Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Oakdale

Walked in at 10 pm 09/05/25 understanding that they close at 11. Hostess seemed nice, but when she went to seat us, she looked confused. She paused for about a minute, which made us confused. We had joined the waitlist and had called ahead, so this should have been figured out by now. She started asking around for a man named Austin. Her coworkers said he was in the back. He then came out, and she asked him if she could sit us with him. He yelled back at her, very annoyed and from the other side of the room, that he wouldn’t get off until 11, so not to. Overall they had a very rude vibe and it was in front of multiple employees which made us feel embarrassed and uncomfortable.

We considered leaving at this point but decided to stay since we were hungry. A nice lady who had answered the phone during that interaction came and apologized, which we appreciated, but the other employees who made us feel uncomfortable in the first place did not.

Our server was nice but there were some strange moments, but she said she was new so we understood. Food was okay ish, not as good as usual.

We work in food service and can understand it can be frustrating at times but we would never treat a customer that way, especially in front of everyone. Overall, very awkward and felt like everyone wanted us leave. It felt like we were getting weird looks as well. It seemed like people were also peeking around the corner to look at us.

For the record, we left at 10:50 PM, so before closing.

Just wanted to write this as a note to encourage the owners to highlight guest service and emphasize a welcoming environment, as we did not feel welcomed.

Not that we were necessarily looking for it, but it would’ve been nice to receive a compensation with the amount of errors in our short visit. Again, the server was new, but there were a lot mistakes.

Hopefully this can be a...

The customer service here is outstanding. My fiancé had wanted a breadstick bouquet for Valentine's Day after hearing about it on Facebook. I did some research and couldn't find any more details regarding how to purchase the bouquet so I decided to contact this store directly. It seemed that corporate did not tell their stores much information. The evening manager I spoke with was very friendly and advised that I contact back later in the week as they would have more information closer to Valentines day. I decided to go ahead and order the Valentine's special online and placed in the notes that I was specifically looking for the bouquet. Less than 30 minutes after placing my order, someone at the store contacted me immediately to tell me about the breadstick bouquets. I really appreciated the phone call and helping me set the expectation of what I was getting. I would definitely come back here for a sit in dinner in the near future!

On a second visit during the pandemic, we did an online order for curbside pickup. As soon as we pulled into the parking spot, fumbling with our phone to contact the store to let them know we have arrived, our food was already out the door and on the way to our car. That was excellent customer service in my opinion. One thing I would suggest, there was a pre-set gratuity that was charged without my knowledge at the time. I thought maybe it was my mistake and I didn't see it, but it definitely was not there when I went back to create a "new" order. It doesn't bother me to tip our service workers during a time like this, but a note prior to checkout would be appreciated. I'm sure there are people out there that aren't as understanding...

I went to the Olive Garden in Oakdale on Friday Nov. 5, 2021. I do have to say the service and food were horrible. I get to-go orders. I ordered my food about an hour ahead of time. I got notification a few minutes before my order was to be ready. When I got to the location, I went in, and neither of the people that were up front acknowledged me at all. This has happened quite a few times. Why have a hostess/host if they’re not going to acknowledge the customer. I went to the take out counter and stood there waiting. After about a minute or more, one of the employees told me that someone would be there in a minute. While I stood there waiting for someone to come to the counter, I looked over at the bar. I noticed a glass hanging over the bar, that was supposed to be clean, with lip prints on it. That’s disgusting! Finally, the person dealing with the to-go orders came around the counter, I paid and she picked my bag of food up from the bar and gave it to me. I have no clue how long my food was sitting out, but it was cold when I got to my destination, which was only 10 minutes away. This is the worst service and food I’ve gotten from there. Normally Marina is working the to-go counter. She’s always busting her butt, while I’ve seen others standing around talking. Marina greets me with a smile, is happy and chipper every time I see her. My food is never cold or sitting out by the bar. Marina should be treated with more respect and appreciation since she’s always working hard when I come in. I hope my next visit to this particular Olive Garden is better. Even if you’re understaffed, there’s no reason not to show customers respect. Do a...