Italian Garden

Delicious, homemade Italian food. Service by Efren was amazing, attentive and prompt. Food arrived quickly & hot. Efren kept our drinks topped. Pricing is great. I’d definitely recommend this place and I’d definitely be coming back every time I’m in town.

Italian Garden is a lovely little restaurant with hearty food. It’s the perfect place to really enjoy a meal with someone special. It’s easy to get to with plenty of parking. Service was good!

We gave Italian Garden a try hoping for a cozy, authentic dinner, but unfortunately, the food didn’t quite hit the mark. The sauce tasted like something straight from a jar (Ragu-style), and the noodles were borderline soggy. My kids’ meals lacked flavor — not enough herbs or seasoning to bring the dishes to life. That said, the ambiance had a nostalgic charm. The space is a little worn down, but in a way that reminded me of older, family-run cafés in Rome — simple, unpretentious, and with potential. Service was friendly, and I can see why locals might come for comfort food. But for us, it just wasn’t what we were hoping for in terms of flavor.

I’ve ordered here a few times, usually love it, however I paid $8 for an absolute SLIVER of cheesecake. I think that’s a little insane. Everything else is always wonderful with incredible portions, but this cheesecake was an absolute absurdity. I’m not pleased with this. $8 for a two bite slice is a joke.

The dishes we tried and did not even have the time to take a picture because we were hungry and we enjoyed them so much were shrimp scampi, chicken Alfredo, chicken Marsala, and pizza. We loved everything, starting with the bread, which was very fresh and warm, so soft, and delicious. Our entrees were a good size and were flavorful. The restaurant feels like gathering with friends and family to eat. Our server was very polite, helpful, and attentive. I definitely recommend it if you are craving Italian.

Place looks kinda run down from the outside, however, looks can be deceiving. Inside the atmosphere is cozy, the food looks pretty good and tastes fire. The bread rolls you get also are warm and fresh.

Italian Garden in San Marcos, TX, was a delightful find recommended by my hotel staff. From the moment I arrived, it had the vibe of a cozy, family-run Italian spot—red and white checkered tablecloths, and fresh oil for dipping your bread, really set the scene. They started me off with an order of garlic bread knots that were light, airy, and delicious. I followed that with a huge house salad, but it was so large I could only manage half. For the main course, I chose the Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken, which arrived creamy, packed with tender chicken, and piping hot. The flavor was excellent, and the pasta was cooked perfectly, though I could only eat half because of the generous portion. Sadly, I missed out on the last serving of tiramisu, but the Black Forest cheesecake I had instead was just as good as the rest of the meal. The real highlight, though, was the waitress, who made the experience even better with her fun and conversational service. With the salad, main meal, dessert, and drink, the total came to just $26 before tip—very reasonable for the quality and portion sizes. If you’re in San Marcos, TX, I’d highly recommend checking out this local gem.

I don’t usually write reviews but this place was such a delight!! Rolls were warm & crispy and delicious. They brewed fresh coffee just for us and our server was extremely friendly, had good recommendations and was very helpful. Prices were great given the value. Food was delicious, sauce was creamy and a small sprinkle of salt really drew out the delicious flavors. The shrimp in the shrimp Alfredo was so fresh and delicious, sometimes it can get overcooked or something but it was perfect. I’ll definitely be back in San Marcos just for this place and tell everyone about it

I used Italian Garden for catering. For 25 people I ordered two big pans of salad. The dressing comes on the side. One pan would have worked, and we were eating salad for days! I also ordered two pans of lasagna and two Pans of chicken picatta. What I didn't think of was that I had enough food with these two Entrees for 50 people. Wow! One pan of each would have fed 25 people, portion controlled. The entrees came with two big pans of free garlic knots. It was worth the purchase and I recommend them for catering. JAY took my order and was very helpful planning and loading it up. They were so nice to deal with.

First of all it was freezing in there, we got here around 8:30pm. We received 4 rolls (this was probably the best thing they had ). Ordered the calamari which I could tell once it got to the table that it was bland. They had no color or seasoning on them. My lasagna had little to no pasta, I bit into two maybe three bites with pasta. My husband had this pizza and said it was "trash". He had a sweet tea, did not receive a refill because they ran out at 9Pm also ran out of rolls. I heard the waitress tell the table beside us when she brought them (1 roll out to a table of 5 mind you) that the cook said they were out and they weren't going to make more.. they close at 10 Pm. Lastly we got our cheesecake, I could have gotten one from Jack in the box to be honest. The service was ok, she was sweet. The food was just not it.

