Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Chattanooga

Came in with my wife and we went to the EMPTY BAR, now take into consideration I’m 59 years old and she’s 53. Bartender asked for ID when we ordered drinks. I had my license because I drove, she didn’t bring her pocketbook since she didn’t need it. Bartender refused my wife a drink! I understand the law but when does common sense go out the window. The bartender/manager stated that my wife might not be of age and it’s the law to card 55 or over. She didn’t know the law! And also stated to me to write the state legislature being a smart a—. Train your employees!

Here is the law.

In Tennessee, alcohol retailers must card everyone who is not obviously over 50 years old when purchasing alcohol ( off-premises.)This includes grocery stores, convenience stores, and package stores. Carding requirements Carding is required for all off-premises alcohol sales The ID must be valid and government-issued The ID must include the customer's photograph and birth date An exemption can be made for those who are obviously over 50 years old Penalties Selling alcohol to a minor is a Class A misdemeanor Failing to check for identification is a Class A misdemeanor Penalties for liquor law violations include fines, license suspension or revocation, and civil penalties On-premises carding Carding is discretionary for on-premises alcohol sales For example, beer bars and restaurants and bars do not have mandatory carding Age to consume alcohol The legal age to purchase or consume alcohol in Tennessee is 21 years old

You establishment is an ON PREMISES business. It’s discretionary and up to the person carding the customer. Again the girl was not trained and had a smart a— attitude when I asked for a manager to make a reasonable decision.

Your rude employee needs training and so does management if they are telling team members it’s the law!

Lost my business and my money!

You need to train your employees about customer service and the LAW.

Update, a very nice lady from Darden reached out and was extremely nice and professional. I hope she addresses the issue of carding customers at their (on premises) business and trains team members to have common sense. I will continue to go to olive gardens just...

An absolutely ridiculous and frustrating experience 2day, 9-27-25, bc of the server, Aubrey. She started out fine. Took our order of 2 meals, 2 drinks, 2 take-home meals, and a take-home dessert. She brought the soup. We waited and waited for the drinks and salt. We even tried to get this girl's attention by calling her name when she was standing 4 feet away. She totally ignored us. Finally flagged down a manager after 20 mins to get our drinks and salt. We also asked for bread sticks. The Mgr brought the drinks and salt, then apparently told the server we wanted the bread sticks. She came to the table to ask if we wanted bread sticks. Never saw her again. We were paying w/cash, so we pressed the call server button on the little payment machine. No response at all. We had to flag down another server to get a to-go box. Never got our take-home meals and dessert. Finally, we went up front to pay and asked to speak to a manager. A lady came up and said she was a manager. We told her everything that happened. She (mgr) got a bit twisted when I told her the girl should be fired. Said I was being harsh. Apparently, the other Mgr comped our meal, but apparently it was still okay to just leave us hanging out at the table. When my husband told the Mgr the girl was useless, the Mgr looked pissed off. Oh well! If your job is a server and you refuse to serve the customer, perhaps you need to be in another line of work! If this server did this to us, she's done it to other people and probably will again in the future. How many more meals are they going to have to comp b4 they realize they're losing money and business bc of her? We won't be going back to this Olive Garden, and I wish other customers good luck if they get her as a server. But on the upside, bc of her, you might get...

Here I am, an older man that has never been to any Olive Garden, but wanted to. Won't say it was a bucket item, but you get it. My spouse's eyes lit up when I asked what they were thinking for lunch. "You said you wanted to try Olive Garden..." SOLD Was it the most outstanding Italian I've ever had? No, for that I would need to return to Italy, Sicily, Boston and New York City. But for a chain they served my spouse and myself a very decent meal. Star, our server, was a star. She was informative, funny, attentive and answered all questions and guided me in selecting just the perfect meals. I got the make your own pasta with angel hair, 5 cheese marinara, meatballs and sausage. She didn't hear me asking for sausage, so when it was brought out and I enquired and she said she missed me asking and promptly brought the sausage. The salad with house dressing was good and the breadsticks were fresh out the oven. Yum You know when you're in the mood for something and everything lives up to your expectations and hopes? That was this meal. The food was good and the service was fantastic. That is some of the best sausage I've had outside Fenway from the sausage carts that lined Yawkey Way. Their cannolis need some work. The filling far too dense, but decent flavors. Their tea was brewed well. Yes, they're a chain, and as many reviewers have said, been to one, been to them all. Well there is something to be said about consistency. That's what Ray Kroc went for with that little chain, McDonald's. You have an expectation of knowing exactly what to expect when you are away from home and stop for a meal. Neither used the restrooms nor anything from the bar, so can't comment on those aspects. Nice first impression of a chain I've...