I'm thrilled there isn't one of these close to where I live becasue I'd be there all the time for breakfast. Everyone in my party loved their meals. Service was great and friendly. Definitely give them a try.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Million Dollar Bacon, Salad, Belgian Waffle
Christine O'Keefe
Visited for breakfast 3/18, very chilly in restaurant multiple customers inquired about temperature being adjusted to warm environment up a bit. I was told,” It’s just cooler in the front of the restaurant,” with my suggestion being negated. Multiple patrons inquiring about temperature adjustment, putting on sweatshirts, coats, and sweaters to warm up. I had Eggs Benedict BLT with potatoes. Hollandaise sauce extremely lemony and potatoes extremely salty. I asked for refill on water and waitress never returned but to deliver bill. I would not recommend.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Boyce Mullins
Consistent as always. Got there later in the day, about 20 minutes before closing, but they were cordial and we didnt feel rushed. Our waitress was knee bit has been well trained.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Million Dollar Bacon, Sandwich, Purple Haze
Ini Ekarika
The BlackBerry Cream French Toast is a must have! The customer service here was great from the time I walked in to leaving! Great staff!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Million Dollar Bacon, French Toast
David Moskowitz
Great foodGo
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Million Dollar Bacon, Biscuits and Gravy
Caroline Cullen
This location has permanently turned off online ordering. As someone who works downtown on Main Street, this is SO frustrating. It's so convenient to place my order and walk to pickup. I no longer order this for lunch due to the inconvenience of having to call or order at the restaurant. Please turn online orders back on for the working lunch orders.
Erick Wente
Horrible location. Customer service is the worst. Spoke with the manager Stephanie who treated me like dirt and could not have cared less. Would spend your money at a better place for
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Steve Walther
Great place to watch old retired married couples....Sarasota...
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Jennifer Winding
The bacon special was out of this world: a touch of cayenne and brown sugar! Ridiculously good! They provided a pot of coffee super old school, so you can help yourself when your coffee starts to cool. Loved this place.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Pippa Alldritt
Food here is really lovely. Service is a bit awful to be honest. We asked for a table inside and waited 30 minutes for the pleasure, then we were shown a table outside and told that if we don’t take it we would have to wait even longer when we explained we needed a table inside. This was patently untrue as a quick visit to the loo showed me a half empty restaurant. We were then unceremoniously moved from one reasonably sized table only to be then shunted off to a tiny table behind a door with lots of people coming and going. As I have hearing and eyesight challenges, it made for a pretty terrible experience. So my tip is- stand firm on what you want as a customer. If the service is shocking, speak up.
The First Watch in downtown Sarasota is the one I’m reviewing. I’ve had mostly good experiences here. The food is good and although it can be kind of noisy, the atmosphere is pleasant. The million dollar bacon and bloody maries are both first rate. I’ve had two really bad experiences here and the last one might mark the end of my relationship with this restaurant.If you go on a weekday morning you’ll probably be fine. If you go on a weekend morning, you’re playing Russian roulette with your dining experience. Some of the wait staff are good or at least average. The problem is that nearly half of the wait staff don’t know what they’re doing. The first bad experience I had was with a waitress who didn’t speak English well enough to take our order. She was a really nice person, but if you need help taking an order, you shouldn’t be a waitress in the busy section of a restaurant. She also brought the bill with our food. The restaurant has a policy of bringing the check halfway through your meal that incentivizes the wait staff to turn tables over. It’s a really bad policy. The last time I ate there (possibly ever?) we had a waiter who was so bad at his job, we stopped eating and left halfway through the meal. He brought the check with the food, got both of our orders wrong, and couldn’t figure out how to bring the person I was eating with a black coffee. Mind you, this guy had the largest section on a Saturday morning. My advice: if you want something decent on a weekday, go ahead and give First Watch a try; if you like sure things or it’s a weekend, go to Boulevard Cafe, Station 400, or C’est La Vie. They all have better food and service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Mark De Rose
Stopped-by for breakfast on this cold and rainy day. The outdoor temp is reading 57°F. Currently, this downtown Sarasota F.W. location is popular, particularly on Sunday morning. Since the wait for a table was 40 minutes, I decided to sit at the high-top/counter area. The window at this section of the restaurant was wide-open and the very cold air was blowing in. I asked if the window could be closed. I was told "many before me had asked the same question" and the answer to all was "No, not during dining hours!" Whatever happened to customer service? Whatever happened to common sense? I had to eat rapidly as my food immediately became cold...! Hmm... Yes I could've gone somewhere else for breakfast. Or, they could've just shut the window and provided many of their customers with a pleasant dining experience. Thank you F.W. for the worst dining experience I can remember.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Peter Mckenna
Very consistent service. Food is always great. Menu hasn't changed much since our first time there in 2017. Nothing fancy just good food and great service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Nanci Carpenter
Gentleman who seated us promised silverware. So did Sheya (sp). After we got our food, we asked AGAIN and finally got something to beat with. Food is always good in the 30 years that I have gone to First Watch in Winter Park but the Sarasota location needs staff training BADLY. The wait to be seated and to get menus was incredibly long for a half empty place. The wait to pay at the register was even worse. Maybe understaffed? Won't go back to THAT location EVER.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Sandwich
Chris Thompson
The food and service were both outstanding. Everything tasted fresh and had good flavor while the staff were friendly and attentive.
