As a vegan -- I love this place. Staff was very knowledgeable about vegan options. Affordable / great value ($8ish for a HUGE bowl with tofu and beans and rice). I did "create your own" .. vegan options that i got= Arcadian mix lettuce, roots rice, black beans, broccoli, red onion, tomatoes, cucumber, bbq tofu, olive oil/lemon & lime dressing. The bbq tofu was the best tofu I've had in my life. read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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Roots! I heard it was founded by UVA alumni. Quality, taste, and price. All fantastic. They offer vegan option and other options for everyone with a plentiful, filling quantity. read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - El Jefe with sweet potatoes instead of black beans - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

I love these bowl places. Almost everything is gluten free. Lots of food for prices that are more than reasonable. Go with the standard bowl or salad or customize to your heart's content. Municipal parking around the corner. Well worth the trip. read more

Absolute MUST if you are in town. It's essentially an American version of Cava/ Mezeh (for those of you who aren't fans of the spices or the kick). If you're not sure, el jefe is the way to go. You can substitute as you wish!! read more

Thank you Roots for being a healthy and delicious lunch option that delivers to U.Va hospital and keeps all of us nourished during our work days. I always look forward to a healthy roots bowl and enjoy mixing up all the fresh ingredients to make my own custom bowl. The red miso tofu is so delicious! I always enjoy an array of fresh greens, delicious vegetables, feta, and yummy homemade dressings. read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - Custom bowl with kale, Arcadian mix, beets, broccoli, sweet potatoes, pita chips, tofu, and feta with lemon tahini dressing. - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Incredible food and quick service-- you really can't go wrong with Roots. This has been one of my top lunch places in Charlottesville for years. Just be weary of the long lines at lunch and to avoid going at peak hours. I highly recommend the black tea and getting the BBQ tofu on top of the el jefe. I also always mix in pesto with the el Jefe for even more added flavor. I love the mix of crunch with the kale and the savoriness of the rice, tofu and avocado. Overall, I crave this specific bowl all the time and never get tired of roots ! read more

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Disclaimer I am currently in NYC, but went to school in Charlottesville. I recently came here during a weekday lunch rush with a couple of alumni. We walked up around 2 pm and waited in a line we were not expecting for about 20 minutes. It may seem intimidating, but it moves quick. We chatted as we were in line and soon it as our turn. The ordering style is very similar to a Chipotle; I opted to make my own bowl, but had previously ordered the El Jefe and was a huge fan. I threw in some brown rice, kale, garbanzo beans, corn, beets, roasted squash, broccoli, and chicken with a splash of the Lemon Tahini. It was as wonderful as I remember! It was super filling (easily could be two meals and during my undergrad years had made that work repeatedly), the chicken was juicy, the ingredients are all fresh and replenished very frequently. I love the rice, beans, and chicken mixture and with the added vegetables was an absolute rager in my mouth. There is a huge dispenser of water that is always super refreshing and never out. Needless to say, I love Roots and it's one of the main things I miss about UVA (besides the Rotunda, of course). Next time, I will continue making my own bowl, but may grab two -- one for now and one for the road! Stay awesome!! read more

Roots was the first restaurant on the Corner I went to when I first started at UVA, and it'll remain one of my favorite food places forever. Started locally at its Corner location, Roots offers beautiful bowls and salads with wholesome, nourishing add-ins, homemade dressings, and protein/grill options customizable for each customer. The barbecue tofu here made me start liking tofu, it's that good! I always get mine with the sweet potatoes and broccoli since they're cooked amazingly. Roots will have a line out the door without fail every day, but it's well worth the quick wait. Perfect for a lunch on the go or casual get-together, and now you can order with the app and pick up quickly at their to-go location just around the corner (literally). It's a staple for UVA students and residents! read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - diy kale bowl with bbq tofu, broccoli, sweet potato, chickpeas, goat cheese, and red onion in lemon tahini dressing - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Delicious basic meal! I got el jefe with chickpeas and spinach. This is my first time trying it, and it's better than I expected. It's nothing amazing, but it's definitely worth at least a try. Only thing is that they barely added any avocado :( the pita chips added a fun tasty crunch. Definitely give it a try! read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

