Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Maryland

Totally unprofessional from the ground up. From the time we arrived, (party of 11) we were told a 30 minute wait. I proceeded to the beverage area and ordered our favorite Moscato, Primo Amore with 2 glasses. I explained our party was around the corner and waiting for our table. After being served, a manager came and told me the drinks had to stay in the beverage area. I responded with, "no problem. The last time (1 month ago) I enjoyed my glass with my cigarette outside. She (Emma) responded with "ummm, no your not." Again, I explained this was the last trip and I'm not one to start a problem. I was not informed during the last trip and there is no signage stating the rules. Many rules have changed in our area post covid. After being seated and the order was placed, "Stephanie" one of our servers was asked to bring 2 more salad bowls. Stephanie asked how many people because the bowls are large. After my Aunt had counted 1,2,3... Stephanie replied with then "I'm only bringing 1." My aunt tried to explain 3 had salads and 4 more needed salads. She returned with 3 bowls and cheese was requested. The roll of her eyes was enough to make anyone disgusted. A quick 2 spins on the cheese grater and gone. As frequent guests, we are use to the server asking, "let me know when..."

I left the table to see the manager (Emma) and ask that Stephanie not return to our table. She asked why. I explained that our family was not happy with her attitude. Emma replied, "yeah, I get that. But I want to know why. Like what happened. " After going in detail, she began to berate me by telling me I'm slurring and stumbling over my words. I assure you, that is a lie. I'm currently writing this from my car still at Olive Garden in Frederick, MD. This happened moments ago. Emma thought she had to remind me by saying, "Don't you remember, I'm the one who told you not to drink outside?" I replied, "I remember clearly. I explained what happened last time and your response was also unprofessional. Can you please just do your job as a manager and make sure Stephanie doesn't return to our table?" Emma, the so called manager replied, "I'll make sure no one comes to your table." Thank goodness her boss, the real manager stepped in, removed Emma from the area and handled the situation like a true leader. I'm not sure if he said his name was Chaz or Chance but, you sir are a great asset to...

I recently visited this Olive Garden location on a Thursday afternoon following a long day of travel, hoping for a relaxing lunch. While the food overall was enjoyable—particularly the Chicken Parmigiana, which was served hot and flavorful—there were several aspects of the experience that fell short of expectations.

Food Quality:

The Zuppa Toscana soup was disappointing. It lacked key ingredients such as kale and potatoes, and it was evident from the texture and temperature that it had been sitting for a while before being served. No refills for soup, salad, or breadsticks were offered during the meal, which is typically a hallmark of Olive Garden’s service.

Service Experience:

Upon arrival, the host did not greet us warmly. Instead, we were met with a curt “Party of 2… 5 minutes,” despite the restaurant not being busy at the time. While the wait itself wasn’t an issue, the lack of a welcoming atmosphere set a negative tone. Our server, identified as a “Blue Card,” greeted us promptly, but the overall service lacked attentiveness. Two managers walked past our table during the meal, yet no one checked in with us or offered drink refills. We were not asked how our meal was at any point, nor were we offered the customary mints at the end of the visit.

Cleanliness and Standards:

The restroom conditions were unacceptable. My partner used the facilities shortly after we arrived and reported a strong odor and visible human waste on the wall. Nearly 45 minutes later, I used the restroom myself, hoping it had been addressed, but the same unsanitary conditions remained. Given the proximity of the host stand to the restroom, it’s surprising that this issue was not noticed or resolved during our visit. Additionally, I noticed a lack of adherence to dress code standards among staff, which was surprising given my previous experience working for the company—albeit at a different location.

Overall Impression:

While the food (aside from the soup) was satisfying, the service and cleanliness standards were far below what I’ve come to expect from Olive Garden. It’s disappointing to see such a decline in basic hospitality and operational standards, especially post-COVID when customer experience should be a priority. I hope this feedback is taken seriously and used to improve both the guest experience and internal standards at...

Update: I read through the reviews and used the guest relations email provided to others to voice our experience with the manager at this location. While I appreciate the effort and the gift card from corporate, it's still very frustrating when part of your complaint is they want to use "these unprecedented times" as an excuse, and literally say it again when trying to make it right in the email response.

We all know this, especially those of us in healthcare. Yet we don't get to use that as an excuse in our shortcomings to patients. It will probably be awhile before we try the to go option again.

Happy mother's day to me.

We ordered in advance in anticipation of a busy day. After waiting almost 45 minutes we asked for a manager. They said they're almost 1.5 hrs behind. You have a phone contact people to tell them the time changed. But don't get attitude when you screw up.

They put us in the wrong parking spot, and it's a good thing we called because they wouldn't know. I get that your busy but a manager that can't be level headed and handle stress shouldn't be in charge with contactless pick up as the only option on a very busy day. Also with so many people and the disorganization there's plenty of people way too close to each other.

If you knew you had that many orders get people in work earlier. You are the manager, right? Her option for us was to cancel our order. Thanks sweetheart! We've been to this location multiple times, this is just the most recent and egregious attitude/bad experience that we have had. Seems like the owner needs to...