Roots

This spot that bills itself as 'Guatemala meets North Carolina' has a decent brunch menu. There are drink specials each day. I ordered a $5 mimosa on Saturday and it was definitely closer to two full mimosas. ($20 pitchers on Sundays)

The huevos rancheros had beans that could rival anyone's. But there's no tortillas underneath so I missed that, but they had a few good hot sauces. Ask for them. If you go, you HAVE to order the plantains. They we're sweet and gooey without being mushy. Clay got the steak and eggs. Don't make this mistake. When they asked how he wanted it cooked, we got our hopes up, but it was not steak. It was also not seasoned. They also forget the eggs part of steak and eggs.

Still we had an enjoyable experience with decent service.

This review is for brunch and lunch.

Came here a few months ago for lunch with a friend and it was wonderful. We both had the Cuban sandwich with a cup of fruit on the side. The Cuban was served hot and delicious. And the fruit side came with lots of different berries, melons, and grapes, not just one type of cheap fruit like some places give you.

Came for brunch on a Sunday and once again everything was perfectly delicious.

We started with the bread plate for $4 which seriously exceeded our expectations. It came with two kinds of "bread": a cornmeal pound cake and a lemon iced creme cake, and some kind of jam which we couldn't decide what kind of fruit(maybe blackberry?) but it was delicious. It would've been a good size brunch appetizer for 3-4 people, though the two of us ate all of it haha! And for only $4 it was a great deal. We ended up ordering one to-go so we could take it to our friend's house that afternoon. The waitress told me they had just recently revamped their bread plate - I hope they keep it this way!

I had the pork and grits plate which was a huge portion of cheesey grits, pulled pork, and bbq sauce. It was very different from your average grits bowl and very good! My husband got the steak and eggs plate which also came with seasoned rice, black beans, a piece of fresh flatbread, and some sort of herb sauce. It was all delicious and the steak was seasoned perfectly, though the cut was a bit tough. Still good for a brunch steak, though. I have to mention the coffee, too. It's so hard to find decent coffee in Chapel Hill, especially at a sit-down place. I wouldn't necessarily go here for the coffee alone but it was definitely good, much better than the other places in this area.

Our waitress at brunch was really wonderful also.

We'll definitely be back here and are looking forward to trying the dinner at some point too.

I went here for brunch with a group from work.
The servings are huge! We each got something different and everyone liked their food, and commented on the generosity of the ingredients and serving size. Eggs Benedict are my favorite breakfast food and they actually had it! It was good and the eggs were cooked perfectly, but the sauce was not thick enough for my taste. Seasoning was lacking a bit on everything, even salt. The plantains were good. For eggs Benedict, a side of cheese grits, and coffee it was about $14, which is typical around here.
Oh, try not to use the restroom while there - it stinks back there and is messy. Old building smell mostly but still gross.

We had a terrible experience here. Our server was very slow -- we waited a long time for her to even take our order. This would be understandable if the restaurant was busy, but all of the servers were clustered together talking about something on their phone. Only after we motioned for her to come over, did she take our order.

The food took about 20 minutes to arrive, which was fine -- we ordered the flowering onion, French toast, goat cheese and egg sandwich and eggs Benedict. The food itself was only okay, nothing to write home about. I suspect part of the reason for some of the hype about this place is because there are relatively few breakfast places in Carrboro. Beggars can't be choosers.

Everything was very slow here. We had to flag down our server every time we needed something. And when we were ready to get the check? More of the same as I'd come to expect. My boyfriend had to ask for her to come over twice. And she actually ignored him both times. I'm certain she heard him as the party sitting directly beside us also called for her and she stopped by their table.

Lastly, this review would have been 2 stars if it wasn't for this last part. When our flowering onions arrived, the small personal plates that were placed in front of us were dirty. As in, they were previously used. Like there were visible crumbs and grease on the plates. I nearly left right then and there.

Would advise management to re-train their employees immediately.

THE WORST EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD AT A RESTAURANT!

Listen up people. I don't write bad reviews. I really hate it! Part of the reason I love Yelp is because I love sharing my love for food with other people. But I cannot hold back when it comes to my experience at Roots.

Let me get right to the point: I order fish. My fish came out EXTREMELY undercooked. In fact, it was raw in the center. Upset, I told my waiter and he made me a new piece. They were so slow that my waiter was also my chef. (What?!) I watch him cook my second piece of fish and bring it out. He apologizes and I begin to cut into my fish. RAW AGAIN! This time I was a little less than understanding and to make matters worst, he rambles on about how it was his "fish guys fault" and not his. He insisted that his "fish guy" brought him bad fish. He also decided to stick his hand in the fish to prove that it was warm.

At a loss for words, my date and I left. That waiter comped the meal but insisted we pay for the beer.

I highly recommend you stay far, far away from this place. Or maybe stay away from the "fish guy" since it was his fault that my dinner was undercooked not once, but twice.

