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

(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

Jan 22, 2026

Ok place

Server/waiter

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Easy going, good benifits, daily pay

Cons

Too many servers, if you make a hundred a day in the week you are lucky and maybe 150 on weekends

First Watch Response

5mo

Thank you for submitting this review. We love that you enjoyed the environment, benefits, and pay. 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!

4.0

Jan 14, 2026

Server

Server/waiter

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

good daily pay short hours half off meal

Cons

burnout fluctuating pay in slow seasons workplace enviroment

First Watch Response

6mo

Thanks for taking the time to write this review. We’re proud to offer daytime-only hours to allow afternoons and evenings for school, as well as good pay and meals. We’d love for you to call our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963 to share your workplace environment concerns in more detail so we can better address them. We appreciate you.

5.0

Jan 8, 2026

Good

Server

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good pay and great workers

Cons

can get really busy but thats it

First Watch Response

6mo

Thank you so much for the five stars! We are thrilled to hear that you find the pay and your coworkers great. We wouldn't be where we are today without the wonderful people throughout our organization (like you!). We appreciate you. Thanks again for your feedback!

Viewing 19 - 21 of 452 Reviews

Jobs at First Watch

Middleburg Heights, OH