RI restaurant makes Yelp's list of 'top 100 places to visit in 2023'
NEWPORT - When Yelp named the Top 100 Places to Eat in 2023 last week, one Rhode Island restaurant was on the list. Root, a plant-based, vegan restaurant in Newport, checked in at No. 59 on the list. It was only one of five restaurants in New England included among the 100.
It's not the first time Root made a Yelp list. Last October, Root was No. 41 on the 100 Best Restaurants in New England. In April, Root was No. 77 on Yelp’s Top 100 Vegan Restaurants in the United States and Canada.
That's why Kate Moran, co-owner with husband Paul Webber, was confused when Yelp reached out in December. They wanted a photo because the restaurant made a special Yelp list. It wasn't until last week she knew it was for the newest 2023 guide to dining.
"I had no idea we won something else," she said.
Speaking during an interview on Saturday, Moran said Root had already hosted diners from as far as Boston that day. They saw Root on the list and set off on a road trip.
Moran and Webber opened Root in Newport in 2018. When they saw the space and thought about how there was no vegan restaurant in Newport or the surrounding area they knew it was fate. It had not been their intention to open a restaurant but things worked out that way, she said.
They've never looked back.
In fact, they are opening their second food business next door. Get the Scoop opens soon on Broadway and will be a premium ice cream shop run by Moran's mother who owns a similar shop, with the same name, in her native Nova Scotia. She wanted to move closer to be near her daughter and with a vacant storefront next door, things worked out, said Moran.
Webber, a musician who grew up in Cranston, was in the jewelry importing business and finding fewer opportunities. He wanted to start a new business. Moran had long worked in an East Greenwich restaurant so she had the hospitality experience that contributes to the success of Root. She was preparing vegan bowls at home and other vegetarian dishes.
"I ate similarly to this before we opened, making grain bowls at home," Moran said. "So it was easy to come up with a menu."
It’s a menu that Moran calls "approachable" with no, pre-made products. The salads and vegetables come with handmade dressings. Their acai bowls are very popular. There's plenty of avocado on the menu including their popular toast. They make their smoothies with fresh produce and offer freshly made juices. They offer build-your-own breakfast sandwiches with a plant-based Just Egg that is made with mung bean.
More:RI Food Fix: 5 can't-miss dining choices in Newport
Root is open for breakfast and lunch seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Yelp, the website and app that allows diners to review and rate businesses, occasionally compiles lists to guide diners to highly rated places. The newest 100 list is a reflection of the choices made by the Yelp community. The methodology included reaching out to Yelp users to submit their favorite U.S. restaurants. Yelp’s data science team analyzed the submissions to determine the top restaurants by ratings, number of reviews, and volume of submissions, with geographic representation based on an equal share of submissions of top-rated restaurants nationally.
The four other New England restaurants on the Yelp list are: Taqueria El Amigo, Waltham, Massachusetts; Sandra's Next Generation in New Haven and Yia Yia's Greek Kitchen in Torrington, both in Connecticut; and Silver Fork in Manchester, Vermont. The No. 1 restaurant is Broken Mouth in Los Angeles.
Details: Root, 6 Broadway, (401) 847-2727, rootonbroadway.com.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Yelp 100 list for 2023 has Root in Newport as only Rhode Island spot
