CAVA — Restaurant in New York

*Updated review 7/2019 Just keeps getting worse. The changes to the rewards program are the last straw for me. A loyalty coupon that expires after 60 days? Puhl-eeeeeeeeeeze!!

How long do I have to earn and redeem my rewards? You will have 150 days after your first CAVA purchase to reach $88 in pretax spend. Your $8 loyalty reward will have a 60-day expiration from the date of issue — plenty of time to make it to your local CAVA!

What will happen to my existing progress and rewards? Starting today, any existing progress you have will rollover and you will have 150 days to finish reaching $88 in spend to unlock the $8 reward. If you do not reach $88 in spend within the 150-day window, your spend progress will return to $0 and the 150-day earning period will reset.

Good news is there are places in my area with better service, better food, a better online ordering experience and each and every one of those comes with a year to use the loyalty reward.

And when I sent a reply email to share how ridiculous I thought this was, I got a note back telling me “we know change is hard!”

Oh my god goodbye.

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Updated review 6/2019 I waited 4 months to go back. Same 2 stars. The question is how can a place with food this good have such an awful pickup ordering system. Line literally around the block in the hot sun and through the whole place inside. 100 bowls all sitting on shelves that look identical with people picking through them to find theirs. I asked someone who was putting more bowls out “how would anyone find anything here?” And she said very kindly “by first name!” And I found mine but how would I have known that? I would have been looking forever.

Also this location was very hot with the door open on a 90° day. My order was scheduled for 1:30. I got there 1:31. My receipt is ready 1:10. So for 21 minutes my bowl is baking with hummus in it. Not good at all. Tasted fine but shouldn’t happen like that.

I don’t know the answer to this very big problem but luckily that’s not up to me to figure out.

I would say this ... if you come by here and it’s empty you’ll probably enjoy the food. But never go during a meal time even if you order ahead. When I pay $11 for lunch I want it to be a good experience. This isn’t a good experience. I am enjoying the food and I appreciate that nice employee but it would take 10 minutes for someone from Cava corporate to get really, really annoyed here.

————————- Previous review I heard so much hype that I was expecting so much more. As someone who regularly goes to Honeygrow and Sweetgreen I expected that kind of wow presentation and beautiful color. The lettuce was literally the shredded kind from a bag and while I understand it has to come from somewhere, it was all dry and wilty.

This being my first time they told me to get there at 1:45 for the first available pickup. It was packed when I arrived and when I got to my bag it was marked 1:29. That’s great that it was early but there’s soup in my order, which was now sitting there for 16 minutes, and now cold.

Finally, there was no plastic ware added to the bag — every other place does. I had to find my own spoon and fork at the office. I didn’t check there because it was so busy and it’s almost always included.

The additional star is for the red pepper hummus. I’d eat it with a spoon if I could. I’ll just remember to bring my own.

All that said, I might try it again just because I’d try anything twice. I just wasn’t wowed and my guess is you...

So, today I thought I’d treat myself to a Tahini Caesar Salad from Cava Bryant Park. I mean, how hard could it be to order a salad, right? Oh, sweet, naive me.

I placed my online order for 12:30 PM, thinking I could multitask and pop by Sephora to exchange an item before grabbing my salad. Little did I know, this seemingly simple plan would turn into an odyssey worthy of Greek mythology.

Upon entering Cava, I was greeted by a scene that could only be described as “Mean Girls’ Watering Hole: Lunch Edition.” The pickup line was an absolute disaster—a chaotic mix of confused and hangry people who, like me, had dreams of a quick, healthy lunch. I weaved through the crowd with the agility of a gazelle, just to get a glimpse over the shoulders of the salad crew to see if my order was anywhere in sight. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t.

For a solid 45 minutes, I played the role of a desperate salad stalker, politely asking if anyone could check on my order. Eventually, someone did, only to realize that they had forgotten my order along with several others. Oh joy. They finally threw together my incomplete salad while I contemplated my life choices.

When I got back to my office, I discovered a few things:

1- My salad was missing the love (and the ingredients i added) I had paid extra for—Harissa Honey Chicken, Fire Roasted Corn, and Tomato + Cucumber. 2- The in-store order line was moving faster than my patience was wearing thin. 3- The tension inside that Cava was thick enough to spread on a pita. People were waiting so long that I half-expected someone to break out into a hunger strike. 4- The Cava’s staff probably hates us. Seriously, the manager had to force the salad makers to fill the missing orders, and judging by their expressions, I think they’d rather face a stampede of rabid customers than make one more Caesar salad. Next time, I’ll just order in person. I mean, who do I think I am, trying to beat the lunch rush with an online order? Lesson learned, Cava....

My partner and I stopped by Cava one evening to grab two bowls. We both customized ours. He chose chicken as his protein, while I went with the spicy lamb meatballs. When ordering, we were told they had just run out of meatballs but were making a fresh batch, and if we were willing to wait 5–10 minutes, they’d be ready. Since it was late and we were hungry, I specifically asked about the wait time, and when they reassured me it wouldn’t be long, I agreed.

Because my partner’s bowl was ready, they asked us to pay for both upfront while I waited. Unfortunately, the “5–10 minutes” turned into 40 minutes, for meatballs!! Throughout the wait, staff repeatedly told me they were almost ready, so I stayed, but I easily could have chosen another protein and been home much earlier.

When the meatballs finally came out, they were rushed straight from the oven instead of being finished properly in the sauce, leaving them dry and unappetizing. To make matters worse, I received the standard portion of just three meatballs. No effort to make up for the long wait. At checkout, they casually mentioned they would have comped the bowl for the inconvenience, but since I had already paid, “nothing could be done.”

That level of customer service is unacceptable. A complimentary bowl would have cost them almost nothing, but instead, they’ve lost two loyal customers. I won’t be returning to Cava, despite being a regular, and I’ll gladly stick with places like Naya, which offer not only better food but also far...