Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Merced

“We should just go home,” my partner says when I arrive. He’d put our name on the waiting list 20 minutes before. “They said it would be a two-hour wait.” Not one to be dissuaded, I encourage us to wait in the car for a while. Then when we return, we ask if there is possibly a seat at the bar, and there is! We are in.

The atmosphere is lively and festive. Everyone seems in a good mood. As well they should be: it is opening night for Olive Garden here in Merced! The date has been marked in our calendar for over a month. Some friends have teased us; they thought we were joking when we said we’d be there opening night. But it was no joke. We take Italian—and Italian American—food seriously.

Some background: I’m Italian American (from Calabria on my mom’s side). My partner and I met in Italy over a decade ago. We both speak Italian and lived in Italy for four years. We’ve seen our platefuls of gourmand Italian cuisine. And let me just say we’re a little suspicious of folks who scoff at the Olive Garden. It’s comforting, it’s tasty, and it’s a good value.

In the background, Sinatra-esque songs alternate with classic Italian lyrics like “Blu dipinto de blu.” My partner gets a Peroni beer (the same served on the Sicilian farm where we worked this past summer) and I try an Italian rum punch. Never heard of it, but at first taste, I’m transported to a sparkling lungomare somewhere along the Riviera. It’s sweet and tangy, with the “punch” coming either from the Bacardi or the passionfruit.

Next come the appetizers: two bowls of minestrone for him and a big salad for me. We each try each other’s dishes. Salad is crisp with a refreshing tart dressing and generous olives and exactly two pepperoncini. Minestrone is hearty and authentic with beans and various veggies. Breadsticks are deliciously warm, greasy, and salty.

The waitstaff is friendly and accommodating. Bless them, they’re working so hard but manage to still look like they’re having fun. It’s opening night after all! We’ve all been waiting for this, the big day. They don’t seem to mind when we ask questions about the menu, and they preemptively ask if we need refills on soup, salad, drinks, or breadsticks before we ponder it ourselves.

For our main meal, I get the Five Cheese Ziti al Forno (after confirming with the waitstaff that they can make it vegetarian) and my partner gets the Lasagna Classico. My ziti have a cheesy crunch on top that cracks when you break into it like a good crème brûlée. The pasta is not overdone and the tomato and cheese flavors blend deliciously. My partner has only good things to say about his lasagna as well.

We order a tiramisu to go, and I have an espresso. It’s served with a tiny biscotto and is pulled ristretto-style. The flavor is deep and chocolately and definitely not burned like it sometimes can be at a café. After paying, we leave, arm and arm, with bellies full and hearts happy. Olive Garden has finally arrived in Merced,...

Negatives: I've attempted to eat here 2x before this time and the wait was literally 1hour and 30 min long! It was that long today as well.. and it was just 2 of us. The parking lot was small and you should give yourself ample time to find parking. I was not offered water & I ordered alcoholic beverages 1st thing. The middle restroom had urine all over the seat. My food was not offered to be boxed up for me or given bread bags for my left over bread like the 2 tables on both sides of me were. I had the 2 plastic boxes and bag lasted on the table for us like any other restaurant. I polietly asked the waitress why the shrimp scampi my friend ordered had such fewer shrimp than the shrimp Alfredo I ordered. She went to ask the cook she said he said the scampi gets 9 shrimp and the Alfredo gets 16. Ok there's a consistency. I also asked why I did not get water line all the other tables and we were not offered to have our left overs boxed up she said she just was so busy with all the tables and forgot. Positives: Dawn our waitress was nice! She was just forgetful although she did not forget the table next to us. Maybe it's cause my friend said he didn't like restaurant ice? I will never know. The food was really good. We had a appetizer the Stuffed Ziti Fritta, 2 drinks each, a Italian Margarita and a Blue Almafi that comes with the shot on the side. My bidirectional had the Italian Margarita as well and a Spiked strawberry lemonade. I had opted for the Salad that was delicious and he got the soup Chicken Gnocchi which was a delicious chicken dumpling soup. For the entree I had Shrimp Alfredo and he had Shrimp scampi. Although it was very good I was expecting the shrimp to be a little bit more seared than pale. But it was cooked alright. For dessert we shared Sicilian cheesecake with strawberry topping that was pretty good. Jenn who served the salad had a awesome attitude and was very friendly. Eduardo who served the table next to us was really on top of his game! He gave them water and offered them to box up their food was friendly and checked on them often. My bill came to $103.66 I did leave a tip but I was also friendly and understood she seemed under pressure. Nothing was offered to us as a gesture of apology for the missed opportunities in our dining. We were given a chocolate mint each at the end of our meal. The atmosphere was lovely and overall the dining area was clean. I really wanted to give this place 5 stars but I want to be truthful to our first experience. Hopefully I'll come back and the service...

Was SO looking forward to an Olive Garden coming to Merced!! Has always been in my top 5 favorites. Consistency. That's usually what comes with a visit to O.G. However, this one seems to be struggling right off the bat. Staff seem a bit disorganized and service is kind of all over the place. For the first time ever, the food was "so so". My dish was cold, veggies way too raw and shrimp...blech! Though the others in my party said their food was good, they commented that it wasn't as good as Modesto or Turlock. Because the food took so long to get to all of us, I ended up just asking for soup to replace the shrimp dish. It was good, but for Zuppa Toscana, it was too thin and only 2 small pieces of potato! They also brought someone else's orders to our table twice and there didn't seem to be any bussers, so our table just got buried in used dishes, etc. On a positive note, our waitress was very, very good and checked on us frequently, apologized for the helpers bringing the wrong food, and made sure I wasn't charged for the dish I didn't eat, thanks, Mayo! Also, the salad and breadsticks were delicious, as always. The cheesecake was good, too, but the donuts were unusually flat and a bit burnt. We're hoping that with time things will get better and we do understand the restaurant just opened less than a month ago. However, some serious organization changes need to be made and quality control managed.

UPDATE: Have eaten here several times now, and things have definitely gotten better. Especially with servers and organization. My only negative now is about some of the sauces (often "broken", aka separated), and the fact that the scampi is not even close to traditional. When you go in wanting scampi and get their version, it's a real let down. Scampi should be larger shrimp served in a garlic, white wine and butter sauce, with some herbs and linguine. It's even better with a side of steamed mixed broccoli and carrots. The one in Fresno makes the best! They throw in a little Alfredo to make the sauce richer and some chopped green onion. PLEASE change your...