1st time here and safe to say I will deff be coming back with friends in tow! The staff here was friendly, the bowl I got was amazing and the inside is very open and inviting. I got the El Jefe with the works, I didn't know what that meant but he proceeded to squeeze half a lime, put half an Avacado, a couple different sauces, pita chips, and started mixing it all in with the regular stuff that bowl comes with. All of it was amazing and I can't wait to try more things but idk I loved that one so much I may just get the same thing. So hard to choose, deff stop by if you want something fresh and packed with flavor! Puts Kava and Chipotle to SHAMEE!! read more

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I love Roots Natural Kitchen. It's a good spot to get a wholesome fast casual meal. My go-to order is the Balboa bowl. You have to get this, it is SOOO yummy. I've tried their other bowls like the super yummy El Jefe and a spring special bowl (blanking on the name). If you don't want to get one of their signature bowls, you can always build-your-own. I usually am a build-your-own girlie, but something about the way they do it at Roots you want one of their signatures for sure. It has a similar flow to a Cava or Chipotle. They serve grain and salad based bowls here. They people who work here are always sweet too. I highly recommend getting a yummy meal from here. I always have leftovers. read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - Balboa - New American Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

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Portions are huge! Good quality food and I don't feel guilty about this being my guilty pleasure. You can create your own and custom to your allergies. I have severe gluten and dairy allergies and never had an issue with that here. Service is pretty typical - some are super friendly and the others you can tell are just there for the check which is fine. Always feel clean and I like the natural ambiance and setting. read more

This was one of my go-to places as a student at VCU and I'm so glad I got to stop by here on my visit to Richmond. It's still is one of the best bowl spots I've eaten at and I'd die for the cilantro vinaigrette recipe! Always fresh and the tofu is sooo yummy! read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - Tofu bowl - New American Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

After starting a 21-day fast where I only ate fruits, veggies, and water, I was excited to explore new restaurants that aligned with my reset. Roots Natural Kitchen in The Fan was my first stop but unfortunately, the experience didn't start strong. Walking in at 2pm, I expected a clean dining area. Instead, every single table was dirty. Not one table was wiped down, and there were no customers dining in. With a full staff behind the counter, I was confused why cleanliness wasn't a priority. At that point, I understood why most people were grabbing takeout. I ordered the Southern Bowl with BBQ tofu and asked to have the tofu and sauce on the side. The request was ignored as both were mixed into the bowl. The flavor was decent, but the tofu and sauce were heavy-handed. A little balance goes a long way, especially on a clean fast. Overall, the food had potential, but the environment didn't match my expectations. I'd give Roots another try but at a different location. Cleanliness matters just as much as taste. read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - BBQ Tofu Bowl Southern Style - New American Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

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Great patient and helpful service, excellent healthy options, comfortable ambiance. I will be back! read more

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

My coworker and I got an order delivered today from Uber Eats. I had never tried this place, but I was really looking forward to it based on the rave reviews from my coworker. I decided on a custom bowl with chicken, brown rice, spinach, arcadian, black beans, broccoli, corn, red onion, cucumber, cheddar and avocado with cilantro lime dressing. The bowl looked great, so I couldn't wait to dive in. I became suspicious when I bit into two different pieces of chicken that both had a gooey consistency, indicating that they were not fully cooked. Then I almost choked on a huge bone that was sticking out of another piece of chicken (see picture). The salad lacked dressing as well. Based on this, I cannot recommend this location and would not order from them again. read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - Huge chicken bone - New American Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

It was our first time, employees very helpful and all had great energy. Our bowls were great! read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - El Jefe and The Southerner both with miso tofu and added sweet potato; delicious! - New American Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

The bowl was very underwhelming!! Not much flavor just a mush of salad with protein on top. It had the tahini and pesto dressing my husband had the lemon Zaatar and that was a bit better. Overall Disappointing read more

Literally one of the best salad bowl places! They always have welcoming people, that just makes the place even better. That particular Roots location is super cool, it is a historical building of past business in downtown Richmond and they have made it such a beautiful place to hangout and eat some good clean, healthy food. I could seriously live off of Roots lol. read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - My favorite bowl aka the El Jefe bowl with the works! - New American Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

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Had Roots catered at an event a couple times, but had never visited and ordered myself until this time. I thought it was great. read more

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

Food was decent and healthy, kind of overpriced and not yummy kinda blows this sucks!

