I'll lovely cafe near home with an even lovelier owner. A girls lunch with one friend. I've been here before and got a sandwich which was good but the pancakes were outstanding, a family recipe and I ordered a side which was a sausage patty. A very good experience. They were short on help, but the waiter was good, and it really wasn't that long of a wait. My friend enjoyed her salad. We both had coffee and were good. After eating we went and looked around their little gift shop. They also have a little dessert and candy area. If you want a treat to go. read more

Roots Cafe & Giftique - Sweet potato praline pancakes - Cafes Near Me - East Greenbush, New York

Let me begin by mentioning that I am a degreed chef, I worked for 12 years as a flight attendant and Purser for Pan American World Airways, almost always working the First Class Galley, I have chaired many Tea Gatherings for my local CT Church and entertain frequently by serving an authentic English Tea to friends and family. I have earned and wear with pride my nickname of "The Tea Lady". I have taken Tea Ceremony classes in Tokyo Japan and have enjoyed afternoon tea service at 5 star properties from Manhattan (The Russian Tea Room) to Dacca in Bangladesh. I have enjoyed Tea at The Churchill Hotel in London, The Breakers Hotel under their hand painted ceiling and most recently I reveled in a cherry blossomed Tea Room in Edinburgh at the famous Palm Court of the Balmoral Hotel second only to the Palm Court at The Plaza in NYC. I say this only to provide context to what I am about to say concerning a tea spot in East Greenbush which until recently was one of my favorite upstate NY places to have Tea and escape for a few minutes from our bustling, noisy, distracting world. Just last week I invited a friend to come to tea and lunch with me since we had not seen each other in a very long time and she had had surgery a short time ago. I called Roots at 1PM and asked if their tea service could be ordered for one hour hence. I was told: "Oh no that takes 3 hours to prepare, sorry you can't order Tea now". So I settled on lunch and made an appt for 2PM. (they advertise that they are open until 3PM.) We arrived on the dot of 2, only to be reminded that they close down the kitchen at 2:30 so we should order pretty fast, in addition the kitchen was 112 degrees and the cook wanted to be out of there! We ordered and the meals came out very fast but not before we were asked 3 times by the very loud and frankly intrusive server "were our drinks ok?", "did we want to order NOW", and again, how are your drinks?" My friend and I were talking in a very soft lady-like manner and this person's tenor and intrusions into our conversation was very un-welcomed. My sandwich had mustard slathered on it, so much that I had to wipe it clean in order to eat. My tea had been served w/o the milk I requested and w/o benefit of a spoon with which to stir it when I finally was given the milk. Thereafter there followed an annoying uninvited "visit" by our server approx 4 more times to interrupt the important conversation I was trying to have with my guest. When the cook came out and pulled the money out of the register, and when the server yelled across the large room to someone who had entered the front door, over our heads, I asked my guest: "what time is it?" "2:30" she answered, we were being told it was time to leave in no uncertain terms before the close of their published business day! Then the coup de grace... the lights were turned off! Frankly I was surprised that the vacuum cleaner was not also engaged at that exact time. I stood up and said " Well I gather we are being told to leave?" No answer from either the cook or the server. I asked for the check and shared with the server ( in a very calm demeanor) how she had broken every rule of gracious dining in the 45 minutes that we had been their "guests". I left but not without leaving a generous tip even though she told me since we had had such a negative experience that I did not need to leave a tip. After all it is not her fault that her employer has not trained her in the finer points of hospitality...which is by definition "the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers". We were neither treated or received in a friendly manner. I left saying: "Goodbye for now and forever". I went home dreaming of the next time I would be at The Reading Room Cafe in Cos Cob, Greenwich where the customer is treated with the most gracious hospitality ...even if I were to arrive just before closing time at 5PM. Instead of leaving the world behind for one hour we were instead bombarded by the world outside being inside Roots... noisy, distracting and utterly w/o even the semblance of good manners and dining etiquette. Sadly and Sincerely, Mary Howard read more

A local cafe, went for brunch. Food was good, staff was very friendly and recommended a few items, place was very very cute! A country type store and cafe, the attached gift shop had very unique and cute items also. read more

Amazing Lobster Bisque and excellent service! Baked goods smelled divine and freshly made

Lovely cafe with uncomplicated food, good price points, and attentive staff. Came for brunch with my sister - she ordered French toast while I ordered French dip. Both were delicious. Sadly no pictures by the time we realized to take any our meal had been devoured but I did manage to take pictures of the interior decor which is genius! We will be back to try the desserts which are all fresh made on premises. read more

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Very nice place to dine. The owner is a people person, and the price is right I feel at home while dining there. I recommend this place to all who wants to try ot out read more

Went here with my mom and sister for the first time the other day and had such a lovely time! This restaurant is decorated so beautifully and the owner was so sweet and friendly. Saw her sit with a patron eating by himself-she makes you feel so welcome! Food was fabulous. I had the pilgrim sandwich and my sister and mom had the French toast. Great all around. Enjoyed walking around the gift shop after and had some of the yummy candy. Highly recommend coming here! read more

