Olive Garden Italian Kitchen Reviews

by Unfortunate Day

Went for a special occasion. Servers in the bar not helping each other so service was chaotic and “24 hour” style. Fast stops with no time for guest to answer the servers question before they walk off. Zero teamwork. Manager paying attention to to go orders and not the flow of the floor. Cold food, server advised but we had to specifically ask for reheat/replacement. The vegetables never came even well after we were finished eating our entrees. No pre bussing so we sat with dirty plates. No offer of dessert, again this was a special occasion so we wanted dessert. Ended up paying and leaving with full dirty table like the other guests around us. Servers need training, teamwork and leadership who knows how to see customers who are not getting appropriate service. We have been in 4 times this month, every time it’s not met the mark. Bring back Stacey or Michael who were phenomenal servers. Today was not a staffing issue, there were staff standing around. My advice, if you are going to pay $18 to $23 an entree go to a nicer Italian restaurant. Spaghetti Factory well exceeds this Olive Garden experience and is a way better guest value.

by Redoctober3870

Under all the stress everyone is going through today and now coming out to a new normal, curb side is great. However living 45 minutes from the nearest OG is a little daunting when they don’t get the order right. The last 2 times I have ordered and picked up they have missed something whether the extra meatballs or the angel hair pasta instead of fettuccine, is no matter. I call and am told that we’ll take care of you, our manager will send you a gift certificate to your email. Well, no surprise, there’s never an email and never a gift certificate to at least pay for the things that I have already paid for and never received in my orders. I love OG it’s my go to place for Italian food I just ask you follow through with checking to make sure our orders are correct and fulfill the promise of correcting your mistake and not with just hot air. I have spent my money on this and expect to get everything that I paid for. Other than that food is always good and service is always great. Thank you for getting it right most of the time.

by Carriebear99

OliveGardenItalianKitchen works alright UNLESS you want to use one of their online offers. I had problems on Cyber Monday and again today. It takes away the discount as soon as you submit your order and you get to pay full price at the restaurant. I tried to pay online to avoid this on the second go around, only it wouldn’t accept my payment! It said my card was “insufficient to cover the tax”. What? I tried different cards, it all said the same thing. I had a gift card applied, I tried to just pay the rest at the restaurant, it wouldn’t let me proceed. The only option not ghosted was the “Add credit card”, which it would not accept any. I took off my gift card, so I could pay at the restaurant, took pictures of all the screen shots in case I ran into trouble again. Sure enough, when I got my confirmation, discount gone. Confirmation email, no sign of discount. So over it. Something that is supposed to be a sales-inducing convenience is nothing more than a frustrating hassle followed by disappointment.

by Mrsyoung2013

Yesterday I was trying place an order for pickup. The order came to about $170, then I added the tip so my final total was about $200 and clicked to pay for my order. Then an error occurred saying the order needed to be reprocessed because sales tax wasn’t not applied. We do not have a sales tax in Oregon. OliveGardenItalianKitchen would not send my order to my local Olive Garden, and still showed my order sitting in the shopping bag waiting for me to finalize and was showing that I needed to click pay again. However, OliveGardenItalianKitchen DID charge my card. So I had to call in and place the order over the phone and pay for the order again. The bank and the restaurant assured me the first charge would drop off my account since the order wasn’t finalized. But today, the charge is still showing as pending on my account. I don’t know about other people but I can’t exactly afford OliveGardenItalianKitchen to be holding an extra $200. This dinner was a special occasion. Will never use OliveGardenItalianKitchen again.

