Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Austin

Update: I’m all for giving it a second shot. You’d expect that covid may have negatively impacted an establishment that was a little rocky for us in the first place but after my mom passed away here with us... our kids wanted to celebrate her “heavenly birthday” and they made it an amazing experience. Well done, and way to make up for any of the hit and miss in the past. Thank you for taking care of a crying 6yo who just wanted her “Hammy there with us...” your manager and our server could have handled the situation in such a manner that only made it harder—we are so grateful!

Food is consistently good, the service is not, even when we explain that with three toddlers we would appreciate a seasoned and exceptional server. This restaurant also refuses the kids to have soup or salad with their kids meals, even though corporate said there is no distinction (our tiny kids LOVE the minestrone) and the server even has to select “no salad or soup” under each kids meal.

They act like it is so inconvenient for them to serve you—as a server for 10years, hostess & assistant manager for 5, owner of two businesses for 12 & 15 years... that so unacceptable. I pre bus my table, I pack food into boxes, and even still the last 3 servers we have had—would have made you think they were being asked to moved heaven and Earth just to fill our glasses that were empty most of the time.

The manager made what he called a one time exception on the soup, but I’m very curious to see what corporate says when they get the documentation I’m sending to them... did I mention I’ve been paid to secret shop the better part of the last decade (SMH)...

The service really ruins the experience for...

18 Feb 2022 - early evening for 2 (over 70) First to Management of Lakeline Mall area in Austin Olive Garden, our server KOBE (on his last day of trainee server status) was OUTSTANDING. He was personable without being pushy. He got everything right first time on our order; he checked back regularly but did not "hover". When we asked for recommendations he gave clear recommendation with short explanation as to why. I hope he keeps his attitude and does not burn out.

I ordered the Soup & Salad Pasta e Fagioli Soup is excellent, has enough beef in it, vegetables are tender, excellent flavor somewhat like chili - an Italian chili, that is. Let them grind the cheese shredder until servers wrist is about to give out. It could have more black beans to make it better. I added a bit of ground black pepper to "give it some pep". The croutons from the salad make EXCELLENT crackers in the soup, btw. If you want croutons with salad, just ask for some extra for your soup. The Italian margarita was good, not as good as Perfect at Long Horn steak house or one of the excellent Prickly Pear Margaritas served around the area. Still better than standard margarita - you get a half shot of Amaretto to add to your glass. It is rimmed with coarsely granulated sugar rather than salt. Maureen enjoyed her Shrimp Scampi, too, and of course her tiramisu. Me, wanting to maintain my youthful manly figure decided to forgo dessert (I had 3, or was it 4, bowls of soup and cleaned out the salad bowl & bread sticks. You have to ASK for butter with them!! Me, I ask, firmly! (Maureen says I "demand", I think that is a bit overboard on my firmness, but she tends to be wimpy when dealing...

The good, the very good and absolutely amazing. We ordered from this place for a party and called in two days prior. I was guided by Alicia regarding our catering order. She was not only understanding of our requirements but also guided us in a manner as if it was her own event. She was extremely helpful with the ordering of the vegetarian items we wanted for our party. She went above and beyond to make sure nothing was missed. the whole ordering seemed like the easiest part of the process at that time. Pickup: we were to pick up at 7pm and arrived 5 minutes early. When I walked in, I was warmly greeted and taken directly to their pickup area. I was a bit nervous trying to make sure nothing would be missed and to my surprise, everything was labeled and completely ready to go. Nothing missed!!! Everything was as agreed upon and more. They even helped bring all the food to our car. Alicia had paid extreme attention to every detail to make sure our event would go flawless. Apparently, this was the easier part than the ordering. Event: Everyone raved about the choices we had selected with the guidance of Alicia. The food was excellent, and the quantity was ample enough with some leftovers taken home by some of the guests. If we had ordered 1 less tray of anything, we would have been a little short, and if we had ordered 1 more tray of anything, it would have been too much. So in short, the guidance provided by Alicia was on the money not only for the quantity but also for the selection of the dishes. The food was great, the taste and the flavors were excellent, and the quantity was perfect. Nothing more to say, but to thank Alicia for making me look...