I am a big fan of hand tossed pizza. I do not like the deep dish Chicago style or the thin crust. They have a lot of topping choices. The build your salad also looked good, however I did not have that..maybe next time. I saw the mozzarella sticks.. they are the size of Twinkies!! It was worth blowing my gluten intolerance for this pizza. Who ever complained about fennel in the sauce is crazy. Everyone can make their own sauce. I liked it and honestly the fennel didn't stand out. Mine it wasn't in there. I have feta, pepperoni, and sautéed garlic spinach. I was very happy the didn't skimp on the feta. My niece had pineapple dress mozzarella and something else. We both loved our pizzas. Ohh they have a kids menu as well. This place is baby friendly!
Review Source:This place easily can become your home away from home if you're new to the neighborhood. Â Their build-a-salad is awesome. Â I find my way there weekly and usually more than once.
Staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Â Big John is a real hoot. Â Ya, I said hoot.
Only complaint is Jameson is $7 a shot I think....that's just robbery.
I really like this place! Â Great atmosphere, food and drinks. Â I go there often as its close to me and a great crowd.
Try the Mozzarella sticks... holy yum.
I would give it 5 stars... but I cant... its too expensive! Â I have a hard time spending $20+ on a pizza. Â It seems like this is a general sentiment.
Atmosphere -- four stars!
Food -- two stars.
I really WANT to like Roots. Â Set foot in the door and it's a nice mix of slightly hip and laid back, something I'm not quite sure how they pulled off. Â Built out of an old firehouse, lots of exposed brick and the obligator two oversized roll-up doors complete the decor.
Unfortunately it's the actual pizza that lets the establishment down. Â It's thoroughly TASTELESS. Â The dough that Roots goes on about is completely devoid of seasoning and tastes exactly like what you'd expect flour, water, and a bare minimum of sugar to taste like. Â The pizza sauce has, of all things, fennel in it. Â Really, fennel? Â I can understand fennel in sausage where it belongs, but just thrown into regular pizza sauce? Â Besides the fennel the sauce is otherwise devoid of both seasoning and spice. Â Worse, somehow their pepperoni is also completely devoid of spice! Â I actually had to check underneath the cheese to make sure that I wasn't eating a plain cheese!
The taste of the pizza didn't get better as leftovers (when you can really sit it on your tongue, move it around, and genuinely take your time tasting every last thing without burning your tongue). Â The fennel taste had mostly dissipated (to be expected), which left the rest of the pizza, which unfortunately bore a striking resemblance to taking a bite out of a magazine. Â Again I had to check to make sure there actually was pepperoni on the slice due to the complete absence of flavor. Â Crust was slightly better texture-wise as a leftover since it soaked up a little moisture, but again without seasoning or spices it's a strictly utilitarian affair delivering the flavorless toppings and sauce.
Such high hopes. Â Please hire a chef with a working palette; I enjoy food with flavor. Â Right now the decor and atmosphere is the only thing saving Roots from a one star, as the food certainly isn't capable.
First time there, no hello no host had to ask the bartender for a seat. Waitress seemed like she rather be somewhere else, she was nice enough just not into her job. Pizza was OK nothing special, it looks nice inside and has a nice bar and beer list but what pizza joint doesn't have a decent beer list theses days. Sorry Roots not impressed with the quad city style pie and lack of service. I'm gonna give you one more try because lots of people have had a good experience there and all restaurants deserve a second chance because we all have a bad day sometimes, I just wont be there any time soon.
Review Source:I'm not a pizza person at all. Â It's weird that I live in Chicago and don't have a pizza craving like everyone else. Â Well, that's not true. Â REAL Chicagoans don't rave about the pizza here. Â It's just a way of life. Â Much like it is in New York, but anyway.
