First Watch — Restaurant in Gainesville

Second location we have been to (Decatur, GA was the other one). Walked into this one and several things didn't happen that should have happened. We weren't promptly greeted (and, in fact, were never greeted even once the young man came to the front), server was over 5 minutes before coming to the table, food was slow to come out (one at our table waited an additional 5 minutes for their food), one at our table never had their drink refilled and she ran out of her beverage (we all had sweet tea), then it was time to check out and we (along with another customer) waited over 5 minutes for someone to come to the front. It was NOT busy so that is not an excuse. A lot of folks were in the kitchen. The sauce that was drizzled over my farmhouse bowl had a very distinctive sweet flavor reminiscent of a product called Vance's Dairy Free (a dairy-free milk substitute powder) - it had no place in a savory dish. The potatoes were not properly cooked. The ingredients really didn't go together. It feels like this brand forgets the customer writes their check. Customer engagement is a MUST. Appropriate table touch is a MUST. Greeting customers at the front is a MUST - customers should feel welcome to be in your establishment. The decor creates a disconnect between the customer and the staff. Leadership seems to be missing. There was no one going around asking customers how their experience was. After trying two locations, I'm pretty sure we are done. I gave it 2 stars only because it offers outdoor seating and the tables were appropriately spaced so we didn't feel like we were stacked on top...

You’re gonna want to get out of bed early for a First Watch for brunch! (Although you don’t have to be an early riser to enjoy it - they serve breakfast/brunch/lunch from 7 a.m until 2:30 in the afternoon daily!)

We had the pleasure of trying the restaurant at their soft opening this Sunday and it was seriously great. The food is awesome, our server was warm and responsive and the vibe is bright and modern - good coffee and good music- just what you want to get you going in the morning!

We had trouble picking our meals because there were so many things that looked delicious.

I started with one of their signature juices, the Purple Haze, a sweet and tangy iced floral tea drink as pretty as it is refreshing.

I had the lemon ricotta pancakes topped with fresh strawberries. Two huge and fluffy pancakes with a delightful crispness to the edges. The lemon ricotta topping was tart and blended well with syrup and butter. I had turkey sausage as my side and received five plump links.

My husband had the farmhouse hash, a heaping bowl of potatoes with herbs, avocado, bacon, tomato, onions and cheese and topped with two eggs any style. It was bright and fresh and so filling. It came with some really delicious multigrain toast and jam.

His side was the biscuits and gravy. Their sawmill gravy was awesome, creamy, peppery and a perfect compliment to the big fluffy biscuits.

For the future, the French toast, smoked salmon Eggs Benedict and elevated egg sandwich with bacon and Gruyère cheese are already calling my name.

We left stuffed and happy. So thrilled First Watch is calling...

Me and my girlfriend came with her service animal on our day off and a woman was being taken to be seated before us. The server gave us a nasty look at asked the customer ahead of us if he was a service animal. Which was very rude, we did not know that woman. When she came back to seat us we asked to be seated outside and she asked if JJ was a service animal again, but actually to us this time. My girlfriend said yes, then asked about what service he provided. This upset my girlfriend, so she asked again if we could just sit outside. That woman very aggressively said “I don’t know I just work here.” And reluctantly went to seat us outside. They have a gate leaving the outside area, and I followed my gf out of it because she started to have a panic attack. She brought another associate with her (I don’t know if she was the manager), to ask again, if he is a service animal and what service he provides. My gf is very visually upset, and they were both being very confrontational and rude. They kept pushing on so we just walked away, they didn’t seem to notice or care about how uncomfortable she was. We were outside of the establishment and they were extremely pushy about it. The instant attitudes and aggressiveness of the greeters was not okay. The reason we came to FirstWatch was because all online it said they were pet friendly. If you aren’t, please just put up a sign or something. The whole thing was so unnecessary. I had eaten there three times previously. I will not be...