Roast Kitchen
“Friendly staff, only downside is no vegetarian protein other than cubed tofu at the salad bar,”
“Since this is very comparative to how I eat at home, I was thrilled to find late night, healthy options for dinner after 9:30 pm.”
“Was walking around union square looking for a healthy eating option and I came across this small place.”
Roast Kitchen
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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One of my favorite lunch spots in the Union Square area, because there are very few fast casual places that actually give you a reasonable amount of cooked vegetables. There's not much seating and it's weirdly configured, but there's always union square nearby.
My order is always: hot bowl, rice, house mix, brussel sprouts, broccoli, bell peppers, cauliflower + red curry + pork. $12
This Union Square lunch spot has been around for a little under a year, and is still full of people every time I walk by.
I just can't understand why.
I have been here 3 times, each time giving them another chance to wow me, to show me something the others are seeing that I am not, to show me why I should be coming back.
I'll start with the plusses here…. you get to make your own salad the way you want, with total customization and total control. You tell the server a limited number of ingredients, then they assemble them and whip it up for you.
And now the bad… It's like a salad bar where somebody else is holding the spoon, and you only get to choose a certain number of ingredients. What if you went to a salad bar and somebody stopped you from adding a 5th ingredient, claiming it would cost extra for an onion or two? Screw that.
The prices are also pretty horrible. Sure, if you get a basic salad with the basic 4 ingredients and dressing, you can walk out of here under $10. But as soon as you stat asking for some protein, some extra ingredients, some croutons… you are in trouble.
I have had a basic salad bowl each time I have come here, with grilled chicken added in (and a small amount at that) — left each time with a bill of $11 or more. For that price, I could walk to Whole Foods and spend less at their salad bar, and not be limited to 4 ingredients!
Staff members are annoyed with customers, impatient and clearly not happy about working there.
Maybe it's the BK wood-and-iron style branding here, maybe it's that there are limited options on this block aside from cupcakes and pizza, but Roast Kitchen really is nothing special at all.
I won't be back.
Food is good, but the portions are way too small! Also last time I was there they accidentally gave me chicken instead of salmon. Cool concept but nothing thats is worth returning for. Much better options in the area.
I had a really great experience here. First timer and visiting from out of town. Just like chipotle, but way healthier and more flavor varieties.
I like to eat healthy meals consisting of tons of veggies, and I like to have a bit of control to what's going into the meal. So, I built my own bowl! I selected a combination of kale and spinach as the base, then picked the toppings, carrots, zucchini. grilled corn, and broccoli. They steamed that down in the saute pan, added the ginger soy sauce. Then you pick a grain. I selected a mix of quinoa and aramath, and a protein (extra cost) – went with the spicy grilled chicken. I asked for a small container of extra sauce, I had a feeling it would need more flavor.
Since this is very comparative to how I eat at home, I was thrilled to find late night, healthy options for dinner after 9:30 pm. There was not a huge crowd so they were all very helpful and made suggestions, chatted and welcomed me from out of town.
I will definitely return.
Roast Kitchen is your typical health-conscious, fast-food lunch option with hearty bowls, wraps, and salads with grilled meats and add-ins. I am usually not a fan of pork, but the Shio Koji Marinated Pork from Roast Kitchen is to DIE for. It's so savory, full of flavors, and tender – just thinking about it makes my mouth water!
I got the Build Your Own Bowl (you can get it "hot" or "cold," the latter of which does not include grains) with a choice of greens (I had baby spinach, but next time will try grilled kale!), grains (organic farro, basmati rice, or quinoa), and four add-ins. Proteins are additional, and again, I highly recommend the pork!
The only thing that was a bit annoying was that they put the sauce in the bowl when I specifically asked for it to be on the side…the sauce was REALLY spicy and oily…didn't like that at all!
Was very happy to stumble across this place when looking for a place to have lunch near Union Square. When we first walked in before the lunch rush started, there were maybe a handful of people there, but in the span of 25 minutes there was a significant line.
The concept is similar to Chipotle except with roasted meats or fish, and it's not Tex-Mex. You can select from a menu of preset cold or hot salad bowl options, or like me, you can build your own. You get a choice of 5 types of greens, then your choice of 4 mix-ins such as roasted cauliflower, roasted corn, roasted portabella mushrooms, nuts/seeds, or cheeses like goat cheese. You can then pick a grain such as organic quinoa or rice or farro. You then pick your protein from a variety of herbed or spicy chicken, shio marinated pork, roasted fish, sirloin, shrimp, vegetarian chili or meatballs. You then choose from several dressings (for cold salads) to sauces (for hot bowls).
I selected the build your own hot bowl option with the house blend greens, farro, pork, roasted corn, portabello mushrooms, cauliflower and goat cheese, served with red curry sauce. This was a very inspired salad and was very filling.
They also have complimentary cucumber water and mint water. I also like that you can preorder your food to go, and they put it in an alphabetized cubby filing system once they complete your order.
Alas I'm from out of the country and likely won't be back soon :(. Wish Roast kitchen would open a franchise in Toronto!
(22/100)
My friend and I dropped by for lunch this past Saturday and given what it was and the price point, were mildly disappointed.
Chipotle in style but without the bang, the portions were disproportionately small and the prices were disproportionately high. So while the food itself was (relatively) nutritious and tasty at that, it wasn't worth it.
Needless to say, we won't be back.
This feels like a mix between Vapiano (across the street) and Chipoltle….but not as good as either!
I was confused even walking in….I didn't know where to go to start my order, so the layout is not great. I ordered the MOROCCAN hot bowl with herb chicken and it tasted healthy and nice. However, I found it a little over priced….and at the end of the day, I prefer the first two restaurants I mentioned!