First Watch

Decided to try this place again for a birthday breakfast after not having been there for a few years. Didn’t even get a hello from the «host.» Instead, got «we only have one table left, number 72, follow me.» My glass had lip prints on it and my husband had lipstick on his coffee cup. His spoon had dried oatmeal on it. Our server, Dan, was great. The food was okay. A disappointment for a birthday breakfast.

First Watch is a chain, so that does not start it off well in my book, but I will admit that it a very reliable place to come to eat. The last few times it has not been super busy, but I would most likely chalk that up to there being TOPH just down the road now. Or maybe I am just an early riser so beat the crowd. I think it gets pretty crowded during weekday mornings after the school run.
I usually get the rye toast and bacon, which is good. The coffee keeps getting filled regularly. I am giving this place 3* instead of 4* because it feels sterile like a hospital. Sorry, first watch, I do not know what you can really do about that.

Always a good bet for us when one wants lunch and the other wants breakfast. Today’s service was friendly and prompt and our wait munch shorter than the projected 15 – 20 minutes. We have been and will continue to be repeat customers!

I was trying to pick a new brunch spot to meet my husband after work, and came across First Watch. I have heard good things about it. I have to say the employees were so friendly! They were easy going, helpful, and overall just really nice! I loved it. Their food was pretty good, not the freshest ingredients, but the price was right and they had a good size menu. I had the Bubbas Benny. It was biscuits topped with sausage patties and a fried egg and drizzled in turkey sausage gravy. Was pretty good, had a lot of flavor. My husband had the chickichanga. It was delicious! The waitress recommended it, and she was right! It had whipped eggs with chicken, chorizo sausage, green chilies, cheddar and monterey jack, onions and avocado rolled in a flour tortilla. Very tasty! The coffee was really good as well. A good spot to hit up for variety and good prices!

I visited twice while on a trip to Saint Louis. On my first visit the waitress I had was so helpful and attentive. The second visit the waiter I had was very slow. That’s really my only criticism. The food here is consistent. You can really make any changes you want to items on the menu to cater to your taste which I like. They have lots of healthy options and they aren’t bland. I always get the triathlete which comes with salsa to flavor it up. The fruit cup that comes with it has some of the standard honey dew and cantaloupe but also has fresh berries. This is a great spot for a good quick (usually) breakfast.

I had breakfast here last weekend with my partner, his parents, and some of their friends. They were quite busy but we still only waited about 15 minutes to get a table. Service was a little slow, but the waiter himself was fun and friendly. Compared to 40+ minutes at another place we had tried to visit, we were not going to complain about 15 minutes and waiting a bit for the server to finally get to us!
I had the pineapple cooler juice drink and the biscuits and gravy meal. I love that their gravy is made out of turkey meat. It still had a nice kick to it, and the fresh-​made biscuits were thick and fluffy. The seasoned breakfast potatoes that came with it were really great. Everyone at the table raved about them – even those who aren’t huge fans of breakfast potatoes. My partner had the Chickichanga and really enjoyed it.
I didn’t realize this was a chain restaurant until I went to write this review. It certainly didn’t *feel* like we were walking into a chain restaurant, and that is really nice. This location had a pretty homey feel, lots of greens and neutrals.
My biggest complaint is that there weren’t enough glasses when we sat down. A table for six had three coffee cups and three plastic glasses, set in front of three place settings. The other three were just empty. Perhaps we were overzealous, but we had to ask our server to bring additional water glasses. This is minor, but it’s just crazy to me that you’d knowingly seat six people at a table and not have glasses for everyone. Glancing around the restaurant, it looked like most tables were set for fewer than the actual number of seats at them. Maybe they were just running low on glasses, maybe they just assume most people will buy juice or another drink and not use the cups on the table? Silly hang up, I know.

Always love going to first watch for a relaxing breakfast. The fresh fruit crepes are my favorite! The staff is very friendly and accommodating at this location!

We spent the holiday weekend in St. Louis and we were getting ready to head out of town. This restaurant came as a recommendation to us from a local.
It’s more of a fru fru place that has all organic, cage free stuff and is a bit pricier than a diner.
With that said, the food was very good. My kids had the chocolate chip pancakes and French toast. I had a crêpe with turkey and avocado in it and my husband had a hash dish with bacon and onion. Our bill was $ 37 for 2 adults and 2 kids.
The coffee is good. The waiter even gave us to-​go cups filled with piping hot coffee for the road.
I’d recommend this place if you are looking for something a little nicer than the usual breakfast place. Oh, and our server was very friendly.

2.5 ish stars. I like that they use the No Wait app so that we had a very quick wait once we got here on a busy Sunday and the food tasted fine mine but my florentine benedict and the potatoes on the side were cold. Considering I watched people who came in after us get their food before us I suspect our food sat around for a bit before being served. The air conditioning vent blowing on top of me while I was eating only helped to continue to chill it faster.
My husband was happier with his breakfast tacos.

Not impressed. To me it seemed like an upscale Denny’s. While our food came out relatively quickly, mine wasn’t piping hot but more so just warm/​room temperature. I got the biscuits & turkey gravy, egg whites & potatoes. If I had gotten a whole plate of those breakfast potatoes I would have been happy. However my biscuits were hard, the turkey gravy had zero flavor — I had to keep adding pepper & hot sauce to give it something. When you have this mindset that you’re going to have a plate of hot fluffy biscuits smothered in gravy and you get what I got, you’re disappointed.
I wish I would have taken pictures of the water glasses they gave us — THEY WERE FILTHY. We asked twice for new glasses and each time the glasses came back filthier. I’m not sure if she took them walked around and brought us back the exact same ones or if every glass looked like a 5 year old with slimy hands had brought them to us.
Despite the food & dirty glasses, the service was great — from the hostess, waitress to check out everybody was extremely friendly and kept a smile on their faces even though it was hectic in there! Waitress checked on us often, asked if we wanted our bill split right off the bat and just provided all around great service.
But you won’t be seeing me at First Watch again. I had my First & Last experience at that place.

