First Watch

tried first watch in gburg for the first time (total fan of rockville location) and im not sure if they were short staffed, but we waited an hour for our food. our waiter didnt check on us to see if we wanted refills for our drinks or to let us know that our food would take a bit. finally our food came, my chimichanga was cold. disappointed in the service and food at this location.

I’m not ready to put First Watch in my do not ever go here list just yet.
So far this chain has disappointed me sort of twice. I came here with my friend and at first service is friendly and everything all nice and dandy. I order the green smoothie. It looks deceiving but it tastes pretty good and better than Panera’s power smoothie. This time I wanted to try the hash. Actually we both ordered the avocado hash. Mine had bacon mixed in. My friend requested that hers be meatless and to be sure that it contains no meat. Waitress said it won’t be a problem. My eggs over easy and hers scrambled. Our food comes fast. I’m looking at my hash and I’m trying not to be so picky but my taters were kinda of burnt around the sides but I make no fuss, I just ate it. My avocados looked a little unripe. A ripe avocado is to be semi soft. Mine was semi firm. I just ate it. Despite the two mishaps, my hash tasted good though presentation wise I had seen better at their Rockville location. Here is where they lose the stars: I noticed my friend making a weird face and she says there’s meat in her hash! She specifically requested no bacon. So we call the manager, later on we found out she wasn’t just a glorified manger, how nice! My friend explains what happened and the employee states «are you sure that’s bacon?!» My friend speechless and me I say of course that’s bacon it’s definitely not tofu or a veggie? Then she’s gives us well what do you want us to do about it? My friend was ready to leave and just mentioned to be more mindful of when customers request no meat. Suppose she had an allergy or had religious dietary restrictions? The way it was handled could have been better and a better apology without the sass. Then we see both our waitress and the glorified manager talking in ear shot about the incident. So classy! Our waitress comes back and I request a smoothie to go and she ever so kindly, tells me you know it’s extra it’s not refillable, you have to pay for another one?! I stated yes I know. I have read other reviews and it seems like they have an issue with vegan or vegetarian requests and seems to them like its no big deal to them but to paying customers it is.
As for the layout of the restaurant it’s more open and more spacious than Rockville and it seems less waiting time.

The restaurant seating arrangement is simple but nice. Some bench seats but mostly open tables that have a real community or family dining like feel. It was a busy Sunday morning and we found the waiting staff was attentive enough once we were seated.
My dining cohorts had all been to First Watch before so I was the newbie of the bunch. The menu was somewhat extensive and definitely provided a good selection for health conscience folks. The portions were small especially for a healthy but big eater like myself. On the other hand prices were reasonable as we paid somewhere around $ 9.00 per person including tax. Given the fact I was hungry again a couple hours later I probably should have added a couple sides or doubled up on the veggie egg white omelet.
First Watch provides a nice alternative to the other breakfast restaurants and the prices are really good. The portions are small but you could always add to your order for additional cost. The food taste good not great but definitely worth trying for yourself if you are looking for a lite healthy breakfast.

I was first I introduced to First Watch by my brother at the Rockville location. I was really excited when the Muddy Place Rd. location opened up. This new place is right down the road from my apartment. Love this place. Great staff, great atmosphere, great food. Never disappointed!

I want to love this place so much! I love the menu and the atmosphere in the restaurant is so nice! Service is so unbelievably slow though. Servers are nice though. I don’t know if I’ve ever been there for less than an hour even when there aren’t many people eating. The food is always fine but a lot of the time things turn out either really overcooked or undercooked. We go because we love breakfast and there are some good things on the menu but improvements could be made with service and the food. I’m going to go back because I know this place can be good and I refuse to give up my hope. I love brunch.

Good food. Nothing too outstanding, just good all-​american breakfast. Nice service. Our waiter was nice and informative.
Most definitely go early or you’ll have to wait. We managed to get in before the rush of people. It was also New Year’s Day and they were one of the only restaurants open for breakfast/​brunch. Thanks for that!

This place is awesome! Love the food. I visited 5 times and never left unhappy. I would highly recommend going here.

