Johnny and Brandon provided splendid service. It was my first time dining here and he explained all of the options and ingredients very thoughtfully. He asked my preferences and made great recommendations. The food was 10/10 and would definitely come back here! Very spacious place and had a great vibe as well! read more

The food at CAVA is delicious, but at this location -- they are understaffed (causing long lines), staff is unfriendly, out of so many options and I think the food is not kept at a proper temperature. I will say the food at CAVA is so so good but I found the staff at this specific location to work without urgency and just overall not friendly/responsive. I honestly don't speak to service often because I understand when a place is understaffed as I previously worked in a restaurant as well, but one of the guys serving me started PLAYING with the chicken while I was reading the options. He was scooping it out and throwing it back in the bucket repetitively. No one there was honestly friendly (not a single smile), but the chicken slammer -- he was genuinely the most unhappy to be there. This was one of the many things my fiancé and I noticed when this individual interacted with the customers. Lastly, we had massive stomachaches post dinner. From what I could tell, some items like meats did not appear to be kept warm at all. Perhaps this is normal? But coincidentally we both had the worst stomachaches throughout the night after eating CAVA. read more

CAVA - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

Very yummy, and very cute inside. Was incredibly loud, and a bit hard to order. Also the menu options for the build your own items were small and hard to read quickly, especially if you don't know exactly what you wanted ahead of time. But the food is absolutely wonderful, and it's a lot of food for about $12. So many options, something for everyone, and not to long of a wait. read more

CAVA - Build Your Own with Falafel, half spinach half rice, all toppings - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

See all

Went in for dinner after a long day at work and ordered the spicy lamb meatball wrap. I won't be coming back. For $16, the wrap was barely filled with any meat, and mainly was a hodgepodge of pickled veggies that weren't distributed well around the wrap. The wrap is supposed to come with 2 sauces - I only got 1, and the server put so much sauce that by the time I got home the entire pita was soggy with sauce and there was no other flavor but this overwhelming, messy sauce. Lastly, the counter is quite unhygienic - there's food everywhere, I saw a server prepping a to-go order who stuck the receipt to his forearm (using the sweat on his forearm), which then fell into one of the ingredients, after which he picked it up and stuck it back to his sweaty forearm. Nasty. I'll take my money to Kebab Shop down the street if I want Mediterranean food, this place is a joke. read more

Delicious but mostly veggie, carbs, and dips/sauce. They were pretty skimpy on the protein and rice. There isn't much room to sit inside but there is an outdoor seating area. Also there was a line out the door. It seemed like they were understaffed when we went as the garbage hadn't been taken out. Hopefully they get more staff soon. read more

CAVA - Good idea - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

everyone working here looks miserable all the time idk why. food is good, service is eh. ?? read more

Maybe we came here on a bad day but the customer service was unacceptable . It's as if when a food spot hires college students you should expect the service to be bad. I've work in the food industry and always put guests first, so I'm unsure what's changed. Also, why is the food spread out all over the place??? Mission Valley CAVA would NEVER. Maybe the manager Victoria over there needs to come manage this location. Maybe San Diego's health inspectors need to come do a double check over here as well. I'll always be a loyal CAVA customer but not at this location. Side note: Is CAVA telling their employees to be skimp on the meat or what? They just throw the meat away at the end of the night anyways... instead CAVA should think about less food waste and more stomachs being fed especially for the prices of their bowls etc. read more

Great place to build your own bowl! The process and food feels like a Mediterranean chipotle. Lots of choices for toppings, protein, and base. We always go for the black lentils and our favorite protein is the falafels. We enjoy having all the toppings since we like trying a variety of things. You can choose up to 3 dips and spreads. Hummus is a pretty great choice and harissa is you like it a bit spicier. There're also different sauces you can top it off with. We like switching around to try out different flavors. There's a variety of combinations you can choose for your bowl. Service is fast and there's usually no wait, so a great place to grab something quick and tasty! read more

CAVA - Bowl - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

It was my first time coming here and the staff were really friendly and explained how this place works. I ordered the greens and grain bowl with half chicken and half braised lamb. The lamb was an extra $1.55, so the total for my meal was $13.06. Pros: -free shared parking lot -healthy options available -you can mix and match a lot of things (ex: half green/half grains) -seating available both indoors and outdoors -friendly staff -generous portions. This could probably be a few meals for an average person Cons: -n/a read more

CAVA - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

Never had an experience at this location where it was not a complete s*** show. First time I went there, the line was at a stand still because all 4 employees were just standing at the register talking. There was a line of 15 people and no one was being helped, just employees standing around laughing. It was so bizarre. I ordered on postmates and two separate drivers went there to pick up and said the food was not ready. When I called to check what was going on 50 minutes later, they said they just gave it to a random person. What? That makes no sense. Here it is one hour and 15 minutes later and no delivery. Never seen an operation run by 15 year olds that seem to have no standards or accountability. The he food is actually really good but the headache just is not worth it. read more

