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First Watch

Engaged Employer

First Watch reviews

3.7

63% would recommend to a friend

(1,898 total reviews)
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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

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
1.0
Mar 7, 2026

Management Ruins Everything

Server
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great money at my location, ideal second job can't live off it alone but great supplemental, met some of my closest friends here, discount on food.

Cons

The managers are absolutely insane, very corporate and brainwashed, everything has a rule or a policy or something that needs to be followed even the way you hold a syurp bottle, jeans are never dark enough or too dark, vague dress code description, can't offer water but obviously guest want water, the corporate side acts like they are on your side but absolutely are not.Side work is absolutely insane

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First Watch Response
4mo
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. We'd love to learn more about any experience that led you to feel like we don’t care for our employees, and 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? Thanks again, and we hope to hear from you soon.
1.0
Dec 20, 2025

They’ll steal from you every angle

Server/waiter
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Early out times. No nights.

Cons

Criminals. They’ll push you aside and gaslight as they break multiple federal and state laws.

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First Watch Response
7mo
Thank you for taking the time to share this feedback. We are so disappointed to hear about your experience. We’re firm believers that when you know better, you do better…so we really appreciate your feedback. Would you mind providing us with more information by calling our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963?
Viewing 40 - 42 of 1,898 Reviews
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ReviewsFirst Watch reviews

Glassdoor has 1,926 First Watch reviews submitted anonymously by First Watch employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if First Watch is right for you.