Roots Cafe

I stopped in to take a break from work and got the avocado toast without the egg to make it vegan. It came with cucumber and roasted tomato, and it was so tasty. The environment was nice and comfortable. As a mobile notary, I'm always looking for places to stop and take breaks and this one did the trick. If you offered some vegan entrees, I would certainly be back, and with friends after a hike. It's easy to do and I hope you get with the times! Ask me how to make anything vegan and I'll send you the recipe!

Cool place with good vibe , I heard lots of good things about this place unfortunately Maybe the people who work over there didn’t have a good day in time of my visit so it’s effect their service . Food was simple and they try to make it healthy as possible . Coffee and smoothies was good . To me sandwich and break fast dishes was average and a little bit over price ( but you are in prestige neighbourhood) . Thursday evening they have somebody to play guitar which make this place even more pleasant. Place is nice ,clean , simple and lovely !

Stopped by this placed after a hike for some tea. Cozy and spacious atmosphere. It’s very close to Great Falls and Riverbend Parks. I’m a tea drinker. I got their hot green tea tropical and I’m very impressed with it. Nothing like the green tea I’ve had before, has a nice smell and flavor to it. I’m a fan. I also got their lemonade which is made in house. Had a taste and I’m impressed with that as well. Will be coming back and recommending this cafe.

i found it a bit pricey for a breakfast burrito to be $11 (and more if you want to add bacon or avocado) although, it was a pretty good burrito. well made and delicious. our chairs were a little crumby but overall the place was pretty cute and not too crowded when we went which made it easy to catch up with my friends without having to shout. i also tried the limeade that was VERY sweet. i watered it down and it was perfect

the best coffee in the area— a la Marzocco machine. The most high- end machine…With oat- milk (Thanks) it is an experience if you like coffee. Shelby is the great barista. We the neighborhood would like a yoga spinning studio, as Luanne’s Dream yoga studio closed as did Syteras, as did East- West and Joelle’s yoga over behind Giant. The area is a yoga desert. With the country in the line, yoga and spinning was supposed to put here for defense. This Spring hill ‘ Upper Village’ shopping district is charming, walking distance to hiking: we hope the city will put in speed bumps pedestrian crossings and jogging shoulder to the Great Falls park, a great destination… and that we can replace ‘seedy 7/11 and ‘smoke store’ clientele with wholesome yoga and spinning that will bring customers to Roots La Marzocco cafe, where you can sit outside on a sleepy morning, on your way to hike, have a yoga spin, go have a fresh juice smoothie at Sweetstuff, get manicure - pedicure with fab Nancy and Tammy next door, and stop in to the pharmacy to discuss misdiagnosis in defense, and medical-monopolies with Ed and Jessica at the ‘Medicine Distension. ‘I mean the ‘Quacks Chest’ . what I mean is ‘ Monopoly’s Chest’ or else the Byrds Arms. Hey what’s in a name? Don’t you have the birth certificate in your estate or something? just drop it off at the Pentagon where everybody knows your name.

I just had lunch here today for the first time. The location is open under new management, contrary to Google listing it as temporarily closed. Apparently the new management has not been same to claim the business and update the listing. I had the Reuben sandwich and it was absolutely delicious. The service was great and the atmosphere relaxing. You can’t really ask for more than that. Stop in and give them a try.

There were bits of plastic in my salad. The whole place was dirty — tables, chairs, bathroom. I doubt the kitchen is clean. The place looks nice at a glance, but if you look closely at anything you’ll see it’s just a facade. The beer in the fridge expired in 2022. An unclean restaurant is a bad restaurant. Period.

Garden Chicken Salad, Warm Quinoa Salad, and Chinese Chicken Salad 🥗 Great place to just relax eat and have nice company! Portion size is really generous! Satisfied my salad cravings!

Sadly this location is permanently closed :/. Closed for good and is missed was a nice option for lunch and dinner

Food, service and ambiance are all on point. Enjoyed a delicious latte and their Roots breakfast sandwich. Very chill vibe and plenty of natural lighting. Would definitely repeat and recommend. Bonus: Roots is connected to Timber Pizza which has bar and televisions.

There were bits of plastic in my salad. The whole place was dirty -- tables, chairs, bathroom. I doubt the kitchen is clean. The place looks nice at a glance, but if you look closely at anything you'll see it's just a facade. The beer in the fridge expired in 2022. An unclean restaurant is a bad restaurant. Period.