by Once A Customer 1

We stopped by to eat at Olive Garden in Augusta today and don’t recommend it. They told us we were going to be a 15 minute wait and fine, so we sat and two people came in after us and than three more people came in and while waiting they sat the ones that came before us. Than it our turn and the hostess told us it was going to be five to ten minutes before we could be seated because our waitress had been double booked but continued to set the two who came in after us and than proceeded to go to seat the three that came in after us and asked the hostess why we weren’t being seated and they proceeded to tell them the same hogwash that they gave us. Hadn’t been there in two years and will not go back to the one in Augusta, wouldn’t want to overwhelm the waitress. Guess they have to much business but that is okay service at Longhorn was great, we didn’t overwhelm our waitress

by Kmwain

Yes my review is not a good one because we decided to do the BOGO and my 1st entrée was lasagna and my 2nd entrée was spaghetti with meat sauce.
So I had my 1st entrée lasagna and would have my 2nd entrée the following day and with that I had my 2nd salad then went to have my 2nd entrée only to find out it WASN’T what I’ve ordered and I already have my taste for spaghetti with meat sauce and I know some mite not be a big deal but when you have the plan and taste already made up and to find out it wasn’t even close so that just made me unhappy and mad and ruined my night and my husband called to let them know about it and they replaced it with the right one but to me that’s not good enough because it already ruined my night and everyone else already ate there dinner so what’s the point of sitting there by yourself.
So nope NOT HAPPY WITH OLIVE GARDEN

by St3rling_Silv3r

OliveGardenItalianKitchen could be good but it’s slow and frustrating! When you add an item there is a banner that says “Added!” and drops down from the top of the screen but never goes away. So if you’re ready to check out you need to tap on the “bag” icon on the top right corner of the screen, you simply can’t because the banner is still there from 10 minutes ago, covers it up so you’re never able to access the cart until you shut down OliveGardenItalianKitchen and log in again. There is a “bag” icon at the bottom and one at the top right of the screen, same icon yet they have different purposes, bottom icon takes you to the menu, top/right icon takes you to the cart to check out. That’s very confusing and since OliveGardenItalianKitchen is slow, you just can’t afford to waste any time trying to figure out how to pay. Also I added an item that didn’t show up in the order at the end, I guess OliveGardenItalianKitchen didn’t register it.

OliveGardenItalianKitchen needs a lot of work. It took me about 20 minutes to order food with OliveGardenItalianKitchen , but would have been a lot faster if I had just called to order. Having OliveGardenItalianKitchen defeats the purpose of convenience. Slow, not intuitive, have I mentioned how SLOW it is?

by Dulce CaraBella

I purchased a $25 Gift Card through your app to be emailed to a recipient and they NEVER received it. It was sent to the correct email address therefore there should be no excuse. Additionally, it states that it take 1-2 hours for the recipient to receive the Gift Card, it has been over a week now and still nothing. I got a receipt emailed of the purchase. Not only did Olive Garden make me look like bad, what is worst is that I have to keep asking the person who the Gift Card was for if they’ve received and they said No, Never, AND they’ve checked spam folder and still no Gift Card. This is unacceptable. There is also no phone number to call to request a refund or to request to check why the Gift Card was paid for but never sent.

Please Contact me Asap.

by Fermentedgrapelover

We followed all of the annoying rules and joined the online waitlist. And when we arrived we still waited for a table for about 10 minutes.
But this is how our dinner went: seated at 5:43. Waiter arrives at 5:57. We order drinks, appetizers and our dinner because we were starving! About 10 minutes later we got a basket of 3 breadsticks, still no drinks, appetizers etc. Then another 5-6 minutes pass and we got the soup and salad and appetizer but still no drinks from the bar. About 3 minutes after this, you guessed it...our dinner entree arrives. Still no bar drinks....we finally just said to forget the bar drinks.
Here’s the problem....this is all very uncharacteristic for this restaurant. Wonder what’s going on?

by Sianhere

I love Olive Garden but unfortunately OliveGardenItalianKitchen doesn’t tell you when your food is ready and gives you a max time . For example the food is supposedly ready by a time that’s 35 min away. My food was supposed to be ready at 12:40. I came around that time since its usually busy and by that time when I picked my food up and went home to eat , my food was almost cold and my breadsticks and gotten hard. It’s pretty disappointing and the last I want to do is reheat my food when I just got it. OliveGardenItalianKitchen would be nicer if you were told when it was ready . When people get their food to go usually it’s for a lunch break and no one wants this experience after waiting. — I’ve seen people have commented on the waitlist being useless and it being a longer wait time then the time listed. The inaccuracy of OliveGardenItalianKitchen needs to be fixed

