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Roots Natural Kitchen

4.5 (346 reviews)
ModerateNew American
Open 10:30 am - 10:00 pm

Roots Natural Kitchen Photos

Business Info

ROOTS NATURAL KITCHEN ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Loud
Outdoor seating
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - Roots Natural Kitchen

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Reviews With Photos

El Jefe
Tina C.

While still one of my favorite spots for salad bowls, the quality has gone down over the years and the prices have gone up. El Jefe and the Pesto Caesar are usually my go-tos, although sometimes the chicken is burnt and some ingredients are forgotten. This location has some indoor seating upstairs, a few tables outdoors. Pretty quick service overall!

El Jefe with the works
Jim L.

This place is pretty great for a quick meal. I got el jefe with the works and it was delicious and servings was very generous--enough for a two meal! I would definitely come back

el jefe with miso tofu, sub the feta for chickpeas, and extra lime squeeze
Shubhi J.

The food was top tier as always, got the el jefe bowl w miso tofu and chickpeas, the vibe of the seating area was so cute but it was way too warm, so dropping a star.

Corner Cobb Signature Bowl. ($12.75, August, 2023).
Laura S.

My husband and I went to Roots Natural Kitchen today for the first time, following an appointment at UVA's Eye Clinic. The restaurant is only a 2-minute walk from the clinic if you use the exit near the clinic. You have your choice of different types of salads at Roots. You can select a Signature Bowl, which has predetermined ingredients (either a signature salad bowl (mostly greens) or a signature grain bowl (mostly rice). Alternatively, you can Create Your Own (wherein you select your own favorite bases (grains/lettuce), ingredients (roasted vegetables, beans, cheeses, and more), dressings, and grill items (chicken, tofu, or mushrooms)). Orders are taken at the L-shaped counter near the entrance, where the ingredients are freshly combined in front of you as the employees make your salad. A stand with utensils and drinks is immediately after the cash register. The area is relatively small, and somewhat congested. Both of us opted for Signature Bowls. My husband ordered a Corner Cobb ($12.75) which is one of the Salad Signature Bowls. Its base was an Arcadian Mix with kale and Roots Rice, and further featured roasted sweet potatoes, charred corn, red onions, cucumbers, avocado, and hard boiled egg. Finally, it was topped with a Greek Feta dressing, and topped with adobo chicken. I ordered The Southern ($12.35), one of the Signature Grain Bowls. It featured Roots Rice with Kale, chick peas, roasted broccoli, charred corn, lime-pickled onion, and cheddar. It was topped with lemon tahini dressing and BBQ tofu. Both of our salad are very tasty, and HUGE. They were generous with all, and even the more expensive, ingredients. I also ordered an iced tea. There is a counter with 3 teas -- (1) dragonfruit green tea; (2) hibiscus green tea; and (3) plain iced green tea (?, I think). $2.25. I selected the dragonfruit green tea -- and found it to be disappointing. While lightly sweetened, it didn't have much flavor. I also hadn't realized that there were free refills. Else, I would've tried the other flavors. My husband got bottled water from the cooler ($1.25). Our total bill came to $31.98, before tip. This includes $3.38 in taxes. Note that the company's website states that the Signature Bowls are were charged less than that for each of our bowls. Staff were efficient, accurate, and friendly enough. Seating was up a flight of stairs, where there were tables for maybe 30? people. There were also 2 tables outside in front of the restaurant, along the road. Upstairs, there was also a table with condiments (hot sauces!) and a large container with ice water. There was a nice mixture of clientele -- college students, older staff or clients from the university or hospital, etc. A few final notes. 1. Roots Natural Kitchen is a chain, with locations near many college campuses and elsewhere. 2. While the bowls are made with healthy ingredients, you should pay attention to the nutrition information that is available on-line on the company's website. Most of these bowls are NOT low-calorie, and clock in at 700-900 calories each; many have very high sodium and fat content. The company website suggests substitutions if you are on specific diets. 3. The menu clearly highlights which ingredients have specific allergens -- gluten, dairy, soy, fish, tree nuts, peanuts, and eggs. 4. The salads were served in a compostable bowl with a tight-fitting plastic lid for takeout of leftovers. Straws for the iced tea were paper. 5. It would be great if Roots offered a smaller salad option. Each of us was only able to eat about half of our salads so we took the rest home to eat tomorrow. If we didn't have a cooler with us, we would've had to have thrown away quite a lot of food. 6. While our bowls both had "Roots Rice", we're still not sure what the ingredient was since it was mixed in with other ingredients. Was it white rice? We would eat here again.

Emily B.

Roots is a great place for a hefty healthy meal. Think chipotle but for veggies and chicken and tofu. Yummy food for a hefty price but the bowl lasts me for two full meals. They also have seating upstairs.

El Jefe~ (9/10)
Joy S.

