CAVA

Told them I had a severe gluten allergy and immediately the worker washed his hands, changed gloves and got me a bowl he hadn’t touched. To keep cross to a minimum, he took me down the entire line!

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Very

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

Can't promise no cross contamination because pita is everywhere here. But you can order without it. I had a good experience!

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Some

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

I go to CAVA frequently and have been impressed by the allergen safety they demonstrate in the way the employees operate, making it unnecessary to even mention my allergies usually. They use tongs, individual spoons, hover above the pitas to drop ingredients. Once I had a negative experience in which an employee used his just pita-ed gloved hand to stir around the lettuce then drop it in my bowl. I emailed CAVA to let them know and they made it right with a replacement bowl and stated the following: Thank you for reaching out and for bringing this to our attention, we sincerely hope that you are okay. We take cross contamination issues very seriously and take every precautionary measure to try and avoid it. That said, we would like to send our deepest apologies for this incident as your experience did not hold up to the high standards we hold ourselves to as a company. Please know that I’ve elevated this message on to our regional and area leaders who will be addressing this with our restaurant team immediately.

Kudos on continuing to improve and train your folks well, CAVA!

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Safety Feature Ratings

• Staff is knowledgeable and can answer questions
• Staff will clean kitchen space or change gloves if asked

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Good

Other Characteristics

• Good for dairy-free
• Good for dinner
• Good for kids
• Good for lunch
• Good for takeout
• Good selection of healthy options
• Good vegan options
• Good with other allergies
• Offers online ordering
• Offers outdoor seating

Update: February 2023 Not sure I trust this place as much anymore. I have watched one woman consistently (during multiple visits) grab lettuce using her gloves instead of the tongs, so cross contamination likely since they touch pitas. Also, on another recent visit, one woman was just reaching into the toppings at the end of the line with her gloves, instead of using the spoons. Again, cc. So, I feel like cc is more likely due to staff not being as careful as they were when I wrote my original review. Not sure I’ll frequent this place as much, might try Garbanzos instead.

I have eaten here many times and my sister frequents one in Denver. Tell them you have Celiac and they will wash their hands and change gloves. From my understanding, the only things with gluten are the pita and pita chips (in the toppings section at the end). The lentils also are possibly cross contaminated, so if celiac they recommend not getting those.

I have never had a problem here, they do a good job of not touching the spoon to the items when they put it on. I have had other locations be willing to get clean spoons out of the back upon request.

I’m a sensitive celiac and have never had a reaction (knock on wood!) I eat here at least once a week.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Not very

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Good

Cava is a similar set up to chipotle in the build your own manner but they use spoons for all ingredients so there is less worry about cross-contamination. Everything is gluten free except for the pita, falafel, and sides but other than that it’s all safe. The website has a downloadable pdf with all food restrictions laid out which was super helpful. Delicious food and no reaction so far! My only issue with them is that the staff can be rude about the safety precautions, so be prepared to fight a little in order to have safe food.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Safety Feature Ratings

• Staff will clean kitchen space or change gloves if asked

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Some

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

Other Characteristics

• Good for dairy-free
• Good for dinner
• Good for lunch
• Good for takeout
• Good selection of healthy options
• Good vegan options
• Good vegetarian options
• Good with other allergies
• Offers outdoor seating

I love their food and there are many GF options, but you have to be careful of you are very sensitive to cross contact. They keep pita bread right next to the rice and they are tossing bread around a lot. If you are very sensitive, I would recommend asking if they can get fresh rice from a backup container and change their gloves.

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

I love coming to Cava!! They make sure to change their gloves and get new bowls when I mention Celiac and almost everything is gluten free (just not the pita or falafels). They also gave me my bowl for free once!!!

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

I came here when I was visiting Austin and got a bowl that was delicious! The falafel is sadly not gluten free but a lot of their food is and they have a detailed allergen menu. I told them I have a gluten allergy and they were very good about it - they changed their gloves and answered all my questions. There is definitely some risk of cross contamination cuz they do pitas also, but from what I saw the serving spoons don’t touch the pita.

Me and the other celiac person I came with both felt good after eating here!

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Safety Feature Ratings

• Staff is knowledgeable and can answer questions
• Staff will clean kitchen space or change gloves if asked

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Good

Other Characteristics

• Good for dairy-free
• Good for lunch
• Good for takeout
• Good selection of healthy options
• Good vegetarian options

great greek place! they have bowls that you can get and if you tell the workers you have an allergy they automatically get new ingredients from the back. the only gluten containing item here is pita!

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Very

Safety Feature Ratings

• Dedicated gluten-free space in the kitchen
• Other dedicated kitchen equipment (oven, toaster, pots, pans, utensils, etc.)
• Staff is knowledgeable and can answer questions
• Staff will clean kitchen space or change gloves if asked

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

Other Characteristics

• Good for dinner
• Good for keto
• Good for kids
• Good for lunch
• Good for takeout
• Good selection of healthy options
• Good vegan options
• Good vegetarian options
• Good with other allergies
• Offers delivery
• Offers online ordering