Armed with a buy one get one free entree coupon, I had to stop in and check out the brand new First Watch location at the 101 Agua Fria Fwy and 29th Avenue. In a former Macaroni Grill, this is a bright, light filled spacious dining room that does not resemble its former Tuscan occupant at all. There is a private dining space for groups, lots of booths and a patio. I could not get over the transformation. Someone needs to tell Google to update their photo in maps, it still looks shows a Macaroni Grill pic! Everyone from the hostess to the multiple servers we encountered were upbeat and positive. Our server went to get water for our table when I wasn't immediately ready to order, and came back with a bleeding hand. The replacement server was very personable as well, and took our orders including multiple special requests. Our original server recovered enough to come back and check on us after we received our entrees. Companion ordered a waffle meal with poached eggs and crispy bacon, specifically requesting the waffle well done and no butter and the bacon well done as well. Both were done perfectly, as requested. The poached eggs were good too, although there was standing water in the bowl with the eggs that had to be soaked off with napkins. Also companion was unhappy with the herb garnish on the poached eggs, go figure. I will say, First Watch is very good about accommodating special requests and doing them correctly. I ordered the smoked salmon roasted vegetable frittata no bread extra greens. This is my standard order, and I love it. It was prepared a little differently here than in Scottsdale. The mushrooms and roasted tomatoes were in extremely large pieces, a couple of the mushrooms were whole. This makes for a rather lumpy uneven frittata, and still required a knife and fork to cut them smaller for consumption. I guess the larger pieces look more rustic? I think the chef could slice the mushrooms and Julianne the tomatoes for a better effect. The frittata was a little extra brown on the egg parts, probably a function of trying to get the eggs fully done around the large chunks of vegetables! Greens were plentiful but required more dressing. It was promptly brought overbon request. I lucked out and got to eat my friends blueberry compote for dessert, a spoon full of richness after my healthy meal. Server left out check for whenever we were ready, and we paid at the exit. This was a good lunch! I recommend you check out this pretty new spot! read more

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Super clean restaurant. Wild to think this used to be an on the border restaurant. They really changed the whole atmosphere and layout. Food was what you should expect from first watch made with the same care that the building was redesigned in. The servers were ok it's first breakfast rush so I understood being a little behind. read more

First Watch - Front of the building - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Very friendly staff and a beautiful restaurant. My friend and I ordered a few things to split. Pomegranate mimosa didn't have any pomegranate flavor at all. Just tasted like champagne. Pomegranate Sunrise was tasty but very heavy handed with the tequila. It comes out in a cute little glass bottle so you essentially get two drinks for the price of one. Lemon ricotta pancakes were tasty but extremely sweet. The lemon curd was bright, tangy and delicious! The fresh strawberries were perfectly ripe and sweet. Million Dollar bacon is definitely a great thing to split for the table. Thick cut bacon with a maple glaze and cracked black pepper. Definitely worthy of the name! The best thing on the table were the barbacoa breakfast tacos. My ONLY complaint is I wish there was more barbacoa in them but they were so good! If you're going on a weekend, join the virtual waitlist online or be prepared to wait 30-40 minutes. Will definitely be returning! read more

First Watch - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Great food! Nice energy for ladies brunch. Prices are reasonable and lots of healthy choices. read more

New location. Dining room was very spacious and open with very friendly staff. Met a friend for brunch. I ordered the breakfast sandwich. It was delicious. Came with potatoes which were on the salty side, but tasty. My friend had their trifecta and she thoroughly enjoyed it. Their pancakes were ginormous so she had to take leftovers home. Highly recommend!! read more

First Watch - Breakfast sandwich with potatoes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

I love this First Watch! I got to watch this location be built since I pass by it almost every day, and it's got a ton of parking. The inside is also one of the more creatively designed first watches I've been to. I love the color scheme and lighting, it's perfect for brunch. I routinely order lunch and breakfast from this location, and the staff are extremely friendly. They also prepare orders really quickly! read more

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We stopped by First Watch last Monday because my nephew wanted to try it for his birthday. The place was clean and the service was great. My kids thought their meal was just ok but mine was a letdown. The avocado toast wasn't toasted at all, just soggy bread with avocado and the breakfast chimi didn't hit the mark either. read more

Great new Fresh Watch in the Aqua Fria shopping center. Our waitress was great very informative and knowledgeable about the menu. Great suggestion too. The restaurant is nice and there is plenty of room to sit. Nice and sunny food was great. read more

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Service was great! Food was amazing, portions were much larger than I expected (even though the menu warned me!) . We came early on a Sunday and there was no wait , very chill and cute little spot for us to grab breakfast. We really enjoyed this dining experience and will be back. read more

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I've actually tried several of their locations based on what event we're visiting! It's always consistent!

So a good day for a quiet breakfast. Some disappointments this time out. The orange juice came from a jug in a freezer and was not freshly squeezed. Also, while the eggs were fluffy they were also dry which drives .e nuts. Thankfully the ham steak and the blueberry pancake saved the meal with great flavors. read more

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Beautiful remodel and service was good. Food very average, everything seemed to have been partially cooked ahead of time and just reheated. Potatoes were not soft, toast was very tough and dry. read more

We have been coming to First Watch since 1995.So great to have a location right down the street from where we live. The food has always been exceptional. The service is always very good. They have some of the best coffee around. I would highly recommend this first watch location. I love how they redesigned the old macaroni grill that was here. It's really nice and open. great atmosphere. I do miss the old punchcard. Lol. read more

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Starting off; while there was a mild wait, didnt like the fact that despite arriving later, the family before us was left waiting while we were served. Second, the silverware was so dirty. I mean it, the glassware had visible grime on it. And the silverware still had food on it. Despite the previous complaints the server was nice, and even grabbed another set of silverware upon request. The food: Obviously the main thing, was fine. I would not recommend any of the eggs, as they have a flavor that gets gross after a few bites. Back to complaining, The noise level in the restraunt was atrocious, not only was there super loud chatter- but they had super loud music playing over everyone, leaving the servers and the customers to have to yell yo communicate. read more

We really like the food here, but will not be returning because of our many visits they cannot serve the food hot. Even when I sent it back, it remains lukewarm. We gave them so many chances and finally gave up. So sad they can't get the food to the table in a timely manner. read more

Cece was absolutely adorable and amazing! Aside from great food, we'll be back to visit with Cece. Such a pleasure, thank you!