I'm a fan of their crust and their Big Mick pizza. Â Love it. Â Super good. Â Staff is friendly, and helpful. Â Also, when you pick it up for delivery, by the time you get it home (for me, about a 15 minute drive) it's still warm AND your whole car smells of awesome. Â :-)
We had a house guest who was a first-time visitor to Chicago. Naturally, one of the items on the to-do list was Chicago pizza... but a little tricky because it had to be gluten free. It was amazing what some places promote as "gluten free pizza" but Roots delivered the real deal. It was excellent and our friend went home happy.
We also had a couple of regular pizzas, both of which were excellent. Also tried the sweet potato tots (wow) and enjoyed a great caesar salad.
What impressed me more than the food, though, was the staff. They were outstanding - friendly, attentive without being annoying, and fast. Once we told our server that a member of our party had a gluten allergy, every item that arrived at our table - regardless of who brought it, was identified as whether or not it was a dairy- or gluten-free dish. It was done without any trace of annoyance or resentment. Seemed like they generally cared about our experience on every level.
All that being said, it's a great atmosphere and we really enjoyed everything about the meal. We're definitely going back, and unless the next visit is a disaster I'm going have to put Roots Handmade Pizza in our top 5 Chicago pizzarias.
This review is just for delivery. Â I can not speak to the vibe of the establishment... although after tasting the food I will not be going back to find out what the restaurant looks like on the inside. Â Weird tasting crust, kinda doughy and sweetish. Â If you know what malt crust is and like it then maybe it's your thing, it was not my thing. Â The sausage was crumbly almost grainy. Â All in all a disappointing pizza but the sweet potato tater tots were just bad. Â They were mushy and even after we tried to crisp them up in the over they were still tasteless. Â The lunch room tater tots from elementary school were far better. Â Order from somewhere else.
Review Source:Roots definitely lived up to its name of handmade Pizza. Its that for the last decade or so, out of town pizzerias (and I use that term loosely) have tried to break into the Chicago Market. Piece, Jet, Roots, NY Slices, etc. have either come from elsewhere or used a style from somewhere else.
Roots is self promoted as Iowa Pizza on the menu. We ordered a green pepper and sausage pizza and plum chicken wings. I added a home brewed root beer to wash everything down. The crust was amazing. Perfectly crispy. The sauce and cheese were good and I Loved that they crumble the sausage instead of serving in patty style like deep dish or in little balls like most thin crust pizzas in the area.
The root beer was also one of the best I have ever had. It isn't sweet like most traditional root beers. It's similar to barqs.
Roots is definitely a welcome addition to chicago food and I love their different approach.
I looooove Roots!!!
Their pizza is like no other pizza you've had before, seriously. First off, it's all handmade and fresh; the crust is so crispy; and the cheese is melted to perfection.
Not only that but they have this salad called the Tomato, Avocado, and Mozzarella Salad that I swear is the best salad I have EVER eaten! The ingredients are so fresh, and the combination of everything together topped with the cilantro lime dressing is to die for!!!
They also have a million craft beers to try if you're a beer person like myself. I could go on and on about this place, so take my word and go see for yourself! I hope your experience will be as good as mine!
Update:
My opinion has changed here: I still like the neighborhood joint w/local brews idea, but after a couple of visits, I found myself wishing for some different selections, esp. on tap. I was excited to try the house-made pasta, but it ended up on my plate well beyond al-dente. That was the Fettuccini. When I ordered the Lasagne, my dining companion described the consistency as "tofu-like"; noodles were WAY overdone. I'd still come in for  beer, or free pizza when they have it, but for me, it's not a food destination. (Their Michelin recommendation makes me wonder what the criteria are to get their endorsement.)
I came and ordered some soup to go. Â A Â bowl was $6! Â I don't mind paying that much for a bowl of broccoli cheedar, but the cheese was not particular sharp and flavorful and almost seemed processed. Â I've had their pizza once before - good but not extraordinary. Â The bartender on Saturday night was rather unattentive.
