Roots Natural Kitchen — Restaurant in Chapel Hill

For months I walked by Roots after they opened thinking it was probably just some millennial overrated type of salad place, but was then lured in by all my friends raving reviews. I am a die hard Chipotle fan but the flavors and ingredients Roots offers knocks Chipotle right off its pedestal for me.

They have signature bowls but as a picky eater, I’m not a fan of the hassle that is substituting certain items so I choose to build my own. You choose your base of greens/rice/mix of both, add up to five toppings (my go-to’s are the roasted broccoli, pickled onions, roasted corn, cucumber, and roasted sweet potatoes), choose any amount of whichever sauces you want (my personal favorites are light caesar and light lemon tahini), and your protein. I am not an adventurous menu taster and normally stick with one or two items, but at Roots I feel compelled to try everything.

Besides the food, the staff is also so incredibly sweet and generous. Maya and Tyler always give spectacular service and it makes me smile to see them when I walk in because I know I’ll get treated well! The music is also so good, which is kind of a strange thing to comment on but my friends and I always bring up the excellent music taste of whoever’s in charge of aux. Lastly, the interior is just so cool. Complementary colors of blue and orange greet you as you walk in, with contemporary light fixtures hanging over the seats. It’s all around my new favorite place to go and I couldn’t...

Update, 2 years later: I still consistently eat here. My tastes have evolved to fixate on sour savory foods so I tend to get any bowl, swap an ingredient for pickled onions, swap something less substantial for broccoli or sweet potato, and add multiple squeezes of chipotle tabasco and lime. And I’ll take some chipotle tabasco on the side. I really appreciate how enabling they are for this level of customization. I highly recommend this combo if it piques your interest.

Once I got raw chicken here, which scared me off their chicken for a while. — Great, but expensive! Everything tastes great, but I wish the proportions leaned less towards rice and more towards the protein, especially for the price. Still, I got a decent meal and a solid snack out of the leftovers. I highly recommend the...

After receiving a coupon I decided to check out Roots Kitchen and omg!! Once you go here you will never and I mean NEVER go back to other bowl building spots again!! Everything is super fresh, filling, and so good! I got a mix of the El jefe and El Apollo, so tons of spinach, kale, chickpeas, Chicken, feta, cucumbers, avocado, black beans, corn, feta, and red onions! Wow! Every bite was sooo good and again so fresh! I would recommend checking out the sauces by the drinks as the bowls, well at least mine, was a little dry. The sauces helped bring out the flavors.

They give you a lot of food, so be ready for two or three meals. I would come here every day if I could as the food was just that good! Please open up one in Raleigh so I can do that..lol.

A must go to for fresh and...