Rootz Soul Café — Restaurant in North Lauderdale

This new restaurant has been on my list of places to try since they opened relatively close to my house. I am sorry I waited so long, this place far exceeded my expectations and I am already planning my next visit and I haven’t even finished my review of it yet. Located just north of commercial on 441 in a lively shopping plaza with plenty of parking, this cozy counter service location has 2 very inviting tables in a charming cafe setting that provided the perfect place to enjoy our feast. The main thing that drew me was that they serve the award winning famous “Atlas Monroe Chick’n” (Atlas Monroe Chick’n recently won a fried chicken contest versus other real fried chicken). So naturally the “ultimate fried Chick’n sandwich was our first choice. The sandwich came we choice of sweet potato or regular fries and with this we chose the sweet potato fries that came with a side of vegan marshmallow fluff. The fries were plentiful and crispy and the sauce was very sweet and delicious. The Chick’n itself was the crispiest crunchiest and juiciest vegan chicken I have ever had, each bite I took, I could taste and feel why this was such an award winning well known vegan chicken. It came with a Buffalo sauce and we added a little bit more because it was so good as we were not afraid to get a little messy with this sandwich in the name of more spice, and it came with vegan ranch dressing on the side that was very cooling. The perfect mix of spices and sweetness and sauces, made this platter a cant miss! The other sandwich we tried was Chick’n Ranch with Avocado (I also added vegan bacon to it). We are not sure if this was Atlas Monroe Chick’n or not, because she did mention they have another kind of Chick’n as well, and we were so deep into a vegan foodgasm we didn’t care if it was or wasn’t, but it was definitely cooked differently and sauced very differently, which was good because it showed that 2 Chick’n sandwiches from the same place can be very very different. The difference was incredible as the avocado ranch and bacon on the Chick’n patty just melted in my mouth with each bite. I chose to pair this with the classic fries and as it complimented the sandwich well and served as a good contrast for the other platter we had ordered. Last but not least the fried broccoli which came with fried red peppers was a knock out appetizer, so good, definitely try it with the vegan ranch or any of the other home made sauces they have. After we ordered we were told a of a few “off menu” items they had a specials for “soul food Sunday” but because of popularity they decided to make “soul food Sunday” everyday! As the really friendly woman behind the counter told us about the tempeh ribs and bbq Chick’n (not Atlas Monroe) and the sides they have for them too, we realized we were planing our next visit, and why not? The food was out of the world, the value for what we spent and got was unreal as the appetizer was only $6 and the amount of food we got for that was plentiful and my picture does not do it justice on how much they gave you. The sandwiches were $16 each and large pieces of Chick’n and fries. We also had a Groupon for $10 off so our total was under $40 and we left with full bellies and left overs too! I can’t wait to go back! The food was incredible, the dine in experience was enjoyable and the staff very friendly and well informed about what they serve. Warning while all the sauces and cheeses and dressings are vegan, they do serve some real fish and real shrimp, but assure me it is prepared separately. They do also have vegan shrimp and beyond meat there too, that they do as wraps, burgers or platters. The other thing I like about the place is they have salads and other sides as options and I look forward to trying them all. Run, don’t walk and try this out of the world ULTIMATE CHICK’N SANDWICH. 2 vegan thumbs up 👍 👍 (checking for more...

tbh i don’t usually write reviews, but i’m here to say something positive because i don’t think this restaurant deserves the amount of negative reviews it has online. i’ve been quite a few times over the past year or two and there was only one time i was disappointed, and it was because i decided to switch up my usual order and try something i never had before. to which the staff kindly accommodated me and gave me a different meal, which they didn’t have to do. the girl who is usually at the front is nice, and obviously young. i’ve seen her there in her school uniform before, so shout out to her for working after a full day of school (which is work in itself). people seem to complain about the staff not being nice but dude, be realistic. yeah its not chic fil a service but this is a small (family owned?) business. cut them some slack, they don’t have to jump for joy when you walk in or kiss the ground you walk on. just get your food and move along. in my experience none of them have been outright mean.

i don’t understand the complaints about the prices either, i think everything is fairly priced especially considering its a vegan restaurant. i got beyond tacos for $12.. how is that overpriced? if i go to a place like tacocraft i’ll be paying $20+. go anywhere and get an impossible or beyond burger and you’re definitely spending $20 at the LEAST and it wont be as good as it is here. how cheap are you guys expecting a menu to be???

lots of complaints about veggies not being fresh/oil old which is strange to me, never experienced that myself. chicken, burgers, and fries have all been amazing to me. but honestly as a person who has worked in the food service industry for years, its understandable and not always the restaurant’s fault when the produce IS a little off. people fault and blame small businesses for EVERY TINY THING and then get upset when they all shut down and there’s nothing to eat but mcdonalds. like jeez do you guys bash the mainstream restaurants this way too? these are people not robots, even the food you make yourself at home is hit or miss sometimes. do YOU deserve 1 star too?

lastly, all the complaints about seating is ridiculous too. its a small take out restaurant. its not meant for dine in and they don’t need more seating. its clean, good music, and a chill area to wait for your order. take your food and go home or go to a park or something and eat lol its not that serious. i have never been inside this place and seen both tables occupied so clearly there is no need for more. thats like complaining that the chinese take out restaurant doesn’t have more tables or servers… like clearly it is not meant for that and thats perfectly fine.

anyways the beyond tacos are to die for, i thought the toppings sounded weird at first and i usually hate cucumber but there’s something about this combo that makes my mouth water. the fries are soooo good too. this has been my favorite local vegan spot since i moved to this area a few years back. keep up the good work! if you’ve never been to Rootz you NEED to try it. so so good. i’ve put a friend onto this place and she was obsessed as well. YALL ARE AMAZING! wish i had...

UPDATE

After returning several times to try various items I found the attitude to be horrendous. Not just to me, but to other customers. They said things to new customers, in front of me, which i won't mention here. Sometimes they just ignore people for extensive amounts if time when they walk in. NEVER A SMILE, nor even a hello and VERY impatient(now I experienced what other reviewers were saying).

The food is very hit or miss (however never GREAT) and always mediocre, or sometimes even poor, quality[old veggies, old oil, begond meat ...definitely does not warrant those prices). I also see the workers bringing delivery of meat entrees into the "vegan" kitchen. If there are more than two couples dining in, there is nowhere to sit (just two tables). This is not a place I would return to nor recommend.

Original Review I went in not knowing what to expect as based on the extremely positive and some extremely negative reviews. The service was very pleasant. The person who came out of the kitchen to greet me when I entered was kind enough to explain the menu to me since I had some concerns based on the fact that I don't eat beyond products. She was very patient and showed me the tofu as well as tempeh rib and salad options. I had the ribs dinner which was decent and obviously cooked with a lot of heart / attention to detail.

I found the food to be quite pricey, especially for the very basic/bare bones ambiance, location, fact that it is not table service, and that it seems to be trying to appeal to people of a modest income. There's also "a bit" of a problem if an establishment cannot accommodate more than two couples who want to dine in.

I would return to try another item made in-house and maybe the mac n' cheese, which they were out of, and because it's quite crucial to support local, socially and environmentally...