First Watch — Restaurant in Maryland

Won't be back. Our party was my 2 elem age sons & myself. Place was about 1/3 full. Seated us all the way in the corner at a 6-top table so big I actually felt distanced from my son across the table with many many open 4 tops. Even found myself questioning why we got stuck in a corner - we were dressed appropriately and the kids were very well behaved. Should have asked to move to a 4-top in hindsight. One kid ordered off the kids menu (french toast with bacon and fruit); one didn't (belgian waffle with bacon). Their food came and mine didn't (BLT benedict with potatoes) and then didn't and didn't. Waitress came to check in and I said I don't have any food. She went to check. Said it's coming. I asked her did it not get put in? She said it did. Then I okay, but they shouldn't have brought everyone else's food if mine wasn't ready. Again we are a party of 3. She said they have to bring the kids meals first. I said well I didn't ask for that now I'm just still sitting here not eating. My food finally came 10 minutes later; kids were done/nearly done eating by then. Manager comes over just as my food came out. Tells me it's company policy for kids meals to come first. I said that seems silly when there are only 3 of us, I didn't ask for that; the server should check with the parent, plus my son didn't even order off the kids menu. Then repeated it's company policy. Told her this was our first visit to this location (have been to Timonium and had no similar issue) but I don't think we'll be back. Also said I wasn't happy with my beverage (mint mocha iced coffee - there was no mint flavor, too much chocolate syrup). She asked if I wanted another one. I declined but asked is this how the avocado on my dish is supposed to look? She said yes; it comes with 3 slices of avocado. I said well these are not slices, these are slivers. She said she'd bring some more. Brought three more (larger slivers) of avocado that had clearly been cut an hour ago, they were starting to brown. So now I start to eat. Server comes back, repeats company policy while I'm politely waiting for her to leave so I can finally eat. She leaves and now both kids are done eating and I'm rushing to eat because they're about ready to leave. Brings the check. I didn't ask for anything to be comp'd nor did I expect it, but at the same time, that probably would have been the right move by the manager seeing I wasn't happy with the timing, my food or my drink. If I had a toddler, sure, I might ask for the kids food to be brought ahead. But other places we've been to assume things all come together as usual. Or will ask if we wanted the kids food ahead or would accommodate a parent asking for that. We eat out a lot and this experience was disappointing all around. My son also said his Belgian waffle was chewy; not crispy. So bottom line - for all the hype - food wasn't that flavorful or memorable to account for the otherwise not...

The staff is friendly. The atmosphere is clean. The food is decent, there's just a consistent disconnect. This is my third visit and the things I'm about to describe are emblematic of every time I've been here - on this most recent visit Our appetizer course was served to the table before we had silverware which we had to request. Our mains were delivered to the table in a two-part sequence with my family getting their dishes and then mine coming out about 5 to 8 minutes later. We were mistakenly brought two orders of grits even though we ordered only one. There was no maple syrup brought with our food, off considering we ordered chocolate chip pancakes. I ordered an iced coffee and nothing was asked about my preference for the coffee. I assumed I'd get a nice coffee with cream and sugar to be added after the fact. I was brought a very sweet glass of milk with coffee flavor. It was overly sweet, overly creamed and by my standards undrinkable I just wanted cold coffee with a little bit of sugar. Our eggs were overcooked. My BLT eggs benedict were supposed to come with mashed avocado on top. There was a single sliver of avocado on one side of the rectangular ciabatta which was a single piece of bread as opposed to a split English muffin. Ciabatta is good- It was just kind of weird that it was one piece of bread versus two. To top it off the glasses we were provided for our water, were dirty. Not likely to return after 3 visits which all share an experience like this...

We finally got around to checking out First watch, and I have to say I was slightly reluctant given the mixed reviews, but we had a great experience.

We ordered the classic Eggs Benedict, the seasonal Steak and bacon burrito, and the lemon ricotta pancakes, and seasoned potatoes. Everything was so delicious, and it was perfect portion sizes too. I like that I left full but didn't have that icky feeling that you get from some places after a meal. The flavor in their dishes are spot on. I like the variety of their menu, it gives great options without being overwhelming, and I like the seasonal options as well. We didn't order any special drinks, just water this time, but from the looks of some of the drinks and coffee we saw I may have to try something special next time.

Our waitress Ebony was very sweet and attentive, even though it was busy she made sure to check in throughout our meal and I definitely appreciate her making the experience special.

We will definitely be returning for sure. We went through the website and did the check in ahead of time and when we arrived were seated right away. This was at 10:15 on a Saturday morning. We did notice it packed up really fast after we were seated, and stayed that way throughout. So keep that in mind when planning your trip. I look forward to trying other menu items, so many...