First Watch — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

Problems at this first watch, we went here two days in a row. The first day in general was ok. Food quality was good however an ingredient was added to an omelette we did not order. Not a huge deal. Wait staff in general, they are a bit too unpolished, sloppy in presentation and attitude. Today, however with a waiter named Rogers, does not enunciate very well, is very low energy, not the friendliest. talks very low. He was not rude, but his affect was so flat, uninterested. One order was an omelette with tomatoes, onions, and peppers. What we received was an omelet with big pieces of sun-dried tomatoes which we didn't order (and initially weren't able to identify it), and large pieces of onions that were inedible because it was the outer layer of the onion. Everything was picked out as you can see from the picture. No bell pepper was in there so it was totally missing that ingredient that was clearly ordered and not only that, Rogers had to say oh let me write this down as we were making the order, so he went the extra step of making note of the order and still messed it up. We brought this up to Rogers and he literally just stared like a deer in the headlights, did not say oh, I'm very sorry what can I do. He just got all confused and quiet and mumbled something about oh let me get someone else. The manager came over and we explained what happened and he's surmised that the server put it in wrong. And then said he would check with the kitchen why the onions were in such big pieces and inedible. We did not ask the meal to be comp'd because it was eaten. Keep in mind not once did Rogers come to the table and ask how everything was. If he had like he was supposed to, he would have found out very early on about the problem with the omelette. Rogers also did not come back and clear any plates or trash from the tables. We just sat there with dirty plates and a messy table until we got up to leave. Even the manager when he was at the table there was one plate that was completely empty and finished but he didn't even pick it up. At checkout, another problem, the lady at checkout although not rude doesn't say a word she doesn't say how was everything, no smile, nothing. So I hand her my check that says total of 18.22 (you can see the receipt with the total on one of the pictures). She scans the check and it scans up $22 and some odd cents. I said what is this $22, my check is only 18.22 and she said, well did you order an extra coffee or something. I said here is my check (holding it up and showing it to her), you can see it's $18.22 where are you getting this $22 and she said I don't know, I just scanned it, maybe the server put it on, but I pointed out again it's not on this check you can see it. So why is a check presented with a clear total on it but she scans the check and it rings up almost $4 higher? She finally figured out how to bring it up at the $18.22 it actually was. Didn't say, sorry, have a nice day nothing. Apparently the manager did comp the other check with the Omelette meal but did not tell us. We've been to many first watches and we go out of our way to go to this restaurant because of food quality is usually very good plus the atmosphere and the service. In general the servers and hostess of this restaurant are not well-trained in checking within a minute or so after food is delivered to the customer, removing dirty plates and trash, customer service, and being friendly, and knowing how to say the basics of how is everything, thank you, a smile nothing. This is a reflection of management. I would not go back to this first watch ever again. There is another waiter that drags his feet when he walks. The whole staff is just very unpolished and sloppy. I'm not talking fine dining polished, just kind of normal being a server with good customer service and a decent personality. Anyone who's gone to first watch knows it's not the cheapest but they have better quality. So more is to be expected of this restaurant. Hopefully they'll change but we're not going back to this one. Upper management needs...

This is a difficult review. I want to love it like so many others. I will try to be thorough and fair. We have been four or five times.

Food: Pro - Ingredients seem high quality, great variety, and some healthy options. Con - Most of the choices are very heavy in carbs, so you need to know what is healthy for you and choose wisely. Oatmeal with a side of muffin?? SMH. Pro- Serving sizes are about right. Con- Sometimes the ratios of ingredients are off. My husband got a skillet, and as crazy as this sounds, it had too much sausage relative to the other ingredients. Pro- The flavors and presentation are very nice. Con- The bacon that they are very proud of is terrible. The millionaire bacon doesn't just have a drizzle of maple syrup, it is swimming in it and floppy and not enjoyable to me. I like bacon crispy. Even when it was almost burnt, it was soft. I love bacon, my favorite breakfast meat. Thick bacon is hard to get crispy anyway, but soaking it in syrup is double jeopardy. I also tried the grits with braised pork belly bacon. I should have asked or thought harder about what braised means. I couldn't eat the fatty part at all, it was so mushy. I rarely send back food. But the waiter agreed it was not appealing, and they kindly cooked some more to a more done state, but it was still too soft for me to really enjoy, and I had finished the rest of my food before it came. My husband liked it. Con - the only other thing I haven't loved is the omelet. It wasn't very fluffy, and the fully cooked egg was folded over the sparse inside ingredients. I prefer omelettes with the insides added while the eggs are still soft so they cook together. Pro - they are accommodating, and there are options for dairy free and gluten free if cross contamination isn't a concern.

