Sad to see this place falling on hard times as it used to be the anchor of the neighborhood restaurant strip. Had two Manhattans, one was made with vermouth, the other was just rye on fancy ice with a cherry. Everyone at the table had drinks that were a bit off. This in sharp contrast to previous experiences where you could get a delicious bespoke cocktail any day of the week. Tried to get the server but she was nowhere to be found and seemed to be having a tough time personally so I decided I didn't want to overburden her. They were out of literally everything despite having reservations on the books. My favorite, the mussels were cold and not nearly as flavorful as previous experiences. The broth was nearly flavorless which is typically the best part of it.The mains were mediocre.Dessert was a highlight, but next time I would probably just go to Pops.Hoping they can right the ship before they become the next Billy's.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
John Jeritza
Great food, supports local growers.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Su Linjie
Do not go. Shut down already
E B
Not sure what has happened to local roots but it isn’t as good as it used to be. We hadn’t been for a while (having a kid will do that) so I was excited when my husband and I decided to have a date night there. We arrived at our appointed time of 5:30 and the place was near empty. Ordered drinks and asked for the mussels to start. We were told that they were out of the mussels …. Dinner service had just started so I’m not sure if they just forgot to mark it off the menu or what but we went with the chicken wings (not on the menu but apparently a special tonight). Granted the wings were tasty but nothing else on the menu looked appetizing. We got our check and went elsewhere for dinner. Disappointing as local roots used to be a great place to eat with a warm environment and unique dishes. Tonight was not the case.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 4
Nica Sutch
Such a beautiful relaxing place! So peaceful.The food is farm to table and absolutely mouth watering. So good for the gut and soul.The owner, waiter and server are wonderful and so helpful.We will be back!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Charcuterie Board, VA Oysters on the Half Shell
Ashlyn Dubé
The service was atrocious from the moment we walked in. The bartender was attentive, but the 2 waitresses just kept running to hide in a side room right across from the bar. There were several times they were gossiping and made guest wait until they were done. There were 6 tables sat while we were there, 4 of which got up and left 10 mins into their visit. We were in the restaurant for 50 mins, during that time we received our drinks we ordered, that was all. The waitresses kept hiding, we never got the appetizer we ordered. When guest left, the staff didn’t try to stop them or better their experience. The idea of this restaurant is organic farm to table, which should be a wonderful experience. The wait staff’s inattentiveness and rudeness is literally running people with reservations out faster than they’re coming in. This was my first experience here, I wouldn’t go back or recommend it to anyone.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Rushfan
Arrived 6:15. Place not busy . Wife order sweet tea. Not available. Asked for a sweetener. None available. Got simple syrup. The waiter was not at all friendly. Food arrived cooked cabbage was as cold as straight from a refrigerator. Mashed potatoes Luke warm. Carrots virtually raw and cold. All true for wife and I. Soon enough the waiter appeared. Made him aware, then as he walked away, back to us he says I brought your meal. A while later wife tried to order desert. She asked for the one on the menu and was curtly answered.,NO. We asked to see the manager. He was the waiter and the owner. He loudly proclaimed he had purchased both meals and added we complained to get free meals. He also made it clear he didn't care if we ever returned. Never in any restaurant, Burger King, Mac & Bobs to Alexander's, Hotel Roanoke, Table 50, Bernard's, the Chop House, 419, Cafe Asia and many others have we ever been so treated or accused. We were very well dressed, spoke perfect English, born and raised in the USA, are in our 70's, were at all times polite until the manager get testy and accusatory.
TinaJ
We enjoyed a lovely Valentine‘s birthday dinner for my husband here. The food was excellent, the service was outstanding. The innovative bartender had some lovely cocktail creations. This is a comfortable, quiet, welcoming restaurant great for celebrating any occasion, or even just a casual evening out. Highly recommend!
Robert
I was informed, via email 6 hours prior to my reservation, that my reservation was cancelled due to "a pipe burst in the kitchen." Reservation cancellations done by the establishment should be performed by phone call first, as the reservation notes stated that a 40th birthday was being celebrated. People are not tied to their emails. Local Roots also did not advertise their closure for 02/13 on social media, so I question the validity of their claim. Their website (which is connected to their FB & Google) is no longer operational. Based of what I've heard of the new ownership (and how their owner treats their service staff), their inability to conduct quality & refined business practices, and their inability to maintain the simplest of business operations, I will not be patronizing this establishment until it receives new ownership and a drastic change in its business operations.
k van
Had reservations last night and restaurant never opened...no communication either.