Review Source:I haven't yet dined in here, but my friend raves about this place and got take away one night so I could try it. Â What he got was the BLT pizza. Â Interesting concept, basically a pizza with a bucket of bacon on it (who doesn't love bacon, but even I thought this was excessive) and then lettuce and tomato to put on the pizza afterwards with mayo (even though they forgot to include the mayo)
This is one of those unique types of pizzas that ends up not really being a "pizza" as most of us are used to. Â I've heard its more quad city style or something? Â I dunno. Â I thought the flavors were good and it was well made... expensive for a weekly thing. Â I do want to try another variety at some point.
Been twice, came away full and happy both times.
Service is attentive and accurate. And hot. Universally.
Great beer selection, decent tap selection, some pricier pitchers, but mostly worth it.
Decent number of reasonably well-placed TVs in the bar area, great for catching today's Packers-Bears game. Would have been better if they'd won. Good fan crowd at the bar and a few tables. A little loud at times, but they kept it family-friendly.
Build a salad's great, easily split by two. Build a pizza's even better. Neither time have myself and a dining companion been able to finish the larger pie, despite big efforts on the part of various big-appetite guys. Lengthy enough ingredient lists that heated topping negotiations concluded successfully both times, and without violence.
I was more impressed with the crust on my first visit, but wasn't unhappy with it this time around. Not sure how you eat the strip-style (Quad City?) slices without a fork and knife, you can't pick it up with a single hand, and it's not big enough to deserve two hands.
I was invited here by a friend and told it was the best pizza he's had in Chicago.
Bar was set pretty high and the pizza did not disappoint! Medley of ingredients in the cheese and fact that cheese is sprinkled on last reminds me of pizza as a kid. It has a certain taste to it that gives it a hint of nostalgia. It's the way pizza used to taste...perhaps more real, made with better quality ingredients?
We had half pepperoni and half sausage. Both were tasty, but the sausage is really somethin' special. Again, perhaps a blend of spices that makes the sausage stick out to me? But....the crust. So good. I specifically said before ordering the pizza that I did not want to eat a lot, but this crust was seriously delicious...a bit sweet, soft and irresistible. (According to their website, malt crust. om nom nom)
Extensive drink menu includes a million and one craft beers from the midwest U.S. Not a beer connoisseur, but definitely like to try new ones when I can and stay away from Miller Lite. Server was full of info about the beers as well as suggestions.
Long story short: I ate half of a large pizza. The only reason it's 4 stars is because the restaurant was SO COLD.
I tried Roots' pizza for the first time this Sunday when my roommates suddenly had a craving for it. I had no idea what it was, but they were excited about it so naturally I was too. =)
Although it isn't far from us, we decided to get it delivered (Sunday lounging). It took about 30 minutes, which isn't bad considering they warn you it may take up to an hour.
I waited a couple hours to grab my first piece since I had just eaten too much at Pot Pan down the road in hopes of curing my hangover. My first piece was great - although I felt it was too thin for what isn't supposed to be 'thin crust', something about the cheese really stood out. I'm not sure how many types of cheese were on there but there were seasonings and herbs that I just couldn't get enough of. By my second piece, however, I realized that there just wasn't enough sauce on the pizza, which is absolute baloney. And by my third piece reheated the next day, it just wasn't impressive, which I found to be really sad since reheated pizza is usually the best.
I'm glad I tried it, but I think Chicago offers a ton of better pizza places.
I've been ordering the "build you own salad" from Roots about once a week on days when my at-home produce supply has dwindled and I haven't been to the store yet...always so happy with what I get. I love that I have so many options.
Today I ordered a salad and it arrived quickly and then about an hour later ANOTHER salad arrived. lol I told the driver I'd be happy to take it (and have lunch for tomorrow)
I wish I had some cash on me so I could have given him a tip for driving over.
Needless to say I will continue to order from Roots.
