CAVA

Reviews

• MS

  Minna S

  3 days ago
  4.0
  I gave this location a four star rating strictly based on the food. I happened to stop by at the Palm Harbor location today and I am appalled by the service I received. I arrived today 03/12/2026 at around 2:03 pm. I provided the date and time, just in case a higher manager, happens to read this and wants to look back at their security footage. I decided to order a bowl. I am fully aware of what should and should not be an uncharge, not only are there directions right in front of us, but I have been a frequent customer since the location at Trinity opened up. I continued to tell the employee that I wanted brown rice as my base. She proceeded to put the full portion of grains into my bowl. I decided that I wanted a little bit of lentils today, so I told the employee in a very nice/normal tone of mine "I know it's going to cost me extra, but can you please add a little bit of lentils to my bowl. I don't mind being charged extra for it". I then told her I wanted a full portion of just the regular chicken. I also told the employee in a very nice/normal tone of mine, "I know its going to cost me extra, but I would like to please do a half portion of the sweet potatoes as well as a half portion of the mixed veggies." And again I mentioned to her that I don't mind paying extra for it. Now for the fun part of the entire experience. Victoria, which I later found out was a manager, seemed like she was having like the worst day of her life with me. I told her I wanted pickled onions, cucumbers, mixed tomato salad, romaine lettuce, and the wonton chips. When I told her I wanted the mixed tomato salad, she rudely with an attitude, said "You're going to need to speak louder, I can't hear back here". In my head I'm just like woah ok. I asked her if she can add a little more pickled onions and she responded by giving me a dirty look. Moving to the best part of the entire experience. As she put the romaine lettuce into my bowl, I noticed she put literally about 4-5 pieces of lettuce into my bowl. So, I asked nicely "Can you please add a little more lettuce". She gave me a dirty look again. She proceeded to put a second amount of lettuce into my bowl with this time almost maybe around 3-4 pieces of lettuce. I look at it and asked her politely, "Can you please add just a little more lettuce". At that point she obviously got fed up with my politeness. Before adding the last portion of lettuce she says with a completely nasty attitude, "at this point I'm going to have to charge you for an extra base. This lettuce is only supposed to be enough for there to be a CRUNCH on top, not for it to act like a base". As embarrassed as I got for her embarrassing me (there were customers just staring at both me and her during this incident), I continued to tell her "no worries, I will pay extra for it. I just want the bowl I always order whenever I go to Cava". Trinity never charged me extra for lettuce at the end because they always but a normal looking amount. Not only did she embarrass me, but Scott (which I later found out was a manager as well) instigated the entire situation, literally talking over Victoria and saying "yeah you're going to have to pay extra". Both of them had the most rudest attitude I have ever encountered. And that was seriously super uncalled for only because never one time did I say I wasn't going to pay extra for anything. While feeling embarrassed by the entire situation, I finally encountered someone they need to promote as manager/top manager at this location. Yadaira 100% witnessed the entire situation. I know she felt bad about how her coworkers were treating me just by how polite she was with me as I was checking out. She proceeded to tell me what my total was and as I paid she said she was sorry for everything and remained professional the entire time. We need more people like Yadaira when it comes to customer service. Maybe she should train the managers on how they should treat customers and people in general. It's unbelievable how Victoria and Scott can even be managers at a location like this.
• TR

  Tracie Richey

  Mar 7, 2026
  5.0
  Their food here is immaculate ; I’ve never had anything that wasn’t deliciously fresh. Grayson helped us today and he’s funny as well as informative. 5 stars for him!
• JE

  Josh Estremera

  Mar 7, 2026
  4.0
  Pricing is comparable to most others. Food is fresh. The scoops of sauces are a little on the smaller side. Overall good portions are fair. Ton of options on how you want your meal to be.
• GB

  Garion Bellweather

  Feb 23, 2026
  1.0
  their online site would not let me order any food, I called them to place an order and was told that they cannot help me that I had to go to the online site that currently was not working That's an absolutely garbage policy, I've had too many problems with this place recently I will no longer be going there
• KD

  Kay Davis

  Feb 22, 2026
  1.0
  I’ve been going to CAVA all over the East Coast and used to love it. The locations in Virginia were consistently great, which is why I was excited when one opened here. Unfortunately, the Palm Harbor location has been a huge disappointment. The food quality is terrible. On my most recent visit, chicken wasn’t available, so I ordered the steak. I’m someone who loves steak, but whatever meat I was served did not taste like steak at all. It had a very strange, unpleasant flavor, and shortly after eating it, my stomach started turning. Every time I eat at this location, I end up with stomach issues, which is concerning. Beyond the food itself, there are consistent operational problems. Ingredients are often missing from to-go orders, and the restaurant does not feel clean. I’ve been inside when trash was overflowing, which doesn’t inspire confidence in food handling. On a previous visit, one of the dressings tasted sour, which made me question freshness. I used to genuinely enjoy this chain, but the quality at this location has gone dramatically downhill. It feels like cheaper ingredients are being used, and the overall experience is no longer worth it. If you’ve never eaten at CAVA before, this Palm Harbor location is not a good representation of what the brand used to be. I'm genuinely grossed out by whatever meat they were calling steak in bowl.

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