Enjoyed a weekday lunch here - 3 adults. We ordered some of the favs - brisket sandwich, adult grilled cheese sandwich, and a couple of chevre/apple/arugula salads. Everything was very fresh and delicious. The salads seemed to be lacking dressing (even though I like very little dressing, these had none or almost none). One of our salads had tons of apples but hardly any goat cheese, and the other had lots of goat cheese but hardly any apples. They probably prepared 2 salads together and simply did not distribute them evenly. Still a great lunch and I can't wait to try the real deal chevre salad. Note: check the event calendar before you go. When we went, there was a fundraiser with a lot of nice women mingling and enjoying the front of the restaurant. The acoustics were such that we couldn't hear one another at our table over them, even though we were several yards away and the women were *not* being overly loud. It's the high ceilings and concrete floors, which are a great aesthetic but not good for noise. The blue dining chairs are so comfy! Glad this place is here because it is a mid-point between my place and my friends and relatives who live in DC/Arlington, avoiding the crowds and traffic of Tysons.

This is hidden gem in McLean. Literally a hidden because when you pass by d dominion road, you do not expect between seven even, cleaner and so on that there is a place that put organic and fresh food fusion in work. Parking is available on the from backside as well so don't be alarmed if you don't see a spot in the front. The place has a cool ambience with high ceiling and great place to watch your favorite games as well as just hanging around with amazing compositions of shareable as well as breakfast and entrees. Not a big menu, but what they do have is fusion of Italian, Arabic touch with Mexican. The duo hummus comes with two flavors with glazed cherry tomatoes on the top of the hummus and balsamic, to nib with colorful nachos and nan bread pieces. Tasted great! Fries with truffles and Parmesan was crunchy and good addition, and so was the hot Quinoa and tahini salad. But last but not least, the flatbread with mushrooms and truffles was amazing. Forget Paisanos and dominos, this is definitely fresh and homemade ish. It is under new management and so far they are doing everything very good, and person who served us was attentive, professional and service minded, contributed to a great experience for us, and will be the place to go to watch soccer matches as well as ticking of the rest of the menu when craving for some shareable with a twist as well as entrees. Good variations of different meat and fish but also a veggie haven. Would absolutely recommend Roots. Big shout out to the person who served us today and made this an awesome experience for us!

I ordered takeout from here. I ordered the Mclean sub, my son ordered Chicken salad sandwich, my wife and daughter got grilled cheese sandwiches. The restaurant looks great. I was thinking this would be a great place to recommend my client's to have their kid's birthday parties. The food came out quickly and was well packed The Mclean sub was OK. I would have preferred the bread to be toasted. I should have asked to be toasted. My son said the chicken salad sandwich was good. But he's a teenage boy. He inhales food when he's hungry. The grilled cheese was bad. It wasn't grilled at all. It was a microwaved cheese sandwich. Tge bread wasnt cooked at all. I grilled the sandwich for my daughter, and my wife toasted hers. By then the cheese was just oozing out and my daughter was turned off. Grill or toast your grilled cheese sandwiches, man!

Though I'm local to Northern VA, I typically have reason to stay in the Tysons area overnight and one Sunday morning, after spending the night nearby, I came to Roots for a quick, easy breakfast. When I first pulled up, the parking lot was bare. Coming inside, the place looked like it might get a fair amount of business (lots of employees working and a larger layout, seating, bar, etc), so I must've been ahead of the Sunday breakfast/brunch rush. I opted for their breakfast burrito and an Americano and grabbed a hi-top table seat. Looking around, this is called a grocery store, but I didn't see much grocery, though I did see bottles of wine, which I'm sure would be great for those in the area needing a quick, last minute bottle. The food came out and was served by a guy who looked like he just woke up... It was actually comical to see how he carried the plate out, tilted to the side, almost o the point that the food would roll off the plate... looked like he might have had a rough Saturday evening (the night before). As for the food... it tasted OK... nothing special, though it was completely housemade. The salsa that came with it was equally as boring, no heat and little flavor. The Americano was OK. Overall, I'd probably get their breakfast sandwich in lieu of this burrito. Given all the options in the area, I'll probably select another next time.

