First Watch

We are regulars here. Love the servers, the food is great! Like most breakfast places, it can be crowded and you may have a wait to get a table, but it’s worth it. It can also be difficult to park as the lot is shared with a Trader Joes and is poorly designed, but that isn’t the fault of First Watch.

Manager was so friendly in accommodating us when we didn’t have enough time given the wait. He even the in a free fruit and yogurt dish when we were having a hard time deciding. Food was excellent as always

Same menu as other 1^st Watches, which I really like. The Cickichanga is outstanding, the French Toast is too. This particular spot has the best waitstaff, and that will keep me coming back despite the wacky location.

The food was good but bland, except for the biscuits and gravy they were awful. The service we good and no wait.

Went in for lunch. Fast service. Great choices for sandwiches, soups, or their full breakfast menu. The pumpkin pancake was amazing!

Very good. I should’ve looked at reviews to know this isn’t the place to go solo and when you want to get work done… but that’s alright. I enjoyed it here. I got a green juice and the oatmeal and both were extremely excellent and my server was sweet.

The First thing I enjoy about First Watch is the fast and courteous service. The food is fresh and enjoyable and the atmosphere is always nice. My daughter loves the oatmeal and Belgium waffles and I usually get an omelet. veg’d out or the trifecta breakfast.2 eggs. choice of meet. waffle or 1 pancake. and the pancakes are huge!

Amazing breakfast and brunch! Always great food, friendly service, short wait times and good atmosphere! Wonderful specialty breakfast drinks, healthy options (and sweet ones). They even have real maple syrup!

As much as I love all things First Watch; I do not like this particular location.
Although some of the servers are really nice (Michael for sure) the younger (as in teenage) servers are not as hospitable. I’ll attribute this to lack of work experience but I’ve overlooked issues my last 2 visits here and have concluded today that I will not patron this First Watch again.
My order was not correct, the server apologized but did not bring the remade pancake back for at least 15 minutes while the rest of my party finished breakfast. The check reflected an additional charge for an item that should not have been charged and when addressed the server stated, «technically, I could charge you for an omelet» «Did you want me to charge you for an omelet?»
WTF? Assuming this question was completely rhetorical I ignored her stupidity, paid the bill and reflected her «technically» statement in my tip.
I’ve felt like a problem here in the past and thought if I took a break things would settle. I am a bodybuilder, I am very particular about how and what I eat. I like First Watch because I can order exactly what I like and have it made healthy and I have NO PROBLEM paying for my requests. But when I feel like I am too much or servers are being less than accommodating I take my business elsewhere and share my experience so others can chose accordingly.
See you in Clayton; where they love me and I love them back.

Great, healthy (in a good way) breakfast and lunch place Love the food. Make it a point to go when I’m in town. Was just there had the alpine spring fritatta, yum! ham, asparagus, cheese with a bit of lemon crema on top and with a side salad and toast. perfect for a good start to the day! Service was quick and efficient.

I’m obsessed with breakfast and even though most weekends there is a wait, waiting 30+ minutes is more than worth it.

This First Watch has been in the Des Peres shopping center for quite some time, yet it wasn’t until recently that I finally dined there.
My boyfriend and I were in town staying with my family for the holidays and one afternoon we needed a lunch idea. Both of us are big brunch people, especially on the weekends, and when my mom suggested First Watch, I knew he’d appreciate it.
I’d totally forgotten about this location, assuming we’d go to the one in Kirkwood or Clayton, but when we headed west on Manchester, and stopped by Trader Joe’s I was pleasantly surprised. Though the First Watch here doesn’t have a big outdoor presence, it actually takes up a fair-​sized space and we happened to enter after the lunch rush and were seated in a booth immediately.
Our waiter gave good service during our whole meal, and we ended up ordering a power wrap (egg whites, turkey, spinach, mushrooms and swiss cheese), my boyfriend and dad both got Belgian waffles with a side of bacon and my mom ordered the fruity chicken salad.
Everything that came out was very good, although I quickly realized my power wrap was a little easier to eat with a fork and knife than by picking up (it was quite hot and a little difficult to handle). I was also very full afterwards.
When you’re in the mood for brunch that’s a little nicer than Ihop, First Watch is definitely a good choice: just make sure to get there before they close in the early afternoon.