We had not been to Local Roots since before COVID. My friend and I were very excited to be back. We used to love their fresh, local selections and were looking forward to their famous bread pudding. How very disappointed we were! It is under new ownership since we were last there. The menu has VERY little to choose from. The choices were all very heavy, meaty dishes. No unique salads and no bread pudding! We were so sad! Neither one of us could find a single thing we wanted to eat from the selection. We felt terrible but we left and went to Bloom instead. I cannot recommend this restaurant any more. It has really gone down hill.
ValeriaJ
I had the short ribs and that dish was cooked to perfection. And I'm a good (sometimes great) cook and notoriously difficult to please! I enjoyed the leek soup too. So, I will definitely go again!
JayR
Chicken was to die for! Hostess was super friendly. Had a glitch with Open Table app and our reservation. Owner was very apologetic even though it wasn't restaurants fault. Great evening with my bride.
Sean Doyle
I don't normally leave reviews on any businesses but I was insisted to do so by the manager of the establishment. Upon walking in the door I was greeted by live piano music. The atmosphere was warm and inviting and upon asking to be seated away from the entrance the extremely nice hostess moved us to a cozy table by the classy home style bar. The servers were extremely attentive to the fullness of our drinks which I extremely appreciated. The decor, live music and overall uplifting vibe in the establishment really made me think I was in napa valley enjoying brunch with my loved ones. My steak was perfectly cooked medium rare a bit too salty and a little cold however artfully paired with a side of carrots and potatoes. Lastly, we had to leave abruptly during the beginning of the meal and the manager was gracious enough to cover the entire bill! Unexpected kindness goes a long way these days. I'd highly recommend this establishment to those who are looking for home-style local organic cuisine. Take care you beautiful souls.Vegetarian options: Fresh locally sourced optionsParking: At the back on the co-op is my recommendation
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jesica Martin
I originally had 5 stars across the board. This is my favorite restaurant in all of Roanoke.But last night at our celebration dinner with my fiance, an older female server (not our server) came to our table just to express her distaste for my finances new shirt I had bought him for Christmas. She looked at me, said "you're twisted" and talked away. I'm honestly shocked.We eat here frequently and love the sstaff, food, atmosphere, and now I feel SO unwelcome and upset.
Sad to see this place falling on hard times as it used to be the anchor of the neighborhood restaurant strip. Had two Manhattans, one was made with vermouth, the other was just rye on fancy ice with a cherry. Everyone at the table had drinks that were a bit off. This in sharp contrast to previous experiences where you could get a delicious bespoke cocktail any day of the week. Tried to get the server but she was nowhere to be found and seemed to be having a tough time personally so I decided I didn't want to overburden her. They were out of literally everything despite having reservations on the books. My favorite, the mussels were cold and not nearly as flavorful as previous experiences. The broth was nearly flavorless which is typically the best part of it.The mains were mediocre.Dessert was a highlight, but next time I would probably just go to Pops.Hoping they can right the ship before they become the next Billy's.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Great food, supports local growers.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Do not go. Shut down already
Not sure what has happened to local roots but it isn’t as good as it used to be. We hadn’t been for a while (having a kid will do that) so I was excited when my husband and I decided to have a date night there. We arrived at our appointed time of 5:30 and the place was near empty. Ordered drinks and asked for the mussels to start. We were told that they were out of the mussels …. Dinner service had just started so I’m not sure if they just forgot to mark it off the menu or what but we went with the chicken wings (not on the menu but apparently a special tonight). Granted the wings were tasty but nothing else on the menu looked appetizing. We got our check and went elsewhere for dinner. Disappointing as local roots used to be a great place to eat with a warm environment and unique dishes. Tonight was not the case.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 4
Such a beautiful relaxing place! So peaceful.The food is farm to table and absolutely mouth watering. So good for the gut and soul.The owner, waiter and server are wonderful and so helpful.We will be back!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Charcuterie Board, VA Oysters on the Half Shell
The service was atrocious from the moment we walked in. The bartender was attentive, but the 2 waitresses just kept running to hide in a side room right across from the bar. There were several times they were gossiping and made guest wait until they were done. There were 6 tables sat while we were there, 4 of which got up and left 10 mins into their visit. We were in the restaurant for 50 mins, during that time we received our drinks we ordered, that was all. The waitresses kept hiding, we never got the appetizer we ordered. When guest left, the staff didn’t try to stop them or better their experience. The idea of this restaurant is organic farm to table, which should be a wonderful experience. The wait staff’s inattentiveness and rudeness is literally running people with reservations out faster than they’re coming in. This was my first experience here, I wouldn’t go back or recommend it to anyone.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Arrived 6:15. Place not busy . Wife order sweet tea. Not available. Asked for a sweetener. None available. Got simple syrup. The waiter was not at all friendly. Food arrived cooked cabbage was as cold as straight from a refrigerator. Mashed potatoes Luke warm. Carrots virtually raw and cold. All true for wife and I. Soon enough the waiter appeared. Made him aware, then as he walked away, back to us he says I brought your meal. A while later wife tried to order desert. She asked for the one on the menu and was curtly answered.,NO. We asked to see the manager. He was the waiter and the owner. He loudly proclaimed he had purchased both meals and added we complained to get free meals. He also made it clear he didn't care if we ever returned. Never in any restaurant, Burger King, Mac & Bobs to Alexander's, Hotel Roanoke, Table 50, Bernard's, the Chop House, 419, Cafe Asia and many others have we ever been so treated or accused. We were very well dressed, spoke perfect English, born and raised in the USA, are in our 70's, were at all times polite until the manager get testy and accusatory.
