First Watch — Restaurant in Apex

My recent visit to First Watch was, regrettably, a disappointing experience. While I anticipated a busy atmosphere and expected a reasonable wait time, our food was served surprisingly promptly—which was appreciated. Unfortunately, what followed detracted significantly from our enjoyment.

Upon receiving our meals, we realized we had not been provided silverware. After requesting it, a server informed us there would be a delay due to the utensils being rolled. We waited approximately 10 minutes before we could begin eating, which should not happen in a restaurant setting.

When my husband and daughter began eating their pancakes, they discovered the bottoms were burnt, cleverly concealed beneath the plating. With no server nearby to alert, they resorted to eating the tops and avoiding the charred portions. Additionally, my husband had opted for the Million Dollar Bacon upgrade. Instead of receiving the expected crisp and flavorful slices, he was served undercooked, soggy bacon coated in unappetizing back fat—completely missing the signature syrup and spice glaze.

I had ordered the chia pudding breakfast and was looking forward to a chilled, fruit-filled bowl of goodness. While it tasted delightful, the long wait for silverware resulted in a lukewarm dish. My toast with almond butter was also disappointing, as it arrived as plain bread with a modest spread of almond butter—missing the richness and presentation I anticipated.

I believe a manager presence on the floor or someone actively overseeing food quality would greatly improve guest experience. I also recommend re-evaluating procedures surrounding silverware preparation. Having a backup system in place—such as setting unrolled silverware and napkins directly on the table—is both acceptable and, in many cases, preferred by guests. Especially when rolled utensils come straight from the dishwasher, resulting in...

I rarely leave reviews but I felt I needed to write this. This was our first experience at First Watch and it was terrible primarily due to our rude server Maddie. I understand everyone has bad days but it is extremely unprofessional to take it out on your customers. Maddie seemed to be ignoring us the whole time we were there. Never once smiled or was apologetic about our dirty utensils or wait. One guest at our table was still deciding between two options when she first came for our table so she politely asked the server if she could start with the other 4 people at our table since she was still bouncing between two options. The server then just turned around and walked away without saying a word. Never brought us any napkins, and would leave for long periods of time to go chat with the other servers at the front of the restaurant where we could all visibly see that she was unoccupied and when we tried to call her to the table she would look at us, make eye contact and just turn around and ignore us to continue talking with her coworkers. She was very short with us while taking our order, avouding eye contact and was clearly in a bad mood and walked right past our table multiple times when we were clearly trying to get her attention because we needed help. Not sure if this was just a bad day for her but her attitude ruined the whole...

Not all First Watch locations are equal. We recently moved to Cary from Chapel Hill. Our favorite First Watch location was in the New Hope Commons. We had tried a few other locations in the Chapel Hill/Durham/West Raleigh area but they couldn’t compare to that location. Now being a 25-minute drive to the Hope Valley Commons, we needed to find something closer to home. We’ve been to 3 different locations in the area and the Ajax First Watch has turned out to be exceptional for service and customer experience. All of our visits there have been great seatings, but our server today, Megan, was outstanding. Pleasant demeanor, fast, and caring, she quickly brought our food, made sure my partner’s coffee was always full, and, bonus, brought me lemon and honey with my hot tea without me even asking for it. She checked on us without hovering and had perfect timing in presenting the check. Frankly, it seems all the staff there really care about the customers’ experience. Food quality is excellent. Definitely our #1 First Watch location. 5 STARS all the way. Breakfast today was one of the specials, Sunny Seoul Hash, and BLT Benedict. Tasty, fresh, nicely plated, and served hot. Really, really good! An update after a year. Same excellent friendly service, great menu selections, just-right portions. Still number 1...