Thank you for your response Jennifer. However, 8 days ago, I wrote a follow-up review on how the District Manager wrote the following via email: "Hello thank you for your interest and feedback we have this under investigation much appreciate " 11 DAYS have gone by since my first review, and have heard no response after the DM's investigation? Does it really take that long to find out why everyone was in the kitchen? Don't you have cameras? Why, I had only 3 tiny slivers of carrots in my carrot cake and pecan pancakes? I took pictures... A picture says a 1,000 words. Yet no comment??! Why no one asked if we wanted anything else, LIKE COFFEE? How about the prices of the coffee - not being on the menu? I am running out of patience!! Please provide me with the name of the person that oversees the DM. I see where the problem now stems and want to tell that person!! read more

Came here for brunch with a friend. It was packed. Service was great. Erica was amazing. I ordered the lemon ricotta pancakes, which was my first time having and they were great. We ordered the bacon as appetizers which how could you ever go wrong. And coffee to drink which was delicious. Ambiance is trendy. I forgot to take pics of the decor. read more

See all

Service was terrible waiter never came to check on our table. Food took an hour before I said something and had to get it to go which took 20 minutes to get it in a bag. Manager was very unpleasant and did absolutely nothing. Would not recommend to anyone. read more

Absolutely unacceptable Poor management to start The food quality and packaging They sent to my house biscuits and gravy w out biscuits ! And they sent raw potatoes that are burnt Half a cup of gravy that is overly seasoned w red peppers flakes This place is trash ! read more

First Watch - Raw burnt potatoes ! Trash food - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montvale, New Jersey

Don't ever get delivery from here they will never get it right. Always missing an entire item - an experience so consistent it's probably intentional. Forget this spot, treat yourself better, and don't support lazy entitled clowns read more

Exceeds expectations for a "chain" breakfast spot. Large menu ranging from indulgent dishes to lighter options. The seasonal specials each month always keep us coming back to try something new. I almost always get the trifecta with a waffle, over-easy eggs, and an upgrade to their "million dollar" bacon which is slow cooked with spicy syrup and a generous helping of pepper. The waffle, although varying in temperature it hits the table at, is always delicious and comes with a dollop of creamy butter and a side of mixed berry compote. My wife's favorites are the chickichanga, the avocado toast, and various seasonal specials. Service is generally good with some servers going more above and beyond than others, they can get very busy on the weekends but I've never had a particularly negative experience. Inside is bright and open, a great place to just relax and enjoy breakfast and morning coffee on a lazy sunday. First watch is a great casual spot for a flavorful and affordable breakfast that we will continue to make the trip to in the future. read more

First Watch - Tri-fecta Waffle with eggs and million dollar bacon - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montvale, New Jersey

I don't understand why it's so hard for this location (Montvale, NJ) to correctly prepare an order. I have been to other First Watch locations and never had an issue. Our family has eaten here multiple times, but we are done after today. We have had minor incorrect/overcooked orders in the past and looked past them because the majority of the food and service was good. Today's issue was that I ordered the summer special steak hash. I asked for no tomatoes as I cannot eat them. Our waitress was wonderful and very friendly and I saw that she had written "no tomatoes" on the order pad. Just to clarify, none of today's experience is on our waitress. She was a 5 star professional and checked in with us and offered to make things right. The issue is that after waiting almost 40 minutes for our food to be served in a half full restaurant, my hash came with chopped tomatoes throughout the dish. I don't understand why it is so hard for the kitchen to properly cook and serve a meal as ordered. Our waitress offered to bring another one, but after having waited 40 minutes and with my wife and daughter's meals already in front of them, I told her to just take it off the order. I left to go shopping at Wegmans next door while my wife and daughter finished their meals. Our waitress was very apologetic, but we will not be returning. We had just come from my daughter's middle school graduation and wanted a nice meal together. Between incorrect orders and burnt, overcooked items in prior visits, we will dine at other better places in the area. Thank you for your time. read more

