I went back here for dinner with my mom. They have a seasonally menu, and I have to say that this season their menu is pretty lackluster. Nothing on the menu stood out to me so I ended up with a boring kobe beef burger. I will say that my mom really enjoyed her warm olives and beet and pea risotto. *Check their seasonal menu beforehand! read more

I'll admit, we were biased. Being the first LEED-certified hotel in CA means something to my group. Plus, I've been to the building for a tour before and took everyone to the public open space (roof top opens til midnight)! The food. Nice. Flavorful but some dishes were not quite enough to share. Better yet were the drinks, so it was perfect for a dinner more about the company. Overall, a hidden gem if you want to dine near Union Square in a calm setting. read more

First things first.....the food is TERRIBLE. I ordered the short ribs and it came out cold. The waitress was apologetic for the chef and offered to bring a new plate. I wasn't feeling very hungry so I asked that it be packed to go. My friend ordered ordered the steak that came out sub-par. Meat was fatty and drowned in lentil guck. Forgot to mention we started with a trout appetizer that was decent to say the least. We also ended the meal with a bread pudding dessert that was also good. High priced menu that isn't worth the price. My suggestion.......if you're looking for a place to have some drinks and receive good service, this place will give you that. As for a fine dining experience, you get forget about it. read more

I found out about Roots on restaurant.com, I yelped it and found decent reviews on Roots. So I got the certificate and went there last night with 2 gfs. It was a sweet deal, not only we got $50 off our $100 bill, I also received 1,000 points on opentable! I liked the clean and simple interior design of the restaurant, and it was definitely a good place for us girls to have girlie talks. I noticed the menus were different from their online menus, was a little disappointed they didn't have the dayboat scallops which other Yelpers recommended. We started off with the arugula salad, it was so good! The strawberries, the candied pecans and the goat cheese went so well with the greens. It took them a little while to prepare our entrees, so we got a complimentary order of the organic french fries with truffle oil. I am not a big fan of french fries, but those were really yummy! One of my girls and I had the seabass, it was flavorful, I really liked the greens that came with it. My other gf got the fettuccini and shrimp scampi. BTW, they make their pasta from scratch daily. Both of my gfs actually ordered the fettuccini entree, but they only had enough pasta to make one order, as the pasta they made that day wasn't satisfactory enough, so the chefs refused to serve it to customers. We were a little disappointed with the dessert variety. They were serving gelato with rum, fresh baked cookies and croissant blueberry pudding. We had the cookies (we got a macaroon, a peanut butter cookie, a choc chip cookie, a snickerdoodle, an oatmeal raisin cookie) and the croissant pudding, the cookies were really fresh and scrumptious As for the croissant pudding, it was a little dry and bland. Overall, the dining experience at the Roots was very pleasant, we enjoyed our meal a lot and were very stuffed after that! read more

We went here because we were staying in the Orchard hotel, which itself is a fabulous place. Its menu changes often, as you would expect from a hotel-embedded eatery, so keep a close eye on it. The food was delicious, their soup of the day was spot-on, and their wine list is reasonable. It lacked a little variety and creativity and didn't have the "fine dining feel" that went with its fine dining look. Overall very good, should upscale it a little further though read more

You know what the food here reminds me of? The contestants on Top Chef who are probably technically decent but get eliminated early because they make inexplicably bad choices. Roots is trying really hard to be a fancy hotel restaurant. It's got the white table cloths and the stuffy decor, but it has no idea what it is doing. Why would you serve deliciously warm bread with cold, hard, mismatched packets of butter? Why would you serve seared scallops in a bowl of broth, and furthermore, not give the diner a spoon or any bread to soak it up with? The whole evening featured incongruities like these. And then it became hilarious. The waiter accidentally spilled the (aforementioned why-does-it-even-exist) broth all over our table, which prompted him to exclaim, "Oh shit!!" Oops. After cleaning it up, he goes into the kitchen (which we were seated near) and, still within earshot, says, "You will NOT believe what I just did..." Facepalm. To make up for this, he gives us a free dessert. Whoever plated the dessert was trying so hard to be artistic and sophisticated, but the dessert itself looked and tasted like Jell-o chocolate pudding. As with the Top Chef contestants, there is potential here. The scallops were very well-seasoned. The smoked trout salad was almost great, but had weird proportions and sizes of ingredients. Conceptually, I could almost see what they were trying to do. But the execution was totally lacking. If the meal had been any more expensive than it was, I probably would have been upset. But as it was, it was just an unexpectedly amusing dining experience I hope not to repeat again. read more

