Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Sterling

Not a great service but the food as always is good.

From the moment we walked in on a Tuesday night we could tell something was off. Bottom line: do not expect a warm reception or good table manners from the staff but you’ll eat just fine. Everyone looks and acts like it’s their first day on the job. (Which is okay but not 5 stars). Read more for details.

The hostess was strangely flustered with a party our party of two and had us sit and wait, while a couple came in after us immediately got sat? when we were sat after a couple minutes later she explained someone would be with us.

Maybe 10 minutes went by and she came back and asked if we were helped. We explained we hadn’t yet, and she said she’d grab someone. Couple more minutes passed and a waitress asked if we’d been helped. We said not yet still, and she said “alright fine I’ll take it.”

Ok.

We ordered food and drinks in one go since we had time to figure it out and chat. The food kiosks were not working well either. You can order alcohol from them, and the menu items are scattered about. It’s an older kiosk tablet menu so it is not like ordering from your phone. Which is responsive and well laid out.

We got the food in a decent amount of time (soup and Alfredo) but the drinks came more than halfway though the meal? No water to start with either. So just weird. It’s usually the other way around.

We noticed our waitress was talking to another table no more than 10 feet from us about where she was from. Two older ladies just chatting with her.

Again, Tuesday night, not busy, but my girlfriend was very annoyed. If you’re busy sure take your time with our order. But we’d already been waiting and now we have food but no drinks.

Anyways, my girlfriend was disappointed and I was okay but I understand her disappointment. That’s not “when you’re here you’re family” service.

McDonalds is faster, more accurate and cheaper lol.

Next time we’ll be hitting a...

I have eaten at Olive Garden all over the country. There is a reason I haven't eaten at one in almost 10 years. The food was always bland and the service was garbage, plus you had to wait an hour to get what can only be described as "poor people's Italian food". That was not the case at this particular location. There was no wait. The waiter came at exactly the right time (once we knew what we wanted). Maybe he was lucky, but as the meal progressed, it became apparent that he was just good at being a waiter. The only thing that could have been negative was the breadsticks. They weren't good... which is odd, because in my previous experiences, the bread sticks were the only thing that was good. But they are free, so I'm not going to complain. The salad and breadsticks came out promptly after ordering our food, and was soon followed by the appetizers. After we got through about 7/8 of the appetizers our food came out. So, again, perfect timing. None of our drinks ever got to be fully empty without a replacement glass being placed right next to it. THAT'S OUTSTANDING SERVICE. When we looked like we were full, our waiter came to the table with to-go containers... and there was a lot of food to take home with us. This particular location has restored my faith in Olive Garden. From the outstanding service to the improved food, it has gone from being "poor people's Italian chain" to "affordable and tasty Italian restaurant". I can't remember the last time I got good food and good service for my entire family (of 5) for under $150 including...

Terrible Experience at Olive Garden

I am very disappointed with my recent dining experience at Olive Garden. From the moment we arrived, the service was far from welcoming. The reception staff didn’t seem friendly at all, and I felt unwelcome right from the start.

Our waiter introduced himself but then left us sitting with the menu for an unreasonably long time. We had to call him back to place our order, and throughout the meal, he barely checked on us. We constantly had to raise our hands to ask for basic things like drink refills or to get anything we needed.

The worst part of the experience was finding a hair in the soup. It was disgusting and completely ruined our meal. After losing our appetite, we informed the waiter, who only said, “Sorry,” and took the soup away. He never brought a replacement or even acknowledged the incident further.

We asked to speak to the manager, Alan (if I remember correctly), but it took a very long time for him to come over. When he finally arrived, all he said was “Sorry,” with no sense of accountability or effort to make things right.

This was supposed to be a celebration for us, but the entire experience left us sad and frustrated. I will not be returning to this location, and I am seriously reconsidering dining at Olive Garden altogether. I would not recommend this place to anyone. The service, in particular, was extremely poor, and the overall experience was just...