Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Laguna Woods

We arrived at 3pm. We were sat immediately. We were surprised by the amount of diners at that hour. Our server Shaylynn, was prompt getting to our table. She took our drink order and returned with them promptly. Having never been to the Olive Garden in Laguna Hills, we wanted time to look over the menu. Having had a late breakfast, we decided to order lightly. We ordered the unlimited soup, salad and bread sticks. Also, we ordered the mini pasta bowl of spaghetti and meat sauce. Our salad arrived .Not only was it large in size but it was large in flavor. Next came the Chicken and Gnocchi soup, along with the mini pasta bowl. The soup was very good and full of flavor. The meat sauce in the pasta bowl was average but still good. The breadsticks were a hit! Our second soup selection was the pasta e fagioli. It was excellent. Our third soup choice was the minestrone. All soups were packed with delicious ingredients and were very hardy!. For dessert we ordered too much! The dessert portions were large and can be shared. The black tie mousse cake was made of chocolate cake, dark chocolate cheesecake and custard frosting. It was a chocoholic's delight! The second dessert was Sicilian cheesecake. It had a shortbread cookie crust and topped with seasoned strawberry sauce. Even tho it was a little frozen in the middle it was still very good. The music was good jazz and just loud enough to enjoy.Our server, Shaylynn, was one of the most attentive and professional wait person we have encountered. When the bill came, we were very impressed that they mentioned that the tip was not included. They also suggested a tipping scale from your total. They quoted what your tip would be for 15%, 18% and 20%. We thought it was a great idea. Our overall experience was so good that we plan to come back once a week for lunch! If you are looking for authentic Italian menu, we do not recommend Olive Garden. However, if you are looking for a good meal at a fair price then you can't go wrong with Olive Garden. We plan to be doing many more reviews of all the local eateries soon. Look for our reviews under...

REVIEW #2 My FAVORITE server here is Eric. He is what a professional server is. He greets tables after giving them just the right amount of time with the menu. He doesn't pounce the minute you sit down. He doesn't ignore you for 20 minutes even during peak hours.

Eric confirms orders and asks follow-up questions to clarify and makes sure each order is correct. He serves food while it's hot and makes sure everything is correct before leaving the table. He is available and personable without being intrusive. He is the consummate professional and provides the level of service I'd expect from a high-end restaurant. I don't know Eric. He's not my friend. He's just my favorite server. RECOMMEND

REVIEW #1 The host showed me to a 4 top booth. When I asked to sit at a 2 top table across the aisle, he said no. I said fine. But the host continued to lecture me as if I was a toddler. I said "okay" and "fine" a couple more times. I offered no argument, but the host went on and on about the equitable assignment of tables to servers. He lectured me until my mood shifted from happy to pissed.

I advised the server that the host needed to chill. She let the manager know. It turns out it was the host's first day. So, just a bit of retraining should help.

I also advised the server I wasn't making the complaint to be a Karen or get any free items. I wasn't interested in that at all.

The server herself was friendly and attentive without being intrusive. She offered refills and brought my food in a timely way. She was so personable, I quickly shifted back to happy.

So, this is a pretty good location. A problem was dealt with quickly and the service...

This Olive Garden by far is one of the best I've been to.

•Plenty of parking. Plenty of room to sit inside and wait. Although they predicted a 20 min wait, it was only about 5 mins 😺 To be fair we are only a party of 4.

Also I do know this spot is jumping on a Sunday around 12 - 1, prime after church eating spot. So if you go during those hours expect to wait.

• It's bright & the atmosphere is welcoming. • We sat down, our server came quickly and got us started with drinks & apps. • Now this is worth mentioning, we get spinach artichoke dip anywhere its available & so far this olive garden has the BEST spinach artichoke dip, hands down 🙌🏽 • Our salad came out, wonderfully chilled & crisp! The bread sticks were warm!! And the plates were even CHILLED!!! • Our food came out not much long after the salad & it all looked perfect! Like I would imagine the pictures to look like & it was all hot! And it tasted just as good as it looked.

(SORRY I didn't take pictures but we were starving 😅)

• NONE of it was greasy or had cold spots • HOT thru & thru & tasty • Server was on point • To feed 2 adults, 2 kids, + an app. We made it out in the $60 range. Totally not bad. • I've been to Olive Gardens in LA & I've never enjoyed my experience as much as I did here.

Do yourself...