I ate my spaghetti and meatballs today my dad's birthday dinner was so delicious and it made my day so much easier!

Food is exceptional, service is always so friendly and prompt. The restaurant inside is very cozy. All the food we have ordered was so good.

My last review here was 5 yrs ago. That was a five star review and once again the food is five stars! My favorite dish is the seafood medley in a wine sauce (also offered in a red sauce). It's served over Angel hair. As usual, it is BYOB, something that everyone seems to know seeing how many wine bottles are on tables.

This place was great! The food quality was great for a mom and pop spot. We order a few different dishes the lasagna was noddle are made in house for that dish and you can tell. My lady ordered the tour of Italy and 10 times better then Olive garden. This place is like a freshly made Olive Garden! Instead of everything coming from bag and pre made like Olive Garden they're making their food fresh and in house. Also the pricing is way better! Service was not bad we had a little incident and they accidentally packed out food to go but they fixed it quickly and got our food out still hot. It's not huge but not too small either it definitely gives you that small mom and pop feel. If you are in San Marcos a you want some fresh Italian food with good prices I would definitely recommend this spot!

It's really hot in here for starters. Silverware on the floor. My friend Ben has zero friends? Dokes is everywhere all at once. The people at the table next to me admitted she was a coke addict. Anywho my friend, Mimi, ordered kids menu with a very small portion (seen below). IT. DIDN'T. SNOW. Friend has an itchy ear and asked for water without ice. I am apparently the woman of the table. Ben could not be -bread was cold after sitting out too long-friends because he doesn't have Zelle. Waitress, possibly named Mimi, was really nice

Absolutely horrible cannolis! Shell was delicious so you would have high hopes, but the filling tastes like pillsbury frosting, insanely sweet. Super sweet hospitality in front, but good lord I thought Italians took pride in their food. (No ricotta in their powdered sugar nonsense) Also online says cannoli for $5 but in person menu they are $9, eyeroll.

Me and my partner got the Fettuccini Alfredo and what was supposed to be an eggplant dish. The waiter brought out a Chicken Parmesan dish instead of my eggplant. Decided to keep it since it's not a big deal and it looked good anyways. Both meals tasted pretty bad. The fettuccine Alfredo tasted really sweet, like cake frosting sweet. Lastly the chicken dish was underwhelming, it almost seemed like the chicken was frozen at some point and reheated, it was tough and had the reheated texture of a frozen dish.

Italian Garden is still the best place for Italian food in San be Marcos! We truly enjoyed our meal. Our server Kevin, made it more than a meal and turned it into an experience! Kudos to the chef for perfectly understanding our special requests. The Chicken Portofino and the Chicken Parmigiana were served with excellence. We loved the ambient music reminiscent of the 40's and 50's. I actually felt as if we were in an Italian restaurant in New York City years ago. There is outside seating for those that like that type of experience. Enjoy a quiet romantic dinner in San Marcos.

Italian Garden in San Marcos, TX, was a delightful find recommended by my hotel staff. From the moment I arrived, it had the vibe of a cozy, family-run Italian spot--red and white checkered tablecloths, and fresh oil for dipping your bread, really set the scene. They started me off with an order of garlic bread knots that were light, airy, and delicious. I followed that with a huge house salad, but it was so large I could only manage half. For the main course, I chose the Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken, which arrived creamy, packed with tender chicken, and piping hot. The flavor was excellent, and the pasta was cooked perfectly, though I could only eat half because of the generous portion. Sadly, I missed out on the last serving of tiramisu, but the Black Forest cheesecake I had instead was just as good as the rest of the meal. The real highlight, though, was the waitress, who made the experience even better with her fun and conversational service. With the salad, main meal, dessert, and drink, the total came to just $26 before tip--very reasonable for the quality and portion sizes. If you're in San Marcos, TX, I'd highly recommend checking out this local gem.

This place was great. It was recommended to me by a local...so I knew it would be good. We had a group of ten girls for a bachelorette party dinner- we called ahead to let them know we were in the way and we were sat immediately on arrival. The menu prices were shockingly affordable for good Italian food. The service was fast and entertaining. And the building had these super cute murals on the walls too. Definitely a cute place to try out!

