Cava Mezze Rockville — Restaurant in North Potomac

For reference, our first several experiences at this restaurant were fantastic. We first came for their “brunch mania” and left with full stomachs, already planning to return. At $38 for a multi-course meal (plus 25¢ mimosas), it really is a great deal — especially for the DC area. Plus, the potato terrines, chicken streusel, French toast, and virtually every other dish we’ve tried have all been phenomenal. In fact, we’ve enjoyed the food so much that over the past six months, my wife and I have made a point to bring anyone that’s visiting us from out of town here for brunch. However, after our experience this past Sunday, we will think twice before doing so again…

We were incredibly disappointed with the service we received from our waiter, who appeared to be new. (At very least, we hadn’t seen him at any of our prior visits.) After taking our order and delivering our first round of beverages, he struck up a loud personal conversation with two other employees at the nearby server station that went on for some 10 minutes, at the end of which he didn’t even bother to check in with us, despite there being only two or three other tables seated in the restaurant at the time. This alone would have been excusable, but then the food began to trickle in — slowly, unevenly, and out of order.

My wife and I were delivered our first course before our guests, and indeed, before we had received the hushpuppy starter for the table. Thinking that surely our waiter would appear with more plates soon, we refrained from digging in until their food arrived. After several more minutes passed — during which time we had still yet to be offered refills — we inquired about the status of our our friends’ potatoes and our hushpuppies. As though the starter were not a given part of the meal, he flatly told us “I think you’ll survive.” And from here, he only got more defensive and dismissive, taking it upon himself to explain to us our “misunderstanding” of the mezze format and informing us that the dishes “simply come out when they come out.” We were taken aback by his condescending tone, especially when he could have easily just said “I’m sorry! Let me go check on that for you.”

I ended up getting my second dish before any of our friends got their first, but eventually everyone’s first dishes arrived. Unfortunately, the Cava fries were lackluster, and the chicken in my chicken and waffles was no longer hot by the time it reached the table, but in the interest of getting our meal back on track, we didn’t draw attention to either of these things.

However, when our friend’s benedict arrived with hard yolks rather than the runny ones she (reasonably) expected from a poached egg, she asked for them to be remade. Even after everything else that happened, our waiter doubled down, snatching the dish from her as he snottily remarked that “Just FYI, that IS a poached egg.” (And based on the reaction of another nearby table upon overhearing this, I don’t think we were the only ones on the receiving end of this server’s poor attitude.)

Needless to say, I was shocked by our treatment and thoroughly disappointed that the final shared meal of our friends’ trip so spectacularly failed to live up to the high expectations we had set for it based on our past experiences. I’m not sure if the kitchen was struggling with sequencing this particular Sunday or if our waiter dropped the ball on putting in our orders correctly, but I hope they address these issues ASAP, and that they pull that server from the floor until he can figure out how to respond to guests. If I were in the owners’ shoes, I would be embarrassed to have him represent my restaurant.

We are far from difficult customers. I always tip at least 20% unless the service has been truly terrible. But yesterday, I tipped just 10% for our meal.

Perhaps we will try the other Cava Mezze location next time we think about bringing...

my meal here of the “crispy” “chicken” sliders and baklava on a thursday night was . horrible. to be frank. I had been looking forward to a baklava all night and was STARVING. My chicken sandwich was lower quality than crown fried which. Jellied insides. Strands of unchewable crud. Like a half inch of fried gross nonsense before you reach the cruddy chicken. Absolutely not restaurant quality. Server checked on me while I was fighting thru one such bite, left and didn’t return. When I finally expressed my disappointment in the meal, she offered to replace it with a different entree, but I just really wanted the baklava I had been craving all day. Another entree would have just made me too full for the baklava.

Baklava comes and is horrible. My apologies to whoever made it, but it was not good. It was like an old burrito. The filo dough was like … nothing. And the walnut filling had a bad taste. I will make myself sick not to waste food but I couldn’t even finish half of it. Made me so sad after a full day of anticipation.

Server brings me the bill and of course I’m charged for the entree and the dessert. Whatever, I don’t want to argue, I just want to go home. I hand over my card, but when the bill comes back, I’m calculating tip and realize it’s well over $50. I check the receipts and my card was charged once for my own $30, AND for another tables $55 bill.

This place bummed me out. Three people (including my server) asked me how the food was, I said not good ( POLITELY ! ) and explained the issue(S) and no one seems to care. No effort to make anything right, except being told the charge for the other table’s bill was cancelled, which unfortunately doesn’t cancel the hassle it’s going to cause me looking over my next credit card statement to make sure that’s actually true.

Passion fruit lemonade was delish. Staff was kind, just didn’t care enough to do anything to repair my poor experience

I just get angrier as time goes on. I actually can’t believe I PAID for anything other than the beverage. I spent over $30 after tip for food I ate less than half of and now I’m STARVING again. Waste of my time and money to not...

I hadn’t been to Cava Mezze in a few years and was excited to return, but honestly, I left a bit disappointed. I really miss the small tapas-style dishes they used to serve. They’ve made the plates larger now, but a lot of that size comes from fillers—like potatoes—rather than quality ingredients, which makes the pricing feel less justified.

One of my biggest disappointments was the crispy pork belly dish. It used to be thick, juicy, and flavorful, but now it’s thin, dry, and layered with potatoes, which took away from the experience. For the price, I expected better execution. On the other hand, the lamb rack was excellent—the pieces were large and flavorful, served on top of fries. I had the bigger piece, which was cooked medium and perfect for me, while the smaller piece was more well done. That worked out since my husband prefers well-done meat, but we originally ordered both as medium, so the inconsistency was noticeable.

The tzatziki sauce is a must-order—creamy, tangy, and pairs well with everything, from the lamb to the calamari to the octopus. Speaking of the calamari, the portion was huge, and while the flavor was good, the portion size felt more like quantity over quality. For the price, I would have preferred a more balanced dish rather than just a large amount of food.

Service was great—our server checked in on us frequently, and the vibe of the restaurant was lively. We came early on a Thursday evening, and it filled up quickly, so I’d definitely recommend making a reservation. Also, the entrance is by the parking lot, and there’s plenty of parking available, which is convenient.

Overall, I still like the ambiance and service, but I miss the old menu and wish they’d focus more on quality rather than making dishes seem bigger with fillers. For the price point, I expected more refined execution rather than oversized portions with too...