where this will lead us, but I have a definite feeling it will be both wonderful and strange." I heard this quote ringing in my head as I explored this cool spot in Regent Square! Everyone knows I love a good theme and I was thrilled to stumble upon this Twin Peaks experience. Not only is the decor amazing, but so is the food. For brunch we had: The Chorizo Omelette Pork Belly Hash Irish Coffee I can't wait to visit "Twin Peaks" again and try the dinner menu!

Came back for another visit. Hemlock House continues to deliver an upscale, delicious meal…read more We shared 4 small plates and one large plate and were satisfied and not overstuffed! The kale salad was dressed well (I hate a salad with too much dressing!), and the almonds, grapes and avacado worked well in it. The broccolini was good--I'm not sure my palate was good enough to taste some of the ingredients! The malfatti was unique! Ricotta dumplings! Yummy. I was worried (not really) that the sauce Americain was going to be velveeta cheese! It wasn't, but it was a yellow cheese sauce. Crème fraiche on the side and Little bits of langoustine to round it off. Yummy! Then we had crab and bacon hush puppies. I didn't know what to expect, and they were delicious with a spicy ají verde sauce to go with it! Finally we had nouja cavatelli. I never make pasta with lemon and it was a nice flavor. Overall another great experience!

Applewood Smoke Burger is a burger counter tucked away inside the back of Park Place Pub in…read moreHighland Park. It's a different menu and different register from park place pub. There's no signage outside for applewood so I consider it an almost burger speakeasy! The service here is pretty fast - we ordered a little after 5pm on a Sunday and got our food and finished it all before 6pm! The burgers we got were so flavorful and delicious and we were are blown away by this hidden gem!! My applewood burger was incredible and the maple sauce was delightful. I'm so glad we discovered this place and I would go back!!

November 2025: lightly edited realtime notes:…read more - This is like a pop-up restaurant that is inside of a bar. - Buffalo wings, Nashville hot wings. The wings are cooked perfectly. The sauce is weak. The fact that the wings are crispy and fried and 100% dead-on makes up for the weak sauce. All things considered, 4.2. Could be 4.6 to 4.8 with decent sauce. In retrospect, having tasted the sauce as a side (below) I think they tossed the wings in the sauce when they were too hot, kind of denatured things, and got too much oil in it. The sauce is actually very good, and these wings could have been a notch or two better if they had let them cool for just a hot second before tossing them. These wings have the potential to be some of the very best in the city. - Onion rings here are just absolutely perfect. Think of the best a Burger King onion ring could be, and these are four notches up from that. - The french fries are OK. - The side of buffalo sauce that they brought us from the kitchen is so much better than how the wings came out; I am presuming that the wings were tossed in the sauce too hot, and not enough. These guys actually have a great buffalo sauce. - I got the Smashburger. Cheese, lettuce, pickles and their special sauce. No substitutions permitted. This burger is excellent and exactly what I wanted. 10 of 10, would totally order again. - One of our group got the signature applewood burger."It's delicious!" - Another got the farmhouse burger and seems to be completely tickled with it. "It's really good. How can you go wrong with bacon and egg on a burger?" Unfortunately, restaurant was out of the cheese sauce tonight. We observed that the cheese sauce would've made it "fire." - J got the Cajun burger. "Awesome. Very good!" He wishes he would've asked them to add bacon to it.