Olive Garden Italian Restaurant

Food was delicious, our server Naomi was an absolute angel, but you could definitely tell that the establishment was horrifically understaffed and overwhelmed. The kitchen was so backed up with dishes and orders that we had to wait 2 hours before we got our entrees and had to only use plastic forks and to go cups. It was 30 mins before we even had gotten our drinks. Our server was checking in on us frequently and very apologetic for the wait.

Just nitpicking here, because overall it was great, the restaurant had a light crowd. But we were seated in between to other groups. They were not loud, but we could hear their conversations and I'm sure they could hear ours. I would've preferred to be space out more since there were plenty of open tables. Our server was fantastic!!

Dinner with Mom. Nothing too special other than going out. The hostess took a while to show up and was not the most friendly taking us to our seats but our wait staff was amazing. The food was great as well.

Came in off the street with a group of about 30 hungry volleyball players and parents. Food was good. The marsala tasted great but the chicken had an off-putting texture. The servers had a great attitude and were on point with everything. They handled all the kids like champs. Awesome service across the board especially for such a large group.

Today is visited and received the herb-grilled salmon w/ unlimited soup. When I received my plate I was a little disappointed at how empty the plate was. BUT when I tasted the salmon I was blown away. The salmon had nice crispy crust (the picture didnt do any justice) and the salmon was cooked to perfection. The flavor was amazingggg. The broccoli was good, it had just enough firmness to them. I definitely wanted seconds but I didnt want to be greedy. Overall my experience was great and I will return to get the same thing within the next week.

I went as a early birthday celebration not planning to necessarily but i never been to this location before and i feel like the welcoming front wasn’t the most welcoming but our waiter (Donnell) was bubbly & polite very kind and friendly. Always asked if we need anything and overall it was more enjoyable to be there and eat the food when your customer service is welcoming! The food i love the chicken Alfredo very much and the cake i got as a birthday gift from the restaurant, and the cake is chocolate mousse or something like that its very rich and delicious!

I was wet and cold, so I started with with chicken&gnocchi soup with bread sticks. We order the calamari to share. Then I had shrimp&scallop fettuccine, and my husband had spaghetti and meatballs. I took home half the calamari and half my fettuccine. Yummmmmm! Great service and a big handful of chocolate mint candies.

My mom and I came for a late lunch around 3pm on a Saturday. So, while not dead it most certainly wasn't peak hours. When we walked in the front door the hostess let us know there would be about a 10 minute wait and they we would let us know when the table was ready. My mom stayed in the waiting area while I went to the bar section to watch the games that were on. My mom( who walks with a cane) came over to get me stating that the hostess said our table is ready, about a 5 to 6 minute wait. It didn't feel long at all. I walked back over and apparently she forgot that there was a party of two waiting ahead of us, which they were I saw them when we walked in. We waited a couple more minutes and then our table was ready. This isn't an issue, more a sign of a lack of attention to detail as our wait time was roughly 10 minutes as estimated and communicated to us. We were seated by another hostess between two tables on the window side in the back section of 8 tables. Seems as one was wrapping up their meal and the other was waiting on theirs and working on the salad and breadsticks. We sat for about 10 minutes without anyone coming to our table. During this time two tables away paid their bill and left with one waiter. A busser cleaned the table across from the party that finished their meal and that waiter walked past us to assist them. The table next to us that was waiting for their food received it from a different waiter(still window side). Now 15 minutes into our sit down a family had been seated across from the table that had received the food on the wall side and was immediately given salad and breadsticks and drink orders taken. I thought OK where's that waiter that helped the busser, he must be our waiter and he's on the way. Another 5 or so minutes go by and some one is sat at the table two tables away and that waiter went directly to them and introduced him self, and as soon as he asked "can I get you started..." I, in a stern loud voice, say EXCUSE ME ARE EITHER OF YOU GOING TO TAKE OUR ORDER? Both look at me with confusion. I apologize to my mom because I feel like I just caused a scene so we calmly begin to walk out. I must have been loud enough to be heard in other sections of the restaurant because the manager comes to our area as we were walking out. I explain to her what just transpired and she apologizes and asked to try and rectify the situation and get to the cause of it. Attempting to get us to stay. I could appreciate her trying to explain why this happened, but the why is not important to my mom and I, only the result of the experience. I'm sure she would have comp'ed a portion of our meal or offered something free. At this point, I didn't trust the people preparing my food to not feel some sort of way about my outburst and did not feel comfortable eating there. There's a clear attitude of "that's not my job" here that separates great service from bad service. 3 people ignored the fact that our table had no food or drinks on it, two of which it's literally their job but apparently not their section or not communicated to them that it was. Which 2 waiters for 8 tables seemed more than sufficient to cover the area, if it wasn't then why sit us there. Which puts me back to the front door hostess and a lack of attention to detail. I left HANGRY and gave it a day before leaving this review. I read others and it's apparent, the food is great, the culture around the service is lacking. I hope a couple of these get through to the right folks and changes are made, but I know this is a franchise with a national marketing budget....they'll always have customers.

