Magen is the best waitress I've ever had!!! Super sweet, cool, and helpful. Love this place

I love this place. The spinach artichoke dip is great and I like that they have mocktails. The staff is normally pretty nice and laid back. Bathrooms are not very accessible, but there is a changing station in the women's room. They use ice cream from a local business (Rheas) for desserts. It seems that they tend to stay as local and homegrown as possible. Tastes fresh read more

I ordered Marinated Eggplant Sandwich! it was delicious. It was savory and flavorful! A must have! read more

The Root Cellar Cafe - Marinated Eggplant Sandwich. I took a bite before I took a pic. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

fabulous, wonderful atmosphere great ambience, great service and outstandingly delicious food We went there for breakfast and it was a great choice. I have the southern hash and it was like no other hash I've ever had before and it was very very tasty. Great place read more

Extremely slow service................ Food was salty (Cesar salad w/shrimp and shrimp and grits) mac and cheese were bland and cold. read more

Always delicious! This is one of my favorite spots in San Marcos. Their best dish is the biscuits & gravy!

Was in San Marcos for one of the kids swimming lessons and came back to try this place a second time and dined in this time. We were there Sunday around 5:15pm and it wasn't busy and we were seated immediately. The table ordered burgers with kettle chips for two of the burgers and Mac n' cheese and peas as sides for the other two. The burgers are some of the best I have had in the area and would happily go back for them again and again. The peas and Mac n' cheese were also really surprisingly good, especially the peas. The kids shared a brownie for dessert which they demolished and I didn't have time to take a picture. The bread pudding, while it looked delicious, was dry and they were out of ice cream which would have helped tremendously. However, the burgers were so good it was still a five star experience. read more

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Before heading to the San Marcos Outlets, we stopped for brunch. This place was super packed but the hostess took us up to their rooftop. No one else was there, which was perfect. Parking: street/paid for. Just gotta look for it. Ambiance: super chill since we were not inside (downstairs). The day was gorgeous too. Food: it was oookkkaaay. Nothing mind blowing or life changing. Our favorite item on the menu was the Brazilian French toast. My boyfriend loved the jalapeño "gravy" sauce--me, not so much. Didn't have any of their drinks. Overall, it was "eh." Not terrible. Not amazing. read more

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Amazing find in Texas! Loved the food, service was excellent and the margarita flight was delicious!

food was delicious! absolutely smacks for a good afternoon brunch, make a reservation the day before if it's a weekend other than that, service , ambiance was 100/10! would come again, as a Houston local. cute little San Mo gem. read more

This place is in a historic building. It has a cool ambiance but the room way in the back is humid and has a funny smelly smell. We were going to be sitting there but my husband and I quickly asked for different seating and we were sat in the middle room which had much better ventilation and was dry. The food was delicious. The spinach and artichoke dip could have been better. I didn't like that I had to pay an extra $1.50 for fruit on my French toast and extra $2.00 for a scoop of cream. My server just asked if I wanted fruit and cream but my husband's waffle came with it included. I'm also used to having powdered sugar on my French toast. Overall this place is good and I will be back to try different things on the menu. read more

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casual, good Brussels sprouts. Easy spot in a cute town. Service was quick & efficient. Price was inexpensive. Recommend for something easy for brunch! Don't need a reservation on a weekday read more

The Root Cellar is just the kind of place to take your family. We live in Austin, parents visiting from out of town, and wanted to see the Hill Country. After a long day of exploring, a big dinner was in order. The Root Cellar had healthy delicious food that fit everyone's diets. It was hard to decide what to order, but I finally settled on the Seafood Scampi, because it's something I wouldn't make myself at home. I think it was a smart choice! The funny thing was that the server also was serving his family at the booth behind us on the patio, since they were in town visiting for college Parents' Weekend. Important things to know - they do have patio seating with a good view of sidewalk traffic. They don't take reservations for the day of, or on weekends. We were, however, able to walk in and get a table for 4 at 6 on a Sunday night with no wait. They said is usually gets busy about 6:30. read more

The Root Cellar Cafe - Seafood Scampi, Better Than Mom's Meatloaf, Big Cellar Salad, Cellar Caesar - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

