First Watch — Restaurant in Union

Have been coming here for the last 2 years. Have seen food quality, food presentation, and service steadily degrade over time. See photos as proof of how they advertise and how food looks in reality.

My last visit will be my last. Prices were too high for the low quality of food and service provided. Below is my case for not visiting anymore:

Chickichanga dish. Burned potatoes. Smaller portion than 2 years ago. It tasted like something from a regular diner but with a higher price. The flavor was more bland than 1 year ago. Presentation was missing elements from the marketing photo. The dish looked ugly on my plate. See photos for comparison.

Smoked Salmon Benedict dish (sandwhich). Again, it was a smaller portion than 1 year ago. The presentation was sloppy. It looked as if I had prepared it myself at home -- little effort made to "make an impression." Burned potatoes on the side. Dish was missing visual and culinary elements present in the marketing photo. And it looked too simplistic. See photos for comparison.

Coffee was as good as 2 years ago. Lots of coffee in a jug. Quality was high.

Service was poor. Waiter forgot about us. He didn't bring silverware when there was a move to dessert. Hence, no tip for him.

The desert was OK. But the theme of food in reality not looking like in their marketing materials holds true here as well. See photos.

Each of the dishes in Item #1 and #2 required a wait time of more than 20 minutes. This is disheartening because we were served after those guests who came later. Why?

In conclusion, I'd like to say that this place has gone downhill. There is an objective reduction in quality of food, decrease in attention to detail in presentation of food, and lack of wait staff attentiveness.

And the food just looked sad and lonely on the plates they brought us!

I considered buying their gift cards when I walked in and was seated due to my positive prior experience. But throughout the meal, I became convinced that that would be a fool's errand. No gift cards were bought nor will be bought in the future from this establishment.

PS: Did they fire their star chef and star manager,...

Came here for brunch with my BF on Sunday around 11:30am. The concept and ambience is nice and welcoming and the photos of the food look great, which is why we came here. The wait was more than 1 hr 30 min, we thought it has to be worth it.. But I will not be coming back here.

The hostess was rude, there were more than 5+ open Booth Style tables around us, I dislike sitting in middle of dining rooms so I asked the hostess nicely as she walked us through the dining room if we can be seated at one of the open booths, she rudely said “Those are for larger parties”… I said okay, but at least she could have been nice about it! Whatever, fast forward 20 minutes later, those 5 booths are now filled with all two party couples.. just Wow. And to top it all off, we notice they all are receiving drinks and food and we have not even had a chance to order coffee yet. This is so upsetting that I end up placing my coffee order with a random waiter walking by. Fast forward another 30 minutes later, My Bf’s food comes out, at room temperature (how is the egg and potatoes not even hot?) and then we wait for my food to come out- almost 10 min later!

Server finally comes around and we let her know that his meal is cold at this point and it gets sent back. Now we wait another 15 minutes for his food to be remade and at this point we are sharing my pancake meal, we are so hungry!

Basic customer service means; If a plate has to be remade bc it came out cold, it shouldn’t take nearly 20 minutes and if a party sits down at 1pm.. then the same size parties who sat down at 2pm should not be eating before the 1 pm parties- its basic first come first serve logic. This restaurant is extremely inconsistent, we seen 3 parties walk out of their tables because they could not wait any longer, the service sucks, it’s not worth the wait. You can see in the photos attached, we never actually ate at the same time. What a terrible experience we had at First Watch, breakfast isn’t that hard. Chit Chat diner will be my go to...

This first watch in Union.NJ. Is poorly operated. I haven’t been to this location in over 3 years. My favorite dish is the cheesy grits.

So for me to go today, makes me extremely disappointed. But I guess if I spend on $3.50 - I should expect horrible/cheap service.. yes ???…

Today I went and couldn’t wait until I got my cheesy grits. The first thing that went wrong. The proportion was horrible. The cup/bowl was only full up to half.. I noticed and before leaving - presented the proportion to the manager. I’ve gotten a fake smirk, he took the cup/bowl and put another low scoop inside the cup/bowl.. at that point. It seems hopeless to debate/argue/fight about it… I proceeded to leave and eat it and then noticed how WATERY the grits were !!!

My previous experience, the cup/bowl is full and you can TASTE THE CHEESE. This wasn’t the case at all this time.. !!! I ponder and decided “ F’ that.. I spent money and I should be treated fairly per my money “ and I spoke up.. before I walked in. I guess they anticipated me to turn around cause the manager was at the door waiting for me !! Oddly ..

I then mention how the proportion is lesser than the usual I’m used too and it’s watery .. instead of asking for another .. I decided to forfeit the food and just get something else in exchange.

I couldn’t help to feel nervous of just ordering anything cause I didnt want spit in my food.. I decided some 2 item lunch special thing and I have the say.. the food was horrible.. I didn’t even enjoy the sandwich and I plan on just throwing it away .. what a WASTE OF MONEY !!!!

I will never go to this first watch location EVER AGAIN !!!

Also, the salad is some small Box container.. like come on.. how can I truly enjoy it.. this location really sucks !!!!

Not to mention, the manager was micro managing all his staff. They all seem so uptight and afraid to say or do anything. Horrible work environment !!!

I promise to all.. upon your visit - just take a second to see...