James K.
Yelp
If you are coming here to dine... you might want to rethink that. I have been to "First Watch" at other locations and enjoyed their food so we decided to try this location. I'm sure I'll never be back.
For starters, there is no way to get your name on a waitlist from the Yelp app. I know other restaurants have this ability but you have to go to their website to "get in line". We tried to do this from home but their website wasn't loading so we just figured to walk in. When we arrived (before 10am) they said it would be 20-30 minutes. Perfectly acceptable... but it ended up being 55 minutes and that wasn't until we went up and reminded them we had been waiting and many had been seated before us. So, "1 Star" for the wait and ability to get a table.
Once seated, it took 15 minutes before any even came to our table to greet us. And when someone finally did, although this person was friendly, it was just to take a drink order and then left. We have now been here for almost an hour and a half and we are very familiar with the menu. He was aware of our long wait and should have anticipated we were ready to order but only took drink orders and again, disappeared for quite some time - we only ordered iced tea and juice so I don't know the reason the long disappearance.
When we finally got to order our meals, I asked if they could do a special order. The server nicely enough said it depended on what I wanted. I explained how I wanted an egg white scramble with mushrooms, spinach and feta cheese with sourdough toast and for an extra, we ordered the million dollar bacon. It should be no surprise but it was another 40 minutes before we received our meals and this wasn't without having to ask someone when they thought our food might be ready.
When the food arrived, I thought it was a joke. I was given a small cold plate with scrambled egg whites on the side. Next to it was a side of sautéed spinach and mushrooms. Another small plate had one slice of cold dry sourdough. It was apparently toasted, but it must have been hours ago because it was as cold as loaf of bread from a grocery store... and it was dry (no butter). I'm sure someone thought because I ordered egg whites I would want dry toast but then you should have included butter on the side. However, if I want dry toast... why would you sauté my mushrooms and spinach in butter!?! And this isn't even mentioning there was no feta cheese.
The meal I ordered is just a slight variation of the "Tri-Athlete" breakfast. But that meal comes on a full plate with a side of fruit and house preserves for the toast. I never said anything about wanting this ala carte and I have ordered this same meal at many a restaurant throughout the U.S. and have never had it served this way. After delivering the food, the server disappeared without refilling our drinks or checking to see if we were satisfied. The next time we saw him was when he dropped off the check.
No food is worth a two hour experience. Clearly they are short staffed but that's a management problem. I've worked in food service when I was younger so I'm very familiar with how it works. There were many tables that were routinely empty and yet a line of people going out the door. Your website, while functional, doesn't provide the option right on Yelp to get on waitlist like so many other restaurants.
The first time we ate at a First Watch, the wait was minimal and the food good and fresh. This location was anything but. Food served on cold plates? Have you ever heard of plate warmers? Pretty common in the restaurant industry. If you are going to serve me dry toast without asking... how about asking if I want butter on the side or just brining it to me. And because I ordered a meal with special ingredients, doesn't mean I want them all individually and I have to assemble myself. I cooked for eight years in restaurants so if you need someone to come and educate them on how to make a simple egg scramble, happy to share my experience.
But if you are thinking of coming here... there are many other places with excellent "HOT" breakfasts where you don't have to wait so long