We discovered Roots at the Dine About Town kick-off event in the Macy's Cellar earlier this week. We decided to try happy hour since it isn't far from my work. We got there at six and I was shocked to see maybe 4 people there. We told the bartender that we were there for happy hour and then he said he could put a few tables together for us...then he went behind the bar and we stood around thinking he would eventually put the tables together. Then we talked to the server about being seated so she put the tables together and then pulled out the dinner menus for us. Since we were there because of Dine About Town, we asked to see that menu too. She brought out more menus. Since we were there for happy hour, we asked about that too..pretty soon there were 15 paper menus on our table plus one paper wine menu for the five of us. We read on Yelp earlier that you can order a free appetizer with the purchase of a cocktail so we did that. The fries with truffle oil were amazing. Two of the guys with us were doing a "Biggest Loser" competition at work so they had to show restraint...more for us girls! Also, the shrimp and grits were really good, loaded with butter, but we tried not to think about that. The cocktails were good too. The service was extremely slow, especially noticeable because there were not many patrons there with us, but to be fair there was only the bartender and the server. A busser came in around 7 to help out but it did not speed things up by much. The server thought we had come for dinner, hence all the menus, so she felt a bit duped (and didn't hide it well) when we told her we came for happy hour. But seriously, if you share the free appetizers and have one drink, there is enough for a good meal. Overall I had a good time. I will be going back, but also will be making it clear to the server that I'm there for the happy hour specials only. read more

Yup, like most other Yelpers, I came upon this place thanks to a $2 for $25 resturant.com gift cert. First of all, how the heck does it take 10 minutes to get water and 30 to get french fries? Do I want to look at people checking and and luggage carts going by while I eat my overpriced meal? Of course not! So I got, based on Yelp recommendations, the Crab Mac and Cheese. There were maybe 2 bits of crab in there and the rest of it was just fishy-tasting Mac and Cheese...for $13. My GF got some fish dish that was super bland. For $22. The happy hour special was pretty good though. A martini and a free appetizer (hence the 30 minute French Fries) for $12. Basically, if I'm paying that much chedda, with or without a gift cert, I either want amazing food or an incredible atmosphere. I got neither, so enjoy my 2 star rating roots. read more

I had high hopes for this place but it turned out to be one of the worst dinners I've ever had. 2 star is generous and only because the wine (red zin) and appetizer (crab mac and cheese) was good. I went there with my bf and friend and was excited about this organic foodie experience. For starters we had the arugula and goat cheese salad, pretty standard, nothing to rave about. The crab mac and cheese was rich and generous portion, very good but you have to share to have room for entrees. although now I think that was a bad idea since the entrees were downright horrible. My friend ordered the flatiron steak medium rare, my bf and I ordered the scallops with mussels. The steak came out medium and overly salted. The scallops were so salty thats all I tasted, it was like if it was dipped in salt, seared and dipped in salt again. We sent our entrees back and ordered the panfried sole with roasted red pepper and my friend got the mushroom risotto. The sole came out tasteless and very greasy, it was also 2 very small filets both could have fit on my palm easily. I took one bite and just couldn't allow myself to eat something so greasy and disgusting. The risotto my friend had was watery and bland, I tried it and it tasted more like porridge with large chewy vegetable leaves that were hard to swallow. The bill came to be $85 and I must say it was the most unsatisfactory $85 we've ever spend. I apologized profusely to my friend for inviting him to try such a tasteless dinner. We will not be back! read more

This is a good hotel restaurant. It's very bright and the space feels light and open (there are mirrors flanking both sides of the room, a la Versailles). The idea of using fresh, local produce where possible is commendable. Our server was very friendly and provided excellent recommendations. The steak was well prepared, and the risotto had a nice flavor although it was lacking somewhat in richness. read more

