First Watch

First Watch is a good option for breakfast in the Rookwood shopping center. The service is fast and friendly and they have many healthy options on the menu. The food overall tastes just ok, but I still like to come here if I’m looking for a low calorie breakfast/​lunch.
There are many First Watches around Cincinnati, and they all taste consistent. I prefer their omelets and eggs benedicts, but I usually order off of their «healthier side» menu or the seasonal offerings they have on the chalkboard. On the healthy menu, the tri-​athlete (~$ 8, egg white veggie omelet) and the healthy turkey omelet (~$ 8, egg white, turkey, feta, and veggies) are my favorites. They make healthy taste good!
I wish First Watch had better home fries… I think their potatoes are their weak link on the breakfast menu, which is too bad because home fries are normally my favorite thing in the morning.
Their coffee is great, and they have free coffee at the door while you’re waiting for your table (a nice touch!). Waits are usually pretty long on weekend mornings, but they will text you when your table is done using the NoWait App.
Parking is of course a pain in the Rookwood shopping center, but they can’t do anything about that.

so good, and gluten free. had the market hash… not greasy at all, felt great after eating. delicious!

First of all with the «Nowait» app I was able to put myself in line shortly before arrival and even with a party of 5 we were able to sit as soon as we walked in which was amazing for a 12pm brunch on a Sunday. Service was quick and thoughtful, food was delicious. I ordered steak and eggs which is a holiday classic it was tasty and satisfying, plenty of food and at a very reasonable price. It was $ 9.95 which is just under the $ 10 price point and I was completely satisfied with that price for the amount of food. Presentation wasn’t the best but I will post picture and you can see for yourself. But overall solid ⁴⁄₅ experience.

This is a chain restaurant, but I just went for the first time when my boyfriend was in town. I like their hours and it did not take long at all to seat us. This is like a nice version of Denny’s. They have typical breakfast options, but everything we tried was amazing. I do love that they have healthy options and a gluten free guide to their menu! I believe they also have a pretty decent juice menu. We just had coffee and hot chocolate. If you love hot chocolate! Wow, this one came with so much whipped cream; it was wonderful. The waiter was very friendly and we got all of our food pretty quickly. They also had an old milk jug type glass for us to refill our water with on our table. Also, the servings are generous. You will not leave hungry. This one at Rookwood has plenty of parking since it’s in the Rookwood shopping center.
I tried the Via Veneto omelette– Italian sausage, roasted tomatoes and red peppers with fresh herbs, mozzarella and Parmesan. The Italian sausage was good and chopping to appropriate size. My boyfriend had also never been to Cincinnati before so we tried goetta! It was cooked properly and he is now a fan! Would definitely go back for breakfast/​brunch and maybe even lunch too! Haven’t gotten to try that menu yet!

Excellent breakfast food. Not terribly adventurous options, but they absolutely nail it with what they have. I had some kind of scramble/​hash thing and it was unbelievably good. Typically very crowded from what I can tell. Top-​notch ingredients. A little pricey but very worth it. Oh and they left the coffee pot on the table, which was nice.
Irrelevant side note — the servers uniforms are bizarre. I don’t know if this is always but EVERY server when I was in there was wearing a waaay too tight aeropostale polo shirt. I mean, it wasn’t detrimental to my experience whatsoever, just found it kind of funny.

Amazing healthy breakfast options really nice atmosphere I love the food it’s really healthy and fresh

This was the first time to a Cincinnati First Watch, went to Rookwood. It was good. When I lived in Florida everyone raved about First Watch and I was never impressed.
There was not a wait, when there typically is one at all of them.
Service was very good, our server was triple sat, so he had another server help take our drink order and greet us.
The food was very good, had the chicken quinoa pesto bowl. The specialty juice drinks were a little pricey and just ok.

I love breakfast places and I was looking forward to trying this place. Overall, I would say the food was okay. I got a skillet with potatoes, eggs, sausage, cheese, veggies– it tasted fine but nothing to write home about. There seem to be good healthy options here which is nice. Service was decent, no complaints about it. I was underwhelmed, and I’d come back if someone else suggests it but I probably won’t choose to come back myself.

Not only is Chickichanga fun to say, but it’s also pretty darn good. This is essentially a burrito stuffed with whipped eggs, chicken, chorizo, green chilies, Monterey jack, cheddar, onions, avocado, and a Vera Cruz sauce with a dollop of sour cream. With the accompanying breakfast potatoes, it’s the proper breakfast size to leave you comfortably full.