$1000 for a free bowl? What a rewards program! $250 for a free drink! This is insulting to regulars and the City of Richmond. This is you pay back loyal patrons. read more

Delicious and nutritious!! The place is like a cava but instead of burritos they're custom grain or salad bowls. I usually make a custom bowl but this past week I got the Balboa which was great very flavorful with lots of meat! No matter what bowl I get I always have enough for 2 meals. I love the vast variety of toppings they have available to add into your bowl! It's a casual place, they have limited seating inside but I typically will walk mine over to Monroe Park! read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - Balboa - New American Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

Food was great...... But seriously in need of a scrub from top to bottom, I don't think the tables have been cleaned in the years since they opened and has that stickiness that comes from years of use.... And if the bathroom doesn't have a homeless person sleeping in there.... From that smell there is something seriously wrong with the plumbing. Won't be back ... Which is a shame as the food was good. read more

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

The food is great and very filling. Super helpful staff / bowl creators. I had the "Jaiden" which is a crossover between the mayweather and corner cobb (not 100% sure). A create-your-own bowl by Jaiden who was nervous I wouldn't like it, but I didn't like it; I LOVED IT! Thank you. Go before the noon rush and trust Jaiden. read more

I always enjoy my food from Roots Natural Kitchen Service: I placed an order via the mobile app and to my surprise someone else retrieved my order - inadvertently or not, who knows. They were prompt in remaking my order when the matter was brought to their attention however, it was huge inconvenience. W. Broad is my preferred location of the, current, locations available but I have ordered here since then with no issues. read more

Every time I want to take out food, but also wanna feel ~healthy~ I get roots. I can't believe salads can taste this good. The portions are huge and i get usually a meal and a 1/2 from each bowl. You can make your own bowl kinda like chipotle, but I really recommend their premade bowls. I've tried a few of them, but my favorite is Balboa subbing base for 1/2 rice and 1/2 kale. Second favorite is the El jefe. I usually go for chicken since that's my favorite protein, but it does get a PRETTY dry, esp if it's not recently made. The tofu they have is super flavorful and I also recommend it! read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - El jefe - New American Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

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I have always enjoyed their food but I will never do an online order there ever again. I placed my online order for my group (6 bowls) and was given a pick up time, about 35 minutes later. Arrived at said time and register rep had to search for my order. Turns out no one had checked the computer for online orders. Finally told me "they're working on it". 45 minutes later (now 80+ minutes after I placed my order), they are "still working on it". It seems every time another customer walked in, my order was put aside. I asked register guy for an ETA and he would not give one. I finally got him to tell me how many of my bowls were ready to so far. At this point, my order was not even half ready. At this rate, I would easily be waiting another hour. So I left. Now to dispute with my CC. I saw at least one Door Dasher cancel his order and leave as well. If you can't handle online orders, OK. Then do what Perly's does, don't accept them during certain peak hours. Everyone will be better off for it in the long run. read more

So many unique options for bowls or you can build your own. I got the El Jefe with Jack Fruit. It had a Latin twist with kale , corn, rice, pita chips, avocado, black beans ,and a delicious dressing. I could only eat half and had the rest 2 days later. The service was great and they were fast. I love fast food that's also nutritious for your body. read more

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This place is the best salad place I've ever been to, beat the hell out of chipotle I can't believe the value! The kids eat free is incredible. What a healthy meal delicious salad. I can't say enough good things about this place. What a discovery.!! After taking my first bite, I checked to see if they traded publicly so I can buy the stock, unfortunately not:( read more

I've been a fan of Roots since I was at Cville for undergrad and tried the original. The Mayweather is my tried and true, and I don't really try another bowl, I just make modifications. I like switching out red onions for broccoli :-) sometimes I get all kale, no bulgur. I was so happy to see the Fairfax location!!! I'd had it in Richmond and was happy to see the quality still there. The fairfax location is really efficient with great service! Nice big space so it's comfy to dine in. read more

So good! Perfect for when I need to up my veggie intake. My go-to is the El Jefe and I like to add mushrooms and sweet potatoes. Get "the works" - tabasco and lime. The portion is pretty large for the grain bowls so I normally eat it for two meals. They have online ordering through their app. read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - El Jefe with mushrooms - New American Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

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Huge portions of tasty healthiness! I had the Apollo bowl and it was delicious. Service was quick and friendly.