Through the Dine About Town promotion, a group of my friends and I made reservations at Roots. It's right on the first floor of the Orchard Hotel, and we flowed right from the lobby to our table. It wasn't crowded at all, which struck me as a little odd. It was clearly dinner time, but there just wasn't a packed house. While this may indicate there's something wrong with this restaurant, the rest of my visit proved it wrong. We had a wonderful server, who was attentive and open. We ordered 3 bottles of wine and she helped us with our choices. For dinner, I had an Arugala salad, Seared Scallops, and ice cream with fried bananas and chocolate sauce. The Arugala salad was fantastic and it came with some of the freshest strawberries I've ever had. The whole restaurant only uses organic food, so the freshness of the salad really popped. The scallops were mouth watering, and melted in your mouth. I could have had plenty more. Dessert was great, the company was great, and I'm sure I'd have a great time here on my next visit. Thank you Dine About Town! Why don't we just keep this promotion going all year round? read more

It's still pretty sparse during lunch, but the food has been *awesome*. Perfectly cooked spicy prawns on polenta/grits with smoked bacon. Perfectly cooked asparagus w/ lemon oil and parmesan. Perfectly cooked Niman Ranch burger. Allegedly perfectly cooked halibut main that my friend had. If you don't need to people-watch, this is a killer lunch downtown. Filling starters and sandos are all around $7-15. Great deal. Entrees are more... read more

I went here about a month ago for Dine About Town. I was also equipped for this fancy meal with a restaurant.com certificate to help with the check only to learn that it is only one or the other. We decided to just order off the menu instead of the prix fixe menu since the items were the same and they did not have a good dessert option for the night. I loved the ambiance. Roots has a great upscale, bright dining room divided off from the hotel. They had a great menu the night that we went -- I got the mushroom/butternut squash risotto while the bf got a mahi mahi plate. We also got a light citrus salad appetizer with arugula that was fantastic. The quality of food was well above par, however the service did take a while. You could tell we aren't exactly made for upscale places when my bf asked the waiter whether he should eat his kous kous with the fish or not, but its nice to splurge occasionally and I would definitely choose Roots to do that again sometime. read more

um... definetly very beige. Service was very bubbly & sweet, but inexperienced. 2 people in our party ordered the clams with chorizo in white wine. This was a very tasty dish minus the sand. I think they FORGOT to scrub the clams. The other 2 of us had salads. Those were fine. Nothing to write home about. Flat iron steak: little sinuey/gristly but good flavor. Merlot Braised Duck leg:decent flavor served with asparagus & FRIED potato cubes ( not the best choice for a starch, unless you're a 7 year old.) Halibut: All nice suble flavors except for the pesto vinaigrette thing that just slaps you in the face! Desserts: almost didn't go there, but banana ice cream... creamy and tasty. warm chocolate tart with caramel sauce...................OOHHHHH yum Finally, as a foodie, I was bummed there was no amuse bouche and NO cheese cart. When you are given the impression that you should get dressed up, you should get an amuse bouche!!! I should have known that the lack of a full house on a Saturday night at 8pm would be a problem... Overall, the food was fine. The service was nice, and the atmosphere was pleasant. Nothing to write home about. read more

I gave it a generous 3 stars because this restaurant has only been opened for 6 months. We got lost trying to find this hotel, and NOBODY we asked knew where this place (or the Orchard Hotel) was. We were about an hour late, and turns out it doesn't even matter because there were only 2 or 3 other tables there. Our big party of 6 really made the night fun.. otherwise, I would have gotten out of there ASAP! Service was REALLY slow, but they were nice. The chef was managing that night, so maybe that's why the food was so slow. The online menu is inaccurate. The "best dish" of the night was the Parmesan fries, followed by the WIld Mushroom Risotto. The short ribs ragout was too sweet, the steak was undercooked (had to send it back), the halibut cheeks tasted really fishy (and you know when you're describing a fish dish as fishy.. something is wrong), and the fried green tomatoes were alright, but it was the squash bloom that was good. Smoked trout was mediocre as well. Doubt we'll be going back. read more

Roots has this happy hour special where they offer a free appetizer from 4-7pm w/ the purchase of a mixed cocktail or a glass of wine. The cocktail is about $12 but it's pretty strong. We went with a couple of friends and ordered 3-4 different appetizers and the portions were filling enough as a meal. You must order the fries that are dusted with parmesan and fried in truffle oil... soo soo good. I give this place 3 stars because the service is slow. We made reservations at 7pm and there were only 3 other tables that night. There's only one server and it took us over an hour to get our drinks and appetizers. If you have time to kill before heading out, I would definitely recommend coming by for a drink and bite. read more