Never disappointed on there breakfast. I went with my girlfriend Toey for breakfast here. I ate at the First watch in Crestview hills, it was good. My girlfriend never been here. I always ordered the avocado egg with diced potatoes my favorite I take the English muffin and make a breakfast sandwich… yummmmy. She ordered a breakfast sandwich. I took a bite of it, it was good. This is one of my favorite breakfast places besides Crackle Barrel. I will be back.

As usual this has great food and reasonably priced and a great selection of healthy options. The free coffee while you wait for your table is awesome and I always leave happy.

Haven’t met a location of First Watch I haven’t enjoyed. Great big menu that has an option for just about any breakfast item that strikes you that day. Tastes very fresh and flavorful, and service is attentive. They have a healthy options section on menu that is light enough but still tasty and filling.

Delicious! I haven’t had a bad thing from First Watch. Their food is consistent, they have great service, pretty good coffee, the only thing that would make it better would be mimosas!

Was in town for a wedding and this place came highly recommended. I now know why. Friendly staff, fresh food, clean envionment and fair prices will always be a successful combination.
If you are looking for a sit down breakfast or brunch… seriously look no further. $ 18 for two people before tip and they had to roll me out of there.
I had the killer canjun omlete and the spice was just right and chicken was fresh and a great add. Potatoes hit the spot for the hangover with some already buttered english muffins.
Thanks for the great experience in downtown Cincy.

We went last Sunday around 10:30am, it was very full and busy, we waited about 15 min had some complimentary coffee and talked a little. We got to sit down and started ordering, the OJ is the best oj I have had in a really long time so fresh and sweet it was great. Our breakfast came out and it was perfect I had the crepes with banana strawberry and granola, best granola so far, this dish was great. Everyone else had a pancakes and they where giant and looked super yummy.
I will be back.

I absolutely love brunch ! First Watch is a good brunch/​breakfast spot! It has healthy options that taste just as good as the fattening ones. We eat at FW a lot.

One of my biggest fears when I moved to Cincinnati from NYC, where weekend brunch is almost like a religious ritual, was that there wouldn’t be any places that could satisfy my craving for bacon, coffee, and breakfast carbs on a given Saturday afternoon.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the parfait, berry fruit salad, and granola here are well known and delicious. But guys, come on, baaaaaaaaaaacon! When I come here, I get the Bacon and Onion hash. Because there’s so. much. bacon. It’s crumbled, but it’s goooooooood.
I’ve never complained about the food here (pancakes here are good too), nor the friendly service. I just wish that there were more First Watch eateries – two, three locations is obviously not enough, given the extremely long wait times. Dude, I’m having brunch and i’m HUNGRY. Open more locations please!
tl;dr Wait time: c Bacon and Onion hash is good for bacon lovers. Fresh fruit, Good coffee, yay granola!

I’ll start off saying that I’m not usually a breakfast person– but First Watch makes me excited for breakfast, brunch and lunch, and if they were open all day, I would even have brinner there.
I met my friend on our lunch hours on Friday. I was worried that it would be busy, so we met at 11:30. We had no trouble being seated right away. This place can get pretty busy because they are known for their great, fresh and healthy food, so we were excited to place our order. I was channeling breakfast and carbs, so I ordered the bacon and cheddar pancakes with a side of goetta. My friend ordered the strawberry salad and turkey sandwich. They allow you to do half a salad and half a sandwich off of a certain menu, much like Panera.
The food came out quickly, our drinks were always full and we were in heaven. My pancakes were fluffy and the bacon crispy little surprises in the pancakes. The goetta was cooked thin and crispy, just how Grandma used to make it. The food was flavorful and just what we wanted. We can’t wait to meet there again for breakfast/​brunch/​lunch!

I’ve been to the First Watch in Rookwood three times at this point, and they never fail to disappoint. This spot is perfect for breakfast/​brunch and for anyone who is Vegan or Vegetarian. The ambience is like that of a diner, and the servers are really fast and friendly.
My favorite dish is the Chickichanga, but I’ve also gotten their pancakes from which you can try a huge variety (anything from blueberry to bacon and cheese). They also have very good soups. Definitely recommend First Watch.

I headed out for brunch on a Sunday with an original destination of Java Glaze (apparently Java is closed although they still have an active website). I needed a replacement restaurant stat, so First Watch it was. The interior is bright and cheery. The restaurant was full, but there was no wait when we arrived. I noticed there were several registered items and trademarks on the menu, and I did find their offerings to be somewhat unique.
I was pleased that they already had a vegetarian Eggs Benedict option (Florentine — Fresh Spinach, Avocado and Tomato); usually it’s a matter of asking for the meal minus whatever bacon or ham it comes with. My husband tried the Caps, Etc., one of their «Eggs-​clusive» items. We were both extremely happy with our meals.