First Watch — Restaurant in Fayetteville

Incredibly disappointing experience today. Relatively speaking. I mean, it’s only brunch, not world peace, but after receiving and coming to expect such great food from this location, consistently, over the last few years, I’m really hoping today was a fluke. Because it was awful.

Been to a lot of First Watch locations across the US as it’s usually a solid experience, but nothing spectacular… but this Fayetteville location has been really exceptional for several years. While I tend to stick with homegrown local joints, First Watch has often been my first choice for breakfast or brunch because it’s simply been that damn good.

But today may have ruined all that. We ordered the BLT and traditional eggs Benedict as well as a blueberry pancake and biscuits and gravy.

The bennys muffin was barely toasted, if at all, and cold. The hollandaise was thin and tired. The poached egg was just a runny mess, barely cooked at all.

The pancake was also a bit tired. Not awful but just nothing like it usually is, fluffy, bouncy and ready to party in my stomach. What? No but really, the ingredients were there but the execution was just terrible.

And while the biscuit was good, like usual, the sausage gravy was weak and tired.

No, we didn’t send the food back because it was packed and our waitress was running like crazy and it would’ve been a hassle for everyone. And she did a great job.

I’m hopeful this was a fluke, but whoever was in the kitchen today put out some really mediocre (at best) food.

Please, First Watch Gods, do better. I’ve been such a fan. I have posters of you on my wall. Ok, so I’m going a little overboard. Lightening up. It’s all good. Just breakfast. But damn I love your breakfast and today made me sad. I cried myself to sleep in my huge pillow.

Please talk to your kitchen manager and have them pray through. Jesus...

Normally, I would not leave a review on a place like this. However, our experience was REALLY not good. When we arrived at the restaurant, we were told by the hostess that it would be a 20 minute wait. 30 minutes later, we found out that the people checking in online got priority over the people that put their name on the list at the restaurant. Only after we said something, were we seated at the community table instead of being given an actual table. This was fine because we just wanted to get seated. And, if this were the only thing that were wrong, I still would not leave this review. After we ordered our food, our waitress did not check on us one time. I had to flag her down to get some ketchup and a refill on a soda. She never came back to ask if we needed anything else and we had to flag her down to get the check. She was completely oblivious to us the entire time and she seemed to be struggling with other tables as well because other servers were having to help her. It did not appear that other tables were having the same issues with their servers. Another issue was the length of time it took to actually get the food out. We’ve eaten at a number or First Watch locations and this was actually the longest wait for food we’ve had. We were literally at the restaurant for almost 2 hours. The food was still very good which was the only saving grace here. Had the food been bad, this would’ve been an extremely unpleasurable experience. The manager needs to do something about the wait system and he needs to talk to the server that waited on us. She was the only one wearing a mask and gloves at the same time. I know there was a concert in town, but they have football games every other week during the fall and you can’t tell me that they aren’t this busy during those...

Our first time at First Watch was a good experience. We were told that there was a twenty-thirty minute wait, but we were able to be seated within 1/2 the time. We were texted and able to follow along through the Yelp app as to where we were in line, which was very helpful.

My husband and I ordered the Trifecta (one with French toast and bacon and the other with a Belgian waffle with turkey sausage), both accompanied eggs over easy. I also ordered a Blue Booster beverage.

Let me start with my meal: the french toast was my favorite. The whipped butter, thick toast, and powdered sugar along with the syrup hit the spot. The eggs were flavorful and the bacon was also good. My husband expressed that his waffle was light and filling. Both meals came with a fruit compote, which he added to his waffle. I believe it was raspberry. Either way, he enjoyed it. Also, I liked the large plates; it allowed food like the eggs over easy not to mix with other food items.

The turkey sausage was not one of our favorites. We will not order this in the future and defintely wouldn't recommend it to others. The Blue Booster beverage was tasty. The service was great. Our waitress was friendly and accommodating. The table, seating and items placed on the table (water, glasses, coffee pot) required a little extra TLC. At one point the waitress noticed hair on the syrup and took it from the table to wipe it off. There were crumbs on the table and on the seat.

Overall, I would recommend First Watch! We...