If you are looking for a healthy meal, big portion sizes, and convenient ordering, look no further. Roots has very easy ordering through their app or their storefront, and multiple pickup locations around grounds. The bowls are heavily customizable, so there is truly something for everyone. My favorite bowl is the Pesto Caesar, which is on the lighter side (trending more towards salad than grain bowl). The dressing has a nice acidity and the flakes of parmesan combined with crunchy pita chips give great flavor and texture. I always opt for the BBQ Tofu instead of the chicken, which is a little dry for my taste. However, the tofu is phenomenal. I find that I can never seem to finish a Roots bowl, so for me the price isn't quite worth it. However, this is a great spot for a meal on the Corner, and I would highly recommend to anyone who wants healthy yet incredibly flavorful food. read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - Pesto Caesar - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Underwhelming overpriced "healthy" food. Mainly flavored rice with some bland roughly chopped veggies in some sauce. Great concept poorly executed in a cafeteria like setting- strongly recommend other options if flavor, comfort and taste are your thing. read more

The veggies were fresh and crunchy. I love stopping here for lunch. Parking isn't too far of a walk either. Overall, it was satisfying. I would return for sure read more

Music is way too loud inside and almost every time I'm in, someone new is training and has to awkwardly reiterate my order back so many times because they can't hear me. I feel so bad for them! The food is great though so it's a minor inconvenience. read more

I'm completely addicted to the Southern Bowl, which has a Roots rice base, BBQ tofu, kale, chickpeas, roasted broccoli, charred white corn, lime pickled onions, lemon tahini dressing, and white cheddar cubes. The broccoli is roasted to perfection, the BBQ tofu adds great flavor, and the cheddar cubes melt deliciously when heated up again. I've tried their other bowls before but none can top the Southern for me. The portions are massive and always last me at least two meals. The lines are ridiculously long, but the food is worth the wait! read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - The Tamari bowl (top) and Southern bowl (bottom) - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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Updated my review because of the fix. I still enjoy the restaurant and take out very much. Thank you!

I love roots! The food is super healthy, filling, and tastes great! There are signature salads but I choose to customize my own and add whatever I want. If you go this route you're only allowed 5 toppings (+protein) so use them wisely! The sweet potato is amazing would highly recommend. It's about $10 for lunch so not too bad. There is seating upstairs in a open and clean environment with lots of natural wood. If you want to do work there is free wifi. There is limited seating outside but it's great on a beautiful day. If you're trying to go here during lunchtime you might have to wait a while as the undergrads will lineup around the block for the food. While this is a good sign that Roots is great, opt for ordering ahead online so it's ready when you get there! read more

Always my Go To when visiting my son at UVA! Mother's Day Weekend I was able to get the whole family onboard so it was Roots Bowls all around! Rave reviews!! read more

Super fresh ingredients, full of flavor! Their upstairs dining area is open again for seating inside. Parking is always a pain but if you're in the area it's definitely worth stopping by for a great fast casual meal packed with veggies, protein, and healthy grains. If you have kids, this place is an awesome value as each and every kid gets a free bowl (even if I'm just getting one adult entree for myself. No arguing, each kid gets to eat what they want to eat I love it!) read more

The food is good, and the core items are healthy. That being said, folks should know the vegan options are really NOT vegan. 1) The tofu options are fried on the same grill as the meat ... how is that vegan? 2) There are no dedicated metal mixing bowls to make vegan items, so cross-contamination is likely. I will say that the staff is forthcoming with how they prepare their bowls, so this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. read more

Roots is a fast casual style place; if you have ever been to a Sweetgreen or Sweetleaf or even Mezeh or Cava, it will seem familiar. That said, wow, really tasty meals! You can order a make your own bowl and pick and choose proteins, bases, toppings and dressings or you can choose from one of their pre-defined choices. They have a number of pre-defined choices to choose from. I picked the Balboa which came with brown rice, sweet potatoes, corn, avocado, pita chips, onions, tahini, chicken and hot sauce along with a few more items. Really tasty, really fresh. Looking forward to going back... read more

