If you had asked me what “First Watch” is two months ago, I would have guessed it was a tv show. When I got an invite to visit First Watch I had to go look it up because I’d never heard of it. Little did I know there are several First Watch locations around metro Atlanta.

I recently visited the newest First Watch location in Alpharetta. The staff is so cheery and helpful. For starters, their coffee is fantastic. They have their own proprietary blend and give diners their own fresh pot as soon as they are seated. I ordered something I normally wouldn’t – a yogurt parfait. Served with fresh fruit and poppy seed muffin, it was top notch.

Nothing at First Watch is half ass. The Italian omelette has a generous portion of sausage, sun-dried tomatoes and peppers. Try getting that kind of quality at J. Christopher’s. And the poached eggs with bacon? They are topped with fresh arugala, avocado, and hollandaise. Even the ciabatta bread is quality.

First Watch serves their breakfast / brunch menu everyday until they close around 2. Nice to know if you are a late riser. But First Watch’s lunch menu isn’t anything to dismiss either. A pesto quinoa chicken kale salad (listed under the “Power Bowl” section of their menu) was rather delicious. There were many pieces of fresh chicken breast meat throughout the salad. Salads are quite large and hearty enough for two to share.

But you know what I loved even more than the salad? The half sandwich / half salad option myself. So, you know when most restaurants offer the half / half combo it is a sad selection – like a lettuce bowl that comes with two cherry tomatoes and a dried out turkey club. Not at First Watch. For our combo we ordered a delicious Reuben sandwich thick with corned beef along side the Pecan Dijon salad. This salad comes with chicken, bacon, avocado, pecans, tomato and carrots with Cheddar and Monterey Jack.

They do a good job sourcing from local vendors as much as they can. Interesting fact: they build all their restaurants so that all windows face away from the sun. No need to worry about any glare while you are enjoying your breakfast / brunch. A couple other facts about First Watch:

• You can substitute cholesterol-free eggs or egg whites at no extra charge
• Want to share? There’s no split-plate charge
• No auto-gratuity no matter how large your party is (I feel for the servers who work the Sunday Jesus crew)

Disclosure: My meal at First Watch was complimentary. But the opinions expressed are my own. First Watch gave us so much food at our brunch, we didn’t eat anything the rest of the day.

First Watch
3450 Old Milton Parkway
Alpharetta, GA 30005