Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Glendale

Now I'd give the restuarant 5 stars if not for the hick ups there were following communications errors between the staff and I starting before our visit to the restaurant.

Now my daughter wanted to go to Olive Garden for her 13th birthday dinner celebration, since we couldnt in good consiousnce have a party, we opted to have a family dinner with those we've spent time with during the pandemic. I decided to call a week before hand, twice, to inquire about seating in a specific area. Now they did say they cannot reserve seats, it's a first come first serve basis, which is fine, I have no problems waiting if we need to but if we could day of, sit in a specific area in which we sat in at previous family dinners beforehand and returning to the same restaurant because it seated our entire party, 6 adults 4 kids and a baby, we specifically wanted the round table nearest the windows cause it was isolated from everyone and it was the perfect amount of space for our party. I called twice to ensure the information they gave me was the same, that I would call and hour and a half before coming in to let the hostess know we would be coming in and that we could wait for that specific table, when the other party was finished we would be seated there.

Upon coming in to check in with them, I was greeted with the manager who said that we would have to separated by one person (the baby) to sit there it would only be 10 people and the 11th (which again is a baby whose barely 1.5 years old) would have to be seated separately. I argued with the manager that, that was not what I was told by the previous people I spoke with she then said, "yeah,I'm sorry but if you would have spoken with me I would have told you different." My question is why would I have to be told different when all training of communication to the customers should all be the same, training is definitely needed more on this part. Then proceeded to tell me that its per the law of the governor that they do this, it's out of her hands etc, she can't guarantee anything, just over and over again. We went back and forth and was told the better way was to separate us to two booths which I said ok, seeing as arguing was getting no where I conceded. I then spoke with my birthday girl who was disappointed, that we couldnt sit in the table she wanted and that we would be separated, so we were going to decided to eat else where. Upon returning to the front check in desk I was going to cancel the dinner there but luckily 2 dinner parties sitting pretty much next to each other finished. The manager then showed me the area we'd be sitting and for the situation I was content with it. It was a booth and table on the north east side of the restaurant, we shared the same long seat but one section was a booth seated for four a table length of emptiness between us then the table for six. Now it wasn't what my daughter wanted but it was close enough again for what they could offer.

Initially I was going to give the restuarant 1-2 stars but seeing as they did what they could to make us happy. Our server was great and very attending the staff, as well after we were seated was wonderful, especially our server, I cannot stress enough how awesome our server was and how much she tried to make my daughter birthday and our dinner as great as possible. So I gave the restaurant 4 starts instead of the 1-2. I would have been 5 had we not had the issues, better communication and training between the staff is needed especially with a situation like this. Hopefully my review helps someone maybe in similar...

It's weird how restaurants have raised their prices astronomically High and you're actually getting less service and the food is not the same! For example we walked into this Olive Garden at 4:00 p.m. yesterday we asked for a booth they didn't have any booths available they said because they don't have enough waiters and waitresses well that's weird because it's 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon that's dinner time you don't have a booth available in your entire restaurant even though I see many empty! Very strange! Well we are literally given three breadsticks there are three of us we are a party of three people so that's one breadstick per person I've never been served only three breadsticks and an Olive Garden one per person and then we ordered the Alfredo dipping sauce never ending Alfredo boat for dipping those breadsticks and the waiter doesn't even come back to refill it and they give you just a tiny little bit at the bottom of that bowl so it's not even enough to share well that's what a never-ending Alfredo boat for dipping your breadsticks is supposed to be but they give you a tiny little drops at the bottom of this bowl for dipping your breadsticks and then they never come back to refill it okay now let's move on to the dinner I always get the tour of Italy the lasagna was super small when the portion is usually a normal size it's literally so tiny it's maybe 1 in by 1 inch size square piece of lasagna they hardly put any sauce on the fettuccine alfredo noodles they have significantly shrinked their portion sizes and I went to this particular location because all the other locations are getting so bad between the service and the food I thought I would try a new location so it seems to be all of the Olive Gardens are not worth the money anymore it's absolutely not worth the money and not to mention I remember that used to be really picky about the servers they hired they are literally hiring children these boys look like they're probably 17 years old that is your waiter and they're not busy cuz like I said there's no booths available they make you sit at a table so they're obviously not busy they have no volume in that restaurant and yet the waiter can't even come and refill your Alfredo never ending boat and this hasn't just been yesterday this is how it has been every time we go to an Olive Garden and like I said I've been trying all the Olive Gardens in the valley hoping it's just one that has poor food and poor service but apparently it's all of them it's ridiculous lower your prices since you have lowered your standards of service and food lower...

We went for my brother's birthday and it was... Not great. We haven't dined in at an Olive Garden in at least two years. There were many notable differences in the experience.

There were no reservations. We had a group of 8 and when we have a larger group we prefer to be courteous to the staff and make reservations at least a week in advance. We were not allowed to. Olive Garden no longer takes reservations. You simply have to show up and wait regardless of your group size. We waited approximately 35 minutes to get a table.

Bread sticks and salad were served after we'd already been seated for almost 40 min. Salad is no longer for the table, only for the people who ordered specific entrees. It was awkward passing plates along to everyone only to have the server say, "Ah ah! Only these folks get plates for salad!" It was awkward having to take plates from certain people (Our great grandmother and toddler were two of them) and eat in front of everyone else. Therr was plenty of salad in the serving bowl for everyone, and we didn't have a problem sharing. Our bread sticks came on tiny plates instead of in baskets at first so we commandeered those because we're grownups and wanted everyone to be able to have some salad.

Food came about 1 hour in, only about 20 minutes after our first plate of bread sticks and the salad of awkwardness. It was decently busy but again, had we been given a chance to make a reservation, our visit could have been properly prepared for. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Fettuccine Alfredo was disappointing as always. Find a recipe online and make your own, people. You will blow your own mind with what you can make in less than 30 minutes for pennies compared to the $15 plate of sadness you currently think is your favorite dish. Five cheese ziti was actually really good, and the lasagna fritta never disappoints.

Special mention for the Zeppoli, now referred to on the menu as "Warm Italian Donuts" has been (permanently?) Discontinued? Or else too much work for the busy kitchen staff during dinner service. It was the best dessert at Olive Garden. Basically, beignets dusted with powdered sugar and served with warm chocolate sauce and raspberry sauce.

Our server did the best she could under the circumstances, as did we. Olive Garden has never been the epitome of fine dining, but is definitely a more "every man for himself" experience compared to the family oriented Olive Garden of the past. If you've been thinking about visiting Olive Garden...