First Watch

I love this place for Sunday morning brunch with my son, so many healthier options and what do you know? He goes for the giant sundae glass looking thing… turns out, it is healthy! Yogurt, strawberries, bananas and granola! He ate the entire thing and the waitress was super kid friendly, talking about Spiderman and what not. We were greated politely at the door and promptly seated. My food was awesome! Greek omelet, potatoes and an english muffin. just delish!

Came here on a Sunday morning. We had to wait a while to be seated. They seemed to only have 1 person ringing people out and seating people. It was pretty busy and there is a lot of places to sit. Very laid back. Kind of the place you would go on a morning after drinking or a late night! We parked across the street in the big lot. Parking is free downtown on the weekends. The waitress was very polite and friendly although she seemed eager to move us on our way. Their menu is amazing! I loved almost anything they had listed and they had some unique creations and a lighter menu too. I had a traditional breakfast and my friend had an omelette and both were good and fresh and big portions that we couldn’t finish. Bathrooms were nice and clean. The manager made small talk with everyone while he rang them up. Overall, good experience and I would love to go back and try some more off their menu!

I LOVE the first watch… great breakfast!

Yum. Everytime I have gone Yum. Go. Eat. You will YUM too!

Server was very good, the coffee was delicious. The food was terrible. My pancake was god-​awful. The good news was that the staff noticed I wasn’t eating it and took it off my bill without me asking, which was nice. I don’t know I’d go back… the creepy guy camped out at the entrance was not necessarily their fault but the food was, and so I’d probably hunt for something else next time I am in town.

Food was okay at best. Portions were very small. Probably some of the worst service. Very disappointing! Hopefully downtown can get some better breakfast options.

Another wonderful breakfast at the downtown First Watch. Father’s day morning with the family and the service was excellent. The Works omelet was perfectly cooked to order, sans onions; and when we asked for the blueberries to come on-​the-​side of our blueberry pancake, they never even blinked! Oh, and the new style potato side, very tasty — we couldn’t get enough. In a word, YUM.

This was… not good at all. I ate here because the BF and I got to comicon 2 hours early this morning and needed to kill time and we were hungry. We were debating between going here and going to cartel… Well we definitely should have gone to Cartel. We walked in and immediately we had to wait to put our name down for about 10 minutes despite the guy in charge of that clearly seeing us. Then, once we were seated, we waited about another ten minutes for anyone to even come by our table to ask what we wanted to drink. The coffee was metallic and not very enjoyable. I ordered the veggie omelet using egg whites and the BF got the chocolate chip pancakes… The veg was not good. They chose some of the weirdest veggies for an omelet… celery? Who puts celery in an omelet? That’s all I could taste and it was not good. The cheese also was tasteless. The potatoes that came with it were standard, not real flavorful, but not awful. The really shocking part was that somehow they made the english muffin that came with the plate completely bland. It really had no taste at all. It was like eating chewy jelly… not good. Why don’t they just go buy a pack of Thomas muffins if this is the best they can do, because those are much better. The pancakes were dry and bland, despite the chocolate chips. It was hard to swallow it because it was so dry. I would not recommend this place to anyone.

Had coffee and the Breakfast Scramble. Their description: «A croissant topped with scrambled eggs with spinach, ham and melted cheese, then topped with hollandaise and served with fresh fruit.» The croissant wasn’t toasted and the eggs were a little runny (which I don’t like in scrambled eggs), but it was otherwise pretty tasty. The «fresh fruit» was just three cubes of watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe. I hate melons so I couldn’t eat any of that — and the description should read «fresh melon» and not the much broader term «fruit». The home fries — cubes of pan grilled potatoes — also tasted like they had been sitting under a lamp for a bit before I got to them. The coffee was pretty good for a diner and they had different flavoured creamers which is always a bonus since I hate regular ol’ half-​n-​half. However, the waitress was a little slow on refilling the carafe as well as bringing the requested water (which was definitely tap). It was not busy at all.
$ 27 pre-​tip for basic coffee and two breakfast plates. Yikes.
Over all, this is basically a Denny’s trying to be trendy. I’ve had better food (and service) at iHop.

Stopped in before the drive back to San Diego. We wanted something light before the drive. Lots of Healthy options, I got the fresh fruit crepes with yogurt on top, and side of granola. My friend got the turkey, feta, egg white omelette. Both were very good, fruit was fresh, and tasty. We both wanted a huge greasy breakfast, but we were very pleased with our healthy alternative.

My husband and I ate here for breakfast while downtown on Memorial Day weekend. The food is decent but nothing special. I do appreciate the fact that they had some healthy options on their menu. My husband is more of a steak and eggs type and so he was disappointed by the lack of heartier meals. Both of us thought the service was absolutely horrible. I thought they were just very understaffed that day but my husband had been there on a weekday morning when they were slow and said that it was the same bad service.
All in all, I would not eat there if I had a choice but it is really the only breakfast option downtown besides Matt’s which is always a ridiculously long wait.

