Tom and I recently ate at First Watch Restaurant in Lewis Center.  There are so many great restaurants close to where we live that it can be hard to decide where to go.  Eating at First Watch made our choice even harder because we loved it!

First Watch serves breakfast, brunch and lunch.  It is a chain restaurant that was founded in 1983.  The company headquarters are in Bradenton, Florida.  There are 535 restaurants in 19 states as of 2024.  We have three within ten miles of our house, so I’m not sure why it took us so long to eat there.

We love to eat out after church, although that can be one of the busiest times of the week for restaurants.  Tom and I are always amazed how busy restaurants are in the Columbus area.  It seems like, if there are so many of them, some of them shouldn’t be so busy.  There are, of course, some that aren’t busy.  But those aren’t usually places we want to eat, either.

I invited another couple from church to join us for lunch after church and let them pick the restaurant.  After some conversation, Ted and Karen Gardner picked First Watch.  Actually, Karen picked it.  Ted likes wings.  First Watch sounded good to me because breakfast / brunch is one of my favorite meals to eat out.  A new place with new friends!

Karen and Ted have been to First Watch many times, which was a good thing.  They knew how busy it would be and Karen did “get in line” seating.  So we were able to get a seat as soon as we arrived, even though there was a line.  First Watch did a good job of moving people in and out of the tables, so it seemed like the line moved pretty quickly.  They also had enough servers and people to clean tables, which is a rarity these days.

If you go to the First Watch website, you won’t find a lot about the company origins.  There is, however, a fancy page with “Food Ethos” on it.  Their menu changes seasonally.  They don’t try to go with local foods because they are a national chain.  But they are committed to using fresh, seasonally available foods.  They like to feature foods from the best local “bakers, makers, and growers.”

After looking at the menu, I asked Karen and Ted what they recommended.  Ted said he really liked the French toast.  Karen recommended the superfoods bowl, a mix of chia seed pudding, fruit, and homemade granola.  I’m sure you can already guess which suggestion I took.  I ordered the Floridian French toast which came with fruit and a small container of maple syrup.  Tom ordered a breakfast burrito.

All of the food was delicious and not too much.  The portions were about right for lunch.  Our server was attentive without being smothering.  The food and the company were both excellent and we really enjoyed our brunch at First Watch.  Tom and I liked our food so much that we hope to go to First Watch again soon.