CAVA — Restaurant in North Bethesda

This place opened February 20th, 2018. I didn't eat here until lunch rush, 12:15pm 2/26/18, but still expected them to be working out some of the new store/staff kinks on opening week. To my delight, they nailed the Cava experience precisely and made no mistakes. The line was fast moving despite a heavy volume, and the kitchen was well prepared and supplied. The staff was very friendly and had no trouble explaining the concept to newbies in line, the flow was great.

The layout of this place is top notch. I'm a long time and frequent Cava diner, namely the Kentlands and Shady Grove locations, and this one is by far my favorite. The counter design is progressive and features a large display area in the beginning of the line that shows the chefs preparing fresh ingredients (he was preparing red onions). I also enjoyed spying the huge grill full of chicken in the back, in plain view of the line as I ordered. You feel more involved in the kitchen, a concept many restaurants try to employ and showcase.

The food quality on my greens and grains bowl was also fantastic, easily on par with my expectations from other locations I've enjoyed. There's plenty to be said about Cava as a meal option on it's own that I'm sure plenty of reviews will get into, but this location is a choice option if you haven't tried it and want to (you really should). They even had the Whisked cookies here, something they got rid of at Kentlands.

They take good advantage of this smaller space with the counter and kitchen design, although I expect dinner time rush may get crowded with limited seating. The drink / utensil area also seems kinda jammed in the corner and could get crowded, too. I always use the app to order to go, so none of that bothers me and this place is a home run 5 stars. See you guys often and thanks for the...

Not particularly pleased with my experience today. They didn’t open the doors at the opening time and everyone was huddled and sitting down eating (the employees). Then when they opened the doors everyone seemed unorganized and unprepared to start serving customers. However, the most frustrating part was that they portion they seemed to give me was ridiculous. When I asked at the end of the line about the portions getting smaller, she told me that the “bowls got larger.” When I looked over to my left the portion of the person behind me didn’t seem nearly as scarce. That is really not cool to shortchange a customer and they are paying the food. Then when the customer kindly reaches out to correct this issue, not address it. I showed me coworker to make sure I wasn’t exaggerating and then show my partner a photo and I got two confirmations that the portion provided was extremely smaller than us usual. I won’t be going to this CaVa more and if the issue continues later on at other locations I simply won’t be enjoying food at these establishments any longer. It brings me comfort to see other people complaining on this same issue. Hopefully management will recognize and rectify this issue, because customer loss could be a potential...

I’ve been a loyal Cava customer for years, and I usually look forward to my Friday night dinner, picking it up from the Rockville Pike location and heading home on my scooter. But tonight’s experience was incredibly disappointing. My bowl wasn’t sealed properly, and by the time I got home, everything had spilled inside the bag, leaked through the carton, and ended up all over my pants, shoes, and scooter. It was a total mess, and I couldn’t eat a single bite. What made it even more frustrating is that this has never happened before — I always transport it the same exact way. The only difference this time was that whoever packed my food clearly didn’t close the bowl lid right. I get that mistakes happen, but this was careless. When you’re charging premium prices for a bowl of food, the absolute minimum is making sure it’s sealed properly. I expected better from this location, especially since I’ve had decent experiences here in the past. After tonight, I’m honestly hesitant to come back. If you care about consistency and quality, I hope this review doesn’t get ignored — because it was a waste of time,...