CAVA — Restaurant in Woburn

One of the worst restaurant experiences I’ve ever had. I visited on a busy Thursday evening, and while they started making my bowl, I quickly learned they were out of many items— including many green mixes and grilled chicken, the only meat option that isn’t an additional charge. If I had known this from the start, I would have left. They told me more grilled chicken would be ready soon, so I waited about five minutes, but it became clear they were unorganized and it wasn’t coming. The worker preparing my bowl was kind and told me I could choose any other meat without an extra charge since they had run out of grilled chicken. I chose the spicy chicken (which was not as good as the regular chicken). However, when I got to checkout, I noticed I was still charged for the upgrade. I politely explained the situation and requested a refund of the additional charge. There would have been no problem if I simply received the $2 refund. However, the worker at the counter was extremely rude. He glared at me, repeatedly saying, “But you got spicy chicken; that’s an additional charge.” I explained again and again that they were out of grilled chicken and I had been told I could substitute spicy chicken for free. Instead of resolving it, he told me he would “throw away” my current bowl and “remake it,” which made no sense since they never fixed the original problem - that there was no grilled chicken. There was a long line as well, and I did not want to waste food. He then started complaining about me to his coworker in another language, doing so right in front of my face. Once they finally agreed to give me the refund, they kept glaring and me and NEVER apologized. It’s not about the $2; it’s about how poorly I was treated. This was the most unprofessional and unpleasant experience I’ve ever had at a restaurant. I’ve had consistent good experiences here in the past with staff, but now I will never return to this location. Hire better staff, or you’ll continue...

Absolutely delicious. It's kind of like Chipotle for Mediterranean food, but so much better. It's fast food but there are a ton of healthy options. It works for someone whose preference for fast food consists of Sweetgreen or someone who gravitates to a more traditional option such as Chipotle. You can customize your own pita wrap, grain bowl, or salad and they have tons of different proteins, toppings, dips, and dressings to choose from.

My go to order right now is the custom grain bowl with the rightrice, grilled chicken, roasted vegetables, corn, and Persian cucumber. It's amazing. The rightrice is phenomenal. I still can't believe it's plant based, has tons of protein, fiber & is low carb. If you eat here, you MUST get the pita chips. They are some of the best things I've ever eaten. I don't know how they're able to cook them so they are both soft and crispy, but they are so good. I always pair it w/ the traditional hummus, but they have multiple options for dips including tzatziki, feta dip, roasted eggplant dip, roasted red pepper hummus, & harrissa.

Ever since I discovered this place last month, it's been my new obsession. They have healthy but delicious options that leave you satisfied and guilt free. I always feel full after eating here and the portions are large so I always have left overs. Can't...

Food: Very good and flavorful - especially for a chain. Far superior to bowls at Qdoba and Chipotle, for example. Price is a bit higher than the aforementioned places - the steak bowl I get is just over $16. The "sauces" that they add (less sauce-like than it is paste/spreads like hummus) are very good.

**This falls more under "service", so I graded it as such, but the portions are wildly inconsistent. Sometimes you get a loaded bowl with a solid amount of greens, other times it is so small a portion, I have to ask for more spinach. Same holds true with sauces, vegetables etc...

Service: Lots of people working and are normally quick and efficient, but the whole experience is just inconsistent. Sometimes super attentive and friendly, other times transactional and seem miffed when people aren't super fast with their decisions.

Atmosphere: Normally clean, fair amount of seating. Corner location, so windows all around so a ton of natural light. During lunch hours, the spacing of the counter causes the line to back up to the door pretty easily and people don't know if they should turn and line up across/out the door, across table area where people are eating etc... Because the that, seating nearer to the door can have people standing nest to you...