This is the third time in the last 5 years I have visited and I have finally decided to leave a review despite the food always being terrible. If you are looking for poor quality food that tastes like dishwater, you found your place! Anyone who says that the food here is good is uncultured and would think a paper plate tastes good. I didn't even try eating past the two bites I could stomach and threw the rest out. The previous two times I ate here I also didn't finish my food, but since it had been over a year since I last tried I figured I would give it a chance. Save your money, butter noodles at home taste better than anything they serve here.

Great food at a great price. Local restaurants are becoming rare and I thoroughly enjoy patronizing this one.

We've been coming here for a few years and have never had a bad meal. While my husband's go to is the chicken piccata and spaghetti, mine is the pasta carbonara. The food is very well priced and I always have enough leftover for lunch the next day.

Nothing like getting burnt food and not even cooking it with all it says on the menu, barely any sauce on the spaghetti, said I wouldn't go back after the last time but now I really will never go back! What a terrible experience

Kenzie was an amazing server!! She did a great job at recommending dishes & desserts! I had a fabulous dinner!

This is a small mom and pop shop in San Marcos! Have been coming here for awhile. The food is great food and affordable price. The service was also fast and friendly.

A great experience! Food was really good for "textalian". The vibe in the restaurant was great. The service was absolutely amazing, Taylor B did an amazing job and made us laugh every time she came over. We will definitely be returning! If you're looking for a nice chill spot to eat lunch or dinner, this is it!

Italian Garden Restaurant in San Marcos has been one of my favorite Italian food restaurants in Texas for many years. The delicious food, friendly service, and elegant atmosphere are all great. The prices are very reasonable, especially on their lunch menu offered every day. I would, of course, recommend their excellent chicken parmigiana entree. My favorite entree is the chicken carciofi, which comes with grilled or sautéed chicken breast, in a white wine cream sauce, with garlic, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and onions.

OMG! The food was fabulous. The prices were 2000-ish! Most entrees $10 or less. This is a cozy small neighborhood Italian restaurant near downtown San Marcos. Can't remember our waitress's name but she was friendly and exceptionally efficient. (Hint to manager: she just graduated with a degree in psychology.) This was truly a win/win. We were travelers but won't miss it next time we are in town!

I always drive by this little building, but have never tried it until recently! This restaurant is quiet and is cold! Make sure to bring a jacket, we were sat near the air vent. Our waitress was so kind and letting us know what she recommended as it was our first time there. She came by frequently to refill our waters and give us more bread (which is so yummy) and olive oil. I ultimately got the baked lasagna. However, when I got it there was barely any meat. It was okay for a bit, but you get a bit tired of just mainly eating the cheese and pasta. I would still go back to try their other dishes of course! I just got unlucky with my first choice.

This is the best kept secret in San Marcos! The price point is really fair, the ambience is warm and inviting, the staff are attentive and welcoming, and the food is amazing! I love the spaghetti and meatballs with pink sauce, the chicken Alfredo is really good too!

Excellent bread and Philly Cheese steak sub. Veggies had too much garlic and pasta was overcooked. Sauce had a nice flavor but was a bit thick. Still, taste is authentic so we will return for the bread, subs, and to try the pizza which looked great from our side glance at the next table.

Delicious Italian food we tried chicken alfredo and chicken parmesan dishes are great at an ideal price, highly recommended family atmosphere to celebrate birthdays

I'm a fan of small red checkered table cloth Italian restaurants. These are the kind of places that serve bread when you sit down and offer big well priced portions. Italian Garden is such a place. Even though it's not a family style restaurant, we ordered three items for the table of three and shared them: chicken Parm, fettuccine Alfredo and a pizza. All were good. Exceptional? Not really. But good? Yup, and sometimes that is good enough. One reminder - this spot is BYOB so bring your own vino.

The food hits every time! Very affordable, it's BYOB. The service is always great, and the ambiance is very old-school Italian restaurant. It's a go-to for me. And the garlic knots are my fav!!

Best service ever and Hallie was our server. Food was incredible and she really made this a great experience. Rockstar all the way

Great flavor! Large portions. The service was excellent, friendly and fast. Looks small on the outside but very spacious and nice atmosphere. Can't wait to eat here again.

Looking forward to the Kyle location. Appetizers and 16 inch pizza were huge portions. Will return to try the lasagne and the GF pizza next.

This was my favorite spot to take guests but after today. Our server was great but when it came to discount we were told one % but when check came back it was another. Therefore I won't be coming back bc the manager refused to come talk to us. They just lost a customer.

