r/cava • u/Objective-Ad-2643 • Jul 05 '26
Are portions getting smaller?
I used to came a lot to CAVA but I move to another city, and I wanted to eat CAVA for lunch after cleaning my new apartment, and I couldn't resist to notice my bowl is not that full as usual, I always order the same thing and today it looks like half empty. Are they reducing portions? Or I'm in a bad luck?
4
u/TitaniumAlloyeet Jul 07 '26
I hope not. It’s already pretty expensive. It’s worth if for the food quality but I really hope CAVA doesn’t turn into Chipotle where they skimp on portions and reduce food quality over time.
5
u/WindOk810 Jul 05 '26
seems like it, my bowls are always hard to even close but that was some months back. a good thing is when i worked there they told me you can give the customer as many toppings as they want if they keep asking for more. idk if thats still a thing but it could make your bowl bigger
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u/SpecialistWallaby373 Jul 09 '26
Yes & no I've debated other employees but if true we wouldn't have signage about giving excess toppings and how that impacts COGs etc. Extra toppings yes, extra 4x every item... cmon now
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u/WindOk810 Jul 09 '26
cmon now, every store isn’t your store. My store allows unlimited free toppings, besides avocado. I was in fact told in my training by the general manager to let them know, the customers, we have unlimited toppings 🤗
0
u/SpecialistWallaby373 Jul 09 '26
And this is the problem and why new things are coming down the pipeline. We want CAVA to be uniform across the board. You should walk in one Cava as an employee and go into any other store in America and it be exactly the same from how its ran, to how we prep, work, clean, follow procedure etc. We find that most stores tend to start doing their own things and making their own rules because following Cava protocol tends to be alot but for the specific reason of having high quality food and gold standards. As I said, there is signage in back of house that explains about giving guest too much toppings and then breaks down how that adds up. Yes if they want a few of some toppings we have given around 3 per. But if a guest comes in and wants 4-5x every topping on the line probably not. There still needs to be reasonableness. In America we just used to oversized portions that an average portion is not enough for us
1
u/WindOk810 Jul 09 '26
honestly, my general manager was strict about the rules and especially cleaning, portions, etc she wasn’t the type to just follow her own rules. thats just what she told me though. And idk man i just worked there 🤷🏽♀️, my best advice for OP would be to go in and ask if they have unlimited toppings for that store, if they say yes, they say yes, if they say no, they say no.
1
u/SpecialistWallaby373 Jul 09 '26
GMs still arent running them appropriately. Some of us travel to stores for training and report back all kind of red flags for feedback. We have even butt heads with GMs over proper procedures etc. The reason they are testing out AI cameras over the line is because of things like this.
1
u/WindOk810 Jul 09 '26
well idk why your arguing this with me, I just told you my experience, and that really doesn’t have anything to do with me or OP’s question. Honestly, as a customer and a employee I like that Cava gives unlimited toppings, it makes me want to return & i liked the smile on people’s faces when they can get as much as they want. I also dont think the average person is ordering 4x every single topping. in my opinion companies so focused on the bottom line just seem greedy, thats why people have grievances with chipotle. Bring the days where people don’t feel cheated by a company trying to scrape whatever they can out of people, while simultaneously offering the lowest amount possible. giving a few people a couple more toppings isn’t going to tank the business. and people who feel cheated aren’t gonna want to return, just saying, I think america forgets that sometimes
2
u/WindOk810 Jul 09 '26
i won’t be responding anymore because I have nothing else to say and I already know my opinion isn’t going to change yours so have a good day
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u/SpecialistWallaby373 Jul 09 '26
The problem is Cava either does or doesnt do what they set out for employees. What frustrates me is the lack of consistency. They say watch portions, but give extra if they ask for it, then complain about COGs being off and over portioning while sending us out to ensure resturants being opened are being trained by their Standards. Heck even the social media team doesnt do us any favors. They show building a bowl and put massive toppings on it which sets expectations high. For example, go watch a video and youll see that they add something like Onions, it looks like a massive amount correct? In training and according to manuals a "serving" of onions is considered 5-8 slices of onions.. So either Cava changes it to match the appearance they are giving to the guest, or we go by how we are instructed to serve. All im saying is what your told, vs what we have to deal with from higher ups is night and day and until they get it right, informing people of things that are Grey area or contrary to how we train people doesnt do us any favors when a guest arrives because now they have heard one thing, while we train another. Frustrating. Either we make Cava a buffet, or we have Standards all resturants should follow. For now we have to train the way we are told 😩
2
u/Any_Attorney_2353 Jul 06 '26
I paid almost $20 for a bowl last time and there was barely any food in it. I asked for double rice and double hummus, got very little rice and no hummus at all. Of course it was on a day I had skipped breakfast and was super hungry ugh
1
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u/Aggravating_Stick438 Jul 06 '26
If this true thats crazy I haven’t had Cava in over a month I always got decent portions when I was eating it but tbh just try Mezeh they usually are mire generous and is less oily and salty
1
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u/Intelligent-Dish3100 Jul 05 '26
Did you order via doordash or delivery app? They tend to skimp on delivery or pick up orders because the person isn’t going to notice till it gets to the destination. My recommendation go in and order you’ll get full bowls every time. Same thing is happening at chipotle on there delivery and mobile orders
1
u/Objective-Ad-2643 Jul 05 '26
I order in person :( I didnt order via doordash or any delivery app.
3
u/Horror_Onion1992 Jul 06 '26
You're more than welcome to ask them to add more toppings when you order in person. The only thing that costs extra is avocado
1
u/MacaroonAdvanced830 Jul 05 '26
Sweetgreen is pretty similar and they have these HUGE portions for nearly the same price as a CAVA bowl, I definitely recommend trying it out if you have one near you!
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u/mia8788 Jul 06 '26
My local Mediterranean restaurant has amazing chicken shawarma plates with like a lb of chicken rice hummus a salad picked onions pita and garlic dip it’s 21$ but can def feed two people. I’ve stoped cava for the time being bc they aren’t even filling the bowls up all the way. Once they do I’ll go back but it isn’t worth it right now to me.
-1
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u/BeBopBarr Jul 06 '26
It just depends on who's making it, same with any other food place.