Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Fort Smith

Have you ever wanted an Italian restaurant that's not fancy but is chilled and still tastes good? Then come to Olive Garden.

Firstly, from the breadsticks to the pasta, the food is like no other. My regular meal is spaghetti with marinara, grilled chicken, and breadsticks. The bread, obviously a main course and staple of the restaurant, is cooked, seasoned, and buttered so well the taste lasts a long time. The sticks are soft, which makes them even more enjoyable as the bread can feel like it's melting in your mouth. Then there's the spaghetti. The noodles are clean, tasty, and hot (most importantly), and the sauce plus chicken is evenly spread on top of the spaghetti, making each bite evenly flavorful.

Secondly, the service is kind of mid. The wait times can be up to 30 minutes for a table, on average being 15, and it is very annoying to have to wait that long just to get seated. After you get seated, you have to wait to get your food, which, on average, can be 20 minutes. That's an average of 40 minutes before you even eat, which is just barely exeptable. The only reason the service is 3 stars is because of the waiters. These people are very nice, bring your stuff to you as soon as possible, and make your experience way more enjoyable. However, service is still not quick by any means.

Third, the atmosphere is great. This is the other reason Olive Garden stands out. Almost all restaurants like this are fancy and strict. But when you eat here, no matter if you're a kid or an adult, you can eat however you please, talk as much as you want, and even be a little unclean (just don't take it too far please). The family, chill aspect of this place is really nice.

Fourth, the time you come is vital. Like almost any business, the food/drink will be best when first served. However, when you go to Olive Garden, either go when they first open, or 2-3 in the afternoon. If you don't, you won't like your time there that much.

Lastly, the prices are honestly a bit ridiculous. The spaghetti meal, for example. Create your own pasta, which is 12.99 by itself, with the grilled chicken, another 5 dollars, along with any drink other than water, and you have a 20 dollar meal. 20 dollars for spaghetti and chicken is a little unreasonable. So get deals if they have any!

In conclusion, Olive Garden is a good restaurant. The food and atmosphere are what really make this place. But the mediocre service, rising prices, and limited times of day you can actually eat here set this place back. But if you follow these guidelines, Olive Garden is a great place for an authentic Italian experience. I would go 3.5 stars here, but I have to round up or down, so I'll say 3 stars. If this restaurant fixes these 4 things, I believe it can go down in the top...

Where to start... There were only 2 of us, but it took over a half hour to be seated? Once we sat down, there was a crying baby, and being busy, the sound was echoing off the walls where we sat?! I couldnt hardly hear my hubby across the table? WHY did your company go to basic restaurant style with the design and reducing high back seats and walls? I feel like I am at Western Sizzling? I ordered a FROZEN Margarita and it took FOREVER to get it❓️ Then when I finally got it, I couldn't hardly drink it because of the HUGE ice chunks that did not get blended up❓️ My hubby was trying to dig the chunks out, but there was far to many and it was just a huge mess. The taste was good, but it was a mess... The waiter was good, despite hardly being able to hear us, especially with the baby that cried the entire time & the echoing. The food was good despite not having a drink half the time and fighting to drink it the other half of the time. Honestly, this was my very favorite place to eat, but tonight really did me in. I can not see coming back to Olive Garden. You guys might want to buy a Ninja to blend those Margaritas because I make far better ones at home, and that's really sad... You should send your bartenders over to Zapatas Mexican Food across the street because theirs are the best in town, and SHhhh.... they are far cheaper! You can get 2 Margaritas for the price of one of yours, and they...

Most days, when it comes to dining out, I prefer to eat somewhere locally owned and operated. However, there are times when I breakdown (usually with the children), when I’ll visit a chain. Today was one of those days.

The positives: Olive Garden always puts out a consistent product. Nothing earth shattering in terms of taste but always good. I’ll admit I secretly love the Zuppa Toscano soup. For the most part the service was good. He got off to a rocky start, namely by dumping the drink tray over and almost soaking my son in tea, but he recovered and did a nice job.

The negatives: Anytime I come to this Olive Garden the waitstaff seem to congregate in the hallway from the bar to the dining room. It’s not a uncommon to see 5 or 6 of them just leaning against the wall, hanging out, waiting to get a table I suppose. This is just my opinion of course, but to me, it looks very unprofessional and makes the hallway feel very crowded. It’s certainly not something which would keep me from coming back but a slight change to policy could enhance the customer experience greatly.

Bottom line: Good visit to Olive Garden and pretty much on par with the other visits I’ve had.

I will say, the Location in Fort Smith is always busy so no matter what time of day you go, I would expect to wait...