Is First Watch a good company to work for?

First Watch has an overall rating of 3.7 out of 5, based on over 1,925 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months. 63% of employees would recommend working at First Watch to a friend and 61% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about First Watch have been left by employees working as Director of Operations , Black Apron and Cafe Manager .

Does First Watch pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, First Watch employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.2 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at First Watch. This rating has decreased by 6% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at First Watch?

63% of First Watch employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated First Watch 3.7 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.5 for culture and values and 3.4 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 176 reviews)); "The pay is good and there's a program that pays for 20% of your college tuition." ((in 92 reviews)); "great food and people to work with were awesome" ((in 67 reviews)); "I loved my coworkers and the hours are great!" ((in 62 reviews)); "Great product and a culture I can be proud to represent." ((in 57 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 138 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 40 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)); "Lots of cliques and Favoritism." ((in 20 reviews))

What are the top reviewed First Watch locations?

Tampa , Orlando , Sarasota , Jacksonville , Raleigh , Louisville , Columbus , Houston , Cincinnati , Kansas City , Phoenix , Charlotte , Dallas , San Antonio , Atlanta , Saint Louis , Austin , Knoxville , Bradenton , Lexington-Fayette , Scottsdale , Naples , Tucson , Miami , Richmond , College Station , Fort Worth , Katy , Nashville , Overland Park

First Watch reviews

3.7

63% would recommend to a friend

(81 total reviews)

Chris Tomasso

69% approve of CEO

61% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.9

Diversity & inclusion

3.7

Work/Life balance

3.5

Culture & values

3.4

Career opportunities

3.2

Senior management

3.2

Compensation and benefits

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

81 reviews

Reviews about "Diversity & Inclusion"

Return to all reviews

3.0

May 4, 2026

Growth opportunities overshadowed by long hours and micromanagement

General manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great place to grow if you’re willing to put in the work. I started as an Operations Manager and got promoted to General Manager, so there is definitely opportunity. I met a lot of good people along the way who pushed me and helped me develop. The team environment at the store level can be strong depending on who you work with.

Cons

Very long hours with little work-life balance. Scheduled early (around 6am) but most days you’re there until 4pm–5pm depending on staffing because of the close-to-open expectations. Upper management can be very micromanaging, even reaching out on days off. There were times we were expected to come in during severe weather/state emergencies, which didn’t feel like employee safety was a priority. Heavy focus on labor cuts — managers are expected to work the line, do prep, inventory, and everything else to save money. It can feel like the company cares more about numbers than people. The “You First” culture doesn’t always match reality. Also, at times it didn’t feel like diversity was truly valued, which can be discouraging.

First Watch Response

1mo

Thank you for sharing your feedback. We are disappointed to hear that your experience with management wasn’t positive. Every day, we strive to show appreciation for our teams and listen to their concerns. Would you mind providing us with more information by calling our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963? Thanks again, and we hope to hear from you soon

3.0

Jan 27, 2026

Decent work environment

Server/waitress

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Fast paced and can be fun

Cons

Typical industry drawbacks like drug use and occasional harassment

First Watch Response

5mo

Thank you for your feedback here. While we're glad you enjoy the fast pace environment, it's helpful to understand your concerns. If you wouldn't mind calling our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963, we'd love to follow up and better understand and address your concerns where possible. We hope to hear from you soon.

1.0

Nov 8, 2025

Toxic Leadership

General manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

It used to be a great place to work. I felt cared for, valued & always worked hard. I woke up every morning happy to serve the community and build my team. Sadly, there are no more pros.

Cons

Upper management harasses you. When using chain of commands, they trick you into thinking you can go to RVPs with issues but some of them end up firing good workers to protect bad DOs. Everyone takes harassment courses every 6 months, i'm not sure how people past the restaurant level are able to treat management the way they do. Very disappointed in how the company ended up turning out. Salaries are also VERY low and quality of life is LOW when you're being harassed and asked to do WAY more than your job description. No coaching is ever given either, just negative feedback. For the culture that is talked so highly about, some leaders do NOT have compassion or empathy for anyone.

First Watch Response

8mo

Thank you for taking the time to share this review. We’re firm believers that when you know better, you do better…so we really appreciate your feedback. We're so disappointed to learn about your experience as we strive to be “You First” in all that we do. Quality of life is important to us, and you should always feel comfortable discussing your concerns with your leaders and with our team in HR. We'd love to better understand your concerns so that we can thoroughly and properly address them and encourage you to call our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963. Thanks again for your insights, and we hope to hear from you soon.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 81 Reviews

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Growth opportunities overshadowed by long hours and micromanagement

Decent work environment

Toxic Leadership

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