First Watch — Restaurant in Palmetto

Updating my review. The first vist we had was amazing. Besides my sangria pitcher being filled with ice and the glasses being filled with ice. So you pay for a pitcher but recieve more like 2 glasses if that. Which was annoying since the price per pitcher was more than carrbabs, outback and bonefish and all 3 of those chain restaurants dont fill their pitchers with ice, just the glasses. So I felt that was a super rip off. I ordered a Carmel crunch coffee and yet again there was so much ice I drank it in 2 sips. Literally 2. So fast forward to 3 days ago- we came in for the carne asada skillet that was on the summer menu. It was the best breakfast I had ever eaten and thats why we came back. We get to the restaurant and of course they rolled out the fall menu before September and the thing we came for wasnt available. Okay. I can move on from this. I asked the waitress for the Carmel crunch coffee with no ice. She told me no. EXCUSE ME? I looked at her like she didn't hear me and I repeated myself a second time. She told me, "They won't let me fill it up al lthe way so you're only getting half a cup of coffee. I can bring you half a cup." I didn't come here to pay $6 for ice. That's ridiculous. Instantly I'm PISSED. You don't tell payogn customer's no. I could understand them being ridiculously stingy with the sangria, I just wouldn't ever order that again. But a coffee? That level of stingy has no room for my family eating here ever again. I told the waitress, ill have a water which I didnt drink. So you lost your penny on the straw and she lost her 20% tip on my $6 coffee. Then I decided after being told no and how cheap the place was, that I would go ahead and give 3 Natives my money instead. My drink didn't have any ice over there and my sandwich was great. Left them a 25% tip too. My husband ordered the chicken changa and said it tasted like any mediocre breakfast and wasn't even close to the asada we had the week before. My daughter had a pancake I could have made with better ingredients at home. So, on that note, enjoy nickle and diming your customers. Also enjoy the fact even Starbucks doesn't do that and McDonald's got sued over charging people for coffee and giving them a cup full of ice. Me not ordereing anything and leaving was out of principle and I won't be back out of principle unless you guys start allowing people to order their $6 drinks not so full of ice that it's 1/2 of a full priced beverage. To tell a customer NO and then back track and tell me your restaurant is so CHEAP you will only give me half a cup because you're so cheap, makes me question what you're feeding people. I bet the syrup isn't even real. Butterfields will continue to have...

I come to First Watch often, at this location now because it’s the closest to my home. I used to go to the one in Lakewood Ranch when I lived by UTC mall and the one over on Bee Ridge, so I’ve been a long-standing customer (since 2010 to be exact).

Today I want to commend my server. As busy as she was, she took the time to sit for a brief minute & talk with this elderly gentleman to the left of me and I thought that was very sweet of her. Because in today’s hurried society sometimes we don’t have the time to sit with people & actively interact with them. So seeing her do that for him, actually sitting across from him (even for that brief moment), making eye contact with him, smiling & genuinely be interested in what he was saying, was a such a very kind gesture. Because you never know, he may be widowed, all alone & her doing that for him, might just have made his day a little bit brighter. And it honestly put a smile on my face.

And not only was she kind to him, she was very attentive to me and then to the following customer that sat down at the exact same table as the elderly gentleman (after he left). And the table to the right of me. I could tell she was extremely busy, but she did not let that get to her. She smiled and thanked the customers for waiting (even though it was less a couple minutes at the most) which is really no waiting at all in my opinion. Her customer service skills should be...

We started out with a waitress named Nichole. Very rude, hostile and immature. I can’t express enough how I was appalled at her behavior and refusal to wait on us because my husband asked for a taller glass for his ice coffee. The glass was filled to the brim and there was no room for him to add ice and cream. When he said they always give him a taller glass, she insisted he pay for two glasses of ice coffee. He said no, I just want a taller glass. She rudely argued, scowled, scoffed and in a huff said “I’ll ask my general manager.” She sent the general manager out and we had a pleasant conversation and never discussed our waitresses issue with getting a larger glass. Nicole then refused to take our order and assigned our table to another waitress. I haven’t experienced such inadequate, inappropriate and in mature behavior since I was in high school. We’ve had many wonderful experiences in the past with many different servers and find them to be professional, proficient and make our experience pleasant. We love breakfast at First Watch. Shout out to Ethan, Ashley, Mika, Thomas, Amy, Michelle and many other wonderful wait staff! Boo, hiss, to Nichole! I normally do not write reviews like this, however our experience this morning was awful all over...