CAVA — Restaurant in Knoxville

Brits on holiday!

We love america, we love American food, we love American restaurants that serve foods from around the world! So what better than a Mediterranean restaurant, in Turkey creek whilst on our holidays?!

The reviews speak for themselves but astonishingly there is very little mention of the main attraction! A wonderful specimen of a man with the kindest puppy dog eyes and a heart as big as lizzo on a cheat day! He goes by the name of Rusty! What a quaint name, in England blokes like him are called Bob or Richard, they are geezers with a touch of pazazz and a little sprinkle of funny anecdote. I imagine Rusty is everyone's best friend, I certainly felt like he was mine. He had time for us, I'm used to the gulf in class between British customer service and American service but this was a cut above the mustard even for the USA, I felt at times like if I'd have asked for a kidney and he was a match I'd have had it! I take my hat off to any man with a work ethic like his, but when you hear from him that he's a dad of three and a husband to a serial snackster that needs him to drive length and breadth of the state to get the most obscure snacks... Then this man deserves a medal of honour or at least a small raise. His smile and kindness lives with me weeks after I visited and to this day I hope I can meet him again as on a serious note he really was incredible and genuinely showed us brits a great time and I really felt special. So here's to Rusty, the man, the myth, the LEGEND!

Food was lovely too! I recommend you try the Harissa avocado bowl. That was Rustys recommendation and it blew my mind! Anyone that knows this guy is very, very lucky! 😎

From across the pond,...

I’ve been a loyal CAVA customer for years and have always appreciated how careful they were with food safety, especially regarding gluten. I have Celiac disease, which means cross-contamination is extremely dangerous for me. In the past, the staff was organized, careful, and respectful when I asked them to change gloves or take extra steps to prevent cross-contact.

Unfortunately, my recent experiences have been very disappointing. The service has become disorganized, and employees often seem careless when preparing food. When I asked for basic precautions, such as changing gloves, some staff were dismissive or even rude. I’ve also noticed that ingredients are being handled sloppily—toppings are thrown around, and gluten items are spilling into gluten-free toppings. This lack of care led to me getting seriously sick from cross-contamination.

It’s very disheartening to see the decline in standards at a place I used to trust. For people with Celiac disease or food allergies, this level of carelessness is not just inconvenient—it’s dangerous. I truly hope CAVA addresses these issues and returns to the safe and respectful practices they...

I heard this place described as "the Chipotle of Greek food," and that is accurate. Large servings of customized bowls and pitas. There are set menu items, but you can change them up however you want to or design your own from scratch. I subbed in falafel for the chicken in my bowl, and my mom subbed in red pepper hummus for the regular hummus on her pita. Both our meals were delicious! And plenty of food to fill you up! Dessert offerings are only prepackaged, but the salted dark chocolate oatmeal cookie I got was quite tasty. Also important, they do not serve big name soft drinks. If you like Coke or Pepsi, choose the the Mexican Cola. There are also lots of fruity options and tea. Mom liked the Blueberry Soda. Refill as much as you want. I spent $13 for a (huge) bowl, a cookie, and a drink. I'm definitely returning.....bringing my husband, and I know he...