We had lunch at Local Roots this afternoon as we were waiting on the rain to pass... I really wanted to love this place. The atmosphere is cute - the menu is limited (1 burger, 3 sandwiches, 2 or 3 flatbreads and 2 salads). We ordered: 1 - the double cheeseburger, boring. Lots of meet but not much in the way of toppings. The pickle slice was nice. 2 - BLT, boring. Needs a sauce, even mayo. Would love to see palmetto cheese or avocado or cheddar. Spring mix is the wrong choice in lettuce as well. It turns into mush with the tomato. Nothing memorable. 3 - The Yardhouse, awkward. It was hard to eat with large chicken "cubes" and lots of white bbq sauce. Either keeping the chicken whole or using a shredded chicken would be better. 4 - Fries. 1 order would have been plenty to share among 3 people. They were the best part of the meal and came with a fry sauce. Another strike is that they don't brew their own tea. We're in the Deep South... some days the best thing we've got is fresh brewed tea at every turn. This was a nope... but on top of that the carbonation was "off" in the soda machine too. Good thing drinks are only $2. read more

3.5 stars. I had high hopes for this place. It's unfortunately underwhelming. The chicken and pimento cheese sandwich, the yardbird, was lacking seasoning. The bread was great and crispy, but the rest of the sandwich was uninspired. You couldn't even taste the pimento cheese. The fries were okay but needed more salt. With so much competition in town, I was hoping there would be more levels of flavor. The restaurant is very clean, which is always a plus for me. I've heard good things about the salads. Maybe go for one of those. read more

See all

This was my second time coming to Local Roots, and it definitely won't be my last. Their fried chicken sandwich (albeit a little colder than I remember last time) is to die for, and so are their fries; everything is seasoned to perfection. The inside is bright and appealing, and very clean. The cashier, Angeline, greeted us warmly and chatted with us while she took our orders; she was so personable and really elevated our experience. Will be back soon! read more

Today I ordered the yardbird sandwich with fries, a coke, and a cup of ranch. My total was 14.85. I don't mind paying more for quality food, but today's meal was not worth the price. I received a small portion of cold chicken and shredded cheddar (that was not pimento cheese). For nearly a $15 lunch I would expect my sandwich to at least be warm. read more

Local Roots - Yardbird sandwich - Sandwiches Near Me - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

See all

A very clean and spacious restaurant with both indoor and patio seating. Ample parking in shopping plaza surrounding restaurant. It has a chill hipster vibe in the choice of color and decor and music choice. Short menu but ample options to choose from Sandwich prices are for sandwich only-no sides. I ordered the yardbird and the local roots double. Both were delicious! The house pickles-they really make the sandwich. Pimento cheese on the yardbird is made loose-not super thick but also not runny-didn't soak through the bread and held my chicken in place. Enjoyed both the atmosphere and the food-will go back again for sure. read more

See all

Excellent food and service. We will be back. The GM was great. Fresh and fast. The salad was fresh and delicious.

Love coming every time we visit our sons at UA! Great burgers and chocolate milkshake.

My mom and I went for lunch and it was delicious!! Angelique was so nice and welcoming.

Decided to stop by for lunch. Everything sounded so good I didn't know what choose but we ended up going for the chicken sandwich, the yardbird, a side of fries, and a vanilla milkshake. The chicken sandwich came with big thick pickles and sriracha aioli on it. It was crispy and good. The yardbird had pimento cheese, ranch, and pickles. The flavor was good, but it was completely drenched in sauce which made the bottom piece of toast soggy and hard to pick up. Also, there wasn't that much chicken on there. The fries have good flavor. Some pieces are softer while others are crispy but overall tasted good. My favorite part of the meal was my milkshake! So smooth and delicious. It isn't a super thick shake like I prefer but the vanilla flavor is good. The milkshakes aren't listed on their menu but they have chocolate, vanilla, butterscotch blonde, and strawberry lemon flavors. Overall didn't impress me enough to feel the need to come back but it was still good food read more

