In all fairness they were bombarded with people and they are understaffed but the food wasn't that great, I had a skillet and the potatoes were burnt and the eggs were salty. My niece's veggie sandwich was really good tus the 3 stars. read more

Arrived at 1:30 and took an inside seat because there was no wait. Restaurant was 1/2 full. We ordered promptly and waited over 45 minutes for our food. At which point, the restaurant was almost empty. The eggs benedict BLT were cold and missing the avocado. The poor waitress couldn't speed up the kitchen and felt terrible. I complained but there isn't really anyone in charge. It was a really unpleasant experience. Avoid this place! It's poorly run and the food is definitely not worth waiting for. read more

I don't really write reviews but this place was great. Service was awesome. I believe the waiters name was Alex and he gave awesome selections of the food and drinks. We ended up getting the chickenchaga and it was mad good. The purple is also a dope drink. Anyways great atmosphere, good food and service. 5/5 will definitely be back again! read more

So I will start by saying your food and prices are excellent then the not so good part I have been there 2 times in a week and it's freezing in there staff is so cold and customers have to have a coat on i was told the same thing both times they are waiting for a part to fix the heater you are national chain if one supply house does not have the part call 10 others its north nj it's 16 degrees here not fun having breakfast with a winter coat on i will not be going back until the problem is fixed not worth me eating with gloves on hope you get this fixed read more

The first time we'd visited a First Watch was in South Carolina, thinking it was a local stand alone. We were very happy when we learned it was not and would soon be coming to Montvale, and then the pandemic hit. We went for brunch today and before arriving, we had put ourselves on the wait list using their app - a must! It was very crowded but we were seated within 20 minutes - ahead of walk-ins. The food was great. Our server, Jill, was sweet and attentive - just terrific! The overall experience was top notch. Thanks First Watch and Jill! read more

Food was good, but service was terrible. Poorly managed restaurant - everyone was complaining. I overheard a waiter scolding a patron....the host had an attitude, the waitress had an attitude. Patrons were waiting up to an hour. read more

Great experience! Our hostesses sasha and emily were able to seat us sooner than the wait time quoted. Our waiter Jay was very nice and our order came sooner than we had expected as they were very busy! The food wS delicious too! Love this place! read more

This place is the best! Great food! Great service! Special shout-out to my favorite server, Caitlyn. The speciality juices are so good and healthy too. read more

First Watch - Farmhouse with a Morning Meditation! Yummy!!! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montvale, New Jersey

SERVICE IS AWFUL!!!!!!! I have never waited longer for food this is ridiculous. They seem to not care either and food takes so long as well as it takes so long to get seated. They started taking other people who came in after us before us when we were waiting much longer. read more

when this place first opened two years ago it was good, then the trained cooks staff turned over and it went down hill pretty bad. The toast is cold and not fresh. The omelets are over cooked. The potatoes are burned. Does First Watch corporate Headquarters now how far they have deviated in quality ? read more

The food is good here but the service is miserable. Have come here for the last time this weekend. We wanted to sit outside and they told us it would be a 30 min wait. Yet no one was sitting outside there were four empty tables. After 10 mins of waiting and watching the tables go unbussed. I went inside and asked if we could sit at one the tables while we waited. They were still empty. Was told there were people in front of us so we needed to wait for our text to be seated. We waited another 20 mins and watched the tables go unbussed the entire time. Frustrating experience all around. Won't be back. read more

Best brunch place! TRI-fecta (eggs, sausage, banana/walnut/granola multi grain pancake) order hit the spot. Service is consistently attentive and courteous. Thanks to Destiny, Shannon and Alex for your quality service today. read more

Omg I'm craving some million dollar bacon but the place is closed temporarily ... can't wait til they reopen... customer service is excellent every time I've eaten there, and they even open and close the door for you, I'm not sure if it's like that all the time...the food is fresh and delicious, you get service with a smile and great recommendations if you don't know what you want... that's how I got introduced to the million dollar bacon read more

Waiter was not friendly. Food was ok. Coffee was warm only. Donuts were good. If you order a soup, they will charge you $1.99 for one toast (two half slices). That really should be complementary! read more

first off. when we entered the premises it smelled like wet dog. after waiting to be seated we had the most apathetic and slow waiter. To the point where it was uncomfortable. The food came out and continued the disappointment. the biscuit was half burnt (which they tried to hide), the eggs were cold and had been out sitting, and overall the taste was lacking. I was extremely disappointed. The ambiance was nonexistent. read more

