The Root Cellar Cafe & Catering

Catering team saved the day. Food was outstanding. Customer service par excellence. Prices were extremely fair.

Our wedding was displaced from WNC due to the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene, and we pivoted to a small celebration for 30 people in Chapel Hill in a family member’s yard. Naomi and Tina took incredibly great care to help us secure a menu for both our wedding day and the night before. In spite of the short time frame, they made themselves accessible and communicated consistently.

We enjoyed three comfort food casseroles on Friday—chicken pot pie, beef shepherd’s pie, and baked ziti. On Saturday we served the large Southern appetizers followed by house and Caesar salads, sweet-tea-brined fried chicken, pork BBQ, mashed sweet potatoes, and roasted green beans. All of them were scrumptious and left nothing to be desired; Naomi arrived on time—at the perfect time!—and set everything up beautifully even though the buffet tables we prepared could have allotted more room…we weren’t expecting how generous the portions would be. We ordered for our head count and still had leftovers (although we did double up on meats for the main). We had a 45-minute cocktail hour, and the food stayed hot and fresh in the chafing dishes with sternos provided by Root Cellar.

We originally planned to have an ice cream sandwich truck at our wedding, so keeping with this idea we ordered a few cookie platters from Root Cellar and purchased ice cream elsewhere so guests could build their own. The cookies. Were. Huge. And blissful to eat.

From two Food & Bev industry vets… amazing work, gang! No stone left unturned. What more could we ask for? Thank you so much for helping us make our wedding memorable even though it became quite different from what we originally planned. Root Cellar… *chef’s kiss*… we can’t wait to return to Chapel Hill and eat in the cafe.

Food: 5

Service: 5

Stopped in for breakfast and was impressed by the quality of the food. Atmosphere was fine; (I’m not into decorations but a restaurant has to be clean—that’s what I look for, and it is clean.) The food was fresh and cooked properly, presentation was nice, too. Hot coffee and friendly people. A bit pricey for a breakfast but it’s Chapel Hill, so that’s about normal these days. Three meals cost us over $86 before the tip.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Breakfast Burrito with Country Ham, Pastries

All time worst online ordering system that I have ever encountered. Almost ruined my Sunday. Great restaurant otherwise.

Good coffee, solid food, options, and an absolutely lovely cinnamon roll! Cinnamon roll is one of the top five I’ve ever had, and that’s with a glazed icing instead of cream cheese, which says a lot.

I’ll be honest, every time I come to root cellar, I like it a little bit more But I do think they have some room to work on more basic coffee drinks like a flat white or Cortado, the ones I’ve had have been too big.

Dietary restrictions: Can accommodate most restrictions

Parking: Tons

Kid-friendliness: Great with kids, lots of space, and candy!

Wheelchair accessibility: Should be totally wheelchair accessible

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Breakfast Burrito with Country Ham

Unexpected gem, hidden in - stopped in for breakfast, food and service are fantastic. We'll make it a point to stop again

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I had the Cuban and every ingredient was so high quality from the bread to the mustard to the pulled pork etc. it was so delicious!! Highly recommend.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Always a pleasure coming to the Root Cellar, a favorite of our family! The food and atmosphere are outstanding! My mom comes every week! When we are here we feel like family!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

My Thai turkey wrap was almost completely flavorless.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 2

Very disappointing. This was my first time here, I just moved to the area, so I called to place a to-go order. Instantly, I was told, "we don't do phone orders." Not a huge deal, and they let me order since "it was my first time." When I got there, the line was everywhere, and they were kind of just ignoring people. The boy who took my order was trying to stare me down, which, again, doesn't bother me, but it's rude and came off very pretentious. I go to get my burrito and notice they messed up my order, fine, but you don't get a tip at this point. I got glared at like crazy. You can judge me for not tipping, but tips are for good service and proper food. This situation had neither.

Finally, I get home, and I have to say, it was one of the worst breakfast burritos I've had in a long time. It was big, but the proportions were terrible, and the ingredients just tasted off.

I will not be coming here again.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 1

Very good food but took a while to get. Might have just come at the the wrong time.

Vegetarian options: Is a good vegetarian place.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Breakfast Quesadilla

Dear God role me out of here! The Farm Plate is huge, especially when you get sausage AND cheese grits. Lots if cream/butter/cheese in the grits. Cool funky atmosphere and the employees seem really happy. The only reason I gave 4 stats on service is I was unclear about bussing your own table.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Fun low key restaurant in chapel hill. Great food, love the wraps and sandwiches. Vegetarian Banh Mi is excellent. Their cold salads are great too. And outside is dog friendly!!

Vegetarian options: They will make things custom, too.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

What a great cafe! Sandwiches are excellent and customizable. Superb side salad and dessert options. Great patio shades with old vines. Smoothies are all natural and out of this world. Low key vibe and dog friendly patio area. Wish they were open for dinner too!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I walked in to pick up flowers and the hostess was very kind and directed me straight there! I didn’t have any food but the ambiance and service is splendid!

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

Great local cafe w a huge selection of breakfast pastries and foods, and lunch sandwiches, etc. One of the girls behind the counter piped up when I asked about the chorizo breakfast burrito and she was right! It was really really good, super filling, and huge! Could easily feed 2. The salsa was also really good too.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5