Good food offered at typical prices. There is some seating but it is limited due to the odd shape of the facility. Nice place to have lunch and talk. Order at the counter and you can pick each of the ingredients and sauces. Once you receive the food and drink the rest is self service for cleanup. It is a good place for take out. read more

I've gotten delivery from here twice now, and the BYOB doesn't miss (I mean how can it if you're picking all the ingredients you like lol). Definitely a great lunch spot if you're looking for something that's light and feels at least a little healthy. read more

Fed the whole fam (seven vegans) for $69 and it was delicious & satisfying. There's less on offer than Cava (missing olives for example) but we ALL really liked the vegan (honey-free) bbq tofu topping. Great staff, fun atmosphere, goodly seating options. Clean & well lit. Would take everyone again. Definitely. YES : kid friendly YES : vegan friendly read more

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I always evaluate a restaurant for what it is. There is no point in criticizing a place that specializes in fast casual sandwiches because you were really in the mood for white linen tablecloths. That is the spirit in how I want to review Roots -- what it is. Roots really approaches things as fast casual, but healthier than your typical Panera or 5 Guys. We went here because my usually vegetarian dining partner wanted a healthy bowl. This place delivered what he wanted. Set up - assembly line counter food a la Chipotle. But in this case the menu board has bowls / wraps that feature brown rice, kale, healthy veg, tofu, and optional flat top grilled chicken in big bowls of food. Several indoor tables, pop music on the speakers. We never felt rushed or even a factor, once we picked up our food and sat down. The food is I guess pricy.... who really knows about price points these days, with all the inflation?..... at $12 a bowl or so. Not a huge lot for a lunch really, but seems a lot for a glorified salad. The bowls were both tasty and filling and full of fiber. Drinks ranged from black and green tea to water, or in other words didn't range. Not a lot to report beyond that, it was fine. I would not feel let down if someone suggested going back. IS it destination dining? No. Average for what it represents itself to be, three stars. read more

Finally a restaurant that serves healthy food that actually tastes good. I've gotten lunch from here a few times over the last couple weeks and I've kinda fallen in love with it. The food is very flavorful and light. Everything they offer meshes really well with each other no matter what you put in your bowl. It's also super quick and even when ordering a to-go order the bowl is fresh when you get home. Highly recommend this place if you want a quick light lunch read more

Since my diagnosis of Celiac a couple years ago, I haven't been going to too many different new places, and those I have, while good, haven't been write-home-to-mama good. Well, mama, then I tried Roots. So let it be known that I'm a huge fan of build your own bowl places that feature rice, vegetables, and protein, as in my opinion it's hard to go wrong and is quite possibly the best food ever created. What I hadn't realized is exactly how tasty aforementioned bowls can be. Sure, we've all had bowls from places like Chipotle (to be clear, I'm obsessed with Chipotle, I'm not knocking it), but man, this place is good. --Food: I've ordered a variety of bowls including Miso Chili Tofu, BBQ Tofu, and Chicken. I was expecting to love the chicken and like the tofu and probably never order the tofu again. Kind of like one of those "See? I tried tofu and I didn't love it!" type things, but whew was I wrong. In the last month alone I've probably ordered about 10 bowls from Roots and 8 of them have been the BBQ Tofu, which is absolutely incredible. It's firm and has slight crispy edges, a great taste, and I'm totally obsessed with it. In terms of the other things, I've only tried the Brown Rice and Roots Rice, none of the greens (yet). (And I can't have bulgar.) I feel like of the three times I ordered Roots Rice, only one time did it seem different than Brown Rice, so they might have gotten my order wrong, but in any case, I've just stuck with the brown rice. I like the red onions, beans, corn, and jalapenos the most, but the broccoli is good too. The rice really just is lovely and somehow reheats well the next day and doesn't dry out like some places. The lemon za'atar and cilantro lime sauces (mixed is what I do) are heavenly. I'd probably drink the combination straight. (But will refrain from doing so because I'm not a weirdo, gosh.) Also, portions are overall quite large and filling. A little inconsistent as sometimes the bowl seems 4/5 filled and sometimes 3/5 filled, but even on the lighter days it's still very satisfying. --Cost: On DoorDash the bowls are roughly $12, which seems about 25% higher than if you order directly in the store, according to their website. Which makes sense since they probably try to offset the DoorDash profit, and saves me an inconvenient lunch trip, so it's worth it. Not super cheap, but absolutely worth it. --Other: I haven't been there in person yet, partly because of the pandemic, mostly because it's a bit of a drive from both home and work. But I have ordered a ton and the food comes fast, fresh, and warm, even with delivery. Their menu online does designate that everything minus the bulgar and pita chips are gluten free, so those with intolerances or Celiac have lots of options. Those that are hyper sensitive might want to check with the staff to ensure no cross contamination, but I haven't gotten any pieces of what I believe were bulgar or pita chips in my bowls yet. --Conclusion: I don't need to sugar coat this or anything, but Roots is probably my new favorite lunch place. The menu is pretty large with lots of options, both for those with affinities to rice and those to greens. Seems pretty healthy too. But most of all, it tastes super fresh, is very satisfying, and is absolutely delicious. So stop reading this and go get a BBQ Tofu Bowl already! read more

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Food is good, restaurant is clean. But music is too loud. Impossible to have a conversation.

