Let's start off with the sweetest and most professional waitress Mya. Mya, went above and beyond complete with kind words and a smile to serve us and if anyone dines at First Watch in Hickory you are blessed if Mya is your waitress and she kindly gave me permission to photograph her for my review. So if Mya is your waitress you are blessed. Secondly , the food was beyond amazing . I had spinach, tomato topped with feta cheese no sauces or dressing and it was absolutely amazing . I would give this dish a 10 out of a 10. My boyfriend Paul ordered eggs, toast, and fried potatoes and he also gave his dish a 10. I had the Kale tonic unfiltered water with lemon to drink . My boyfriend had iced coffee and filtered water with lemon as well. The cleanliness of the restaurant and the freshness of the food was nothing short of amazing. The atmosphere was relaxed, the music was not overly upbeat giving this busy and beautiful place a comfortable vibe. So if you're in the Hickory area and you're wanting a great variety of really fresh and flavorful food or drinks come on over to First Watch ! read more

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Went to first watch on 70 in Hickory NC for breakfast. Karissa was fantastic!! Took great care of us. Was kind and attentive! Food was cooked to order. We love that they always leave a pot of coffee on the table for easy refills. Go check them out!! read more

I went to First Watch in August with relatives because I had not been. it was wonderful! Yesterday, May 3, 2026 my husband wanted to go.....great, right ! Wrong, wrong, wrong, it was horrible. we had to wait 35 minutes on a table. thats fine. Then we had to wait 30 minutes on our food which left a lot to be desired. I especially wanted the seasoned potatoes but they're no longer seasoned just plain with no flavor. The waffle I had the batter had to be so thin because that's the way my waffle appeared. Will I recommend this restaurant again...NO! Food terrible and too pricey. read more

I live in upstate NY and there isn't a First Watch near me so I had to stop in when I was visiting my friend. I had never been to one that had a breakfast bar and it looked so cute. Our waitress was so great and helpful with menu suggestions. I got the purple haze because it's my favorite and so pretty for pictures. The strawberry tres leches French toast was on the summer specials menu and I had to try it. It definitely did not disappoint. I was nervous it would be too sweet but it was perfect. I love a good sweet and salty combo so I also got the million dollar bacon and it was so yummy with the perfect little kick. My friend ordered the eggs Benedict with smoked salmon and it was delicious! I wasn't sure about the combination but I was pleasantly surprised. I'll have to come back on my next visit to see what's on the specials menu and get another one of their juices. read more

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My family brought me for a birthday breakfast as a surprise. I didn't even know there was a First Watch in North Carolina but remember it fondly from Florida where I used to live. It was busy for a Monday, but it was a holiday so I wasn't surprised. We were seated promptly, though. All the workers here were quite pleasant and polite. The food service was incredibly slow though, with the waitress coming by and promising it was coming a few times. Everyone had sweet tea (woo-eee, it was SWEET) but I tried the Purple Haze, a delicious drink that was both sweet & tart, lemony and purple-y at the same time. I loved every sip. Highly recommend if you like those flavors plus a very pretty drink. My son & daughter-in-law both had the Trifecta with a waffle; but one had sausage and the other bacon. They did enjoy it. The egg portion of the meal was wrong for both dish. One was ordered over medium, but received over hard. The other ordered over easy but received scrambled. They ate it and refused to complain. My grandson had the ham & gruyere omelette and loved every bite. My granddaughter had a side serving of sausage and one of fresh fruit. She enjoyed those as well. (There was no kids menu but that is easy to get around since one eats adult servings and the other just nibbles.) I decided to get the Bacado (an omelette with BACON, avocado, and cheese, topped with sour cream and pico de Gallo on the side). The amount of bacon inside this omelette was outstanding for a bacon lover. Every single bite had bacon. It was absolutely delicious. The side potatoes were enjoyable as well, seasoned nicely with well-cooked onions and crispy brown bits. I thoroughly enjoyed my breakfast here and will remember this next time I'm in Hickory! read more