I LOVE NICHOLAS, he makes this place so welcoming and makes me want to come back the food was amazing brandon was so helpful checking us out!! best cava in San Diego read more

Yummy! My daughter raves about this place. It's just like sweetgreens but more Mediterranean. We each go the "build your own bowl". There are so many options for the base, toppings, protein and dressings. Comes with pita too. Nice portions! You can mix/mash everything. Super fresh! Note: they don't take cash. Our bowls were super yummy! Very filling. I took half home. I would totally recommend! read more

See all

SO DELICIOUS and fresh!! Super flavorful chicken and perfect sauces, the pita was just right and so large! Everyone could customize their order and was happy with their bowls or wraps. Lots of lovely medi options and toppings (lamb?! When was the last time you could fast cas order lamb??), you can choose a preselected combo or make it entirely your own. The juices were also tasty and went well with the meal, the cookie was the only meh of the whole experience. I lament we don't have a single one in Washington, so much I've already asked the corporate office. read more

CAVA - Tahini sauce covered pita chips in my honey's chicken bowl - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

See all

Shoutout Daisy and Rahim service was excellent was very polite and helped me when I had troubles!

CAVA is a great place to go for lunch! I am new to working in the area and was trying to find a nice, healthy but hearty lunch when I came across CAVA. I placed the order online which was a little confusing at first so I ended up going with one of their pre-made bowls instead of creating one (which I will do next time). The portions are huge! The flavor of the Chicken and RiteRice was phenomenal! Will I return? Absolutely, 100%. The only reason I am docking off a star is that parking in this area is horrendous at lunch time. Since I placed the order online I thought I would be able to park in the two spots they have at the front for online orders. Boy was I wrong. The two spots were taken but no one was in the vehicles. I feel like whoever parked there, probably wasn't doing the online order thing which was frustrating when I was. And was just picking up. Oh well. Maybe I'll have better luck next time. read more

CAVA - Chicken and RiteRice - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

The quality of the salad is amazing, as always! I always love how fresh the salad is. Thank you so much, Chanel and Marisa, for your amazing service!! read more

CAVA - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

2x in a row that the online order comes with much smaller portion than if I ordered in store. read more

CAVA - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

Overall, the steak harissa bowl was good, but the steak was dry. The price is high, but it's a good option if you're looking for a healthier food option. Service was okay. Would likely visit again. read more

The healthiest, freshest fast food! They have an assembly line order style where you can build your own bowl with ingredients on display. They offer salad and grain bowls, and you can pick your protein type with a wide variety of veggie toppings. You can order ahead online and pickup; the service is very fast if you dine in too! Some tips: You can get half-and-half on the protein and base, you can get a free pita on the side, and the fried pita chips are sooo delicious and always made fresh! read more

CAVA - Salad bowl! - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

Both times I've ordered here I've gotten the chicken and rice bowl with garlic and the the yogurt dill. I love this place 10x more than the similar chain that is also very popular. This particular place does not fill the bowl up very much, but the quality of the food is still very tasty even during rush hour. The lines both times I've been here was almost out the door. Overall, love this chain, very seldom would I say that about chain restaurants. read more

Solid service, food was good, fresh chicken and veggies. Brandon was really nice, will be going back

This is now my new favorite!! OMGosh! How come we don't have this in N Cali! It's a total bummer! Lovin' the half greens/half black lentils... the spicy lamb meatball was nice, but next time, i will def try their braised lamb. The roasted eggplant dip became my instant Love!! Wow! I'm def gonna try to make this at home.Everything about this place spells H-E-A-L-T-H-Y!! read more

CAVA - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

The service was horrible. We waited in line for 10 minutes with no one attending to the food line. One person was cutting chicken with little intention of helping fulfill orders, another staff member was taking out the trash, and the only other person kept running to the back of the house multiple times. All of them had very unhappy expressions and the worst attitudes. I love the food, but I had to leave because there was no effort to help us place an order. read more

Love CAVA! Affordable, healthy, and tasty food, basically the Mediterranean version of Chipotle. My order is a Salad Bowl ($12.98 includes tax): - Base: romaine and SuperGreens mix - Spreads: Hummus, Red Pepper Hummus, and Harissa (not that spicy, highly recommend) - Mains: grilled chicken and falafel - Toppings: broccoli, corn, tomato+onion, tomato+cucumber, cabbage, cucumber, shredded romaine, feta, and pita chips (basically everything but the olives, pickles, and the pickled onions) - Dressings: Yogurt Dill on the side Want to try the Garlic Dressing next time and will be coming back again soon! read more

Third time ordering from this place. All my orders were mobile orders. The people who work there were nice and the place is basically a Mediterranean version of Chipotle except I get more for my money at Chipotle. This place charge for everything while it didn't seem like a lot at first, they do add up. I usually ordered the chicken and rice bowl. The rice was terrible. Plus, they didn't give you enough of it. read more

Amazing service, they were able to provide service in helping me prepare an amazing bowl!