I LOVE this place! The food is consistent and so delicious. This is hands down my favorite place. Griffin was amazing! read more

First Watch - Honey Chipotle Chicken Hash - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montvale, New Jersey

Great first experience! I can only speak for the juices here - but I'm looking forward to returning back to try the breakfast! Went in wanting the kale tonic drink. After I placed my order and paid, I was informed they did not have it. The server was extremely kind and brought over three mini samples of the other flavors. I decided on the morning meditation. It was phenomenal!! The purple haze was beautiful and had an amazing lavender taste, but it was a little too sweet for me. If you enjoy sweets, this one is great. The watermelon one (forgot the name of it), wasn't for me - mainly because I don't like watermelon, but if you're into watermelon, grab it! In sum - the morning meditation will be my go to juice order. After I was finished, I was already dreaming of my next visit. Loved it! read more

First Watch - Samples - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montvale, New Jersey

See all

Their menu looks so good, I will have to return with a group to try more dishes at one time. This place is pretty big, plus outdoor seating, in a shopping center with plenty of parking. Very clean inside and love the old doors hanging from the ceiling. The pomegranate pear juice is so tasty, refreshing, and not too sweet, and seasonal. I love poached eggs done right so I had to have the eggs Benedict and I chose the BLT style. There are a few options for sides, some more savory than others, I chose the salad with the lemon vinaigrette and I think it provided the perfect balance and pop of flavor. There were 2 poached eggs but only 1 had that ooze factor you want, still good. Really enjoyed my breakfast read more

First Watch - BLT Eggs Benedict - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montvale, New Jersey

the food was immaculate! i loved it! the million dollar bacon was amazing! and pancakes were great too! we were seated quickly! but we did call ahead to make sure about timing! but I heard that on the weekend it tends to be a little crowded! The ambience was nice and I could tell it was a millennial joint, which is totally fine because I love it! There was hanging doors from the ceiling and hanging a bulb lights, but the joint was alive! so i don't mind it! the servers were also really nice and checked in to see if we were okay! The food took about 15 minutes, which wasn't bad cause it was kind of busy! Overall, really nice place really good food. Definitely recommend they should open up more locations in the Bergen County/ NJ area! read more

First Watch - Million Dollar Bacon - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montvale, New Jersey

See all

bacon, eggs, and home fries were the worst that I ever had. The over easy eggs were okay but they must use small eggs, the bacon was at least twice fried and hard as a rock and the home fries were just as bad, deep fried way to long. The place had empty tables on Valentines Day so people must know. There was plenty of staff but this falls on the kitchen. Don't waste your time going there, better off at McD's. read more

Delicious breakfast in a busy, bustling environment with decent service. Have the eggs

The "look" from the parking lot drew us in. Good thing we skipped the reviews! Great place, excellent service from Joseph, great menu options, food didn't disappoint! Great feeling inside - the restaurant and our stomachs - as we finished! read more

First Watch - Trifecta with multigrain (yummy!) pancake. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montvale, New Jersey

See all

What a delightful brunch with my DD. We actually chose this because it had such great reviews! The decor is farmhouse casual yet trendy. It seems like it could be a chain restaurant but the food was well prepared. For a weekday meal, there was a decent amount of people there. It seemed a bit bizarre that the hostess area is also the checkout area. We waited for a couple to pay their tab and then we were seated. The million dollar bacon was quite yummy. The coffee was good & had hazelnut, French vanilla creamers as well as half & half. We ordered the hash with eggs over easy & the egg white omelette. The hash entree came with buttered bread and the bread with the omelette came out dry. The bread was delicious, as was the accompanying jam. Overall, very enjoyable meal and would come back again if I'm in the area. read more