We enjoyed a lovely Valentine‘s birthday dinner for my husband here. The food was excellent, the service was outstanding. The innovative bartender had some lovely cocktail creations. This is a comfortable, quiet, welcoming restaurant great for celebrating any occasion, or even just a casual evening out. Highly recommend!
I was informed, via email 6 hours prior to my reservation, that my reservation was cancelled due to "a pipe burst in the kitchen." Reservation cancellations done by the establishment should be performed by phone call first, as the reservation notes stated that a 40th birthday was being celebrated. People are not tied to their emails. Local Roots also did not advertise their closure for 02/13 on social media, so I question the validity of their claim. Their website (which is connected to their FB & Google) is no longer operational. Based of what I've heard of the new ownership (and how their owner treats their service staff), their inability to conduct quality & refined business practices, and their inability to maintain the simplest of business operations, I will not be patronizing this establishment until it receives new ownership and a drastic change in its business operations.
Had reservations last night and restaurant never opened...no communication either.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
We had not been to Local Roots since before COVID. My friend and I were very excited to be back. We used to love their fresh, local selections and were looking forward to their famous bread pudding. How very disappointed we were! It is under new ownership since we were last there. The menu has VERY little to choose from. The choices were all very heavy, meaty dishes. No unique salads and no bread pudding! We were so sad! Neither one of us could find a single thing we wanted to eat from the selection. We felt terrible but we left and went to Bloom instead. I cannot recommend this restaurant any more. It has really gone down hill.
I had the short ribs and that dish was cooked to perfection. And I'm a good (sometimes great) cook and notoriously difficult to please! I enjoyed the leek soup too. So, I will definitely go again!
Chicken was to die for! Hostess was super friendly. Had a glitch with Open Table app and our reservation. Owner was very apologetic even though it wasn't restaurants fault. Great evening with my bride.
I don't normally leave reviews on any businesses but I was insisted to do so by the manager of the establishment. Upon walking in the door I was greeted by live piano music. The atmosphere was warm and inviting and upon asking to be seated away from the entrance the extremely nice hostess moved us to a cozy table by the classy home style bar. The servers were extremely attentive to the fullness of our drinks which I extremely appreciated. The decor, live music and overall uplifting vibe in the establishment really made me think I was in napa valley enjoying brunch with my loved ones. My steak was perfectly cooked medium rare a bit too salty and a little cold however artfully paired with a side of carrots and potatoes. Lastly, we had to leave abruptly during the beginning of the meal and the manager was gracious enough to cover the entire bill! Unexpected kindness goes a long way these days. I'd highly recommend this establishment to those who are looking for home-style local organic cuisine. Take care you beautiful souls.Vegetarian options: Fresh locally sourced optionsParking: At the back on the co-op is my recommendation
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I originally had 5 stars across the board. This is my favorite restaurant in all of Roanoke.But last night at our celebration dinner with my fiance, an older female server (not our server) came to our table just to express her distaste for my finances new shirt I had bought him for Christmas. She looked at me, said "you're twisted" and talked away. I'm honestly shocked.We eat here frequently and love the sstaff, food, atmosphere, and now I feel SO unwelcome and upset.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3