Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Spartanburg

Olive Garden used to be my favorite place. Food now tastes like I can do at home, and service needs major work. The restaurant was practically empty when my family came which surprised me when walking in on a Friday night with no wait. More customers were seated in the bar area than the whole restaurant, when walking to the bathroom there was 1 table sat in the entire back area by bathrooms, 2 sat in the middle area and 2-3 tables in the front area. Why they decided to seat every table in the bar is beyond me, why not give customers room and evenly disperse for wait staff. The table infront of us made a comment and requested help from a different staff member due to being neglected. There were TONS (like 5-6 people continously) of employees just hanging at the front desk constantly chatting, laughing having a great time....which is fine but when your a customer looking around for their waiter it kinda sits wrong within your being. The manager on duty also seemed to enjoy the front desk as he was there most of the time. I never once saw him walk the tables or restaurant (which all you do is notice things when you're just sitting there looking for your waitress). The food had sat under the hot light cause the plates were on fire, but the pasta was congealed. Having to be asked everytime if you want a drink refill on a free refill drink and you still have half your meal left is counterproductive and also gives you more time to notice things while you wait for your refill, like when the server says, I'm going to bring you a refill after you have been waiting on her to come by anyways for a refill and 5 mins later your still waiting on a refill and you know the restaurant is empty and there are 5-6 people with the manager laughing and cutting up at the front desk infront of essentially the entire restaurant cause most are seated in the bar area with a front row seat to a crap dinner show that I would have rather not paid for. And the bathrooms!..... Horrible, I wish I had went before I had eaten, toliets nasty, urine and feces in bowl, sinks nasty, no paper towels..... you should be embarrassed and ashamed. Sadly, this isn't new or proprietary to Olive Garden, many resturants are suffering from the same malaise.....poor training, poor work staff, and poor management. However, where the shift lies is with management, for that is what can save or kill a business. Good luck cause you may very...

Update January 15th 2022 - we went and checked in via Olive Garden wait list on their app and the app said we would be waiting close to 30 minutes. We waited inside and looked at their to go menu & We were seated within only 15 minutes. We ordered our drinks & an appetizer while we waited for our salad ( my favorite thing there ! ) The waitress was.... slow on getting the order and we had just gotten our soup & salad literally 5 minutes before we received our entrées. Ordered dessert via tableside tablet & it was brought the fastest out of anything that evening. Also paid with debit card via tableside tablet so there was no waiting around on her to take my card and it be 15 minutes before we saw her again. I appreciate the fact that alcoholic beverages were not offered this time also! No need to force the alcohol - they know y'all have it & if they want it, they are going to order it regardless if it's offered or not. So thank you because there was a recovering alcoholic in the party.

3 months ago.... Went last night before going to the movies, around 5:30 p.m. Was told there would be a 15 - 20 minute wait. Sat down to wait and was buzzed only after waiting 2 minutes. Server was polite and very quick. Food was excellent as always! Salad and breadsticks were on point as expected! It is so nice to be able to go to a restaurant and KNOW you will get something good..... and know it will be exactly what you had 2 years prior. I love how they continue to take pride in the quality of their food. It really shows in the plates they bring out. I can't give them a higher rating than a 5 star so that's what it will have to be. I always recommend this location and others to Olive Garden. It really doesn't matter if you go to one location or the other - it seems all locations hold a high standard & I love that!

11 month ago review.... Always a great place to go if you are on the Westside! Service is always great. Food is always great. Depending on what time of day or the day itself, will determine how long the wait could be. ( usually not too long. ) There is a lot of parking. ♿ accessible also. If you are having a large group, it would be wise to call ahead to try and get some seating arrangements took care of...

My husband and I decided to go to Olive Garden yesterday in Spartanburg. We walked inside and was immediately greeted by a very friendly hostess. She showed us to our table and assured us that our server would be with us shortly. We were so busy talking to one another that we didn't really notice that no one had come over to take our drink order, and finally I realized that everyone around us was being attended to. We waited a few minutes longer, still no server. I told my husband that we would give them two more minutes. He said.."I'm with you". I was inwardly in a mild rage. Many thoughts as to why we were being ignored was floating around in my head. Is it because we are an interracial couple? Is it because I am heavy? Is it because my husband is older and I am younger? 😕 About a minute later, the waitress servicing the table beside ours noticed that we had been there quite a while and stated that she would get someone over to us asap. We waited about four minutes longer and just as we were about to stand to leave, a man walks over and introduces himself as a manager (sorry, I cannot remember his name). He was very friendly and professional. He gave an explanation and apologized profusely and even offered us a free appetizer, of which we turned down. He then offered free desserts, we said that we would think about it. He took our order and left. Our server, Amber, finally arrived a couple of minutes later. She was apologetic, very enthusiastic and friendly. She was a very attentive server without being bothersome or overbearing. I tell this long and detailed story only to say, sometimes it really IS just a mix up or mistake. I was very angry yesterday because the people were ruining a very nice lunch for my husband and I. We have not been out in SEVERAL months due to my illness and they were messing it all up!! Well, they made it up to us and left us feeling great about our dining experience. Thank you...