Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Conway

Ah, bellissimi lettori, it is I, Andrea Regester, bringing you an exquisite tale of my latest gastronomic adventure. When I first heard that Olive Garden was opening in Conway, I scoffed. Can an establishment in Conway, Arkansas, truly capture the essence of the Italian home country? After all, my extensive expertise in Italian cuisine—having dined at every local pizzeria in town—gives me an unparalleled palate. But, madre mia, was I in for a delightful surprise!

Let's begin with the minestrone soup. A symphony of flavors danced upon my tongue. The medley of fresh vegetables simmered to perfection, reminiscent of the rustic broths of the Tuscan countryside. I could have sworn I was back in the rolling hills.

Ah, the salad! I've always said the mark of true Italian craftsmanship is in the crispness of the lettuce, and Olive Garden, you did not disappoint. Each leaf was a crisp embrace, as if kissed by the morning sun of the Amalfi coast. The tomatoes? So divinely ripe that I was transported to a sunlit piazza where nonnas gather to share age-old recipes. It was, without a doubt, an experience by itself!

And then, the pièce de résistance: the breadsticks. I've tasted many breadsticks in my time, but these, mio Dio! The light, airy crust combined with the soft, pillowy inside was nothing short of a masterpiece. They were like delicate wands, wafting the essence of the home country right into the heart of Arkansas.

In conclusion, while my critical eye rarely misses a flaw, Olive Garden in Conway managed to sweep me off my feet. The minestrone, the ever-flowing salad, and those breadsticks have left an indelible mark on my Italian heart. If you yearn for a taste of the home country, make haste to this establishment. Arrivederci for now, and until our next...

my boyfriend & i were super excited to go to the new olive garden here but sadly disappointed with the service/management.. we sat down at 7:50, didn’t get breadsticks until 8:30, got a cocktail & paid the extra $2.50 for grey goose to be in it. my boyfriend & I both took 2 drinks & it was gone. 80% ice & 20% lemonade. we tasted absolutely no liquor at all.. our server asked if we wanted another one & we kindly explained why we didn’t want to spend another $10-12 for a cup of lemonade. He was very polite & tried to accommodate by telling his manager. The manager came over & pretty much looked at the both of us like so what’s the problem? we were kind of taken aback by his approach. we then explained, the manager then argues with us that it was 2 oz of liquor & that they can’t over pour due to laws. We told him we understand that but there absolutely was no way it has 2 oz of liquor because we would have tasted it with how little our drink was. Manager never apologized, never asked to accommodate or offer a new drink, he just kinda walked away. Our server apologized over & over for how poor the service was. We didn’t get our food until 9 pm, which we had him box up to go because we were just over it at that point. I normally don’t write reviews but the management here was horrendous, all he did was walk around on his ipad. Not once asked if we enjoyed our time (which we clearly did not) or if we needed anything. Honestly if it wasn’t for how hard our server was working we would have walked out. Paid like 70$ for a meal we didn’t even eat at the restaurant. Drove home to eat it (only 11 minutes from the restaurant) & everything tasted frozen & like it had sat for 30 minutes. Never again, what a waste of money especially in the times...

I rated it 5 stars for my first experience on their first day but after returning just a week later it’s completely changed my opinion. A rude server one time is okay to overlook, but having a rude server twice is unacceptable and shows that they need to reevaluate who they have working on their team. These servers are sticking out like bad apples amongst the rest of their kind staff and ruins the service they are going for. I understand that sometimes people have bad days, but this server was like night and day between our table and the table that she was serving behind us. She was overly obsequious with them and would treat us like an inconvenience. It is hard not to take that personal. What sense does it make to ask me if I want more bread or salad, but when I respond saying I was good with the salad bowl and plates, I am given an attitude with the response “I was getting that.” I don’t think that servers realize they can completely ruin someone’s experience with this type of unwarranted and unnecessary treatment. We waited an hour to be seated, then we waited 20 minutes for our drinks, another 20 for the appetizer, and another 40 for the food. Overall it was 3 hours and ruined the rest of our night plans. The food did not taste half as good as the first day, I would’ve been better off buying a 10$ bag of bertolli chicken parm penne from the grocery store that has more flavor than my entire meal. The salad came out with hardly any dressing, the soup and appetizer was off, the bread too hard, then a long wait for what just tasted like plain sauce, noodles, and cheese on a plate. For the prices at this establishment it feels like a slap in the face to receive lackluster food and service. I don’t have any...