Olive Garden Italian Restaurant

We arrived a little before 2pm for a late lunch. The restaurant was not packed at this time however when we asked to sit in a booth the 2 hosts fumbled back and forth as to which booth to sit our party of 3! We where sat at a clean booth and out waitress was promptly there to take our drink orders. We ordered waters and 2 cocktails. They got the waters out right away but the drinks didn't show up for 30 minutes. The soup and salad didn't make its way to the table quickly at all. It was a 37 minute wait for those items. Our entrees came out 48 minutes after we placed our order. The waitress was not really that attentive. I had an empty water glass and my cocktail glass and she just took the cocktail glass and didn't even bother to ask if I wanted more water. Of course once we paid at the table kiosk the waitress was happy to get us anything we needed so we could get up and get out. The menu is very small compared to years ago and it seems to just be missing the mark. My son ordered a kids entree and wanted to sub Alfredo for the marinara the waitress told us there would be an upcharge which I was fine with and once I saw the receipt I was blown away that they would charge $2.29 to sub a ladle full of sauce you have just sitting in the pan in the back. Like a full jar of Alfredo costs that much at the store. Olive Garden has really lost its luster in my eyes. The food is good but the wait times and inattentive staff really kill the experience.

I absolutely received 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 service from the Olive Garden. I called my order during lunchtime. The hostess taking my order provided information to help me decide what to order. When I arrived, I was greeted by the same friendly hostess I had spoken with on the phone; she promptly retrieved my order. I NEVER tip take out unless it's curbside, but I did on this day. Food was of quality, and everything was nicely proportional and temperature appropriate. Food was delicious.

Today was, meh! I always order the Shrimp Scampi whenever I decide to eat here. This dish is served with Angel Hair Pasta. I usually go to The Cheesecake Factory for Shrimp Scampi. I should've gone there today. I guess Olive Garden didn't have Angel Hair Pasta and had to use Spaghetti Noodles. I do not like Spaghetti noodles because they tend to overcook and the noodles will swell and become mushy. The noodles made my stomach upset. I threw away Olive Garden's noodles, made Angel Hair Noodles and mixed my noodles into the Shrimp and veggies. The first pic is what Olive Garden served and the second pic is the Angel Hair Pasta I made. There's a difference in size and texture. Also, the bread sticks were hard. They tasted old. I trashed the bread sticks and salad. If there's an ingredient that's not available at the time of an order that will cause for a substitution, let the customer know. Today, money was wasted...