Continuing the fashionista meets recessionista vein of trying new restaurants, hubby and I dined last night at Roots. I had come armed with a Restaurants.com $25 cerficate. Being hungry after a big 20 mile bike ride, we opted for an early dinner. We were the only ones in the restaurant at 6:30 pm, but they told us that we could start with the happy hour deal (as enumerated by the many other Yelp reveiws). As soon as we took our seats, the restaurant started filling up. The bar was crowded with a group of Europeans opening bottle after bottle of champagne. Eventually, there were 8 tables seated in the dining area. iThis is much different than what was expected based upon the reviews. Menu was extremely limited - half dozen appetizer options, five entrees, three desserts. I'm not surprised since it seems that no one really eats here- would be a waste to have more food than necessary. We had the truffle french fries, arugula with strawberry salad, asparagus risotto, and the diver scallops with PEI mussels. There was a giant pork chop that others ordered that looked delicious. Our food came out promptly and was very good. I had a mussel or two that tasted "odd", but they were plump and not over cooked. The scallops were large and perfectly seared. The risotta was creamy and flavorful. Our bill was a deal-2 free apps with 3 drinks during HH + coupon + tax + ttip all for less than $75. Not bad for a beautiful setting and attentive staff. To address the slow kitchen complaints: I did see the entrees for the couple who was seated shortly after us arrive as we signed our check. Everyone else seemed to get prompt delivery. Will I be back the next time I come to S.F? Maybe. read more

Fresh, all American dishes with an organic flair. And Anchor Steam beers. Hollerrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. The restaurant is in a pretty sterile environment of a hotel lobby...but once you sit down and try to forget that people may be walking around checking in to their room, it's all quite easy to take in. The bathrooms are gorgeous to top it all off, and who doesn't like a well-lit bathroom to check themselves out in?? Each person at the table managed to choose a different dish from the menu which never usually happens - bigger sample size, cha CHING! My game hen was delicious, with a perfect balance of flavor accomplished by layering with sweet potatoes. Other memorable dishes were the duck salad with an asian twist and the steak with parsnips. Mmmm...parsnips. Great dishes, attentive staff (albeit from socal, snore) and I think there's some type of saver coupon which allows you to buy gift certificates for less than the amount of the coupon itself. Call us perpetual student-minded people... read more

Bland decor and food is below average when compared to other restaurants within the same price range. It was a slow Saturday night with 2 servers. I liked their service, the girl occasionally came around to make sure everything was ok. The duck breast had the perfect pink with a nice sweet orangy sauce drizzled on top. But the flat noodles served on the side was pretty nasty. The sesame flavor was way too strong. The goat cheese and cranberry salad was ok, nothingyou can't make at home. The truffle fries was delicious, and huge portion! We shared it as an appetizer. Came here for the DAT special. There's nothing else I liked on the regular menu, so I won't be back. read more

For all those who never been to Roots and never even heard of it, I'll help you guys out! The restaurant is inside the Orchard Hotel, which is on Bush, between Grant street in Downtown. The restaurant is open for breakfast and dinner only, which makes it kind of weird to enjoy but o wells =T! Met up with a friend for dinner here and had a the Restaurant.com certificate for $25, which meant to use, we have to spend over $35. The menu online isn't as accurate as the menus they had for us, so you can take a glance at what they have, but the actual one have a little more. The menu doesn't offer much options and it's very simple. But everything is organic so that's balance things out. I ordered the Roots burger and my friend ordered the Tortellini which came out to be $33 bucks...not enough for the certificate!!! BUT!! Our server was super nice enough that she said it was fine, and took our orders in...mind you that I always gotten the "look" when I come in with some type of coupon, but she was totally nice about it and gave me absolutely great service! We were offered poppy-seed bread which was slightly toasted and oil with black pepper...the bread is slightly sweet which was unexpected but was good and warm, so you know its fresh. Also, nice brown toast marks =). My burger came and the presentation was nice, i wanted medium well which came out to what I want, however, just a bit dry. I asked for no tomatoes but it came with it anyways, which wasn't a big deal because I could take it off, but the server saw it and she immediately apologized without me mentioning to her about it, and she seem genuinely sorry about it. The bun for the burger might be the same as our bread and oil, so it made the burger slightly sweet but it was really good. The flavor from the cheese and the spicy pickles really blends well with the bun. The fries were a little salty for my taste, but it was good and crunchy, not soggy and they are not stingy on the fries either! My friend's order however, was a little disappointing. Her tortellini arrived with very lightly sauces, but they were full and stuffed with crab as said, however, she said it was very sweet - that the sauce and the pasta case were sweet which made it difficult to eat. I didn't tried so I can't comment much on it =T. The decor for this place is very nice and quiet, very calming. Our server dimmed the lights to match according to the setting, which was nice. A very small place however, and not a typical restaurant where there's a door to let you know its there. My silverware and plates were clean and nicely placed. Our linen for the table were also clean (i know, i just had to add this in case people needed to know!!) Very simple setting and colors, not meant to amaze you, but it was a great place to catch up on old times with a dear friend. read more