I am giving this place 3*** , only because I have never been. My son and his fiancée love to try diff places, for breakfast, their favorite meal of the day! I was anxiously waiting for his experience being now that my husband and I are both retired, no sched frictions any longer!...we enjoy trying new eats. However just this past Monday, 8/22nd, my son ended up leaving without their table order being taken. They were seated, given the menus and that was it, the longest 15 min wait. My son in his younger years waited on tables while in college and believe me, he's the one who really taught me to be more considerate and patient with restaurant staff. Accdg to him the place was basically empty, and other customers who arrived after them, were immediately served coffee and drinks. So within that 15 minutes, my son just decided the best thing to do was leave (you know how your mood changes when you're "hangry"?). He said he stood up, approached the waitress and handed her back the menus to let her know they were leaving. Although he was told they will be attended to asap, by that time, he and his fiancée had made up their mind. I have read the awesome reviews on this place. But like I always mention in my reviews, both good and not so good... all it takes is one good or bad impression,when it comes to customer service. This place seems to have a lot of happy, satisfied customers, well good for them! My husband and I will probably "pass" on this one. read more

I used to really enjoy coming but they can't handle the volume. Staff tried really hard to keep up and they maintained friendliness. Very disorganized, food was not good because rushed and hour and half wait to sit and some patrons it took that long to eat. I would have left but you don't know where you are in line. The online reservation was misunderstood . Needs major improvement. They should consider ceasing on line orders until they can keep up with their in person service. Staff deserves better. read more

Montvale Location - Met a friend there because they knew that they had outdoor seating and the numbers in NJ are going up. When we arrived we were greeted by the hostess, who was not wearing a mask. We asked to sit outside and we were told the outside area was not open for service. We then asked if we could take the food to go and just eat our food outside at their tables. The hostess went to ask but returned to once again tell us no. We ordered food to go anyway and ate elsewhere. Food was good, but again many servers were not wearing masks. Covid is still an issue, I would think that allowing your customers to sit outside would not be denied. read more

I had lunch here with my wife a few weeks ago while the weather was still warm enough to sit outside. Even though we were outside the waitress did not forget about us. They have a good twist on breakfast/brunch/lunch items. The food was really good and the manager even came by to see how things were. I Highly recommend this place. I already went back with a friend for breakfast. read more

On a Sunday during brunch, there were 12 empty tables, most were cleaned, however they had a whole front entrance packed being told it was a 30-45 minute wait. We were finally seated, as we sat there for 10 minutes waiting for someone to take our drink orders we saw waiters just walking around aimlessly not helping anyone. No one was wearing masks, waiters in the kitchen were eating with their hands, then handling food with no gloves on or even washing their hands. Needless to say, we walked out without ordering anything. Poor management and food safety skills, especially during covid. read more

While the food is very good, it is futile trying to find a table since indoor seating is not permitted and there are 4 tables outside. Today I get there at 10:45 and no one was outside to ask about a table, nor were there signs directing people in side. Finally, I went inside and someone took my name and cell number, He said 30 minutes, so we waited. After 45 minutes it was clear that tables were not going to be available. We left and 20 minutes later I got a text saying a table was ready! I texted that we were not interested. Why don't they take online reservations? Why isn't someone outside greeting patrons? I realize that this is difficult, but I patronize several restaurants with outdoor seating and they accept reservations. I shall wait until things change here. read more

I love First Watch as a rule, but my experience here was beyond wonderful thanks to Emily, my server. She greets every customer with a sparkling smile and is the most cheerful server I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. It's the little things, like bringing a glass of water along with the juice I ordered, that made her service go above and beyond. Really grateful for the friendly interaction when I'm on the road. read more

