This is a chain that doesn't feel like one. It's worth the wait, the servers are all super personable and informative, we never have to wait long for our food and they bring it out in a good order so you don't feel like you have all your food at once, but that you're not waiting for ever in between courses. I tried the kale Berry salad, the cup of tomato, basil, soup, and a half of the Monterey club and I wished I had more of all of them!! The phone menu just dropped, and the pumpkin spice donuts are amazing, their juice bar drinks are always mixed really well and taste amazing and the pricing is proportional to the amount of food on your plate. We love coming here, the customer base is super diverse and we always feel very tended to. read more

Nice casual restaurant with good breakfast choices and efficient service -but they have seem to have done nothing to try to dampen the LOUD noise level -there are so many easy ways to add noise abatement materials, -in the high ceiling with open rafters would be great start. Having to shout at friends to converse while you eat really detracts from the potential enjoyment of your meal. We would probably eat here twice a month instead of twice a year if it were quieter. The bathroom is clean but there is also music blaring in there. Positives : food, service, outdoor tables, location, parking Negatives : LOUD NOISE prevents us from wanting to return soon read more

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I have been to all three locations Athens, Buford and Gainesville and I have not been disappointed by any location. All the food tastes amazing and the drinks are just as good. The restaurant was clean and organized nicely. The service was fast and I love how you can pay the bill on your phone. read more

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I would honestly given the Athen's First Watch a 4.5/5. I'm so glad I was able to try the new location. My friend and I came on a Sunday, in the early afternoon. We used the Get in Line feature on the website, which was great to get quickly seated. The restaurant is very open and even has a cute bar in center with plenty of seats We started with getting some of the fresh juices, our sever was sweet enough to give us a sample of the Watermelon Wake Up which I thought was delicious! My friend's go to is the Morning Meditation, so she went with that. Next for food, we decided to share two plates (Strawberry Tres Leches French Toast & Smoked Salmon Roasted Vegetable Frittata). The food came out fairly quick and I'm glad we decided the split the plates, since the French toast doesn't come with any sides! Both were delicious, I will say I expect my French toast to be a little more on the sweeter side and the Strawberry Tres Leches was not. Without the whipped cream, I need syrup and did not taste the cinnamon that I associate with tres leches. Overall, I enjoyed visiting the new First Watch location and will most likely be back. read more

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We had a fabulous fun filled morning followed by delicious brunch at First Watch. You must try the million dollar bacon and their bowls and plated meals are ample amounts and the service we received this day we went and each time is amazing. we enjoyed the ambiance of the patio where it was quieter from the clatter and noise inside the restaurant as when we walked through we immediately knew we made the right choice to sit outside as the noise was serene even with the cars and people out and about ok such a beautiful day. read more

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I'm from the West Coast and have never been to this restaurant. Everything was firing on this visit, service, food quality, cleanliness. The restaurant seemed very well cared for, which translated into a positive experience. Pictured is a maple bacon breakfast sandwich from the seasonal menu, it was so so good. I was nervous about trying a "juice bar" style juice, as those can be loaded with sugar. I had a kale tonic despite not liking kale and it was fantastic. Cucumber, apple and lemon flavors. It was great. Server left a carafe of coffee on the table for us, checked in a couple times. Really like the open kitchen concept, there's no need to hide it if it's clean, orderly and making damn good food. This would be my spot if it was in Portland! read more

First Watch - Maple Bacon, egg, sausage, apricot bacon jam, pickled jalapenos croissant sando. Trust me, it works - American Near Me - Athens, Georgia

The online list, the host, and the seasonal menu was wonderful! Food was delicious and we waited no time! Great guven athens always has a wait for brunch. read more

First Watch - Blueberry cornbread seasonal menu - American Near Me - Athens, Georgia

Went for brunch. Had to be back at work and all worked out. Service was good and the food was great. Will return. read more

First Watch - Waffle Eggs Bacon Cheese Grits - American Near Me - Athens, Georgia

The food was delicious HOWEVER the grits have chicken broth in them . The ambience was great and the server was fantastic. If this was out of 10 I'd rate it a 7/10 only because of the broth in the grits. Worth a try if you take account to that. read more

First Watch - The Tri-fecta - American Near Me - Athens, Georgia

The food was fantastic. They had everything I wanted with my breakfast right down to the fresh tomato slices and real Tabasco. The mimosa was lovely and the coffee was fresh and hot. Now, my favorite part, NO WAIT - which means the manager knows how to manage a restaurant and the service was top-notch! Shout out to Mallory for fast-friendly service with just the right amount of attention. read more