Local Roots - The yardbird - Sandwiches Near Me - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

See all

The Fried Chicken Sandwich was ok. Im not a fan of the sweet pickles. The sauce on the sandwich is good. Butterscotch Blondie shake was very good, not too sweet. $16.50 was the price (without fries) read more

Local Roots - Sandwiches Near Me - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

We happened onto Local Roots while visiting UofA and loved it. The sweet lady that took our order was so helpful and all smiles. The Fried Chicken was the best! My daughter devoured it. We don't have good chicken like this on the west coast. Wish we had a Local Roots back home. We will be back!! read more

The place was a quite noisy because of the ceramic tile everywhere. It was like eating at a Metallica concert under a railway junction next to an ammunition testing facility. They need to do some acoustical treatment. But omg that burger! 6/5 stars easily. read more

I love this place. It's the best drive thru burger around. Quality ingredients that you feel better about. The chicken tenders are hand battered and tossed if wanted. I love the side salad. And the grandaddy, hand cut fries are so good. I get extra of the siracha dipping sauce. I was surprised at how good the hummus is. The portions are just right. You can tell when food is made with love. We'll always be regulars here. Buffalo Chicken Tenders House Burger Caesar Salad read more

My family decided to give Local Roots a try today. I have heard other speak of it with mixed reviews and decided it was time to see what it had to offer. We tried a few different items from the menu the house burger, a Caesar salad and chicken tenders. The burger was fine but basic and boring. Slightly overcooked but I would give it a B+. It came with fries, which honestly looked like they were cooked the day before.- peel on variety and again just basic. They fries had no particular taste or seasoning to compliment. My daughters chicken tenders were definitely edible and the portion was just right for her, just a little dry for my taste. There was nothing unique or that stands out that would make me want to order them again. Finally, the salad was about as basic a Caesar salad as any I have had it was good - not great. The portion was good - not great. I got it with chicken which was good. - not great. The experience left me thinking. Shouldn't I be more impressed by the locally sourced ingredients - whatever that may be in Tuscaloosa, which is not know for having wide varieties of available veggies and meats in December and was this meal worth the inflated price I paid? BTW - Not a cheap lunch experience. All in all, I would say Local Roots is adequate, but overpriced. I didn't hate it, but I'm not sure I would spend the money to return. I really expected to see the owner showcase some culinary skills and creativity to go along with the "fresh local ingredients." Not just a special dip sauce or the pickle on a burger. Instead, I got something more akin to every other fast food dive in town. Every chain in town has come back sauce and pickles. Unfortunately for Local Roots, the other dives probably do their particular thing better. Give me a reason to come back. read more

Very good food! I had the Chicken Bacon Ranch flatbread and strawberry milkshake it was delicious! The place is very clean as well!

The food is decent but the pricing is absurd. Having been a few times with different people, I can't get anyone to come back with me and we often joke about going here. Not worth it whatsoever. Small dining room, small parking lot, high prices, small portions, and small menu all attribute to the low rating. read more

Very solid, fast, casual, clean and friendly service. A local lunch spot that consistently delivers quality food isn't trying to be anything gimmick. Highly recommend. read more

we did not enjoy this place at all. salad I could make at home by opening a few bags and small portion. chicken IN the salad had a super odd taste - stale almost. fries were inedible. like, sad one inch fries when you don't want to open a new bag so you just go "screw it let's give them the crumbs". fry sauce was bad. milkshake was comparable to a fast food milkshake which it shouldn't be with it's extraordinary list of supposed ingredients (I got the strawberry lemon one). boyfriend's buffalo chicken tenders were also comparable to fast food. food doesn't come with a side!! the sides cost 4$ extra!! like what? for that price point that's really unreasonable. man. what a shame; this place has all the makings of being a great little spot. it's puzzling, I'm not sure what the issue is. read more

