CAVA Mediterranean

A Restaurant Review

Great if you love it.

Bold flavor but some things aren’t for everyone.

My first visit to CAVA reiterated that I’m not part of the hip demographic that made Starbucks, Chipotle, and Panera Bread the juggernauts they are today. I simply am not enamored by Whole Foods and the like.

Cava is a trendy eatery with Maryland roots growing a solid following of vegetable based, anti-preservative Mediterranean style food commercialized on a founder’s family cooking.

I complement Cava on being flavorful and offering things like falafel, braised lamb, and super greens in a quick restaurant setting. The centerpiece is a collection of tasty dips and spreads made from fresh ingredients in D.C. and California. The spirit is millennial.

In the footsteps of Five Guys who offered up fresh burgers and farm to fryer potatoes and Chipotle promising “food with integrity” Cava works on a build your bowl system similar to Moe’s Southwestern Grill and Panda Express. You choose between Mediterranean ingredients including pita, feta, eggplant, hummus etc.

Vegetarian foodie flavors with meat available.

Unfortunately, my visit to the Fredericksburg location was underwhelming. The busy Saturday showed the restaurant has clearly found its fans but I found it expensive and best suited for groups of 2 or 3.

Our part of five cost $80 and with the tables bolted to the floor closely together we were unable to sit together.

Several local non-franchise local restaurants offer food just as tasty as Cava made from scratch with fresh ingredients and more comfortable and more environmentally friendly.

Like Panera Bread, Cava beckons customers to separate waste and recycle but the clientele wasn’t doing it. Although they offer paper straws and make it challenging take too many napkins it didn’t seem more environmentally friendly than McDonald or Burger King.

The intentions may be good but Cava came across to me as trading on eco-friendly vegetarian whole food advocates without exemplifying anything other than commercialism.

Chick-Fil-A appeals to it’s sauce addicts and fellow Christians. I’m confident Cava has also cultivated a following of sauce addicts and emotional brand loyalty. I wish Cava longevity and high profits but doubt it will come from me.