I was originally going to give this place 3 stars, simply for not being good.
Walking in, you see a lot of pictures of the healthy juices they serve, carrot, kale, cucumber and so on. But despite this, this restaurant is NOT vegan friendly.
I ordered the avocado toast, which comes with eggs. I asked for hash browns or potatoes without butter instead of eggs. She said she would check, which is fine.
She came back and said that the kitchen said it would take a long time to make hash browns without butter, but if I was willing to wait, they would. Being that the place was basically empty, I said Yes. Because it shouldn’t take more than a minute or so. She left, and came back later saying that actually it’s impossible to make hash browns or potatoes without butter, that they are already prepared and are sitting in butter. So, she lied, she never spoke to them the first time, and she kind of admitted it at the table.
I got my avocado toast and got the grits instead of potatoes. The toast was completely cold, obviously made long before, and the grits tasted awful (instant).
With coffee, my toast meal came out to $ 12. Like other reviewers said, this place is overpriced. That’s crazy.
I travel EXTENSIVELY, you can go to the greasiest diner and they are perfectly fine making hash browns or potatoes without butter, and often have more vegan friendly choices.
When you walk in, it seems all WP and with juices, but they are not vegan friendly or remotely accommodating. Last week I walked into a dirty/​greasy diner in rural Georgia and had a perfectly nice breakfast. But, not at First Watch, and surprising given all the vegan friendly places nearby.
I would have given this place 3 stars for simply being not good, and some other not nice things. But, being lazy and lying to me is not acceptable, and I used to wait tables. I know how it is.

This was the place to be on January 1 as everyone in the vicinity tries to recover from over-​indulging the night prior. The hour-​long wait was understandable, but service was painfully slow once we were seated. Even though tables were emptying out at the end of the brunch rush, it was near impossible to find our waitress to let her know about the overdone steak that was supposed to be medium rare. Aside from the more-​viscous-​than-​maple-​syrup service, most of what we ordered– steak & eggs, omelet, zee waffle/​eggs/​bacon– was good and I actually finished all the food on my plate for once.

So this is my second time coming to First Watch. This time I arrived around 1pm. There was still a fifteen minute wait although there were some open tables. My wife and I were eventually seated at a 2 top which is fine but I did notice other twosomes seated at 4 tops. There were 4 tops available but for whatever reason we didn’t get seated there. Ah well, on to the food.
I ordered the Trifecta breakfast which comes with 2 eggs any style, a choice of meat, and either a pancake or Belgium waffle. I chose to go with 2 eggs over easy, a sausage link, and the bacon and cheddar pancake. The eggs we cooked fine, the sausage was tasty and not dry, and the pancake was a surprising delight. I biggest complaint is the amount of food I was given. I felt like it was really not enough food for the price. Don’t get me wrong, the food was good but I still feel like I could have used more.
The quality of the food may have improved since the last time I was here but I still felt unsatisfied.

My girlfriends and I came here for a weekday breakfast and we were impressed. From the outside First Watch doesn’t look like a place that would entice me to come in, but inside it was bright and welcoming. It’s definitely a step up from your average IHop for a casual breakfast place. First Watch is located in the Muddy Branch Shopping Center so there’s plenty of parking.
Everything on the menu looked great! The menu had omelettes, sandwiches, specialty juices, salads, benedicts and more. I went with the avocado, bacon and tomato hash and it was really good — a few dashes of hot sauce and it was perfect. On top of the hash you can have 2 eggs any style and it comes with a biscuit, jam, and fruit on the side. Some of the fruit looked a little questionable, but we just pushed them to the side.
Our server was very attentive and checked on us throughout the meal. Soon as we were finished he dropped off the check and then you pay at the register up front.
My friends and I left stuffed and happy! Can’t wait to bring my family here!

First of all, the sign on the outside makes this place seem like a health center or something. When I saw this place, a weight watchers-​esque/​patient first vibe came to mind. As I pulled in, parked, and entered, I understood what they were trying to achieve. The inside is very rustic and slightly western — hence the name «first watch» — kinda like the first to take an early shift — hence the breakfast geared restaurant.
Ha. Took me awhile.
Anyway, the service was great, the wait staff were very friendly. The place was clean and spacious, and not too loud. The food came out quick — the juices were delicious, and the giant cinnamon chip pancake was PHENOMENAL.
I found the rest of the food to be average. The check out procedure is similar to a diner — you take the bill to the front and pay on your way out.
Overall this place is great place to grab brunch!

I went back to first watch to give it a second shot and had a pleasant experience. My food was seasoned well and came out hot. Nice breakfast place to go to on the weekends with your family.

