Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Garden City

Not as good as it used to be. And that was only okay. Meh

I left a review and you wanted more details:

Olive Garden used to be an experience. That's just not true anymore.

I visited the Milwaukee location near the Boise Town Square Mall in Boise, Idaho. There were 5 of us and we visited after they got off shift from the hospital around 8-8:30. The restaurant was not busy, and we only waited ~5 minutes for a table.

The bread sticks came out way later than the drinks, first basket came with the soup/salad. Maybe that's some cost savings measure? One bread stick per person even in the first round. Ordered the unlimited Alfredo dipping sauce appetizer. It was finished in 3 minutes flat, neither server/expo checked in about a refill.

Salad was swimming in dressing. Unless things have changed, probably 5-6 times the recommended amount. I took the salad off the top, shook it off in the bowl and asked the server to bring us a second bowl with less. Better, but still over done. As the second salad was being delivered, another server/expo arrived with the entrees. Most of us (3/5) hadn't finished soup/salad

Entrees: 5 people, 3 misses. I had the scampi: i ordered chicken but got shrimp. Not a problem, since i like shrimp? Except they were either overcooked or the plate sat under the heat lamp. The noodles (angel hair?) We're cooked to mush. Sadly, the server had already come back to ask how everything was before i got to my entree since i was finishing the salad. Sauce flavor was okay, veggies okay. But noodles and protein make that meal and they missed. Bad.

1 person at our table had the soup, salad, and bread sticks. She got part of an overdressed salad and just didn't want any more. She tried 2 different soups, but said they were both lacking something. She usually likes the soups. Maybe they were just into the dregs since it was the end of the night?

The lasagna was okay according to one of the others (1 ordered the lasagna, the two others spilt the Tour of Italy). The one with lasagna said it was really good! So kudos, for that one. The server split the tour for the other two (BTW-She was excellent throughout and we don't blame her at all!!!).

On the Tour the chicken was a bit dry and there wasn't much Alfredo sauce on one of the two plates.

See, the sad part is, i can remember when Olive Garden was an experience. Servers would ask you if you wanted a wine sample, bread came early with the drinks, pasta was actually cooked properly! Honestly, this place is priced like a steakhouse, but the quality felt like the bad version of a late night dinner after midnight.

I gave you a 3 star rating, but most of that is hope that this was a one...

Olive Garden is a go to place for my family and I, and unfortunately tonight was terrible. I did a quick to go order for my daughter because she has been really sick and I wanted to cheer her up with her favorite restaurant food. I ordered a kids fettuccine meal and a six dollar add on. I always request crouton packs because she loves to crush it up and eat on her pasta. When Megan L. brought my food out, I asked if my requests were in the To go bag, she says “what requests” I said the ones that I requested online, there is a comment box for requests. Megan says there was nothing, well that’s untrue. I have the email that shows a receipt with my requests. I asked for crouton packs because my daughter loves them with her pasta, The server says that Olive Garden has cracked down on giving out any condiments, and can no longer give out extra parm packs or croutons. By the way I get home and she gave us one pack 😞😞. How petty is that? We are regular customers and you want to say No when I tell you it’s for my sick daughter and this is her favorite pasta with croutons??? It’s just the same as Parmesan on the pasta. Some people are different. We got one melted mint with chocolate all over our to go containers, and one pack of Parmesan. I don’t understand why she couldn’t just give customer satisfaction and represent the Olive Garden name and go grab me some crouton and parm packs. It’s not my fault that she didn’t even bother to read the order properly. Megan L. was very rude and I couldn’t believe how I was being treated tonight. I was seven minutes early, I checked in online and live 3 minutes away and My daughters pasta was cold, old looking, and hardly any sauce. It was such a disappointment. This is not ok to treat paying customers this way. I told her I would be contacting the manger and she should receive some more training on how to treat people in the service industry, or just period. I’m blown away at the Terrible interaction. The most simple request with the rudest customer service I have ever experienced. I have worked in the restaurant business for over 20 years and this is not how you represent this industry. Being rude and petty over parm and crouton packs and serving cold misrepresented food will get you NOwhere. This was in Boise, Idaho February 8th, 2024 at 9pm. Boise Town Square Location. Apparently this order was Proudly served by Megan L. Tonight. I have the emails and receipts. I will be attaching my photos as...

If you’ve ever wondered where the souls of middle-class mediocrity gather to pretend they’re on a Roman holiday while inhaling microwaved pasta, look no further than the Olive Garden next to the Boise mall. This place is a hotbed of sweaty family reunions, wine moms in bedazzled jeans, and old people who think Alfredo sauce is peak European culture. Perfect for Mother’s Day if your mom likes her lasagna like her men—lukewarm and lifeless.

Let’s get the one shining light out of the way: the breadsticks slap. They’re the greasy, garlicky lifeline you cling to while the rest of your meal collapses like a wet cannoli. Honestly, they should just rebrand this joint as Garlic Bread & Regret.

The food? It’s fine. Not good, not awful—just aggressively okay. Like your ex who still texts you when they’re drunk. Everything tastes like it was made by a sad teenager on break from the dish pit. If you think this is real Italian food, I don’t know what’s more broken—your taste buds or your family tree.

The wait time is goddamn criminal. You’d think they were cooking the fettuccine from scratch with ingredients smuggled out of Tuscany. Nope. You’re just standing around for 45 minutes so you can eat pre-made lasagna next to a table full of screaming toddlers and someone’s racist grandpa trying to hit on the waitress.

Prices? Yeah, for what you’re getting, it’s borderline robbery. Fast food disguised as fine dining, except here you pay $20 to hate yourself with marinara. If you’re gonna serve me microwaved ravioli, at least let me eat it in my car like a shame-filled king, not under dim lighting next to Becky’s 9th baby shower.

But hey—grandparents love it, and that’s because they’re half-deaf, half-blind, and think anything served on a plate with parsley is five-star. So if you’ve got low standards, nostalgia for Chef Boyardee, and a burning desire to eat pasta surrounded by people who wear flip flops with jeans—this is your paradise.

Otherwise, save your money and go punch yourself in the face. It’s cheaper and arguably...