Absolutely inept at online/mobile orders. NEVER ORDER ONLINE HERE; total waste of time and money for something that should be for convenience. I've ordered online three times now, and every single time they forgot my sides. Idk what their problem is in refusing to give people the chips they ordered and paid for. Once might have been a mistake. Three times?! In a row?! I'm questioning if management asks employees to do this on purpose to scam people of money. The refund process is a bit arduous as well. Not worth it to order online. The food itself was quite good and good quality, although one of the three times I ordered, my bowl was only half full despite clicking all possible toppings.... I guess maybe if you have time to go and order in person it's good, but if you're a busy person looking for a quick food pick up,,, I'd recommend going to a different establishment so that you know you'll actually get what you ordered. read more

Chris Jamie and kyli were amazing during the dinner rush today! Very polite and the food was amazing, as always definitely becoming a regular visit ! read more

If I were to describe this place in a few words: Mediterranean style Chipotle You get to choose from pita wraps to grain bowls to salad bowls as your base. From there you choose your meats, veggies, toppings, dips, and dressings. What I liked was how they had interesting grain options like black lentils and RightRice along with a great variety of sauces and dips. My favorite was the garlic and yogurt dill for the dressing/sauce at the end, but they were all delicious. I also liked how the pita was warm. What I didn't like was the somewhat dry grains and meats, despite having lower standards as places like these already have precooked ingredients laying around for a while. On top, my black lentils were flavorless, and my meatballs were too salty. This made it feel like I was eating a bowl of leftovers all tossed together. Microwaved meatballs and rice with lettuce and pico leftover from a BYO taco kind of night, drenched in multiple condiments to soak up the dryness. Service was fast though, and the inside was kept very clean and sanitized. read more

See all

I really enjoyed the meal, actually both of us (my friend) did. First time here. The worker was so nice to give a lid with a tiny amount of each dip to try the different dips. Didn't ask just offered. Great customer service. Always crowded each time I have gone by. I did a build my own bowl [it is kinda like Qdoba (I luv) or Chipotle (I do not like)]. The chicken was so tender and juicy. Excellent flavors and varieties of the dips, sauces/dressings and toppings to customize to your own taste and preferences. A small side of pita bread is included too! read more

First time eating here so I had questions and I held up the line. To those annoyed customers last night... my apologies. To be fair, it looked like an entire soccer team was there in addition to the normal crowd, and they were busy with mobile orders and doordash type orders too. This is a very busy eatery around 8pm. Lots of UCSD students. So, you can build your own bowls like Chipotle but it's Mediterranean fare and the portions are smaller. I liked the beef meatballs and didn't like the harissa chicken. It was dry. The guy doing the protein part of my bowl recommended it and said it's a popular choice. It was so dry it was crunchy. Serves me right taking a chance on grilled chicken in a fast casual eatery. *punches myself in the face* The lemon vinaigrette is really good, the greens fresh, saffron rice flavorful, crazy feta good, hummus good, yogurt sauce, and all the other toppings and sauces were standard. There are certain amounts of toppings you can add, and there's a sticker on the glass telling you what they are and how many you can pick. If it's your first time I recommend looking at the menu online first so as not to hold the line up like I did. Minus one star for the dry harissa chicken and the tall girl dropping my pita bread out of the wrapper and onto the counter and not replacing it with a new one. Geez. read more

CAVA - grains plus greens bowl... i chose my own stuff. - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

Love it! A perfect refreshing meal that's quick and conveniently located near campus. The social distancing was well enforced and the food preparers were super attentive. I opted for a salad base with tzaziki, lamb meatballs, and any topping that was a vegetable. It was super delicious and the portion size was huge for $12. As many have said, it's the Mediterranean equivalent of chipotle but way better in my opinion. The star of the show was the skhug!! I have the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap, but even this sauce was delicious topping to my meal. Looking forward to building more bowls for a quick lunch in the future. read more

CAVA - Lamb meatballs, all the vegetables, over a salad power bowl. - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

Cava is your bang for your buck Mediterranean food! I usually start with a bowl of lentil/super greens I love raw Brussels and all the other crispy veggies. Scoop of the crazy feta, red pepper hummus and the roasted eggplant. For my protein I get the spicy lamb meatballs which are so flavorful and delicious. Sometimes I'll do half chicken which is also fire! When I want to indulge I'll get the braised lamb the lamb juice is sooooo good that over the saffron rice is chef kiss! For the topping I go all out and get everything extra corn and extra broccoli cause I love my veggies. For my sauce I finsih it off with eoubke garlic sauce and skoog, this combo is very yummy. Oh and Don't forget your side of pita it's soft and delicious. For a drink I always go for the blueberry soda with a splsh of the blueberry lavender. The staff here are super nice and work fast it gets really busy during dinner time so use the app and order ahead! read more