PS: their mini-calzones are yummers
I've been to Roots a number of times and I love it. Generally my boyfriend and I eat here on Monday nights so he can enjoy football on a number of flat screen TVs, and I'm inclined for the Build A Salad option. As a strict herbivore it's nice to have options, like pistachios and beets, for a salad. Needless to say, it's a huge upgrade from the expected house salad other restaurants carry for their vegan/vegetarian customers. The sesame oil vinaigrette is delicious - if you're getting a salad it's a must-have.
Roots has plenty of options for everyone, including a taco pizza with Doritos on top, which seems to capture the interest of the friends we bring here. I've also tried a variety of their appetizers (great for sharing) which never disappoint.
Our servers at Roots have been friendly, quick to get our drinks, and generally seem like happy people. I appreciate this aspect as I work at a bar/restaurant myself.
They have a decent craft beer list. My boyfriend raves about their decision to include Summit EPA in the craft bottle menu, as he is from MN and not many other Chicago bars carry any of Summit's beer.
Additionally, Roots has a pleasant atmosphere and is great for bringing out-of-town friends for pizza and drinks. 5 stars!
I came here for a wedding rehearsal on a Friday night. We had the whole back room to ourselves.
First thing I wondered when I walked in: what is Quad City style pizza? Well, all I can say is the crust tasted sweeter and the slices were cut into long pieces instead of squares. That's all I saw.
To start, we had the salad, chicken wings, and mozzarella sticks. All was really good, especially the candied walnuts in the salad. Yum!
There were 2 different kinds of pizza - cheese and what seemed to be some sort of burger-type pizza. Both were quite tasty, and I was surprised at how much the burger pizza tasted like a big Mac.
What blew me away (and was the reason for the 4-star review) was their beer list! They focus on local brews (local including Michigan, Iowa, etc.) and the list was extensive. I started wit ha raspberry wheat beer and ordered a java brew before the night was over. I definitely enjoyed both. The waitresses were also very familiar with the beer list, and quickly offered suggestions when I was trying to decide what to order.
The only negative was that the back room was so incredibly loud. I could barely hear the people at my table to have a conversation.
Overall, we had a fun night, and I will be back for more pizza and beer.
Wow, I'm actually really surprised at all the bad reviews on here. Â I was very hesitant to try this place....what the hell is quad cities pizza anyway!? Â But, it's awesome. It's different and I like that. Â It's sweeter and Roots has many topping options that most places don't. Â I love the roasted red peppers and creamed spinach...the sausage is great too...it's nice and crumbly instead of big honker pieces which I'm not a fan of. Â The mozz sticks are to die for. Â The first time I came here they had a special of fried jalapeno slices...I really wish they'd bring those back. Â The beer list is great too...it's all Midwestern brews and there's something for everyone. Â
If you have kids this is easily one of the most kid friendly places I've been to since becoming a mom. Â They bring out pizza dough to play with, they have actual sippy cups, there's a window to watch the kitchen and the servers have all been super friendly and never annoyed that my kid throws obscene amounts of food on the floor. Â There's a back room where it seems most families sit on weekend nights and I'm ok with that.
Doesn't hurt that you can get cake balls next door after dinner....yum!
Let me start off by saying I was really excited about this place when I first ordered it. I saw that it is owned by the same people (or corp.) as The Fifty/50, which I enjoy semi-regularly. But this place was a huge let down on my both of my experiences.
First order: Got the taco pizza delivered. It was basically a sausage pizza with some cheddar sprinkled on top and seemed slightly under-cooked. They gave me shredded lettuce and tomatoes in a separate container accompanied by taco sauce packets and what seemed to be some Taco flavored Doritos. I got sour cream with it which was like a dollar more. The first piece I attempted to build what I imagined the pizza was supposed to be served as, but after a few bites it was obvious I put way too much work into it, ate 2 more slices of the sausage pizza and was very unimpressed. Ended up eating more of the Doritos and threw the rest of the pizza away.
