First Watch

Ate here on Sunday for brunch. A little bit of a wait (only reservations for 7+ people) but no wait the rest of the week. Bright and cheery atmosphere, kind and polite servers, and amazing food at a good price. Perfect for carry out, too!

First time here and wasn’t really impressed. Nothing stood out to make me come back on a regular basis. Prices are on the high end because of the quality of ingredients being used. I’d come back in the future if someone suggested in coming. Only drawback is that they close before 3 pm.

Grabbed lunch here with my mom while we were out on errands. Since we were out and about, it was a nice to be able to go to a casual spot for quick table service and a variety of options on the menu. The staff was very friendly and we were seated right away at a booth and offered coffee or water.
We both ended up ordering power bowls; I got the Pesto Chicken Quinoa Bowl and she got the Cherry Chicken Quinoa Bowl. They were both really delicious, though we both agreed that we liked the flavoring of the pesto one much better! The cherry chicken one was a bit sweet. I was so hungry at the time that I ate the whole bowl, but definitely could have eaten half and saved the other for later… maybe another day!
The restaurant is set up where the waiter brings the check to the table and then you bring it to the register to pay, which was nice for us to expedite the process and get back on the road… though we could have sat there for a bit longer if we had wanted.
First Watch is a nice spot to stop for brunch or lunch if you are looking for a casual, semi-​quaint atmosphere and good food!

The hash was delicious and fresh, also had the spring hydrate juice which was amazing! Can’t wait to come back!

The people the food everything was great. We are a group of traveling Cable guys and we walked into heaven today. Cable gods club.

The best place for breakfast. They have breakfast staples but the unique items and freshness is what sweet this place apart. I was pleasantly surprised to find this restaurant was in Wisconsin after I moved out of Kansas.

Fast service, amazing food, awesome juice selection… this is my favorite place for breakfast in the city.
They have great options, but also have classic fallbacks for breakfast, which is great. Finally found a great brunch place!
I had the Bubba’s Benny and my wife had an avocado hash. Both were cooked perfectly and tasted great. Orange juice was fresh, coffee was fresh, and they leave the carafe and a water pitcher on the table for you.
A+

Pleasantly surprised! Between the name and it being in the same building as Weight Wachers, I was afraid to try it. I can’t wait to go back! Lots if options and lots of seating.

OJ is freshly squeezed and delish! Potato hash is perfectly seasoned and not salty or bland. Pancakes are ginomrpusband their chorizo omelet is also fantastics. Healthier version and options and its ambiance and space is inviting and open. One suggestion… I would have preferred fresh milk or half and half instead of single packaged cream. Overall great food and space and my kids actually gobbled up everything…

We have eaten at First Watch 3 times and each time the food was great. The have a menu that ranges from traditional to interesting. Service was also good once we got a table, but it seemed to take a while to get seated (which I guess just means alot of people are there eating, which validates their good quality.)

I knew about First Watch from when I lived in Jacksonville, Florida, so needless to say, I was really excited to find out that there was a First Watch in Milwaukee! This is one of my favorite brunch spots in town because the prices are great, there’s a huge variety of savoury, sweet OR healthy options and the staff there are always friendly and welcoming.
Most recently, I got the Floridian French Toast (with a side of bacon) and it was so delicious, an older lady that was on her way out couldn’t help herself and asked me what I was having cause it looked marvelous! :)
They opened a location in Mequon too!

I am giving this two star review, based on what I ordered.
Pros: Nice open atmosphere. Interesting menu. Service is ok. Nothing great or bad. I had to ask another waitress to find ours — twice.
Cons:
1. The carrot/​ginger juice — not bad. just OK. It is probably fresh does not taste as nice as the fresh juices I have tried in juice bars. They probably make a batch for the day rather than make for individual orders? (I am just guessing). Nothing wrong with it but I drank only a fourth of it.
2. Egg white omelette with chilli peppers. Came with Muffin and jam. Muffin and jam were very good. The egg white omelette would have been fine except that the chilli peppers were not freshly chopped. It was a liquidy chilli pepper concoction — simply awful. The person who came up with the idea of using this watery chilli pepper in any dish, does not have a palate for good food.
I ate a bit of this and decided, it was simply not worth finishing. I ate about a 3^rd of it and discarded it and ordered the #3 below.
3. Key West Crepeggs: Very interesting to read on the menu. Not very tasty though. Nothing distasteful about it. Each ingredient in it is ok but as a whole/​recipe, it lacked good taste. I like omelettes just fine. I like Crepes also just fine. But this is like a crêpe dipped in egg batter. Frankly, this is one of the reasons I am giving this 2 stars. The person who designed/​approved this recipe does not have good taste in food — jmho. I took three bites and discarded it.
It is quite possible that they might have other dishes, much more tastier. I would not discourage you from trying First watch. But it is my personal opinion that the people who came up with the two dishes I tried have no clue what good food should taste like. The ingredients they used were fresh enough but the recipes were bad. Based on the two breads I tried, their breads seemed quite good. Therefore, it is possible that their sandwiches might be good. I for one, am never going back there.

