Root

Absolutely wonderful restaurant. Amazing food! We were here for a special event and got to taste all kinds of things. Among other things we tried the vegan burger with a tofu egg, a kfc bowl featuring fried seitan, and a jack fruit BBQ calzone. All vegan, all delicious. Family owned and operated business.

UPDATE: went again and there was a new menu. Tried the empanadas — - amazing! I have been thinking of going back to get it again already.
I also recently went gluten free and their menu is very clear about gf options. Love this place!

I’ll start by saying I had a fabulous dinner at Flora’s before my critique. This review is not about the food-​I am not a vegan-​which is maybe why the bar tender felt he had the right to treat the group I was with like we were beneath him.
After enjoying a carnivorous meal at Flora’s a small group of us decided to walk over to Root for a cocktail. Perhaps the bar tender could smell the meat on our breath and was offended because he was nothing but RUDE to our group.
When we entered Root we were quite pleased with the atmosphere-​the décor is lovely, rustic, and oh so cozy! The pleasant experience ended with the bar tender with the over inflated ego. The bar was not by any means busy. There were maybe 6 other patrons (all of which already had drinks). We ordered our first round and waited with empty glasses to be asked if we would like to place another order. I requested to sample the grapefruit beer and the bar tender reacted as if I’d asked for his first child. How dare he be inconvenienced with having to pull down on the tap for all of 10 seconds! He finally handed me the sample, didn’t look at me or ask if I’d like to have a full beer. He went back to the other end of the bar to hang out with the few patrons that he had no problem pouring drinks for. Needless to say we left very unhappy with our experience.
This was by far the worst service I have experienced in Lancaster. It was a MAJOR disappointment to be treated so rudely by a bar tender. We won’t be going back which is a shame because we often host family and friends from out of town and love showing off the new small businesses in Lancaster. This won’t be one of our stops.

My wife and I just ate dinner here. Full disclosure, I’m not a vegan or vegetarian. However, maybe you are questioning whether a meat-​eater could find something good to eat. Yes, you certainly can. Their avocado jalapeño and coleslaw spring rolls were very good. Their version of the Philly cheesesteak was good, but I could see adding a little more filler. The cheese sauce was good, but almost a mix between a cheese sauce and gravy. My wife had the black bean burger. It was very good, but was on the heavy side. If I were to get it in the future I’d likely ask that the bread be light buttered. The French fries were great, I wouldn’t change those. I would definitely go back. The prices were very reasonable. Some of the other reviews say the service was slow. Tonight was a Saturday night at 7PM and we were able to sit immediately and had our food in about 20 minutes of ordering. I’d say that is really good.

Was really pumped to try this place. Not overly impressed. Had the zucchini rolls, very good. The avocado spring rolls were also good. The enchiladas were a big disappointment. Basically a tiny bit of corn and peppers in tons of spongy tortilla. It would be so easy to fill those things up!
Service was slow, one person for whole room and bar. She was definitely working hard tho.

Friendly service, yummy beer, delicious food, super reasonable prices and a very cool old brick interior. Go now!

This place is absolutely amazing! I had no idea this was a vegan restaurant when we happened to walk in for a drink. I wound up ordering a couple delicious seitan tostadas. While I did have to pull some of the jalapeños because it got a little hot, the flavors were amazing.
The bartender happened to be one of the owners and he was extremely friendly and helpful. I have to say, I really enjoyed my first taste of Vegan food.

They tried really hard. The menu looks amazing, but the actual food leaves much to be desired. I had the enchiladas, which were two flour tortillas filled with corn and a few beans and topped with a tiny bit of pizza (what!!!) sauce. Very little flavor, very little protein.
Other members of our party commented that all the sauces seemed to be from a can. All dishes, especially the pizzas, could have benefited from more cheese.
The sweet potato fritters were the best thing our table tried. The dressing that came with it was great! Prices were good.

I adore this vegan pub! I’m a long time vegetarian and I was so happy to find this place. I really love that they change the menu with what foods are in season. That’s how eating should be!
I really recommend the Stromboli’s but would like to see them maybe use wholewheat bread instead of white. The vegan cupcakes were moist and delicious. Wish I lived closer so I could make this pub a regular

I was SO excited to find this place. It opened in December 2015 and after hearing about it, I came in for brunch and dinner. Both times I’ve been there the sign told us to seat ourselves. The staff have been really friendly and helpful, the place has a bar with vegan beer/​wine options (and I assume a full bar available).
The food is reasonable and everything has been delicious! Also, as far as I can tell, everything is vegan so if you are as well, it’s brilliant to order off the menu without having to analyze the ingredients.
As far as parking, there’s street parking (the meters are free on Sunday and after 6pm Mon-​Sat) and there’s a public garage one block over from the restaurant.

