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
My brother had his wedding luncheon here and they were very accomidationg, and not too expensive either. great food and service. you have to go there, a great atmospgere, lovely decorations and very good priced food.
Posted 11/03/05 | Report Abuse
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Latest reviews from Citysearch.
New Year's Disaster!
by priscete
I went there with my husband for New Years. The server was probably new, and we had to keep reminding him to bring our drinks and bread. In the end, it sounded like he wanted us to leave ASAP so he could take the check. Horrible experience!!!!!!
Posted 01/07/05
Best of 2004??
by bratgirl
I'm stunned that this made top of the list by readers. How generic. I recommend to your readers to get out a bit more and live. Kudos to the editors...at least they have taste, and class.
Posted 04/08/04
Not True Italian Food
by nessa7351
This is nothing but fast food @ a Sit down Restaurant. True Italian food is not sweet sauce, and true lasagna does not have cottage cheese in it. The only thing worth eating here is the salad & bread sticks
Pros: Good location, Inexpensive
Posted 04/08/04
To Americanized
by happy2b40
It's like a pasta anything goes with lots of salad and breadsticks to fill you up. Not very Italian. I can buy most of whats served in a jar. Young children who are picky eaters will love it.
Pros: Big portions, great 4 kids, lots of parking
Cons: , noisy chairs, calorie loaded sauces
Posted 03/01/04
Excellent Food/Service
by diamondsontheinsidejen
The Olive Garden has been a popular and cool place to eat out for a while now. The food is delicious, not only the food itself, but the serving sizes, and menu choices. Perfect place to bring a date
Pros: Delicious
Cons: slow
Posted 10/28/03
Fun, Friendly, Tasty . . .
by micmama
Very nice, relaxing atmosphere and delicious food. They have good quality and consistancy in their menu items and the price is right. A sure bet for an good meal. Only complaint, the server was way too frinedly and perky. She was a bit too overwhelming and pesky in getting our order.
Pros: Clean, Good food, Nice decor
Posted 02/01/03
Fill up on soup and salad
by RandiSchmelzer_Citysearch
All-you-can-eat soup, salad and breadsticks from Olive Garden is one of the chain-restaurant-world's great dinner deals. And it's actually relatively healthy, if you don't drown your bread in Alfredo sauce and overdo it on the salad dressing and croutons. (They'll charge you at least $1 for a side of sauce, anyway, and that'll add up quick.) You will be seated next to someone who's having a birthday. You will be seated next to a screaming baby. The minestrone soup is not always up to par (sometimes it's too watery). But, especially if you need to stop somewhere off the freeway, this is usually the best choice for cheap Italian eats. Oh -- try not to go on a Sunday afternoon, unless you really want to be trampled by stampeeding post-church patrons.
Posted 05/14/02
Great family atmosphere
by peter_behle
If you're dining out with kids, you almost can't beat the ambiance at Olive Garden. It's a lively, family-friendly place where you can feel at ease with a large group--great for getting in and out quickly, which is a huge plus for parents.
Pros: kid-friendly
Cons: chain-quality food
Posted 05/13/02