CAVA — Restaurant in Hoover

Man oh man . What can I say ? I've heard about CAVA, how it's a spin on Chipotle but a Mediterranean vibe ... Today i finally decided to try it . A beautiful array of dips , toppings and dressings. I was overwhelmed however I was advised to build my own bowl so I could customize to my liking .

I decided on a grain/green bowl . White rice and romaine . I chose Harissa honey chicken. The dips stomped me ,however I decided on the Crazy feta , the light red hummus dip.

The vegetable selection was my favorite part . Extraaaa roasted corn , tomatoes, cucumber and tomato medley ,roasted vegetables that has roasted Brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes , pickled onions , crumbled feta , brocoli slaw .

For dressing i opted for a garlic dressing and vinegarette blend .

When I tell you, I could cry how delicious this was . I love vegetables and this was the epitome of a veggies blended bowl of goodness . The corn. The corn . The cornnnnn I freaking love it . the sweet potato add the slightest yet most delicious sweet taste alongside the Brussels... I could eat those three on their own and be satisfied .

I also got the garlic pita . I wish they came warm . Decent but it's not a necessity in my opinion . Now this Lemonade. M just the regular smegular Lemonade!!!!! Yall , it was tart yet sweet and gave me the best heebegebess

I definitely...

We tried out this location for the first time last week. We ordered takeout on the Cava app and arrived at 6:50 (6:45 pickup time). There were about 6-7 people waiting on pickup orders when we got there. There was only one guy doing takeout orders and he seemed stressed….around 7:05 he hands me my order but I’m missing a whole bowl. He apologized and starts making it. Next thing I know he’s out in the parking lot, having what appeared to be a heated conversation with his significant other?? Idk it was very strange. Two other staff members took over after a few minutes and apologized but all in all it was just a weird experience.

Fast forward to tonight, we decide to give it one more try via a food delivery service. It was delivered on time but one bowl was missing half the ingredients and the other bowl the portions were so unbelievably small. Just really disappointing because we love Cava but not sure we can trust this location. Seems to be lacking quality control and overall seems mismanaged.

Edited to add: my husband went back to get the rest of his bowl and no manager to be found. We’ve never asked for a manager before lol. The girl working said she didn’t know...

The food is all right but what really unpleasantly surprised me was their service - or should I say their lack thereof. I went to this location twice in the past week and both times the bearded man wearing earrings was the first employee at the ordering station. Obviously I’m not expecting a gourmet experience by any means but to simply stare at me and not even say “hi” or “what I can I get you” made the interaction pretty awkward. Dare I say he even seemed irritated with my presence. How ridiculous is it that I had to be the one to say hi first and ask if he was ready to take my order after seconds of awkward eye contact and silence? We probably would've just stared at each other all day had I not been the first one to speak. Very weird. Never had that experience in any establishment (coming from someone who’s been living in Hoover for over a decade). I will say the employee at the cash register was a lot more kind, and the one putting my bowl toppings was generous with the servings he gave. I don’t know if it’s because of how I look but nonetheless I probably won't be dining in...