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    CAVA

    3.4 (212 reviews)
    ModerateSalad, Mediterranean
    Open 10:30 am - 10:30 pm
    Updated 1 month ago

    Order CAVA Takeout or Delivery

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    CAVA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Dogs allowed
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - CAVA

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    Reviews With Photos

    $20 disaster
    Julie C.

    My pick up order barely had any chicken, and looked like someone played soccer with it. $20 for this mess is a joke.

    Customized Grains Bowl
    Jessica C.

    It's always busy, and always good. It's worth the wait, the ingredients are fresh and tasty. Love their drink options. Love how I customize my bowl to whatever I'm feeling like for the day!

    Crystal F.

    I was excited to try this place out, the food was great and met my expectations. It's Mediterranean food that is fresh and tasty, and the portions were generous. I ordered the steak and harissa bowl, it was so good! The service was okay, the workers seemed to be training on the job, because they were scrambling around looking for ingredients and reading off instruction cards when making food. The server helping me rushed me when I was adding extras to my bow,l before I finished ordering he pushed my order over to the register...rude. Overall I did enjoy the food, and hopefully the staff will have better customer service and manners next time.

    Falafel crunch bowl with a side of pita bread
    Thea M.

    Updated review: food on point no question there. My usual falafel bowl sin cheese. But why does the food line counter always have to be visibly dirty. Sloppy drips etc. wet rag it. Not gonna lie it gave me the ick, so I'll just order and pick up so outta sight out of mind....

    Bowl + Drink
    Jessica P.

    I remember seeing this place but I didn't expect it to be a Mediterranean place. This is located in the plaza that can be really packed (has In-N-Out, Chipotle, Chick-Fil-A) or more. While there is a lot of parking spots, sometimes it can be a bit packed and some traffic with getting in the plaza, inside the plaza, or leaving out of the plaza. The inside is decently clean and there is sometimes a line (usually about 5-6 people) but it goes by super fast (as long as people know what they want). I will say when I'm telling them what I want (or trying to hear what they ask) can be a bit hard cause the music is a bit loud or just too much noise going on. But people are still friendly regardless so it's good with me. They give good decent amount of meat and veggies that you want so I'm happy with that. I always get the bowl and the flavor with the meat, grain, dressing, veggies, and more makes it so good! You can customize it or choose their premade one (if you feel overwhelmed). Everyone is friendly to help! I also do like the drinks that they have available, which is something I always grab now. And you can't forget about those pita chips - one of the best crispy pita chips I've ever had! They used to have their spicy pita chips as a limited time (or experimental) and it was so good that I hope they will someday bring it back as a permanent menu! Overall, I definitely would come here again and I'm just glad they have one in North County! Definitely stop by if you want some Mediterranean food.

    Jan L.

    His name was either Mario or Marcos, working the line on 10-2-25, but he was engaged with customers. So nice. When I told home the county I was from he guessed my hometown on the first time! I ordered a Greek salad, pita chips and a drink. Fits my first time there and will be back! Good was very good and customer service rocked! Seating outside and inside. Kudos to everyone behind the counter!

    Wynesha K.

    This my first time at this location but love it!!! This place gets busy but food well worth the wait but I think for the 40 minutes waiting they should have given free small drinks or 10% off for courtesy. This keeps your customers happy and supportive. The staff are hard working individuals that somehow manage to keep at when the line is at the door. Amazing food, polite service, and ambiance is chill. Great for lunch or dinner with friends and has patio dinning. Be sure to try the various sauces on your Bowls or pita and don't forget the drinks which are all natural and fresh. Love Cava and will be back but maybe not at 1:00pm

    Marinated lamb, super green, black lentil and brown rice, with avocado, fire roasted corn, olives, tzatziki
    K C.

    First time here and everything was cool. I give them a 4.5. It took a minute to decide what I wanted since it was my first time. I can see that being a little of a wait at a busy time. I ordered some fried cinnamon pita chips that went with like a honey and those were cool (a little on the burnt or overly fried side) but a good balance from the savory. Now we just need one of these in Oceanside. People were friendly here in San Marcos. It is pricey and it takes a while to earn a reward on their APP. I may be back when I'm in the area. It was clean and spacious and had a lot of outside seating. I'm now using a walker and it is handicap accessible. There are vegan options an

    Thuy C.

    We've been to CAVA in Encinitas and that's where our CAVA experience have been. However, we were so happy to see a San Marcos location open and excited to try. While the food and taste is the same (5 stars) for healthy but good tasting food! This location is really poorly ran and filthy! Immediately when we walked in, my first thought was wow, this place is dirrrrrtrryyy, food on the floor, none of the tables were cleaned and had food all over. It was disappointing as this is not the normal Cava and standards that I am used too. We almost left because of how dirty it was but we were also starving. It seems like there is no management here and ran by a bunch of college students. Hopefully the owners realize there's a problem here with cleanliness and operations as everything was out and really low on stock. It didn't look appealing to be getting the bottoms left of food scrapes. Let's do better Cava, this is a great location so please get the sanitary and operations together as we want to come back more often because we love Cava but will drive to Encinitas location for cleaner and better operations

    Homemade drinks
    Erick M.

