TapRoot Restaurant

We had a great dinner — all four of us had excellent meals and the service was fantastic! I had blue gill and it reminded me of fish fries when I was growing up. The others at my table had the brick chicken, hanger steak and the strawberry salad with fried goat cheese. Everything was perfect. And the waitress overheard someone say it was my birthday and brought a dessert and sang!

Small menu, long wait & flat soda, waitress slacking but it wasn’t real busy so I d k if this is a regular day, and also they were out of diet soda and the sauce everyone was wanting for their fries but on the bright side the food is ok.

Lived in Decatur for a bit. Great place for lunch or dinner! Anything special you ask for is no problem for the waitress, staff, or kitchen. Root veggies. you have to have them!

Great place to eat! We have been several times and each time the service and food was great.

I was looking for a nice place to take my future in-​laws out for their 45^th Wedding Anniversary /Mother’s day celebration! We were not disappointed one bit, we ordered 9 items on the menu and all but 1 was totally satisfying! We ordered the Steak on the rock to start the meal and it was quite the conversation piece and provided a nice appetizer probably more suitable for 2 opposed to 4 but we each got a taste and it was yummy! All together we loved our food and the only item that was disappointing was the s’more desert.

It’s been a long week of hot, hard work at the #FarmProgressShow, and to find a culinary delight at the end of it all was a definite grande finale! My colleague and I enjoyed the Three Sisters Salad (split) as we perused the rest of the menu. Finally, we decided that our indecisiveness was due to hunger after days of being in a food desert amid the land of plenty. To remedy that THREE entrees would be a necessary and wise choice. Indeed it was. Duck tacos, cornmeal breaded Blue Gill and a corn risotto dish that were all to be celebrated.
Thank you to Collin our waiter. He was attentive and pleasant. Chef John and crew served up the best fare in Decatur – second to none. And the ambiance was perfect. Please, please, please be ready for a BIG return from us in 2017!

This is the best restaurant in Decatur. With a surprising surge in great food in Decatur in recent years, Taproot stands out as the premier dining establishment in Decatur. The unique, chef inspired dishes show how much the chef truly enjoys preparing them. The crusty hot loaf with quinoa salad is the best lunch dish in town. And seriously, quinoa salad? Who knew this would stand out and make me not want to have fries with lunch again although their fries with dipping sauces are good also. For dinner you cant go wrong with any entrée but try the calamari appetizer. It’s not rubbery squid like most places and the hot sauce is just right kick off your evening. Family, dates, business or friends be sure to enjoy what Taproot has to offer.

Absolutely Love this restaurant. We had walked by it several times and had been wanting to try it. We have now been three times and have enjoyed every single time! We celebrated our 20^th anniversary having our dinner.

Had the cheeseburger with fries. Food ws OK, but we were set next to a loud group of engineers that seemed determined to be obnoxious. More so after they began drinking.
Were this to occur again, I would request a new table or simply leave.

Great food and pleasant atmosphere. The staff is great and very helpful. The BBQ steak appetizer is innovative and fun to share.

Atmosphere is good for dates or a nice lunch. I’ve always had great service by the wait staff here (which is what has made me go back for more).
The tacos (very untraditional) and drunken pork chop were delicious… everything else I have tried here has been TERRIBLE. Absolutely DO NOT get the dessert. The brownie sundae was dry with frost bitten ice cream. The berry pastry was overly flaky and lacked flavor, it was just a crumb mess. The salad was wilted and low quality. Mashed potatoes were dry and lacked flavor.
They have a good drink selection and interesting recipes however be ready to pay $ 12+ for a signature cocktail.
When the hostess asked how the meal was and we told her the Strip Club (lunch sandwhich) was very tough and not good at all. She said «That’s too bad. Mine is always good.» lol.. . I think that would have been the moment you offer to replace it with another item from the menu?

The finest of everything — food, drink, service, atmosphere. Great for dinner, great for lunch.

We enjoyed a great meal and great service at the TapRoot. Our meals included: Atlantic Salmon, Blackened Orange Roughy, Trail Mix salad w/​salmon and the Drunken Pork Chop. Sides included: Root vegetables (carrots, onions, turnips), asparagus, rice, baked potato, and fries — All of which were well prepared and tasty. I had the pork chop, which was a thick, juicy, and nicely marinated chop. For dessert we had the carmel apple crisp w/​ice cream, which was just enough for four people to have a small portion — Nice flavor, but apples were a bit crunchy. Cocktails included: Gin and Tonic and an Old Fashion. The Gin and Tonic had a nice, unique flavor and the Old Fashion was delicious and strong. We found the ambiance to be relaxing and inviting. The prices are a bit higher than an average dinner in Decatur, but you get what you pay for and I look forward to dining at the TapRoot again in the future.
Area for improvement: (Per the review from a family member) More shrimp for the salad ($ 8 to add three shrimp to a salad).

I went with my husband and mother in law and the service and atmosphere was excellent. I ordered a salad and enjoyed the nice variety of salad greens and the homemade blue cheese dressing. My duck tacos were amazing but they are served with rice and though perfectly cooked, it was dry, bland, and not hot at all. I would highly suggest they re-​evaluate that side dish as it did slightly reduce my enjoyment of the main. My mother in law let me try her steak. She had a filet and ordered it medium rare. The piece I had was closer to medium/​medium well and was tough. Honestly, I’ve had better steak at Roadhouse. My husband got a different cut of steak and he said his was good. Overall I would recommend it but I’d say to avoid ordering filet.

