First Watch — Restaurant in Prattville

So, this review comes difficult for me to give. Today 4 of us went in to the new First Watch in Prattville, AL. I had sign up for the app and we did call get in line seating, that was GREAT. We got there and checked in and waited about 5-10 minutes and were seated. The restaurant is beautiful, spacious, and designed beautifully. The service was ok, you can tell our waitress was a bit nervous and not as outgoing as other servers I observed. Now comes the hard part, I was excited about eating here because I’ve eaten at several First Watch’s in Florida, Arlington, Dallas and live the one in Montgomery one on Zelda Road. My potatoes were so salty I could not even eat them, my Power wrap was all mixed together and thrown in the wrap. So ok, they have a few kinks, I understand that and certainly will give them some time to get their act together. Here is my big problem with them… I ordered a Bloody Mary with Million Dollar Bacon, the bacon was ice cold, shriveled up and did not even taste like a penny bacon, the drink itself had an odd taste to it. I took two sipped and sent it back with the waitress and told her the drink was unacceptable. We got the check and they charged us $9.29 for it. We reminded the waitress that the drink was not satisfactory because of the odd taste. She went away and a Manager came up to us and told us that she would take it off the check this one time but it is their policy to not refund alcohol. We explained that it tasted odd and there was only 2 sips were taken. I’m happy she took it off but I’m not cool when any restaurant would charge you for anything you were not happy with. Well, after all of that, I know to never order a drink, and wait a few months to pass before going back....

I’ve been to many First Watch locations nation-wide, and this was by far the worst experience I have ever had. It’s unfortunate that I feel compelled to write this negative review as this appears to be a new location. My intent for this review is not to deter customers from this location, but for management to catch blind spots early on.

To make this quick, I ordered the chipotle honey chicken hash. When the dish came to the table, it was immediately apparent that it was missing the main ingredient, chicken. I immediately made the waitress aware and she seemed slightly unsure of how the dish was supposed to look. She spoke with the kitchen and then informed me that they were out of pre-cooked chicken that was supposed to be included in the dish. I was completely shocked that the meal made it all the way to the table for me to be informed that it was missing the main ingredient that is in the dish. I wasn’t given much of an option from the waitress. I was told that the kitchen could make chicken to be added. I went with that option, but after 10 minutes of waiting and the dish getting cold, I asked for the dish to be removed and to not be charged for it. Initially, the waitress seemed apprehensive and not sure if she could do that. Once again, I was shocked. How can an employee not be sure of a customer not being charged for something that was incomplete? This is a reflection of bad training from management. Ultimately, the issue was rectified with me not being charged for that meal.

Overall, I’m not angry with the waitress. I just wish to put this on the managements radar. Especially with this being a...

The one star for service is not the waitress. It is for how we were greeted and treated.

After reading reviews, I know I am not the first. We checked the app for the wait time, which was 40 to 55 minutes. Okay, let's get in line on the wait list. Got it confirmed. HNo biggie. Got there when we were 2nd in line and got in line to check in. After waiting about 5 minutes we get to the front where I show the guy working the host my screen as he asked for my name, which I gave also. He scrolled down on his tablet, and checked me off as arrived when he found my name. He then tried to tell me it was another 20 minute wait. I said, "Excuse me?" He then asked me if I got on the wait list when I got there. I replied, "No, I got on the wait list an HOUR ago," and proceeded to show him my text confirmation time.

He then reversed course and said ok let's get you seated then.

Food was bland. We have been to other First Watch locations, and this one is not it. The potatoes were practically unseasoned, eggs not even at all, and the pancake was dry and tasted like cornbread.

The waitress was good. She took our orders without a problem and did a good job.

The ones that brought the food out, though, forgot our add ons (the parmesan sauce for the potatoes on the side to try it for example).

Ambience was so loud you could barely hear each other talk, but that is expected with how full it was.

We will not be returning to this location, and will be making sure our friends and family know not to bother and use our original...