First Watch — Restaurant in Palmetto Bay

Honestly I rarely ever leave reviews but this place to genuinely reevaluate their staff. As a FOH manager at a nearby restaurant the way they organize their restaurant is utterly laughable. First off we put our names down at 1:03 PM. We got there at 1:35. An entire hour before the restaurant closes. We were greeted by a “host” who just stares blankly at us and I have to greet her and ask her how’s she’s doing and instead of that just asks for our name. I give it to her and she goes your 23rd in line. And I said “awesome how long do you think 30 ish?” And she looks at us and goes hopefully because we close soon at 2:30 is a nasty tone. Sweetie you decided to work at a “restaurant” that closes at 2:30 pm. We know no one is waiting for that attitude at home (girl in glasses thats a host, just incase a manager wants to do their job and encourage better behavior. Then after waiting for almost an entire hour. We go back to check up on the status becuase no call or update or anything in a hour for a quote time of 35 minutes is something we would never do at our restaurant. Anyways as we go up we encounter a family who comes up with the same query as us as they have not been contacted in over an hour. The response instead of helping the host goes I’ll get a manager. I thought thank god someone else is coming to help them. Instead the “manager” who is lady comes out and gives the family attitude and told them that they are closed. The family tells her how they have been waiting for over an hour and she proceeds to to let out a sigh that could genuinely level a couple skyscrapers. And goes I kid you not, “FINE but your going to have to hurry up, you are going to have to order super quick and hurry up eating, we are going to shut down this whole place by 3 so that’s it let’s go guys.” I thought John Quiñones was going to walk out with that kind of behavior and words from a manager. As a manager of a restaurant you need to do better and treat customers with a level of decency and respect. You chose to work at a restaurant. No one is forcing you to work there. I’m writing this review not as an attack on this place because I’ve been there before and received good service. But as an encouragement to do better. A reminder that we do this in service of people not to treat them without a basic level or respect. I doubt I’ll dine here again. I hope an actual GM or real manager sees this and talks to these people. Don’t be...

This experience really rubbed me the wrong way. I went to First Watch and put my name down around 1:18 PM still over an hour before closing. I was told there would be a wait, which I was totally fine with. But after waiting almost an hour with zero updates, it became clear this place needs serious work on communication and customer service.

What really set me off was the way the manager handled the situation. When we finally checked in to see if we’d be seated, instead of being greeted with any sort of hospitality, we were told we could sit, but we’d need to order and eat quickly because they were shutting the restaurant down at 3.

That’s not how you speak to customers who’ve been patiently waiting outside especially when we were told it’d be a 30–40 minute wait, and you let us stay there thinking we’d actually be seated. The attitude from both the host and manager was unnecessary, cold, and honestly a little embarrassing for an establishment that usually does better.

We weren’t the only ones confused and frustrated there were other guests dealing with the same thing. Instead of owning up to the poor handling, the staff gave nothing but eye rolls and rushed instructions.

In the end, we just decided to leave and go to BJ’s where we were greeted kindly and treated like our...

My mom and I had a wonderful experience at First Watch near The Falls! We came in just after the lunch rush on a Tuesday and were greeted by the sweetest hostess, Bella, who made sure we got the perfect table. She was so friendly and welcoming, setting the tone for a great visit.

Our waitress, Maya, was an absolute delight! She was so warm and attentive—we even joked that she must be from Georgia or Tennessee, where people are notoriously kind, but she’s actually a Miami native! Despite the restaurant closing within a half hour of our food arriving, she never made us feel rushed and went above and beyond to make sure I had a dairy-free meal option since I’m lactose intolerant. I originally had my eye on their multigrain pancakes, but she checked with the kitchen and let me know they weren’t dairy-free, which I really appreciated.

My mom ordered the skillet, and I had the Healthy Turkey—a delicious turkey and egg white omelet with toast. The bread was incredible; even if you don’t want toast, I’d highly recommend buying a loaf to take home! Our meal for two came out to just under $30.

Overall, everything—from the food to the service—was fantastic, and we’ll definitely be back. Just a heads-up: this place is super popular, so if you’re visiting on a weekend, expect about...