I stopped in last weekend while visiting my sister and was excited to check this place out as it had pretty good reviews and seemed like a cute location! Parking was easy enough with 2 hour parking on pretty much every street nearby and the wait was about an hour as they are only seating outdoors currently and have nine tables, based on what we were told. Thankfully this is in the heart of the historic city center, so we took a walk around the city and stopped in for some boozy ice cream as we waited (which I recommend, by the way!) We received a text letting us know our seats were ready and we seated in an outdoor bar bench. Our waiter greeted us promptly and was friendly and very pleasant. They are currently using paper menus, and we quickly decided what we wanted. I ordered the salmon, cold brew, and peanut butter pie while my sister ordered a sandwich, red sangria, and bread pudding. Unfortunately, the meal left us both disappointed. My salmon seemed undercooked and was bland with a rather unpleasant aftertaste. I frequently cook with salmon, so I feel fairly confident in saying I could have made a better dish than the one I received. My sides also left quite a bit to be desired. The cold brew was good - just a standard tasty coffee and the pie was my favorite part of the meal. My sister was slightly more satisfied and would have given a 3.5 for the meal she received. At the end of the day, you never want to leave a meal feeling disappointed and I was deeply dissatisfied with the quality of my food. It seems as though we both did not enjoy our entrees but the dessert and drinks were decent and tasty. I might give it another chance based on the reviews, but I would not recommend the salmon and will not try it again at this restaurant. read more

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For the price it's definitely not worth it. They charge for every single little thing. Want coffee? Milk or cream is an extra $1. Order a waffle? The blueberries, strawberries, whipped cream is extra $$. They don't tell you. They ask if you want it and if you say yes they just charge you without saying it's an extra charge. Plus the service is horrible. The waitress only checked on us once (when she brought the food out) to see if we needed refills or anything. The food was cold when it finally was brought out after a long time after ordering. On top of all that, they don't tell you they add a gratuity charge on there before they do it, and it's 20% instead of the standard 15%. Then they have the audacity to ask for an extra tip on top of that. Nothing special here and would not dine here again. read more

I have been here before a long time ago but recently came back for my birthday and it's just as amazing as I remember. The music the service and the food were all incredible. We came in on a a Sunday and were promptly greeted and didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes for our table. You have to try their waffle it's my favorite ever and their mocktails are great too! We cleaned our plates. Yum! read more

The Root Cellar Cafe - Sweet Belgian Waffle - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

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Great food. Great service. Farm to table. Top choice for breakfast! Their pancakes and waffles are the best!!

Had French Toast with berries. It was good but berries were sparse. However, the homemade jelly more than made up for this. The jam came with my husband's meal was so delicious that I mixed it with the fresh fruit on my French toast. Turned out amazing! I ordered a side of sausage. It was too salty. My husband ordered the Hill Country breakfast. It was also good. However, the sausage was rather salty for him also. He still gave it a 4.5 Overall it was a good experience and food was good. read more

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Cool old building downtown where we had a great brunch with great service. Would definitely go back.

Hmmm dunno... Friday evening dinner for three. Three other tables of customers. Three entrees, three waters and two desserts for $95 dollars before tip... Cheese burger was SO over done it was a brick and nothing but pepper, lots of pepper... Grits & Shrimp had cubed Chorizo sausage which was weird. Island salad was good. Apple cobbler was Luke war with mostly cake like top and a thin layer of apples on the bottom. Pumpkin spice cheese cake was lightly sprinkled with something that didn't taste much like pumpkin... Regular cheese cake underneath. Water to drink must be expensive due to the lack of refills. All-in-all, not good... $100 bucks ouch... read more

Had brunch with out of town family members. Each of us chose a brunch dish and they were all excellent!

A cute spot , looks small from the outside but opens up once inside . We had a 45 min wait but it was worth it . Our group shared Spinach artichoke dip, flavorful and was a good size for us to share. Their off menu mardigras items were still available so we ordered hush puppies which didn't disappoint. The biscuits and jalapeño gravy were yum! Everything we got was delish The main reasons for 4 's was no designated parking and the long waits Food wise read more

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I wanted to like the Root Cellar. Located right in the heart of San Marcos, the Root Cellar is situated in what basically is a cellar with a hippy-ish vibe that feels pretty at home in this university town. That said, the menu isn't super expansive, with some salad and sandwich choices along with some breakfast options there's going to be something for you - but you may be surprised that none of the choices will get your heart pumping. I had a club sandwich that seemed loaded with items but short on any real flavor. The service was friendly but slow and the food took forever to be served. Would I come back? Possibly. But would I really recommend it? Probably not. read more

The food is pretty good. It is a little high in price, but it seems to be good quality ingredients. read more

