Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Grand Forks

My first visit to Olive Garden was during midafternoon, so I could be sure to get in.

After a late breakfast, I figured a late lunch would be fashionable. The place is impressive. It’s fashioned in Tuscan farmhouse style with a welcoming entryway. There is seating for those who are waiting.

My booth was near the kitchen, and I watched the waiters in white shirts, ties, black trousers and aprons adorned with gold-colored towels. They were busy at midday, punching in orders and carrying out bread and pasta.

It had been a few years since I ate at the older Olive Garden in Fargo, so I studied the two manageable menus offering appetizers, soups and salads, grilled sandwiches, pizza, classic dishes, chicken and seafood and filled pastas. At length, I asked my server what she would recommend. She suggested chicken Alfredo, and I went with that. Instead of the raspberry lemonade she suggested, I drank water.

She first brought me the familiar Olive Garden salad bowl with crisp greens, peppers, onion rings and yes - several black olives. Along with it came a plate with two long, warm breadsticks.

The chicken Alfredo ($10.95) was warm and comforting on a cold day. The portion was generous. My server was ready with Parmesan cheese.

As I ate, I noticed the vases and planters with permanent flower displays on the ledges. There are several dining areas with arched doorways. And there is a fireplace that adds warmth to the decor.

Olive Garden has an attractive bar area to the right of the entryway. The restaurant has a full liquor license and a wine list offering a wide selection to complement Italian meals. Nonalcoholic beverages include coolers, specialty coffees and hot teas.

On a hot summer day, I will try the raspberry lemonade that was recommended.

There’s a homemade soup, salad and breadstick lunch available until 4 p.m. daily for $6.95. An olive branch on menu items signified low-fat entrees.

There is a Garden Fare Nutrition Guide available for customers seeking gluten-free food. And for those with food allergies, Olive Garden has an Allergen Information Guide.

All in all, it is the largest and most beautiful restaurant now operating in Grand Forks. It attracts visitors from out of town as well as people who live here. Olive Garden is part of the Darden chain of restaurants that also operates...

My first time at an Olive Garden. I'll admit, I consider this the type of chain restaurant that I'm not typically in favor of dining at due to the perception of "cafeteria style" food and interior layout. It is a bit stereotypical of that in terms of the amt of tables. This type of restaurant provides for service to many diners at a time creating the potential for a less than personalized dining experience and food not prepared for each person but for rooms full of diners. Interestingly though, I REALLY enjoyed the shrimp linguine and salad. My daughter and I split each item and Lucas, our waiter, pre split the plates. I love how the salad comes in a large serving bowl. It's mainly ice berg lettuce but it's pre tossed with a decent, light and simple dressing. Fresh Romano cheese is ground for you at the table if you desire. The shrimp was cooked to perfection. Shrimp is so typically over cooked, it was nice to see it still translucent and tender. They weren't baby shrimp but much smaller than average. That didn't matter bec they were delicious. Lucas offered us four wines to sample prior to ordering a bottle. We told him we wanted a red blend and he brought four options. He poured up four generous tastings for each of us in four separate wine glasses each. By the time we decided, I had drunk enough to feel like splurging on a bottle. (Great way to upsell, Lucas!) The pay-at-the-table credit card machine seems a bit tacky, and it takes up space on the table, but it certainly does allow for unlimited time to review the bill when paying, and also an easy way to select the tip amount. I hope management reads my review to see that our waiter, Lucas was TOP NOTCH! He was friendly, knowledgeable with the food and wine and allowed us a personalized, non-rushed, and over all very pleasant meal and dining experience! Great work, Lucas!! Even though I am from CA and will most likely never be back to this particular Olive Garden, I will definitely consider dining at one in...

Usually, I like to go in for the Unlimited Soup, Salad, and Breadsticks around lunch time. Usually the service is quick and they understand that you want a constant flow of these items so they don't leave you waiting. This time we had a waiter named Jamie, who seems a little odd at the beginning. She seemed rushed and jittery. It took us a while to get the 2 waters we ordered, and then even longer for the salad and breadsticks. The soup came later, but it was all over the place. We were puzzled as to why the soup was all over the bowl because we had never seen it like that. We finished our soup, salad, and breadsticks and waited about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, we were watching her running up and down the aisle every once in a while, in a distressed fashion. My girlfriend and I were talking about how odd it was, and then she brought up that thats how someone who is on drugs looked like. Very jittery and confused at the same time, and with a very short attention span. I brought over a waiter who I knew and asked him what was up with her, and he said exactly what we had suspected. She finally came around the second time. and this time I noticed bruises on her arm, indicating some injections have recently been put there. I noticed the soups were all over the place the second time because she was stumbling as she was coming with the soup, nearly dropping them. All in all, horrible experience. Made me want to leave immediately. I could notice all the other waiters and customers noticed what we were noticing. I have never seen anything like it, and can't believe Olive Garden has her and continues to employ her...