This was my first time in a while going to Olive Garden and I highly enjoyed it. I decided to order soup instead of salad for the first time ever and I got the chicken & gnocchi. I've never had gnocchi before but it was SO delicious, I regret not getting a second bowl! The breadsticks were soft and garlicky and kept on coming which was good because my entree took quite a while to come out (30 mins to be exact even though we put in our food order with our drinks). The smaller portion chicken parm was amazing and was definitely bigger than I thought it'd be which was alright with me. Overall I had a good time but the wait for food was definitely longer than expected considering I came around 3pm and it wasn't busy at all.

If we can avoid Olive Garden, we usually do--but someone in the family was craving soup and salad, so here we were. We arrived around 1 PM and were told there'd be a 25-minute wait. We were finally seated around 1:40 PM. Our party wasn't complete yet, but we let our server, Bryan, know. The moment we mentioned it, his face showed visible disapproval. Still, we went ahead and ordered to get things started. He brought our soup and salad--without any silverware--and then disappeared. As more of our party arrived, we kept looking for Bryan. Nothing. Another server noticed us and kindly stepped in to take the rest of our orders. From there, it was a game of "where's our server?" We waited 20 minutes for an iced tea, had to repeatedly ask for refills, cheese, and soup. It felt like we were chasing down basic service the entire meal. I spoke to a hostess and asked to see a manager. She said she'd send someone over. We waited 30 minutes. Paid the bill. Still no manager. Finally, on our way out, I had to go out of my way to speak to someone. That shouldn't happen. As for the food--I don't know why I keep ordering the Chicken Alfredo. The broccoli is always overcooked to a soggy, tasteless mess. Truly off-putting. Overall: If you're craving Italian, do yourself a favor and go elsewhere. This location really needs to revisit its approach to customer service and kitchen quality.

I was pleasantly surprised eating here with my partner today. I haven't eaten at Olive Garden for nearly a decade, but decided to give it another try with their current specials. It wasn't very crowded at 11 a.m. and I noticed how clean the restaurant was inside. The Hostess greeted us with a very nice smile and welcome. We were immediately seated. Our waiter, Omar, was there as we sat. He immediately went over the specials which included the buy one take one specials that are currently being advertised on tv. He took our drink order and returned quickly for our order. We ordered the lasagna and my partner the spaghetti with meatballs. The unlimited bread and salad arrived within a couple of minutes. Both were very fresh and tasty. I was honestly full by just eating that, but within a few minutes our entrees arrived. Really good portions and they tasted as fresh as I remembered them. Refills were plentiful for the drinks, bread and salad. It was my partners birthday and they brought her any dessert that she wanted, lit candle on top, and they sang Happy Birthday to her. Who does that any longer? Super awesome touch to how good the service was. We had half our food leftover and we had the two meals to go. Two large bags total we left with and all for a little over $40. The to go part of the meal was just as fresh and will make future meals. Omar also gave us two drinks to go in to go cups. I can't over emphasis how awesome an experience this was, from the cost, service, quality of food and overall atmosphere, we'll be back soon.

I had to wait 25 minutes for my take out order, once I get home I noticed my pasta was over cooked and my tomatoes and asparagus looks old. I showed the manager the next day a picture of the dinner they served me the previous day and she never apologized or offered to make it right. she refused to give me corporate number. This service is unacceptable from this establishment. Please do better!!!

Had lunch here with a few friends and the food was great! I got the crest your own pasta lunch special and I have no complaints it was delicious! I would also like add that our server was very attentive and brought lots of great energy! Would totally comeback!

If you want a quick hearty lunch or if you have been out doing some retail therapy with the girls and don't feel like cooking when you get home, Olive Garden is a great option. Today, we stopped for lunch. I ordered angel hair pasta with meatballs and meat sauce. It was good. My only complaint was the sauce to pasta ratio. Not only did I have to request additional sauce, the two other people in my party did as well. Our waitress was pretty good. But the hostess was the star of the show. She was on top of our initial drink orders and checked on us when she sat someone in our section. The ambiance lends itself to a friend's night out, a first date, or family dinner. It also a great place to celebrate a birthday. You get desert on the house. Happy eating!

