I love this chain, but be sure to ask them to change gloves if you are celiac and be careful of the feta because sometimes they let pita chips fall into it. If you get salad or greens and grains, especially ask them to change gloves. They offer pita on the side and grab it before you can say no. They grab the greens for salads and “greens and grains” with just a gloved hand and the glove is pretty much certainly cross contaminated with the “pita on the side.”
I did walk in once to find someone sticking a thermometer into every dish without washing in-between dishes and learned this is normal. When I contacted corporate they told me to ask a manager to pull my food fresh from the back and that would keep me safe. When I go in they are always very patient, understanding and change gloves in front of me without asking.
Yes
Middle eastern bowls with greens or rice. Several meats are GF, most toppings are GF. One dressing is DF.
I have celiac and once when I was in line I watched as a staff member was taking temps of all of the food sticking the thermometer into each dish but not washing it off between. When I asked about it they said they do it to check temps. I contacted the company and they instructed me that I should speak with the manager when placing my order who can pull food from the fresh ingredients that aren’t out. I have sense done this but go with this precaution
No
Yes
Yes
The food, in theory, is fine, but the staff aren't great at avoiding cross-contamination. I got one woman to change her gloves, only to have her hand it off to another woman who had just had her hands in the pita chips. Not very reassuring for celiac folks...
Amazing Mediterranean restaurant. Almost the entire menu is gluten-free other than their peta options. They have a variety of bowls and salads that can be made both gluten and dairy-free. Great environment and the staff are very helpful!
— Very
— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu
— Some
— Excellent
Very fresh food. Staff was helpful with food allergy questions and immediately removed gloves when I mentioned gluten. Falafel is not gluten free, but there are many other options. Had an avocado bowl that was excellent
— Some
— Excellent
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.
— Somewhat
— No gluten-free information on the menu
— Some
— Excellent
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.
— 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!!!
— Most/All
— Excellent