I'm thrilled there isn't one of these close to where I live becasue I'd be there all the time for breakfast. Everyone in my party loved their meals. Service was great and friendly. Definitely give them a try.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Million Dollar Bacon, Salad, Belgian Waffle
Visited for breakfast 3/18, very chilly in restaurant multiple customers inquired about temperature being adjusted to warm environment up a bit. I was told,” It’s just cooler in the front of the restaurant,” with my suggestion being negated. Multiple patrons inquiring about temperature adjustment, putting on sweatshirts, coats, and sweaters to warm up. I had Eggs Benedict BLT with potatoes. Hollandaise sauce extremely lemony and potatoes extremely salty. I asked for refill on water and waitress never returned but to deliver bill. I would not recommend.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Consistent as always. Got there later in the day, about 20 minutes before closing, but they were cordial and we didnt feel rushed. Our waitress was knee bit has been well trained.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Million Dollar Bacon, Sandwich, Purple Haze
The BlackBerry Cream French Toast is a must have! The customer service here was great from the time I walked in to leaving! Great staff!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Million Dollar Bacon, French Toast
Great foodGo
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Million Dollar Bacon, Biscuits and Gravy
This location has permanently turned off online ordering. As someone who works downtown on Main Street, this is SO frustrating. It's so convenient to place my order and walk to pickup. I no longer order this for lunch due to the inconvenience of having to call or order at the restaurant. Please turn online orders back on for the working lunch orders.
Horrible location. Customer service is the worst. Spoke with the manager Stephanie who treated me like dirt and could not have cared less. Would spend your money at a better place for
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Great place to watch old retired married couples....Sarasota...
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
The bacon special was out of this world: a touch of cayenne and brown sugar! Ridiculously good! They provided a pot of coffee super old school, so you can help yourself when your coffee starts to cool. Loved this place.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food here is really lovely. Service is a bit awful to be honest. We asked for a table inside and waited 30 minutes for the pleasure, then we were shown a table outside and told that if we don’t take it we would have to wait even longer when we explained we needed a table inside. This was patently untrue as a quick visit to the loo showed me a half empty restaurant. We were then unceremoniously moved from one reasonably sized table only to be then shunted off to a tiny table behind a door with lots of people coming and going. As I have hearing and eyesight challenges, it made for a pretty terrible experience. So my tip is- stand firm on what you want as a customer. If the service is shocking, speak up.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 2
Restaurantji Recommends
The First Watch in downtown Sarasota is the one I’m reviewing. I’ve had mostly good experiences here. The food is good and although it can be kind of noisy, the atmosphere is pleasant. The million dollar bacon and bloody maries are both first rate. I’ve had two really bad experiences here and the last one might mark the end of my relationship with this restaurant.If you go on a weekday morning you’ll probably be fine. If you go on a weekend morning, you’re playing Russian roulette with your dining experience. Some of the wait staff are good or at least average. The problem is that nearly half of the wait staff don’t know what they’re doing. The first bad experience I had was with a waitress who didn’t speak English well enough to take our order. She was a really nice person, but if you need help taking an order, you shouldn’t be a waitress in the busy section of a restaurant. She also brought the bill with our food. The restaurant has a policy of bringing the check halfway through your meal that incentivizes the wait staff to turn tables over. It’s a really bad policy. The last time I ate there (possibly ever?) we had a waiter who was so bad at his job, we stopped eating and left halfway through the meal. He brought the check with the food, got both of our orders wrong, and couldn’t figure out how to bring the person I was eating with a black coffee. Mind you, this guy had the largest section on a Saturday morning. My advice: if you want something decent on a weekday, go ahead and give First Watch a try; if you like sure things or it’s a weekend, go to Boulevard Cafe, Station 400, or C’est La Vie. They all have better food and service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Stopped-by for breakfast on this cold and rainy day. The outdoor temp is reading 57°F. Currently, this downtown Sarasota F.W. location is popular, particularly on Sunday morning. Since the wait for a table was 40 minutes, I decided to sit at the high-top/counter area. The window at this section of the restaurant was wide-open and the very cold air was blowing in. I asked if the window could be closed. I was told "many before me had asked the same question" and the answer to all was "No, not during dining hours!" Whatever happened to customer service? Whatever happened to common sense? I had to eat rapidly as my food immediately became cold...! Hmm... Yes I could've gone somewhere else for breakfast. Or, they could've just shut the window and provided many of their customers with a pleasant dining experience. Thank you F.W. for the worst dining experience I can remember.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Very consistent service. Food is always great. Menu hasn't changed much since our first time there in 2017. Nothing fancy just good food and great service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Gentleman who seated us promised silverware. So did Sheya (sp). After we got our food, we asked AGAIN and finally got something to beat with. Food is always good in the 30 years that I have gone to First Watch in Winter Park but the Sarasota location needs staff training BADLY. The wait to be seated and to get menus was incredibly long for a half empty place. The wait to pay at the register was even worse. Maybe understaffed? Won't go back to THAT location EVER.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Sandwich
The food and service were both outstanding. Everything tasted fresh and had good flavor while the staff were friendly and attentive.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5