Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Gainesville

Update: I wanted to update my review after my most recent visit. The manager was kind enough to provide a gift card, which I really appreciated. When I went in this time, the food was so much better. The portion sizes were just right again, and everything tasted amazing. Unfortunately, the experience wasn't without its drawbacks. We had a long wait for a table, and once seated, it took about an hour for our food to arrive. On top of that, our bill was messed up a couple of times. Altogether, we ended up spending about two hours at Olive Garden, but the food quality definitely made up for some of the delays. I’m glad to see the improvements, and I’m hopeful things will continue to improve.

As a loyal customer of over ten years, I have always enjoyed dining at Olive Garden. However, my recent experience was far from the standards I have come to expect.

Firstly, the salad served contained rotten vegetables, which was unacceptable. Additionally, it included an unidentifiable piece of meat, which was particularly upsetting as I am vegetarian. This oversight completely ruined my appetite.

Secondly, my usual order, eggplant parmesan, was served in an unusually small portion. The eggplants were tiny, and there was an evident lack of sauce and cheese. It seemed like a mere fraction of what is typically served.

Furthermore, I was surprised and disappointed to learn that breadsticks are no longer allowed to be taken home, and the mint chocolates traditionally given at the end of the meal were also missing. These changes, paired with a noticeable decline in the quality and ambiance, give the impression that significant budget cuts are affecting the overall dining experience.

As prices increase, it is reasonable to expect the quality and portions to remain consistent, if not improve. Unfortunately, the opposite seems to be happening, which I believe will alienate loyal customers like myself.

I urge you to reassess the changes and focus on maintaining the high standards that Olive Garden is known for. I hope to see improvements so that I can continue to enjoy the dining experience I have cherished for so long.

I tried to contact them through their website but it seems that there is an error...

I ordered an appetizer and stated plainly that i would like to enjoy just that and relax a little before having my meal. Server asked if she could take our order at the same time, yes - soup and salad. About 5 minutes later another table with 2 men was seated and she took their order (soup and salad). 15 minutes - they get salad. Our appetizer, room temperature soup and salad are brought out, she asks if we want cheese - yes. Sorry I'll have to get the grater. Men then get their soup with cheese grater in her hand, I signal her, she walks off. We wait and she finally asks if we need another soup, yes with cheese. Soup comes, no cheese, ask again, another 5 minuts we get cheese, but no drink refill. Skip to dessert, I order 2 fried biscuit things, 1 chocolate sauce, 1 raspberry " I can bring you 1 order with 2 sauces" - no, i want 2 orders. She comes back and says no raspberry so i canceled one order. Okay, i use the ziosk thing and order the cream cake with strawberries. She arrives with 1 biscuit thing and both sauces. Tell her i also ordered the cake and please put in a to go box, and could we please get a drink refill, we have been here 45 minutes. 15 to 30 minutes later we get the cake, she says she had to do it herself - uh what. Home to enjoy my cake, should have checked before leaving, portion was half what the table beside us got, no whipped cream, box top smashed down and cake spread out over the box. Some people should not be in service positions.

Also, if you have to keep going outside to vape, find a way to remove the odor from your clothes before bringing food...

UPDATE 10.28.22 Tonight we decided let's give Olive Garden another try. So we got sat down and waited for a quite a while and then Lilly came over and apologized for the wait and we said that's not a problem. After this it went spiraling down from there. She was non existence and when she did come to our table we had to ask for drink refills, more soup and bread sticks. Then as we waited for our food she said ones up in the window but waiting on the Chicken Marsala. 15 minutes later she came back out and I said what's taking so long? She said they are really busy on the other side and I said AND... 15 minutes ago you said my Chicken marsala was the hold up. She abruptly and rudely said well do you want a manager and I said yes bring him out! John came out and noticed the situation was not good. He was very calm and listened to everything. He had the entire situation resolved and all was good. The food was absolutely fantastic! Then we sat and waited on Lilly once again and she disappeared so another waitress came up and helped us with everything else, sadly I did not get her name but she was wonderful! John came back before we left and very appreciated on how he took care of us and the situation. When we were leaving Lilly was at the host stand gossiping about us and the looks they gave us solidified what was going on. When we walked out the door Lilly yelled BYE as I turned around she gave me a smirk. So I went back in and John came out along with another manager. Unreal and so rude. So if you decide to drop in please avoid Lilly. John is the one that will take...