Olive Garden Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Union Township

We have visited this location of Olive Garden Restaurant 475 Ohio Pike Cincinnati, Ohio numerous times over the years, BUT without a doubt this was the worst experience we have ever encountered at this location. The hostess that greeted; I use the term loosely as her only verbal address to us was if we would like a booth. We expressed a desire to be seated at a table was met with little more than a grunt and a "follow me". She seated us and literally tossed the menus and napkin wrapped flatware on the table and left. A server soon came to the table to ask if she could offer us beverages, to which we placed our preferences. The server returned with the beverages, literally placed them on the table, but not at what would have been proper locations for them to be our specified beverages, asked if we were ready to order yet, to which we asked for a few minutes to review the menus. After ten minutes I advised my wife that did the server not return within five additional minutes we would ask for the check for the cost of the beverages, and leave to go to another restaurant. Well, the server did return in about two to three minutes, so she took our dinner selections, asked if we preferred salad, to which my wife replied yes, but I opted for minestrone soup. The server left the table, disappeared for another ten minutes, but did return with the salad, soup, and a basket of bread sticks. However, before she could leave I checked the bread sticks and they were not warm, nor soft. They obviously had been out of the oven for an extended period, or may have even been returned unused from previous diners and attempted to be reused for us. I requested she remove the bread sticks and to please provide us with "fresher" bread sticks. She was serving a table near us, and did stop by our table to advise that a batch of bread sticks were in the oven, and when ready she would bring us a basket. The server did return shortly with fresh bread sticks, and in an appropriate time returned with our dinners, and did serve them properly onto our table. Both my wife's dinner of chicken marsala with fettuccine alfredo and my dinner of herb grilled salmon with angel hair pasta with meat sauce were without a doubt the worst dinners we had ever been served at this Olive Garden Restaurant. Both were so poor in taste that we both have resolved to not return to this restaurant for any meal. Even with the poor customer service; from the hostess and our server; and having daughters who both have been servers during their lives; I still provided a 20% gratuity...

We have been Olive Garden customers for years. We got carry out during the pandemic and a couple different times meals were forgotten from our order. It's one thing when a fast food place fails to give you everything you ordered; when the Olive Garden does it it's a $15-$20 mistake.

This review was prompted by an in-person visit, though. I went in, gave them my name, and a number to text me when our table was ready. I was told the wait would be 25-30 minutes. I got a text before I reached my waiting family in the car confirming I was on the wait list with a link to check how many people were waiting ahead of us. I clicked the link, and it said, "We're sorry to see you go. You have been removed from the wait list." My husband immediately went inside to clarify that we were, in fact, on the wait list. He was told there was "no one on the wait list by that name", but they would happy to add him, and it would be a 45-50 minute wait. He argued that I had just been there 45 seconds ago, but was told they "didn't know what happened" and there was "nothing else they could do." I was incredulous when he brought me this news, and I went back inside myself. The same employee was taking names. (After all this was all in a span of about two minutes.) I asked her if she remembered me. She said she did, and told me she could add me to the list again and there would be a 45-50 minute wait. It did not seem to compute with her at all that there was no reason that we should have lost our original place in line, and she made no effort to remedy the situation at all. We left and went across the street to Butterbee's, who took us right away, and we had an excellent meal.

If you've lived in Anderson for any length of time, you know how restaurants come and go here. This community will not continue to patronize a restaurant with such poor service, and unless the Olive Garden improves their current business practices, they will be...

My wife and I came here tonight on a Thursday and arrived a little after 8:30 for a late dinner. We got seated and the server came by us twice and said he would be right with us, no issues there. We waited for about five minutes until a different girl came over (I'm not sure if she was a server, busser, hostess,etc but I didn't get her name). She simply asked if someone had taken our drink order and was about to take our drink order when the server, David came and said he could take care of it himself and kind of put her in her place. He didn't cause a scene but you could tell he was irked that she would even consider taking our drink order. We felt bad for her and it was an awkward start to our time there. The girl was sweet and was just trying to help and wasn't trying to take over his table at all. Anyhow, we placed our drink and food order at the same time and David just acted awkward the whole time. Also, you know when you go to a restaurant and you feel rushed to leave, even if nobody says it explicitly? That's how my wife and I both felt with the way everyone was acting. It seemed like they wanted us out of there. We would've thought they closed at 9 if we hadn't checked later to find out they closed at 10pm. It didn't feel like a team effort to give us the best experience and make us feel welcome, it felt like we were part of a competition and a hindrance to the employees who seemed determined to leave at 10pm at all costs. When we left, David made a comment to us saying, "You had to deal with an emotionally exhausted server", which I don't know if he meant himself or the girl who tried to take our drink order. Either way, not a good look. The food was good which is why I am giving them 2 stars and not 1, because the service alone...