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YES, highly recommend! This place has really amazing food. We tried 3 different dishes, all of which were impressively good. The chicken was so soft and flavorful. The service was also very generous, she stayed and engaged in convo with us politely and kindly. We learned that there are cabinets in a lot of the tables that have fun notes! We came here for a casual birthday dinner and it was a great vibe for it!! Delicious food, spacious, cute! read more

The food is always great here. I prefer the dinner menu over the brunch menu. I've enjoyed just about everything on the dinner menu and the chicken is probably my favorite. Service is always friendly but can be a bit slow during the weekend. read more

The Root Cellar Cafe - Bourbon Pecan Chicken House Side Salad - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

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On our way to San Marcos we were looking for a good restaurant - we found this one! When we arrived we were put on a 45 minute to one hour waitlist. We signed up because this now seems to be the norm. We meandered around downtown San Marcos and I reminisced when I lived there and attended college. Loved it in San Marcos and still do! When we were seated I ordered a Mermosa which is a blueberry version of a mimosa. It is very good... so I had two. I ordered the Kale and quinoa salad with chicken- the meal was tasty. I enjoyed it and was almost too full to finish it! My SO had the burger and unfortunately they were out of risotto and home fries. It was around 1 when we were seated so I think they should plan a little better for their more popular dishes! We did receive some home fries after our main courses came out because the kitchen caught up. The food was good, the menu is diverse with fresh ingredients. I would go back but would try not to arrive when the crowds are there as they run out of food and it takes way too long for a table. read more

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The service was amazing even though they forgot one of my items on my salad. I didn't mind. I love how homey it was inside of the cafe.

I am sharing the love! The Brazilian French toast is out of this world, especially when topped with a cup of berries and a side of ham. It's my favorite! Really, anything on the menu is simply delicious! A shout out to Matthew! He is an amazing server; cute, too! Knowledgeable about the menu and really friendly. He kept our coffee cups and water glasses full. He even offered Coffee To Go! read more

Well the Belgium waffle was great, you can't go wrong with it. Service was just as good. Had a side of bacon, it was super fatty, supper salty plus to burnt for my taste. read more

This is NOT a VEGAN place per the one review I read. They will accommodate by taking off cheese and any cream sauce with no options for replacements. As another reader mention, not sure about the hype. Couple of mentions: if you order a mimosa with anything but OJ there's an upcharge that they don't tell you about. (I actually got charged for a grapefruit one and had OJ, didn't say anything as we were ready to leave). My vegan daughter ordered the Marinated Eggplant Sandwich which came without the cheese and pesto mayo so it was pretty plain. They got confused on my beyond burger order [part my fault in the way I ordered it]. However, when everything was settled pretty plain. Skimpy on toppings and it ended up just being a dry blah dish. Forgot the chips so when they brought it out, we ended up with extra. Overall not impressed with the food. Pros: Great patient, friendly staff Cool vibes - nice atmosphere Good margaritas Sidenote: we were there for lunch so didn't get to experience full bar and upstairs service. Maybe we'll go back for drinks. read more

Very welcoming place in the heart of Texas State land. It's part of a nice main st strip with plenty of walkers and window shoppers. The servers were all nice. It had tables and booths and a second room, which we didn't enter. It had a full bar, but the actual bar was small w seats for only a few people. The brunch menu had plenty of options: breakfast food/eggs/omelets/french toast were tasty, lunch options like beet burger, Brussel sprouts, and steak and eggs were delicious too. It has on street parking but easy to find a spot before the bars open. A definite must go-to when hanging out in this town. read more

Great local place. Good environment and food. Staff were friendly too. Pesto pasta and side salad read more

The Root Cellar Cafe - Pesto salad with grilled chicken - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

Very delicious and unique and healthy dish menu. I was very impressed with how delicious their breakfast/brunch are. The server explained the menu and assisted me in choosing a dish from the menu. I can't quite remember what I ordered but it was a very delicious sandwich with avocado. There was a lot of space and lighting was just perfect. read more

Near the Texas state university, this eatery fits perfectly with the surrounding college town hangout feel. The spinach artichoke was very good could use a few more chips to go with it. The salad was refreshing with the root razz vinaigrette light enough to balance out the heavier dip. Service was overall friendly but the bathroom needs to be remodeled. Otherwise a pretty cool place read more

