First Watch

Another great meal that hit the spot. And my server Lisa is the friendliest I’ve come across so far. Perfect. And the atmosphere is good. Location very convenient. I’ll be back!

Eggs Benedict Review (ate here twice):
Scale 1 – 10 with 10 being best
10 — Eggs poached soft (cooked perfectly);
9 — Hollandaise Sauce — good but needed 1 extra lemon juice wedge;
5 — Thin sliced lunch meat ham instead of Canadian Bacon… doesn’t work;
5 — English Muffin — not bad not great… probably off the shelf;
8 — Service… servers a bit forgetful bringing extra napkins or drink refills.
Plenty of parking… usually a wait unless you use the community table.

I’ll choose 2 stars, but I actually wish I could go right down the middle with 2.5. Two stars doesn’t give them quite enough credit, but three stars would be too much.
We’ve been here twice now. A fair issue we have with the place is right inside the entrance. It’s small and gets cramped and confusing, even to the staff, as to who is coming and who is going. Today, for example, I kept getting bumped out of the way trying to make room for others coming in as we were standing at the register to pay so we could get out. And when we came in, the hostess was wanting to check us out until we told her we were incoming, not outgoing. I REALLY think the entrance would be less congested if the wait staff took payment from the table when the customer is finished, then bring back the receipt. That way we could just get up and walk out, having already paid for the meal, rather than having to stand in a mixed line of people coming in as well as people going out. It was mass confusion both visits.
The service was decent, although if you don’t know what you want when your server comes to your table for the first time, it will take a little time before they come back. If (and that’s a big «if») I return, I’ll make sure I know what I want the first time our server asks if we’re ready to order. Otherwise, in our personal experience (both visits), you kind of sit there for a good while before you’re asked again. The place is also pretty noisy. It wasn’t even a full house when we were there today and the ‘acoustics’ in there were so terrible that we could barely have a conversation without having to raise our voices.
The food is okay. Not great, but not bad. It doesn’t have that ‘wow factor’, but it’s satisfactory. Today my sandwich was good, it just wasn’t hot. In fact it wasn’t even warm. Both of us ordered the Monterey Club and the cheese wasn’t even melted into the sandwich. You could literally pull the cheese off in clumps. And the over-​abundance of field greens was way too much for my personal taste. It made the sandwich taste bitter. When a sandwich is advertised as having «lettuce» as an ingredient, that’s what I expect. If the sandwich contains field greens, which this sandwich did, that’s what should be advertised in the description. I pulled it all off of my sandwich before eating it. That’s not lettuce. Those are greens. And should be described as so on the menu.
Unless taken there again by someone else’s suggestion, it’s not a place I’d choose to go back to.

We don’t have First Watch in VA, and every time I’m in OH, I seem to eat breakfast there. They have a large menu and lots of updated items, many with a Southwest/​Mexican twist. Many with avocado.
Honestly, it’s just okay. I’ve certainly had better. I probably enjoy IHOP better, but I always come back. So does everyone else, apparently because this place stays busy.
I liked the fresh juice drinks, though the nutritional content isn’t provided. Was the kale juice really healthy, or was it loaded with sugar?

We enjoy this as a healthy breakfast destination. Dress is casual so it’s a great spot to hit after an early spinning class or workout. I like the ‘Lean Machine’. I took a star off for their long table wait on the weekends. They did add a community table which helps with that wait time.

Great food. We are regulars here in Dublin and when we travel — and the food is healthy, with lots of choices. However, one slight tweak of the menu would help-​change the «everyday» soup to the vegetable soup — who doesn’t love vegetable soup. Right now you can only get it for the soup of the day occasionally. Vegetable also is healthier than Tomato Basil.

I work nearby and I go in fairly often. The waitresses are pretty and the food is good. They don’t like it if you sit there with only a coffee. The eggs are standard fare and the hash browns are great.
I have gotten the breakfast burrito but it had a whole wheat tortilla which isn’t my favorite and it doesn’t always agree with me. People joke about colitis but that’s no fun, let me tell you! The coffee is fresh brewed and always nice and hot. It helps.
The people who eat there depends a lot on when you go. If you go early you find older people (I am 59) and they are no fun to snoop at. A little later you can see younger women sometimes with guys and no I’m not a creeper I just watch people eat. I’m in sales! I wear a suit and a tie most of the time and if you have a paper with you don’t get the weird glances.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could order dessert for breakfast? To go with the coffee, I mean…

The food at First Watch is everything you could ask for from a breakfast place. My personal favorite are the giant pancakes – but it is nice that there are much healthier options when I feel like it. The prices are fair, as well. The reason for my two-​star review, though, is the service at First Watch. The staff come off as very friendly at first, but they are constantly bothering you because they want to get people in and out as quickly as possible. I get that, but they have been outright rude to myself and others I have dined with. Last time I was there with my boyfriend, he was taking his time looking over the menu. Our waitress came by three times within about eight minutes to see if we were ready to order yet. She was clearly annoyed that we didn’t immediately know what we were getting, and was cold to us for the remainder of the meal. She gave us out check right when our food came out, as if to say we should move along as quickly as possible. Another time while I was eating, I set down my fork because I was in the middle of talking and I was taking a real from my food. Without asking, my waitress took away my food. I always feel very rushed when I am at First Watch, which is a problem that they need to address. Another big problem is that they seem to treat their senior guests very nicely, but they constantly treat me with much less respect because I am a girl in college. I do not appreciate that at all.

