First Watch

This place has good and healthy food. I’ve had there reuben sandwich, cobb salad, kale juice, eggs benedict and tomato basil soup. All were very yummy and I will continue to go back. The only thing I would recommend is to order your food for take out (unless you have time to sit for a awhile). I’ve dined in twice and both times it took 15 minutes before someone took my order and 45 minutes for ½ a sandwich and ½ a salad to reach my table. Servers were nice.

Great place for brunch. Healthy, tasty menu options. Friendly, attentive staff. Definitely worth trying.

I love how fresh the food is. The different types of pancakes makes it easy to be as healthy or unhealthy as you want! One pancake is more than enough. The pure maple syrup is worth it. My husband really likes the coffee. Use the no wait app to get an estimate of wait time, as it can be very busy!

The wait is LONG but it is all worth it! The food and the service was great! A bit price but worth every penny.

One of my favs in Greenbriar Town Center, always delicious. Breakfast or lunch equally yummy! I always order a egg & potato hash with a side of 1, yes 1 pancake to share. Their blueberry pancakes are delicious and huge, so share with someone! For lunch ½ sandwich and ½ salad is plenty. Always the freshest veggies and fruits. If it’s the weekend be prepared for a 15 – 30 minute wait, but they will txt when table is ready so you can come on down to Bath&Body Works and see me! Right between Dressbarn and Marshalls, ask for Jenn!

Been wanting to try first watch forever and I finally had the chance to with one of my friends. First off, the coffee was delish… I usually don’t like coffee that restaurants offer but this one was pretty good imo. Their juices were also fresh and tasty, we both got the spring hydrate.
For my meal I ordered the Italian benedict which contained scrambled eggs, prosicutto and parmesan cream on an open-​faced ciabatta bread that was accompanied by a light spring mix salad.
I was pretty satisfied with my dish since I wanted something fattening but not really. This dish curbed my carb cravings while the salad balance my other side of me just wanting to be healthy and light.
Only gripe about this place is that it seems like it takes FOREVER to get seated, so come early. Other than that, I would like to try the other selection of breakfast/​lunch items that they have to offer.

Came here with a good friend for breakfast on his suggestion. First Watch is situated right off of route 50 in the Greenbriar shopping center. I have been in this shopping center many a time and wonder how I might have missed it. Not terribly important, but it appears this establishment is part of a chain that has locations on the East Coast.
Plenty of things to order on the menu, but I went straight for my usual breakfast consisting of eggs, meat, potatoes and rye toast (lightly buttered). Today I ordered ham alongside everything else. I really liked that the server left a carafe of coffee on the table. I ordered orange juice and it probably wasn’t fresh-​squeezed, but I still enjoyed it. The small things in life, right?
I devoured breakfast rather quickly and I am pretty sure I got a good taste of everything. Eggs were perfectly cooked over-​easy as I had ordered. The ham was cooked gently and not burnt. The potatoes were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I give the toast a 3 out of 5, though. Why? Dunno, maybe it wasn’t toasted long enough.
Clean inside with plenty of seating. Our server was kind of hum-​ho and not real friendly, but she was pretty efficient overall. I’ll be looking for a day and time to bring my family here for breakfast. Sure beats Denny’s or IHOP!

We’ve been wanting to try First Watch for a while now but are always deterred by the long wait time. When my boyfriend called to ask about the wait time this weekend, he was told that you can download an app called «NoWait» and get your name on the list without being physically present at the restaurant. We took advantage and were seated within 5 minutes of arriving. Highly recommend this!
First impressions: the décor was kind of bland and sterile. It doesn’t feel very warm or welcoming — perhaps because there is a lot of unfilled space? I can’t quite put my finger on it. The logo is also a little strange. It looks like it could be the logo for a clinic or something like that.
Luckily, the food made up for the odd décor. Between the two of us, we ordered:
— Bacon, avocado, and tomato hash: This was pretty good and had sampling of all things I love — bacon, avo, potatoes, poached eggs, an english muffin with jam, and some fruit. A good balanced dish.
— Chickichanga: This was my favorite as well as my boyfriend’s. The description says the chicken is spicy but it’s not. Very flavorful though.
— Bacon, cheddar, and chocolate chip pancake (one): We tried this just for the heck of it because we were curious. They give you the option of ordering 1, 2, or 3 pancakes. We got 1 and were so surprised that it was bigger than my face and quite thick as well. For $ 3.89 that’s a pretty good deal. Our conclusion about this controversial choice is that it was good but we would never order it as our main meal. It’s just too much. If you come with a group of friends, you might want to split one, but it would get overwhelming if that was the only thing you were eating.
The service was pretty friendly, and they plop down a whole jug of coffee and water for the table. My favorite.

