Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Jefferson Township

My family & I have been coming to this Olive Garden since they first opened...have always had a hands down excellent experience. However, this evening totally changed my views. First of all, I called early today to reserve a large table at 7pm for 8 people, for my daughter's 8th birthday dinner. I also dropped off a birthday cake with specific instructions to serve at the end (DUH). I was told that I could put my name on a list, that they didn't take reservations. Is this something new? Because I have called before and have even successfully requested a specific server. When we arrive, they told us that they weren't seating anyone...because their kitchen was down. What?!?! So, this happened obviously before our expected arrival time, yet no one even thought to call me? So, I ask for my cake back, which was SUPPOSED to be a surprise for my daughter btw, obviously ruined now. I asked the front to please call their other location in Lincolnwood & to let them know we are on our way, so they can be expecting us. He didn't even seem like he wanted to do that, despite the fact that it is now way past 7pm, and we are standing there holding a birthday cake with nowhere to eat. Luckily in the meantime, something miraculously happened, whatever issue they were having was fixed, and they were able to seat us. Which brings me to our main issue... Our server was TERRIBLE!! Every other time we have been here, service is excellent, friendly staff...even the manager is great! But tonight, our server was NONE of the above. I would be glad to mention her name here, but she never introduced herself, let alone even came around often enough for us to remember. I am also in the service industry, so I know good service when I see it, and this was far from it. She took our drink/food order, but everything took FOREVER to come out. Ok, it was prime dinnertime, maybe it was busy? Not the case at all. We looked around & observed other servers interacting with their tables just fine. Our server was barely present at our table, no water refills, or any other beverage for that matter. What really topped it off for me was when it came time to bring my daughter's birthday cake out. Our server never came back to check on us towards the end of the meal. I literally cleared majority of the dishes myself to make space for the cake. Only when she finally realized that I put everything in neat stacks, did she finally grab them up. Everyone else in the restaurant who had a birthday today (at least 3 or 4 from what we heard), got serenaded by at least 3 servers. This lady came with the cake, lit the candles and put it down on the table... We had to sing "Happy Birthday" ourselves! I mean, really?! This was the best you could do for a little girl on her birthday? I'm all about the experience when I patronize a business, and this last visit really left a bad taste in my mouth. The food at Olive Garden is never a disappointment, but service is at the top of the list for me. Gratuity is earned, and she was definitely not even deserving of the amount that I did decide to leave her, because it should've been $0. This one mishap is enough to make me never want to dine at Olive Garden again...not at this location at least, and most definitely not with the server we had tonight!! I'll take my 20% tip...

11/12/23 This is a multi layered, mixed review. I can't just give it one, all across the board rating. Please allow me to explain I give the service, staff and atmosphere five stars. But the food...3 stars. Being veterans' day, and a Saturday evening, it was a hefty wait in line. But I'm impressed with how little we had to wait given HOW MANY people were ahead of us. We waited about 30-40 minutes. That sounds like a long time, BUT...given how large the seated crowd was, we COULD HAVE easily been there two hours, so I give the swift service of the restaurant 5 stars actually. (You have to be objective and look at the bigger picture folks. Instead of complaining how long you waited, look at how long your hungry butt could have been sitting in that lobby).

Moving along to the actual service and the meal: Our waiter, Igor, was very attentive. He regularly checked up on us, made sure we had refills on food and drinks, and had everything we needed. Another five stars awarded. The restaurant was lovely and clean, but the food was another story. This is where I can only give three stars. And I give three because the portions were generous, but the taste was bland. I ordered the chicken broccoli alfredo fettuccine pasta. The chicken was seasoned perfectly, but the noodles and sauce was tasteless and needed more seasonings. I actually added salt and didn't take home the left overs. It's as if it was made with too much flour or something. And I don't mean that to be rude. It just needs a little more seasoning and salt, but the service and staff is excellent otherwise, and the food portion is decent.

You get a lot of chicken and broccoli in that dish, so I give five stars as far as portion size. The restaurant is also very disability friendly. Their very good with seating issues. (My husband and I both dined in with walkers, and the restaurant accommodated us with a big enough table, so five stars for that too). Five stars across the board for many different things for this restaurant, just beef up the flavor with this one...

Living in the gastronomic paradise of Chicago, surrounded by a sea of Italian eateries, Olive Garden might seem like my little secret. It's my guilty pleasure in a city where culinary options are as abundant as pigeons in the park. On my latest escapade, I went all out - shrimp scampi for dinner and a triumphant trio of Peach Bellinis.

And then, enter Rheinhold. Ah, Rheinhold. I first met him eons ago when he held the fort as the bartender at the Skokie joint. His charm could put Casanova to shame, and his wit? Well, let's just say I'm still trying to figure out if I was laughing at his jokes or the Peach Bellinis had a stand-up comedy act of their own. Either way, the man was unforgettable.

Fast forward to today, and Rheinhold has morphed into the manager of this Olive Garden outpost. Yet, amid the sea of responsibilities, he took my order personally. I mean, talk about service with a capital 'S'!

Rheinhold doesn't just manage, he orchestrates. He turns every meal into a performance, and we, the diners, are the captivated audience. If Olive Garden were a Broadway show, Rheinhold would be the star, belting out orders and jokes with equal gusto.

So, Olive Garden, I hope you're patting yourselves on the back for this gem of a manager. Rheinhold, my friend, you're the reason I'll keep coming back, and it's not just for the scampi and Bellinis (though they're pretty darn good too).

In conclusion, Olive Garden, with your never-ending breadsticks and Rheinhold's show-stopping service, you've won my heart. Here's to many more laughs, delicious meals, and unforgettable...