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Visiting from the west coast and wanted a brunch after the long flight. Talk about blowing away my expectations. Fresh ingredients, good flavor, and GREAT prices. Forgot cost of living is nice in NC! Decided to get fancy and order one of their fresh juice beverages. Lived up to the name. The restaurant was very clean and inviting. The service was quick and food came out in ten minutes even on a packed Saturday. read more

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A good overall experience, good food, quick service, but not rushed and reasonable prices with good sized portions. Very clean and it had the feeling of an upscale breakfast spot, if you find yourself in the Hickory area looking for breakfast, this is an excellent choice. Warm syrup for your griddle items, was a nice touch and the butter wasn't frozen rock hard so you could spread it on your pancake. A polite staff combined with a good food selection just might make this one of your regular stops. read more

Food and service has been top notch. Cool looking place too. I had a single lemon ricotta pancake, potato skillet with poached eggs and the special bacon. Tried a juice blend and coffee to drink. And no I don't normally eat this big of a breakfast. I just couldn't make up my mind. I'll be back in. I would highly recommend trying it out. read more

First Watch - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

Awesome brunch spot when I'm in hickory the frittata is delicious Can be a long wait but I usually just walk up to the bar and eat there read more

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Excellent food and so many wonderful choices. Fresh & hot. Friendly staff. Only down was not enough staff our poor waitress had 10 sets of customers. She was excellent nice and she took one step at a time and got trough it. read more

The food and service is always great! They have seasonal specials and lots of options whether you like sweeter or more savory breakfast items. Plus a juice bar with fresh squeezed juices and cappuccino. read more

Enjoy the food. Fun to sit and relax. All food was great. It's nice they have vegetarian options as well for people that don't eat meats read more

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Love this place!! Tue food is excellent, they turnover tables quickly without making us feel rushed, and the drinks are awesome. We would come more often if we could, but, you know, money. read more

I love this place but today my experience was horrible. We got seated fast in which I was excited about but the waitress was so not so attentive . I had to send my bacon back because it was charred so bad, no apologies, no drink refills and just placed the ticket down with no words. I couldn't even ask for additional napkins because she wouldn't come around to bring them. Sorry. I will definitely go back however I hope the server can learn from this experience read more

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I love this place, my favorite meal here is the chicken quinoa power bowl, my husband loves the million dollar bacon and the pancakes. The service is always friendly the bathroom has always been clean, the prices are fair. I first ate at first watch in grand junction, Colorado I was excited to see one here in NC. I wish they had more on the uber eat menu I can't get my bowl on uber eats. Sad face. read more

First Watch - Pesto Chicken Quinoa Bowl - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

A reservation for 12pm turned into food not coming out until 2:30pm and multiple meals being missed. Waiters and waitresses were lousy and not checking tables. Customer service was absolutely horrible and management needs to be redone as this was an absolutely horrible experience!!!!! read more

Food was amazing and the waitress was so nice and friendly. We are new to the area and this will be our go to breakfast place.

Loved this Place for Breakfast. I tried the huge wheat pancakes and they were delicious. I would definitely recommend them. The staff was amazing too. read more

I've been coming to this First Watch since it opened -- it used to be one of my favorites. But something has seriously changed, and not in a good way. The last two times we came in, it's like we were invisible. No greeting, no service, just left to sit and wonder if we were being pranked. This most recent visit was the worst: we waited 30 minutes at our table before anyone even thought to take our drink order. Then the food shows up -- still no drinks. No apology, no acknowledgment. Just silence and neglect. It honestly feels like the staff either doesn't care anymore or isn't being managed at all. Either way, this place is now a mess. We walked in excited to eat -- left frustrated and dehydrated. Won't be back. read more

Service was very slow and the server walked by our table multiple times and did not acknowledge us. Ambiance of our server was very poor and a different server had to bring us our water. The servers name was Maddie btw I'm sure she's a nice girl just very slow today which is not appreciate. Many people came after us and they had already started eating and some leaving and we still have not received our food. When we tried to checkout the system was down which made it harder to leave this terrible experience. Shoutout to the busy boy he was awesome working hard to get tabled flipped. read more