It's an unassuming location because it's on the side of the road in a little strip of businesses, but the interior is very pleasant in its aesthetics and it's a nice quiet little restaurant that feels airy and relaxing. I can't say much for the staff because we only interacted with an employee taking our order at the front counter, but she was very nice and greeted us quickly with a helpful demeanor. I got The Ryan sandwich with turkey and avocado, and it was a refreshing meal for brunch. It was easy on the stomach and good quality for the price. Just for the atmosphere alone, I would return for a sandwich or a coffee if I'm ever back in the area.

I had some colleagues in from out of state this weekend. They were in DC at a convention thing and wanted me to take them hiking. Afterward, we were starving and in bad need of some cool air conditioning. I yelped for the closest spot. Roots popped up. 2 miles away. We're off! .Pulling into the tiny center, I was worried as the store front said something like Roots and grocery or something like that. Once we opened the door and took a look inside we were like, ok this is pretty cool. Let's stay here and eat. It's a wide open space with long tables/Hightop stools. Then also some fabric chairs and low top tables. We walked in and asked for paper menu. The employees pointed to the menus. We took to a table and decided our lunch. Then walked back to the front to order. They had some large TVs and a bar, a cold box for drinks but I didn't see any grocery stuff in there. Not sure what that's all about. Also there was only one other table occupied. The food was delicious. We got the Ryan (sandwich), fries, fried pickles, chips and cheese burgers. Everyone loved their food. I took mine home. I was too hot to eat it all. A couple take aways: No one spoke to us. No hello, how can I help you. We asked for menu, we got a finger point. Seemed awkward. Little to no A/C. I couldn't wait for my friends to finish eating. It was so hot. The fabric seats didn't appeal to me. All I could think about were ancient crumbs in there. They looked clean but I wouldn't sit in them. Also, the name on the store front was a little misleading. It was cute though and food was good. I'd come back again if in the area.

Been here twice now (once before I finally moved into mclean in late February, and then again just last weekend). It's a fairly new spot and while the breakfast/brunch menu is short, it's not lacking in flavor. I do prefer the non-breakfast/regular items. Their triple grilled cheese with avocado is a scrumptious treat for a lone diner at lunch time. It's spacious and makes for the perfect spot on a sports night with all its large screen TVs + high tops. The staff are friendly and it's spotlessly clean. Cozy enough for a coffee date and upbeat enough for a after work drink- what's not to love?

The food is amazing! The customer service was spot on-friendly and very knowledgeable! Stamp! Dinner: I had the catfish marinated in turmeric over rice served with fresh veggies. Very flavorful and colorful! My friend and I opt for mocktails and both were divine! The hibiscus tea was freshly brewed and the lemon and mint made it so refreshing! I like the new setup with many corners in this space from couches to tables to high top to bars. There's a little bit for everyone. I haven't tried the coffee yet but it looks great. There's a little shop inside the restaurant for quick drinks and some snacks. Can't wait to stop by here again when I'm in the area.

We really enjoyed the food. It's a cool place to meet up with friends. The only negative is that when we walked in we were not greeted or acknowledged by anyone that works there so it was very confusing as to where to order or if there is table service. We eventually figured out we had to order at the bar.

Tried their loaded brisket fries, would definitely recommend. Did takeout and order was done very quickly, service was good and the interior is very welcoming, will definitely be coming back.

This place could be so good. And it is instead bad. I went on Sunday to have a bloody maria and breakfast at 1:30 in the afternoon. Prime time. I sat at the bar for 20 minutes ignored and finally got someone's attention and learned they had no bartender. If the owner had any guts he or she would contact me. My cell is +12025500005. I bet no one does. Stay way. It is dodgy, which is strange in McLean

This is a nice place for a cold drink and quick bite. TVs are well setup for you to watch a game and relax. Bartenders are very attentive. Also went for breakfast and enjoyed that too. Good local place that is filling a void in this part of McL.

Tried this place yet again and yet again it was a fail. There are about 4-5 employees on duty but not one of them seems to be paying any attention to customers. There were 9-10 of us in for cocktails and finally after standing in front of the bar for 5-10 minutes the counter girls slumbered over and took one drink order. When that was done she worked on one more...etc. it was painful. We sat down and had to go ask her to come to the table and sell us food. She finally came. The food was mediocre at best. I understand why people avoid this place.