Second encounter: Went to the restaurant and was shocked to see on the menu they listed the Taco pizza as there signature pizza. Anyways, got some buffalo "lollipop" wings and was again unimpressed. On top of that there was a bill dispute a few of my friends had with the bartender over the daily special drink. The guy seemed very uninterested and didn't seem to care that he told them a different price for the drink than what it actually was.
So yea totally meh...will probably never go to or order from this place again.
First the food: It's decent. I've had the taco pizza twice (Sarpino's does it better) salads and hot dogs (both good).
But I have to remove all stars, regardless of how the food tastes, because of terrible service.
Long story short: You make my pizza, not me. That's why I ordered it. Don't deliver me hamburger pizza and tell me to add the lettuce, tomato, etc on my own to "preserve the integrity of the ingredients." This is crap, make it for me that's why I paid way too much for it ($30!!!). I want it the way it is in the store, when it comes to my door
But fine, that's a my preference to have pizza taste and be made correctly when I pay for it. I complained and they graciously comped me another of the same I ordered last night to be made the way I want it.
How long does it take to order a pizza at Roots? 29 minutes as I timed it....I'm only talking about the phone call. 16 minutes with a girl that put me on hold 4 times to find a manager and eventually hung up on me. The rest of the time was spent calling back to finish the order, looping back into their VM, putting on hold and hung up on, somebody literally picked up the phone TWICE and hung up on me.
Forget this noise. I can order a pizza from 100's of other places in the hood that may cost more but at least they can take my order and work a phone in less than 10 mins.
The worst delivery experience (twice over) that I've had in Chicago in the 8 years I've lived here.
I can't believe I'm saying this about a pizza place, but my favorite thing on the menu would be the salads. Either the make your own or the designed ones are great. The pizza is so-so, though I'll admit that I'm an east coast style pizza girl myself, so I'm not as big of a fan of Quad City pizza. The drinks are fairly strong and the bartender is pretty good.
Downfall is that the place is very loud and pretty expensive- I live five doors down, and I only tend to go there when I've got a giftcard.
Meh!
Came here last weekend with my kids. Â Heard alot about it. Â Although I did not hear that it was good for detoxing.
The only thing I enjoyed here was the garlic monkey bread. Â I had the caprese sandwich which was tasteless. Â The pizza, Â aka detox, Â was good initially, then after about an hour not so much.
Plus parking is a real ummmm  roots pizza
Word association. You say "Pizza", I say "Chicago". You say "Chicago", I say "pizza". Seems natural. However, when I think Chicago pizza, I don't think deep dish. No, not Lou Malnati's, not Gino's East, not Giordano's. My thoughts go right to Roots. That's right, Roots. Sacrilege you say? No, not at all. This crust is amazing and unlike any you'll find elsewhere. The use of malt in the dough makes such a remarkable difference and brings out a unique taste that I've come to crave!
Hand tossed dough brings it right to a proper thickness - not thin, not thick. Just right. The homemade sauce is extra rich and flavorful. And they put the toppings on first before they cover it with delicious cheese so underneath that gooey goodness lies all those extra taste bud triggers. Yum. And they cut it with scissors into strips - a neat, quirky idea. So instead of getting a "piece" of pizza, you get a strip.
And the beer? Oh my. With something like 70 midwest craft beers, this place is a haven for beer aficionados. Great beer, great pizza, great atmosphere. What more could you possibly want???
My husband brought their taco pizza home tonight for dinner. They pack the cold toppings (lettuce, tomato, chips & sour cream) up separately for you to assemble at home to keep things fresh. They are super generous with the taco chips...I couldn't put my finger on the taco chip flavor, I know I've had them before, but they added a lot of good flavor to the pizza. I've had taco pizza before (Little Sicily Pizza in Washburn, IL) and Roots did it well...the lightly flavored meat and the 2 cheeses were the perfect match to the fresh toppings. The crust was good, not too thick, but not thin either.
All-in-all, for a take-out option, This was good, and I'm curious to try more.