This is a great place to have breakfast, brunch, or lunch. Although i have not tried lunch there yet. A step up from IHOP, Denny’s, etc. Prices are good. Their meals, at least all the ones I have tried come with what an English muffin and what they call First Watch Potatoes. Crepes are good and is usually what I get. I think it’s called Acapulco Express the one I get. The English muffin is nice and buttery. Their First Watch potatoes are always dry and flavorless. Every time I go there I am hoping they improve them but they are always the same. The staff is friendly and attentive most times.

What do you do when you want a great breakfast downtown but don’t want to sweat your ass off waiting outside for a table at Matt’s? Well, when presented with this dilemma today, I went with some coworkers to First Watch.
We lucked out on parking since my boss was willing to wait on the street for a while while some dude backed out of a prime metered spot in front of the door. Parking can be a bit sketchy mid-​day so be warned.
Anywho, First Watch offers typical breakfast fare. I wanted eggs, breakfast potatoes, and pancakes, the combination of which is not available on the menu, so I ordered a la carte. The breakfast potatoes had the distinctive «been in a steam table for a while» dryness to them (it was 1:30 in the afternoon) and were devoid of any seasoning. My eggs were fine, although I was very disappointed in the private-​label «First Watch» hot sauce on the table… it was flavorless and just gross.
The pancakes were decent – the batter is definitely homemade, although they didn’t give me enough butter for 2 cakes, and our server didn’t really check with us so I never had a chance to order a second pat of butter. Oh well. I ended up soaking the pancakes in syrup so they wouldn’t be so dry.
To sum it up: We probably should have just sweated it out and gone to Matt’s. Mediocre food, mediocre service. One big meh.

This is a satisfactory breakfast/​brunch/​lunch option in downtown Phoenix.
Breakfast includes options such as omelets, pancakes, Belgian waffles and French toast. Also something called crepegg (as you would expect, a crêpe served with eggs).
There’s a section on the menu called «Healthier Side», with stuff like a yogurt and granola parfait, smoked turkey patties and egg whites.
Lunch, as you would expect, includes burgers, BLTs and reubens.
I ordered a plate with scrambled eggs, a delicious thick slice of ham and little cubed has-​brown potatoes. The potatoes were bland and a little rubbery.
Service was pretty good. Like the huge glasses of ice water and the fact that they leave the coffee pot at your table (coffee flavor was distinctive but not over-​roasted).
The only off-​note (pun somewhat intended) was the loud music blared into the dining room. Not only was it too loud, it was of a «genre» that caters to an extremely small base. And I can tell you that most of the patrons would not like the crap they were playing.
But other than that, First Watch is okay.
Not open for dinner.

I was here once a few years ago and was stoked to try a new breakfast place since I was staying downtown all weekend. Last time, I thought I remember enjoying it, but this time not so much. First of all, I am going to say that I went there Saturday at 9:30AM and again Sunday at 8:15AM. Saturday was obviously better for me.
Saturday, we a had pretty cool waiter who was attentive enough but I bet it was because he had other tables nearby, so we were easier to wave him over. I got the Chickichanga, which I loved (got it both mornings) but I was annoyed that the onions I asked them to hold was throughout my meal. I could barely taste them and was on a schedule so I didn’t complain. My colleague asked for no spinach in her egg skillet, and it was throughout. You cannot miss huge spinach leaves laid through an egg and cheese skillet. She didn’t say anything and just ate it. The coffee was just ok, the prices were a little high, and the selection was limiting. The ice tea was good though, and they gave us a to go cup! Not bad. Got them a 3.
Then I come to Sunday. My wife, 4 year old and I went there. There was literally ONLY two other tables of customers. We were seated by someone who looked like a host or manager, but then it was 10 minutes before anyone bothered coming over. I finally went, found her, and asked for coffee. I figured she’d come right over. She walked in the back, talked to someone else, and then a few minutes later a lady ran over with a coffee carafe. She filled us up and didn’t bother asking if my child wanted or needed anything. She left. I had to go find someone to order a drink after 5 minutes later for my child. The same lady came back and I asked her her name (I don’t remember now) and she said America is my server, but she was helping her out (why? America had ONE other table!). We ordered my kid some milk and then our food. After 15 minutes, I went to find out where the hell my kid’s milk was. America brought it right over and also an extra water, then she disappeared without asking if we needed anything else.
At this point, there was 3 server staff (America, the other hispanic lady, and a guy) and only TWO tables (the place is not large, I could see all of the tables from mine). Fifteen minutes later we got our meals. I got the same meal as the day before because I knew what to expect. This time, no onions which was good. We ate, paid almost $ 30 for three of us (my kid ONLY got toast), and got the heck out of there.
I will not be back.