Mediocre at best. Service was swift but lacked any sort of finesse. When we asked the hostess if we could sit by the window instead of the door she was clearly annoyed and begrudgingly walked us to the table and dumped the menus. «Great» impression first few minutes of walking in the door.
Food was about on the level of Denny’s– French toast was served cold, over medium eggs were completely runny, «cream» for coffee were little single serve canisters on the table. The hostess dropped the check on the table when we were only half way through the meal which was awkward. The prices were fine but the meal was regrettable.
About the only two good points of the meal was the the fruit cup wasn’t full of cantaloupe and there was cholula on the table.

Great food, healthy options and very attentive service. I love the triathlete breakfast the most as my regular, but you can’t pass up the pancakes or the hash!

Great food, as always, but way too noisy. Can, hear person across the table at times.
Noisiest place for breakfast compared to all others!

I’m a huge breakfast fan, so this place was a great choice while visiting Dublin with my boyfriend. Since it’s his dad’s favorite breakfast place after golfing with friends, we decided to check it out before heading to the Memorial Tournament. They sat us quickly and came right over to ask our drink orders and let us peruse the menu. Their house coffee came out piping hot and brewed fresh. Thankfully food was served quickly. In addition to basic breakfast items (all decent sized portions), I chose the Market Hash (a skillet with eggs, potatoes, veggies and two types of cheese). It was delicious! Their special was a cinnamon roll pancake, and though we didn’t try it, the table next to us said it was a great sweet choice as well. It was also nice to have a section of their menu dedicated to healthy eats for people looking for those options.
People commented it can be more expensive that other breakfast places, but the quality of food definitely stands out as well. I’ll definitely keep it in mind next time we visit!

Best pancakes EVER! We were in a hurry today and got in and out with a full breakfast for three in 35 minutes. Thank you First Watch!

Great breakfast place in Dublin, OH. I usually order the eggs Benedict or one of their omelets. My wife and kids also like the pancakes, especially the granola banana pancakes. The side sausages are excellent and we usually order one for the table.
There is a long line on the weekend mornings, but it moves fast and we are usually seated within 10 – 15 mins.
I’m not a big coffee drinker so can’t comment on that, but the teas they have are quite ordinary.
The service is good, generally pleasant and efficient. The prices are reasonable. In my opinion, it’s one of the best breakfast place in the greater Columbus area. I like the food on northstar café a bit more, but don’t like the cafeteria style dining there.

Been twice now. Very friendly and prompt staff. Good array of breakfast dishes, fast service. Tasty dishes.

The service was fast. I ordered the tri-​fecta, particularly the cranberry nut pancake, 2 turkey sausage links, and two eggs. The entrée was good. Unfortunately, I expected more pecans.
This First Watch restaurant was the largest of three I have ever visited.

Very busy, but very professional staff who get you in and out quite efficiently.
Order the crêpe eggs — definitely memorable and delicious, and with this hybrid breakfast dish you’ll be wondering what hit the skillet first, the crêpe or the egg?
There is a whole lineup of healthy breakfast dishes that isn’t just a list of yogurt parfaits… score!
Love that you can take your coffee to go at the end of the meal.

Come here all the time. Love the healthy food, love the servers, and we’re always happy when we leave.
The only downsides are the small building/​room — they’re always SO busy, it’s a super long wait, esp on weekends. Sometimes the hosts aren’t the most friendly. Okay… they usually seem to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed… but still, overall, an ongoing, wonderful experience.
Ask for Erin S. She’s the best!

I went here for brunch on a Sunday, right around noon. The wait was 20 – 30 minutes which wasn’t too bad considering the place was packed. We had to stand outside the doors because there was no place to sit/​stand inside.
Once we were in and seated, the service was very quick. A coffee carafe appeared about a minute after we ordered it. I ordered the bacon and cheddar pancakes, my date got a usual bacon, eggs, and pancake deal. I loved the bacon and cheddar pancakes. The bacon was crispy and the pancake was fluffy, slightly dense without being heavy.
Now, because this place is pretty busy pretty much all the time… you do feel like you have to eat quick and get out. This is not the place to linger over a post-​meal cup of coffee. Overall, a good place for brunch with some interesting twists on the usual fare.

Whenever I want a quick and inexpensive breakfast/​brunch, I take my friends to First Watch. It has a convenient location (down the street from my apartment) with plenty of parking. They have an extensive list of breakfast and lunch options, even have a section for the «healthier» breakfast selections. I’m a fan of the fruit crepes or the turkey and avocado eggs benedict. My friends have enjoyed their omelet options and their long sandwich list.
The food always comes out very quickly and the service is fantastic. I love that they leave a pitcher of water on my table (since I drink way too much H2O). If you order coffee, they will also leave a carafe on your table so you can fill up to your heart’s delight. The price is fairly typical for a breakfast joint and less than you’d spend at a one-​off downtown.
Note — It gets ridiculously busy on the weekends, make sure to get there at a decent hour (before eleven) if you want to be seated before the church crowd. Their waiting area is tiny, so you may be stuck waiting outside for a while.