CAVA — Restaurant in Houston

August 14 & 15, 2023: I decided to give this place another shot. It's so convenient to work and I love salads, so I needed another look into the buzz here. I enjoyed my lunch so much yesterday, I went back again today! The first time I tried it, they had only been open a few days. Maybe they needed to work out the kinks and get a fuller menu going. I think I found my item. I get the salad bowl with rice and regular grilled chicken. The serving are very large and pretty good. You get up to 3 choices of hummus scoops and all the extra toppings you want (avocado is extra). The service is great and they have a large selection of drinks available, including flavored tea. I'm a fan now. I guess I was butt hurt about Zoe's leaving and Cava had a rough start on my first visit, but all is good now. Walls are still bare and atmosphere could use some sprucing up, but I take mine to go anyway, so not a huge deal. June 20, 2022: I was sad to find out Zoe’s Kitchen was taken over. I loved Zoe’s! I decided to give CAVA a try. I like the Town & Country area for convenience to home and work. I was hoping CAVA would be a welcomed change. Meh. CAVA is like a mediterranean Chipotle, but low on the mediterranean flavor (throwing Kalamata olives in doesn't make it mediterranean). The portions are decent, the proteins are good, the hummus is excellent (actually my favorite of all their food items) and the topping are fair. I don’t think they were ready for the opening. The fountain drink machine was out of order, the decor was very blah, no salt and pepper, no sweetener for the tea, no lemons and the credit card machine didn’t work (my meal was “on the house” because of this issue - yay me!). I had the build your own salad bowl. They have four different types of lettuce, several proteins, various toppings and basic dressings. I chose the grilled chicken for my protein and also requested to try a spicy lamb meatball. Both were very good, but that’s pretty much it for the ingredients. I didn’t feel the toppings were anything to write home about. I can’t see myself craving a lunch or dinner from CAVA. They have a rewards program and app to track. $88.00 must be spent before reaching the first tier of rewards. No welcome bonus.The customer service is very good, so they have that going for them. Typically when I try a new place, if I am thrilled about it, I am planning in my head the next time I want to come back to try other items. I also think about family or friends who might enjoy it. I didn’t feel thrilled about returning nor did I have anyone in my circle to recommend CAVA to. Just wasn’t excited about this place at all. I so wanted to be, but it just didn’t work out that way. I can completely understand the transition time and that they may not have been ready for an opening. That is all excusable. The lack of flavor is not. I will most likely not be returning as their food will probably not change. They have been open for one week (today is June 20, 2022) and I am the 3rd person to review this establishment. (I...

I love this restaurant, especially this particular branch. Their commitment to customer service truly stands out.

Recently, I ordered online to save time and went to pick up my meal. In my haste, I accidentally grabbed the wrong bag—the label looked remarkably similar to my name. It wasn't until I had opened the package and started eating that I realized my mistake.

Immediately, I returned to the counter and explained what happened, offering to pay for the order I had mistakenly taken. That's when Hector, an exceptional staff member, stepped in to help. He mentioned he couldn't find my name on their order list and kindly assisted me in checking my online order status on my phone. We discovered I had never completed the final confirmation step—the error was entirely mine.

Despite my profuse apologies and repeated offers to pay for both meals, Hector reassured me with a genuine smile that everything was fine. He quickly prepared my actual order and remade the one I had mistakenly taken, all without making me feel embarrassed about the situation.

Though the mistake was completely my fault, the way the staff handled it turned what could have been an awkward situation into a remarkable customer experience. Their graciousness and efficiency were impressive.

I'll definitely continue returning to this location. And of course, the food is...

I don't think I've ever felt the need to write a bad review, until now. The food is excellent but the service was beyond bad today. I came in to pick up an order that was to be ready by 11:45. The restaurant was almost empty so I wasn't sure why it was taking so long to have it ready. I was not even given a "we'll be with you shortly" or anything. I finally asked a if there as an order ready and a couple gals looked around and kind of started working on it again and it STILL took a while. I then had to ask again since I had been standing there for so long and needed to get it picked up and it had been close to 15 minutes of me waiting. My daughter even called from the car saying just grab it in the TO Go orders. I said that's what I'm trying to do. She thought maybe I was standing in a long line. There was no line. When it was finally brought out, no "sorry for the wait" or anything. I won't be going back to that location. I would have understood had they been busy but it was not at all; maybe...