Always a good healthy meal when I'm in Richmond. We love Roots! Service is quick and food is always fresh!

The food is amazing. I have yet to be disappointed. I definitely make it a must to stop by whenever I'm in Richmond.

Everyone I know raves about Roots. I think from the ingredients, flavoring and concept it's indeed pretty good. But at the end of the day they are still calories packed meals. It wouldn't be my first choice of healthy eating. Feels like the hype about the place makes people overlook this fact. read more

This is the perfect food if you're working out/eating consciously and are starving for real food. Loved my healthy, hearty, and delicious!!! grilled chicken bowl tonight. It was seriously so good. We did delivery through door dash (to northside) after being on the road all day and not wanting to cook. Roots has been on our list for a long time and I hate we didn't try it sooner! Absolutely recommend for when you want something healthy and fresh but not boring. Also I really appreciate they're open/do delivery u til 9 on Sundays. read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - Chicken bowl with chickpeas, feta, spinach, greens, bulgar, pickled red onions with lime cilantro dressing - New American Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

Super cool place I really enjoyed the food and the vibe here. Life time meat eater trying out the vegan way and this was a great start. Will become a regular here plus the downtown area is pretty cool. read more

Absolutely delicious. Ordered the BBQ Tofu bowl which was very good. Everything tasted very fresh. The environment was super clean. There's plenty of space to sit and dine. Style inside is more modern. There were at least 6-7 workers behind the counter so the line moved very quickly. Overall my experience was 5 star. There was plenty of food. The prices are a bit on the high side but for the quality and type of food you're getting coupled with the serving amount, it's well worth it. I'm an eater and I couldn't even finish the entire thing in one sitting. Definitely a must try. read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - Delicious - New American Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

Not sure who the guy is with a tattoo on his leg wearing a camo hat , but he took my order and was already putting things in my bowl that I didn't ask for like lettuce I didn't ask for lettuce he just put it in it . ,ask for a protein and he already put chicken in the bowl , what if I didn't want chicken .. wants to be fast and get the job done but didn't even put in the bowl what I wanted .. read more

How have I not heard of this place or tried it yet?! I've had this bookmarked for a while and finally got the chance to check this place out...twice within a month haha. I've got their cobb salad both times because...I clearly did not get enough the first time around. The portion was pretty decent and the service through the line was fast. Staff was friendly and the place was clean. Plenty of seats and it does come and go in waves. The two times I've gone, have had plenty of seats to sit in. I feel like this place is a good mix of CAVA and Mezeh. Price was reasonable and the bowl was filling. You will not leave hungry. Positive experience, I will be coming back! Be sure you know where you're going when driving here to park. Be prepare to parallel park and pay for parking. read more

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Roots Natural Kitchen Ratings: 4.5/5 Food: 4.5/5 - Roots rice with grilled chicken and bbq tofu with potatoes, broccoli, cucumbers, corn and mixed greens is my absolute favorite. I love the El Jefe bowl too if I am just feeling lazy to custom my own bowl. The bowl are good portion size, but varies depending on who's making your bowl. Ingredients are fresh, tasty, and delicious. Always been a fan of Roots since undergrad at UVA, so they will always be my go to spot wherever I'm feeling for a healthy meal and when I visit UVA. Ambiance: 4.5/5 - Clean and cute atmosphere. Love the smell of the grilled chicken as soon as I walk into the restaurant. They have open up some seats now for dine-in, but still very limited though. Price: 4.25/5 - Depending which bowl you get, it can range from $10 to $15. Definitely more expensive than other fast causal chain like Chipotle, CAVA, or Mezeh, but still worth the price. Really do fill you up. Also, download the Thanx app for a $4 off here and there at Roots. Service: 4.75/5 - Amazing service as usual. People working at Roots are always friendly. I think most of the time they are VCU students. Friendly and fast service. Quick grab and go transaction. BLUF: Highly suggested for a healthier meal option. Food is pretty consistent across different locations. Lots of gluten free options too. read more

Roots Natural Kitchen - Custom Bowl with Grilled Chicken & BBQ Tofu - New American Near Me - Richmond, Virginia