Roots

Disclaimer: I might be biased and spoiled by California’s Bay Area.
Seeing this place have such high ratings gave me higher expectations for the food. Everything about this restaurant was really nice except for the food. Upon entering, the restaurant has a warm atmosphere to it. It’s also very clean and doesn’t feel cramped, with a slight hipster feeling. The waiters are very attentive, and my water glass was never empty.
The food was alright. When a place offers all kinds of Asian food, including Chinese, Japanese, Hong Kongnese, Taiwanese, Thai, and Vietnamese, it’s probably good to not have high expectations. I appreciate the nod towards all these different countries, but ramen is probably best served in a tiny ramen shop and dim sum is probably best in a dim sum restaurant.
I ordered the (chicken) Pad Thai. While each individual ingredient was very well made, the combination of them was very disappointing. I thought the chicken was very tender and the noodles were chewy and good, but the overall taste was bland. It lacked that slight sweetness and sour taste which makes pad thai oh-​so-​delicious, and kind of just tasted like spicy bland noodles.
My friend ordered the Thai Coconut Bowl, which was a lot better than the Pad Thai. The chicken in this was also very tender. The curry sauce was okay, but felt like it lacked depth, and the purple rice was definitely interesting. Overall, alright, but did not feel like it was worth the price.
Overall, I thought Roots had an interesting idea. It is definitely convenient for customers to be able to just visit one restaurant to try a wide variety of Asian dishes, but if you are looking for the yummiest «insert any Asian food here», this is probably not the place for you.

We are always searching for unique cuisine and new places and last week tried Roots for the first time. When we parked we had our doubts because of its strip mall location but were pleasantly surprised to find a nice atmosphere with a sort of «California» feel to it.
My wife had the tofu which featured a marinated tofu and a marinated eggplant separated by a bed of bok choy. All were delicious. I had the filet mignon dish which was outstanding (warning, it’s a bit spicy). It’s a BYOB and the prices are reasonable!
We went there at 5:15 on a Saturday and it was already full so make a reservation!

Good food, but not so good for families with small kids. No changing table in the bathroom.

Came here for dinner with 2 other friends. The waitress was very informative and knew which dishes on the menu were good based on what we were craving. She was very honest!
Small plates:
Seaweed salad– $ 4, nothing special, good but not amazing and relatively small portion
Soup dumplings-​$ 3, presentation was great! Not as much soup in them as I thought there would be
Blistered shishito pepper– $ 10, very fresh! Not spicy as they said it would be, over all the dish was very satisfying if you don’t expect it to be too spicy
Entrees:
Thai coconut bowl with ramen and chicken $ 14 — the ramen noodles were more like spaghetti. Had really good flavor and was as spicy as I wanted it to be
Roots Ramen $ 15 — not much flavor, definitely had better ramen elsewhere. The pork belly was a little too hard. I would definitely not order this again
Garlic eggplant with beef and shrimp $ 15– very flavorful and the noodles were on point. The best entrée out of the three we ordered
Dessert– strawberry, banana, and Nutella crêpe $ 7.49– very simple and good, nothing amazing but hit the spot!
Over all this joint was very good for its price. I saw fresh juices on the menu which I would definitely come back to try. Although I came here for dinner I think this place would be really good for lunch. The atmosphere was very cozy and modern and the service was great (ask for Ramona ! She was so sweet)
Place is also Byob and had no trouble finding parking!

Awesome bowl of ramen soup, forget which one but the chicken was perfect, the noodles were great, the soft boiled was very cool; brother was great, bok chop was great. Can’t wait to go back and try everything else. Also liked the mason jars for my soda.

Just had dinner and it was great. Love the way the place looks, really cool ambiance. Menu offered a lot of various options. I ordered the Bimbimbop which was pretty good. It wasn’t served in a hot bowl which I’m used to but still flavorful– serving was gigantic! My husband had the pad Thai– there were no leftovers. Save room for dessert because their crêpe menu was amazing! So many different flavors and combos. Place is BYOB which I didn’t know until I got there. Definitely going back with a bottle of wine next time.

Super yummy dinner!!! The Thai curry coconut chicken is amazing! They have crepes too that sound great as well

I cannnnnot praise this semi-​new Princeton Asian Fusion healthy spot enough! Ample menu choices– makes me want to go back and try it all and pretty sure I will. I’m mostly a vegetarian (but eat seafood or halal meat), and there is a still a lot to choose from. Each dish sounds wonderful and they range from Thai to Chinese and of course Japanese (many people love their sushi). It’s definitely a much healthier alternative than an average Asian fusion spot — didn’t seem or taste greasy in the least bit. I thoroughly enjoyed the vegetable steamed dumplings, thai curry with shrimp has a nice kick but definitely not as much kick as the average thai red curry you would get elsewhere, and the Thai basil with purple rice was delicious– loved the purple rice in texture and similar health benefits to brown rice which adds a nice flair to your dish.
Would love to have their ramen or other noodle options as they sounded so good. The servers are very friendly and fast, the food comes out within 10 – 15 minutes so super fast on food delivery (even when the place was packed). It is a very clean place and an observer can look into the kitchen and see how clean they keep it which is a huge plus.
The juices all seemed great and I will try that next time. A friend of mine praised it a lot. We also ended with the mandarin Suzette crêpe which was tasty, and would recommend it (ask for extra orange if you like an extra kick to the crêpe).
It isn’t a cheap Asian spot, but it is not very expensive for the quality and portions that you receive. Add a sweet brooklyn’esque ambiance and vibe, real Asian chefs (not like *cough* pei wei across Rt. 1), drop it down in your hometown, and you’ve got yourself a spot that you are sure to frequent!

