Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in East Brunswick Township

I have a strong nostalgia for this Olive Garden; we went out to dinner here shortly after it opened in the 90s, in light of my Dad having just been promoted. We were not a wealthy family, so for us, at the time, a dinner at Olive Garden was fine dining. Since then, I'm better aware of what the quality of food at Olive Garden actually is. Entrees come precooked in a plastic bag; the bag is then boiled in water and the food is served once hot. That being said, the classics menu (e.g. lasagna, chicken parm, ravioli, fettuccini Alfredo, etc), while not any kind of stellar Italian cuisine, is fine comfort food. I've made the mistake in past visits of ordering special dishes (don't be fooled by the pictures in the menu, they make everything look so much better than it is): seafood is small, seems unnatural, and lacks flavor; I ordered chicken masala once that was dry and bland; and the biggest mistake I ever made was ordering a steak, which, although I ordered it medium rare, was among the toughest and gamiest steaks I've ever encountered. The best menu items are unquestionably the salad and breadsticks; they taste good and they can be reordered inexorably at no charge (although this can also be viewed in a somewhat negative light, as this often results in people ordering a second round of salad and breadsticks only to have them go untouched and, ultimately, thrown away, which is a tremendous waste). I can't say whether the soups are any good, because I've never tried any, vying always instead for the salad, although it is worth noting that they offer unlimited soup as well. Prices are decent, but, when considering the poor quality of the food, they begin to appear rather steep. It is worth noting, though, that Olive Garden offers frequent special offers, like endless pasta. The atmosphere is nice: dim lights and all the Frank Sinatra and Dream Martin I want to hear in an Italian restaurant, plus there is an additional comfort derived from the fact that every Olive Garden is set up exactly the same, so every return visit, no matter the location, takes me back to my first Olive Garden experience. Taken for what it is, the Olive Garden is a decent place for families or, most especially, young high school and college aged people to eat, so long as you stick with the classics menu, soup, salad, and breadsticks, and don't expect to be dining on any authentic Italian cuisine. Most desserts are good too, just stay away from...

Very good Italian restaurant suitable for both vegetarians (must confess though that eggs might be used in some preparations so if you are a pure vegetarian this may not be your hangout) and non-vegetarians. My family has been a near-regular customer at this restaurant for the past several years. Almost every kind of food prepared except for bruschetta could have dairy products so may not be ideal for vegans.

Harbinger You always have an initial sampler plate of fresh baked soft bread irrespective of what you want to order next and you could ask for more of the bread. I usually like to ask for a small plate of about a tablespoon of additional olive oil for dipping and enjoying this soft bread along with other condiments like crushed pepper, black pepper and salt.

Appetizers An amazing and tantalizing varieties are available - my personal favorities are - Succulent Spinach-Artichoke dip with bread accompaniment Mouth watering Lasagna Fritta (this is a must have!) Superb Bruschetta bread with a nice side dish of fine and juicy minced tomato, basil and light vinaigrette which you can add to the top of the bruschetta bread

Main course For the order of any main course item you get a choice of either a minestrone soup or salad but I would suggest you go for the salad - it is really so deliciously prepared and so far I have never been able to find anyone else preparing such a delicately well balanced salad! Of course, I am not going to reel out the main course menu here but some of my personal favorites - Eggplant Parmigiana Four cheese ziti Fettuccini Alfredo

Desserts Many ones worthy of relishing by a king available. Some of my personal favorites - Cheesecake Tiramisu

Service Very courteous and well suited for families and large groups!

Finale You shall, on the whole, not regret your trip and your family shall heap accolades on you for your really good choice!

Before you go Now waste no time in food...

This was the worst dinning experience I think I have ever had. 4 strands of hair were found in various dishes that were ordered by the party i dined with, 2 of which went unreported to the restaurant staff due to the experience when reporting the first 2. The first hair was found at the bottom of an entree and a manager was asked for while waiting for the manager to arrive another hair was found at the bottom of a second entree the manager Eric came over to the table and the second hair was shown to him. His response was that he wasnt sure how it got there and it seemed long and curly while looking at one of the females at the table that happen to have curly hair ( that was pinned back). When we pointed out the we found it trying to serve some of the food for another member of the table and it was found at the bottom of the plate Eric had a nasty attitude about the situation. When asked how the situation would be handled and made up to us Eric offered a potential free dessert. When the new plates arrived they had half the amount of food as the original plates when not a bite had been eaten from the first plates that had the hairs. At that point our dining party didn't even want to stay in the restaurant and to go containers were asked for while serving the food into the containers a 3rd hair was found stuck in one of the to go boxes and a 4th found on the bottom of another plate. These last 2 were not told to staff as the nasty encounter that was had with Eric. This experience ruined all Olive Garedens for myself and my family. Honestly a full refund should have been given due to the repulsive fact that multiple strands of hair were found and the terrible demeaning attitude of the Manager Eric. If 0 starts could be given it...