Is First Watch a good company to work for?

First Watch has an overall rating of 3.7 out of 5, based on over 1,926 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 (632) , 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 92 reviews)); "great food and people to work with were awesome" ((in 64 reviews)); "I loved my coworkers and the hours are great!" ((in 59 reviews)); "Great product and a culture I can be proud to represent." ((in 53 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 141 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 28 reviews)); "Lots of cliques and Favoritism." ((in 25 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 , College Station , Miami , Richmond , Fort Worth , Katy , Nashville , Overland Park

First Watch reviews

3.7

63% would recommend to a friend

(452 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

452 reviews

Reviews about "Compensation"

Return to all reviews

3.0

Nov 13, 2025

Fast Pased

Server

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Always busy and decent pay

Cons

A lot of side work for servers

First Watch Response

8mo

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this review! We are glad that you enjoyed the fast-paced environment and the pay. We appreciate all your hard work, and your feedback helps us improve the experience of our employees. Thank you again!

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.

4.0

Nov 3, 2025

Potential for good tips

Server

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Made good money on great days

Cons

The only bad days were when there was way too many servers on the floor and every server made no more than 85 bucks

First Watch Response

8mo

Thank you for sharing this feedback. We’re happy to hear that you enjoy the pay. We encourage you to discuss your concerns with your leadership team so that they can properly address them. We’re always working to improve the employee experience. Thanks again for your feedback!

Viewing 28 - 30 of 452 Reviews

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