Amazing cafe and gift shop! One of the best places I've ever worked! I highly recommend the Chicken Salad with a side of Greek Pasta Salad, Lobster Bisque (when available), and the Homemade Rice Pudding! read more

A group of 8 to 10 of us has been going to roots cafe every other week for a couple of months to play mahjongg in the back area. First of all, the food is very good. Baked goods great and there's a gourmet candy section to drool over at the front of the store But I would like to address staff, especially Mallory They have made us feel so welcome. The area where we sit is always ready. She already knows what kind of drinks and soup and coffee most of us are going to want (and when) as soon as we have arrived. She waits on us all afternoon while still attending to her other customers in the front of the café. One doesn't see this kind of excellence very often. They are accommodating, attentive and fun. I highly suggest that you try Roots Cafe if you would like a delightful dining experience with great food, a cozy atmosphere and over the top service... whether you want to go for a quick breakfast or lunch or whether you want to hang for a couple hours... and ask for Mallory! read more

This is an amazing little cafe and I'm so glad I found it! Everyone who works here is amazingly kind, always smiling and the food was absolutely delicious!! I got a Rachel and my friend got a Greenbush club and personally it was one of the best sandwiches I've eaten and my friend thought the same with hers! She is obsessed over the sweet tea from here which is also amazing. Overall totally would recommend for anyone looking for a delicious meal! read more

Roots Cafe & Giftique - Gift shop! - Cafes Near Me - East Greenbush, New York

I went here on a Friday morning for breakfast with a few friends. The ambiance was very homey and pleasant, if you like that sort of thing, and the wait staff was very friendly. They also had a really neat little shop section that had spices and hot sauces you could buy, as well as a small pastry display to choose from. The majority of my party went with the Ultimate Breakfast Burrito and decided to upgrade with sausage, bacon, and tajin seasoned avocado. Service took a little longer than expected (about 45 minutes) but the staff was very attentive to drink refills and checked up regularly. Definitely can't complain, as they are a small business. The food was very good, and if you decide to get the burrito, definitely upgrade the toppings, it's worth the extra few bucks. Overall I would recommend this place, would gladly return for lunch to try their pastries and sandwiches. read more

I am obsessed!!! This place is (for now at least) a hidden gem. As soon as you walk in, the smells coming from the kitchen remind you of walking into your grandmother's house for Sunday dinner. The first thing you see is a candy counter and to the right is an amazing boutique supporting local businesses and artists. The staff is so sweet and friendly and it's just great energy in here. Oh. And the food. I've had a few things but since today was a rainy day I went old school with a grilled cheese with tomato and also their spinach artichoke dip and they were both amazing I didn't want to leave If you want to truly support local and small business and have a wonderful experience please give this sweet place a try! read more

Roots Cafe & Giftique - a hand holding a grilled cheese sandwich - Cafes Near Me - East Greenbush, New York

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I stopped at Roots and placed an order for 24 cookie favors for a birthday party approximately 1 month in advance. While planning the event I realized I needed more so I stopped in approximately 1 week before the event. The co-owner couldn't find the order after checking in two different places. She told me the owner was not available because of a family illnesses but we could just start over with the order. I increased the order to 30 but she couldn't give me the new price. She assured me that the owner would call me either that day or the next with an updated price. NO CALL. I called myself and got the owner. She said "Oh yeah, I'm not gong to be able to fill your order ". The reasoning was that family member was still ill. I sympathize but WOW what a way to run a business. One of the worst experiences ever. I think one star is actually too much. read more

They did a special dinner for Valentines Day which we were invited to go by my wife's Aunt and Uncle. It was a set amount for the dinner which included a choice of 3 soups, 2 salads, 3 entrees and 3 desserts (1 of each of course). We arrived 15 minutes early and was seated within a couple minutes, which was very quick and then it went drastically downhill after that. Our aunt and uncle arrived on time at 6:30, my wife and I still have not seen a waitress or spoken to anyone since being seated. We all waited another 20 minutes before some one asked us if we would like some bread, to go with what, we still do not have anything to drink or been asked. We finally had a waitress after approximately an hour, in the interim there were at least 5-6 tables that had come in been seated and had drinks and salads or soups in front of them. Needless to say the service was lacking severely, for the food. I had the french onion soup which was tasty but not exactly hot, a mixed green salad which you could have gotten out of any grocery store, Pasta Primavera with shrimp. I must elaborate on this, the shrimp was cold and found one shrimp that was not deveined completely, the pasta was a simple bow tie that was at best warm and not very plentiful in comparison to some of the other dishes that were brought out, the sauce had some flavor but what was stated in the description was far short of what was there. There were raw green and red peppers, two pcs. of squash and no cherry tomatoes like it was described. I probably would not have given it one star if it had not been for the strawberry shortcake. It was very good. The staff were very apologetic about the length of time it was taking. Maybe the breakfast or lunch would be better, I'll leave that for someone else. read more