Food is good. Nice little lunch spot. But if you don't get there well before noon on a weekday, good luck. I come here often and have only seen at most two employees in the store during the lunch "rush". They're horribly understaffed, with likely a single employee in the kitchen to churn out orders. A 30-min wait for a sandwich at lunch, when you want to be in and out quickly, and with the restaurant below 50% capacity, just doesn't make sense. I have to imagine that's why the restaurant is never as busy as the food and atmosphere suggests it should be. It's a clear management deficiency.

Nice local place with good atmosphere very friendly employees and a relaxed vibe. The food was rather ordinary but it was an enjoyable experience.

Whenever I'm home this is my favorite spot! Great food and good vibes. The bartender is awesome and super friendly. Very creative Seasonal cocktails and can always catch ur favorite team on game day. For more content and updates her instagram is @not_rootskitchenandbar.

Great bagel and lox, amazing fried, and solid coffee! Would recommended and go back here as often as I can for brunch.

Terrible service and overpriced! Will never go back! Very rude employees! Not sure if it was the owner or employee but he repeated himself twice to us - where and how to clean up our table! Extremely rude...after we cleaned our table- after eating 2 BLTs that cost $45 (with a soda and few chips)- my friend and I were the only Ones in the place...learn to respect your customers! Learn respect while You are at It!

This place is screwed up. I will never go again. A friend of mine and I went there on Saturday morning and we were surprised to find they could not serve alcohol. OK. Virginia is weird. Somehow my friend talked them into selling her a bottle of Prosecco on the condition we drink it in my car in the parking lot. Which we did. As we were leaving I gathered up everything on one of their tables to throw stuff away and walked my friend to her car and came back to an unpleasant man telling me I was putting them in violation of ABC laws. He was very rude. I am a lawyer and happen to be familiar with these rules because I almost opened a bar in Virginia. So don't retreat there. That is no justification for being rude to me. No one should ever go there again. My friend and I sure will not.

Loved it! Food is delicious and the restaurant is decorated beautifully. Would definitely recommend!

Mostly a so-so venue with tasteless food. Smoothies are solid, but not for the prices. Service leaves something to be desired. And the remodel is nothing more than a little paint and new takeout counter. The bathroom is like a shell station and you can still see lokl on the wall.

The decor is certainly nice, a little dimly lit though. Food is OK at best--I got a breakfast sandwich and it tasted like something I'd get at Dunkin' Donuts. Not bad, but not worth the astronomical prices ($7 for a palm-sized sandwich). And as another reviewer mentioned, service is a little to be desired.

What a wonderfully adorable place. A spectacular ambiance for enjoyment and love. I was able to enjoy a delectable salad and latte while my children played outside. Delightful.

Food was okay, but nothing special. The restaurant has a chill vibe and the staff were friendly. May stop by again if in the area.

We love this place.. All the sandwiches and salads are delicious!! Love the Green smoothie.. we will keep coming back and trying all the stuff they have in their menu.. All together a great experience!!

WARNING: quality of food is horrible. Everything is frozen and fried no meat or seafood is fresh unless you count the salads. Even the "daily croissants" are frozen and not made from scratch.Overpriced for a bunch of frozen food you can heat up yourself at home. Soup of the day being the same every day and taste of old chicken. Most definitely a rip off take your business elsewhere unless you need a place to sit and rest

My husband and I had a great breakfast here. The staff was very friendly when we arrived just as they opened (as early risers, we really liked/appreciated the early opening hours). Latte and cookie was awesome and we inhaled the breakfast burritos, they were so good. The whole menu looked so good. And just as importantly, everything was very clean - which we always pay special attention to and appreciate! Well decorated atmosphere with good seating. A new regular spot for us when we are in the area.

Slow, average, overpriced. Took them 45 minutes to put together a $21, cold salad that was fine, but nothing special

I could write a whole review on the salsa alone. We came for brunch with my two kids, ordered the grilled cheese, the apple salad with goat cheese and bib lettuce, and brisket sandwich. All were incredible and we ate them all up with no trace behind. The brisket was tender and had an enticing balance of tang and a hint of something sweet. The kids devoured the grilled cheese too! And the woman behind the counter recommended the salad because it was the lightest and she was spot on. So fresh, crisp and the dressing was perfectly seasoned (champagne vinegar?). We also stocked up on the refrigerated items...homemade salsa (OMG!) and guacamole. These tasted of summer!!! We'll be back again to sample the bar (maybe without kids this time!)- the navy backsplash looked sexy! I want to try to many other things on the menu so we'll be back for sure.

