Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Janesville

Went here for a nice Sunday dinner just for the two of us. The appearance of the restaurant inside and out was a commendable. Our service was good, attentive and thoughtful. The problem that we ran into was this; Upon receiving our salad prior to our meal, my girlfriend located a hair in her food. He showed the server he took it back to the kitchen. In a few minutes later we received a different salad. ( I hope) Upon my girlfriend , with the waiter at the table, Being served for meal, Noticed another hair in her food and showed it to the server. The server apologized and took the meal back. Long story short, manager came over and handled the situation and wanted to Comp the meal. I said the principle of us sending it back, was essentially to inform them of the hair and we do not want the meal Comped. Me personally felt like I didn’t want the to think I was trying to stage to get a free meal or something, and I did not want them to think that. Therefore, I told him I did not want the comped that we wanted a fresh meal without a hair. He apologized and a few minutes later, we received another meal for her I am not sure if I handled this situation right. My girlfriend stated that I should allow Olive Garden to Comp the meal. Heard stories about people that get through majority of their meal and then find it here to eat for free. I did not want management to think that was us, therefore I did not allow them to comp The meal. Overall, the meal was delicious and good. I truly enjoyed and loved their sale and breadsticks. I just wish we didn’t run across those two situations. My rating has nothing to do with the service which was spectacular. Sitting, I went to the washroom and noticed a pile of dirty hand towels over filling the garbage waste receptacle in on the floor. You can tell that no staff member had been in there recently to review the cleanliness of the bathroom.

Would I go again? Probably not for a while. I am not very attentive to detail, upon I would’ve probably eaten both of her meals and have not known. I kind Of sickens me. I can speaking to the shift manager, it was advised to us that the kitchen staff does wear hats , But not hair guard. I informed of the policy should change. The meal was deducted by the manager, were upon. I gave the waiter the equivalent Value of it in...

It was a letdown.

If you go through any of my other reviews you can see I am willing to give the benefit of a situation to a place; whether food, service, or facility.

The staff as a whole was not plugged in, nor did it seem that anyone wanted to be there. I can understand that Mother's Day is a task for any restaurant. We had to ask 3 other waitresses for our waiter. The 2 younger females that were bussing tables both had airpods in and had no discretion for how loud they were taking down the table. We all stopped talking at our table because they were being that loud. To top this happen, they then started loudly speaking to one another in spanish so they could hear each other over their earpods.

Food was not on point. Soups cold in the middle, very little sauce to dishes, and we were only given one order of bread sticks throughout the whole time of being there. Arrived at 1pm left at 3:40pm.

Reservation was not kept. Made the reservation at 11:30am for 1pm. Got there at 1pm and were not seated till 1:35pm. The hostess seemed to have no interest in the fact I had called ahead. Even rolled her eyes at me when I said I set up a reservation.

This is what set mood for everything. One of my daughters went to use after we got there and immediately came back out. She said she could go because the only toliet that wasn't plugged had poop on the seat. My mother went in to verify and said the same. She cleaned the stall on Mother's day so her granddaughter could use the bathroom. When I made the hostess aware I was told "It's not my responsibility and that person's not here currently." I walked into the men's room to fine the same situation with no paper towels or toilet paper in 2 of the stalls. I spoke with the hostess one last time and said the condition of the men's bathroom was just as bad. Eye roll again to a very sharp, "I already said it's not my job and someone will get to it eventually".

I did ask to speak with a manager but was told the 2 people I could speak with were unavailable or busy.

I do not like putting stuff like this on blast but hopefully this might just get things to change. Olive Garden was a maybe 1, 2 time a year restaurant growing up. So for all this to happen bring my family here was an utter letdown. Sorry y'all, but this was bad and needs to be...

Always a wait (and for the size of this cavernous location, this is surprising) but nice that they now have an online wait list reservation system. Food is always good. I know it's not authentic Italian but I still like it. Hard to find the real stuff in the Midwest. The salad and/or its dressing always sends me straight to the bathroom pronto by the time my main course arrives. Lots of limited offers, specials and deals on the menu. Good selections to suit most anybody's taste, even vegetarians. The unlimited breadsticks are still the best! They can easily accommodate large groups and quickly too. They even have a young fellow who opens the front door for the patrons - nice touch! I still miss the chairs on casters though. So much easier to move and way more comfortable than what they have now. But like their veal dishes, they're gone for good. Their wines are tasty but kind of expensive. I remember their mojitos were always some of the best around. Their iced tea is very good. Main courses have tasty selections and sauces but go a little overboard on the amount of pasta vs. the quantity of the protein. Desserts are always yummy - love the tiramisu.

I guess if we we were cuter, prettier, younger, and funnier (and both females), the waiter would have paid more attention to us and brought us free food too. And I gotta learn to rook the system like the family next to us. Order the Never Ending specials, order yet still another round after you're full, but the servings arrive in bowls and with to-go boxes so they can be easily shoveled into those boxes without ever being placed in front of the patrons. Even if you already have a full plate in front of you AND you ordered another serving, both are to-go. I just don't think like that.

Oh we'll be back. Not much of a choice if we want various Italian dishes and desserts. Still a yummy and filling place when one has a hankering for them. Still a national chain and not the real deal but suffices. But do the online wait list system instead of sitting and staring. You'll thank me later. Thanks for getting on board with that, Olive Garden (or Darden if you're...