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Good food here. Freshly prepared and delicious. I had the chicken breast with thin onion rings on it, with a choices of two sides. It was very tender, and the onion ring toppings were perfect as an accompaniment. The beer bread appetizer was hot and came with cinnamon honey butter. Three slices for our party of 3, perfect. There was a weird policy of eating only outside. Hey, Texas is opening up. But what was weirder was the inability to walk through the restaurant to the restroom. You had to go outside to a side door that seemed like it belonged to another business, that I couldn't find. The hostess finally walked me there. When I walked in to ask where the restroom was, they panicked! It was a different experience that made me feel uncomfortable. And, I had a mask on. Again, if a person has a mask on, it is easier to simply walk through the restaurant. Again, Texas is opening up, what a strange policy. And, if you are going to be so RADICAL, why don't you be clean. The person who was cleaning the tables picked up a previously used rag on the outside counter time after time and wiped the tables. I watched her. There wasn't any sanitizer or sanitizing in sight. The hostess was going to take us to our table, but then wouldn't seat us until our 3rd person arrived. I understand that if it is busy, but it was 2:30 and many tables were available. So I told her, ok, give us a table for two, but make it a four seater. She did, but seemed terrified of the Manager and violating the policy, poor girl. Our 3rd party arrived a few minutes later and joined us! Problem fixed. We had good service thereafter. I would return, but only after the management stopped being so paranoid. read more

My 24-year-old daughter carefully looked through all the breakfast options for Sunday morning when she planned our weekend visit to San Marcos for a wedding. She uses a walker for a mobility disorder and immediately saw 2 very tall, shallow steps down to the door. They were so dangerous, we thought there must be an accessible entrance. I walked in, asked the waitress/hostess person across the room where the accessible entrance is, and she unapologetically answered curtly yelled across the restaurant ...."That's as accessible as it gets." Soooo offensive!!! Not that they don't have an entrance for people with disabilities, but bc they were blatantly non-inclusive and rude. read more

First time visiting on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. The restaurant is not doing any indoor seating- sidewalk only or there is a tiny rooftop sort of deck. At first it seems very COVID conscious. Except.... the deck is tiny and not only are they seating the tables but they have bar stools sat around the deck railing that they had people sitting in. The width of the railing is meant to hold a drink...my Kate spade purse (designer for size reference) was almost too wide to balance. On no way is that wooden plank meant to be a table. That was shocking when we sat down. But because only one small stretch of the deck faces a "view" people from other railing spots or tables kept coming over and standing there sipping their drinks RIGHT NEXT to us. Touching arms. It got so bad I asked my friend if she wanted to move. No staff said anything about it. Defeats the whole COVID safety thing. The other thing I can't figure out is why this restaurant doesn't use any real dish ware. Our food was served on paper plates and the cutlery was plastic. Drinks were served in plastic cups. I'm still paying $12 for a cheeseburger...?? Is that somehow a COVID thing? And finally, the food was really mediocre. My friend had the shoestring chicken and it was a single breast with some onion rings in it. You had no idea how it actually tasted because it was completely drowning in sauce and she had it paired with Mac and cheese and risotto (gotta love a double starch). She was happy so that's good. I got the burger. It's made with pork and beef so it has a strong sausage patty taste. The pickles were good. I chose a house salad as my side- and it was just a handful of bagged salad thrown on a paper plate. I addded the sautéed veggies as well and ans they were cooked fine, but again served in a tiny paper cup and not worth the money. I paid $23 for a burger with some lettuce, veggies in broth and a glass of Sauvignon blanc before tip. There are definitely wayyyyyy better places, with better portions and taste for the price, with better seating than a railing in the city to try. Kudos to ur waiter though, he was a sweetheart- and the waitress who chased my menus down the alley way after they blew off the railing because I thought my silverware would anchor them but alas- plastic forks don't weigh a lot. read more

Really enjoyed the food, server was great too, but then there was a weird almost hour long wait between the appetizers and our meals. Others were seated, ate and left before our food started coming out. I think a mistake was made. It would have been nice to get an explanation, but nothing other than 'we're really busy' was offered. All of our entrees were good. Home fries were almost burnt and very small portion though. Again, hopefully a not a regular occurence. read more

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Home Run, Royal Flush, Perfect Score- this place has it all! The Brazilian French Toast is an absolute MUST! And I've never had better breakfast potatoes! Their coffee is also wonderful with just a splash of cream! The staff are top-notch, the ambiance is wonderful with touches of rustic charm. I will absolutely be back ASAP, to try more awesome offerings from the menu! read more