2 min read- CAVA is adding Glazed Salmon to the menu, marking its first seafood protein.
- The new salmon can be added to build-your-own bowls or ordered in two new seasonal bowl combinations.
- Fans online are already reacting with a lot of excitement, especially pescatarians who say they’ve been waiting for this.
CAVA is finally getting into the fish game.
Starting April 20, the chain is adding Glazed Salmon to the menu, which marks the first time seafood has entered the protein lineup. For a brand that’s built a loyal following on bowls and pitas loaded with greens, grains, dips, and toppings, this feels like a pretty natural move to reel more customers in.
The new protein is a roasted salmon fillet finished with a pomegranate glaze, which gives it a sweet-tart flavor that lines up well with the rest of CAVA’s current offerings. It’s meant to work in build-your-own bowls, but the chain is also introducing two preset options built around it.
One is the Salmon + Strawberry Sesame Bowl, which includes brown rice, spinach, tzatziki, roasted red pepper hummus, Persian cucumbers, feta, tomato and onion, sumac slaw, and strawberry sesame dressing. The other is the Salmon + Yogurt Dill Bowl, made with arugula, saffron basmati rice, traditional hummus, Crazy Feta, fire-roasted corn, tomato and onion, Persian cucumber, and yogurt dill dressing.
“At the Mediterranean table, seafood is enjoyed everyday, it’s not only reserved for special occasions,” Ted Xenohristos, CAVA’s co-founder and chief concept officer, said in the announcement. “Bringing salmon to our menu isn’t about just adding another protein, it’s about expanding how people experience Mediterranean food at scale.”
And social media seems fully prepared to welcome fish to the fast casual chain’s permanent menu. “FINALLY OMGGGGGGG IVE BEEN WAITING SO LONGGGGGGG,” one person wrote. Another kept it short and relatable with: “cava i need my omega 3s.” Then there was “My pescatarian self is going to be the first one in line,” which feels like a comment CAVA executives would probably frame if they could.
The new Glazed Salmon will be available nationwide in restaurants, online, and through the CAVA app—and for a lot of customers, this one looks like the catch they’ve been waiting for.