I just ordered the "mclean" sandwich. It was $18. The bread was old and stale. The cheese and meat were low quality and bland. It looked and tasted like a gas station sandwich. I couldn't finish it. It seems as if owners/management are buying the cheapest, bottom of the barrel ingredients from restaurant depot or whomever to try and maximize efficiency/profit. That could be the only explanation for a place so expensive with food quality so poor. Another mediocre, overpriced eatery - the last thing McLean and Great Falls need.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
Thang Carpenter
Convinient spot to hang out with friends as it’s in our neighborhood. Coffee was good but not great.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Bill M.
Food is good. Nice little lunch spot. But if you don't get there well before noon on a weekday, good luck. I come here often and have only seen at most two employees in the store during the lunch "rush". They're horribly understaffed, with likely a single employee in the kitchen to churn out orders. A 30-min wait for a sandwich at lunch, when you want to be in and out quickly, and with the restaurant below 50% capacity, just doesn't make sense. I have to imagine that's why the restaurant is never as busy as the food and atmosphere suggests it should be. It's a clear management deficiency.
Noah Teates
Best breakfast on the Great Falls side of McLean.
Matthew Hia
Very local bar and a nice atmosphere to talk and hang out. Not loud and a very hidden
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Megan S.
Enjoyed a weekday lunch here - 3 adults. We ordered some of the favs - brisket sandwich, adult grilled cheese sandwich, and a couple of chevre/apple/arugula salads. Everything was very fresh and delicious. The salads seemed to be lacking dressing (even though I like very little dressing, these had none or almost none). One of our salads had tons of apples but hardly any goat cheese, and the other had lots of goat cheese but hardly any apples. They probably prepared 2 salads together and simply did not distribute them evenly. Still a great lunch and I can't wait to try the real deal chevre salad. Note: check the event calendar before you go. When we went, there was a fundraiser with a lot of nice women mingling and enjoying the front of the restaurant. The acoustics were such that we couldn't hear one another at our table over them, even though we were several yards away and the women were *not* being overly loud. It's the high ceilings and concrete floors, which are a great aesthetic but not good for noise. The blue dining chairs are so comfy! Glad this place is here because it is a mid-point between my place and my friends and relatives who live in DC/Arlington, avoiding the crowds and traffic of Tysons.
Kristen
i found it a bit pricey for a breakfast burrito to be $11 (and more if you want to add bacon or avocado) although, it was a pretty good burrito. well made and delicious. our chairs were a little crumby but overall the place was pretty cute and not too crowded when we went which made it easy to catch up with my friends without having to shout. i also tried the limeade that was VERY sweet. i watered it down and it was perfectVegetarian options: breakfast burrito
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Breakfast Burrito
K G
I hate to post this because it’s such a good atmosphere, but for the price you’re charged versus what you get I feel compelled to offer others some advice. 3/3 times my order has been delivered to me incorrectly: avo toast with egg. 3/3 times the eggs are never there. I’m just baffled that something so simple can be messed up this often. Granted, this is on me for not checking despite my previous experience before I walked out. I would encourage anyone ordering take out to check and make sure their order has been fulfilled because you will be charged an outrageous price. For $12 you too can get two pieces of toast the size of a child’s palm (“It’s Mclean so we can charge more” seems to be the idea here). So, it pains me to say, I won’t be ordering anything more complicated than black coffee from now on and would advise others to check their take-out to confirm that their order is correct.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 2
A B.
Roots is a cute little cafe located in McLean. It serves a variety of foods, mostly salads and sandwiches, but they also have some dinner entrees. To start with the good things, the food is here is always great. The Ryan, which is their version of a turkey BLT is absolutely delicious. The bread is toasted perfectly, the portion size is plentiful, and they use this special aioli that just makes the sandwich so juicy and flavorful. Another favorite is the buffalo chicken wrap which is made with the most tasty crispy chicken and housemade creamy ranch dressing. Roots also has some of the best smoothies ever and some great dessert options too like sorbets and açaí bowls! However, onto the negatives, Roots is overpriced. Way overpriced. 10 dollars for a smoothie. Look, it's delicious but in the end it's just some blended fruit with water, not worth 10 dollars. Also, 20 dollars for a grilled cheese with a cup of soup??? It's grilled cheese! The most basic food ever! One prepackaged ice cream sandwich, (not even homemade,) is 6 dollars. What?? Another negative about Roots is the service. It usually takes a good 20ish minutes for a simple breakfast item to come out. Even longer if you order an entree. Overall, the food here is delicious but not the type of place to go if you want fast service or cheap food. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.
