Roots Café

Cozy place. Warm atmosphere. Friendly people. Awesome sandwiches. Perfect salted caramel latte.

Good stuff here for lunch
Try the egg and cheese burrito with tomato, avocado, and black bean spread
They don’t take credit card
Kinda not obvious until you’re standing at the register… Would be nice to have advanced notice
There are books and games to keep you occupied if you don’t have your own entertainment
Staff was very friendly

Coffee and cheese grits is where it’s at with Roots. So good, and when you buy beans they give you this cute lil cup of coffee to go for free! LOVE THIS PLACE.

I love this place. Awesome coffee, delicious sandwiches. I loved the fact that they were so friendly and were actually made coffee unlike those stuff at Starbucks!

Hubby and I discovered this cute coffee shop on the Golden Fest weekend. The owner patiently helped me select a customized grilled cheese sandwich and London fog. Both were delicious, and the place is super cozy and relaxing.

Came here with awesome expectations considering all the great Unilocal reviews I read before coming here. The place is warm and welcoming. The people behind the bar were really nice and the food was delicious. I had a soy mocha and a hummus sandwich. I recommend both those things for breakfast. The place is a little smaller than it seems from pictures, but that is okay because I like intimate spaces. The patio sitting is nice, although when I came half of the space was covered with card boxes (for trash or recycling I guess) but that was a turn down for ambience. Also the prices are a little high. For example to order chocolate flavor or soy or almond milk in your coffee you have to pay extra for each thing. It would be nicer if they had a mocha coffee option or at least to have an extra that is not as high as $.75. Also this place is cash only, keep that in mind when coming here. Overall great food and great service but a little expensive.

First:
*The atmosphere: chalkboard menus, old wood, local art, books!
*The customer service: the best EVER. I’ve been in here twice. The first time I was in here I met Kimi who was absolutely lovely, complimented me on my choice of drink, and talked to me while she made it, welcoming me to the neighborhood. Kimi also does this cute art she makes into magnets that you can buy at Roots. The second time I met Amanda, who was cute and bubbly and talkative as well. When I returned to Roots last night for a poetry event, Amanda remembered my name. The drinks were also delicious and made with love, but because of these wonderful people they’ve gained a new long-​term customer!

Very cute and original coffee place. It is small, however utterly charming. The coffee and the food were good!

A solid health-​conscious breakfast or lunch choice.
The staff is very friendly and helped me customize my sandwich. The iced teas are HUGE! Less than $ 3 for 24oz.
I got a cucumber hummus wrap and added egg whites. They used 2 – 3 oz of hummus (much more than I expected) and everything was fresh and crispy. The best part was NO OIL! So many deli-​type spots love to pile that garbage on, so that was refreshing.
Wait time was about 15 minutes, so I do have to knock off a star.

This place is so great. We always come for the breakfast burritos, which are the best! We get the ones with fresh eggs, black bean paste, cheese, avocados, and tomatoes, and it’s super solid. Wish they gave a little more salsa, which is incredible. The perfect breakfast if you’re hungry! Good chai lattes, too. A small, serene outside patio in the back in the spring made our day! The guys/​gals who work here are very friendly. Gonna be coming back here again and again.

The service is by far superb and outstanding. The owner is delightful and engages every single customer like they are the only customer that matters. Service is definitely a solid five stars.
The food was plentiful and flavorful! I am drooling just thinking about it. I had the egg and cheese burritos with all the extras I. e beans, tomatoes and guacamole. I also added the vegan sausage. I love that they put the burritos in a panini press it adds an extra layer of flavor and the crunch is good.
With all that wonderful stuff said the wait for the food was punishingly long. We waited over 30 minutes for the sandwiches which in my opinion was way too long. During our visit we saw several patrons leave because the long was long and moving slowly.

Best latte I’ve ever had. The breakfast panini was delicious on multigrain bread with egg, cheese and turkey. Service was good and friendly. The place is kind of small and fashionably seedy.

I always stop by for a coffee whenever I visit from out of town. My experience has always been pleasant. Today my sister (who lives nearby) and I decided to order take-​out. She had the City Slicker and I had Borderline. I like that you can easily make several things vegan.
Wait time was average. I just waited with an almond latte. Overall I still like everything about this place. the people, the atmosphere, all the cute decorations.
My sister found a short strand of dark hair in her sandwich, and 3 minutes later, I found a longer strand of brown hair in my sandwich within the black bean spread. It takes a lot to gross me out, so I just picked it off and continued eating. However, my sister was so disgusted that she couldn’t continue eating. as I think most people would. I’m not sure if she will ever order food from there again.
I would still order from here, because for me one piece of hair doesn’t void all the positives I see from this place… but would suggest more careful handling and prepping of the food.

New York City exemplifies quick service. Anyone who has spent even a brief amount of time here knows that most interactions in café’s and restaurants are limited to brief pleasantries at most. To be fair, I’m generally one of those types. Let’s just do the ‘food ordering’ thing. But Roots is different. It’s personality is shaped around human interaction and genuine love. I know — save the tears for a rerun of the M.A.S.H. finalé mr. soppy pants… I’m sorry, I can’t. This place is a little tiny community built around the very stuff that human beings crave. Warmth, genuine good nature, art, excitement, food, acceptance… I’ve heard people in here treat the counter like a therapists couch while 20 people wait behind them. SOMEHOW that’s like 100% cool here, isn’t that wild?
Oh and their burritos are fucking killer.