We drove from Reading to eat here. We’re both long time vegetarians and it’s great to to eat somewhere with more veg choices than a black bean burger or pasta.
You walk and and seat yourself. The main room was very crowded and the bar was loud. There is actually a back area, but it’s hard to see. Without a host, you could easily walk in, see no empty seats and leave.
You seat yourself and wait. The service is very slow and honestly not very friendly. Our server didn’t smile once and had a pretty indifferent attitude.
The menu had a lot of great choices, quite a bit of variety. We enjoyed the food very much. Reasonably priced as well.
We will come back for sure but our overall experience was more 3 stars than 4. I gave an extra star assuming they were either short on servers or they’ll figure out that they need better service. You can’t have people seat themselves then get ignored, food take 40 minutes to come out and then have a grumpy server on top of it.

Awesome dinner! Just the right portions! Food was great and so was service! You have to try this place! Heathy and hip !

My wife is a vegetarian, I eat everything. I love trying places like this, I wasn’t disappointed. The southwest tofu scramble lasagna had great spice and flavor. My Bloody Mary was nice and spicy.
Stylish rustic interior, with great light from the large windows; a terrific brunch spot on a, finally, sunny winter day.

This is a great bar. The fact that everything is vegan makes it perfect. The service was very friendly. The food came out in good time, with the space you want between appetizer and main course.
The food was delicious, and root has a great selection of brews I tap. I can’t wait to get here again!

You might not think of a vegan pub as innovative, but it truly is for this area and long overdue. Outside Philly, there is just nothing like it I can think of in PA. I am so grateful to the owners for making this happen. We had followed their progress for months and were so delighted to see them finally open.
The environment is casual but welcoming and stylish, a former brewery with a glass front, exposed brick walls, a front bar/​dining area, more seating space in the back, and an elevated open kitchen. At every turn, we found staff to be friendly and professional. We did not have to wait long for food or drinks, even though it was busy on a weekday night. The bar has TVs, but they don’t take over the space like they do in some places.
Go ahead and seat yourself and then begin the torture of trying to decide. The menu is large and packed with comfort food favorites such as pierogies, mac & cheese, pizza, pub fries, pot pie, egg rolls, and sliders, done with sophisticated twists to make them special. We were full after our appetizers (but that didn’t stop us); the portions are large for the low prices.
Drinks are a little more expensive, but I was excited to see a non-​animal bar menu, quite educational since there were some on there (like McManis wines) I had no idea were vegan. I hear the menu will be changing soon, but I didn’t really see a need for it and am hoping to work my way through, trying every dish. Our favorite was the German pizza with sauerkraut, sausage, and mashed potatoes. Absolutely cannot wait to try the brunch, another sorely needed option for many miles.
No desserts at this time, but that will probably be coming, our server said.
The crowd was all ages but tended toward the younger, which makes sense because the Millennials are remarkable in their compassion for animals and the environment in a way previous generations don’t seem to be. I will be bringing all my friends here, since you will love the food no matter what your dietary ethos is.

My last visit here wasn’t great. The new menu was OK. I just feel like they need to get out of Lancaster and see what vegan food is like in larger cities. Vegan food can be amazing. I’m going to give this restaurant some time before I go back.

Ok, 2^nd visit! I had a drink, and came with the mindset of vegan «bar food» and fared much better.
This time I went for the pub fries as an appetizer. Good, but the «cheese sauce» was a bit lacking and thin. Still flavorful, just runny.
Next was the French Dip. Honestly, it was a mushroom sandwich on a baguette. There was nothing to DIP it into. The waiter came back after I was nearly finished and asked what I thought. I said, I expected something to DIP into, hence the name. He came back later and said the chef is going to try to make a DIP for the French Dip in the future. I’m eager to try it. Currently its just a French Eat. Still tasty as is, but This DIP wants something to DIP into.
Enough with the dips.
So, overall an improved experience. Everything was tasty, and even though the place was packed (only a few empty seats when I arrived), food came within a reasonable time. Root, you’re improving at a quick pace. I like this.
Ok, I gotta DIP! (groan).

We had «Sunday Brunch» and it was fantastic !
My partner had Pumpkin French Toast Casserole and I had Gallo Pinto with Tofu Scramble.
The menu changes every Sunday
and everything is appetizing and reasonable in price.
Two meals with coffee for each was $ 18.
Excellent food and a great setting.

Great food & staff! Good atmosphere for the whole family as well. Definitely recommend!

A slightly biased review due to the fact that I know Rob, his cooking, and half the staff at Root, but damn. I was blown away! Of course they are still a new business and have kinks to work out but the food is worth it. We had the avocado Reuben spring rolls and veggie quesadilla. Perfect! Fair prices for everything that is made from scratch, organic, and vegan.
Being a vegan and Living three blocks away, I’ll make this my frequent bar.