Angela Carbone
Enjoyed great jazz band on Friday
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Grilled Chicken Sandwich, Roots Cheeseburger, The Italian
I ordered takeout from here. I ordered the Mclean sub, my son ordered Chicken salad sandwich, my wife and daughter got grilled cheese sandwiches. The restaurant looks great. I was thinking this would be a great place to recommend my client's to have their kid's birthday parties. The food came out quickly and was well packed The Mclean sub was OK. I would have preferred the bread to be toasted. I should have asked to be toasted. My son said the chicken salad sandwich was good. But he's a teenage boy. He inhales food when he's hungry. The grilled cheese was bad. It wasn't grilled at all. It was a microwaved cheese sandwich. Tge bread wasnt cooked at all. I grilled the sandwich for my daughter, and my wife toasted hers. By then the cheese was just oozing out and my daughter was turned off. Grill or toast your grilled cheese sandwiches, man!
mert ucar
Receiving wrong orders every Sunday for a weeks.
Service: 1
sophie s.
Whenever I'm home this is my favorite spot! Great food and good vibes. The bartender is awesome and super friendly. Very creative Seasonal cocktails and can always catch ur favorite team on game day. For more content and updates her instagram is @not_rootskitchenandbar.
Tenzin Chogkey
Extremely racist employees and managers and none of the ingredients are fresh besides salad. Everything is frozen but overpriced and Costco offers better tasting items. If you’re a POC be prepared to be unwelcomed.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Chris Byrne
We came on a weekday and had a really nice time. We got a quick cocktail and some wraps. Nice, simple, and great local spot. And looks like lots of folks had a quiet environment to work remotely and drink coffee! Also, Jorge was awesome!!
I just ordered the "mclean" sandwich. It was $18. The bread was old and stale. The cheese and meat were low quality and bland. It looked and tasted like a gas station sandwich. I couldn't finish it. It seems as if owners/management are buying the cheapest, bottom of the barrel ingredients from restaurant depot or whomever to try and maximize efficiency/profit. That could be the only explanation for a place so expensive with food quality so poor. Another mediocre, overpriced eatery - the last thing McLean and Great Falls need.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
Convinient spot to hang out with friends as it’s in our neighborhood. Coffee was good but not great.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Food is good. Nice little lunch spot. But if you don't get there well before noon on a weekday, good luck. I come here often and have only seen at most two employees in the store during the lunch "rush". They're horribly understaffed, with likely a single employee in the kitchen to churn out orders. A 30-min wait for a sandwich at lunch, when you want to be in and out quickly, and with the restaurant below 50% capacity, just doesn't make sense. I have to imagine that's why the restaurant is never as busy as the food and atmosphere suggests it should be. It's a clear management deficiency.
Best breakfast on the Great Falls side of McLean.
Very local bar and a nice atmosphere to talk and hang out. Not loud and a very hidden
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Enjoyed a weekday lunch here - 3 adults. We ordered some of the favs - brisket sandwich, adult grilled cheese sandwich, and a couple of chevre/apple/arugula salads. Everything was very fresh and delicious. The salads seemed to be lacking dressing (even though I like very little dressing, these had none or almost none). One of our salads had tons of apples but hardly any goat cheese, and the other had lots of goat cheese but hardly any apples. They probably prepared 2 salads together and simply did not distribute them evenly. Still a great lunch and I can't wait to try the real deal chevre salad. Note: check the event calendar before you go. When we went, there was a fundraiser with a lot of nice women mingling and enjoying the front of the restaurant. The acoustics were such that we couldn't hear one another at our table over them, even though we were several yards away and the women were *not* being overly loud. It's the high ceilings and concrete floors, which are a great aesthetic but not good for noise. The blue dining chairs are so comfy! Glad this place is here because it is a mid-point between my place and my friends and relatives who live in DC/Arlington, avoiding the crowds and traffic of Tysons.
