Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Omaha

I just went to this Olive Garden to eat alone before I went to sleep and left Omaha; this was an uncharacteristically bad experience.

My server was superficially pleasant, but young and clearly disengaged or overworked. This didn’t bother me as much as the inattentiveness, though. I was never offered a drink refill, and I was never given breadsticks at all, even after asking for them. My server acknowledged my request and then vanished for at least fifteen minutes.

I ordered an appetiser through the table ordering system, and made it very clear — pleasantly — when my server arrived some ten minutes after I was seated that I wanted my main course staggered from my appetiser, as I hadn’t received my drink or the appetiser yet. My server acknowledged my request and insisted that I order so that she could get out my soup or salad. Thinking that she understood, I placed my order.

The appetiser arrived within minutes, and had clearly been sitting under a heat lamp. I got my soup almost immediately afterwards, at which time I asked for breadsticks and was acknowledged. My server then vanished, and my main course was brought out almost immediately after that by a table runner.

The exact thing I had specifically requested not happen happened anyway.

The appetiser’s sauces had firmed up a little under the heat lamp, and the cheese had settled a little, but it was good and tasted the way this appetiser normally tastes. The soup also tasted normal and was enjoyable even without breadsticks.

My main course, however, was a different story. I had ordered the seafood Alfredo, and the whole thing tasted ‘off’. I ate some more of my appetiser and picked at the seafood Alfredo (it didn’t smell off, it just tasted off according to its usual flavour; I lived until fairly recently near Darden HQ, and visited their test kitchens as well as Olive Gardens themselves all over the country because OG is supposed to be the exact same in every single location). Eventually my server wandered back after about 15-20 minutes to enquire about my meal. I asked if something had changed about the noodles or the Alfredo sauce, because the dish I had to have ordered hundreds of times over the decades tasted and looked a little off. She assured me that nothing had changed, and offered a box. I finally accepted that leisurely dining wasn’t something that I could access that evening, and so I accepted her offer. On the way out, I asked at the To-Go corner if I could have breadsticks to go, and the lovely young man behind that counter immediately went in back and came out with breadsticks, and even thoughtfully offered a second bag.

When I got back to my hotel, I went ahead and put the Alfredo in the mini-fridge and reheated the appetiser and finally got to eat at a leisurely pace. After resting, before I worked on some other matters before leaving, I reheated the seafood Alfredo and a couple of breadsticks, which is when I discovered why the Alfredo looked and tasted ‘off’. It was criminally undercooked.

Coming out of the microwave after a three-minute reheat (I wanted to be sure to bring it up and hold it at a high temperature to ensure food safety and had planned to smell and cautiously taste the sauce, noodles, and shrimp/scallops before fully eating it), I noticed that the noodles looked normal now; they were less spaghetti-looking and more fettuccine-looking, and the odd taste was gone.

I want to ask this Olive Garden why it is of such paramount importance that a solo guest get in and out that they are presented with their appetiser, soup, and main course at almost the exact same time — despite the guest’s having attempted to do their part to prevent this (by ordering the appetiser through the table kiosk) and clearly explained to the server that their wish was not to have everything come out at once? Moreover, why was it so vital that I leave quickly that not only was my request to stagger the main course ignored, but the main dish was brought out literally undercooked, a fact not caught by either...

DO NOT RECOMMENDED IF YOU ARE LGBTQIA+

We went to this location as it was close to some people we were visiting and were planning on going to Olive Garden for our Anniversary, We are a Lesbian couple and our first date funny enough was at an Olive Garden, so we like going back every year for our Wedding anniversary if we can help it.

We had never been to this location but since it was close to someone we were visiting, We both figured we could take a shot on it.

We arrived and only had to wait a short five minutes for a table, when the host arrived and called our name, we stood up and started following the host, the hosts named I found out later was called Kaylee (hope I spelled that right), Kaylee seemed so friendly and nice, she noticed how dressed up we were (both in very cute dresses and our hair done and makeup all glammed up) I guess and asked if it was a special occasion or if we were just having dinner.

At this time, we both answered seperated that it was our anniversary at this time the cheerful person we had just met a second ago turned silent, we got to our table after not speaking further and she said in a snotty tone and a sneer on her face "Is this fine?" and walked away before we could answer.

It doesn't take a genius to tell what had just happened, though I didn't expect a company that has a discrimination clause in their policy to have a homophobic host on their staff. My wife tried to give her the benefit of the doubt and think maybe it had nothing to do with that! but I watched Kaylee seat multiple other straight couples and didn't repeat the behavior.

Our Server on the other hand, who's name was Caroline, was the polar opposite, so kind the entire meal! Came back to refill and check on us every few minutes, we skipped dessert cause our night was kind of already sour from our run in with the host, but I don't believe in punishing the server for the hosts actions (even though I'm pretty sure they share tips), so we left a good tip anyway. I need to mention I'm sure the host asked if it was a special occasion so they can inform the server for free deals for birthdays and anniversaries. We didn't bother to communicate this because of the night being ruined.

On our way out we informed the manager on duty what would happen, in which she tried to offer us the free dessert that we would have gotten if all of this didn't go down, but we turned down any compensation, instead asking her to please make sure it doesn't happen to any other queer couples.

We had the fried lasagna as an appetizer, it was decent! not as good as their calamari though! I had my usual which is the chicken and shrimp carbonara with zuppa tuscana (I really miss the Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo 😭), great dishes! My wife chose her usual which is the chicken tortellini with broccoli added and zuppa.

We will not be returning to...

A Culinary Voyage to Tuscany: My Olive Garden Experience

As I sat in the cozy embrace of Olive Garden’s dimly lit dining room, the anticipation built up like a crescendo in a classic Italian opera. The server placed the plate of Fettuccine Alfredo before me—a sight so divine it could’ve been painted by the hands of Michelangelo himself. I grasped my fork, twirled the pasta around it with the precision of a maestro, and brought it to my lips. Little did I know, this was no ordinary meal.

With the first bite, my senses were whisked away as if a portal had opened to the sun-drenched hills of Tuscany. The bustling restaurant around me faded into a serene landscape of rolling vineyards and rustic stone villas. I could feel the warm Mediterranean breeze tousling my hair and hear the distant melody of an accordion played by a lone musician in the piazza.

Suddenly, I was no longer in a chain restaurant. I was dining al fresco under the Tuscan sun, with a view so stunning that even the grapes seemed to be applauding my culinary choice. The Alfredo sauce, rich and velvety, was like liquid gold, each mouthful a treasure more precious than the last. I had ascended to a higher plane of existence, where the only currency was parmesan and the only language spoken was "Mamma Mia!"

As I returned from my transcendent journey with the last bite, I found myself back in my seat at Olive Garden, the distant sounds of clattering plates bringing me back to reality. My surroundings reemerged, but the memory of that bite lingered—a reminder that, sometimes, Tuscany isn’t as far away as we think. It’s right here, in a heaping plate of pasta, waiting to take you on an adventure. And, of course, it comes with unlimited...