by __Kate.Lopez__

Don’t get me wrong, I love Olive Garden but it has some stuff to work on. On my first page where it says welcome back (your name) it has two options, order to go or join wait list. Since I have chosen a preferred location it cuts off the option for me to click join wait list. I would scroll to click it but OliveGardenItalianKitchen doesn’t let me scroll. Which makes me have to do it the long way. Next I was trying to get rid of my account because I no longer use it and want to just make a new one under my name, number, and email. But the thing is, I CANT FIND THE DELETE ACCOUNT BUTTON ANYWHERE LIKE OTHER APPS! So I am stuck with this account and have no way to remove it. I am a little saddened that this is happening but I just hope they fix these problems soon!

by CJ0010

For the most part, it’s click and play as far as ordering goes on this application of Olive Garden, or their menu/ordering process. As you order, you’ll find yourself having to close and re-open OliveGardenItalianKitchen , so as to overcompensate for what should’ve been a template that would allow you to see how much you have in your cart while ordering without resetting. Amongst other bugs I’m too lazy too mention, off the presumption that others have discussed these in their reviews - nonetheless I’m finding myself having to call in to order at times, in order to avoid all the bugs that are present on OliveGardenItalianKitchen . So software developers - Fix it, before you fall to another company that’ll do it better and make money off of that fact OVER you.

by LePew42

The past two times we've wanted to place a ToGo order using OliveGardenItalianKitchen , we've essentially lost our place "in line". It goes something like this: I add all of the items in my cart. By the time I'm finished with all of the options and customizations and payment, it says my order has not gone through to the restaurant. No reason given. Not to mention it's now 10 minutes after the original promised time. So then I go to my computer to go to the website and by that time another 10 minutes - no, it said 20 minutes for some reason so now we're up to a half hour - after the original time. Once again, Olive Garden lost our business because it took OliveGardenItalianKitchen too long to process everything.

by Mikeplaga

I downloaded and installed OliveGardenItalianKitchen and set it all up, I entered my order with no problem and started on me wife’s order, she wanted to add 2 sausages to the 5 cheese ziti but OliveGardenItalianKitchen would only let me add one. I had to cancel the order and call it in like back in the 1970’s
How about adding a drop down box with an amount selection including a 0 so you can remove an item if needed. Also you are only allowed to add one item, if you try to add a meatball then the sausage goes away.
From all the reviews I’ve read it seems like everybody is having the same 4 or 5 problems, didn’t they test OliveGardenItalianKitchen before releasing it, they must not have since most problems are the same.

by Eladen72

OliveGardenItalianKitchen has issues. When you add an item to the cart a banner at the top that says ADDED is in the way so you can not back out of that particular category. Then every single time when I go to checkout it asks if I want to add a sauce with my breadsticks and it will not let me click either option so I have to close out the entire app and open it back up to go to the cart again. After doing this it will then let me get past the ‘add a sauce’ option to go on to the checkout.

Also, once you make a selection for a meal then you can’t back up out of that particular category. I have to sometimes close off OliveGardenItalianKitchen at this point as well. It takes longer to order thru OliveGardenItalianKitchen than it does to prepare and go pick up the food, which is always delicious btw. Just need to sort out OliveGardenItalianKitchen bugs.

by The Kayroh

In cart, the quantity isn’t shown. Even though the two items I added would be around 19, I apparently added another by mistake and though it still said two items the price had counted up. Looked at both items and no quantity. When I hit save again in the item and it brought me back to cart the price went up again but still only said two items. Yes, it is two items but one of them was on there three times but nowhere was that indicated.

There is a clear option which probably works but I went into the item again to count the quantity down. When I take it from one to zero, the button properly updates from Add to Remove but then the Remove button does nothing.

