Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Thousand Oaks

Gold Seal Standards recently conducted an independent audit of an Olive Garden location.

The experience began positively. As our auditors approached, an employee returning from a pickup delivery opened the door with a smile, setting a welcoming first impression. Upon entering, the team was greeted immediately by two front staff members and seated in less than one minute. Service efficiency continued, as our server, Ty, arrived within the first minute to take drink orders. Drinks and fresh breadsticks were delivered within five minutes, and notably, each auditor was served two breadsticks—a detail that stood out in comparison to prior Olive Garden visits where fewer were provided.

Food service was prompt and well-coordinated. Orders were taken within 10 minutes of seating, with soup and salad served in under five minutes, and entrées arriving within 10–15 minutes after ordering. The food itself was hot and fresh, though it was noted to lack flavor compared to expectations.

Service throughout the visit was a highlight. Ty demonstrated attentiveness, professionalism, and warmth, checking on the table frequently—between three and five times—to ensure drinks, refills, and needs were addressed. His conduct reflected positively on Olive Garden’s commitment to customer care.

Areas of concern were identified in the condition of the restrooms. Both men’s and women’s facilities appeared unmaintained, with issues such as overflowing trash, limited toilet paper, urine marks on floors, and graffiti on mirrors, stalls, and walls. Additionally, hot water was unavailable in both restrooms, and one sink in the women’s restroom was nonfunctional. These findings indicate a lack of consistent bathroom maintenance and hygiene practices during the time of inspection.

Overall, Olive Garden demonstrated strong efficiency in seating, food delivery, and attentiveness in service, with particular recognition given to Ty’s excellent customer care. However, significant improvements are needed in restroom cleanliness and upkeep to align with customer expectations and health standards.

Gold Seal Standards will schedule follow-up audits at this location to ensure these concerns are addressed and to provide a balanced, long-term evaluation of performance.

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Gold Seal Standards LLC (G.S.S) “Where every...

I am a long time patron of Olive Garden however tonight I have never been more let down. We came to your Thousand Oaks location to celebrate our toddlers 2 year old birthday, checked in ahead and waited 45 minutes when told 20. That's ok we understand that can happen. We are seated and our server comes seeming rushed so we order. Our salad is brought, no utensils. Again its busy we understand. However our salad plates are served piping hot and salad is dry! We didn't get bread sticks until dinner was served. Until now we are still trying to just be understanding. We re-order second helpings of our endless pasta. While waiting our toddler took a nasty fall from booth into the tables edge and immediately welted where we thought it would split open. We dropped everything and frantically searched for our server to inform her we needed to leave. We were met with some employees who offered ice however as we were escorted out we continually heard "they haven't paid yet, make sure they pay" In my head I am thinking of course I am paying you but my toddler needs to get to the ER. We get to the front and there is ZERO sense of urgency to help us check out and leave, ZERO. I have an injured child and I am now crying myself trying to console her. I finally am helped and she gives me my total, I know if incorrect but I have no time to argue. I ask if my husband grabbed our food (PAID FOR MIND YOU) and she says sorry we didn't plate it or box it because you were leaving do you want it remade? I am literally in tears and I say no I need to leave. Literally the end of my conversation no further assistance or anything of that nature. I was really let down firstly as a person and mom and also by the service provided. I spent over $100 for this experience left without food and the primary concern was "making sure I didn't run out on my check" when my toddler needed to get emergency medical care? I am sorry I will never view Olive...

The staff at this location should have already seen this coming after tonight’s visit. The tablet didn’t give me the option to do a survey (which is weird) so I will leave my survey here. With well over 10 years in the restaurant industry this was the worst and most uncomfortable experience. The server started off good but I don’t know what changed for to her just not caring and result to just dropping food and going without saying anything. Then it turned to her having excessive conversation with a table while we waited on entrees and refills. I had to get up and go to the back to see if my food was ready because her conversation was more important than her tables. We didn’t get breadsticks until after our soup and salad. Looking at the other table near I saw a table full of appetizers but no bread so while our second order of bread was arriving this table near by was receiving entrees and still no bread. Us parties just glancing at each other to see who got what continued for a while. This was the most uncomfortable experience I wanted to give them our bread. The manager tried fixing both tables but it did not seem sincere but almost like this was a regular thing. With my restaurant experience I definitely would have taken disciplinary action on multiple team members and had them retrain for...