Nice place to grab brunch with a friend. Nothing too fancy, but everything was tasty. The dining area was too loud for my preferences.

Um, I wish my first review of First Watch was before today. Up until today I loved this place for breakfast, lunch and brunch, but today really miffed me and it was not the food. I can always count on the food being consistently good here.
What really irked me was the service! I am not sure if there have been some recent management and staff changes, but whatever it is, the customer service was poor today. My co-​workers and I showed up at 11:30a and there were several open tables, but there was a wait. No big deal, I don’t mind waiting for good food and thought maybe they don’t want to slam the servers with too many tables at once. The wait wasn’t too long maybe 15 minutes. I have noticed on recent visits they tend to keep several tables open even if there is a wait. We had one server stop by and ask if we wanted something to drink, then another server take our orders and then finally someone else who delivered our food and check. That’s not what got me though. I ordered an omelette and instead of the sides of greens, potatoes and/​or fruit and english muffin I asked to substitute for a pancake and was told that it would be a small charge, no big deal. Then I got my bill and saw that instead of a small up charge they charged me for a full side and almost $ 4.00 for one pancake. Seriously!!! I asked the cashier if that was correct and she was snotty and said we don’t do pancake substitutions. I know I’ve done this before and not even been charged. I don’t mind paying a little bit but seriously you can’t tell me being a breakfast place that a pancake costs more than fruit and an english muffin. I know they were busy but that is no excuse for the service today and the way the cashier responded to my question. I’m not sure I will come back to this location, maybe just frequent the one in Mequon more, the service there is always outstanding!

I can not understand how this place could get anything but 5 stars! I’ve had once where they were so busy we didn’t have time to be seated, but you know what, it happens, and we just came back another day. I don’t know how anyone could complain about the food, it’s always interesting, falvorful, most often healthy, and just an exotic mix of everything wonderful. Their Santa fe salad is the best thing I’ve ever eaten. Period. My fiancé and I are now «regulars» and it’s a great place to get breakfast or lunch and just have a laid back, clean, and friendly environment.
I am actually glad this location fills up and gets busy, and hopefully it’s often, I NEED them to stay in business or I might die from lack of a ‘Veggie grill’, lol.

As a total carnivore who likes pork products and reflecting on my turkey product breakfast after having the left overs of the bubbas Benny I still think this was a tasty concoction. The breakfast was totally enjoyable with the lack of beef or pork products.
For a chain restaurant which I have mostly avoided for most of my reviews I am opening up to chains and giving everyone a chance lately and I really enjoyed my breakfast. If I didn’t know the meat products were turkey first hand and had the same breakfast I never would have thought it was not traditional pork products.

I selected this place (based on Unilocal reviews) for a quick brunch with my parents before we headed to the airport. It was great! The atmosphere is very light with lots of sun pouring in the windows. We had a comfortable booth.
I ordered a glass of ginger citrus juice for $ 3.99 and 3 wholegrain cranberry nut pancakes. I loved that they offered sugar-​free syrup and they warmed it, too! My husband had a veggie burger. The pancakes were great and the juice really hit the spot. The pancakes are very large. I couldn’t eat the last ¼ or so. Prices were reasonable.
I removed one star only because the entrees didn’t come with any sides included. No fries with my husband’s veggie burger, and I would have loved maybe a cup of fruit. I believe these options were available a la carte, but not included.
If I lived in Milwaukee, I’d definitely return to this great brunch spot that is a hit with omnivores and vegetarians alike!

I ate here twice with family and friends and loved it. You can sit indoors or out on their patio. The food is locally sourced and fresh. I had outstanding service on both visits [Lauren was our server]. On weekends there is a small wait — had free coffee while we waited. Wholesome menu — reminds me of California organic — you can taste the difference. If you have coffee with your meal you can also get a cup to-​go if you fancy it.
Highly recommend and will eat here again when I’m in the area. Btw, found this prior to my visit to Milwaukee… on Unilocal.Thanks fellow Unilocalers!

Got the Florentine Benedict and it was pretty bad… there was something off about the hollandaise sauce, I wouldn’t suggest ordering it. The pecan Dijon salad was good, but drenched in dressing so you may want to order it on the side.

This place rocks! I got the power chicken quinoa bowl and it was sooooooo good!
I planned a lunch with co workers many of which are very picky and all of them raved about this place too.
I will say it is a bit too expensive. Almost every meal is about $ 9.
Either way I’ll be back!