Marc B.
Yelp
When I think about my favorite restaurants in Portsmouth, Cava is one restaurant that comes to mind.
In my opinion, the small plates craze is getting tiring and dull, however, Cava reinvigorates the whole idea of small plates in a variety of ways. For starters, the facility that Cava is in is beautiful. It's rustic. It's charming. It exudes a sense of warmth. You can sit at the exposed kitchen and watch and interact with the chefs as they make various dishes, or you can sit at one of the two bars (upstairs or downstairs), OR you can sit any one of the cafe tables situated throughout. Regardless, be sure to make a reservation, or go on a random weeknight, as Cava gets busy with long waits.
Another quality that sets Cava apart from other small plate establishments is the food. Everything. Is. Amazing. Honestly, there hasn't been a dish that I have had that wasn't exploding with flavor or that didn't have unique flavor profiles. My standouts are the patatas bravas, the chickpea fries, and the paella. One of the negatives I typically correlate with small plate establishments is that they are typically expensive dishes with extremely small portions. Cava is not like that. Though the dishes are small-er, there is still an abundance of food. Also, I am not typically a dessert guy when going out to eat, but GET. THE. CHURROS. You will thank me. The chocolate sauce that they come with...it's just indescribable.
Cava also considers itself a wine bar, so naturally they have unique and vast selections of wine to choose from. One of my favorite parts is that you can get Copa pours where you can get a couple of different wines to taste and pair with your dishes.
There is nothing bad I can say about Cava. The place is cute, the food is amazing, the service is attentive...it's definitely a place to check out when you are in the Portsmouth area.