Italian Garden — Restaurant in San Marcos

Love the food but the service our last few visits has not been great. Last night, we had to wait a few minutes for a table, which we expected so that wasn't the issue. Two tables were sat at the same time in the same general area but I think we had two different servers because our service was much worse than the other table. We sat without even being approached for at least ten minutes, while the other table got their drinks, rolls, and had their orders taken before our waitress even came over. When the waitress finally came over, she didn't bring any bread. She took our orders, muttered something about bringing bread back, and disappeared. We eventually got our bread and drinks. I'm glad I wasn't thirsty because she never refilled our drinks at all for the entire meal. After we got our entrées, we didn't see her until we were just about finished with our food. She never refilled drinks or asked if we wanted more bread. We ordered a dessert and that came out pretty quickly. After we finished everything, we sat there for at least five minutes. We stacked the plates on the edge of the table and put our masks back on to try to indicate that we were done. She finally came back with the check and then realized that the dessert wasn't on it, so she went to fix that. The other table that had gotten better service was already long gone by this time. We finally got the bill and paid and left.

We've had a similar experience the last few times we have been there but it's been quite a long time since we have been back and I'd hoped it would have improved. Sadly that wasn't the case. I do like the food but I have been disappointed in the service the past few visits, so I'm not sure when I will be back. If our service had been faster we would have easily been out of there before they closed, but as it was, we were there until about 15 minutes after they closed. I hate doing that, but in this case it was the...

Came to visit my son and we stopped here to eat because he loves Italian. It was a 40-minute wait, though we did have a party of nine. Are waitress was decently friendly. She seemed to warm up the longer we were there. One thing I didn't like about this place is that the restrooms are outside the building in the back and people kind of come in and out the back. I did have a concern for the waitresses because their purses are right there on a shelf next to that door that leads to the back alley to go to that bathroom. Another thing I didn't like is that there was somebody who brought their cat in there and a backpack, and our waitress was petting that cat, though she did wash her hands several times before she went back to the kitchen. There was a guy later there I saw filling up cups of ice and at one point he grabbed a piece of ice or something from the part that catches, and picked it up with his hand and threw it in the customer's cup. So just some things that I wouldn't have wanted for myself. I did appreciate the girl washing her hands with soap several times.

As far as the food goes, I thought it was just okay. My kids liked their barbecue pizza. I had the chicken parm, and it was just okay. My mom had the spinach pasta or something, and she loved it. The role is and everything else, just okay to me. Fleming about this restaurant is they don't upcharge you for having a larger party, though they only have one area, that I saw, to accommodate larger parties. It is a fairly small restaurant. Am I consider going back, again our waitress was very clean, and decently friendly.

Another thing I didn't like was how cold it was and the restaurant. Literally blowing cold air on our table, we all had to grab our jackets at that point, and were still cold. I do realize it's a restaurant and it gets hot, it was just at the point that it made us leave earlier than we...

WARNING: BAD LOCAL RESTAURANT REVIEW. Have been coming Italian Garden here in San Marcos for years and have always enjoyed the food. For those who know me, know that I have been extremely positive and proactive in supporting local businesses and especially food restaurants. Today unfortunately, would be the last time I eat at this establishment. First the service was absolutely atrocious. Two waitresses (that part, I understand) and the dining room was not busy at all. Although we were promptly seated, it took forever to get water and bread. When we asked for more olive oil the waitress disappeared and had to be reminded. When we tried to ask the other waitress she pretty much ignored us. We continuesly and politely had to flag someone down. After a while we just gave up and patiently waited.. When the oil finally came we had eaten the bread and she said it will be a while til we got some. We were very adamant that we wanted it when ready and never saw it even though she replenished another table and brought some to newly seated diners. The food served (linguine carbonara, chicken and shrimp portofino) was dry and tasteless. The chicken was dry and tough and took forever to chew. The shrimp was the same. Obviously frozen and not fresh at all. My friend did not touch hers after the first bite and waited ten minutes til the waitress came back and voiced her displeasure. She ordered a second dish but waited 20 minutes til we threw in the towel and asked for the check. This is not the first experience of bad food. It has increasingly gotten worse. Over the past year. The waitress upon seeing our displeasure never once tried to apologize or to be helpful and rectify the situation. It's sad that I would have to take the time to write this about a local San Marcos restaurant, but I feel it's sadder that we had to come from what use to be my favorite restaurant and eat Top...