Solid offerings, reasonable prices, but a bit chaotic — especially on weekends (family friendly chaos). Twice in one recent weekend, and periodically under normal circumstances, I’ve found myself partaking of the bottomless coffee and giant pancakes of this brunch chain. With a trendy focus on health conscious and seasonal flavors, they bring a California flair (can one still say that of turkey, avocado and quinoa suffused menus?) to early meals. As the name implies, really it’s about breakfast and lunch — and that focus on one part of the day helps them keep the menu under control.
That said, the food is good — predictably prepared and not unpleasant, but neither its creativity nor flavor is sensational. They are, by design it would seem, a standby restaurant. Old favorites and choices inspired by classic combinations fill their lists from the trifrecta to the parma hash (admittedly, the choice of sausage rather than parma ham — prosciutto, sorry — makes economic, if not linguistic, sense).
Expect neither to be disappointed nor impressed, and prepare to be patient. A reliable standby is often a busy one, and the chaos can mean that orders are slow to arrive or sometimes get sent to the wrong table. It may be a while be awhile in between visits from your server. They offset some of this by keeping coffee, tea and water on the table — which is great for smaller groups but difficult for larger (read: 4+) ones.

Went here for breakfast after hearing rave reviews about the location in VA from my friend.
Such a cute place! Very bright and spacious. A suggestion for the tables, maybe put a purse hook or two underneath? We were seated at a 2-​topper and had no place to really put our bags!
I had the Egg in a hole. Well seasoned and very tasty! One of their fall specials. My friend had the parma mash but with quinoa and not the potatoes.
Will definitely had back there!

First watch was not what I was expecting at all. I actually thought it was a bank while driving by. My brother discovered it was a breakfast spot so we decided to give it a try. Great food, exceptional service. Katerina was our server. Not only did she provide excellent service she was a funny too.
My brother and I both had the Trifecta (he had the chocolate chip pancakes and I stayed with the plain) which were fantastic! He equally enjoyed the coffee. Oh and their water is served in carafes which was a bonus for me as I wasn’t looking for any additional liquid calories. Nice interior, all in all a wonderful experience. We’ll be back!

I’ve been to First Watch a half a dozen times, but this is my first review because although I really like the food and the staff, we’ve always had a really awkward experience (I’ll leave it at that).
Today… success! Even though it seemed really busy we were seated right away. The service was friendly and prompt, the kitchen was humming and our food came out correctly and right away.
I had the breakfast scramble (no ham) and my bf had the avocado bacon hash. First Watch has a way of making everything taste healthy and fresh, even when your breakfast is covered in hollandaise sauce! The juices are honestly what keep us coming back. The day glow and kale tonic are amazing.
First Watch gets three stars because I’m still on the fence about how our experience will be next time, and although the juices are awesome they don’t serve booze.

Love the location in Rockville and decided to try the Gaithersburg one since it’s closer to home.
Pro’s:
–Quick and friendly service
–Call ahead seating/​reservation
–Bright and cute ambiance
–Lot’s of variety between healthy eating breakfast/​lunch to comfort foods
–Pancakes were moist and huge!
–Omelets were large and filled with everything I had asked for
–The food tasted fresh and not overly salted
–Kid friendly
–Clean bathrooms
–Offers fresh juice (i.e. Kale tonics and pineapple coolers)
–Pay up front when you’re ready, no need to wait for the server to return
–Ton’s of gluten free and healthy options
Con’s:
–Place does get busy on the weekends especially brunch time. Call ahead to have your name be put on the waiting list
–Large parking lot but fills quickly
–Closes at 2:30pm :-(
Will return again!

This is a great breakfast/​brunch spot in a relatively quiet shopping center. The menu has a good variety of both basic breakfast foods and salads and sandwiches. I’ve only been here for breakfast but have really enjoyed it — during my most recent visit, I ordered the avocado, bacon and tomato hash, which was 2 eggs on top of a mix of potatoes and the like. It was the perfect amount of food for breakfast but could have used more avocado. Another nice touch is that they operate «diner-​style» so our waiter put my group’s foods on separate checks without asking.
Keep in mind that it’s only open until 2:30pm each day, so don’t come too late in the day!

So glad that a good place has opened for breakfast near the Kentlands! The moment we sat down, our friendly and very attentive waiter asked for our drink order and was just a little too eager asking for our order. A for effort.
We got the breakfast scramble and my gf got I believe the trifecta. The portions were so big, we couldn’t eat any lunch the rest of the day. It wasn’t salty and didn’t skimp on the size.
If you get here after 9:30AM over the weekend, expect a wait. Not too long of a line but worth mentioning.
The chocolate chip pancake is a hit amongst little ones and will have to come back during lunch to try their lunch items.
Thanks for opening up near Kentlands!