Met several friends for dinner last night at Brandon, Fl Olive Garden. Resturant was not crowded and we were able to get a table with no wait. Our server Kassandra was excellent. Professional, personable, funny, knowledgeable and made recommendations. She was also very patient with specific dietary needs and restrictions we had. All in all it was a positive experience. We all had endless soup, salad abs breadsticks and donuts for dessert. Everyone enjoyed their food.
The whole to-go experience with this Olive Garden is weird and particularly bad. This is the small cup that I get to-go on a usually refillable tea… and then the breadsticks are apparently not endless when they are to go and I can only get two with my meal, and somehow if I dine in, they are unlimited. All my husband asked was for no salad and just for two extra breadsticks instead but they apparently can’t do that. Also, their to go girl waited for me to sign and “tip” on the receipt before going to the back and getting my food. Probably spit in our food but on a serious note, we need to get rid of this tipping culture. I’m getting tired of this awkwardness. At no point was I rude to her or anything because I know how the food service industry can be but I still found it awkward to stand next to me until I signed the receipt….
The most wonderful staff of any restaurant we have been to. Very relaxed, kind, helpful, on top of our needs. Everyone was genuinely so friendly. The food was also better than other olive gardens we have been to! Others are always great, but somehow this one was even better! Such a wonderful birthday meal for our son!
Decided to stop lunch at 12 noon. The restaurant was not super busy with a fair amount of tables open. We were seated at a small table for two. This I did not understand because next to us at a bigger table the hostess sat one person. We could have asked to move but never really had an opportunity. We ordered, for myself I got soup and salad pretty normal for Olive garden, however my plate was dirty and had no spoon for my soup, had to ask for both. When my husband spaghetti arrived he had a spoon on the side of his bowl, lol. I did ask if they had any gluten free noodles for the to-go meals and they said no, I would think they would substitute the noodles, but apparently they can't. Our waiter was very conscious of the mistakes and was very friendly, I would not return to this Olive Garden.
When I arrived to the establishment there was a five minute wait. The establishment was very clean and the tables were clean. You can definitely dine-in here for lunch and dinner. After the five min wait we were sat at our table. The service was very nice and friendly. The food was cooked to order. We got our drinks and appetizer first which both were delicious. Our food came out right on time afterwards which filled us right up. I enjoyed my lunch every was great would definitely be going back. Recommend to anyone and everyone to enjoy.
The restaurant was busy but we were seated right away. The menu has changed since my last time eating at Olive Garden, but still had plenty of choices. The endless Alfredo boat is definitely a great improvement to the plethora of options. I was pleasant surprise.
The restaurant was busy but we were seated right away. The menu has changed since my last time eating at Olive Garden, but still had plenty of choices. The endless Alfredo boat is definitely a great improvement to the plethora of options. I was pleasant surprise.
The service was absolutely awful and while I understand we were eating during the dinner rush, our server was non-existent the entire time. It started off okay in the beginning when he took our drink order, but even then he had zero personality and didn't show any interest in being there. Not only that but they had him on the other side of the restaurant, too, so he was all over the place, and we never saw him the entire dinner. We must've sat with our obviously finished dinner plates in front of us for 20+ minutes and when he finally came to take them, he never asked if we wanted dessert or coffee. I had to literally stop him from running away again to ask for coffee To Go, and even then, it took 10+ minutes to get the coffee and it wasn't even him who brought it to me. Then we waited another 10+ minutes to pay the bill only to have him be smart with me saying I could've paid whenever I wanted with the little kiosk on the table. When I said I had cash, he got rude again like how dare I hold him up even longer, and I finally said forget it and used my credit card at the kiosk because I didn't want to be there with him for another minute longer.Ok - now the food. Bland, tasteless, with ½ soggy noodles and ½ the noodles stuck together in a giant hard uncooked piece. Also, the shrimp in my scampi dish were so small and uncooked I wouldn't eat them. I hadn't eaten at Olive Garden in probably 8 years because the last time I did, I got food poisoning and was so incredibly sick. However, I wanted to give it another go and see if I could rebuild my love for the restaurant, but all this trip did was remind me that the restaurant I once knew and loved is long gone. I will never go to another one of these restaurants again, and I honestly don't know why they are always so busy.
Great value, (we are now using curbside pickup due to Covid) food is delicious, adequate portions,with all the trimmings (including the chocolate mints) for a great price!
I can't expect every business to get it right 100% of the time, but I applaud a company and their managers that are empowered to make things right. The manager on shift tonight for curbside went above and beyond expectations. Thank you. For that I'll be back again soon.