Crusing around looking for a bathroom and something to eat… (cause and effect at it’s worst) my mom didn’t want to wait around for Original Hamburger Works to open, which sucks for me cuz I could just TASTE that burger! :(oh well… we wound up going to First Watch… At first I was disappointed and then I was worried becuase that lil parking lot was FULL on a saturday late morning!
We came into their very busy foyer and got seated very quickly… which surprised me becuase I was like… «ummm what about the other 20 people waiting for a table?» But whatev’ all’s fair love and good tables at resturants.
It took a LOOONG time for someone to even come up to us and ask for our drink order, but when we did — our waitress Sissy said she was brand spakin’ new and was getting used to the ropes. I gotta admit, she was cool… she was patient and was willing to go ask the kitchen if the chicken salad had any onions in it… and it didn’t btw — (yay!). So props for her on that. She even kept my mom’s chickery spiced coffee aflowing and even got us some splenda for our drinks. I also have to mention that nothing on that menu is over $ 10! Score!
Our food came and we were starved! I tore into my chicken salad and it was goooood… creamy, slightly sweet, nutty and chicken-​y. I was in love. I wish it came with two pieces of toast instead of one, but I guess it’s okay. The fruit salad was good, but I wish it were more seasonal… the maranated salad was okay too… a little too sweet for my taste. The potatos I had screamed onion powder! I tried to power through it but the taste was too strong. I couldn’t finish it. My mom loved her spinach and tomato omlette and can’t wait to try it again.
Over all, we had a good time in the multi colored dining room in the middle of downtown… I left happy and not bogged down by a huge meal, which was nice. *sigh* brunch… it’s what’s missing from my day.
To my Unilocalers: I say go. Atleast once. Go when you want what I call clean food… something nice that will sit well in your stomach and is a nice polite way to start the day… sooo not a good spot to nurse your hangover! lol! and don’t worry about the loaded parking lot, just try it anyway and see what happens. you never know, you just might get seated right away like we were! :)

I woke up this morning with a rumbling in my tummy, so I called up a friend and we headed to First Watch. It is walking distance from my hotel. and I’m always looking for new places to send guests, especially in the downtown area!
I was really surprised with how generic the restaurant was when I walked in. I knew there were a few locations, but I didn’t realize what a large chain it was until later, but I could feel it as soon as we seated. The décor left much to be desired in muted citrus tones and an unfortunate forest green.
I liked the menu and the daytime café theme. I had the Key West «crepegg» (which is like a crêpe inside of an omlet. kind of.)and my friend had the fresh fruit crêpe. The food itself lacked a pizazz I was hoping for, but was greatly improved by a generous dosing of «First Watch Habanero Sauce» (they have their own which I thought was cool. They seem to be very in to trademarking.) My friend was pretty disappointed that her fresh fruit crêpe only had 2 kinds of fruit.
Our server was pretty lackluster as well. She actually dropped off our check in the middle of our meal and then went on break… I know this because she was eating a couple booths away from us. I had to flag down a different server anytime we needed anything until the end of our meal.
The food is reasonably priced and the portions are generous with a lot of diverse options, and can definitely cater to large groups with many palates. I probably won’t be rushing back soon, I am pretty spoiled with Matt’s & Palatte right in the neighborhood, I guess I’m lucky I don’t have to settle when it comes to breakfast joints.

Really friendly staff, and we were seated right away. I had the crêpe with fruit, yogurt and granola, and yum-​O! It was fantastic. Also — homemade muffin was really good. I was too full to eat it in the same sitting, so I saved it for later, and it was great!
My friend wanted regular eggs benedict (ie, english muffin, ham, egg and sauce), and specified that when he ordered, but he still got more stuff on it (I think it was a tomato or spinach or something). Overall, not a huge deal, because it was easy to scrape it off, but minus one star for that.

Mmm… breakfast. This is one of the only chain restaurants we went to on our trip to Arizona, but they don’t have anything quite like this in Chicago, and I’ll tell you that this was one of the places that made our trip worthwhile.
First Watch has great stuff for breakfast. It’s somewhat Southwestern-​inspired. There were many items on the menu like what I decided on, the Bacado. It was an omelet with bacon and avocado. Yum. The potatoes it came with had a little bit of spice. Yum. The girl had sourdough french toast. Yum!
The service was good. The food was good. It was inexpensive. We got a good breakfast with coffee and juice and were out of there into downtown Phoenix for less than $ 30.

Every time I meet someone from Phoenix I ask if they’ve been to first watch. Its phenomenal breakfast stands out in my mind more than anything else from the trip (not a lot of competition).
Their french toast is incredible. They have some delicious pancakes with blueberries and everything is fresh and a healthier version (whole wheat as opposed to white flour caked in maple syrup).
If I ever go back to Phoenix, I’m going back to First Watch.