Wow, what an excellent experience my friend and I had this morning for brunch. Despite it appearing to be extremely packed, we were able to be seated within about 10 minutes of our arrival. It didn't take long for our server to bring our drinks & get our orders. Despite it being a packed house, our food came out within approximately 20 minutes. My classic eggs Benedict were delicious! The Hollandaise sauce had a lemony tang to it, which was unexpected! My eggs were poached nicely, & the Canadian bacon / ham was tasty. I would absolutely order this again when I return to Hickory! My friend ordered Belgian waffles & was satisfied despite the berry compote not being served until she requested it. Regardless, we will definitely be back! read more

First Watch - Phenomenal classic eggs Benedict without tomato. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

I came here to have a good brunch with my friend who I haven't seen in a minute and we very much enjoyed our food. She got the lemon ricotta pancakes and said they were great. They looked really good too. I got the farmhouse hash and it was delicious. The potatoes were perfectly seasoned, the bacon was crispy, my eggs were perfectly scrambled. Our waitress was very nice, as was the man at the counter where we paid our bill (we went to high school with him) and overall it was a very good experience. read more

First Watch - Morning meditation - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

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We ordered lunch today and my meal tasted great. The greens looked good and the dressing on them was tasty. The ham and gruyere sandwich was also very good, with the tomato being particularly flavorful, which is very rare in my experience. What wasn't so great was, to be unfortunately direct, lunch coming out the other end a few hours later. I don't have any allergies that would have caused that to happen and I'm not sick otherwise, so I'm not sure what happened. Neither my wife nor daughter had any issue, but they had pancakes, waffles, eggs and bacon. read more

Food was great, Server was attentive and outstanding, and the ambiance is friendly. With that said, I personally witnessed a "Karen and Ken" duo verbally lash out, made a scene, and attacked the hostess. Maybe their experience was not what they thought it should be (wanted the manager to visit them I believe) but what classless, despicable act towards an innocent employee. Shame on them! read more

We have been here many times. Always good food, friendly staff, clean and prompt. The best breakfast in Hickory.

Today was my first time going to first watch restaurant the food was delicious the waitress was fantastic in the ambiance was great we enjoyed ourselves read more

The food here is SO good. I love the avocado toast. My daughter always gets one of their bowls and hubby gets a 'traditional breakfast' love that they have poached eggs too. The service has always been great. I like that you can also sit at the bar with no wait unless it's full of course. In this picture is another favorite of mine the A.M. Superbowl with the morning meditation drink. So healthy and good. Chia pudding with fruit and almond butter toast. read more

First Watch - A.M. Superbowl and morning meditation drink - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

I had the most amazing experience in the hickory location!!! Jackie K was my server... and WOW did she blow it out of the park!! She was quick and very attentive!! Made my whole day with her positive attitude, and big smile!!! She made the suggestion for the farm house! And man was she right! This was a delicious meal!! The atmosphere was amazing!! Will definitely come back!! Definitely to see Jackie K!!!! Give that lady a raise!!! Go try them out!! And ask for Jackie K!! (: read more

First Watch - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

We were really impressed to have a new place with a unique menu to have brunch. It was very bright through out the restaurant. They had farmhouse style decor and it was very nice. There is a online check in for the wait list but things moved very quickly when we arrived. Wait staff was very on top of providing excellent service. I really enjoyed all my food and so did my husband. I got the bacado omelet and I thought it cooked perfectly and I enjoyed the cooked avocado on the inside. My husband got the farmhouse hash his over easy egg was a little over done but that's our only complaint. The jam they provide taste really good and goes perfectly with the buttered. Coffee was strong for just a regular coffee and had good flavor. read more

First Watch - Farmhouse Hash - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

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We've been here a few times and the food has been pretty good. First time trying the Purple haze drink and 100% recommend it tastes almost like a lemonade lol. The potatoes are usually good but hate when they get that burnt pieces on there, other that that our meal and service was great. The vibe was good and relaxing we went pretty early so it wasn't so busy and noisy. read more