Excellent food of course. Great sausage in particular. THE SERVICE WAS AMAZING. They were extremely busy over the christmas holiday and I had a flight to catch in a couple hours. Knowing this, they brought menus and took our orders before we were seated. They even brought me my tea while we waited. The best part was when we were seated our meal was already set out on the table. They could not have been nicer. The host who arranged all this for us would not even accept a tip (he may have also been the manager). Amazing!

Decent quality breakfast place considering the location. They’ll poach eggs (and nicely). Lots of pancake options. real maple syrup option. Lots of healthy options. Decent bottomless coffee. Good service.

The First Watch is usually very busy so you must have lots of free time to go there. Their food is simple but very delicious. Personally I think it’s a good breakfast restaurant!

I’ve been wanting to try First Watch for quite a while, and today was the day. I hopped in my car and headed toward that peculiar part of Manchester where the eastbound and westbound lanes momentarily divide.
I was in the mood for pecan pancakes, but then I saw that they also offer chocolate chip pancakes. I’ve been around for a little more than three decades, and I’ve never had a chocolate chip pancake, even as a child. Isn’t that crazy? I recall having a blueberry pancake when I was a kid, but other than that, I recall the ‘80s as a time of simplicity. Perhaps the idea of adding fun ingredients to pancake batter had not yet occurred to anyone, or perhaps I led a very sheltered life.
Now that I’m in my thirties, I figured it was about time for me to start having chocolate for breakfast. I chose the Tri-​fecta®, described as «Two eggs, any style, with either a light and airy Belgian waffle or a multigrain pancake. Plus your choice of thick-​sliced bacon, turkey sausage, or sausage link.» I picked scrambled eggs and the thick-​sliced bacon to go along with my chocolate chip pancake. I don’t know that those things really go together, but I don’t care. I only had water, so my total with tax was $ 8.55. That’s a pretty good deal.
The eggs and bacon were typical eggs and bacon. I wouldn’t call the bacon «thick-​sliced,» as it is described on the menu. It seemed pretty standard to me, but there’s nothing wrong with that. I don’t have much else to say about the eggs and bacon other than that I enjoyed them. I liked adding a little protein to my otherwise carb-​heavy meal.
The pancake was a delight. It looks a little dark in my picture, but it was fabulous. It was like eating a big, cake-​y chocolate chip cookie. I could have used more butter. That tiny little scoop of butter is kind of comical on that gigantic pancake. However, my hips don’t really need more butter, and it was just enough butter to lightly spread over the pancake. They offer maple syrup for $ 1.29, but I stuck with standard pancake syrup. It was served warm, which is always nice. I used about half of the container, as I like to douse my pancakes/​waffles in syrup. Of course, breakfast wasn’t complete until I got syrup on my phone. It’s tradition.
I really could have been fine with half of the pancake, but it was so good that I completely cleaned my plate. Needless to say, I was stuffed. I was seriously considering skipping lunch, but I like lunch too much to do that. :)

Service and food never disappoint. We often do this place as a family event. Seating is relatively quick if you are not there after church services or other crunch times.
When you are seated a waitperson shows up quickly. Water and coffee and menus are given out as needed though 9 out of 10 times we already know what we want.
They take the orders and write two, maybe three on a sheet before it is passed to a person running the orders back to the kitchen. Though the orders are put in that way they seem to come out at the same time! Never had to wait long to get good food.
My only gripe with this place is the upcharge for fruit and/​or veggies in place of the potatoes. This is my #1 gripe for most resturants.