You know what you get when you go to olive garden. We were 7 adults squeezed in at a tabke that at best seated 6. Server must have been new. She needed a lot of reminders. Food was good but service lacked. We arranged to have happy birthday sung to an 89 year old and server asks her does she still want them to sing .This was a surprise. So much for arranging in advance. Few other issues not worth discussing. Pasta, load and bread sticks were delicious. Still try other locations on the future.

Had a great time with the family. The kids enjoyed it;, and they offered my grandson a treat for free!

Thank you for your response. I have reached out to email provided. I hope they respond to my email

-100 stars if I could. How this place has a 98.8 rating is suspicious. The entry way smelled like mold. No host to greet us we waited forever. Back of house worker walked out of the bathroom with his phone in his hand. Sat at our table without being greeted for a hot minute. Our server didn't introduce herself. Maybe a bad night for herself or something but.... It's the SERVICE industry. Didn't have 2 key elements to the already minimal kids menu server had nothing to offer as a comp for a veggie. So we walked out. Absolutely will never be back.

There was hair in my salad, I know it wasn't mine or my friends I with because all of our hair is blonde, there has been the longest wait for the manager, and our refills for our drink. This is despicable behavior Olive Garden, seriously get together.

We went to eat there on Valentine's day!!!, and that was a big mistake, it took an hour to get a table and literally another hour just to get the food, the service was bad and food blend. My wife ate the gnocchi soup and got diarrea later on. Managers nowhere to be seen. We were very disappointed. This restaurant used to be amazing. Needless to say We are not coming back

Absolute best pasta ever. Can't argue that. Clean establishment. Also has friendly and efficient service!

Overall a nice place. I went to the bathroom when I first arrived, and did not receive a great first impression. Floors were sticky and it smelled bad. Service was good tho. The server was kind and check in on us multiple times. Nothing over the top tho. A good place but overrated in my humble opinion. (Note: I attached a picture to an old plate they provided us. Not pleased with it)

Do NOT use Olive Garden's app to join waitlist. They don't care if you were on it. Per app you can put your name down and you get how many people are on their waitlist and once you get the "You are next in line" it's when you should be seen next. Well not really. They don't care about the system because "it doesn't know the correct wait time" so once you get there you are put back on another waitlist. Their solution is to ignored the app and just check with the host. Total wait time including the time I joined on the app was over an hour because it only counts when you are inside. So ignore the system the company created and spent thousands of dollars on and just go inside if you want a better experience.

I've been going here since I was a little girl the salad and breadsticks was the first thing I got hooked on. There chicken and shrimp Alfredo is to die for omg

Well... the service was nice and fast. Breadsticks and salad were good as usual. But the utensils were filthy, unfortunately. Ask for plastic utensils wherever you go.

We tried calling ahead because we had a group of 11 people. We were told they don't take reservations at all. When I checked the app it tells you to call ahead if you have parties over 6. We got there and it wasn't that busy but we're told that it would be well over an hour wait for all of us. Tried to sit at a table in the bar and we're immediately told we cant sit there. We ended up waiting around 45 minutes after seeing several large parties leave. We were also told that they couldn't seat us because they were short staffed . We got a good table and the waitress Tay was helpful in taking orders and checking in on us. She brought us extra salad and bread sticks and kept our drinks filled. One person ordered an Italian margarita with the upgrade tequila. She got a random shot of amaretto. I ordered the create your own past of rigatoni, mushroom cream sauce and the crispy chicken fritta. When the food finally arrived I had fettuccine and just plain Alfredo I did get the fritta. I didn't send it back due to it taking a long time . It was an ok visit but not the best

I walked into this Olive Garden last night (Tuesday night) by myself and sat at the bar. I wanted to order a drink and order food to go for my family. There was one couple sitting at a table in the bar area. Other than that the bar was completely empty. The bartender never once acknowledged me. I sat at the bar for 15 minutes and finally got up and left.

My chicken Alfredo was missing the chicken. I brought the Alfredo back and was met by the manager Gabby who was concerned with how I was going to pay for my food. My food was supposed to be ready at 8:30. I had to call inside and ask about what is going on with my order. I watched as several servers brought food out to other customers. I felt singled out and Gabby gave me the impression that she doesn't care for black customers. I noticed that she left a group of black women sitting at the bar while greeting other customers at their tables. Maybe she's had a bad experience with black people or something. It worth it for her to know that black hands built America.

