Olive Garden Italian Restaurant

Saturday night very busy. My daughter and I were told at least 30 mins. Wait. We got call on about 5 mins. We had the best dinner, our server Nicky was wonderful. The food was outstanding. Great deal $12.95 three course meal. Can't beat it. Awesome !

I went for lunch and couldn't believe the unbelievably slow service.  We were seated immediately and ordered within 5 minutes of arriving (good start) but it then took 50 minutes for two lunch paninis to come out.  When, after 45 minutes, I asked the server if he could check on our paninis since I was just on a lunch break from work, he seemed utterly annoyed.  He then stated "well, you didn't tell me you were in a hurry."  I honestly didn't think I WAS in a hurry because I didn't image it would take just short of an hour for them to make 2 paninis.  Saying that, the paninis were delicious.  So, good food (of course the salad and breadsticks are always good too) but very, VERY slow service.

Forgive me Yelpers, for I have sinned.

After nearly 3 years of avoiding the OG, I found myself there last night to spend a gift card I was given. I felt so guilty eating here knowing there is some mind blowing local Italian eateries within 2 minutes of this establishment.

Please note I went in with the lowest possible expectations.

After hacking and shoving my way through the throng of pajama pants wearing obese people and the multiple teen couples on awkward dates I managed to reach the hostess podium. I fully expected to hear "45-60 minutes" in regard to the wait time from the hostess. I was taken aback when I only had to wait 15 minutes for a table on a Saturday night at 6:30pm during a holiday weekend. Ok, well played OG. Well played. Surprise number 1.

Ok so far so good. No tragedy yet.

So now we get to ordering drinks. I love good american craft beer, top shelf imported German or Belgian beer. I remember the OG has nothing like that on the menu so i asked the server what was on draft, fully expecting to hear the usual American adjunct lager list.

"We have Sierra Nevada pale ale on tap"
Ok. Surprise number two. I did not expect to find anything from an independent brewery here.

I decided to go with my old OG staple from years ago when I used to really frequent these places. The Chicken Scampi and the infamous endless salad and bread sticks.

I will say right now that the salad and breadsticks are a guilty pleasure of mine. It feels so wrong to like them as much as I do and is one of the only things I look forward to during an OG dinner. Our server kept these replenished without even being asked. That was surprise number 3.

Now the entrees were delivered.
Here's where dinner was mediocre. Maybe I got a 'meh' plate of scampi or maybe my tastes have evolved. It was pretty bland and not noteworthy. The best part of the dish was the fresh yellow, red and green peppers in it. Despite the plainness to it all, I cleared the plate.

Our party was visited by the 'sales manager' after we were done eating to see how we enjoyed everything. We pretty much stated that it was "fine". There wasn't much else they could do in an establishment that serves food that has been so toned down by corporate focus group tastings. Plus, we had a gift card that already covered 2/3rds of the bill so getting a discount didn't matter much to me. The service was above expectations and that was part of the reason for going out to eat that night...I didn't have to cook.

Overall I rate the experience 2 stars for food / 4 stars for service.

Next time I get a gift card to the OG or a friend mentions they want to eat there I won't be as upset as I had been in the past.