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 96 reviews)); "great food and people to work with were awesome" ((in 64 reviews)); "I loved my coworkers and the hours are great!" ((in 56 reviews)); "Great product and a culture I can be proud to represent." ((in 56 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 139 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 39 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 26 reviews)); "Also lots of favoritism" ((in 24 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

1.0

Jan 6, 2026

Not great

Line cook

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Schedule is the only con really

Cons

Everything else is had. Low pay. Overpriced insurance. Lack of promotion. 1 week of vacation a year even after 5 years of work. Poor management.

First Watch Response

6mo

We appreciate your feedback here. We are disappointed to hear your experience, and we work hard to be “You First” in all we do. Feel free to call our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963 so we can better understand your concerns and properly address them. Thanks again for the feedback, and we hope to hear from you soon.

3.0

Jan 5, 2026

decent company, Fast paced, a little stressful, inconsistent pay, great coworkers

Server

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

This company has potential to be a great place to work at, coworkers are personable and nice, can make good money on weekends, discounted meals

Cons

management needs better communication, positive encouragement and professionalism. money isn’t stable during the weekdays, servers are required to host once a week and hosts don’t get paid well hourly. the guests and some coworkers or management can be pretty uptight if you’re not perfect on steps of service at all times

First Watch Response

6mo

Thank you for taking the time to write this review. We are glad to know that you enjoy your coworkers and the meals. We'd love to better understand your concerns so that we can properly address them and encourage you to call our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963. Thanks again for sharing.

4.0

Jan 4, 2026

A decent place to work

Prep/line cook

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Easy job, very structured, the restaurant closes early every day, the food is excellent and the iced coffee is the bomb

Cons

Low pay, at the time the cafe manager was my favorite but the person below him was lazy. Unfairly divvying side work, closing duties, opening duties.

First Watch Response

6mo

Thanks for the review! We're so glad to know that you enjoyed the hours, food, and coffee! Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Feel free to call our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963 with more information. 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 22 - 24 of 452 Reviews

Jobs at First Watch