The place was nice inside our waiter was very nice the prices seem a bit high and the menu is trying too hard for a breakfast / lunch spot I had the three egg tacos and potato's Everything was good just a bit too pricey read more

First Watch - American Near Me - Athens, Georgia

Really beautiful decor at this location. The lemon riccata pancakes are so fluffy. The avocado toast is really tasty, but not really a full meal. read more

As always, everything was amazing! The atmosphere, the customer service, the music, and most of all the food. My son got 'The Works Omelet' which came with ham, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, onions, cheese, & topped off with sour cream. He also had the option to get grits or seasoned potatoes with it and chose grits. Of course, I got the 'Shrimp & Grits' (It's only available summer time every year) which came with shrimp, sausage, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, scallions, cheese, and toast. (chefs kiss) The honey crunch iced coffee was so delicious. And a visit to First Watch isn't a visit without a pancake which we shared. Of course, we're going back & you should too. We love First Watch read more

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Got the Elevated egg sandwich. 10/10 service. And great staff to be around! . read more

First Watch - Elevated egg sandwich - American Near Me - Athens, Georgia

After waiting 5 mins when we entered to even get acknowledged and watching 3 servers look at us and continue walking away. We finally got seated, then waiting another 15 minutes for someone to come to the table to even say hello I'll be right with you is absolutely not appropriate for a staff.. I saw 4 servers on the floor, not 1 came over to us.. didn't ever see a host/hostess. Ironically, the server that sat us obviously didn't want the money as well as the server that was delivering an order at a table directly behind us.. we ended up getting up and walking out since no one came over. 2nd time being there and we got no service at all, sad for a Sunday morning at 8am with at least 4 servers and 7 tables.. I would never allow any of my staff to treat customers like that, the owner and GM should be retaught how to run a business.. read more

Went with a friend to check it out and they had a nice place but food and service was not the best. They were nice but after having a whole conversation about gluten options with the server she still brought my friend's plate out with non gluten friendly toast. Her grits were more butter than anything and just not good. My sugar was rock solid and not the best oatmeal. Glad I went but would not go back. read more

First Watch - Oatmeal - American Near Me - Athens, Georgia

Food was good, but being my first visit to first watch it will be difficult to come back based on the server providing plastic wear with no explanation for what appeared to be an elegant breakfast when there was plenty of the real stuff available . Still scratching my head. Nor did he offer any napkins. $18 pancake experience will be remembered for the wrong reasons unfortunately . sorry read more

First Watch - American Near Me - Athens, Georgia

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My experience at First Watch was fantastic!!! Our server, Ethan, was very attentive and kind. One of my best restaurant experiences, I would highly recommend asking him as a server. The food was amazing, especially the BEC!! read more

Being a pretty new restaurant here it's definitely busy on the weekends. My order was missing an item and The hosts Jessica, Preston, Ansa and the manager Alex were incredibly kind and MORE than made up for the mistake. The whole staff was already extremely friendly when I placed my initial order but I was blown away at the kindness and generosity that was shown to me when they were more than happy to correct this mistake and make the drive back to the restaurant worth my time. The food is delicious and I highly recommend the honey caramel iced coffee. read more

Ambiance: lovely. It is modern, open, light and elegant...the best-looking brunch spot in town, so far as I know. One small issue: there is a glass entry way that looks like it could have doors on both sides but only has them on one side, with the effect that the host stand is pretty close to the cash register, creating two streams of traffic that cross each other at the front of the restaurant. Service: Excellent (with one quirk to be described later). I went in the early afternoon on a Wednesday. The place was about 2/3 full. I sat at the bar and got instant service. My food arrived less than ten minutes after I ordered it. The Issue: I ordered a classic Eggs Benedict. It came out with just one egg, which I managed not to notice right away despite snapping a picture. I didn't say anything. About ten minutes later, someone came by and said "We heard that one of your eggs slid off, so we made this for you." They gave me an entirely new entree (with two eggs) to go. While this is a generous solution, it's also a strange one -- if they knew without my telling them that they had served me an Egg Benedict...why serve it at all? Note also that the second one looks better than the first one overall, not just because it has an extra egg. If someone had come out and said "Sorry for the delay -- we cooked your dish but it wasn't up to our standards, so we're remaking it. Can I get you anything else in the meantime?" I would have found it entirely acceptable. Food: I thought it was fine but far from delicious. The potatoes were slightly too hard and tasted mostly like salt. As for the Benedict: the half with the egg was good. The other half wasn't: looking back at the photo I can see the Hollandaise sauce making a path where the egg must have slid off, so it basically a saucy tomato on top of dry ham on top of dry bread. Overall, I definitely could taste that I wasn't getting their best effort. If they had served me the second Benedict the first time, I would have found the food to be good but not great, probably a half step below Another Broken Egg and the Epps Bridge Flying Biscuit. As of now, they are not standing out even among Atlanta brunch franchises that have come to Athens, but I'll give them another try in a month or two. read more