Great find! Had the drunken pork chop with roasted cauliflower and asparagus– fantastic! My son had a burger and loved it. Definitely will come back.

We were in for the weekend and, Not being from Decatur we were hoping to find a decent restaurant. Well we decided on checking out Robbie’s but they were having a private party. We kept walking and a few feet away we came upon TapRoot, luck was on our side that night.
We weren’t well dressed up nor had reservations, but were treated well and asked if it was okay we sat in the bar area, glad to. It was fine nice view and still very nice ambiance.
Upon looking at the menu I got excited and felt confident that I would be sated. The cocktails were executed well (for being a small big town) $ 10 was very fair for what you received. The appetizers seemed innovative for the area, had the fried asparagus did not disappoint. Seen the Hot Rock with beef but interesting but passing on that for the night. The French onion soup bowl was better then average and I was not disappointed.
My girlfriend had the short ribs, well executed great flavor, from the grill cooked perfectly with grilled mushrooms & peppers that matched the flavor rice to soak the rest of the juices up, Highly recommended.
I had the walleye which was tasty came with fries. The fish was more of a community fish fry feel. Some smaller pieces, some meatier. Walleye is my favorite I could have passed on the smaller tail, pieces for two meatier ones. That would be a dominate dish in the restaurant and area, hands down. But that’s being super picky.
On the other side the roasted cauliflower, it was okay, it appeared to be from frozen. If they switched to fresh, even charged a buck more would be three steps up better, the texture and flavor would speak wonders for the same effort they put into what they do currently. A little butter and garlic goes a long way. That being the biggest gripe I hope this place makes a strong foot hold and is treating the community for years to come.
After all the great food we tried to make room for dessert, got the cherry crumble. It was ok in-​hind sight rather not have over stuffed our selves with it. Just okay
But I look toward to returning my next visit to Decatur, or if you are within 30 – 45 min trip it’s worth the drive. * this means you, U of I, and Springfield people.
Service was excellent. Just ask then to space your cocktails appetizers salads/​soups and entrée’s, to the dining experience you want for the night.
I highly recommend this… was pleasantly surprised.
This is a classy place that Decatur deserves.
4.5 stars solid

Me and my girlfriend decided to go out for a date night at somewhere different. So we decided to try out Taproot. GREAT DECISION. I had the duck tacos and my date had the salmon. I loved duck tacos, had a great flavor profile and tender meat. My date said it was some of the best Salmon she ever had.
Great food, atmosphere and service. Highly recommend. Great for Decatur to have a place this unique.

Went to Tap Root with a group of from work to try and find out what the down town places had to offer. Have to say that we all were pleasantly surprised with willingness of the restaurant to give us a very unique experience! I would recommend highly to try the duck tacos!

Okay. It was a mistake to go to Taproot for the first time on Valentine’s Day and expect it to be incredible. It was not, however, a mistake to opt to go there this past Friday night, this time with family visiting from out-​of-​town.
We ordered the beer battered asparagus as an appetizer again. We’re fairly certain the portion size was smaller (6; last time we think we got at least 8), but this time the sauce was incredible! Previously, I had asked the waitress what it was, and when she reported cheese sauce, I almost didn’t believe her. There hadn’t been any cheese flavor. This time, the sauce was definitely a tasty, creamy, white cheese sauce.
Two of us got the feature (filet mignon and two bacon-​wrapped scallops). My steak was more medium than medium rare, but it was delicious, and the scallops were perfect. My roasted root vegetables were buttery and the whipped potatoes creamy and tangy. Someone else ordered the short ribs, which were full of flavor. The reduction was great! And another the butcher’s steak, which was chewy, but again, had great flavor. The fries were well-​seasoned and perfectly crispy.
Is Taproot the most incredible New American food that I’ve ever had? No. But after last time, I wasn’t sure about going back. After this visit, I am excited for my next excuse to get Taproot for dinner!

Sad to say, as the «best restaurant for a foodie» in town, this place was at best underwhelming. I ordered an appetizer, soup and main. Soup came out first followed by app and main in quick secession I — way too quick. I was three deep with only a few spoonfuls of soup.
Speaking of which, it was French onion which had obviously sat under the lights for a good five minutes or more. The grilled toast was soggy and the cheese didn’t receive any bubbly goodness from the broiler. The broth was nice through not too salty like many can be.
The app was a trio of fried green tomatoes, BBQ shrimp and grape tomatoes. I’ll I could taste was an overbearing amount of heavy BBQ sauce.
The main was braised short ribs with root veggies and mashed potatoes. Quickly, the carrots were under cooked as were the onions, which couldn’t have been braised with the short ribs, because they were overcooked and dry as we’re the parsnips. The mashed potatoes were nice and again the beef reduction was nicely seasoned and deeply flavorful.
I ate at the bar and the barkeep was nice and attentive. She talked me into dessert and I had the brownie skillet. It was by far and above the highlight of the meal.