The atmosphere is described as "romantic" but really it's a lovely restaurant for small groups. I came here with two of my gal pals and we had a wonderful dinner thanks to a very knowledgeable waitress. Most memorable dishes I had at Roots is their complimentary dinner bread and bread pudding. UHhhhh I'm still dreaming about the dinner bread a year later. Nice crispy crust, but fluffy and airy on the inside. The bread pudding was made from had croissants left over from the day before, so the chef decided to make bread pudding... God bless him! I don't remember much of the entrees themselves, lemony risotto and a fish dish (which i remember was a tad too salty. I think that's an American thing, I always find the fish too salty.) Overall I was satisfied and would definitely come back again. I promise to write a more prompt review next time! read more

We had a terriic dinner a couple of nights, ago! We don't live anywhere near downtown SF so it's a bit of drive for us. But, it was well worth the effort. We started with a complimentary amuse-bouche (appetizer) of Speck (smoked Prosciutto) on toast with grape tomato and pea puree. Then we ordered and shared an appetizer of Ginger Crispy Chicken Lollipops on a bed of Napa Slaw. I had the special Risotto with Duck Confit & Italian Sausage. My wife had Chinese Five Spice Short Ribs. We had two glasses of J. Loher 2008 Merlot. It was an outstanding pairing with the short ribs! We finished with a fresh fruit short cake and coffee. We had excellent service by Jason. We would go back if we're in The City near the downtown area. The food and service were outstanding and they feature organic and sustainable, local, food ingredients. They're located in the Orchid Hotel, the most Eco-friendly hotel in SF. read more

Had a lovely meal at Roots. Starters and entrees are quite pleasant. Be forewarned that wine list and dessert menu leave a lot to be desired. Be sure to set aside plenty of time, as they enjoy raising your anticipation level. But drink a couple of their special martinis and you'll be kind of glad you did. read more

Note: this review is for the drinks and appetizer menu only. I took my office here for a happy hour yesterday afternoon, and it was a great experience. The bartender, who was working by himself when the 20 of us showed up, was courteous and moved very quickly to make sure everyone had a drink. The drink menu is inventive and the drinks I tasted were all very tasty and very strong, you definitely get $10 worth of alcohol in their mixed options. The appetizers we tried were delicious, as were the desserts we had (some sort of chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream and cherry sauce). The interior is a bit bland and the space is not designed for too many people around the bar, which was my only complaint. This is a hotel bar, after all, and should have room for all the weary travelers to sit and sip their wonderful raspberry caipirinhas and zentinis. read more

This place is pretty good. I really enjoyed their appetizers and during happy hour if you buy a drink you get a free appetizer. What get better than that. Their cheese sampler is amazing. You pay $6 you get toasted bread and some bomb goat cheese. This is a much better deal than going to a cheese store and buying cheese. Plus the seafood was great. I was a little down that on their website it says they have a cioppino but they didn't have it when I went in their store since I guess they change their menu. I wonder why not so many people go there. There is a lot of empty chairs and the sorroundings are all brown which might scare people away?? The one thing that kept met from giving them 5 stars was their music selection. It was awful and depressing 80's music when I went. read more