For a place that has been open for a few days, the food was to die for, our waitress was impeccable. We looked around and noticed that everyone was enjoying the same undivided attention. We placed this on our list as number one when deciding to go for breakfast or lunch. read more

I love first watch and I was excited to take my dad here because he's never been. Unfortunately, our server never took drink orders, he rushed us into food ordering. When I asked if he could start on the other side of the table (there were 9 of us), he told me no. He seemed offended when we added drinks to our food orders. The food came out individually and not all at once. One of the orders came out as a pile of eggs with nothing on the side, when it should have been a frittata with toast. When we asked about the toast they brought a slivered piece of burnt toast. Ten minutes later a different waiter brought out the correct order, but it was incorrectly made. We sent it back and ordered something completely different which came out just fine. The food that I ordered was way over salted. On a separate note, sitting next to the kitchen o watched at least 4 plates go back. The restaurant itself was beautiful and clean. But I don't think I'll return to this location. It was very disappointing read more

Good Energy. Good Vibes for a family outing. Kids loved the waffles. Good service - thanks to the amazing staff, we had the best Sunday brunch here. Finally, good food and service is a win for all! read more

Waited over 90 minutes for food to arrive and when it did, one order was cold. Awful experience. They said the chef was out on vacation and it showed. They were unprepared. It was a terrible experience and waste of time. Poorly handled. Won't return. read more

I have called the new First Watch at Agua Fria Freeway multiple times on different days and different times and no one will answer. The message is set to say that "we have reached them outside of their normal hours and will reopen at 7am." The times I call are within their normal hours. Other First Watch restaurants answer their phone and this one does not. For restaurant being new, this is not good customer service. read more

We went on a Saturday for brunch. Not sure if they were understaffed or what but the service was slow. The server was not attentive. She barely checked on us. She did not bring a straw for my drink, she changed the order of my friend's Breakfast plate to bacon without us asking her to do so, I dropped my fork at the beginning of the meal and was half done before she brought another one. So I ate my omelet with a spoon. Not sure why there was so much lettuce on the plate since that was not mentioned on the menu. The omelet did not have much egg in it. The fillings of bacon, cheese and avocado were there. That part was so yummy! The "pumpkin spice" donut holes did not taste like pumpkin or spices. The sauces were correct but the donut holes tasted like the plain ones. I know because I have had these at another location and these were definitely the plain ones. There was another server a table over that constantly checked on her customers and was very attentive. I wish we could have had her serving us instead. The meal was tasty but there are definitely some kinks that need to be worked out by management. read more

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I no longer feel confident that anything I order here will come out cooked properly. Pancakes have come out overcooked on the outside and gooey on the inside. Ordered a waffle "crispy", Waffle came out extremely undercooked. Sent it back and the next one came out burnt beyond recognition. I am completely finished with this location. read more

The food wasn't great but I saw they were super crowded and in the middle of a rush. That's not what the 1 star is for. Our waiter brought our soda refill and said "here's your Coke Zero". My boyfriend explains we didn't order a Coke Zero but a regular Coke. The waiter goes "oh right yeah this is a regular Coke, I mixed you up with the other table. But don't worry, even if it is Coke Zero, it wouldn't matter. It tastes just like regular Coke" . We then ask again if it is regular Coke and the waiter seemed confused by our concern. He just sort of fled our table when he saw how annoyed my boyfriend looked instead of reassuring us it was regular Coke. We were annoyed and concerned because boyfriend is allergic to aspartame and acesulfame potassium. He breaks out in hives from artificial sugar. We both sat there trying to figure out if it was regular Coke or not. We were also now concerned the first round of sodas had also been diet cokes. After a few minutes, we realized we couldn't trust our waiter to understand some people might have food allergies and asked for the check. You can't leave reviews for this place on Google due to inflated reviews. Google has restricted reviews. I don't understand how someone can say they brought you the wrong menu item, then say oh wait I misspoke, but even if I did mess up it doesn't matter. Good luck rolling the dice on what I just delivered to your table. Like, who does that? read more

We waited 25 minutes to sit, which is fine on a Sunday morning. But after we were seated, not one waiter or busboy or anybody came over to take order or water or anything. We sat there for another 17 minutes without any person checking on us. That wasn't really the big issue, the problem was , when I walked to hostess stand and said something, and she went to the manager(because we saw her talk to him) he did nothing about it. He shrugged his shoulders, the other 3 waiters were basically looking right us and saying that's not their table. We love this place, come here almost once a week, but to see this place not care enough about a customer. No team work. Other people were sat after us and they got service before us . read more

Good server food was hot , service was excellent Junior was very attentive drinks came out fast loved our service ! good place to come and eat breakfast read more

Waited 1 hour and 10 minutes even with getting on the waitlist from home. Finally seated and waited 10 minutes for service. Watched two other tables get seated and waited on right away. That was enough so we got up and left. Manager quickly came over and offered to wait on us but we were too irritated at that point. read more

Service was amazing went with my best friend got sat immediately and our server CeeCee was so amazing super sweet and funny!! Food was ok not the best but the service out ranks it all!! Will be back! read more