Deserves 3 Stars. Because this is the only Brunch place (and restaurant in general) that is within walking distance of my house, I really want First Watch to succeed and be great. Unfortunately it falls short and I hope the owners take feedback, and make First Watch great. That's why I am leaving the 4 stars. My family will return once more in the next few weeks after the initial hubbub dies down and by then perhaps First Watch can earn a high-star rating. Let's start out with the good: 1)Fresh & modern decor. Bathrooms were clean. 2)Staff is Friendly and attentive. 3) prepared juice drinks were tasty, not overtly sweet and did not break the bank ($3.99). 4)real maple syrup offered at a very reasonable price $1.29. 5)Bacado omelette and frittata rustica we're good. Served with a nice salad (no iceberg) and fresh looking sourdough or multigrain bread (I did not try them, too carby). 6)Prices overall were quite reasonable. Now for the 'needs improvement': 1)hot chocolate tasted like water. Did not seem home made (probably was a packet with not enough powder). Real whip cream on top but please don't drizzle the bottled chocolate sauce on top. Ideal is to have melted chocolate and milk, or made fresh with real cocoa, not powered mix. 2)lemon ricotta pancakes had barely any tasted ricotta (this is common with this offering at many places). There was a quite not-appealing lemon custard on top. We scraped it off. The pancake batter itself was fine, and although not great, was still better than average. 3)Coffee tasted burnt (over roasted?). I am no coffee connoisseur but it definitely could have been much better. The 'international delight' dairy products are gross. Please just offer some real half and half, or better yet, actual cream. The best they could offer me was 1% milk. 4) the table we ate at was wobbly and not level. (Keep in mind, this restaurant is 4 days old). 5) automatic faucet in men's bathroom did not work well (difficult to get it to turn or stay on while washing). It's a plus that they did have paper towel rather than a blower. 6)I over heard 2 guys bussing a table talking about tip. Although I did not hear them say anything offensive, the discussion was generally uncouth and better reserved for when they are nowhere near customers. If first watch wants to establish itself as a premium eatery like the menu and decor seems to indicate, then everything on their needs to be as fresh and homemade as possible. No sugar syrup should be offered at all. Only real maple syrup (this will jack the price of the pancake and french toast offerings but its worth it. The bottle they served is for $1.29 could have been half the size. Give an extra bottle for those that request it. For coffee or tea, offer real milk, or real dairy alternative (soy, almond, etc) but not the packaged artificial creamer substitutes. Hot cocoa should be fresh made or not offered. I know this sounds snobbish, but the neighborhood can support it. If these changes make the entries $1.00 more, it might pay off. My intentions are not meant to insult the owners. Nearly everyone knows how difficult the restaurant business is. First Watch might succeed due to its proximity to Wegmans, but I hope they make improvements so that it can be a destination in itself, rather than just a convenience for those that visit the shopping center for other errands. Lastly, the first 2 reviews by Mark and James are almost definitely fake. ***BOOOO*** One of them did a review for another First Watch. He only has 11 reviews, and 2 of them are for the same small chain of First Watch. The other one only has 1 review and it's here at First Watch. read more

It was my first time at First Watch stopping by from some friends' recommendations. It was a Tuesday morning and not busy, but the service was quite slow and the orders inaccurate. We ordered about 5 different dishes and they came out quite slowly. One didn't even come out for over 30 minutes. We asked a few times and were told to wait. After the 3rd time, we asked our waitress again and she finally agreed there was something wrong and it would come out in a few minutes. Again still waiting... And waiting... Butter and jelly were non existent with the toast, water we asked for never came. Food is good, but other things make it difficult to come back. Hope others don't go through this awful service and experience. read more

The staff was very friendly as I walked in, I was greeted by the hostess immediately with a selection of seating. My waiter Basil was highly professional asking if this was my first time here. As I replied yes, Basil was able to make a few well made selections according to my appetite this morning & customize the ingredients to my needs. This was an fantasy experience and I look forward to coming here again. read more

Good food and good ambiance. Very healthy eating. Service is a bit slow but that is due to fresh ordered prepared from scratch.

Gave this place another try after having a not so great experience and it was worse! Line out the door nobody in the front at all didn't even acknowledge us, someone waiting to pay waited and waited then walked out. I had left another review from the first time I was told to email someone in regards to my experience never heard back from someone. read more

Used to love this place but I went last weekend for the first time in a while and it was terrible. Place was maybe a quarter full but took forever for someone to come and take our order then even longer for our food to come out when all we got were simple egg dishes! We asked for water at first, never got it. Asked for milk for my coffee, they never brought any. When the food finally did come, it was terrible. I ordered 2 eggs over medium, crispy bacon with the hash browns. Eggs were raw, bacon barely cooked but the potatoes were burnt black. Would've been happier at a diner, won't be back. read more

