First Watch — Restaurant in Land O' Lakes

I have been told since the late 90's to visit First Watch when I lived in the Midwest. Well, since 2020 I have been a fan of the restaurant as I frequent the First Watch locations in Florida through UberEats. I am particularly writing this review about my visit on October 21, 2021. Chandler was our greeter and Daria was our table attendant. I was having breakfast with my sister. I decided to order the Pumpkin Pancake Breakfast with Chicken Sausage and an orange juice. My sister ordered the Morning Market Veg Omelet with a coffee. My sister was so impressed with the omelet because it had crimini mushrooms, zuchini, and kale. She said she can never find that in veggie omelets at other restaurants. She has to ask for those veggies to be added and usually the restaurant doesn't have them. When my one SUPER SIZED pancake arrived, I wondered if I would be fulfilled after eating just one pancake. I only put the warm syrup on it. Then I took a bite. I thought I heard angels singing! My taste buds were in heaven! I have NEVER TASTED A PANCAKE THAT WAS SO DECADENT! This pancake was like meditation in culinary form. The pumpkin, cinnamon, and vanilla were blended with perfect proportions. Oh, my goodness. It was beyond delicious. My eggs were cooked to perfection, over-medium per my request. My sister was delighted with her omelet and coffee. Then we had a lengthy discussion dissecting the deliciousness of the Seed'licious Bread. Daria was so polite, professional, mannerable, and prompt as our table attendant. Both my sister and I ordered blueberry muffins to take home. I wanted something to remind my tastebuds of the pastry heaven I visited earlier with that pumpkin pancake. At checkout, we ran into Chandler again. It was a pleasure telling him how enjoyable our meal was and that we would definitely be back again. He was genuine and seemed to enjoy our banter. His attitude made me feel like he was glad to have us as customers. I wish I would not have waited so long for a dine-in experience. The decor is inviting and the floor plan has plenty of space to navigate when getting to your seat. This restaurant has a semi quaint feel to it. I love, love, love the FRESH, CLEAN INGREDIENTS in their dishes. The North Lutz First Watch is amazing and definitely one of my favorite breakfast spots. They do serve lunch too and they have a fresh juice bar. I'll see you soon Chandler, Daria, and First Watch staff--in person and I am sure through Uber Eats. Keep up the good work. Your professionalism, friendliness, and hard work do matter. From a loyal customer and her big sister,...

Restaurant has an industrial look and feel to it, solid wood seats and tables, an outdoor area if you feel inspired to dine in 90 degree temperatures, though that might beat the noisy interior seating.

Our waitress Jenny was fast on coffee, taking our orders, and fast on bringing our orders out once they were done. She was also very friendly, and quick on making frequent return trips.

My mother and I ordered the Tri-Fecta: 2 eggs, a waffle, chicken sausage patties, and an order of toast on the side. The Turkey Gravy over Biscuits, with potatoes and eggs over easy. And besides coffee, a Purple Haze to share.

The scrambled eggs were just enough and nice and light, the sausage was excellently cooked, and the waffle was fluffy, light, and the included syrup was warm making it very easy to pour. The waffle also included a small cup of fruit spread, blue berry, which went very well with the butter and syrup. The side of toast was very dense, with just the right spread of butter and included a small cup of apple butter jam. A little on the dry side, but nothing the jam couldn't fix.

The Purple Haze was very powerful, playfully tangy, with hints of lemonade and southern sweet tea. It also had a fun color.

The biscuits on the other hand were overdone, only saved by the slightly spicy gravy which was the perfect temperature. The over easy eggs were perfect, with no salt or pepper required. The potatoes were well done with scallions, onions, and just the right amount of seasoning.

The coffee was only "ok", but it lack a selection of sweeteners. Only Raw sugar and Stevia, no sweet and low. It did include a variety of flavored creamers, but still disappointed by the lack of pink packets.

Lastly the bathrooms are single use only, although there are three, the automatic faucets were not very sensitive and needed a hand nearly touching the sensor to operate.

Overall the best breakfast I've had in Tampa this year, and per my mother, will likely become a...

First Watch is typically my “Go To” place for a nice brunch however this location off of 54 and Lutz is the worse. My experience on Sunday 7/11 was horrible and put the icing on the cake. I did the online check in and it told me I should be seat by 10:43am which I was. So we order our food around 11:00am and we get our beverages shortly after which is fine. Then after like an hour we realized that we haven’t received our food and our waitress is no where to be found. We over here other servers tell their tables that there was a “catastrophe” in the kitchen which has delayed food. Mind you I am still seeing all these “To Go” orders being brought to the front and handed out. (Personally I think they had way to many To Go orders and on top of the orders being placed in the restaurant than they can handle) We finally see our waitress and flag her down because she wasn’t going to willingly keep us informed now that it is 11:50am and we still haven’t received our food. She then tells us it should be 15 more mins!!! So now we are going on almost over an hour with no food and lack of communication from our waitress.

Mind you I am observing other customers who are in the dining area, waiting area and ToGo area getting annoyed and expressing frustrations.

I was really ready to go and just pay for our drinks and leave but as I was getting ready to ask for the check that’s when our food comes which is now 12:05. And on top of that the food was not as expected which is a shock since I love First Watch food.

The experience that day was horrible, disappointing and dissatisfying. And to be honest the lack of customer service and efficiency is always below average their which I get reminded each time I go to this location. Going forward I will not go to the First Watch in Lutz on 54. And if you want great customer service, efficient service and a overall great experience DO NOT GO TO THIS LOCATION. It’s...