    DELICIOUS!! Heathy food that's Packed with Favor! It's Mediterranean food where you pick your meat and toppings. We got the custom bowl of chicken and lamb. Chicken is good but I HIGHLY recommend the lamb! It's cooked perfectly, tender & juicy! You'll pay a bit more than your typical fast food but it's worth it! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

    Unused to go shelf
    Jolene M.

    We have frequented several Cava locations and this location multiple times. Everytime we come to this location the line is super long so today we placed a pickup order that was supposed to be ready at 5:45. We finally received our food 35 minutes late at 6:20. Since we were waiting for so long we had plenty of time to watch how the store was operated. First thing we noticed upon entering was the store was filthy. Almost every table was dirty and the floor had lots of food. Walking in the back door, I almost slipped and fell in what looked like vomit. Utensils were not stocked, and they were out of cucumber mint drink the entire time we were there. While a few workers seemed to be hustling, the majority seemed to have no sense of urgency (one girl seemed to just walk back and forth changing gloves) which makes me think management and training is part of their issue. They have a shelf where to go orders are supposed to be placed but instead of using it for orders, it stores random stuff and they just place orders around the cash register. Ten minutes after my scheduled pickup the worker went around and asked those congregating waiting for food what there names were and then went back to see their names and promised they were almost ready. 10 minutes after that I could see them preparing my food. But then it sat on the counter for another 15 minutes waiting for a single pita chip ensuring all of our food was cold. When we finally did receive our order there was no apology for the extended wait and we were missing several sauces. While Cava has decent food I don't see us returning to this poorly run location again.

    Mains option
    Lisa W.

    I came around 1pm and it was packed. It was even more packed when I left around 1:30pm. Crazy! Long lines reminded me of what Chipotle used to be. Cava is chipotle style dining but Mediterranean. Cool concept and it makes sense. I got the steak and harissa because all their chicken was cooking and would take 15-20 minutes. That's a long time to wait, especially with that long line, not sure how they would handle that. So I opted for steak + harissa, with crazy feta, red pepper hummus, and basically they let me choose my toppings. I got corn, tomatoes & cucumbers, pickled onions, cucumbers, pickles and broccoli. The sauce I got was the lemon one. Which my friend said the garlic sauce is the best. For $20, the steak was bland, tasted absolutely no seasoning on it. It's supposed to have Mediterranean spices, but it just tasted bland, not even salt on the steak. I'm guessing. You have to just eat the meat with the dressing? Iono. It was okay. I still want to come back for the garlic chicken. Hopefully they don't run out next time, or maybe I'll just come earlier. And the garlic sauce. Everyone is right as well, they seem to run out of things often, and the staff definitely have no sense of urgency or care. Just a bunch of college students.

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    1 month ago

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    15 hours ago

    So delicious! And the service was so great, Laron made our bowl and pita and did a great job! He was so kind and had the friendliest smile!

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    11 days ago

    Food was great but the service is mid. They are not very friendly just transactional.

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    Page 1 of 6

    Ask the Community - CAVA

    Review Highlights - CAVA

    The staff were friendly and a nice employee named Shira was extremely helpful helping me get signed up for the app.

    Mentioned in 9 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Pita's Mediterranean Grill - Chicken Kebab Plate

    Pita's Mediterranean Grill

    4.0(546 reviews)
    3.2 mi
    $$

    Pita's Mediterranean Grill is seriously one of my favorite spots in San Marcos. I've been coming…read morehere since I was a kid, and it's been consistently good for as long as I can remember. They've been open over 20 years and it definitely shows. Today I got the falafel plate, chicken kebab plate, and chicken shawarma plate, and everything was so good. Super flavorful, very authentic, and really affordable. I'm on a health journey right now and this place is perfect. Fresh food that actually fills you up and makes you feel good. Service is always on point. The owner is usually there working, and all the employees are incredibly sweet and welcoming. They're also really quick, so you're never waiting forever for your food. I've had their rice pudding and baklava before too and both are great dessert options if you still have room. If you're looking for solid Mediterranean food with great service and fair prices, this place is a must. Can't wait to come back!

    I'd give it a 4.5 if I could…read more Super nice guy. Fast service. Explanied the ingredients to my vegan GF. Food was good but didn't blow me away. I had the low carb plate with mixed chicken and beef which was well constructed, but the beef was a little on the tough side - had to it to again I'd go with the chicken. My GF had the falafel bowl, and the owner gave her 2-3 different dipping sauces - nice touch. She was really pleased. Yes ... I'd go again!