When you can FINALLY get into this place, it’s worth it. I have to say it’s quite annoying how packed this restaurant is on the weekends. Unless you want to wait over an hour for a table, go during the week.
They have a large menu and some interesting items! One of my favorites is the Crepeggs. It’s a thin egg-​crêpe stuffed with turkey, cheese, avocado and topped with tomatoes and sour cream. Yum! Their hashes also look really good and they recently added avocado toast to their menu. Also, they have bacon cheddar pancakes.
All that being said, it’s nice to have some lighter options at a restaurant. They have a whole section on their menu. I’ll be back for sure!

This place is a gem and is always bustling! I love the Salmon eggs Benedict and the kale smoothie is golden! The kale smoothie is a great way to detox after a hard night of drinking out. In this case I did.
Just a reminder there seems to always be a wait, so call ahead or come in early!

I’ve passed by this place many times but finally got to try it out recently.
J and I came here for her birthday brunch and we had a delicious meal. There was a bit of a wait, since it was a Saturday. They offer complimentary coffee as you wait, just help yourself. The hostess was friendly. Our server was very kind and attentive. Restrooms are in the back and clean. There is plenty of indoor seating available, but this place does get packed during weekends. They are also only open till 2:30 pm daily.
We tried the Parma Hash and Chickichanga. Both dishes were made with quality ingredients and had good flavor. The servings are generous. I appreciate that nothing was overly salty. Their menu also has lots of healthy options. Their Kale Tonic and Day Glow drinks were delicious. Super refreshing!
Overall, a nice option to have for breakfast or lunch.

From my first visit, First Watch was good enough for me to want to give it a second try.
From the other reviews, I was expecting something truly exceptional. This visit wasn’t that. It was good… bordering on very good, and I will certainly be back at least once more.
It took a few minutes to get seated even though there were plenty of tables available. There was also a considerable delay at each step of the «restaurant process» (getting menus, getting orders taken, getting coffee, …). Maybe we were seated in a section without an assigned waiter but looking around, I saw lots of other parties looking around for their servers as well.
I ordered the French Toast and so did my daughter. When it finally arrived it was pretty good, but nothing spectacular. I don’t regret ordering it and will order something else when I get around to coming back for a second try. Then I’ll update the review and star rating as appropriate.
For me, a 4-​star rating means I will add this restaurant to my list of «regular places» and suggest that others give it a try.

For drinks, kale tonic is amazing. The carrot juice (day glow) not so much. They offer complementary coffee near the entrance, which is a nice touch!
Meals seem pretty healthy and fresh. My favorite was the burrito omlete (see pics).

If you love pancakes, you may enjoy the generous portions they offer here, with some delicious flavors of chocolate chip, blueberry, pecan, and much more!
I LOVE breakfast foods, so naturally I was inclined to try out First Watch, with it being less than half a mile from my house.
I tried First Watch a year or two ago, and it was good. I remember getting just a regular breakfast (eggs and sausage), with a big pancake. The food was pretty average; same thing you’d find at any other breakfast place. But the pancake was great, better than other places I’ve tried (and there have been many)!
With this location being conveniently close to my house, I decided to go back and try them again with my parents. I noticed that their menu had changed a bit since my last visit (which is understandable, given that it had been over a year), and was torn on what to get. I finally decided on the Parma Hash and one pecan pancake, while my mom got two blueberry pancakes. I don’t quite remember what my dad ordered, but it looked (and smelled) delicious.
The food didn’t take that long, which was good because we were starving. The Parma Hash was delicious, although I do wish that Parmesan cheese had been more melted on the potatoes, and the sausage chopped up into smaller pieces. The pecan pancakes, however, were amazing! If you love pecan pie, you’ve got to try their pecan pancakes.
While I finished the Parma Hash, I wasn’t able to finish the entire pancake. My mom wasn’t able to finish her blueberry pancakes either. But I see that as a good thing, because we brought them home, and I ate some the next morning, and they was still delicious. Hello leftover pancakes!

