Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Redding

So this was the first time my family and I had gone to Olive Garden in years, we were so excited Because all of our past experiences had been really good, the food, the service, the atmosphere and all. Let me tell you, non of us were expecting the experience we had. When we first got in we had to wait for a table (no problem, we already expected it bc the place was packed). Our server was very polite and professional. The bread sticks were good, the salad was good, but they had oil and vinegar tossed in it already and there were no other options for it like there was in the past. When we got our main dishes, non of us were satisfied. Every dish was bland but the Alfredo took the win for the most unappetizing plate of the century. While the chicken was ok, the noodles were half dried out and cold, the sauce made me so sick. It was the worst I've ever had, when a dish make chef boyardee look and taste amazing in comparison, there's a problem. The sauce was chalky, chunky, and bland. It literally made my stomach turn it tasted so bad. I couldn't take more than 3 bites, and I was starving. Chicken Alfredo is my daughter's favorite and she was really excited, she took a bite and her face went from happy and excited, to oh my gosh this is disgusting. The look on her poor face said it all, she couldn't even chew or swallow it, she literally spit it out and said "mommy this is grouse, I think it went bad can I please have something else" everyone around the table was complaining about their food. I said something to our waiter which apologized for our experience. Non of us ate our food. My oldest tried his best bc he didn't want to waist the money I had just paid for everyone's meals. I let the waiter know we were ready to leave and don't worry he will still be taken care of for his excellent service. He told me not to worry about it bc he could truly see than we all did not like the food, we didn't even eat it. I told him no, it's not your fault. I explained to him how the dishes should have been prepared and how the sauce should be smooth and even the spaghetti and marinara sauces tasted like plain tomato paste with not seasoning, I told him he could try the food to see for himself. He said, " no I'm good, I believe you, I could see it in all your faces when I came around the corner to check in on you guys. He asked what he could do to make it right. I told him it's quite alright, I just want to pay for the meals and tip him so we could go. He came back a few minutes later with a bag of bread sticks bc he heard my son say the bread was the best part about the place. And let me know the manager has comped one of the main dishes. I told him thank you very much I wasn't expecting that bc we did order and I had planned on paying for what I ordered. He smiled and said I wish I could do more but that's all I could do. I thanked him again. Our bill ended up being around $80 and there was another unexpected surprise, the tablet they offered my daughter to use that I was told was complimentary was indeed not, I ended up having to pay for that. There should be a sign and the server should not say it's complimentary because that means free which it was not. So I gave him a $20 tip and told him to have a wonderful night. He thanked me and asked if I wanted change or to split it with me, I looked at him and let him know that even though our experience was horrible with the food that his service was exceptional other than the mis info on the tablet, just so you know you have to pay for it but $2 isn't much it's just the honesty I want. He apologized for misinforming us and we said goodbye. And I just want this to be known that even though if you get bad food, if your service is good, they do deserve a tip. It's not cool to have someone wait on you and do their best and clean after you and not get a tip. It's not their fault if the food isn't good. They don't cook it. If the service is bad yet the food is good, I always tip the chef personally and you can do that, I will tip for poor service just not...

On entering the establishment, while waiting on the waiter, I was thinking about the building. I was floored by the quality. I entered with my friend Alec. So far my impressions are good. It seems to be the best olive garden I’ve ever been to.

We were thinking about getting the Lasagna Fritta, it paired well with the Blue Moon Draft according to the card. The brand new menu looks great! It tells us exactly what drinks pair best. We were very excited about it. Alec decided to go for the Blue Moon Drafts because of the great pairing! We were about to order the Lasagna Fritta!

At that point Alec went to the restroom. While he was gone I was thinking about how good the restroom would be. I was expecting great things – I was not disappointed. Alec came back with a big smile and upon asking he told me that the restroom was great – they had nicely smelling things in the urinals.