App is a bit buggy. Could use some improvement. I’m guessing if I play around with it some more I can work around these issues but I wanted to report them here. Hope the devs see this and have a WA Team that can validate this based on my description (I work for a software company on the dev team).

by Curbedsedition

I used to be able to input special requests such as bagging the cold salads separate from hot food (causes the salad to wilt quickly). Not sure why but that field was recently taken away. If it was because customers would request things that cost money, the restaurants could simply not honor those requests, rather than take away the option for customers who don’t misuse that field.
Being able to quickly request some extra napkins or simple items like that is really helpful. Please please please bring that field back!

by Supenguin

I’ve used OliveGardenItalianKitchen to order Olive Garden a few times but have hit a couple issues recently that make it easier to just call in an order or order on the website:

1. I ordered a kids meal with a side and the order errored out with no explanation. When I called I found they were out of the item. OliveGardenItalianKitchen needs to handle unavailable items better (don’t show them as available and let the customer know why the order failed in this situation)

2. Last night I tried ordering and no matter what payment method I tried (Apple Pay, saved credit card, and PayPal) the payment failed. I called in my order and had no issues with the same card.

by Andy Rushing

My wife and I had gotten in the habit of going to the Texarkana location for years after working at our church on Sunday mornings and we’ve really missed it. We always sit at the bar enjoy down time and relax. Always order the same thing the people at the bar always have been great to us. Today was no exception. Thank y’all for allowing us to enjoy our little Sunday afternoon getaway once again. Service was great as always!

Thank You
Andy and Amy Rushing

by Jen&A

If I think about it, I’ve never had a bad meal, bad service or any bad experience at Olive Garden. With all this going on, self employed single mom trying to keep my family afloat, My mom treated us to Olive Garden. Ordered on OliveGardenItalianKitchen , understandably full menu wasn’t available but was happy with our choices. Drove up, within 3 minutes my order was at my car window. Super friendly server. Got home and nothing was missing! Yay! You’re doing a great job Olive Garden! Value your employees! Cudos! Thanks for a touch of normalcy and an enjoyable de-stresser.

by Waiting2eat

OliveGardenItalianKitchen worked great. Stayed the wait time was 26-30 min. Awesome. I get on the wIt list, show up 25 minutes later, and...what do you know? It’s a 25 minute wait. Explanation from the staff is that the wait times on OliveGardenItalianKitchen are inaccurate. What’s the point of an app if it’s ability to help you plan your evening is worthless. Their suggestion, call the location to get the wait time so you can decide whether it is reasonable to get on the wait list through OliveGardenItalianKitchen . I’ve tried to get on the list by calling on the past and have been told you have to do it through OliveGardenItalianKitchen . So. Or i have to call first to get accurate info, (but can’t get on the list by calling), and have to then go through OliveGardenItalianKitchen to get in line. So a simple phone call or app process now requires two separate steps. Sweet!!

by Old Man Withers

Went to my local Olive Garden (Olathe KS) on Saturday and faced a 75 minute wait so didn’t eat there that time. Decided to download OliveGardenItalianKitchen and use the Wait List feature on Monday night, had hopes it would be much better.

At 6pm joined wait list and OliveGardenItalianKitchen said expected wait time 61-75 minutes. Arrived at the restaurant about 7:05pm as 12th place on the list. Checked in with the hostess and was informed wait time would be 60-70 minutes. I told her about OliveGardenItalianKitchen and that we’d already waited 65 minutes but was told that everyone else waiting also had checked in on OliveGardenItalianKitchen so we’d have to wait the full time. Left the restaurant and don’t plan to ever return.

Please tell me what is the point of the wait list in OliveGardenItalianKitchen ? It appears to have zero function whatsoever.