Eating healthy not only is beneficial to our bodies, but it can also taste good! This place does exactly both! They specialize in unique salads. Lots of vegetarian/vegan options as well. You can build your own salad or choose one from the menu. Everything can still be customized regardless. It's conveniently located by UVA. Parking can be limited but there is a parking garage nearby. This place can get packed, very packed. The line will be out the door! It's so worth the wait!! My favorite salad here in El Jefe. Sorta reminds me of a chipotle bowl, but way better! Beans, rice, chicken, corn, cilantro, and so much more. The portions are large and very filling. All of the ingredients are fresh.Their tofu here is also really good. Great alternative if you do not want any meat. This is an awesome place for a healthy, filling meal. You can't go wrong with salad! No matter which one you choose! Roots is one of my favorite places to eat at whenever I'm in Charlottesville. read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - Both are El Jefe! Our favorite! - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

the best bowl place in cville without competition. that should go without saying. I've tried to recreate many a time and it does not match the flavor and freshness of roots. However- a few things to be aware of. The location sucks unless you live on the corner. No parking, inconvenience, etc. the to-go location helps, but the parking issue isn't mitigated. Also- these have gotten SO MUCH more expensive over the past few years. what used to be $8.75 when they opened is now double that. I get supply chain and wage increase, but double?! if you're downtown or at the hospital, rumor has it that there's a 1x per day pickup location, but you have to order early. read more

Roots is generally good, but I will not be returning after today. After messing up my friends and I orders twice, I come home to find my bowl is literally just a bowl of spinach and rice with no other ingredients... absolutely not going back after this experience. read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - Ordered an el jefe, got a bowl of spinach - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Awesome awesome awesome. I came here today to pick up a quick lunch. Parking wasn't the easiest in the area but I managed to find some street parking. When I walked up to the place I was a bit hesitant as the line was basically out the door. However, it was such a fast moving line! I was probably in line and out the door in all of 5 minutes. I got the Corner Cobb which was absolutely delicious. He asked me if I wanted to change anything so I assume that's a typical thing people do. It was great just the way it was. The biggest thing that surprised me was how much food it was. The salad is gigantic and my boyfriend (who got the Mayfair) was full before he even finished the salad. Highly recommend this spot. It's awesome! Can't wait to comeback and try more salads. read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - Cobb salad with corn avocado chicken sweet potatoes and cucumber - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

I mean I love Roots just as much as the next guy. I typically build my own bowl which is kinda similar to the El Jefe (sometimes the staff will mistake my bowl for an El Jefe w/o avocado lol) but anyways it's just a very solid place to grab a quick lunch or whateva. I'm not typically a salad person so I like how you can easily customize the bowls here to be more on the grains side. I'm used to trying to avoid the lunch or dinner rush since the line does get pretty long and depending on the weather, I'm not sure if I'd think it's worth the wait. But the times that I have waited in the line outside, it usually goes by faster than you'd expect. The only thing I'd have to critique is that ~sometimes~ the chicken is dry but like... it's not like horrible. It's still a great meal, but it could just be a little better sometimes! read more

My favorite spot when I head to cville! I love the el Jefe and I ask for the works ! Loved it and great staff read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - El Jefe was amazing - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Overall, a-ok. I had the El Jefe with BBQ tofu, and husband had the Tamari bowl. My portion was about 30% bigger than his, no clue why. I found my bowl totally lacking flavor- and I took it "all the way" with lime and Tabasco. The whole thing needed some salsa or cilantro to really taste like a Mexican-style bowl. The brown rice was a bit dry too, so overall just not that good. The Tamari bowl was much better, although we doctored it up with dumpling sauce from the place next door. They mix all the salad ingredients together and top it with the proteins. I like that with salads, but not as much with grain bowls. The rice really absorbs all the flavor and I prefer to create my own bites rather than have all my food premixed for me... Ingredient quality was pretty good. The dressings need to be amped up! N.B. they do something I really like, where if you use a less expensive ingredient they credit the full value (so tofu instead of chicken saves $.40ish). Great for vegetarians out there. read more

What a wacky gig! Lineup like at TSA, and watch your saladic elements tossed about in big bowl rituals, handed along a line, then finally inverted, ceremoniously, into your own cardboard pack-and-play porta-bowl. Felt like Henry Ford became Henry Food. But it's good. Jefe's got flavor, (light in kale thanks), built on 3/4 bedrock rice. Flavor and filling. Fresh and fast. And you can favor the all-green offerings if full Veg is your bent. No wonder the place is busy. And yes, the music was tooo loud upstairs for 2pm on a weekday. What's the message- 'my ears are too sensitive', or 'eat and run'? read more

