Is First Watch a good company to work for as a Server/Waitress?

Server/Waitress professionals working at First Watch have rated their employer with 4.0 out of 5 stars in 38 Glassdoor reviews. This is a higher than average score with the overall rating of First Watch employees being 3.7 out of 5 stars. Search open Server/Waitress Jobs at First Watch now and start preparing for your job interview by browsing frequently asked Server/Waitress interview questions at First Watch .

Does First Watch pay Server/Waitress employees well?

Server/Waitress professionals rate their compensation and benefits at First Watch with 3.3 out of 5 stars based on 38 anonymously submitted employee reviews. This is 3.1% better than the company average rating for salary and benefits. Find out more about Server/Waitress salaries at First Watch.

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))

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First Watch

First Watch Server/Waitress reviews

4.0

69% would recommend to a friend

(38 total reviews)

Chris Tomasso

73% approve of CEO

25% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.4

Work/Life balance

3.8

Diversity & inclusion

3.7

Senior management

3.5

Culture & values

3.5

Career opportunities

3.3

Compensation and benefits

Server/Waitress employees have rated First Watch with 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 38 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Server/Waitress professionals have a good working experience there. First Watch is rated in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) by Server/Waitress professionals compared to other employers within the Restaurants & Food Service industry (3.4 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

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Parent or family caregiver

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Reviews by job title

38 reviews

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.

2.0

Nov 22, 2025

Corporate cares only about corporate

Server/waitress

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Was there 4 years it was awesome when it was a franchise. The manager was amazing, customers were great! Loved my job

Cons

When corporate took over it went downhill fast! The corporate people do not value their employees at all! We went from being valued and respected to treated like trash. Everyone ended up walking out down to the managers! Now it sucks!

First Watch Response

7mo

Thank you so much for taking the time to share this information. We pride ourselves on our “You First” culture and are so disappointed to hear that you felt that way. We'd love to learn more about any experience that led you to feel like we don’t care for our employees. Would you mind reaching out to us by calling our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963? we'd love to follow up and better understand and address your concerns where possible. Any feedback helps us to re-evaluate our approach, and we're grateful for yours.

3.0

Jul 12, 2025

good money, frequent management changes

Server/waitress

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

money is good when management is good

Cons

lots of management change over, inexperienced managers

First Watch Response

12mo

Thank you for writing this review. We are disappointed to hear your experience with management wasn’t a positive one. We’d love for you to call our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963 with additional feedback. This feedback helps the management team work to improve the experience of each employee. Thanks again for taking the time to submit your review.

Viewing 4 - 6 of 38 Reviews

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First Watch

First Watch Server/Waitress reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Decent work environment

Corporate cares only about corporate

good money, frequent management changes

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