First Watch - American Near Me - Athens, Georgia

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I was introduced to First Watch last month in Oak Ridge Tennessee where I had a wonderful meal. My sister and I visited the one in Athens last week and I was so disappointed. My Skillet Hash was so burned I could not eat it and my over easy eggs were hard in the middle. My sister's Eggs Benedict/Salmon had no salmon. $40 for terrible food. We have since been to the one in Snellville, Ga and it was delicious. I will definitely not be returning to the one in Athens. read more

This is a nice restaurant, the service was excellent. The food was delicious. The restaurant is new with great lighting. I will recommend this spot to friends. read more

First Watch - Waffle - American Near Me - Athens, Georgia

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Excellent food and service. It was the best waffle I've ever had! The young man who was our server was helpful, polite and so sweet. I will definitely come back. read more

The food was really good! Service was a bit slow because it was busy! The remodel of the interior looks nice/ bright! I look forward to returning! read more

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Amazing food and service. The eggs were perfectly cooked and there wasn't a wait to be seated.

30 minutes wait for our food. Oatmeal was not hot but tasty. Average blueberry muffin. Fried potatoes were quite a bit black. Gravy came but no biscuit. Server was very nice. Very clean and new. read more

This is our go to for breakfast. They are quick and accommodating. It's such a cute space that is always clean with plenty of room even when it's crowded. We are always pleased with our food and service. I just have to brag a little about Alex and the management staff. My son happened to leave his retainer there (which we didn't realize until 20 minutes after we had left). Alex was quick to pull the bag of trash and help us go through it to help locate our son's retainer!! He was so understanding and kind. I am so grateful. Without this I know it would have been impossible for us to find it!! read more

Had a great lunch Ham and Gruyère Sandwich with tomato Basil soup. My wife had avocado toast. Both were flavorful and our server was fantastic. read more

Great dishes, very consistent taste and quality on par with other locations. Pleasant service. Very quick considering the amount of business they get! Can be loud as most places are when they are crowded. I've been to many first watch locations around the country and they live up to the brand! read more

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Today was my second visit to First Watch in Athens. I will definitely be going back! 1st - greeted by a very friendly staff 2nd - extremely pleasant atmosphere 3rd - varied & wonderful menu choices 4th - fantastic foo! 5th - superb staff was gracious & attentive, yet not intrusive in the experience 6th - very reasonable prices for this quality of food This is now my "go to" restaurant for breakfast or brunch read more

Food was so good!! Ask for Abby! She's so kind and sweet and went out of her way for us when she wasn't even our server, she's amazing. Ambiance was lovely as well, the bartender was cute read more

Amazing food, really good, friendly service. I eat here whenever I am in the area. Alex is especially great! Highly recommended.

The Manager, Alex was awesome! We had a large party and he made sure he sat us all near each other! Everyone enjoyed their meal and we will definitely be back! I forgot to take pics of our food because we had so much fun doing the white elephant gift exchange game while we were there! read more

food tasted like the way dog smells and my sprite tased like water and was uncarbonated service was bad and slow read more

I really enjoyed the Eggs Benedict, and the waitress was efficient, helpful, and friendly. Our group will definitely return.

Amazing experience today. Yes, it was busy (just opened a few weeks ago so still working out the start up issues) but the food was incredible. Our whole table loved what they all ordered so someone really taking time and care to get it right. A total surprise but really welcome one! read more

Ordered the frittata with mushrooms and tomatoes. Partner ordered scrambled eggs. Both were cooked so hard we had to literally cut them. Frittata was burned and manager tried to pass it off as the cheese was browned, and told us next time we came in to order them soft cooked. I don't think there will be a next time. I understand they just opened, but this is not the way anyone wants their eggs. The grits were good as were the potatoes. The piece of bread was literally a sliver of bread. very disappointed. read more