See all

First Watch never disappoints. Parking is great. Service is great. And the food is always super fresh! We were seated immediately, even though it was pretty busy for a Wednesday Brunch. I always go for the Traditional Breakfast, as it has the perfect balance of healthy and filling components. My friend opted for a salad which she said was to die for! read more

First Watch - Traditional Breakfast - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montvale, New Jersey

See all

Love the farmhouse look, outside seating and the online waitlist option to avoid having to wait an hour or so when o you arrive. Their drinks are delicious as well. I usually go in and get the market veggie sandwich with salad and tear that up in no time. So delicious. My first time eating at First Watch was in FL and got excited when I found one in Union, NJ. This one in Montvale is even closer to home so I started going every Sunday as a family brunch spot. Sadly, they get pretty busy causing them the opportunity to accidentally deliver my food to the table next to me every time. Then the other guests typically lift up the bread to check out the sandwich and the waitress corrects it by just sliding over the food to me even after the other guests were picking at it. This wouldn't be in my review if it only happened once or twice but it seems to almost always happen to me and I've been there over 7 times now. I then have to send it back to be made again and patiently wait. I would still recommend this location; however, I also suggest you watch the food come out in case it makes it to another table like it does to me almost every time. read more

First Watch - Tropical Sunrise and Morning Meditation - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montvale, New Jersey

This was chosen for location of meeting everyone going. I take full responsibility for it as it was amazing! Most of us were there before 8:30am when the "waitlist" started so we only had about a 10 minute wait. The place is spotless and a great energy to it. The food..... holy shiznit, the food was perfect. I don't use that lightly either.My chimichanga burrito has amazing flavors and had Benedict sauce on it. Wow.... My taste buds were dancing! The truffle mushroom hash was fantastic too. I forgot to order the bacon, but there will definitely be a next time! Our server, CM, was great. Had an infectious smile and popped in at just the right times. Thank you! I look forward to trying new items..... read more

See all

I ordered the Bacado omelette through DoorDash. it was an overdone brown dried out mess of eggs. It was so overdone that the edges of the omelette were actually crispy. If I was eating in the restaurant this would've gone back. Cheese was nowhere to be found. Just disgusting overall. But since I paid for it, I threw on literally a half a cup of salsa and sour cream to drown. it very gross. read more

This was a much hyped place and the wait times and difficulty getting a slot on a Sat or Sunday prove the popularity. My experience was not so good. The wait for the food was extremely long (your coffee would have long been cold or gone by the time the food arrived) No offer of a refill while we waited. By the time mine came out it was cold (not great for French toast, which was mediocre anyway) My wife and daughter fared better as both of theirs was warm and good tasting. My wife had The Tradition breakfast and my daughter had the smoked salmon benedict. (those were worth going back for) I would go back at a quieter time (maybe a weekday). To fight for a spot on a weekend is not worth it for the waiting etc. read more

The food and service have been excellent and one thing in particular I like is they bring a pot of coffee to the table. I can refresh or warm up my cup at my convenience with no waiting for staff. read more

The food the service and the ambience is awesome. But the weekend waiting are insane. They need to open more around Bergen County. Please.

Have been there several times. Clean. Slightly above average cost. Pleasant staff. Quick. Attentive preparation of food.

We often go to the one in Montvale NJ so we thought we would compare to Hershey PA. Will say it lived up to our expectations. This one has a liquor license which is nice for brunch. Good good but the Million Dollar Bacon is insane & the Ricotta Pancakes are yum ! Service was attentive and personable but hold the check till the table is finished. I don't like being handed the check while I'm still eating. If I wanted something else I would not ask after being handed the bill. read more

After staying away from the First Watch in Montvale, New Jersey for 4 years, I decided to check in and see if their food and service had improved. I arrived on Sunday at about 1:30pm, was seated immediately. Service from David (nice wooded glasses frames) was pleasant, attentive and prompt. We ordered two million dollar bacon sides, the summer brisket hash and eggs, tomato soup, mint chocolate ice coffee, regular cider, morning meditation and some other items. I was pleasantly surprised at the taste, service, and courtesy. I will plan to dine here again. Good job for making significant changes from when I visited four years ago. Congrats to Janet Velazquez, General Manager. read more