A summer time must visit.
This small coffee shop is super fun and trendy. The staff are awesome.
The large board to the right of the register lists a bunch of home made custom lattes. For instance they had one which is made with yoohoo. I have yet to try it but will be back soon to get my hands on it.
They have a petty good breakfast offering which is why I stopped in here.
I had the egg and cheese panini but for $ 1 a topping you can add things like avocado, bacon etc.
One of the foods this place is known for is the Cheesey grits. Unless you are ravenously hungry the smaller size will likely be enough as these grits can be a bit heavy. The best part of them is the top layer which is drizzled with a touch of olive oil and dusted with a touch of herbs/​spices. I will admit I had thought the dish would be a lot cheesier then it was in reality. The grits had enough flavor to hold it’s own but I would have liked to taste a little cheeyness.
The highlight of this place for me is the out door seating area. It is hard to see from the front of the store but make your way back there if you want to sit back and sip on some java. It is very quiet and relaxing and the décor is perfect. This place is an escape from the hustle and bustle I would definitely recommend coming here with a book or some work and just relaxing outback.
The coffee I had was the house blend which was very well balanced. Some places have a tendency to go to extreme either brewing motor oil or coffee tea. Although I didn’t notice anything outstanding about the coffee is was absolutely enjoyable.
Make sure you bring cash because they are CASH ONLY.
I’ll be back.
–Arnold

I feel so hipster when I come here but I don’t care because bohemians, locals and young families is another vibe I get and that I give… Ethiopian afro with highlights and with toddler in tow and all lol.
The food is awesome… it feels like a time warp into simpler times when people actually cooked from scratch with natural ingredients. No matter what you eat or drink they make it so that it is a warming comfort to your soul. I have had peppermint mocha and the grits and left feeling like singing, «yellow is the color of her energy.»
They want you to feel cozy here, so the dim lights of vintage lamps and round Christmas bulb lights does an excellent job of achieving that. You feel like you could be in an old bookstore or antique store. Every single customer in here seemed to be there for the long haul with their laptops and fat books. I bet a lot of study sessions and work gets done here.
The workers are personable and welcoming to seal the deal.

I love the relaxed chill vibes this place radiates. The staff is really friendly and I appreciate that I can casually shoot-​the-​isht with them without feeling like I’m being rushed. While I’ve only made a stop in for coffee (which is excellent here, btw) I am definitely going to sample the breakfast tacos on the menu, because HOLY CRAP it is nearly impossible to find a place that will make breakfast tacos in the greater New York City area.
A great little spot that I hope stays here forever and ever and everrrrrr.

Roots Café is more of a living room, that has your best friend as the barista. Amanda serves primarily love with sides of coffee and breakfast burritos. There might be «fancier» coffee shops around, but no shop makes you feel more welcome or at home!

Been meaning to jump on the pile here for quite some time. Have lived in the neighborhood since March after living in Portland for a year, which has rendered me a total coffee snob (see my review for nearby Southside Coffee as an example).
Anyway, Roots really is, as Unilocal allows, «Woohoo! As good as it gets!» You feel like family here even if it’s your first time, but you’ll get to know all the folks who work here (There are three of them by my count) in no time if you’re a regular. I regret that I haven’t gotten any of their names yet, but they’re all extremely friendly and genuinely enjoy talking to their customers.
Now, onto the coffee. Love the beans they get from Forty Weight, which apparently used to be in the neighborhood and has since relocated to Colorado. They offer different roasts, drip is always good, and the pull is always on point. What really got my attention was their cold brew, which is fantastic. Prices are standard for Brooklyn and the food is good, but nothing mindblowing. Tin Cup down the street wins for best pastries in the area café contest, but I’d never judge a café on its food — I come here for the coffee, and it’s worth it every time.

This reminds me of a few similar places in Orlando (where I’m from) like Drunken Monkey or Stardust Café. It’s a small café with awesome food and cute, quirky decorations. Very laid back and a great place to come on a coffee date or to get some work done on your laptop.
We came here for breakfast which is always a challenge when you have a vegan with allergies and an omnivore eating together. Fortunately they had an amazing tofu scramble I got as a bowl and added tomatoes, avocado, black bean spread, and vegan sausage. The employees have great suggestions for what form would work best with your ingredients (bowl, burrito, tacos, etc), and they have some killer options for coffee (I had an iced soy mocha and my husband had an iced maple butter latte). My husband got an egg, cheese, bacon, black bean spread burrito and was in heaven.
They are cash only, which was kinda a bummer for us but the bodega next door had an ATM so it was an easy problem to solve.
So A+ for friendly service, good food, great coffee, and a cute place with enough space despite seeming so small when you walk in.
Next time we are in town, this will be a regular stop for us!

Nice cosy coffee spot, not easy to find if you don’t know about it. I think they know it because they asked me, being a first time customer, how I found them
I just ordered a tea to stay, to feel the ambience for 10 – 15 minutes.
I asked if they have pastries in the morning, they told me they have muffins and cake slices etc. Because I love pastries like turnover, pain au chocolat etc, I took a star off. With (good) pastries, it would be a 4 stars spot.
Ps. And If I see that they make an excellent latte, they might even get the 5^th star!