Olive Garden
When You're Here, You're Family
Message from Olive Garden
Olive Garden is a family of local restaurants focused on delighting every guest with a genuine Italian dining experience. We are proud to serve fresh, simple, delicious Italian food, complemented by a great glass of wine, served in a comfortable, home-like Italian setting where everyone is welcomed as family and friends. Olive Garden's menu features a variety of Italian specialties, including classic and filled pastas, chicken, seafood and beef. Enjoy our freshly baked garlic breadsticks and your choice of homemade soup or garden-fresh salad with any entree. All menu items are available for take-out, and our Parties To Go! menu offers generous family-sized meals for your next family gathering or office party.
Editorial by Citysearch
In ShortEstablished in 1982, this chain gained a following for its laid-back atmosphere and generous portions. Patrons settle into comfortable booths and tables in dining rooms with plants, artwork and décor reminiscient of the villas in the Tuscan countryside. Starters include scampi, sausage or pepperoni pizza, and several soup choices, as well as a signature seafood dip (crab, shrimp, cheese and marinara). Entrees include classics like lasagna, fettuccine Alfredo and chicken parmigiana. There are also "Garden Fare" options, which promise 30 percent fewer calories.
Key Points
- Fresh, delicious Italian food
- Variety of wine and beverages
- To Go ordering available
The Inside Scoop
- What to Drink - What's spaghetti and meatballs without a glass of wine? You'll find vintages here from Italy, Australia, California and Washington.
Insider Pages Reviews for Olive Garden
FOR A SALAD THAT YOU CAN EAT ALL DAY LONG, YOU MUST HAVE THE SALAD AT THE OLIVE GARDEN. NEVER HAVE I TASTED A SALAD SO DELICIOUS. THE SALAD DRESSING IS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. I COULD EAT THIS SALAD EVERYDAY.
Posted 09/06/05 | Report Abuse
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I love Olive Garden. The staff is kind and prompt. The food is excellent. The service is wonderful and the atmosphere couldn't be kinder. I recommend that everyone try Olive Garden at least once.
Posted 06/03/05 | Report Abuse
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Latest reviews from Citysearch.
the mcdonalds of italian food
by dmar5143
ive ate at a few olive gardens and there all the same.this is my last time to any of them..yes great breadsticks and unlimted wonderfull salad..but thats not a meal..the food is imitation italian..ill call the olive garden the mcdonalds of italian food..sorry no more.
Posted 05/28/07
Ragu with service
by bobfetterolf
Ragu spaghetti sauce can be doctored up to taste better than this chain does. Why would you go here with Portofino being in the same town?!
Pros: consistency
Cons: bland, plain, ketchup-like sauce
Posted 04/22/03
You have got to be kidding
by MikeKeller
You list Olive Garden as a best for Italian Food? Please, on what scale? "The best overworked franchise place we could find". Frankies is great, Open Kitchen is great, but to list them with Olive Garden is an insult. Did you even go out and look for real Italian Food? What about Rossetti's in Cornelius? Please do me a favor, if you are going to rate Italian food, go to some real Italian restaurants. Thank you.
Posted 01/12/03
Mass Produced Italian
by gestet
With so many good Italian restaurants in Charlotte,
Why would anyone wait in line for Olive Garden? I guess all those millions spent on advertising works. Cause it's sure not the food. Over priced food of medium quality. I don't see the draw.
I guess if all you know about Italian food is Lunchable Pizzas then this place may seem like heaven.
Pros: Good bread
Cons: over priced
Posted 10/31/02
Yeah Right!
by mikeinNC
This is as much an Italian Restaurant like McDonald's is Irish. I really have to say the Lasagna wasn't half bad which means the other half was. The dinner rolls were worse than hot dog buns. One thing about this restaurant located across from the Concord Mills is it looks nice from the outside (when your driving away).
Posted 10/18/02
The McDonalds of the Italian food genre
by dynasty1922
Only thing Italian here is the salad dressing. I have had so many unfortunate meal experiences at Olive Garden. Starting with the time I asked for no mushrooms and the server told me that I would not be able to get my entree without mushrooms because all their sauces come from a plastic bag to the time I took my friend there for her birthday and the server was more interested in telling all of his tables that he was going to college than serving our meal. The food is cloned, unoriginal and bland. Go to Frankie's for real Italian.
Pros: Inexpensive, Quick
Cons: Service, Unoriginal, Bland
Posted 10/09/02
Fresh from the microwave!
by shana_lynn23
Nothing tastes better than overpriced food straight from the microwave. I gave Olive Garden a few shots, but the service was bad every time and the food was awful. The last straw was when I received my food and it was still frozen in the center. It's not authentic, it's not worth the money and it's not worth the bad service.
Cons: not authentic, overpriced, bad service
Posted 10/08/02
Super Service by Steve
by parrott2
The service provided by our server was excellent. He was very helpful and friendly. I couldn't have asked for anything more. He is a super employee!
Posted 10/05/02
Great Family Dinner
by kbarton
This is the overall best place to take your family.
Pros: Inexpensive, Great Staff, Great Food
Cons: Crowded, Long Wait
Posted 09/23/02
I May Try the Calamari One Day...NOT!
by cscott54
Something has to be really good in order for me to drive as far as I do to get to the Olive Garden! And it is! The food, that is! I have attempted to try everything on the menu at least once! The veal usually calls to me...and I end up ordering it! I just love this restaurant.
The only complaint I have is the crowding, so either everyone else stay home...or build a bigger restaurant! Or better, build one to the west of Charlotte! The bar area is definitely not big enough! When there is a lot of crowding, I have sat in the bar (gladly). It is close, though. You have to be very friendly to sit in there! But do! It is well worth the wait and the crowd!
Pros: Great Food, Great Service, Atmosphere
Cons: Crowded
Posted 08/20/02
The super-size it Italian resaurant
by tagwire
If ever there begins a trend of upscale fast-food restaurants that produce the kind of food you eat when your not familiar with culture or taste, this is the starting point. After being bombarded with bread ( not fresh, with a butter substance on it) and salad, you can recieve a slighty above mac and cheese meal.
You can look for a nice bottle of wine but the food might get in the way of your being able to tell the difference between yours and the house selection.
If you go, get yourself a nice bottle of domestic, sit back, enjoy your bread-stuff and soak in the outer-city culture around you.
Bring your kids if you want to fit in. All of them!
Posted 08/13/02