Service: Pro - Friendly, professional, and surprisingly fast even when busy. Con- Be very specific if you want a sub. I asked for potatoes instead of toast, and got the toast anyway with potatoes instead of the greens.

Ambiance: Pro - nice decor and upscale touches like cute dispensers for the raw sugar. Con - the sugar dispensers get clogged, and are so sticky it grosses me out. I wonder if they are wiped down daily, because it seems unlikely that we could luck out every single time to sit after people who handle the sugar dispenser with hands so nasty. Con - to wash my hands after touching the gross sugar dispenser, I had to wait in line for the bathroom. Last time, I stood in line after ordering and sat back down as the food arrived, missing that valuable time to converse at the table. A restaurant that busy should have a restroom with stalls and a sink that isn't behind a locked door. Con- it is very noisy when full. Con - the tables are so close together, you get bumped and the servers have traffic jams.

Flow: Pro - the waiting area is nice, and includes coffee. Hint - you can download the app and get in line before you arrive. Con - A major flaw at the entrance... The hostess stand and the register need to be flipped. The waiting area is to the right and the eating area is to the left, but they have the hostess on the left and the register on the right. So the people coming in have to cross the line of people waiting to pay. It is very close to the door, so becomes a hot mess during peak time. Very confusing, stressful, claustrophobic, and inefficient.

Price: Ouch. Gourmet pricing in a casual setting. $30 to $40 total cost for two people. There are plenty of options that we enjoy for half the price.

Conclusion: After a few visits, we probably won't go back. We don't love it enough for the price. We may go for a special occasion and choose...

Let me start by saying I actually love this restaurant, but my last few experiences have been less than stellar. Two weeks ago we decided to dine in and checked in online. First, I really HATE the way the lobby is set up. It is extremely uncomfortable for guests. The lobby is too small in relation to seating capacity. The host desk is too close to the front door causing a bottleneck even during times when it's not busy. No one can tell who's turn it is to talk to the hostess and check in. The fact that every customer has to pay at the host desk makes matters even worse. At the very least this location should switch to paying at the table which would improve the ugly bottleneck at the front door. The host desk used to be pushed back several feet and it was at least possible to squeeze in the front door back then. So we check in and the hostess told us they'd seat us in just a moment, and we got a text confirming we were checked in. 30 minutes pass and multiple walkins get seated ahead of us so I decide to check and somehow we just are no longer on the list. So we get seated. I order black tea. The only black tea available is orange flavored. Ok, no problem things happen. There was some confusion about what we ordered when the food came to our table and the server was a bit rude about it. Service was slow and we didn't get checked on after we got the food, but we and ate and left. It was fine. Today I decided to skip the stress of dining in and ordered delivery. When ordering on uber, this location does not have any options to order extras from the menu (ex: extra berry compote or extra butter, etc). I'm fine with paying for it, but it's not even an option. I ordered the trifecta with a waffle with berry compote, eggs and potatoes. The eggs and potatoes are all smashed together in one container and someone definitely did not finish the waffle because it had no butter and no berry compote and TBH the berry compote is the ONLY reason I eat at this restaurant. The waffle was not thick and fluffy like it usually is. It was flat and floppy. Gross. But thanks for the 18 packets of ketchup I didn't want. Just a bit more attention to detail would improve things...