Roots Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Vancouver

Let me start by saying that I understand and appreciate how much effort goes into making and serving delicious food and I want to support independent restaurants in Clark County as much as I can. I'm generally not very price sensitive when it comes to dining out and have happily paid five times as much for a meal without an ounce of regret. However, I left my first experience here thinking our dinner was overpriced. Let me explain why I felt that way.

We walked in about 15 minutes before dinner service began, fully anticipating that we might need to have a drink at the bar until the dining room was open. The host kind of panicked and made an odd quip about having to find someone else due to not being paid enough to seat people for dinner. The other host appeared flustered by our early arrival and lack of reservations and ran off to see if it was okay for us to be seated at a table, even though I expressed that we were fine with hanging out in the bar area until dinner time. We thought it would be ok to come in a few minutes early since the website said they were open for happy hour, but it seemed like such as imposition that I wished we would have just sat in the car until 5pm!

Ordering something my husband can eat can be a challenge because he doesn't eat pork and shellfish for religious reasons and is extremely lactose intolerant. We read through the menu carefully to determine what he could have prior to ordering. A salad and an entree minus the side dishes was perfect. He also wanted a mug of hot water because his hands were cold and he doesn't like to drink coffee in the evening. This was admittedly a weird order, but the waiter seemed almost exasperated by it. He asked if he was gluten-free too in kind of a subtlely snarky way, came back to the table several times trying to suggest different side dishes, and generally made a big deal out of his dietary restrictions. Extra caution regarding allergies is fantastic, but it makes him uncomfortable when people blow requests out of proportion that are intentionally simple and don't require special preparation. I eat out frequently with friends who have various dietary restrictions, and I know they don't usually like to go back to places that treat them as if necessary alterations are bizarre or unreasonable.

All of our food was beautifully presented and the quality of the ingredients was excellent, however, the flavor and execution was uneven. For example, the bread was high quality, but was served chilly with unspreadable pats of butter straight from the refrigerator. The oil drizzed on the bean soup was delicious, but the soup itself was bland, as if the person who made it did not taste it and adjust the seasonings. My pork chop was extremely tough with no flavor, but I loved the delicious polenta and greens on the side. The beef spare ribs my husband ordered were fall-apart tender and tasty, so I definitely had entree envy!

The restaurant space itself is visually appealing and well-designed. The dining room wasn't very full, but seemed to have good accoustics for conversation (a rarity in the Pacific NW.) The seating layout is dense, but comfortably so, and everything was very clean. The bar area was hopping for happy hour and the cocktails looked good. Overall, I felt like the disappointing aspects of some of the dishes and the casual manner of service we experienced were a mismatch for the price point and atmosphere.

Since this was my first impression and other people seem to genuinely like it, this may have just been an off moment for them. Maybe they were in the middle of a shift change or something was going on like a large catering order that stressed out the staff. Nothing in particular was overtly terrible or a deal-breaker, but to me, the culmination of all the little details matter when considering where to spend time and money dining out. I really want to like this place, so I'm hoping my second trip to Roots will...

The food is good, not great as the price dictates. My spouse and I have gone to this restaurant three times in two years. Sadly we will not be returning. We had hoped to find a neighborhood restaurant to pop in for happy hour. The three occasions we went to Roots we primarily within the early Happy Hour time during the week. All three times we had the same server, appears a family member or friend of the owner given each time the waiter was beyond passive aggressive hostile. I have no other reason as to why someone would employ this type of server. He made it very clear that he does not approve of gay women. This was a significant barrier to enjoying the brief time we had for date night. Three inquires to place an order were necessary, . The angry response, completely ignoring our request for silverware to each our meal (resulting in removing utensils from the tables near where we sat). We asked alternate staff for silverware and were told they would let our server know we had none. Not sure why with eight other tables open we we sat at the only one not set with utensils. Requesting our check to leave sooner than later, was promptly delivered by half throwing no our table from more than a foot from the table. Sadly, intolerance will impact our choice to have a meal elsewhere and not recommend this restaurant if you are gay due to the significant difference in courtesy we experienced compared to how the server was very cordial, respectful to alternate tables of...

We have been going to Roots at least once a week for most of our 20 years in Camas (except the dark dismal year of the pandemic). It’s hands down our favorite place to relax, enjoy cocktails, wine (maybe both), great atmosphere, wonderful service, and ALWAYS some of the best food around. From Dungeness crab & avocado salad with a vermouth vinaigrette I have tried for 20 years to recreate, to the always perfect pan seared halibut, melt in your mouth buttery short ribs, and gorgeous tender juicy filet with housemade Worcestershire sauce, we keep coming back for more and are never less than blown away. We have come to savor the “Brad Root Bite”, taking a bit of each element served, meat, veg, sauce, starch, all on the fork at once, to enjoy the magical alchemy Roots has mastered in its compositions. And if given the chance, we NEVER pass on a small plate creation offered by young Chef Nate (the Great). His offerings are unique, fun and out of this world flavorful. Desserts, wines, wonderful cocktails, yes. All of it. Special occasions, yes. This is the one place our son wanted to come celebrate his 21st birthday, with good friends and great food. We cant recommend...