Olive Garden
| Address: | 24845 Gratiot Ave, Eastpointe, MI 48021, USA |
| Phone: | +1 586-778-6670 |
| Site: | olivegarden.com |
| Rating: | 3.8 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
FO
Found Nachos
BEST SOUL FOOD IN EASTPOINTE Normally I shy away from places that serve crossover cuisine, but The Olive Garden is one of the finer dining establishments in luxurious Eastpointe, Michigan. So I figured, "what the hell," and decided to give it a go. In terms of appearance, the building stayed true to the Italian vibe, while "authentic" people worked as waitstaff. The wheels on the chairs are a nice touch. In regards to the menu, usually I try to stay conservative with what I order from places that blend traditional foods from distinctly different cultures. Then again, how often do I get the opportunity to eat in one of the most upscale restaurants, in one of the fanciest cities in the world? Quite frankly, I just had to dive in. Culture shock or no, I wasnt going to put on my bathing suit to merely dip my toe in the pool. I had the "Fried Grit Patté," which was listed on the menu as "Eggplant Parmigiana." A seemingly ironic take on "eggplant" historically being used by Italian-Americans as a derogatory term for African-Americans. If there is one thing that this place is, its bold; both in its ambiance and its gritty sense of humor. The food was exquisite, blending Italian tastes with the lack of digestibility found in many traditional soul-food dishes. Simply put, it is amazing how they can blend things such as grits and ox tail to create the illusion of true Italian cuisine. Five patté served with a small side portion of angel hair pasta, with just a light smattering of ketchup; it is to die for! What I noticed, although it was quite subtle, was that the ketchup was clearly Hunts brand, in keeping with the ingenuity of traditional Soul Food; to make something out of nothing. To take the lesser of what there is, and make something functional out of it. A lesser establishment may have attempted to sway its diners by using Heinz, but not The Olive Garden. This is truly a gem of a place. I was especially taken with the temperature of the dish; not too warm, yet not completely cold. Its the panache of Dean Martin with the soul of James Brown, in fine dining form. The moon will be hitting your eye, just like a big pizza pie, and they will please, please you!
KA
Kayla Rhodes
This is the worst Olive Garden experience ever asides from others Ive had here. I think its time to fire the manager and get someone in who knows what the heck theyre doing. Our last visit was...exactly that....Our LAST visit cause we will never be coming here again. I only ordered soup and salad, but both parents ordered Chicken Marcella. I finished my soup and was ready to leave after over an hour of being there but I didnt realize my parents didnt even get their food yet. When they finally did, they couldnt even eat it. Why? Because the cook threw the red skins in the microwave and then on the pan for a couple seconds to brown them slightly. We may not be chefs at restaurants but we know when food hasnt been cooked properly. The chicken also was microwaved...and after just having suffered from food poisoning myself from elsewhere, seeing this had smoke coming out of my ears... cause it certainly wasnt coming out of the chicken. The waitress ran around like she didnt know her head from a hole in the ground and didnt even take money off the bill after our complaints. A previous experience our family had was, after eating here we paid....but since it was a large amount of people with us due to gratuity the tip automatically comes out on the bill so you dont have to put cash down for a tip, but the waiter more than happily took my grandmothers cash tip she left. When confronting the waiter he asked her if she wanted it back....what do you think???
KE
Kevin S
The new decor was nice but nothing was really noticable past the main entrance room. Upon entering there were two employees working the hostess stand. One smiled and didnt say anything while the other was busy figuring out tables. I told the first woman my name and that there were two of us and she did a slight nod and just... stared at us. Didnt say anything. There was an awkward pause and we just moved out of the way when the next group came in. No "your table will be right up" or "itll be ten minutes". Just... an awkward silent stare. She did the same thing to the next group who also just gave us weird looks like they were also confused. After five minutes we were seated by the same hostess and when we got to our table she explained their rewards card in detail which was the first time we heard her speak the entire time and really seemed forced. After that everything was a normal Olive Garden dining experience. We got marinara for our bread sticks which came with humorously a spaghetti noodle and our waitress was extremely nice and talkative. Other than the stare down of 2017 it was an alright visit.
CH
christina khoury
First of all...dirty wine glasses. Ended up waiting to get the new glasses the bartender was washing midway through dinner. Ordered shrimp appetizer on ziosk..got chicken instead. Asked for extra tomato on salad..of course not..4 slices for 3 people. They did bring a side of tomato. I ordered chicken & shrimp carbonara - it arrived MINUS the shrimp..not 1 shrimp.. with dried up chicken. At this point I walked up to a manager with the plate. My dinner arrived when the 2 in my party were almost done with their dinners. The only reason I gave 3 stars is 1. The server was VERY VERY nice and I wont knock a server for kitchen area mistakes 2. The manager took my dinner off the bill 3.The food was delicious once the orders were corrected. Usually there are not that many mishaps at this location like tonight.
ST
Steve Buckman
Initially I was not happy with the service. When the manager came over to ask how things were going, I said "Fine." He could tell that things were not fine and probed further. I explained to him that I felt we were not getting the proper attention. I told him that I realized they were busy and the server had many other tables. He made me feel like he honestly cared about our experience there. We definitely received the proper level of service from then on. They went out of their way to make sure they were doing things right, and at the same time, I did not feel as though any other customers were receiving any less service. Special thanks to Nader and his crew. Keep up the good work.
DA
Danielle Carnell
Most of the time this restaurant is ok as far as fake Italian dining goes. Tonight I decided to place a "to go" order. I have never done this before. I ordered at 6:15, and my pick up time was 7:20. Im already a little irritated at this point, but decide to place the order anyway. I went to the restaurant at 7:20 and waited another 25 minutes for my food. They couldnt find my order, and they didnt put any silverware in the bag even though the online prompt had asked if I wanted it. Our kitchen is being remodeled so I had to dig through boxes to find forks. Im very disappointed with my experience and will probably not be ordering to go anymore.