While ordering the waiter was kind, even complimenting us on our choices. She informed us extensively on the soup possibilities and gave her personal recommendation. We ordered, she yelled “You got it!” took the cards and that’s it – That’s how you order at Olive Garden!

Then panic struck, the first issue of the night appeared. The table moves approximately .25 inches every time you touch it. The margarita could have spilled. We were no longer feeling the place that much.

The Blue Moon arrived. The Blue Moon Draft pairs very well with the Lasagna.

There was a larger party behind us, around 20 people, constantly we were kept waiting, I felt like a second hand citizen. I didn’t even get my salad. Is this the best Olive Garden has to offer? I feel like I’m a citizen of Olive garden but I get treated like an Alien.

Then.. Unbelievable.. I can’t believe it.. THE FREDO IS OUT. THE FRITS. ITS OVER. Alec bought the pair for the Alfredo and they ran out. The pairing has FAILED. We had to replace it with FRIED MOZZARELLA. THE PAIRING DOES NOT WORK. We wasted this Blue Moon Draft.

Then the birthday started behind us. The waiter gave a quick apology ‘sorry guys’, and the singing started! We started clapping along, it was great. It felt like it was my own birthday. The singing was great and at the end we clapped like we never clapped before.

The soup was great, meanwhile Alec was talking to the waiter and the other guests seem to have joined the conversation. The soup was great, the salad too.

Then the bread sticks.. the bread sticks were great. The evening was saved because.. the new dish paired fine with the Blue Moon Draft! They should add it to the card. I was impressed.

Then the main dish, the salmon and broccoli arrived, looks good. Then I found out I have unlimited soups for all of the soups. Five soups, we can eat all of them. I was having a 9 out of 10 experience. I’m not even meme-ing. Impressive.

Then I got the managers card. Fantastic meal. Pretty sure I will own this Olive Garden soon. Thanks Carolyn.

I ate the salmon too fast, bit on my lip, was bleeding pretty bad. We made friends with the servers and the managers here, not Carolyn, I’ll text her later. The waiters are nice, one wants to become a stand-up comedian, his name is Jordan. So far, best experience so far, best olive garden I have ever been to, maybe the best restaurant I’ve ever been to.

Then we sat down in the luxury suite (picture attached!!!). I was sitting exactly where Obama was sitting while looking at the picture of the founder of Olive Garden and his wife.

I’m not even joking, this is really good food, this one has it all. Some of the best. Best salmon I’ve ever had. Best soup I’ve ever had. The breadsticks are great. Salat is perfection. Alec is here. Ravioli was great. Not meme-ing, actually super good. This one is really good, right in California.

*review written...

It was my daughter's birthday. They were really busy so the three of us waited in the bar till our table was ready. I ordered an Italian Margarita with no sugar, but the bartender made it with sugar anyway. We didn't wait long till we were lead to a table. Our server was nice, but busy. We ordered an appetizer, dip duo, off the kiosk on the table. The server came and took our order and brought out salad. She said bread sticks would be out soon and she would check on our appetizer. As we are sitting there the tables around us were starting to get bread sticks and she came back within 5 minutes and said that the bread and appetizer would be a few more minutes. I pointed out that the other tables had gotten bread and she said she was told they had burned the bread but she would check again. She came back with bread when we were almost done with our salad. As I picked up my first piece of bread I looked down at my salad and saw a hair, long, brown and curly. Our server no where in sight, I handed it to another server passing by. Server came back, apologized for the hair, picked up the rest of the plates and commented about being surprised our appetizer was not there. She came back with the dip duo and told us she would not charge us for it because it took so long. It was obvious that the dip had been sitting up in the window for a while, but we ate it anyway. She brought our meals. They were good. The manager came through and apologized for the hair. Asked if everything else was ok. We told him about our experience to this point and he apologized again. Server came and prebussed our table, asked about desserts, but we told her that I had made my daughter's birthday cake that we were going home to have dessert. She thanked us, gave us our check, and we paid and left. I have had better experiences there before. They were certainly...