Does First Watch pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, First Watch employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.2 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at First Watch. This rating has decreased by 6% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at First Watch?

59% of First Watch employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated First Watch 3.6 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.5 for culture and values and 3.4 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at First Watch?

Server (627) , Server/Waiter (291) , Operations Manager (124) , General Manager (70) , Line Cook (64) , Busser/Runner (45) , Manager (34) , Server/Waitress (34) , Director of Operations (30) , Dishwasher (27) , Cook (26) , Waitress (21) , Food Server (18) , Black Apron (15) , Busser (15)

What are the pros of working at First Watch according to real employee reviews?

"The pay structure/ tip out was typically solid making good money on most weekends." ((in 181 reviews)); "The pay is good and there's a program that pays for 20% of your college tuition." ((in 86 reviews)); "great food and people to work with were awesome" ((in 72 reviews)); "I loved my coworkers and the hours are great!" ((in 58 reviews)); "Great product and a culture I can be proud to represent." ((in 58 reviews))

What are the cons of working at First Watch according to real employee reviews?

"poor management and had managers try to make job difficult" ((in 136 reviews)); "Managers have a lot of responsibility and spend most of their time in the kitchen rather than being up front dealing with customers." ((in 79 reviews)); "long hours (serving shift is open to close because it is breakfast/lunch only)" ((in 35 reviews)); "Upper management is so completely out of touch it's almost as if they have never worked in a restaurant (spoiler: most of them haven't)" ((in 30 reviews)); "Lots of cliques and Favoritism." ((in 22 reviews))

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First Watch

First Watch Reviews

3.6

59% would recommend to a friend

(1,882 total reviews)

Chris Tomasso

68% approve of CEO

59% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.8

Diversity and inclusion

3.6

Work/Life balance

3.5

Culture and values

3.4

Career opportunities

3.2

Senior management

3.2

Compensation and benefits

First Watch has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 1,882 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The First Watch employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Restaurants and food service industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

4.0

1 Jun 2026

Fantastic pay and good culture with no downsides

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

The money is absolutely fantastic and culture is good.

Cons

I don’t have any negatives, great company!

5.0

1 Jun 2026

Great management and hours, but low pay potential

Server/waiter

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Great management, hours are great as they close at 2:30

Cons

Sometimes low pay. Its a breakfast/brunch place so people dont run uptbs that constitue high tips. Can expect around $175 a day in average

3.0

29 May 2026

Good pay but a difficult manager

Server/waiter

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

the money was very good

Cons

the manager was not very nice

First Watch Response

Thank you for taking the time to share this feedback. It’s a bit upsetting to read your feedback on the management, and we encourage you to follow up. Please call our anonymous employee hotline at 844-484-8963 with your concerns. Your feedback will help them improve the experience of the employees. We look forward to hearing from you.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 1,882 Reviews

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Jobs at First Watch