The menu at Roots for brunch looked promising and it did not disappoint! We ordered the plantains for an appetizer with crema Fresca and it was delicious! The brunch cocktail menu is super fun as well. The eggs Benedict was fabulous. The hollandaise had a slight Dijon taste that made it unique but still a classic favorite. Our waiter was great! Highly recommend Roots.

Roots really prides itself on using fresh local ingredients to create tasty meals that support its local farms and markets (hence the name "Roots"). I've been here for brunch and lunch, and I was pleased with the taste, freshness and quality of the food both times! The menu has a little bit of a Latin twist as it provides brief descriptions of its dishes in both English and Spanish and includes foods like fried plantains, ceviche, and pupusas. But you can find your classic American dishes like shrimp and grits, typical eggs/bacon/hash brunch, burgers (made with grass-fed beef), sandwiches and salads. The prices were also very reasonable, with most dishes being in the $8-12 range.

For lunch, I got a rosemary chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries, and it was amazing! I loved the unique hint of rosemary in the grilled chicken on a sandwich, and I could taste the freshness of all of the ingredients...even the bread, pickle and sweet potato fries (none of that frozen stuff)! I was actually introduced to this restaurant by some friends who eat strictly paleo, and they were able to easily make selections that fit their diet. Would definitely come again!!

This place is an interesting fusion of guatemalan and southern food. On the inside, it's very cute and home-y. We went here on a Friday afternoon for lunch and I was surprised that there weren't more people there. For students, it can be pricey, but they recently offered this deal where students can get half off with a beverage purchase which definitely makes it cheaper.

For a beverage, I got the mango orange juice. At first, I expected it to be fresh, but alas, it came out in a glass bottle. Though, it was still pretty good. It was sweet and thick and tasted pretty much like standard mango juice.

For the meal, I got the Guate-burger and it was delicious. The beef is local and grass-fed, and you can definitely tell when you taste the meat. It tasted fresh and it was not super greasy. One of the things that I really enjoyed about this burger was the queso fresco on it. This queso paired well with both the avacado and the beef. It oozed out from the burger when I was eating it and that never happens when I'm eating cheeseburgers. The fries that I got were also decent. Some of the fries were a little bit undercooked on the inside, but they were okay overall.

Side note: My friend is also vegetarian and got the veggie wrap which she said was also good, so this place is also vegetarian friendly (yay!).

I was walking along Franklin St on a Monday night after the college semester finished and ended up here for a late dinner. The ambience is upscale casual. There's a lot of seating space, mostly dark wood chairs and tables, and bar seating, along with a couple of couches. It was very quiet on a Monday night in the early summer. Aside from our group walking in, there was one man sitting at the counter eating.

They have a huge menu with a variety of foods all with an emphasis on farm-to-table dining. The cuisine definitely has some Southern influence, but also a Central and South American influence as well. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Partner had the huevos rancheros and said they stood up well to his Tex-Mex standards. I had the vegetarian tamale which was served on banana leaf on a bed of rice and avocado slaw. The tamale had a really soft consistency and was a little bland to my taste. The rice was good. I thought there could've been a little more avocado in the slaw. We were too full to try dessert.

They have a good selection of draft beers and Monday night had a $3 pint special. We didn't take too much advantage of that because we'd been at Beer Study before dinner. Had we known...

Accepts credit cards. Street parking. Good service. Would come back and try more stuff.

I am already wondering when I can go back here for brunch...

Roots, a place whose name does not immediately give you a feeling for its Latin food, is a wonderful place for a casual brunch meal. I came here recently and was so happy to see that this restaurant offers a brunch menu on both Saturdays and Sundays, something that doesn't seem to exist in Chapel Hill. My friend and I were excited to try something new, and we made a great decision to come here.

I got there a little early, and our waitress was cheerful and approachable. She offered me water, and I promptly ordered coffee. It came with sugar and cream; the coffee was hot but it wasn't super great. It lacked flavor, so I kept adding sugar which didn't help and was a terrible idea for my waistline. But it didn't matter because I ordered the French toast which came with a tasty syrup and berries. The syrup is called "Chef's syrup," so I hoped it would be something special in flavor. It was just plain. It was good, but normal. Where was the Latin flair? Even so, this French toast was AMAZING. I loved it. It was the perfect portion, price, and texture. I would order it again in a heartbeat. The berries were strawberries and blueberries, and they were good too. I look forward to coming back so I can try some of the other Latin-inspired dishes - plantains, tamales, etc.

Upon looking over the entire menu, I think it could use a refresh. There are numerous items that don't scream Central America to me which is unfortunate. I think if you are going to have one or two dishes per section to meet this criteria, you might as well go hard in the paint and have more of those items than the traditional American dishes (think chicken wings and grilled cheese). Or, if you want to offer American dishes, I would appreciate true Latin touches and accents. But it's kind of confusing at this point.

Bottom line: the service, atmosphere, and food I have experienced are great. There can be some improvements, but this is a wallet-friendly and convenient brunch spot!