Had dinner here on New Year’s Day. Family and I were seated right away. I had the General Roots bowl with ramen noodles and chicken breast (it was pretty much like General Tso’s chicken). It was delicious! My only gripe is that they didn’t cut off all the pieces of fat off the chicken so I tasted the fatty bits even though the chicken pieces were deep-​fried. Not a huge deal though.
Servers were very nice and food came out quickly. Our table also ordered soup dumplings, phở bowls, and ramen bowls. It was all tasty, but a tiny bit on the bland side.
The owner was walking around checking on and greeting people. She was very warm and welcoming and I thought it was a nice touch. I would definitely come back again. I also loved the décor and ambience.

Went to Roots with friends after searching Unilocal for the perfect spot. The place was packed and the ambiance was beautiful and modern. All the food being delivered to the tables around us looked amazing.
The menu was filled with delicious Asian fusion dishes. We ordered a plethora of dishes for the table.
The shishito peppers, volcano roll and soupy buns were Delish. Everything we ordered came out wonderfully plated and tasty.
I gave 4 stars because the only negative was the shortribs which were $ 24. came out dry and an extremely small portion. The main dinner entrees aren’t worth the price. Stick with sushi, bowls, sides, etc.
A great BYOB. Don’t be discouraged from the place because it’s in a strip mall… This is a must for all! Enjoy!

Best restaurants in the Princeton/​WWP area for sure. So glad this place opened up. Think Agricola ambiance & décor, but asian fusion food. I typically stay away from fusion places, as an asian myself, because I feel they ruin the integrity of each ethnicity’s cuisine. But this place is fusion in that the menu carries multiple cuisines but each stays true to that country. Beef phở here is bomb (not to mention the only place to get phở around). Appetizers are surprisingly large and really good. It isn’t mind-​blowing by any means, but it is affordable and the best food you can get in that area.

This is a fantastic local eatery. The food is delicious and very fresh. A standout from your traditional suburban restaurant. Casual, comfortable and extremely tasty food. I highly recommend it for a casual dinner with friends.

Mango Shrimp Rolls Yum!
It’s very nice ambience.
BYOB
Overall pleasant experience though they can add to beverage menu.
Food presentation and quality is at par to fine dining.
No more P.F. Chang for me or maybe mostly not.

Second visit and just as impressed! We have to come for sushi alone next time… Had the four season this time along with Kimchi fried rice… this time hubby had drunken noodles. Food was delicious and service was top notch! If only we had room to try one of the sweet crepes hehe

Been here 3 – 4 times for lunch. Their pork bun was juicy, their specialty rolls were fresh and delicious. Drunken noodle and pad thai was good but salty. I do not like their ramen noodle soups since the noodles come out overcooked. Phở bo was good. The chicken teriyaki bowl was very salty so they gave me a new one with teriyaki sauce on the side.
If you can’t eat salty food, ask them to put less sauce when you order at the counter.
The décor is very modern and sleek. The waiters bring out the dishes when you order at the counter. Their service was attentive.
Actually their cappuccino was great.

Nice décor, very fast, BYO, and decent food. Enough to want to come back again but not quite memorable.
I got the vegetarian Thai Coconut with ramen and the wife got the shrimp pad Thai. It tasted good but I kind of regret not trying some of their signature dishes which makes me want to come back to try that.

Pork bun and chicken pad Thai. So good. I would have taken a picture of the bun but I scarfed it. Pad Thai could be spicier but its flavorful. Service was quick and nice though I came at an odd time I between lunch and dinner… Linner.

The ramen is mediocre and bland, especially for the price. At risk of overgeneralizing, it seems like this place specializes in overpriced, pseudo ethnic food. Skip.
I tried their signature «roots ramen», which was listed as spicy. No detectable spice whatsoever. Pork was tough and overcooked. Egg was a standard boiled egg, not pickled in soy sauce. On the plus side, the noodles were nicely cooked, and there was a surprisingly flavorful ultra-​thin slice of golden beet. I was seated immediately, but the ramen took half an hour to arrive. Ambience is low key and acceptable, if a bit phony.

Big fan!
I Unilocaled Thai food in Princeton, and this place popped up. It’s actually Asian fusion with some French offerings.
The proprietor, Tiffany, was struggling to prop open the door when I walked in. She also removed the extra silverware from our table. I love mom and pops.
I bounced around the diverse menu and landed on something when it was time to order. Our group all went different routes and all were satisfied.
Highly recommend!

OMG. Yum. Stop whatever you’re doing and go there now. Absolutely EVERY bite of food that was brought out to our table of 3 was A-​MAZ-​ING.
Honestly the space is a little bizarre (It’s set up EXACTLY like a Chipotle… i mean EXACTLY) but whatever, who cares.
The kimchi fried rice and miso ramen were favorites of the table. Absolutely outstanding, reasonably big portions, really delicious.