Picked up takeout from Roots today since I was already in the area. I don't have Roots very often, simply because parking is non-existent. I lucked up today and found a 15 minute spot and ran in. There were only a couple of people ahead of me in line, so I took advantage. I created my own bowl, but next time will just have a Southern, but swap sweet potatoes for chick peas. I don't dislike the chick peas, just prefer sweet potatoes in the combination. It consisted of rice and kale as the bases, lemon tahini dressing, chicken (but like the BBQ tofu too), charred corn, pickled onions, sweet potatoes, white cheddar, and roasted broccoli. It was perfection! Definitely prefer takeout over the crowded indoor space (prior to COVID-19). read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - Brown rice and kale, chicken, sweet potatoes, corn, broccoli, white cheddar, and pickled onions - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Be still my heart, good! I love this small chain and wish they'd open one closer to home! Virginia Beach or Norfolk would work!!! read more

Obsessed with this spot! Have it at least once a week. Huge portions and delicious ingredients. You can't go wrong with any of the menu items or by making your own! read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - Mushroom Build Your Own- Grain Bowl or Salad - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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Obsessed with this place. I have yet to have a bowl I didn't like. Consistent and always hits the spot!

The best salads I've ever had. HIGHLY recommend the mayweather or the pesto Ceaser, but you really can't go wrong with any of the menu items!! read more

Ever wondered what the best food in Charlottesville Va is? Well now you know, it's Roots. & it's not just any dish they serve ladies and gentlemen. What you want is the El Jefe, and yes you always ask for the works. Imagine if Chipotle & Cava had a baby, that would be the beautiful creation that is Roots / the El Jefe w/ the works. Parking isn't ideal, I just use the lot of the street or an open spot on street near the location. Have to watch out for a massive line of students, but other than that it's often possible to walk right in & immediately order. They're a bit more efficient than Chipotle because 80% of people probably just order the El Jefe -- so a line will move a bit quicker than you expect. Overall it's the best food in town in my opinion, and yes I am a local. PS I also ask for extra Tabasco on the side, which I then add to my bowl which spices it up even further than just adding "the works". read more

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Roots is always a solid choice if you're in the area. Can't go wrong with getting either one of their signature bowls or creating your custom one! Who can hate a meal where they get to pick everything they'd want on it? The portions are large and can even be used for two meals in a day - hitting two birds w one stone. read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - Corner Cobb - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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I always got the El Jefe during school, but recently tried making my own bowl which was pretty satisfying. I was a little disappointed because they did run out of one of the ingredients I wanted (I would've had to wait for them to make a new batch), but overall the quality of the ingredients and the portions they provide are very good. I do need to point out that wait times vary not only on the line, but also on who is working - I've had very long waits for short lines and very short waits for long lines. read more

- line goes out the door during peak hours but service is relatively fast - seating area is spacious upstairs but fills up quickly - my go to is el jefe but i sub out 3 of the toppings for other options to fit my preferences - they have the "good" ice if anyone cares about that read more

My food was ready for pickup early which was so convenient since parking is interesting at the pickup location. My food was warm and they actually gave me plenty of dressing this time (sometimes I wish they'd given more but not this time!) I always enjoy Roots, and I usually get the same custom bowl every time, but this time I got pickled onions too and they added a nice new flavor! read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - custom bowl!! - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Wow!!! This food was really good and fresh. I love all the options they have to customize your food. The taste was delicious, the price was good for the amount, and I was so full! read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - Make your own with barbecue tofu and mushrooms - New American Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

I ordered for the first time through the Wednesday free group delivery to UVA and I was really impressed by my bowl! I did a build your own so I got everything I wanted- the bulgar was well flavored and the vegetables were fresh. I LOVED the cilantro/lime dressing and the tahini was also great. I will say having paid extra for both avocado and goat cheese, I was expecting a bit more. The goat cheese was pretty fine and seemed evenly distributed but I only got 4 little chunks of avocado which was disappointing. Otherwise, this was a great lunch and I'll definitely be ordering again! read more