Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in North Township

I am normally a fan of this restaurant. Most locations have been good even in the pandemic. In the past I've been pleased and happy we came. Our last time not so much. The night was not busy and we had no wait to get in. However, we were not offered booth or table. Even though there were many available. We started with tea and an appetizer. Served hot and quickly. Bread sticks also served hot and quickly. When we decided on our dinner choices...My wife is not comfortable enough with her English though she runs a business quite well. So I order her dish for her. I always order her meal first. We then both chose soup with our meal. The waitress asked in a rather low and not clear tone If she wanted a salad. My wife said yes. When it came time for the meal delivery and she did not receive her meal. I waited to see if hers was coming so we can enjoy our meal together. I then asked if it was coming. The waitress looked confused. (Always repeat the full order back to your customer when taking them) She said she only heard she wanted soup and salad. Equally confusing is this buy one get one of equal or lesser value but you only offer 3 choices in the "take one". Lastly we finished early and I did not feel like eating alone. So I took mine to go. We had one bread stick left. The waitress brought an empty bread bag and one to go container. No chocolate mints which we love. No extra take home bread sticks only the one left from our original basket. One bowl of soup each. And still a $60 some odd dollar check. (You don't offer seniors any breaks). So there you have it.... I hope that this is not a habit with Olive Garden. I was introduced to the restaurant in Florida when you used to offer a Sunday breakfast brunch. I remember veal on the menu for dinner. I'm just not feeling the same thing that I grew to love about this Italian restaurant. Won't you please consider some additional changes. Longtime fan not feeling the...

Today my boyfriend and I had went into the restaurant for a lunch date, it was possibly the worst experience I have had at a restaurant. The food was delicious! But, the service needed some work. As a server for 2 years I understand serving is definitely difficult sometimes so I try making it as easy going as possible! We were sat and our server asked us if we had wanted to start with an appetizer so I had ordered one and we were also ready to order our entrees as well. We ordered two never ending soup entrees and we never really eat our salad so we tried to ask to not have it and he spoke over us while we tried to explain this. I simply just didn’t want to waste food I knew I wasn’t going to eat! But anyways, we get our entrees before the appetizer, whatever that happens with the kitchen so I understand! But we were halfway through our second soups and the server comes over and flips the tablet around while asking if it’s going to be card or cash? I was confused because I planned on eating a little more soup as well, so I asked if my boyfriend could have another refill, as he had finished his by then, but the server seemed annoyed? So after he brings the refill, he AGAIN says “so its going to be card?” I give up and just say yeah it will be and pay right then and there because me and my boyfriend were over it honestly. It seemed so rude, we planned on eating a bit more as well as ordering dessert! As we were paying, our server made a snappy comment to another server while she had nicely asked for a pen in front of us. I noticed he had not treated his other tables the same, don't know if it is because were younger or what. I know there is a stigma young people don’t tip. We usually take really good care of our servers as we both work in the industry and this time I simply could not follow through due to the service. We had talked to a manager and really hope...

I want to start by saying, I’m a bartending and a server of 10yrs. I’ve also worked for this company before.

First, the atmosphere was amazing and the food was so good. It’s a upgrade over the Merrillville location. Management was hands on! Those are the positives of my experience.

Now, my server, and I wish I remembered her name, I feel like she profiled my table from the moment we sat down. (I’ll insert here that, yes I’m 100% aware of the ‘black ppl don’t tip’ stigma and have encountered it myself. This is something that has made me a over tipper because I feel like I’m always over compensating and especially because I work in the industry.)….Anyway, I dined in with some friends. It was a casual day for us, so no, we weren’t super dressed up or anything. We were in lounge wear and definitely didn’t look like we fit in with the crowd. From the moment we sat down, it was obvious that our server did not value our table, probably thinking we wouldn’t tip. We had to flag her down a lot and ask the manager to page her a few times. She offered no wine options and we asked the manager just to get breadsticks. When she came to our table and I’d order a drink, she would immediately walk away before my friends could order theirs. She never asked either. Overall, she came the vibe that she had already written my table off. This has happened a sad amount so I usually make it a point to mention I’m a server/bartender as well. Usually after I do that, I don’t endure this treatment. I didn’t mention it this time and the meal went exactly how I knew it would from the moment she spoke to use.

I understand that tipping culture isn’t a thing for some people and races. But don’t treat any race unfairly from the start assumption. I always tip 20% and more, but sometimes I can’t ignore the...