This place is a good spot to eat, but it is in a collage area down town so there are a lot of collage student roaming the streets. The restaurant was really packed but our waiter was the best!!! He was very attentive to our needs and even gave use a free tiramisu for the long wait we had to wait for our food. The calamari was delicious and so was everything else. The music kinda sounds like an animal crossing song but it sounds nice. The restaurant was kinda cold and the restroom is in a weird place you have to walk by the kitchen and out a door to behind the restaurant and turn a corner enter another door just to get to the restroom but this wasn't an inconvenience at all.

Great selection, everything we tried was great...chicken dishes, pasta, salad, garlic knots, shrimp scampi. The prices are very reasonable compared to other places with garden in the name. Complimentary garlic knots are such a nice touch with a flavorful dipping sauce. We had this server named Kevin who is absolutely hilarious with a crazy vocabulary and he made the experience next level for us. It's an old building kinda hard to find for out of towners but definitely worth it. One weird note: the restrooms are actually outside around the side of the building.

Usually I'm not one to write reviews for a restaurant but my experience at Italian Garden was amazing so I wanted to write a review regarding my thoughts at Italian Garden. First of all, the the wait for the food was very quick and I only waited around 10 minutes which compared to other Italian restaurants it was very quick. Secondly the food tasted amazing the bread rolls tasted so freaking good with the olive dip and I ordered to tortilini which was perfectly seasoned. The only thing that I didn't like about Italian Garden was the bathroom situation but other than that the overall ambiance of the restaurant. was great and I'm definitely coming back here again.

The food was deliciously good! The waitress was kind to us. Will definitely go there again!

Went here for lunch today. Have been here before and decided to try something different. I ordered the angel hair with pesto and grilled chicken on top. It was so delicious and was a very generous portion. Of course the bread was nice and fresh too. Our server, Efrain, was super friendly and considerate. He took the time to hold a conversation with us and didn't rush us. He made sure we were taken care of. Over all it was a great experience. We will be back!

Ordered here last week, no issues, loved everything. They did a 180 this week and it was horrible. Definitely NOT the same cook. This meal was horrible, every dish we ordered. As soon in video below my chicken tetrazzini was all milk and no cheese to thicken. Completely watered down, so watered down that it leaked all out of the to-go box it was in. Not to mention it had 5 pieces of bow tie pasta, few mushrooms. Which means i got 1/4 the amount of edible food i should have gotten in this meal. I probably would not been so angry if i wasn't still hungry after eating it cause there was nothing there. Now we move on to the chicken alfredo i ordered for my kid, adult size because they don't have kids meals on DoorDash, already a sign this place sucks. The Alfredo was a watery mess. Sauce didn't stick to the noodles like it should and my kid would not eat it. However he did actually get a full portion of noodles unlike my chicken tetrazzini. Now on to my teenagers meal, he got the Philly cheesesteak sandwich. We asked for meat and cheese only, well they took it to the extreme and didn't add any extra so it was all bread and a very small portion of steak. If you want to call it steak. My kid would not eat it so i tried it myself. It tasted like microwave meat from a frozen meal. Last but not least, the dinner rolls that come with the meals, they were raw in the middle and all you could taste was flour. They had not even been browned. The rolls were white as cooking flower. We were real excited to eat here a second time because we only have one place in Kyle that has Italian food and we were happy to try other places finally since DoorDash would deliver from there. But now we will go back to illarios in Kyle always and forget this place ever existed. Btw, my kids are now eating dominos pizza and happy. Sad day when a place like Dominoes pizza is better than a hand made Italian food restaurant.

Best Italian food I've had in 3 years! I moved down here from New Jersey and always had issues looking for Italian food in the Houston area, but this place blew it out of the water. Amazing food and service, left feeling at home.

Terrible, ordered a door dash order and the lady up front said she forgot to put it in and I had waited over an hour and if it wasn't for my dasher to go in and verify I would've waited who knows how long. Maybe y'all shoudl train y'all's employees to be more aware.