Local Roots - small and sad order of "granddaddy fries". no salt detected. - Sandwiches Near Me - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Food and service is always amazing. My family and I Always love coming here!! The burger is always good, but I also recommend the weekly green salad! read more

We've always had a good experience coming to Local Roots for a fast-casual lunch when we are in town. Tuscaloosa has very few "non chain" restaurants and the food is always fresh, consistent and the service is very friendly! read more

Quick service, fresh food, not crowded! Really good! Also aesthetic and clean! Love! Will be going back read more

Local Roots - fried chicken sandwich with buffalo sauce - Sandwiches Near Me - Tuscaloosa, Alabama

See all

Locally sourced ingredients, made from scratch & everything on the menu is delicious. If you're looking for McDonald's prices & quality... I'm sure there's one down the street. read more

Burgers are wonderful. The service was great and fast. The ambiance was relaxing and restaurant was clean.

Very good service. Fries are outstanding! Didn't care for the hamburger at all. Strange smoky flavor. It's a nice clean restaurant. Just maybe order something different. Will try again. read more

Me and my family went here and all of us were disappointed. They burned my burger, and my brothers and grandmothers fried chicken, how do you burn it? Who knows. My burger was bland, no taste. I've heard great things about their burgers but was misleaded. The food is way to overpriced and rather have a McDonald's burger than there's. read more

The food is always super fresh. Rarely ever have to wait long. Their milkshakes are unique and delicious. Wish they would do seasonal menu items or limited time cause they do have a fairly small menu. read more

Burger was way overcooked. Their house burger is a well designed one and could be a very good burger if there was a little pink in the middle and juicy but it was dry . read more

This was great. Think fast food but elevated. I got the fried chicken sandwich and my wife got some sort of warm sandwich, split the fries. Will be coming back here again. read more

Our new go-to pandemic drive-through (which is saying something for self-professed foodies)! The burgers and chicken sandwiches are AMAZING--the quality of the meat is on point. If you go at off hours, the fries aren't terribly fresh (hence 4 instead of 5 stars), but still tasty. Sauces are delish. Can't wait to try other menu items. It may be a limited menu, but what they do, they do well! read more

We did not enjoy this place at all. I had their chili and chicken salad sandwich. Both lacked flavor and very unimpressive. My wife's hamburger was terrible. The fries weren't that bad. They used sea salt which was different, but I liked it. The menu is very small. Not a lot to choose from. Prices are a little high for what we had ordered. We threw half our food away. read more

Great service. Great food. Great environment. The french fries are the best ! Absolutely love this place !

As another reviewer posted, the food is okay, but the pricing is unreal. I went through the drive-thru, assuming for a $9 burger, it would at least come with fries, but was surprised to drive away with a $13+ meal after adding a side of fries. The fries were great, but the burger was just okay. The meal certainly wasn't worth $13. The menu is relatively limited, so you'd think the few things they do serve would be exceptional. read more

Local Roots is one of my new favorites and I simply cannot believe I took so long to visit! Everything on their menu is outstanding. They have the best salads in town. The service is top-notch, their staff is incredible, and their management is stellar. They also have a drive-thru! read more

The service was fast, but the employees are incredibly rude and talked about each of our orders as if we weren't there. It was disrespectful knowing that we were getting judged by what we ordered from the employees. Wont be going there again!!! read more

I like my side salads, they made a comment about how all my friends and I only got side salads, kind of passive aggressive. And honestly the salad was not even good. Next time don't make comments about 7 girls ordering side salads?????!!! read more

There is nothing quite like a meal with Local Roots! From the several times I've visited, I know there are smiles, cleanliness, quality, and a good meal waiting on me. It is a necessary and planned stop when I'm in Tuscaloosa! read more

One of (if not THE) best burger in Ttown. Fries are great too! Their salad is also phenomenal. Like the option of being able to sit outside, as well. read more