Love Olive Garden - salad, minestrone soup, zoupa touscana, strawberry lemonada (non alcoholic drink), tour of Italy, spaghetti & fettuccine are just a few of my faves. I will say, eating in seems to a better experience than getting it to go. It's like they put more love in the food when you eat in. Service is cool and restaurant section where you eat is normally tidy.

Ordered catering same day to pick up curbside in the afternoon. The food was ready on time, delivered to the car and everything was excellent. Utensils included, dressing, plates, etc. Lasagna, Chicken Parmesan, Fettuccine Alfredo and the Salad! Delicious!

Came here on Mother's Day. And to be expected the service was extremely slow and food wasn't all that good. The waitress forgot my wine and my appetizer took over 30 minutes to arrive. Totally my fault coming here for Mother's Day lol. But food was definitely not making up for the bad experience.

So I came to Olive Garden today with my family to celebrate Father's Day, 5 of us. Our server took the orders and took a long time to return with the drinks. He finally did return with the drinks and two soups. The soup was cold and just liquid no gnocchi or chicken. After about 10 minutes another waitress named Reality comes over and says I'm going to be your server the other one has to leave. She reviewed the orders and tried to make sense of everything. At first I'm like ok he's not feeling well I'll give him a pass. But he never left. He continued to make mistakes and she had to come behind him to fix them. Food was nasty which I understand is neither of their faults. Dishes were dirty actually had to walk to another waiter to ask for clean dishes. The only reason I'm giving this experience a three is because Reality came and saved the day and she gave us two dessert for free. If you choose to go to this restaurant please ask to sit in Reality's section otherwise just keep driving. And lastly I ordered chicken scampi I swear this is not what this dish is supposed to look like. It's supposed to have more sauce and noodles disappointed big time.

9/22/21 Dinner. Server was pleasant and prompt. Spaghetti and meatballs was an ample serving with good flavor.

The decor is very sleek. Great atmosphere ! Clean looking spacious. Seemed to run smoothly. While the server did not want to be identified, the food was served on point and made our party of three have a very enjoyable meal experience. I had soup and salad, my Dad had a salmon entree and my hubby had a pasta dish.Several meal options available. Though marketed as Italian cuisine, there is something for everyone. Mixed drinks are availability. Easy access for everyone. I would suggest those who have accessible issues ask for seating closer to the restrooms.

The salad was old, the breadsticks were dry and crusty, and when my food came out my lasagna was mushy my Alfredo was cold and the chicken was over cooked. I do not recommend eating here food wasn't very good and staff was slow.

I was surprised at how good the Ravioli Carbonara was. The salad was good as usual. But the best thing about our meal was our waitress, Destiny. Destiny was fast, friendly, cheerful and went above and beyond to make our lunch great. We left very happy.

We dined at this restaurant during lunch hours on a weekday. There was no wait to get a table. Several seats are located near the front door on occasions when you have to wait. The greeter was very friendly and thanked us for visiting. There are several large dining areas inside of the business. Guests can also eat and/or drink at the bar. Our waitress was nice and very attentive. She came and took our order right away after bringing out our drinks. I ordered the unlimited soup and salad with breadsticks. I got the minestrone soup with vegetables, beans, and pasta. It was good and so was the house salad. I am not a fan of onions or peppers in my salad so I ate around those. Our server kept bringing out warm breadsticks throughout the meal. I always get the minestrone soup when I come here so I decided to also try the chicken & gnocchi soup with roasted chicken, Italian dumplings, and spinach. It had a good flavor but I was not a fan of the chicken and carrots in the soup. There were also only two dumplings in the entire bowl of soup. I don't think I would try this type of soup again. Prior to leaving the greeters thanked us again for dining in & they were very pleasant.

We had a great mother/daughter day date today. The hostess was friendly and very inviting. Our server was Bonnie. She was very knowledgeable of the menu, personable and she ensured we had everything we needed. My daughter normally dislikes wine and she found one that she actually enjoyed. We definitely will ask for Bonnie again. The breadsticks were delish. Especially when you dip them in alfredo sauce. I went traditional for my meal and had eggplant parm. I was very happy I did. It was so delicious. The eggplant was cooked just right. I love when it is kinda crispy. My daughter tried the unlimited stuffed pasta. She had fried ziti stuffed with cheese. She added shrimp and scallops. I had to taste it and definitely was pleasantly surprised. Thank you Olive Garden for a great visit. We will definitely be back again.

