Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Maryland

I need to start this review with the following.

I love the Olive Garden. I’ve probably gone to other Olive Gardens throughout the country over 500 times, maybe more.

I’ve visited the Leonard Park location and loved it.

This review is about the Waldolf location, off of 301 (Crain Hwy) in MD.

We went around 6:30pm on a Thursday evening. We expected that there would be a waiting time. Once we entered, we were pleased with the layout of this location. It seemed contemporary and fresh. The two ladies at the hostess station greeted us and asked how many were in our party. We had 3. She notified us that it would be about a 5 minute wait. But actually, it was just a short 2 minutes before we were seated. As she walked us through the restaurant to our table, we noticed that it wasn’t very busy at all. We had a nice table location and we saw a gentleman who we thought might be our server, given that he was servicing our area and took a ogre table’s order. Our hostess said, your server will be right with you.

Well, the gentleman we saw in our area kept walking right past us. He INTENTIONALLY didn’t make eye contact with us. The first time he passed, we figured he was just busy. But he didn’t tell us that he would be right with us or stop to take our drink order, nothing! I’m a bit more patient than my Fiancé. But after waiting nearly 20 minutes with no one stopping by our table to take our drink order, tell us they will be right with us, deliver breadsticks or anything, we were extremely upset. At this point we didn’t even want to notify the manager because clearly there was a problem, considering that the restaurant wasn’t very busy and our server was probably not very good.

I then watched the only server in our area continue to walk right past us several times. Again, not making eye contact or interacting with us at all.

AT THAT POINT, WE JUST GOT UP AND LEFT.

I do plan to reach out to the Olive Garden corporate office to let them know about this incident. This was completely unacceptable and I want anyone who is thinking about going to this location to be very aware of this. Unfortunately there isn’t another “Olive Garden” for tens of miles away. I would opt for a local Italian spot vs going here.

Maybe you will (hopefully) have a better experience. But I dine out often, all over the country and I was disgusted by this and felt...

I just got home from dinner and let me say--while it wasn't a culinary masterpiece, it definitely satisfied. Full belly, good company, and a few standout bites made for a solid end to the day.

From the moment we sat down, the service set the tone. Our server, "X", was an absolute gem--attentive, friendly, and just the kind of person you want handling your table when you're settling in for a relaxed meal.

The house salad came out fresh, but it leaned a little heavy on the red onions, and I found myself wishing for more black olives to balance it out. Nothing major, just a small tweak I'd love to see.

The fried calamari was seasoned beautifully--crispy without being greasy, with a light batter that let the calamari shine. It was easily one of the better versions I've had in a while.

We also went for the lasagna frittas, and they delivered: golden, crispy exterior with that creamy, cheesy, savory center. Comfort food done right.

I ordered the shrimp scampi, and it did exactly what a good scampi should--garlicky, buttery, and tossed with just the right amount of pasta. Simple, satisfying, and flavorful.

My dining partner went with the chicken tortellini, and it was the surprise star of the night. Rich, creamy sauce, plenty of juicy chicken, and a smart decision to add shrimp--an extra layer of texture and flavor that really worked.

The Zuppa Toscana is usually one of my go-to favorites (top 3, easily), but tonight... it missed the mark. It tasted like the recipe was either tweaked to cut corners or just wasn't followed to the letter. Not terrible, but definitely not the soul-warming bowl I was expecting.

The ambiance was relaxed with soft lighting and a good playlist humming in the background--enough to set the mood without overpowering the conversation. Service stayed consistently warm and welcoming throughout the meal, which always adds major points in my book.

If you're in the mood for a chill evening with classic comfort food, friendly service, and a glass of wine or sangria in hand--this place delivers. It's not over-the-top or trying to be trendy, and that's part of its charm. Just honest, satisfying food in a welcoming space.

Would I go back? Absolutely. Maybe not for the soup, but definitely for those frittas and that creamy tortellini.

And as always,...

Today me, my daughter, and step daughter came to olive garden. Unfortunately I am dairy free while I am breast feeding my newborn son because he is allergic to dairy. I knew coming here my options would be limited but it is where my step daughter wanted to eat. We came in and being sat was even a mess. Ince we were sat our server omar came to our table. I already was not a fan of him because before we were sat he snapped at the host about seating infront of customers. Anyhow i informed him i was dairy free where he started making remarks on how hard it would be at olive garden which i knew and i didnt need the comments considering i am very new to it and it was rude. Once I ordered i chose salad and i asked if the croutons were dairy free because most are not, he said oh sure ya ya like he didnt care so i googled it and seen it was not dairy free and neither was the dressing. I hit the server call button where we waited 10 mins and then the manager came over. She was not happy we had not gotten our drinks and i explained the situation with the dairy where she then showed me the allergy menu on the tablet and asked if we wanted her to serve us and i said yes. Omar came to our table half 🍑 apologizing saying he would never thought and i said it doesnt matter what u think it matters on the facts bc someones throat can close up with certain allergies and he said ya ya and wondered off. I was so beyond mad at that point. MY NEWBORN BABY CAN ABSOLUTELY NOT HAVE DAIRY!!!! And this man blew it off like no fricken big deal!!! He came to our table a few times to grab stuff and i was so uncomfortable. The manager made sure my daughters food came out fast but she ate and we were still sitting there waiting for our food! I asked for the manager to just ask for our food in boxes bc my 2 year old was not gonna sit still any longer. She apologized and said they didn’t have my step daughters food made and they made mine twice so she told them to remake it all and not to worry about paying for anything. I appreciate her trying to make it right but when i got home i was scared to eat the food and threw it away. There is no making things right when my little baby could have had an...