    Photos
    Pita's Mediterranean Grill - Inside

    Inside

    Pita's Mediterranean Grill - Chicken Shawarma Plate

    Chicken Shawarma Plate

    Pita's Mediterranean Grill - Chicken Shawarma Plate

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    Chicken Shawarma Plate

    The Pita Guys - Chicken kebab salad - 2/5 expensive, barely any sauce and the cardinal sin was the dry chicken kebab

    The Pita Guys

    4.3(1.2k reviews)
    0.8 mi
    $$

    I love this place! Food is delicious. Would recommend to…read moreanyone, it's a little loud inside but if you're not eating there it doesn't matter. Staff is friendly. I did however have a bit a negative experience, picked up lunch couple days ago and got a chicken kabob bowl and as I bit into it noticed the chicken was undercooked. Didn't have time to go back and share with staff.

    Why did I come here?…read more With a hunger for mediterranean and the worry that nearby Aria may be a bit too pricey for a quick meal, I brought my son out to The Pita Guys for some gyro or shawarma. What we found were limited options, higher than expected prices, less than helpful staff, and not the best of food. Being my first time, I had questions about the menu. The young pair behind the counter didn't seem to know what they were serving, as they kept looking at one another for guidance with little ability to give me much relevant info on anything other than what types or protein they had. Once I finally ordered, they started to taking and filling the orders of people behind me. It wasn't until a much older woman came in from the back before my own dinner started being prepared. Seriously, it was a pretty weird setup. The food was served Subway style, where they go down the line asking what you wanted added to your wrap. Shawarma meat is minced, staying warm in a tub, and scooped to order by a spoon resting in a bin of cloudy water. Not only did it feel a bit gross, but it also seemed that the bulk of the juice in the meat came from that watery spoon, as the shawarma I ate was very dry. When it came to my son's Shawarma Plate, the menu stated that it came with two sides. What they don't tell you is that the only choices on the 'sides' menu open to you are Hummus and a Salad. The much more desired sides of Falafel, Baba Ghanoush, or even kid friendly Fries, were not offered. Needless to say, my son ate his chicken and rice, but wouldn't touch his hummus. So, a Shawarma Plate and a Shawarma wrap ... dinner for two, not a ton of food, neither of us were all that impressed ... and it cost us over $40. Needless to say, with how everything tasted and what it took to get ... we won't be coming back. For the price it cost us, I think we'll stick with the far superior Aria up the street. Or, at the very least, try the Kebab Shop down the block.

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    The Pita Guys - Menu

    Menu

    The Pita Guys - This is a "large" bowl for $17. Pretty sad considering you can buy an entire rotisserie chicken at any grocery store for like $6-10.

    This is a "large" bowl for $17. Pretty sad considering you can buy an entire rotisserie chicken at any grocery store for like $6-10.

    The Pita Guys - Storefront exterior

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    Storefront exterior

    Ali Baba Mediterranean Cuisine of Escondido - Chicken Shawarma Platter

    Ali Baba Mediterranean Cuisine of Escondido

    4.4(1.2k reviews)
    5.2 mi
    $$

    We stopped by Ali Baba for a quick dinner before a show at the Escondido Center for the Arts. We…read moreboth ordered the Lamb Kofta Kabob Plate, and when we asked to omit the rice and naan, they offered a salad to fill the plate. It was all great! The food was great, as was the service. The pickled cabbage was amazing. This is a great place! Huge dining room, that would be great for a very large gathering. We shall return! Looks like they were doing a pretty brisk take-out service, too. If I lived nearby, I'd be picking up dinner here a lot. Good option for people eating keto!

    Been a long time since I've been here, but finally decided to come back as I had been craving their…read morebeef shawarma, and they have a great lunch special. Parking is very easy as the lot is very big. They are usually empty during lunch time, so not usually too long of a wait. My go too is the beef schwarma lunch special, it includes the schwarma, rice, salad and hummus. You can add on bread for an extra cost and it's a bigger than your head. The schwarma is seasoned very well, and not chewy. The rice is also very good, and flavorful. The hummus is one of my favorites, although this time it was a little thicker than usual. I love the dressing they use on the salad, I could eat a whole bowl of the stuff. The salad had a lot of cucumber, cut in big chunks, which is how i like it. The bread is enough for 2 people at least, so i would keep that in mind. 2 of us shared it and we still had some left over that we couldn't finish. The portions in general are very big, for me it was enough to dance leftovers of everything except the salad. I think this is a must to try if you live nearby, or even if you are just in the area, i don't think you will be disappointed.

    Photos
    Ali Baba Mediterranean Cuisine of Escondido
    Ali Baba Mediterranean Cuisine of Escondido - Chicken Shawarma Plate

    Chicken Shawarma Plate

    Ali Baba Mediterranean Cuisine of Escondido - Ali Baba Salad w/Chicken

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    Ali Baba Salad w/Chicken

    CAVA - salad - Updated May 2026

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