Danielle the bartender is AMAZING. Best service we've probably ever had. We are regulars at this Olive Garden and she is the best server we have had. Here is some ratings: - personality 10/10 - jokes 10/10 - service 20/10 Can't wait to come back to see her again!!

Italian !!!! Perfect cuisine for all occasions !!! And Olive Garden is my personal fav !!! Love their in-house bread , soft and fresh always !! I could eat their Chicken and Gnocchi soup all day !!! Cheeseee Forever !!!! I always end up ordering a sangria coz it's really good ! If you are a fan of Tiramisu, I recommend to save some space for dessert!! Because this Coffee flavored miracle is just so awesome!!!! The entree's are good as well !! Will definitely visit them again !!! Thumbs up

Well they ran out of margarita glasses for my watermelon margarita. I ordered the ravioli which came with a choice of soup or salad and I went with the minestrone soup. Both were good but the soup tasted a little different than last time. It was quite busy in there as well since it was a holiday and I noticed that I couldn't locate the lunch specials on either of the menus so I had to pull it up on my phone. Service was ok would of liked it if our server offered us a soup and some breadsticks to go but Olive Garden slacks in that area bad. Let's just say I'm glad we used a gift card here instead of our hard earning money !

the waiter here was so rude. asked for a refill she was hesitant. I ask for more time she got irritated. What is the point of your job if u have a bad attitude. The manger act and manner is not welcoming, the staff definitely is not either. Go to a different location

Service is complete garbage, the server never gave me anything I asked for, I'll never come back service is unacceptable.

Superior food; the service was a little slow. I would've preferred more variety and the menu.

Hello everyone. Me and my wife had lunch at Olive garden today and we usually only come here for the 5 Five Cheese Ziti al Forno and the Chicken & Gnocchi. We've been here maybe 3 times at this location and 2 out of the 3 times we have found hair in our food. The fist time it was inside the pasta. The 2nd as your see in the picture it's in the Chicken & Gnocchi soup. The server was extremely nice. Just seems like they can't control the hair going into the food. We are definitely not coming back to the Raleigh Olive Garden.

This Olive Garden has particularly good service whether you are dining in or taking out. I've never gotten a botched order or cold takeout. The food is excellent, although I've always wondered why a restaurant called Olive Garden never gives you more than two olives in their famous endless salad! Just 2! Always only 2! Their salad and breadsticks are delicious, though, and you can make a meal off them alone. Our favorite apps are the Lasagna Frittata and fried calamari, but we've tried every one of them and they're all delicious. Entrees - try the Tour of Italy, Eggplant Parmigiana and the Shrimp Scampi! The bar is excellent, and don't balk at trying the house wine. We've discovered some excellent vintages that way. Try their Italian Rum Punch cocktail - it's delightfully fruity, and the Peach Bellini is luscious. Great choice for any Italian food fan, special occasion, date night or just for fun.

I eat here pretty often. Ashley greeted my husband and I and took us to the in the far back corner to be seated. The employees are very on point when it comes to notifying someone they are approaching, corner! LOL! Kamerin was our server. She was fantastic. Very thurough with her introduction and taking our order. She offered us sauce for the breadsticks I believe, which we had never heard before. We usually come in and sit with Cheyann. Food was hot. Don't order drinks from this Olive Garden. They take forever to get to you and when they do they are watered down. Kamerin informed me that they have a bartender that prepares the alcoholic beverages and that when the bartender was finished making the drink, she would bring it to us. Gabby came by to make sure everything was great. She seemed like she really cared about our experience. I will be back for the food and I will ask for Kamerin. She made our experience a 10/10 :))

Alana, our server, was fantastic. The service seriously stole the show. The food was delicious as well, place was really clean and we had an overall good time. Alana really made sure we had everything we needed and it was probably one of the best customer service experience I've had. She was sweet, quick, attentive and checked up on us with a smile on her face frequently. I will be dining here with my family more frequently and hope to see Alana again! If you're looking for an overall good time for the family, come to this location!

Alex was our server and was so attentive and thoughtful. The food was 3.5 - 4, but Alex made our lunch experience a solid 5!

Destiny was our wonderful server and made our experience great. Hostesses seated us quickly and were friendly. Can't beat the soup, salad and breadsticks.

The food is very good! But the service of the waiter Williams F was terrible! I never bring my bread as an appetizer! I called him many times and he didn't listen! I could notice that at my table the service was poor it was a bad experience with the waiter too bad 01/11/2024 table 102 9:10:50 pm check#53010

Great food with lots of choices even gluten free pasta for my grandson. My favorites are; the salad, breadsticks and Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo.