I went here last week and the food along with the drinks were delicious. Kudos to the chefs!! The place was very clean and employees were very kind and respectful. I will be going back and trying something new. read more

I went and sat down at the community table and was promptly ignored by the waitstaff for 10 minutes. There was not even so much as a hi I'll be right with you, while I noticed staff standing around not doing anything. I got up and left because I was so disheartened by the lack of service, and actually needed to get something to eat before my lunch break was over. read more

So we went this morning. It's only open a week so I am hopeful that with some practice this place will get better. Good news-It's beautiful inside. Great seating. Great decor. Not good news- Avocado toast-obviously it was prepared ahead cuz the toast was more like bread from the avocado sitting on it. It also wasn't seasoned. Salt please! Lime please! Something please! Lemon curd ricotta pancakes. Pancakes had good flavor, weren't burnt but were over cooked & dry. Also had completely out of season-white inside-no flavor strawberries on top. When you have useless fruit pick something else or don't put anything on top. Over easy fried egg-was solid inside. More like a hard boiled egg. Nothing runny at all. Coffee-great. Syrup warm. So. We won't be back for a while. Hopefully whoever is running the flat top calms down. But I hope they get it together. read more

What a fabulous breakfast - beautiful whole grain bread, mashed perfectly ripe avocado, and two perfectly runny yolks on the sunny side up eggs. Attentive, but unobtrusive wait staff and a charming farm ambiance. I almost hesitate to recommend it so highly. It will be impossible to secure a table on weekends! read more

Perfect Brunch spot. We are regulars here. The truffle mushroom hash, million dollar bacon and kale tonics are our go to. Emily is such a great server. Always checks on us and has a great personality ! Will deff be back (again) read more

Usually I don't write any reviews, but today have to say something about my experience. My pick up order was a mess! First: sandwich was oily, tasted like ingredients were not fresh; too salty and over cooked side of potatoes, waffles tasted like a "rubber", definitely was undercooked, no cherry compote. Overall very disappointed!!! read more

Let me say that the food was delicious, HOWEVER, the staff needs a lesson in politeness and customer service. I walked in, and the "greater" at the register did not acknowledge me. He kept his head down looking at the menu/paperwork. When I interrupted him and said hello, he didn't say hello, just "can I help you?" It took 15 minutes before a waiter came to our table, after we asked one if he would be taking care of us. 2 of the waiters were then discussing who would take our table in earshot of us. When a waiter did appear, we were told there was no unsweetened ice tea or decaf coffee. I found this strange for a brunch restuarant .When we were leaving and paying the bill, "Mr Personality" at the register commented to us that it was "getting busy" when we asked how his day was going. Again...our food was very good but I don't think we will be back. read more

Come for Breakfast, Stay for Lunch, You Might Your Breakfast by Then ought to be the motto for this incompetently run organization. Waited for more than half an hour for eggs. Finally left. Restaurant wasn't even full. Shockingly, First Watch is a publicly-held company that is ostensibly professionally managed. The CEO should be replaced by Nick from a Greek diner. Which Nick? Doesn't matter. Which a Greek diner? Doesn't matter. All of them would do a better job. read more

The wait in this restaurant was 1 hr and 30 min today. I think that is a bit ridiculous. The food is just ok to me but my husband loves to eat breakfast here. Today they only had 2 servers. Lastly the servers need to be a bit more friendly. So the 3 stars is for my husband because he likes the food but I believe the servers always have an attitude. I say, save the drama for your Mama. read more

More expensive but worse tasting than a typical Jersey diner. Five stars for their branding and marketing though which tricked me into trying out four dishes, all of which sucked. I'm not mad - I'm disappointed read more

Mid at best. Tried the million dollar bacon, would call it 1/2 a penny bacon. Very dry. Very rude staff.

Put my name on waitlist and was told 45-60 minutes. At 60 minutes was told there were over 20 people ahead of me because anyone who puts their name on waitlist through the app gets bumped ahead of those who put name on waitlist in person. Was told I could sit at community table, but it was full. Wish I was told that when it was empty an hour before when I put my name on waitlist. They close at 2:30, I was never texted to say my table was ready. This is not my first time here, every time has been an awful wait for table then wait close to an hour for just mediocre and often cold food. This was the worst and will be my last time giving this place a chance. read more