This location is by far the best location out of the others! I am talking out of experience. The inside is nicer, the staff is friendlier, and the food tastes even better here or maybe it’s just me. First Watch offers awesome assortments on their menu, providing both breakfast and lunch items. However, they are known for their breakfast menu. On Saturdays and Sundays you will see whole West County at this location. :D
Their menu is packed with so many irresistible options. You are bound to find a go-​to brunch item or more-​than-​one items here. If you’re into the traditional breakfast, there’s nothing wrong with ordering the Traditional ($ 7.49) which consist of two eggs of your choice with ham, bacon, or sausage. Also it comes with an English muffin and seasoned potatoes. If you want a dish that redefines breakfast, try the Chickichanga ($ 8.49), which is my favorite! I am not a huge fan of sausage, so I always request my Chickichanga without the chorizo sausage inside. First Watch never fails to accommodate to their customer’s dietary needs. They offer a gluten-​free menu as well! Also the pricing on the menu is pretty reasonable. You can order coffee on the side with you meal, and your bill still come down to under $ 10.
After brunch, I like to either stop by Treats Unleashed or Trader Joe’s to do some shopping, which is walking distance. No need to drive and re-​park.
In the end, First Watch never disappoints. I am definitely a huge fan and feel like champ leaving the restaurant. lol. Plus, this is a great place to bring a group of friends after church service on Sunday but be prepared for the extravagant wait on weekends!

21 days in to the new year and I am sticking to my resolutions of going to the gym and eating more healthy. After a hard work out at Club Fitness, I wanted to keep the momentum going by having a healthy breakfast. I knew I had errands to run in west county and remembered First Watch had a section on their menu called, «Healthier Side», so off we went to the suburbs.
We were cheerfully greeted by a waitress who seated us at one of the first tables near the door. Not bad, but every time a new patron entered, we were hit by a gust of winter air. We passed on coffee, having had enough at home and just opted for water. I knew they brought you a craft of coffee, but I thought bringing us a pitcher of H2O filled with ice and slices of lemon was a nice touch. After a gym workout, we were still thirsty.
I stuck to my plan and ordered the «Healthy Turkey». It is an egg white omelet with turkey, house roasted onions, tomatoes, spinach and feta cheese. Served with a dry English Muffin. I have never had a egg white omelet, I’d only heard about them on «The Biggest Loser» and since I am trying to lose, I thought I’d give it a try. I am now a fan, it was full of flavor just like a normal omelet, just looked bland due to the lack of color. The spinach, onion, turkey and feta cheese would make any omelet flavorful.
My biggest concern was the «dry» English Muffin. Dry just makes you want to say, yuck. To my surprise the dry English Muffin was laid upon four slices of beautiful red tomato. I hate plain tomato. Or at least I thought I did. I had no choice, but to dress up a dry EM with those tomatoes. One slice perfectly covered the muffin, I added a little salt, pepper and a dash or two of Cholula and my previous opinion of a plain tomato had been changed.
The SO wasn’t as strong as I, he went with the daily special which was a Spicy Chicken Sausage Skillet. It was a typical skillet; the sausage, sautéed onion, red & green pepper, cheddar and jack cheese and scrambled eggs a top grilled potatoes in a skillet. It looked good and he did ask if I wanted a taste, but I replied, «be gone Satan.»
This Des Peres location is great. After breakfast or lunch you can shop Trader Joe’s for groceries and Treats Unleashed for your Fur-​Babies.

I gotta say, there are a TON of old people dining at First Watch. It’s not a place to go for ambiance. If you can get past the fact that you’ll be dining next to Mildred and Martha, though, you’ll find a pretty extensive menu and quick, pleasant service.
Last time I went for something semi-​original — the Bacon & Onion Hash. It had all my favorite stuff (i.e. bacon, potatoes and cheese). You get a hash of breakfast potatoes, bacon and roasted onions with melted cheddar and monterrey jack cheese topped with two eggs any way you’d like. It was tasty.
I also like the generous size of their coffee cups. If I remember correctly, this is one of those places where they leave the carafe of coffee on the table so you don’t have to flag down your server for a refill. Mildred, Martha and I appreciate that!