Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Ross Township

Walking through the door was okay. Greeted politely and promptly taken back to a table. On the way back to our table the wife noticed how filthy all the tables were, silverware on the floor and breadstocks here and there. Seemed unusual for how empty the place was. About 530pm. Ofcourse our table was just as bad, so we requested another. This one wasn't much better and still no one cleaned anything. So we just sat. Sat for awhile before, got our drinks and looked over the menu. Same old menu, no real change. We ordered the lasagna fritters app and waited. As time passed by we looked over our silverware and became more disgusted, all the while watching and listening to staff talk about how excited they are to leave for the day(manager included). Now the final straw, our app. Server slammed it down then proceeded to blanket it with cheese to hide what it really looked like. It looked like the crumbs/breading that is left over in the fryer basket. Completely dark brown almost black drenched in oil. The oil spread throughout the plate. Under the pastie red sauce sparcely covering it. We called the server and showed her, her reaction was to take back and tell us we weren't paying. No offer to replace. So we asked to pay for what we had up to this point and were rudly shut down. So headed out the door. The manager stopped us and said we don't have to pay and left it at that, then walked away snickering. Now I worked at this location in high school for 3 years, 21 years ago and their was not this level of disrespect, filth and straight up disregard for the customer. This location has become a disappointment and a ambarrassment. I will never step foot in this location again and make sure to spread the decline of this establishment. It is an utter shame that they employ management and employees that just don't care. Words to the wise be careful, leary and prepared for...

I've had some not so great experiences at this Olive Garden, over the past few years, and had really given up on this location and was very skeptical about returning. This time however was completely different. From the moment we walked in we were greeted by staff with a smile and by thanking us for being there and for our service (it was Veterans Day and my husband and I both served). It was obvious the staff were a working in collaboration with each other and they all knew who needed to be seated and, even though it was very busy, we were seated within 5 minutes. Josh was our server and also was welcoming, knew the menu well, and remembered all the little things that can be easily forgotten, like the extra side of Ranch. The food came out so quickly and it was hot, generously portioned, and delicious. I had the best Pina Colada I've ever had and I just came back from the FL Keys, so it's saying a lot that I found the Olive Garden's to be better. While everything ran like a well oiled machine, we never felt rushed and all employees were so friendly and willing to help customers and other staff. I want to thank Josh for being so kind and making our Veterans Day a memorable one! We went home more than satisfied and happy. The store was also extremely clean. We were in around 7:30 and even the bathrooms look like they were just cleaned and stocked. They even have a step stool in the restrooms for little people or children to easily reach the sink. I will...

So the mission was set but the factors that stood in our way seemed impossible. My ten year-old son and I needed to find a way to burn through about two and a half hours in Ross Township...but...it had to be somewhere that accepted a gift card to Olive Garden.

Luckily, we stumbled across a place called Olive Garden, which seemed like our best bet, all things considered. So we enter the joint, right? Immediately, a friendly hostess asks us how many are in our party and, brother, before you know it my boy and I are called away to a booth.

We got pasta. You gotta get the pasta, right? It's all sort of the whole deal, glutenous carb strands (It's their whole thing, it'll make sense once you go.)

But there was more. We got squid, we got chicken, we got bacon and heavy cream and butter and we got us a carbonara now. This is where things get serious.

Plus, there's this whole soup/salad/breadsticks deal that...well, I'm no spoilsport, I'll save the surprise for you.

In closing, olives are a product of trees and groups of fruiting trees are not called gardens, they're called orchards. Is it just a sticking point? Perhaps.

We had leftovers for three days straight...and we ate them...happily...just grateful for this special, special moment. We're alive. We're alive right now. In an Olive Garden.

We did it,...