CAVA - Everything on top of spicy lamb meatballs. - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

My search is over. I have officially discovered my favorite salad bowl place in San Diego. Cava is sort of like a higher end, million times more amazing Mediterranean chipotle. All the ingredients were extremely fresh. So much to choose from "many types of protein, grains, greens and sauces". The prices are incredible for the amount of food you get. The most impressive thing about Cava was the awesome staff. Daniel and Riley made us feel so welcome and made some great suggestions. Even though it's a cafeteria style restaurant, they definitely made a 5 star impression on us. Thank you Cava. read more

CAVA - Lamb meatball salad bowl - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

See all

If they're not careful they're seriously going to fall off in an insane way. Portion sizes are noticeably shrinking, they're always out of half of the dip options that happen to be the most crucial for planning my bowl, and then they're ALSO out of crucial toppings. Think feta cheese. O yea I said it and I meant it. I've been coming here for years ... and each time I see less and less light in the employees' eyes. They're suffering. I bet if I looked down behind the thin glass window that separates the end user from the means of production I'd find each employee shackled by the ankles and forbidden from ever leaving the floor. This time I was here, the back of house was blasting a death metal/Skrillex playlist. Now this could be considered quite normal for back of house chefs but I was alarmed by the sheer volume and how the FOH moved about as though nothing overstimulating or unusual was happening. Someone has got to pay them more and improve their labor conditions. Until then, we must keep tipping our brothers in their shackles.... and keep ordering our bowls despite the shrinking portion sizes. Keep the light in our hearts alive, get a CAVA bowl. read more

Actually 4.5 stars. I'm knocking 1/2 a star off because they were out of felafel and don't have another vegan protein, other than beans and rice. This was my first visit, and I enjoyed my food (other than not having felafel). These build-a-bowl eateries are fun, as it can be adventurous to try different things, but just a bit of them, not a whole plate. Good variety of meat choices here, and with the fast service, and lovely outdoor dining area (with real plants which attracted hummingbirds while my friend and I dined), and modest price for the size of the bowl, it's a winner. But, get some tofu or tempeh, please. read more

Yummy fast casual Mediterranean food. You have the option of a base, meat, dips, toppings and dressing. Of you get a salad or rice bowl you have the option of getting a small side pita as well. Bowls are all around $10-11. I got the salad bowl with supergreens which came with mostly cabbage and kale. You have the option of mixing in their other greens like spinach or lettuce as well. I got half grilled chicken, half falafel. Chicken was good but pass on the falafel as it was very bland and too mushy. I also wish the protein options were hotter. They were lukewarm/cool. For my dips I chose, harissa (delicious and packs some heat), tzatziki (standard but yummy!) And the eggplant red pepper (nothing special and unfortunately wasn't too flavorful). I like that you can get unlimited toppings and they all looked super fresh. I didn't end up getting any dressing since I felt like there was a lot of flavor going on already. Overall, I was happy with my meal and it was really filling. Just some small things that could have been better but I will be back. read more

CAVA - Salad bowl - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

It's my first time visiting cava in San Diego as I've only frequented one in LA. I had a really good experience. I ordered online from their website but couldn't find a place to put notes. I wanted the dips and spreads on the side of my pita but I couldn't find where to input that anywhere. I figured I'd just call. I called (about 5 times), no answer. Drat, so I go in just hoping they didn't make my order yet but they're so speedy, they already made it. I talked to the girl at the counter and she was super accommodating. She told me they would remake it for me with the spread and dips on the side and so they did! They ended up running out of regular chicken which was what i ordered originally so they let me substitute for another meat (free of charge of course). They then threw in a free drink! I don't live in SD so I won't be here often but I can definitely vouch they have the most amazing customer service! 5/5 stars read more

cava has it figured out. great vegan option, so filling. i find it hard to believe every time that i pay 13 dollars for such high quality food, come pick it up bagless, dont have to waste the free pita bread i dont want, and get two meals out of a 1k cal bowl. workers are super kind and patient, line moves quickly. great options for sauces sides drinks, everything read more

CAVA - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

The teenager who attended to my order didn't know how to make a crispy falafel pita (looks confused as if he isn't trained) then the next guy tells me they are out falafel and they don't have aother 5 ingredients like eggplant etc. These kids are not hygienic as all the ingredients are falling into the others bowls and they don't care. No napkins in the boxes. I'm going to another CAVA until management works on these issues! This happened 4/27/24 @9pm. read more

CAVA - They ran out of ingredients and they don't keep it clean. - Mediterranean Near Me - La Jolla, California

See all