Is First Watch a good company to work for as a Line Cook?

Line Cook professionals working at First Watch have rated their employer with 3.2 out of 5 stars in 64 Glassdoor reviews. This is a lower than average score with the overall rating of First Watch employees being 3.7 out of 5 stars. Search open Line Cook Jobs at First Watch now and start preparing for your job interview by browsing frequently asked Line Cook interview questions at First Watch .

Does First Watch pay Line Cook employees well?

Line Cook professionals rate their compensation and benefits at First Watch with 2.2 out of 5 stars based on 64 anonymously submitted employee reviews. This is 37% worse than the company average rating for salary and benefits. Find out more about Line Cook salaries at First Watch.

How happy are Line Cook professionals working at First Watch?

30% of Line Cook employees at First Watch would recommend their employer to a friend. This rating has decreased by 52% in the past 12 months. Line Cook professionals have also rated First Watch with a 3.1 rating for work-life-balance, 2.6 rating for diversity and inclusion, 2.4 rating for culture and values and 2.5 rating for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at First Watch?

Server (631) , Server/Waiter (294) , Operations Manager (124) , General Manager (70) , Line Cook (65) , Busser/Runner (46) , Server/Waitress (36) , Manager (34) , Director of Operations (30) , Dishwasher (27) , Cook (26) , Waitress (21) , Food Server (18) , Black Apron (16) , Busser (15)

What are the pros of working at First Watch according to real employee reviews?

"Money is Good and consistent." ((in 182 reviews)); "The pay is good and there's a program that pays for 20% of your college tuition." ((in 96 reviews)); "great food and people to work with were awesome" ((in 64 reviews)); "I loved my coworkers and the hours are great!" ((in 56 reviews)); "Great product and a culture I can be proud to represent." ((in 56 reviews))

What are the cons of working at First Watch according to real employee reviews?

"poor management and had managers try to make job difficult" ((in 139 reviews)); "Managers have a lot of responsibility and spend most of their time in the kitchen rather than being up front dealing with customers." ((in 74 reviews)); "long hours (serving shift is open to close because it is breakfast/lunch only)" ((in 39 reviews)); "Upper management is so completely out of touch it's almost as if they have never worked in a restaurant (spoiler: most of them haven't)" ((in 26 reviews)); "Also lots of favoritism" ((in 24 reviews))

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First Watch

First Watch Line Cook reviews

3.2

30% would recommend to a friend

(64 total reviews)

Chris Tomasso

36% approve of CEO

50% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.1

Work/Life balance

2.6

Diversity & inclusion

2.5

Career opportunities

2.4

Culture & values

2.2

Compensation and benefits

2.1

Senior management

Line Cook employees have rated First Watch with 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 64 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Line Cook professionals have a good working experience there. First Watch is rated in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) by Line Cook professionals compared to other employers within the Restaurants & Food Service industry (3.4 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

64 reviews

3.0

Jul 13, 2026

Good pay and growth opportunities, but poor management

Line cook

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good pay, opportunity for growth,

Cons

Terrible management, lots of turnaround,

4.0

May 27, 2026

Fun work environment, but low pay for high responsibility

Line cook

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Fun work environment good coworkers

Cons

too much responsibility for low pay

First Watch Response

1mo

Thank you for writing this review. We’re happy to hear you enjoyed a fun work environment and had a great team! Feel free to call our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963 with additional feedback. This feedback helps the management team work to improve the experience of each employee. Thanks again for taking the time to submit your review.

4.0

Feb 14, 2026

cook

Line cook

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

pretty good, early hours, good food.

Cons

you must love fast pase work environment

First Watch Response

5mo

Thanks for taking the time to submit your review. We love that you enjoy the daytime-only hours, food, and the fast-paced environment. We make every effort to show appreciation for our teams and listen to their concerns. Your feedback will help us improve the experience of our employees. We appreciate you!

Viewing 1 - 3 of 64 Reviews

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Good pay and growth opportunities, but poor management

Fun work environment, but low pay for high responsibility

cook

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