Enjoyed a delicious lunch here with my cousin. Everything was wonderfully fresh and the menu has yummy, innovative options sure to satisfy everyone in your party! The place itself is a nicely decorated welcoming, expansive environment. And they offer both indoor and outdoor dining options. Will definitely be coming back!

A hidden gem. Pleasant laid back neighborhood cafe/restaurant. Food consistently good made fresh with generous portions-which offsets the higher prices. Good place to meet friends for lunch or late afternoon drinks.

I love this place. The food is quite good and the service is great! I've gone for both breakfast and lunch. It's a fun spot.

Breakfast sandwiches were good. Experience was horrific because they let a relatively large dog in and didn't either leash, subdue or expel it. We came in and they were petting it. We walked in with our leashed service dog, and the dog, already in there, ran up and attacked/bit our dog which was 1/3 the size. We grabbed our dog to protect it, but the damage was done since it was bitten by that community dog. They knew the owner. Although there was a little blood on our dog's back, we thought he was OK, but within 6 days our dog developed a cyst/infection and we had to send it to a vet ER.

This place has potential but they need to make adjustments. They should not put the dressing in the salad-- drenched it and almost untestable. Keep the dressing on the side would have been much better.

We really want to like this place, but the staff kill it for us. The two stars are for the solid food and drinks. I'd give negative stars for the staff if I could. We've been 4 times in the past 3 months...most recently this week. Our first visit was for lunch, the other three have been for breakfast. The food during our lunch visit was quite good. We had a sandwich, salad, quesadilla, and chicken tenders. But, the two young ladies working the counter didn't seem very interested in providing service to us, or the customers we were in line behind. For the next two visits, we opted for just coffee. Both visits were fairly early in the morning, and for both there was a young blond woman working the counter. She was far from friendly, but got the job done efficiently, getting us a quality cappuccino and Americano quickly. This week's visit though finally pushed us to the "won't go back" category. We arrived around 8:30 for coffee and breakfast. We could see two folks cooking, but there was nobody at the counter. After a few minutes, one of the folks cooking poked his head behind a wall then came back. Almost immediately the same young blond woman we've seen before stepped around the corner, looked at us, then stood leaning against the counter looking at her phone. At least a full minute went by before she put her phone in her pocket and then sauntered up to the counter...not walked, definitely sauntered. She greeted us by way of a wordless glance and frown. We ordered 2 breakfast burritos, an Americano, and a Cortado.  She was quick making our coffee drinks, as usual. Then she went back to her phone as we all waited for the food. When the burritos were finished, she wordlessly handed them to us then sauntered away, leaving us feeling as though we'd inconvenienced her something terrible. It was something to see...and experience. And, that was quite enough for us. Won't be back, and won't recommend this place to others.

Absolutely the best BLT! Very good beer selection. And they have Nitro Cokd Brew. Covered all the bases!

Will. Not. Be. Back. What's this place got to offer? $11 beers. Undercooked, overpriced food. Incompetent owners. Rude employees. AC still isn't working after over a year of being open. Bathroom is always either out of TP or paper towels. You have to walk to the bar to order when you're literally the only customer in the entire place. No thanks. There's way too much competition right down the road in Tysons--better prices, better service, better environment. Nice try with the remodel and rebrand, but it's a waste of time to go here. The female manager/owner asked us why we keep coming back--great question. We won't be back. Good luck recouping your investment, ma'am--the bar/restaurant industry just isn't your thing.

Stumbled upon this gem after some car trouble and trying to avoid traffic. Great food, great service, and friendly staff. Try the Johnny's Lemonade!

Olivia is such a sweet young member of your team!!! I'm so used to drink coffee from local shops around NYC. She tried her best to deliver an iced latte salted caramel coffee, She may not be a barista but that coffee was superb! I come back every weekend now for it! You guys have awesome staff members (Specially Olivia) amazing food!!!

Bright, sunny place with friendly staff and delicious food. The brisket sandwich is outstanding, and the cocktails are excellent. There's also a small grocery section with some good stuff.