Love that it's organic although I never really care too much for that kind of thing. Went there for a couple lunch dates with some gfs because we use restaurant.com gift certificates. The food is still pretty pricey though. Although service takes forever, the food is really well made and delicious. Definitely LOVE their burger, my two gfs loved them too. They're huge so it's great to pack half for dinner and the fries are... well fries. I also really enjoyed the risotto but my gf said she'd had better. Slightly remember really enjoying their dessert too. Definitely worth it if you have the gift certificate. I dunno if I'd come here and pay full price though. Cons: Pricey & long wait for food Pros: Delicious food (of what I've tried), friendly service, usually empty for lunch (I guess it's b/c it's in a hotel), quiet, really cute restaurant, organic, and on Restaurant.com!! read more

One of the worst restaurants I've been to. We went here on a Friday night because of a $50 certificate from Restaurant.com. The service was fine but the food was not. We order the mac-n-cheese which was their signature apertizer but heck where was the cheese?!!!! It was dry and tasteless. The menu for entre was limited to only 4 options so there wasn't that much to begin in. Everything was salty, from the pork chop to the scallops to the vegertarian dish. The place was EMPTY! It could be because people never come back! Throughout dinner, this short manager kept on interupting us. Granted that he's accomodating but every freeking 15 minutes, come on! I was with a group of gfs and we were talking about engagement rings and he rudely interupted our conversation and asked all these personal questions about the ring..wtf? The bill still came out pretty hefty with the $50 certificate. We were pretty upset because the food was just not worth the $ that we paid. read more

It almost gets 5 stars based on the food and service alone. Had a fully enjoyable experience on Friday night. The "small" cheese platter is delicious and larger than you think, would suffice for a party of 2 to 4, depending on how much you love cheese. For my gf and me, there was extra to bring home, and we love cheese. If ordering individually from the cheese menu, I recommend the Truffle Tremor goat cheese from Arcata. The smoked trout starter on endives, with a smooth horseradish sauce, and apples tossed in, is light, crispy, and tasty without being too fishy. The wild mushroom tamale pie gets creativity points to be sure, and very symbolic of California cultures: they get their wild mushrooms from post-hippie mushroom hunters, ladle them with a Mexican tamale sauce, other vegetables, and it arrives with a cornmeal lattice baked on top. The waiter we had was exceptionally personable and attentive but not interrupting. Could not have asked for better service and I hope she knows it. The ambiance is the only aspect that misses 5 stars. It is a hotel restaurant, though the fountain in the lobby is beautiful. The restaurant was literally empty when I arrived at 7:30pm on a Friday night, and only a few parties arrived thereafter. So, if you are looking for a quiet place, where you are sure to get personal attention and cuisine made to order, I highly recommend it. P.S. Pricey, but you can get a good discount at www.restaurant.com read more

I feel torn about Roots. The minute I walked into the place I had misgivings. There is little to separate the restaurant dining room from the (Orchard Garden Hotel) registration desk. The colors were bland...beige on beige. The room was almost totally empty and you could hear a pin drop. Yet...I stayed. I had a martini at the bar with a friend and was seated quickly (the staff had little else to do). The menus looked good and our waitress was friendly and just a tiny bit quirky. I liked her immediately. Quickly we were served an Amuse Bouche of watermelon consume. Sweet and very fresh. I'm in an oyster phase right now and opened with a half dozen Marin Miyagi...very fresh with a nice cucumber mignonette. I went with the dinner special, venison (rare), as my entree and washed it down with a glass of the 2003 Domaine de Cristia grenache/syrah blend.. The game was cooked perfectly and I finished every bit of it. The service was terrific and fun and nonintrusive. The wine list is small but balanced with bottles from all over the world...somebody put care into the selection. Noise level was low (obviously) so my friend and I could talk business. In another space this place would be a big hit. Its amazing just how the decor of a room can affect your expectations of the meal to come. In its current location Roots is easy to miss. I'm sure much foot traffic just walks right by and that's a shame because Roots has plenty to offer. For a high quality, quiet meal with great service its hard to beat. read more

I went there for Dine About Town last week. You feel like you are in a hotel restaurant with simple beige colors and small fresh flowers on every table, but guess what - you are in a hotel restaurant. I think I expected a different kind of ambiance for some reason. The food was good (I had the scallops, not that great, but my BF had the spiced pork which was out of this world). Their full bar and wine list was nice. I probably wouldn't go back here unless I got a deal (like Dine about Town). I think this restaurant is suitable for a business lunch or dinner, not a night out with friends or even a romantic dinner. read more

