CAVA — Restaurant in Vinings

I stayed away for a little while, hoping this location would improve but to no avail!! Here's an update!

5/16/2024 730pm-800pm:

I really enjoy Cava, but this particular location is awful. The restaurant itself is ALWAYS sloppy and nasty, 80% of the time, they are completely out of 30-40% of their ingredients. The staff is extremely unenthused and understaffed. You wait in line for rarely less than 20 minutes only to get upfront to place your order but they are out of greens, right rice, meat, crazy feta, hummus, dressing, pita chips and literally all the drinks are often out. I wish I was exaggerating, but I am NOT. I've done a couple of reviews hoping to see improvements, but it remains the same. Tonight was the last straw, I waited in line for about 20 mins to place my order, and the only had two types of lettuce spinach and splendid greens. It was either choose one or leave with the time I had already wasted. So I chose Spinach and then completed my order and asked the young lady if they were discounting due to the shortages of ingredients she said no, so then I asked for pita chips free of charge due to the inconvenience so she went and got the manager who proceeded to justify the mismanagement then basically tell me I made my choice because they told me they were out in the beginning. I was absolutely LIVID because this is the type of service that is constantly provided at this location. I love Cava food, but I will never return to this location again, and I will continue to voice to other how horrible this location is until they make a change. I have also written to corporate because this is terrible. It's the only one in the neighborhood, so if you love the food, you suffer of drive way out of the way. --------‐---------------------------- I really enjoy Cava a lot because the food is good, but this location is extremely understaffed and constantly subpar. The staff is relatively nice but sometimes reflect attitudes because they are understaffed and overworked. They are alway out of something, and tonight was perhaps the worst I've ever seen. We arrived around 735-740pm, and they closed at 10 pm. They were out of some of their dressings and then they were completely out of fountain drinks and Lemonades/Tea's and advised they were not making anymore because they were all out with at least 2 hrs left. They only had a corner of Blueberry Lavender and a 1/4 of Sweet Tea left. This particular location needs a serious revamp. Sometimes, the wait times exceed 30 minutes. I don't know if it's a management or if this franchise owner is just trash, but I won't be back to...

First time at a Cava and I was expecting much better, particularly after seeing many great reviews. Unfortunately there were more than a few bad reviews and our experience fell in that category! At the very least this location seems to have inconsistent food, service, and cleanliness. We had: Harissa chicken bowl Spicy and avocado pita Custom lamb rice bowl

We told the server it was our first visit, and while they were generally pleasant they were not helpful, provided small portions, and rushed us through the process.

The corn was mushy, the tzatziki and feta cheese was bland, and there was something mixed in that tasted like cabbage hearts with a harder texture. My avocado was over-ripe and starting to go bad. The bowls were nowhere as full or fresh looking as on the menu board. On the other hand the lamb and chicken were good, and the pickled onions were sweet and had a nice bite. The best thing we had was the cucumber-mint drink which was refreshing and balanced the heat in the chicken.

Even though we were eating in, our food was provided in a large take-out bag. They appeared to do this for all diners, and plastic utensils and napkins were in the drink area. It seemed odd and was definitely not eco-sensitive.

The tables were moderately dirty and I cleaned ours before we sat. The staff wiped the others when we were about half done. The worst example of (non-) cleanliness was in the women’s restroom. A wet floor sign was an understatement, with 1/4 to 1/2 inch of “water” flooding the back of the stalls. I am sure this was not the condition when this location received a 100 A rating from the Department of Public Health.

I didn’t get an itemized bill, but the total with taxes for the three of us came to a little over $60.

We were disappointed. We loved going to Zoe’s Kitchen locations and hoped we could enjoy some of that experience at Cava after they acquired Zoe’s a while back. No such luck on this night and location. I don’t believe we...

3rd Attempt: The manager was very rude regarding my complaint I made the following Monday when I went in person to actually understand my complaint. Manager told me the phones are not the priority& reviews aren't really reviewed. but im still going to leave one bc why not. Today i went back bc the food is great, but its never right. I made my bowl in person that was fantastic, but my co-workers that online ordered the food was trash, moes would have done better. Foods Great, manager should stick to a non customer service job. Im sad to say I will NOT spend my hard earned money here with the of the manager not being helpful. & FYI- If you order online you cannot receive a refund through the store, even though thats the location it was placed. I feel robbed, & will stick to chipotle where the portion sizes are fair for the amount charged for the meal.

This morning I decided to give CAVA a 2nd attempt after my first experience was disappointing. I placed the order at 11:30am online for available pick up at 11:45, I pulled in the parking lot and noticed it was packed, so I knew I would have an extended wait time for my food, which I respectfully waited patiently to receive. I added extra things on 2/3 bowl that I purchased more than $16 a piece for. My extra add ons were NOT on the meals, portion sizes VERY skimpy. I called the Cumberland location to inform them on the mistakes to my order that has now, made me late to work back from lunch & pay extra for things I didn't receive. I've now called more than 10 times since 12am just so I can be reimbursed for the items that were purchased NOT received. I've never left a review for a restaurant before but this was & still is ridiculous. I will be coming to the store later in the evening once im off work to receive full reimbursement on the order that reminded me of a soup kitchen. xoxo- Justin p.s. reviews could be avoided if paid employees...