I avoided this place for a long time because televisions in restaurants turn me off. But when Crust closed up shop I came here and discovered that I love this pizza. The sweetness of the sauce and the chewy crust...yum. Plus, the awesome amount of things they have to adorn salads with won me over in a hurry. I've had the make-your-own with corn, avocado, pistachios and green goddess dressing...it was so good I had to have it again and again.
Tonight I picked up the Girl and the Goat special pizza they have with goat sausage ragu, sharp cheddar and yuzu maple drizzle. Get it while you can...it is seriously wonderful.
I'm quite a regular here these days. Â The service is always good and my Monday day drinking affair started here and the waitress even gave my table a round of shots on the house... I guess they heard of our day plans. Â
I've never had a bad experience here which keeps me coming back.
A few friend had less that stellar experiences at Roots, so we were a little reluctant to eat here, but after stopping in for a beer last weekend and seeing that the food looked and smelled good, we went back this weekend for lunch and really enjoyed it.
The atmosphere is great, all the windows open on a beautiful day, olympics on TV, good tunes playing. We were delighted to find at all the beers are midwest. We ordered the mozzarella sticks to start, but asked what kind of oil they are fried in, as our little guys is allergic to peanut. The waitress double checked for us and said they are normally friend in peanut oil, but that they could make ours in vegetable oil. How nice is that?! They were delicious as well.
I have to agree with the other reviews that the salad was probably the highlight of the meal. We had the northlander with blue cheese, candied walnuts and cranberries and it was excellent.
We ordered a BLT pizza, and liked it. Definitely different that what you normally get in Chicago, but a change every once in a while is good. I look forward to going back and trying other dishes.
Most people know more about the four horses of the apocalypse, quad core processors or the game of four square (not the one where you check in on your phone) than they do about the Quad Cities. Â Upon eating at Roots, I learned that the Quad Cities are comprised of Rock Island, Davenport, Bettendorf, and East Moline. Â Though these four cities are celebrated at Roots, Wikipedia claims there are actually five, a claim that seems spurious until a further explanation is given, which is mostly that the Quint Cities sounds dumb. Â I guess Roots feels that Moline can be damned or they wish not to explain how five cities make a quad. Â
I was also surprised that the Quint Cities have their own distinct type of pizza. Â The difference is the high amount of malt they add to the crust which makes it crispy, like a piece of toast on the outside, but more of a doughy texture on the inside. They also add an entire wheel of cheese to the top. Â I would say that their pizza is about 8% better than average.
Perhaps my biggest disappointments is that their draft beer comes in glasses which are clearly less than 16 ounces and that  I did not get to see Alex Haley.  Still, there is comfortable seating and the restaurant is huge so it should always be pretty easy to find a table.  It's not good enough to drive to Rock Island for, but it's worth the trip to Uke Village.
Although I've always hesitated about reviewing a spot with more than 50 reviews, I'll bend that rule for places deserving a 1- star or a 5-star rating. Roots falls into the latter category for their SALADS alone.
I'd been looking for Chicago's best salad for the 9+ years I've been back in town. Corner Bakery's Harvest salad (sans chicken, since I'm not a flesh-eater) came close, but the salad's gotten smaller and their balsamic vinaigrette is VERY oily, so I'd always have to switch to Caesar dressing and ditch the Granny Smith apples (which I never liked).
I'm eternally on the lookout for places that serve Green Goddess dressing, and when my buddy Ryan told me about Roots, I happened to notice that they had this dressing on their extensive list. Hell, they even have a Green Goddess salad! Their Louis, mint vinaigrette and Caesar dressings are equally yummy.
The part that most impresses me about Roots is their Build-Your-Own-Salad option for $8. Unfortunately, two of my faves - avocados and beets - involve a $1 upcharge that I usually have to take. They've got a bevy of crunchy options for salads, too, including pistachios (with NO upcharge).
The only downside? I wish the service was a little faster (and the male bartender wasn't a dickwad), but that's a sacrifice I'll have to make for those outstanding salads.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
