CAVA — Restaurant in The Woodlands

The food is great, definitely a new favorite spot. My problem with this place is the wait time and the customer service. We’ve ordered pickup through the app several times since they opened but every time I’ve had to wait ten to fifteen minutes past the pickup time for our food to be ready. What’s the point of ordering ahead if I just end up sitting in the restaurant while I watch half a dozen people place and receive orders at the counter ahead of me?

Most recently we placed an order for two items to be ready at 7:45, I walked in at 7:50 and saw that my food wasn’t waiting yet. My bag is brought out at around 8 and it only has one of the items in it. When I asked the girl at the counter about it, she responded with “okay, I only had the one ticket.” When I showed her the order on the app, she looked at the screen for a moment and just said “okay”. So I had to ask if they could make it, to which she replied “Fine, I can remake it for you.” At that point, another worker came over and asked what the issue was. When she told her what was going on, I was asked my name again and they managed to find the ticket for the second bowl sitting on the counter.

So, my order was set for 7:45, half was brought out at 8, but I didn’t get to leave until 8:05. Almost half an hour after I expected to leave...

I wanted to bring attention to Cliff, the manager of this location who went above and beyond to help me…..and I wasn’t even his customer!!!! I ordered from the CAVA closer to our home (woodlands parkway) through Uber. Uber didn't allow a place to mention allergies or add notes - I figured I’d place the order and then call the location to tell them that my daughter has celiac disease and the pita cannot touch her food (cross contamination). I called the woodlands parkway location about 10 times, for my call only to go to a full mailbox over and over - it didn’t even ring! I was super frustrated and annoyed. In an effort to reach someone, I tried the market street CAVA location and Cliff answered. Not only did he offer to help me, he took it upon himself to call an employee at the woodlands parkway CAVA whose cell phone number he knew, deliver my message, and then called me back to let me know he reached someone! I mean, that was super awesome customer service!!!! Thanks so much Cliff for helping me and making sure my daughter’s food was safe for her to eat! From now on, even though it is a bit further, I will only order from the Market Street...

I've been to this location twice, once to go and once to dine in. I placed both orders with the app which was nice so I can explore all the options without the stress of waiting in line. The app is pretty unique in the way it shows what costs extra and updates to show cost of adding more. And the ability to add as many ingredients as you like is awesome. I see some people complain that they didn't get a lot of food in their bowl but I think they just didn't choose many ingredients to fill it. If you pack it up with everything nutritious they offer, you're going to have a full bowl that's difficult to finish in one sitting. However the employee that served me did mention that you can request more of the free items at no extra charge, so even if you order in the app, just go in quickly so you can watch them prepare it and don't be afraid to ask what their policy is for filling it up. I was super happy with my order each time and really enjoyed all the flavors and variety of ingredients. Definitely a place to keep coming back as a healthy, filling and delicious alternative to the average fast...