Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Phoenix

As a long-standing patron of Olive Garden, I find it disheartening, albeit necessary, to compose this review—a reflection of the profound disappointment I experienced during my recent visit to this particular location. My expectations, rooted in the high standards one would associate with a restaurant under the auspices of Darden Restaurants, Inc., were thoroughly undermined by service that was not merely discourteous but grossly misaligned with the values that Olive Garden professes to uphold. It is nothing short of shocking that a publicly traded conglomerate such as Darden, which prides itself on the reputation of its brands, would allow such an egregious display of incompetence to represent one of its flagship establishments. The individual responsible for this regrettable encounter, the on-duty manager Maria, exhibited an alarming lack of basic customer service acumen and an absence of rational thought. In one particularly baffling instance, after suggesting that I contact corporate regarding my concerns, she responded to my inquiry for the corporate number with the nonsensical suggestion to “Google it.” It is beyond comprehension that a manager entrusted with the stewardship of an Olive Garden franchise would not possess the essential contact information for corporate headquarters. Furthermore, to advise a patron—particularly one seeking resolution to a service failure—to resort to an internet search instead of providing the requisite details demonstrates a profound failure in both leadership and accountability. As a manager, one is expected to embody the principles of the organization, which includes not only a thorough knowledge of company policies, menu offerings, and promotions but also the capacity to engage with customers in a manner that conveys empathy, professionalism, and competence. Maria’s failure in these areas was both conspicuous and disappointing, emblematic of a broader breakdown in the operational standards of this location. Regrettably, her lack of leadership appeared to have influenced other staff members, whose conduct mirrored her unprofessional demeanor. In lieu of offering the Olive Garden corporate contact information, I was given the details of the General Manager, James Vander Veur, which seemed a convenient deflection rather than an earnest attempt to address my concerns. I had previously held Olive Garden in high esteem for its consistent service and welcoming atmosphere. However, this experience serves as a stark contrast, one that is frankly embarrassing for a restaurant chain of such stature. For those who, like myself, appreciate the culinary and hospitality excellence that Olive Garden is capable of, I would strongly urge a visit to the Mesa location at 1261 W Southern Ave, Mesa, AZ 85202, where the service is commensurate with the quality of the food and ambiance—delivering the elevated experience one would reasonably expect from such a distinguished brand. It is my sincere hope that this review spurs the necessary corrective actions to restore this location’s service to the level befitting the Olive Garden name. Anything less would be a disservice to the loyal clientele who have come to...

The server was Nice and the drinks were fine.

I was seated an asked what we would like to drink and we always say water with EXTRA lemon. Both, my fiance and I individually say this. Waters were brought with 0 lemon to be seen, no straws and missed the coaster(not like I really care, but that's why its there.) We ordered our usual food and the first bowl was brought out in a timely manner. My bowl seemed very light compared to normal, but i disregarded this as soups are endless and refillable. When asked if i wanted a refill, i said yes, and from that point the nightmare started.

We started seeing the server less, and less, we had the call server button lit several times and waited on food. My fiance's soup was brought out and I was told that they had to make more of my soup, which I was fine with, and that it would take only a minute or two. 22 1/2 minutes pass before the soup hits my table. The soup is NOT how the soup normally looks, tastes, or comes as. There was 2 Luke warm dumplings in a DUMPLING SOUP.

My fiances experience differs, however. When she received her soup, she said it was like biting into a garlic clove. She thought it would only be 1, but when they brought out the other soup refil, the garlic taste was only AMPLIFIED.

2/10 I Would rather drive 3 extra miles out of my way to go to ANOTHER Olive Garden that has received my business for YEARS.

The alcoholic beverage they served was Alright. Only reason why I'm giving 2 stars.

EDIT: I'm giving 1 star, because I now see Im not the only one that has been wronged in this EXACT SAME WAY.

EDIT#2: Wife and I woke up Sick this morning with food poisoning! Havent eaten anything since this restaurant and I hadn't eaten at all yesterday prior to our visit.

I would stay as FAR AWAY FROM THIS ESTABLISHMENT AS POSSIBLE.

EDIT#3: MONTHS LATER. Avoided all contact with me, even when I sent emails EXACTLY where they told me to. Was promised a 50$ gift card, and have gotten 0 response from them after I've sent numerous emails.

Will 100% NEVER visit this location again, and this place tarnishes the Olive Garden Name....

Right now this store is a sort of hidden gem in the rough. It is a new store, while easily found is in a hidden location out in the open.

Traditional Olive Garden food served from their own Italian themed menus. Food is mediocre to good at its best. Atmosphere in this store is much better than many of their other stores because someone took the time to give this store a better table placement than most of their over crowded , noisy stores. The floor staff seems actually care about their customers wants, needs and desires and work to make your time there enjoyable and relaxed.

About the only concern I have goes to corporate interference with the way Alfredo sauce is greedily placed on your meal. While we all know good Alfredo sauce is indeed hard to find and Olive Garden does have one of the better Alfredo sauces, they do not provide enough to each plate needed to finish your meal with needed sauce and you have to ask your server for more which comes out is a small container holding one tablespoon of Alfredo sauce at best. You then have to ask for more which they want to charge you for. I always ask yo speak with the acting manager and explain my concern for their deliberate act to disrupt a good meal by their deliberate limited amount of sauce for the main dish ordered. Of course the manager usually apologizes and offers to get more at no charge but by then the meal has been disrupted and almost ruined because someone at corporate level wants to save a few pennies for the company by limiting the amount of Alfredo sauce that would make such dishes more enjoyable with the stingy penny pinching attitude by corporate. No one wants to see waste of food but one should not have to beg for more sauce to make their meal...