See all

On my first visit to this place, it was fairly packed with people at 11am on a Saturday. I liked the option of sitting inside or outside. The host was friendly and efficient and seated us quickly after asking if we called ahead. The options were varied and we found the food and coffee very good. We had the traditional breakfast with scrambled eggs, chicken sausage, sourdough toast, and potatoes. The server, Tracy, was excellent. Definitely recommend for a very good breakfast. read more

Breakfast and first time at First Watch. It's a chain as my sister who is from Wisconsin enjoys having breakfast there. We shared the Millionaire's Bacon, the corned beef hash and the croque madame along with the waffles were all very delicious. We tasted everything and enjoyed everything. read more

See all

Went there last week and had the winter special chilaquiles and black beans. Near perfect, would've been a "5" except the black beans were not seasoned AT ALL. Two days later, I went again and this time ordered the farm hash. The potatoes were way, WAY overdone, maybe a tsp of onion and bacon bits were burnt. They have this all the time but I didn't remember the bacon though and it was inedible. Coffee still lukewarm. Server (the big bald guy) was pleasant and efficient as usual but the low rating is for the terrible hash. One more try and they get a thumbs up or the dreaded "boycott!" Oh yes, there were five parties waiting to be seated and three patrons waiting to pay. And the cashier seemed, again, unable to deal with that. read more

Let me just say that the food was fresh and tasted fine, and it didn't take so long for me to get my delivery. A couple of things really pissed me off though. First, this place isn't cheap. If I'm paying a high price, I want to know that you give a damn about my order. My daughter got the Market Veggie sandwich, which came as a standard sandwich, cut in half. One half of the sandwich had almost nothing between the bread. WTF? I had the side salad that came with it, and when I tell you that there was ONE DROP of salad dressing in the container of mesclun salad, please believe that I AM NOT EXAGGERATING... between two pieces of salad, there was one freaking drop of dressing, and the rest was completely undressed. How do I know? Because I ate the whole damned naked salad, like as if I just grabbed it off of the floor at a farm. Pisses me off. The simplest damn thing and what? Jeeeeez. SMDH. My Ham Gruyere sandwich was very good. The Avocado Toast was really good. My daughter enjoyed the half of the Market Veggie sandwich that had stuff in it. Congratulations. I'm never ordering from you again. read more

Good food, nice presentation. My skillet was good even though some of the potatoes were a little too burnt for my taste. My girlfriend's smoked salmon frittata was really good. She also enjoyed her iced coffee. Went in on Monday at 11am and got seated right away. Very nice waitress took our order and the food came out in about 10min. She checked up on us a couple of times with a smile on her face. She brought us the check in the middle of us eating which was uncommon to me. I was thinking of getting another iced coffee but I decided not to because the check had already come out. I know she could have easily printed another if I had ordered something else but I just didn't. Nice atmosphere. I like the farmhouse look. Music plays in background not too loud. Alot of natural light and place was nice and clean. I would stop by again on my way to the mall since I'm not from the area. read more

See all

After being seated It took the server over 10 minutes to come and acknowledge us, and only after I had to stand up looking for a server. Coffee and food were both cold. read more

This is an amazing brunch place! The restaurant looks pretty new with rustic decor, and it has a large seating area indoors and outdoors. The food is so filling and delicious! I ordered the Market Skillet Hash & 2 For You - Sweet Honey Pecan Salad and Roast Beef and Havarti Sandwich. The 2 For You deal is actually so worth it ($10!). I will definitely be back for some more delicious brunch! read more

