First Watch — Restaurant in Santa Rosa Beach

Original post 3/16/2023:

We have a party of 5 having lunch here two days ago which was this Tuesday. Everyone had the $10.99 lunch special with 1/2 salad and 1/2 sandwich. My father did not take breakfast, and the lunch at this First Watch was his first meal that day. He ordered the Ham sandwich and the sweet honey pecan salad. One hour later, his belly started running, and started the stomachache, which lasted for 24 hours. The diarrhea and stomachache were so bad that he could not sleep well Tuesday night. He had to go to the toilet every 30 minutes. Thank goodness, he is back to normal now. We figured it’s very likely that there is something wrong with the pecan salad because this is the only one different item he ordered but no one else ordered, and he was the only one feeling sick after lunch.

Update 3/20/2023:

They appeared to be very responsive on social media, which makes the readers feel that they are on top of everything. But that's just on the surface. But, the reality is: there is no real action under the surface.

The customer care team responded very quickly to my review and I did reach out to Hanna as the owner requested. Then they transferred my claim to the store manager, who called me simply checking on my father's situation, apologizing for the incident, telling me that nothing was wrong with their food and processing and there was no other customer complaints on that day, and he told me to call him if my father experienced any further complications. That's it. He did not offer nothing, no compensation at all. At least if I dine in and I don't like the food and I still have the option to send the food back. In my father's situation, even after he experienced the 24-hour stomach discomfort and diarrhea, they did not even offer to refund at least for his meal.

I wrote Hanna, the customer care representative, back with my thoughts on March 17 after I spoke with the manager. She simply just replied that she will deliver the message to the management team. That's it!

No feedback/follow-up since then. I am really disappointed with their customer...

Many will probably read this and will say we've known this all along. Or why did it take you so long to eat at First Watch. I asked myself the same thing at this first visit. I chose the Chile Chorizo omelet as it stood out as different and I was in the mood for different. I noticed right away that everything on my plate was of higher quality ingredients. The omelet was amazing and not overly spicy, allowing for me to add a little hot sauce to it. Which I prefer so to add another flavor into the mix. The mixture of egg, chorizo, peppers, avacado, cheese and sour cream was great. I chose Grits as a side and they weren't your typical southern Grits. They were yellow corn Grits that were served a little thicker, topped with a scoop of butter. They went well with the omelet. The toast was made of a thicker multi grain bread that appeared to have Oats and sunflower seeds. It too was a great complement to the meal as a whole. As you can see in the picture, there is a side of home made salsa to add to the omelet and strawberry jam to add to the toast. They went well on the omelet and toast. My daughter chose the chocolate chip pancake but I chose not to post a picture of her or the pancake. It was thick, light and was as large as her plate. I tried it too and it was really good and made with quality ingredients just like everything else. I had coffee with my meal and it had great flavor while not tasting like every other cafe coffee. Our waiter was great and so was the establishment. I will definitely visit again and look forward to trying another first at...

This is my normal, monthly stop after a Dr Appt in Santa Rosa. I truly love this place and the food! Today must have been an off day and is definitely NOT a typical day for them. After trying many of their breakfasts, I absolutely love the flavor combination of the Chikichanga! I always upgrade the potatoes, and after being introduced to the new spring menu, always order the Cheddar, Bacon Cornbread. I asked my server to ensure the cornbread was hot enough to melt the scoop of butter on top (*last time it wasnt) and she said she would. When it came out, the butter was melting, and I was excited as always. I took the first bite and could taste the bottom was a little "overdone." As I worked my way to the center, it was obviously burnt. She stopped by and asked how everything was. I absolutely HATE being "that guy" so I said "the bottom is burnt, but hey, the butter melted" smiling and trying not to make it awkward. She smiled and walked away. When my Chickichanga came out, portions of the tortilla were a little overdone (not burnt) and hard to cut thru. AGAIN, this is definitely out of character. Potatoes were spot on and delicious! I turned the cornbread over in the dish, so the server would see it (just in case she didn't quite hear me last time), but she never mentioned anything the next 3 times checking on me and bringing a box for leftovers. I will be back next month for a better experience and hopefully "normal" day. I've worked in this environment and know that any business can have an off day. Still my go to...