i found it a bit pricey for a breakfast burrito to be $11 (and more if you want to add bacon or avocado) although, it was a pretty good burrito. well made and delicious. our chairs were a little crumby but overall the place was pretty cute and not too crowded when we went which made it easy to catch up with my friends without having to shout. i also tried the limeade that was VERY sweet. i watered it down and it was perfectVegetarian options: breakfast burrito
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Breakfast Burrito
I hate to post this because it’s such a good atmosphere, but for the price you’re charged versus what you get I feel compelled to offer others some advice. 3/3 times my order has been delivered to me incorrectly: avo toast with egg. 3/3 times the eggs are never there. I’m just baffled that something so simple can be messed up this often. Granted, this is on me for not checking despite my previous experience before I walked out. I would encourage anyone ordering take out to check and make sure their order has been fulfilled because you will be charged an outrageous price. For $12 you too can get two pieces of toast the size of a child’s palm (“It’s Mclean so we can charge more” seems to be the idea here). So, it pains me to say, I won’t be ordering anything more complicated than black coffee from now on and would advise others to check their take-out to confirm that their order is correct.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 2
Roots is a cute little cafe located in McLean. It serves a variety of foods, mostly salads and sandwiches, but they also have some dinner entrees. To start with the good things, the food is here is always great. The Ryan, which is their version of a turkey BLT is absolutely delicious. The bread is toasted perfectly, the portion size is plentiful, and they use this special aioli that just makes the sandwich so juicy and flavorful. Another favorite is the buffalo chicken wrap which is made with the most tasty crispy chicken and housemade creamy ranch dressing. Roots also has some of the best smoothies ever and some great dessert options too like sorbets and açaí bowls! However, onto the negatives, Roots is overpriced. Way overpriced. 10 dollars for a smoothie. Look, it's delicious but in the end it's just some blended fruit with water, not worth 10 dollars. Also, 20 dollars for a grilled cheese with a cup of soup??? It's grilled cheese! The most basic food ever! One prepackaged ice cream sandwich, (not even homemade,) is 6 dollars. What?? Another negative about Roots is the service. It usually takes a good 20ish minutes for a simple breakfast item to come out. Even longer if you order an entree. Overall, the food here is delicious but not the type of place to go if you want fast service or cheap food. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.
Enjoyed great jazz band on Friday
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Grilled Chicken Sandwich, Roots Cheeseburger, The Italian
Restaurantji Recommends
I ordered takeout from here. I ordered the Mclean sub, my son ordered Chicken salad sandwich, my wife and daughter got grilled cheese sandwiches. The restaurant looks great. I was thinking this would be a great place to recommend my client's to have their kid's birthday parties. The food came out quickly and was well packed The Mclean sub was OK. I would have preferred the bread to be toasted. I should have asked to be toasted. My son said the chicken salad sandwich was good. But he's a teenage boy. He inhales food when he's hungry. The grilled cheese was bad. It wasn't grilled at all. It was a microwaved cheese sandwich. Tge bread wasnt cooked at all. I grilled the sandwich for my daughter, and my wife toasted hers. By then the cheese was just oozing out and my daughter was turned off. Grill or toast your grilled cheese sandwiches, man!
Receiving wrong orders every Sunday for a weeks.
Service: 1
Whenever I'm home this is my favorite spot! Great food and good vibes. The bartender is awesome and super friendly. Very creative Seasonal cocktails and can always catch ur favorite team on game day. For more content and updates her instagram is @not_rootskitchenandbar.
Extremely racist employees and managers and none of the ingredients are fresh besides salad. Everything is frozen but overpriced and Costco offers better tasting items. If you’re a POC be prepared to be unwelcomed.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
We came on a weekday and had a really nice time. We got a quick cocktail and some wraps. Nice, simple, and great local spot. And looks like lots of folks had a quiet environment to work remotely and drink coffee! Also, Jorge was awesome!!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5