Connie L.
Yelp
I came here for dinner with my parents on a Saturday night around 5:30 PM in November 2019. This was right when the restaurant opened for dinner; I'd say if you arrive this early you probably don't need a reservation since it's pretty empty. However, when we left maybe 70 minutes later, the place was packed and there was a long line to be seated.
This was my first time at this Cava Mezze location, although I'd previously been to a few locations in DC/Northern Virginia and loved the food there. The restaurant is small and dark, but has a nice, intimate ambiance (the fact that the place is dark makes the saganaki look cooler when they flambé it) and the service was really friendly and helpful. Our server was very enthusiastic about the food and happy to help us decide on what to order and what would be enough food for the table.
Since the plates are small, it's recommended that you order several for the table to share. I definitely prefer this, since it means you get to try a little bit of everything. We ordered the crazy feta hush puppies, mini lamb gyros, lamb meatballs, the butterflied branzino, the beet salad, and the sweet potatoes. Everything tasted amazing, but the MVPs were definitely the crazy feta hush puppies. These were so fresh and warm, and the sweet honey butter perfectly offset the spiciness of the crazy feta. I could inhale a whole plate of these. I also really enjoyed the mini gyros; I love gyros, but I think the mini size was ideal to get a taste of the gyro and still have room to try other things. Honestly, everything tasted fantastic, and I'd happily order everything again.
I'd made a reservation on OpenTable and it came with a free order of Loukoumades, the homemade Greek donuts. Our server had us choose between 3 topping options: cinnamon sugar, honey & crushed walnuts, or Nutella. We went with the honey & crushed walnuts and were very happy with our choice. Unfortunately, we were too full to finish all the food we got, and wound up taking a couple things home, including 1 lamb meatball, a good 75% of the branzino, and 3 loukoumades. The branzino and lamb meatball reheated pretty well, but the loukoumades did not (although I didn't expect them to--they really should be enjoyed on the spot!).
Definitely stop by here if you're in the area! The restaurant is located in a pretty convenient spot, with plenty of free, easy parking nearby.