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

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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

4.0

Feb 17, 2026

Daytime server gig

Server

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Daytime hours never work nights Very thorough training They provide food handlers, and alcohol training.

Cons

They do not hire a host. They rotate a server for the host shift, which only pays minimum wage. A lot of side work compared to other restaurants I have worked at. Low base pay High turnover

First Watch Response

5mo

Thanks for sharing this review and your insights. We love hearing that you enjoy the training and the great daytime-only hours. We appreciate your perspective on some of our processes. Feel free to call our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963 to share your thoughts. Any feedback helps us to re-evaluate our approach, and we're grateful for yours. Thanks again for the review!

5.0

Feb 15, 2026

Great company

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great company culture! Office is amazing.

Cons

Nothing to complaint about this company

First Watch Response

5mo

Thank you for this great review! It’s nice to hear how much you enjoyed working at First Watch. We love that you loved the culture and office environment! Thanks again for sharing your review, and never forget that we love YOU more than bacon!

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 46 - 48 of 1,898 Reviews

Jobs at First Watch

Middleburg Heights, OH