Love the location, friendly staff, and wide selection of the menu. Unfortunately, I found the food to be at best mediocre.
My go-​to order for all breakfast establishments is Eggs Benedict. I usually enjoy the delicious and creamy hollandaise sauce and poached egg on a soft and fluffy English muffin. Here, I got two nicely poached eggs, but the hollandaise sauce was actually pretty salty and the texture wasn’t what I expected. The muffin was also hard to cut into. The potatoes were fine and the fruit was fresh, but they couldn’t save the meal.
The portions are pretty big, the staff is attention and nice, and the establishment is family-​friendly and pretty clean!
But sadly, the food fell short of my expectations. If I ever do come back, I would probably just order the pancakes (which are pretty big by the way) and a cup of fruit.

As previously said in my First Watch review for Fairfax, I love this place. It is also less busy than the one in Fairfax which is great for me. This time I went with a large group and got lunch instead of breakfast. Food came out a little slower than usual though.
They have a deal called «2 for you» where you can pick two of the three: sandwich, soup or salad. I got the beef eater sandwich and the Santa Fe salad to try to save myself from the oily sandwich I got. I don’t mean oily as in a bad thing I mean oily as in «crap I’m supposed to be on a diet why did I eat something so good» type of oily. It was delicious, per usual. Definitely will be coming back a lot.

This happens to be our second First Watch in two days, and boy, were the differences noticeable. While the other had a warm, homey feel, this one just looks like a typical rented suite decorated with a paint job and some store-​bought prints. While the wait was fairly long (more than 30 minutes), the complimentary coffee helped to speed the time along.
Each table was stocked with two coffee cups and two water glasses; we ended up ordering three coffees and four waters. While our table was given a carafe of coffee, it did not contain enough coffee to fill our three coffee mugs, even when full. The carafe ended up needing to be refilled at least twice. When we asked for two more water glasses, they brought one to the table with the food, but it wasn’t for us. We didn’t get the glasses until after we asked the manager for them about 15 minutes later. Similar to the coffee carafe situation, the water bottle did not hold enough to serve us all. Finally, the tables must be too closely packed or something, as I was jostled by patron and waiter alike, even though I was scooted in to the table as far as I was able.
Having seen the avocado toast at the previous First Watch sold two of us on it. It is exactly what it sounds like; mashed avocado pieces liberally spread on two slices of bread, adorned with a splash of EVOO and served alongside two eggs of your choice (the default is basted). It looked outstanding, and if anything, it tasted better than it looked. Another of our party got the breakfast tacos which came with a side of black beans. They’re apparently quite forgettable, as I can’t remember what they tasted like not 24 hours later. The only thing I remember about them is that the tortillas fell apart when you tried to lift the tacos.
Overall, while the avocado toast stole the show, it couldn’t completely make up for the lack of attention by the wait staff nor the other food which was decidedly average.

Green juice, salads galore?! I’m sold, if only they would open later, haven’t they heard that Brinner is totally a thing?!
An upgraded, healthier, version of what IHOP would like to be.
This place serves up quick, healthy meals, also really affordable.
Pecan Dijon Chicken salad, and the Cherry Chicken Quinoa Bowls?!
Let’s start a petition that this place be open for dinner?!
Wait times can be long!

I really wanted to hate this place, as it replaced my favorite home-​visit eatery Manhattan Bagel. But how can you dislike a place that’s so dang delicious?!
There’s something for everyone here, whether it’s the picky eater, carb-​lover or paleo nut in your family. As someone who has a toe in both latter worlds, I’ve enjoyed both the waffles and the healthy omelets they’ve got on this menu.
And the coffee! The coffee. It’s a-​maz-​ing, and they give you a whole carafe when ordered.
The lines can be as long as they are in my permanent residence in NYC, but it’s worth the wait on weekends. Otherwise, I suggest hitting it up on a weekday when there aren’t any crowds!

First time visit and came away pleased wanting to come back again. On a Saturday morning there was a 20 minute wait which is actually not bad for NoVA. They will send you a text message when your table is ready if you don’t want to hang around.
Once seated, we were promptly greeted by our server. He was not that outgoing but ultimately took good care of us. We were able to place our order quickly but then the wait ensued. It took about 25 minutes for our meals to arrive. They were hot and super fresh though and worth the wait. I had the Floridian French Toast piled high with fruit. The flavors were wonderful and not overly heavy.
If you are looking for a hot delicious breakfast not served by a chain restaurant, you won’t go wrong here.