Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in North Carolina

I had dinner with my family at this restaurant today, and I have never felt more disrespected and unwelcome at a restaurant in my life. The way we were treated made us feel discriminated against because we’re Asian.

Unfair Scrutiny & Disrespect

I ordered a margarita, and they asked for my ID. I didn’t have my physical card with me, but I offered to show a clear picture of it on my phone. They refused, which I understand is their policy, so my sister ordered one instead since she had hers. But what happened next was completely unacceptable—the manager kept circling our table, repeatedly warning me that I wasn’t allowed drink. She stared at me with a judgmental, almost hostile look while I was eating, making me feel extremely uncomfortable.

Overcharging for Basic Items

I’ve been to multiple Olive Garden locations in Seattle and New York, and this is the ONLY one that has ever charged us for salad and breadsticks—something that should be included with the meal. On top of that, they didn’t even bring the sauces until I had to ask TWICE, and then they charged us for them. This was ridiculous.

Hidden Charges & Rude Explanation

They also sneakily added a $2.99 “TABLE GAMES” charge because my niece played a game on the tablet at the table. We had no idea this was a thing until we saw the bill. When we asked about it, the staff shrugged it off, saying it was automatically charged if a child plays.

After we left, we called the restaurant because we didn’t want to make a scene, and the manager admitted the charge was a mistake and told us we could come back for a refund. She also confirmed that the salad and bread should not have been charged. But instead of apologizing for the experience, she was extremely rude, dismissive, and unprofessional. She told us we were being RIDICULOUS for bringing it up.

Blatant Discrimination

The worst part? The way we were treated compared to other customers. The staff was friendly and attentive to every other table while completely ignoring us. They even forgot to bring a plate for one of my family members—there were five of us, and they only brought four plates. We had to ask multiple times before they finally brought the missing plate.

I genuinely believe we were treated this way because we’re Asian. The constant scrutiny, the dismissive attitude, the way the manager glared at me as if I was doing something wrong, and the fact that we were singled out and treated like an inconvenience—it all felt deliberate. And when I confronted them about it, they completely denied it, but their actions said everything.

This was hands down one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had. The service was beyond awful, the charges were sneaky and unfair, and the manager’s response was shockingly rude and unprofessional. Instead of addressing our concerns with any kind of decency, she insulted us and made it clear she didn’t care.

I will NEVER come back to this restaurant, and I’ll make sure to warn others about the way we were treated here. No one should have to feel discriminated against when simply trying to enjoy a meal with...

I’m writing a review to express my disappointment with the service my family and I received during our recent visit to your Jacksonville, NC location. We came to celebrate my daughter’s birthday, as she had been eager to try Olive Garden again after five years. Unfortunately, this visit left us even more frustrated than the last.

I had hoped to make the evening special for my daughter, so I sneaked to the receiving area to ask if you were still doing birthday celebrations, where the staff sings for the birthday celebrant. Your team confirmed they do, asked which dessert we would like, and I requested tiramisu. I also informed them of our table number so everything would go smoothly.

Unfortunately, the service during our visit was extremely slow. Our waitress took an excessive amount of time to attend to our table. Despite wanting more drinks and salad, we didn’t ask due to how busy it seemed and the long wait for even basic service. After finishing our meal and paying through the tablet, we waited even longer for to-go boxes.

What upset me the most, however, was how my daughter’s birthday surprise was ruined. After I had already arranged for the dessert and celebration, the waitress came to our table and awkwardly asked, "I heard there’s a birthday celebration here, what would you like for dessert?" This completely spoiled the surprise and showed a clear lack of communication among your staff.

To make matters worse, after this conversation, we waited for an extended period for the staff to come sing to my daughter, but nothing happened. Eventually, we grew tired of waiting and decided to leave. I informed the receiving area not to worry about the celebration anymore.

This visit left a sour taste in my mouth. Five years ago, I was disappointed, and now, as a returning customer, I’m disappointed once again. I truly hoped for a better experience, but this has left me questioning whether Olive Garden values customer satisfaction.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you can address these concerns for the sake of...

What can I say about this place? I used to love coming here, years ago. My fiancee and I decided to go out to eat, and I hadn't been to Olive Garden in Jacksonville for a while so that is where we went. There was a long line to start. They passed out pagers to people because it was so busy. When we finally got paged, we got a good booth seat, and chilled for a while until our server finally got to us. We decided to do the never ending pasta dishes. I love chicken alfredo so that is what I ordered. Of course I got me a drink as well. The berry sangria was very yummy!! Unfortunately, the two star rating is ONLY for the sangria. So we get our food. First, I want to say that I was EXTREMELY disappointed as the food was cold. The chicken had to have been sitting out for a while and the sauce was thick and clumpy. The noodles was thick and doughy too. Smh...why????!!! The food was HORRIBLE!! Not Olive Garden!!! Yes, I cant go back to that place. I thought it was supposed to be cooked to order, since we waited almost 30 minutes for our food. I will NOT recommend this place either...