Essentially, we ate our dinner in a hotel lobby. One that was nearly empty except for our table of screaming, out-of-control crazies. Fortunately, our waiter (enticingly named "Talon") was a good sport and did shots with us, posed for photos and revealed his life's dreams. And the meal itself wasn't bad, except the fritto misto was kind of odd (the deep-fried meyer lemon slices made one of my dining companions wince while another one squeezed it into one of his two cocktails). We devoured our mac & cheese (with dungeness crab!) and did serious damage to our entrees (my spiced pork loin was especially yummy). I think that the restaurant lacked character and energy, otherwise it would have been a more exceptional experience. read more

Decent enough organic food restaurant. Nothing particularly special... except for the croissant bread pudding. Holy ****. Maybe the most awesome, decadent dessert ever! We split it between 2 people. It's so rich, is probably best split among 4 people. It was life-altering. read more

Roots.... Hard to describe this restaraunt. The the food itself was pretty good and the service was good but a bit amateur in the sense that when I asked the waitress what the food is like she had the same description for everything in that everything is sustainable, organic and farm raised. The restaraunt ambience was a bit strange. It is bascailly locatged directly in the lobby of the hotel. Very small. I may have been there during a strange time as some company was having a small happy hour there. We went in at 7 PM and we were the only ones there. When it came to the food though. It was very delicious. I had the roasted chicken with the risotto. The chicken was very juicy and the risotto done with plenty of flavor. It made it so the chicken wasn't too bland. Overall. if you were to want to try this place out go for it. Not the best of all restaurant environments but the food may make up for it for you. read more

Good: Nice fancy place to eat. The waiter was very friendly. Food was fantastic. Bad: Pricey. Food took way too long to come for some reason. read more

We had dinner here about a week ago and I'm sorry to say that we were disappointed. We had very high hopes for this restaurant given that it was Cali/Med using orgainic ingredients. Here's how the night went: Appetizers: We started out with the Panznella salad with Bloomsdale spinach, chanterelle mushrooms and truffle tremor cheese ($11). The pieces of bread were soaked too much with the vinegar sauce that made us cough upon placing it in our mouth because of the strength of the vinegar. It's like sniffing a bowl of hot vinegar water. We stayed away from the wine as we tried to finish this appetizer but couldn't. Ugh! Main Course: The waitress recommended the cassoulet ($23) so I decided to try it. The description said that it had house-made duck sausage so I was very excited. When the dish arrived I was first amused by the fact that it came in a Asian clay pot but wait.......the duck sausage was more like duck sausage patties (not sausage in casing). I felt misled...ugh! The duck confit was good but where was the pork? In addition, there were only a few beans and filled halfway with the broth as if I was eating a bowl of soup. To top it off the chef decided to add diced yams which was too sweet for this dish. That really ruined the comforting and savory flavors that I was hoping for. My dining partner had the red wine braised short ribs over blanched spinach and a huge mound of mashed yams ($23) The ribs were tender and delcious however it didn't go well with the sweetness of the yams and the citrus dressing over the spinach. There were just too many flavors in this dish. If this was more of a simple dish with regular potatoes and a slightly seasoned blanched veggie it would have been so tasty and comforting. Why is it that restaurants often think that a meal should be filled with so many contrasting flavors and large portions? I would rather have a great meal with simple flavors that allow me to truly enjoy the real flavors of the produce/meat that I'm eating especially if it's organic/sustainable. I really prefer quality over quantity. Dessert: The dessert was really unimpressive. I ordered the bread pudding that was about 3/4" thick and was cut like a terrine. The texture of the pudding was more like mousse and didn't have any taste. I don't know about you but when I see bread pudding on the menu I think of a nice hearty slice that has chunks of bread. My dining companion had a chocolate tartlet and that was fair but the chocolate that the pastry chef used did not have the WOW factor. Both of the desserts were priced around $7.50. Wine: We brought our own wine and after looking at the wine list we were very happy that we did. Corkage: $20. The interior of this restaurant is very sterile too because it's all beige and white. The day that we had dinner there were only three people in the restaurant. The total bill for the evening was a little over $100 which to me was not worth it for the quality of the food. I really hope for the best for this restaurant. Unfortunately I don't think I will be going back. read more