I really liked Italian Garden! It's a very cute restaurant nestled inside a house; the lights are dim and tables are squished into the rooms, giving it a homey and intimate feel. It can definitely be loud in there though. Don't forget to BYOB! When we sat down we were given 8 bread rolls. EIGHT! for two people. Heaven. I ate 4. They come with a little olive oil/pesto type dipping sauce. The menu has a variety of options from pizza to pasta to salads. I was thrilled to see they had pink sauce so that I could relive my college days in Waco at Baris where tortellini pink is the thing to get. Also similar to my college days-- prices are very fair. Portions are big enough that you can eat half and take the rest, or you could eat it all in one go (I did). My sister has been a few times and has tried a handful of things, from ravioli to lasagna, and enjoyed them all. Definitely check this place out if you're in town visiting your bobcat or if you're hanging out downtown!

Clean comfortable homey atmosphere with service that was spot on! They smiled and could joke with you. No waiting for Sunday after church. They served large flavor portions at a great price.

I LOVE this place it is so camp. Eggplant parm goes crazy hard. Bread is pretty good too. It's probably not authentic but like whatever it's a fun time and BYOWine which I think is pretty great.

I haven't been to this place in almost 2 years and loved it, so i was excited to visit his place again. It's very unfortune that's the food has taken a turn for the worse. I ordered a plate of spaghetti with meatballs, mozzarella sticks, and a salad. The salad was good. The mozzarella sticks were bland, and the marinara sauce was runny. I realize that the sauce was the store-bought kind. The spaghetti with meatballs was also bland. They use frozen unseasoned meatballs. I don't know what changed because when I was last here,everything was homemade. I was very disappointed and I do not recommend anyone going here unless you like blank food.

Often the place to stop for some quick service and good inexpensive Italian food. It's a very homey spot and definitely a recommendation for someone looking for a little mom and pop kinda place so good. Also they have lunch specials and the bread with dipping oil is yummy.

Yelp, thanks for not letting me down! This place was 100% super delicious! We had the manicotti with pink sauce, the fettuccine noodles with Italian sausage, onions, garlic, the mozzarella sticks and last but not least the chicken Cremora (FAVORITE!)! Everything was fresh, cheap, and totally tasty! The bread with the roasted garlic-olive oil was the best I have ever tasted! We will be coming back to eat at this place! Totally worth every dime!!

AMAZING experience!!! Everyone experience i've had here has been great, but recently i placed a to go order and they accidentally gave me the wrong sauce. I called and the manager said he'd gladly remake it, and when i arrived he told me that he went in the back and made it himself!!! The service was amazing, they even gave me a complimentary cake for the inconvenience. Prices are amazing and everything has always been excellent!

Food was fresh . Fast service . No complaints here . Small parking lot . I would return

Food was great and came in a timely manner, even though it was crowded. Awesome service, Kevin was great and made us feel welcomed, constantly checking in on us. Overall great experience.

I just came in a bit before 2 p.m. today, I'm writing this up at 2:27 p.m. You enter and you're not immediately greeted by anyone or a host/hostess. Their menus are posted on the walls. There are two different versions of the menu, one with the standard plates, and the other with the lunch special prices. From what I saw, the plates were almost the same on both and the prices were off by a dollar or two. (Don't worry that you'll be playing a significant amount more if you were to come in a dinner time). Since I came in at a time that they're not packed, I was seated by the window of the unoccupied half of the dining section. I was given 3 rolls with the standard oil for dipping. Despite this being an obviously simple standard, I liked how plain it tasted. I've been to higher-end Italian spots that had an odd/overly seasoned oil. I added a little bit of Parmesan and the tiniest bit of salt for my liking. The rolls were good. My order of the Chicken Cremora with the lightly breaded chicken didn't take long to come out. It had obviously just been cooked since it was hot. (Fortunately for me, it was not the 'burn your mouth' hot). You can tell they added a healthy amount of cheese to the sauce itself since it did have a bit of stringiness to it. I liked the sauce. However, there was a slight sweetness to it that I couldn't quite place. It wasn't necessarily bad, just different. I could obviously taste that the breaded chicken had been fried because it had that used frying oil taste to it (kind of like if you were to make it yourself at home with your batch of oil). I recommend to the cooking staff to purify or have designated frying sections for the different proteins/items offered to prevent this taste. Also when the entree came out, my server asked if I'd like more bread, to which I said, "Sure". I was given 2. The bread tasted better this time since I was able to coat it in my plate's sauce. I had a bit of leftovers. It's true that the servings here could be eaten in one sitting, or two, if you have a smaller appetite. I paid roughly $15.55 for my one plate and 20% tip. Overall, my plate was good but don't expect it to be better than a place like Olive Garden.