This place is really popular! We came here at 11:30a for some brunch but it was packed and we waited 20 minutes. Be sure to come expecting a short wait at least! The food was definitely worth the wait though. We ordered crepes and I had the chikichanga. The chikichanga and crepes were great! The chikichanga was well-​cooked, the potatoes they came with were well-​seasoned but not crispy, and it also comes with a side of fresh fruit. The sizes were good and the fillings were delicious. The crepes came with yogurt on top, strawberry and bananas, and granola.
Happy Eating!

By far my favorite First Watch location. Not only is the staff pleasantly welcoming but absolutely awesome in terms of accommodating guests requests. I am a picky health nut and there is no request left undone when I am in the place. I will travel across town just to get to this First Watch and have «Dan the Man» serve me. Juan, Rick, Alejandro cook my deliciously bizarre pancakes; Paul or Jane greet me with a warm smile. It just feels like home.

For years, I used to be here every Saturday. It’s been a long time since then. It was good to come back and see so many familiar servers. They take good care of me here!
Breakfast was good, fast, efficient. I had never used the NoWait! App for this place before; they know how to drive it well! I walked in and was sat right away. Thank you! Not every restaurant know the ins and outs of that app. Genius !
They have redone the place in the «farm» theme, cornered the market on cutting boards, but left the acoustical cloud (whose aesthetic value is even more pleasing).
Go see Tomas, Paul and all the others. When servers are ‘lifers’, the customers are assured of a fine experience and good value.

This particular First Watch restaurant is the one that made me fall in love with this chain! I have been there many times for breakfast and LOVE it! The Fresh Fruit Crepes are so good, along with whatever the muffin of the day is (has never let me down!)
However, I have to leave some constructive feedback about part of the seating arrangements. There are a few two-​person tables lined up uncomfortably close together and I would recommend removing one to allow more space between them.
Otherwise, I love First Watch! The staff is always friendly and the food is delicious!

I came here for brunch a little while ago with a friend. The restaurant looked amazing, but the wait was just so long, we decided it wasn’t worth it to wait out the crowds. So we ended up getting it to go instead.
Pros:
+ Great selection of good
+ Delicious seasonal dishes that are simply amazing
+ healthy (and not so healthy [pronounced delicious]) options
+ PARKING — for crowded downtown Clayton, not making me walk a mile and a half and battle to the death for a spot gets it some browny points
+ More brownie points for having Eggs Florentine. I always always want this dish for brunch but most places I go to give me so much trouble to make substitutions to an Eggs benedict instead.
Cons
— way too crowded — I’m talking like an hour and a half wait
— felt a little rushed out
— not much seating while we were waiting (probably because of crowds, but it kinda felt a little hard to breath in there.

Fresh food. Large portions. Water served out of glass jars. Turkey sausage, egg whites, and egg substitutes are all offered at no extra charge. Free wiFi. Wonderful outdoor seating. Spacious open dining area. The only reason for the 4 star instead of 5 is the price. It is very pricey for a breakfast meal, but worth it all and all.

Nice atmosphere, super friendly staff, and most importantly the food is pretty tasty. I was skeptical about the multi grain pancakes, but they ate really good and don’t taste «healthy»…I’m sure you know what I mean… It is a bit on the pricier side, but the quality is worth the extra buck or two.
In a nutshell: nice, quick lunch. Great place to take a work buddy, regular buddy, or your folks when they come into town.

I’ve come here for brunch a couple of times and had good experiences both times. On the weekends this place gets pretty busy for brunch, I would recommend using the No Wait app to get yourself on the list before showing up… some wait times were 30+ minutes!
They offer all types of brunch/​breakfast/​lunch foods! I’ve tried the Fresh Fruit Crêpe and the Chicken Salad Melt with tomato soup. Their hash breakfasts look amazing, and that is next on my list to try. I am very much obsessed with the chicken salad melt and highly recommend it! The fresh fruit crêpe was really good and a good healthy option!
I will say, I didn’t have excellent service here both times… our waitress kind of ignored us and served all the people who sat down before us first. I won’t judge their service on just this, but it didn’t sit that well with me!
Overall, the food was really good and I’ll definitely be back!

Sold, reliable breakfast place.
The menu is large, so there is definitely something for everyone. They have a decent selection of healthy options, so I appreciate that, too.
I can’t quite figure out why there’s always such a long wait for tables. The wait staff is competent but tends to rush you once you get a table, which I assume is a result of the large crowds.
Overall a good place for breakfast, just nothing to write home about.

Space! So much space inside! Coming from Chicago, a booth to myself and room to breathe was a nice change of pace. I thought the atmosphere was pleasant — came around noon on a Wednesday and it was not too busy or loud.
The waitstaff was friendly and accommodating. I ordered the crepes with fresh fruit but asked if they could leave out the bananas and they said yes. The fruit was fresh and the crêpe itself was yummy. It came with granola and a muffin, which were good as well. Along with a large iced coffee, my bill only came to ~$ 11, which I felt was a fair price. The only part of the meal I thought was a little strange is that they brought my check only 5 minutes after I started eating! Lol I wasn’t even halfway through! Oh well — I still hope to come back and try more of their menu, and their nice outdoor patio space! All in all, a solid 3.5 star brunch spot (if Unilocal did half stars).