See all

Came to this spot for brunch for the first time and wow! I grabbed a to-go order of the Pesto Chicken Quinoa Bowl which was absolutely delicious. It was well seasoned with a great flavor. There was plenty of zesty chicken and tender vegetables that just danced on my tongue, for real. In general, there are plenty health-conscious options for people to choose from. This location is inside a plaza, so free parking! Check it out. read more

See all

Love love love this place. Until now the only time I was able to go to one was when I went to AZ or FL but now they opened one about 20 minutes from me and I've gone 2 weekends in a row. First week I had the Baja Chicken Bowl and my mom had the Italian Frittata. Both were very good, made with incredibly fresh ingredients. One my second visit I had the Vanilla Chai pancakes with a side of hardwood bacon. The cakes were so good and almost didn't need any of the warm syrup they give you with it but I wish they would put a bit more of the almond butter drizzle. Very nice service and lovely decor making it even more inviting. read more

See all

Came in this morning for breakfast. The website said no wait-list. Get in and the person up front says 15-20 minutes. I mention the website said no wait. We wait a few minutes. Another couple walks in and the person tells them 20-30 minutes. The girl tells the person at the front the same - the website says no wait. Here comes the attitude. They said something to the effect of it's updated now with an obnoxious tone. Mind you there are at least 10 open tables and a handful of people waiting. So the attitude plus the restaurant not even being full - we walked out and I probably won't go back here. How about apologizing for the inconvenience or the fact you didn't do your job instead of giving an attitude to people who are trying to have a nice breakfast out. read more

Amazing! Came here over 4th of July weekend, the wait wasn't too bad considering--20mins. The Barbacoa Quesadilla Benedict was slappin'! Feel like taking the time to thank whoever's responsible for creating this dish, because it was damn good. "Smedium" amount of food--a perfect portion size for breakfast considering the dish is on the heavier side. Washed that down with watermelon which was super refreshing, it was honestly a perfect breakfast! Definitely recommend trying this dish! read more

First Watch - BARBACOA QUESADILLA BENEDICT with watermelon juice! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montvale, New Jersey

Waited an hour although many tables were open .. finally seated we were starving, waiter came after 20 min and said just to let you know there will be a long wait for the food because of the kitchen... we then asked if that was the case could he bring something to the table because we were starving? He said he would bring fruit he never did an hour later. We finally received our food never came back to check on us. Never gave us refills of drinks. Never asked if we were OK. Most of the wait staff hangs out in the kitchen. Since the opening, we've never had a good situation, my kids love the food so we keep going back for the abuse unfortunately, nobody cares no manager around. I can't believe how they run this place. read more

Meh not too sure why there so much hype with this place. Got there at 9:30, waited till 10 to be seated. Place was full with mostly teenage girls eating with their friends and young couples with babies/kids. The ceiling here is pretty high, so if you're one to be annoyed by high pitched babies crying or teenage girls screaming in laughter over TikTok videos, this isn't the place for you. Menu is pretty large and they have all the calories listed for each item. Not sure that's a good thing. When I saw a breakfast item with 1300 calories, I was totally turned off. Maybe I'd rather not know. We ordered 2 things to share. BLTE - was pretty good - I only ate half. (Over 1000 cal for the entire thing) Million dollar breakfast sandwich.... (almost 900 cal) seemed more like a .50 cent breakfast sandwich. Looks about 1/3 of the size of the the photo, English muffin was cold and not toasted, small sausage patty drizzled with honey, but if I had to guess, was more like melted hard candies. I had a bite and almost spit it out. It was just gross. I'll stick to my diner breakfasts. read more

Food was fresh and good on my last 2 visits - they do seem to be understaffed. The servers I had were helpful and responsive.

I first tried First Watch in Tampa - one of the best places I ate during that trip. Montvale got one in the summer of 2021 and I've been twice since they opened. I'm never disappointed. The service is prompt and efficient. The food is delicious, and the menu is different without trying too hard. This spot is one of my absolute favorites for breakfast or brunch. read more

First Watch - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montvale, New Jersey

See all