Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Lexington

It takes a lot for me to come to Google and leave a review. I either have to be completely astonished by the good service or absolutely disgusted with it. This establishment is beyond a joke. I showed up on a Sunday around 5 o’clock. The website said zero wait for the amount of people in my party. The hostess proceeded to make us wait 25 minutes for a table when I counted more than 11 empty tables in the restaurant that would have fit my family. There were several servers, so I know it wasn’t a staff shortage. Once I got my table, it took 19 minutes to be greeted by a server (I know the exact time because I was sent a “your table is ready” text) and another 21 minutes after that before we got our drinks. If you frequent Olive Garden, you know they bring out drinks then they bring out bread then they bring out soup and salad and any other appetizers you order, then entrées. 16 minutes after we got our drinks we were bombarded with bread, soup, salad, appetizers, and entrées, all at once. One person’s order was completely forgotten. It came out 11 minutes after the rest of ours. We waited, then ate our food cold. We swallowed our meal down with no drinks, as the empty drink glasses sat on the table the entire time. I even flagged down other servers asking to get our server or assist us in refilling our drinks, and no one ever did. I was sat at a table with a clear view in the kitchen, and I had a private showing from a server standing in the kitchen doorway, looking out over the dining area, devouring a bowl of pasta which he proceeded to put in the sink and walk away and go to someone’s table without washing his hands. I also got to witness several servers walk back and forth in the kitchen, passing that doorway, all while drinking beverages and devouring breadsticks. I’m not one to normally speak to managers as I feel it makes it look like I’m trying to score a free meal. So I didn’t even bother. I paid for my meal, left an overly generous 15% tip and will never return again. It wasn’t only my table, all the surrounding tables (even with different servers) Had to ask several times for various items, including napkins, cutlery, and straws. Everyone had empty drinks and there was a lot of frustration in the air. I know it’s not “fine dining” but considering it’s $27ish dollars for basically microwaved pasta, the service could’ve at least been better. I’m so disgusted by the entire visit and the fact that I spent $137 on a crappy...

I brought my mother here on Mother’s Day. We were looking forward to enjoying our meal with the usual good Olive Garden service. However, that food service does not exist at this location. Our server took a long time to greet us. He had a weird vibe to him, and I don’t know if he was high or what but he was just not in it. His sense of “humor” was very dry, and it did not come off in the way that I think he intended it to. I understood his humor, but you shouldn’t do those jokes to a mother on MOTHER’S DAY. He came to check on us after our food probably once. My mom had a complaint about a drink, which she sent back twice, and it still wasn’t good. The manager came to speak to us, and get this, the server stood right next to him the whole time!! I don’t know if he was trying to listen in, but the whole conversation was in Spanish!! It’s just so disrespectful and unprofessional to do that. Then when it was time to pay, we paid in cash. He brought the change, and he was 11 cents short. This wouldn’t be an issue, but he brought the change and literally WAITED for his tip to be given to him. My poor mom is too generous and gave him a tip that should have been 0 dollars. But when your server stands in front of you while waiting for the change, who isn’t going to crumble under pressure?? I hope he is fired and the manager knows exactly who we are. This isn’t even the first time this has happened. It’s the third time and the servers are just plain bad. The fayette mall location is so much better with actually...

Pickup order, and the staff were very pleasant. Food quantity was generous. I've always enjoyed olive garden, but in recent years I've noticed even the non fast food restaurant food is just utterly too salty, which is strange considering there is more health consciousness available to us these days, with more and more people choosing healthier foods, and more people now facing high blood pressure and diabetes and having to make lifestyle changes. Why haven't the restaurant industries caught up to this? Oversalted food is gross and unappetizing. The lasagna frittas tasted like pure brine blocks. The white sauced ravioli could do without the bacon bite pieces which were highly salty even minimal as they were in the dish. Cheese is laden with sodium anyway. Recipes need adjustment from the top down. Employees should be trained not to go so lavish in their haste to cook and end up shaking away to the detriment of others health. Any restaurant menu nutrition content viewing is flooring. One dinner or meal out usually contains more than the recommended daily value of sodium. If restaurants don't choose to steward their role and public health better they will be forced to or go belly up, because society is shifting toward more health consciousness. And the salty taste alone may add to this shift in...