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

Skip to content Skip to footer

Notifications

First Watch

First Watch reviews

3.7

63% would recommend to a friend

(1,898 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

First Watch has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 1,898 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The First Watch employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for 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

2K reviews

1.0

May 2, 2026

Good hours but toxic frat boy culture among managers

Dishwasher

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good hours to leave no money to make tho

Cons

Frat boy culture all mangers care about is their bonuses. 90% managers, operational managers, general managers, regional managers. Can’t cook or run the line but in positions because somebody they know. I had a manager refuse to fire somebody because it would’ve messed up his monthly bonus but would rather me 13 out of 14 days in one pay cycle avoid this job at all cost for any position

First Watch Response

1mo

Thanks for the feedback. We pride ourselves on our “You First” culture and are so disappointed to hear that you felt that way. It sounds like we really dropped the ball somewhere. Would you mind reaching out to us by calling our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963 with more information? Thanks again, and we hope to hear from you soon.

3.0

Apr 24, 2026

No nights but early starts and weekend work

Gernal manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

No nights. Closed after 2:30.

Cons

You work every weekend and your day starts at 6AM.

First Watch Response

2mo

Thank you for taking the time to share this information. We are happy to hear that you enjoy taking nights off. We appreciate your perspective on some of our processes. We’re always working to improve the employee experience. Thanks again for your feedback!

4.0

Apr 20, 2026

Performance-based environment with kind management, but pay issues

Server

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Operating hours & tips. It is truly performance based. Managers are professional and fair- very kind

Cons

Servers are required to work a different position each week ( a support position) at minimum wage. This is a real bummer! They should hire for those positions

First Watch Response

3mo

Thank you for taking the time to share this feedback. We love that you appreciated working with professional managers. You just can’t go wrong with our daytime-only hours. Thanks again for your feedback – it helps us improve the experience of our employees.

Viewing 31 - 33 of 1,898 Reviews

Jobs at First Watch