Is First Watch a good company to work for?

First Watch has an overall rating of 3.6 out of 5, based on over 1,914 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months. 60% of employees would recommend working at First Watch to a friend and 60% 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 3.3 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at First Watch. This rating has decreased by 5% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at First Watch?

60% of First Watch employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated First Watch 3.6 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 (629) , Server/Waiter (291) , Operations Manager (124) , General Manager (70) , Line Cook (64) , Busser/Runner (45) , Manager (34) , Server/Waitress (34) , Director of Operations (30) , Dishwasher (27) , Cook (26) , Waitress (21) , Food Server (18) , Black Apron (15) , Busser (15)

What are the pros of working at First Watch according to real employee reviews?

"The pay structure/ tip out was typically solid making good money on most weekends." ((in 179 reviews)); "The pay is good and there's a program that pays for 20% of your college tuition." ((in 94 reviews)); "great food and people to work with were awesome" ((in 64 reviews)); "I loved my coworkers and the hours are great!" ((in 60 reviews)); "Great product and a culture I can be proud to represent." ((in 58 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 136 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 37 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)); "Also lots of favoritism" ((in 24 reviews))

What First Watch locations have received the highest employee ratings?

Delray Beach , Bradenton , Denver , Tempe , Phoenix , Durham , Gaithersburg , Nashville , Overland Park , Tucson

First Watch reviews

3.6

60% would recommend to a friend

(1,886 total reviews)

Chris Tomasso

68% approve of CEO

60% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.8

Diversity & inclusion

3.6

Work/Life balance

3.5

Culture & values

3.4

Career opportunities

3.3

Compensation and benefits

3.2

Senior management

First Watch has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 1,886 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

5.0

Nov 12, 2025

Best place to work ever!

Operations manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

-Early mornings so I have more time to spend with my family. -Work life balance is great. - Opportunities to advance within the restaraunt.

Cons

- Health benefits aren’t the greatest. Other than that nothing negative.

First Watch Response

7mo

Thank you so much for the 5 stars! We are so happy to know that you appreciate the hours, work-life balance, and the ability to advance. Feedback like yours is important and helps us understand how we can best support employees! Thank you for taking the time to write this. Don't forget WE APPRECIATE YOU!

3.0

Jun 9, 2026

Flexible schedule but inconsistent accountability and pay issues.

Server/host

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Never work late, tips paid out every day, flexible scheduling, food you can be proud to serve. Core values manage to strike a balance between cooperation, mutual assistance, independence, and agency. Great for first-time serving job.

Cons

Accountability is inconsistent, both workers and managers. Doubling as hosts translates to little income when hosting. Hard to find enough hours to qualify for benefits, which are of terrible quality anyhow.

First Watch Response

6d

Thanks for taking the time to leave this review. It’s great to know you appreciated the food, values and daytime-only hours. We’d love for you to send us an email at ccooper@Firstwatach.com or call our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963 with additional feedback. This feedback will help the management team work to improve the experience of each employee. Thanks for taking the time to submit your review.

4.0

Jun 7, 2026

Morning Shifts get the Tips

Server

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Morning shifts only, individual tips rather than tip pool, only tip-out busser, fast service model

Cons

Management issues, support shifts as a server (especially on weekends making 11 instead of 20-40 per hour)

First Watch Response

6d

We appreciate your feedback here. While we're glad you enjoy the daytime-only hours, it's helpful to understand your concerns too. 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. Any feedback helps us to re-evaluate our approach, and we're grateful for yours.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 1,886 Reviews

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Reviews by job title

Best place to work ever!

Flexible schedule but inconsistent accountability and pay issues.

Morning Shifts get the Tips

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