Parking: terrible bc it's street parking! But you can definitely park somewhere else and walk here! Seating: there's no seating inside, but it's more a grab and go type of place. Food: the bowl I got was really good! It was like a mix between cava and chipotle! I would def get it again! Price: I think it's a fair price for how much you get.

The Southern
mark f.

I was strolling through Charlottesville looking for a healthy dinner and ran across this fine establishment. There is seating upstairs, the service was fast, and The Southern food bowl I chose had been satisfying with every bite. The pricing has gone up to about 12-13$ but so has everything else. 10/10 Will be coming back here.

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8 years ago

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6 years ago

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9 years ago

I just visited Charlottesville but I'd like to eat here everyday!! It's a MUST TRY!! Everything was perfect! Friendly and cool staff!

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9 years ago

Very similar to Sweetgreen but not as good. The ingredients are fresh, the service is quick and it's a good place to get a sizable salad.

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9 years ago

Just came in at the end of a run. El Jefe hit the spot perfectly. Can't wait to try more next time I'm out this way. Price is right too.

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11 years ago

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11 years ago

Thank goodness we finally have a healthy/salad spot in cville. Looking forward to returning over the summer.

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9 years ago

This initially looked skeptical but it tasted good! I always wanted to try it and I'm glad I did!

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11 years ago

Everything tastes fresh, because it is. Large portions--could have split our orders and walked away satisfied.

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7 years ago

The mayweather with tofu and ginger dressing is the best. Super quick service and delicious healthy ingredients!

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Roots Natural Kitchen Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Roots Natural Kitchen

I heard about plans to roll out clearer menu labeling for vegans? There's a lot of confusion among local vegans surrounding the use of honey in many salad ingredients:

roots changed to using agave! now everything that was made not vegan by the honey is.

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Tonic

Tonic

4.2
(97 reviews)
1.2 mi

High end creative food with a not pretentious vibe. The miso maple salmon and the grilled pork chop…read morewith hominy and crimini shrooms are my fav mains. Multiple layers of flavor and all the right textures. Visually appealing on the plate as well. Solid cocktail list here. I'm a big fan that they go old school with a hot toddy. The applejack brandy added to that is a nice touch. Service is excellent here. Prices reasonable given the quality of the dishes. Will be back the next time I'm in town for sure. Take out orders here https://orders.cake.net/11301553 Reservations via Resy.

Walking up this place has great ambiance, perfect for a first date. The indoor seating was closed…read morebut the outdoor seating was great. The menu was quite promising. Ordered a cucumber chamomile gin and tonic, which left something to be desired. We started with the blackberry salad which on the menu said it also included avocado but there was none on the salad-despite this the salad was great. Our mains were good but not great. The biggest issue I found here was despite our server being very nice while ordering she NEVER checked in on us after anything arrived, never refilled waters either. So although she was nice the service was not good as there were times we wanted to order something else and one of the entrees didn't arrive as it was ordered but our server never checked in. All things considered I think I would only come here to grab a salad or appetizer.

Photos
Marinated mushroom open-faced sandwich, trout rillettes, on the patio
Marinated mushroom open-faced sandwich, trout rillettes, on the patio
Crispy potatoes with Aleppo pepper ricotta, preserved lemon, and mushroom powder
Crispy potatoes with Aleppo pepper ricotta, preserved lemon, and mushroom powder
Botanically inspired craft cocktails

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Botanically inspired craft cocktails
Milk & Honey Southern Inspired Kitchen

Milk & Honey Southern Inspired Kitchen

3.8
(78 reviews)
1.1 mi

Wanted to try this restaurant up at NOVA but never connected. Down at Charlottesville for UVA…read morevisit and decided to try it. The restaurant reminds me of Burton's. The menu is not large. We got the fish sandwich, tail of two fish and wharf scramble. My fish sandwich looks substantial at first but there were more batter than fish. Every bite I am just eating the crunchy batter. The accompanying tartar sauce was delicious. Their no cost substitute is nice touch. I would say it was a decent experience but really not sure if I would go back given there are many restaurants with similar menu. Our waitress was working incredibly hard. She seems to be the only one waiter serving all the indoor tables. It was late afternoon but still. I've been to restaurants where there were 3 handling same amount of tables and not getting services.

Came here with my wife, daughter, 2 grand daughters and a 'husband' for a little "comfort food"…read more The ambiance casual and comfortable I was a little surprised to see the comments about poor staffing because our waitress was Cam and she was terrific! This delightful young lady was absolutely the best, making us feel very welcomed. Along with prompt and courteous service she was very entertaining with her sense of humor. Really helped make the evening fun. We shared some wings, fried green tomatoes and calamari, all of which quickly disappeared. The entrees were salmon hash, shrimp and grits, fried chicken waffles and the Cajun pasta. All these dishes were very, very good. Hope we get a chance to visit with Cam again!

Photos
Dining area
Dining area
Seafood Gumbo
Seafood Gumbo
An assortment of dishes from Milk & Honey

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An assortment of dishes from Milk & Honey

Roots Natural Kitchen - newamerican - Updated July 2026

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