My fiancée and I had reservations here for last night (Friday 2/13). We walked in, the place was empty save for three people at the bar (who seemed to be friends of the bartender). We almost chickened out, but I'm glad we didn't. Appetizers: I ordered the smoked trout salad (very good), and she ordered the mac and cheese with crab (truly excellent). Main course: we both had the flat iron steak and it was wonderful -- one of the best steaks I've ever had! I don't remember what we had for dessert (although I do remember it was very good) because I was still in awe from the steak. And they take pride in their work, too: the waitress apologized for the pot the creme not being available on the dessert menu, because the chef wasn't happy with the way it turned out. Definitely five stars for the food. The ambiance could use some work (dim the lights a bit), and don't shy away from coming here -- this isn't your typical hotel restaurant, it's one of the best meals I've had in a while. read more

One of my favorite restaurant. I went for luch. Some people say service is slow, but if you are not in a hurry, it is acceptable. Food is great! read more

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It's too bad the decor is so bland because the food was absolutely delicious. The room looks like a boring hotel dining room, which I think only serves to deter customers and which is a shame since the food is great. We ate breakfast here twice: egg white omelette with swiss, asparagus and spinach, pancakes, eggs, bacon - all of it hot, fresh, and light. We ordered room service for dinner: burger, some fancy pasta with meat sauce (sorry, I can't remember the name), vegan corn soup, arugula salad. It was actually the best food I had during my five day stay in SF. I appreciate that it's all organic, local, sustainable, etc., and that it is delicious (most important!) read more

the clean interior screamed out cali organic and sustainable cuisine. fun little lettuce leaves were peppered in as centerpieces. if it wasn't for the drone of loud music and hoots from the bastille celebrations across the way, this was def a quiet setting for deep convo. the soup of the day was mushroom soup and it sounded wonderful but i had to try their dungeness mac 'n cheese. albeit creamy and deelish, it was light on the crab bits. share or box up half if you don't want to fall into a carb coma. the goat cheese salad was big enough to share for two. the pork chop with apple bites was juicy and hearty. and for you cheese lovers, get the cheese tasting platter with four varietals. a nutty firm cow, a peppercorn one, a tangy point reyes blue, and my fav...a truffled goat. slices of apple, candied walnuts, and chunks of strawberry rounded out the plate. by ten-ish, the place cleared out and we were ready for our next joint. even with solid service (we did not get the much yelped slow service), the yummy food, and being attached to a hotel...i really hoped this organic spot will survive the recession and truly be sustainable. read more

I recently dined at Roots and was, for the most part, rather impressed. Located inside of the Orchard Garden Hotel, a location recently renovated to be entirely "green" as dictated by the Leeds scale, Roots Restaurant extends the theme of being earth-friendly by not only offering organic and locally grown ingredients whenever possible, but being a "green" business as well. I asked the waiter to order for me and was pleased with his advice. The amuse bouche was a duck confit on endive followed by an appetizer of ahi tartare with jalapeno, blood orange and avocado coulis. I feel that they both could have used a little more spice and the tartare, although good, lacked a bit of acid to have made it really great. Next was a Caesar salad with grilled romaine. The dressing was almost perfect and grilling the romaine was a nice touch. For the entree, I was given a bloody rare, grass-fed cow with a potato pancake and Swiss chard. As an accompaniment, I was also ordered seared scallops topped with chorizo served with fingerling potatoes and leeks. The steak and scallops were great but it was the potato pancake and the leaks which really did it for me; the pancake flaky and crisp, the leaks soft and vegetal. Dessert was half an order of chocolate cake a la and half an order of rhubarb crisp. Both quite good. The interior of the restaurant, which, upon entering, seems almost too close to the hotel's front desk, is actually very private. The decor is done in soothing, cool colours which brought to mind the freshness which the chef seeks in choosing local, organic ingredients. Bathrooms and halls were spotless. Above all, I was extremely pleased with the service. Both the waiter and the manager, Fritz, seemed genuinely happy to give me a tour of Roots Restaurant's wonderful menu. read more