by Elsalvador6969

Giving 1 star cause at least I was able to to get on the waitlist with OliveGardenItalianKitchen . I have 3 gift cards saved on OliveGardenItalianKitchen , totaling $100. I don't have the cards anymore cause OliveGardenItalianKitchen says I can store and use my gift cards. Went with the family today to eat and was so embarrassed cause I couldn't use the gift cards. There is no way to redeem any of my stored gift cards. I had 2 waiters and 2 managers trying to figure out how to redeem. They said if I had the full number they could redeem, but OliveGardenItalianKitchen doesn't show the number. I ended up paying cash that I couldn't afford to use at the time. Now I'm out $100. Thanks Olive Garden!
On a good note though. The food was excellent

by TxTrey

I moved rating up to 2 stars since Olive Garden reached out on issue. I can’t justify more since I haven’t had it work successfully.
I used OliveGardenItalianKitchen a second time on 10/18 at a different location and noticed the screen where you click submit for the reservation was not updating the place in line. I put app on primary screen and it does update there. There is a notice on one screen to let the host know when you arrive, but it is not indicated on main screen that I was watching. Luckily the hostess noticed us after we were loitering about 15 minutes and seated us next. I believe you stay in “next” status until you arrive - very unclear how this is intended to save time. After 2 visits using app, I feel this service just causes extra delay to be seated.

***original review 10/11 ***Don’t trust it for reservations

Received notification of no wait and to enter restaurant and give my name to the host to be seated. Needless to say I’m sitting outside with a buzzer because there is no room in the waiting area inside. Most worthless app ever

by Edboone

It’s an okay app for checking opening and closing times of your local restaurant (of course there always google maps), and looking at your loyalty points. However, there’s no point to using OliveGardenItalianKitchen to get on the “wait list” ahead of time. I did so, was told by OliveGardenItalianKitchen I was 23rd on the list and there’s a 30 minute wait, got in the car and drove 20 minutes to the restaurant, and by that time I was... 26th in line!!! Isn’t that neat? Guess what they told me the wait time was once I was at the restaurant? 30 minutes. So, yeah. Don’t bother checking in ahead of time.

by SarinaMay1137

I did use OliveGardenItalianKitchen once to join the wait list and that was great! And I’ve used it a few times for online ordering, but when I need to update my card information, it will not let me. I want to delete a card and add a new one. And when I tried to order with a card I did have on file.. it was saying the payment type wasn’t chosen. I do enjoy that I can save favorites, even if the item is no longer available (the limited time offerings.) then it’s a great reminder to look for them next time they offer that particular dish! I also tried to edit my card information on the website and it didn’t work.

by Daveman20078

Was really excited to order and then pick up but OliveGardenItalianKitchen experience was not good. Instead of all chicken options or anything else being together some were under different locations so what I was looking for I couldn’t find until after I ordered, I found it under a difference option. And meals for 4-6 r under cater rather than family style. Finally, I wanted to pay online so someone else could pick up and set up a credit card but it would not let me pay. As time was passing I finally gave up and clicked on the pay when picking up. OliveGardenItalianKitchen needs to be cleaner and, well, work correctly.

by ZakKates

The last version of their ordering app was pretty terrible and riddled with errors.

It appears this version has cleared most everything up! :) the user experience is so much more clean, intuitive, and simple to understand and use. There were no errors in my checkout process and the speed in which I was able to place my order was far better than before (and faster than ordering over the phone)

Great job! 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

by TxNightOwl61

Children left to scream to disturb everyone. Asked manager if he could see what was wrong and he said “I could , but that’s not the way we run things. We are a family restaurant.” Then he shrugged and walked away from me while the child screamed.

So come & let your child scream no discipline needed! But if you want the best pasta in town come to Olive Garden just bring ear plugs. If you want a great waiter ask for Jared. He’ll treat you like family.

by MelissaPT1234568910

Our meal was packed and reviewed with us before we left. Ordering via OliveGardenItalianKitchen allows you to select what plates utensils ect that you need. I only wish you could order extras from OliveGardenItalianKitchen .... like extra dressing or to have them put the cheese on your salad instead of using the cheese in packets. Service was amazing!! They didn’t forget the mints 🤩!! Be sure to order at least an hour before you need your food!!

by M$P

I’ve used OliveGardenItalianKitchen many times at my local Monroe, NC OG. I’m pleased to say I never had an issue of wait time or my order being incorrect. Ordering online with OliveGardenItalianKitchen is very easy. I’m given a time which let’s me know when my order will be ready. The hostess checked my order against the receipt and read aloud each item as it was taken out of the bag for accuracy. Thanks for an awesome app!!!