I haven't been to Olive Garden in 5+ years and I typically try to stay away from large restaurant chains, but I have to say... I was pleasantly surprised during my recent visit! I'll be back if I'm craving pasta! My friend and I went on a Friday evening around 7pm. The wait was about 30 minutes. Chicken Parmesan 4/5 - This really hit the spot! I was running a race the next day so I was really craving some carbs and protein. The portion size was large. The chicken was cooked perfectly (crispy). I had enough leftovers for lunch the next day as well. Atmosphere 4/5 - This was my first time at this location and it was much nicer than the Olive Gardens I remember going to years ago. But at the end of the day it is still a large chain restaurant so you don't quite get the nice ambiance that you would at a smaller local restaurant. Service 3/5 - The servers were friendly but the service was a little slow. It is understandable since it's so busy there. We got our salad but no salad plates. The server said she would get some for us but completely forgot. We weren't able to wave anyone down since everyone was so busy, so we weren't able to eat our salad until our entrees came out.

I was seated at the bar and the service was subpar. The server overlooked my sister and I and gave more attention to the customers as if we were invisible. He failed to place my order for fritters leaving me without. This was definitely the worse service I received at the bar.

Chicken parmesan at the price of $21 should be wonderful. Unfortunately, this was the worst I have EVER had! In the restaurant, it was chew like it wasn't cooked enough. So I only ate the pasta. I just tried to eat the leftovers at home after cooking them myself and they are just as BAD! Not sure if it's a quality issue or what. But I will never eat at this restaurant again!!! I hate that I even have to give this review a one star. They deserve a negative 10 star in my opinion!

I really didn't enjoy my food from Olive Garden!!! I ordered a herb flavored salmon with a side of Alfredo pasta and it was nasty. My noodles were hard, my salmon had no taste and extra crispy on one side. My daughter ordered Alfredo pasta also and complained about her noodles being hard too. The bread and salad were the best parts. Bread fresh out of the oven and fresh salad were the only things that filled my empty stomach. Other than that service was great and store clean.

My sister and I wanted to go out for a lunch that was not too decadent and not too expensive, where we could sit and have a nice visit. The Olive Garden made this possible for us. We each ordered endless soup and salad. She had unsweetened iced tea, and I had hot coffee. We ended up staying and visiting for an hour and a half, and the entire experience was excellent, thanks mostly to the great service we received from our waiter, Sekou. He was at the same time extremely professional and extremely fun. He was elegant and charming. You could tell he enjoys his job. The manager, Kelly, was wonderful, too. You could tell she cared deeply about the service everyone was receiving. The service was beyond what you'd expect at a mid-chain restaurant; it was more like what you would receive at a fine-dining restaurant. He timed everything perfectly (showed up with piping hot soup just as we were finishing the salad). He brought the food out the second it was ready (the breadsticks were still steaming when he brought them to us). He kept drink refills coming right on time. The food at Olive Garden is consistently decent. I've been going there for more than 20 years. It's not gourmet fare, but it's also not fast food. The prices are reasonable and the portions are generous. Everything is pretty salty, so that's something to keep in mind if you need to limit your salt intake. Our salad was fresh and crisp--a whole lot of iceberg with a few shavings of carrot and red cabbage, topped with a few olives, tomato slices, pepperoncini, and croutons--and bathed in the famous Olive Garden salad dressing. We asked for ranch dressing on the side for dipping the breadsticks. The breadsticks are white bread topped with a little bit of oil and parmesan cheese. I had the pasta & fagioli (pasta and bean) soup. It's got a tomato-broth base and lots of vegetables. It was very good. I also had the chicken and gnocchi soup, which had a creamy base. It was also good, but the chicken and gnocchi were a little scarce. My sister has the zuppa tuscana, which she said was very good, and the chicken and gnocchi. She could not find any gnocchi in her soup, so the waiter immediately brought her a bowl that had quite a few of them. The dessert offerings were tempting (especially the black-tie mousse cake and pumpkin cheesecake), but we decided to quit before we were completely stuffed. The desserts were a bit on the pricey side (in the $8+ and $9+ range). It would be nice if Olive Garden would offer some soups that do not have potato or pasta (lower carb). Whatever restaurant you go to, it's not just the food that makes a difference, it's the service and ambiance that can make or break the experience. We had a very pleasant visit, and I would recommend going to this Olive Garden, especially for a weekday lunch.