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The food was absolutely delicious. I visited for the first time and had heard that it was pricey, which would be true, but not for the level of unique and flavorful cuisine. I ordered a smoked salmon frittata that was perfectly prepared, with a wonderful balance of flavors. Likewise the juice with orange, lemon, and beet juices along with turmeric and ginger was spice forward with sweetness from the orange and beet and zip from the lemon. The service provided by Olivia was commensurate with a fine dining establishment. Admittedly this is a restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch, but Hickory has a number of top notch dinner restaurants. If you'd like to enjoy fine dining earlier in the day, this is a very welcome addition. In addition to food and service, the other suggested mention for a complete review is ambiance. I'll have to say that what it lacks in that regard is more than made up for by the menu. read more

First Watch - Smoked salmon frittata with lemon dressed greens - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

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Worst breakfast I've ever had. Orderes scrambled eggs, bacon and grits. Eggs were tasteless and overcooked. Bacon was poor quality, greasy and burned. Grits were lumpy, like warm and greasy. Toast was spread with some oily nasty substance. I was as if they put old food in microwave and heated it up. I once had a positive experience at a First Watch location in Cincinnati but this is the first and last time I will ever eat at the Hickory NC location. read more

Getting into the waiting list prior to arrival is the best option. It does work well because I did not have to wait for more than 5 minutes. Service is an issue since they have a lot of people serving but not organized. I had to wait for a while to be able to order. The photo says all. The worse eggs Benedict ever and cold. Have been to First watch in Florida and Georgia and they are really good and I was disappointed with the one in Hickory. Not looking to go back. . read more

First Watch - This was suppose to be an eggs Benedict but as you can see it is more boiled eggs. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

Love this place. It's our new breakfast spot. Great black coffee. We end buying the coffee for the house.

This place is a breath of fresh air in the Hickory area perfect if you don't want to eat heavy and you want something light . Great and friendly service. The atmosphere Is different from other places in the area .. read more

First Watch - Morning meditation - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hickory, North Carolina

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This is my first time to this restaurant and it has immediately become my favorite breakfast place. The decor is appealing. The food is amazing. And there is a wide variety of choices on the menu. There are tons of healthy options without sacrificing taste. Two of my favorite things about this place is your server will leave an insulated carafe of coffee on your table so you can fill your mug with hot coffee whenever you want. And I got a heated glass cruet of syrup served with my multigrain pancake, which was huge and very good. Besides great food we also got great service. Our server was Hailey. She was knowledgeable about the menu, prompt with her service, and despite it being a busy Saturday morning was always pleasant. Be aware that this place is only open until 230pm. As a result, it's often busy. But even at a busy time we only had to wait about 10 minutes. Highly recommend trying out First Watch in Hickory. read more

Got the BLTE which was very good. Also got breakfast tacos and essentially a ham a cheese sandwich. All good. Wait staff was friendly and we would eat here again. read more

This has turned into our Saturday brunch place! We love it food is great service is great! Is a cute little place to sit and enjoy!

Food is delicious, but the service is so horrible I would never go back. The entire experience was awful. First thing we walk to the door and someone is wiping down the glass. She makes us wait until she's finished even though she can see us standing in the reflection. It's very loud. A cafeteria ambiance. The hostess comes up after we have to ask the door lady if we seat ourselves. No. The hostess comes up to seat us but says she needs to get silverware and walks off. When offered the table I ask if we can sit in the booths. She refuses "we don't have a server." Even though all of the sections are half empty and the server next to it could have taken us. He said no. We take another table, once again she tells us she has to go get us silverware. Another server brings silverware and doesn't even say anything. She brings the silverware. "Oh. You already have silverware." Three times I have to hear about silverware for no reason. My friends food was cold when it arrived, but doesn't complain. When we go to check out, something is wrong with their register and even though I see it's come out of my account they hold me there until they can figure out if I actually paid them. I told them I was not paying again and asked if I could leave. No. We need to figure this out. Would never go back. read more

The food was excellent, service left nothing to be desired. My server was excellent! $3.89 for a Coke, I'll have water next time. But given the opportunity I'd come back. read more