Olive Garden

Reviews 3

MA

Mark J Kirk

We went in for lunch a little over a week ago on a Saturday. Things were shaky right from the start. There were three people in white shirts and black slacks talking together at the hostess stand. We waited until they got to a break in their fascinating anlaysis of the people skills of another Olive Garden employee when we recieved a head motion in our direction which caused us to ask for lunch. Before anything else happened, the head motion skilled employee turned back to the conversation to react to a particularly spicy description of the makeup skills of their associate before walking away in the direction of the dining room. We followed in the hopes that the menus in her hand might be for us. The dining area was empty except for one other couple. We were led to a table immediately adjacent to theirs and I asked if we could sit further away to allow them and ourselves to enjoy a quiet lunch. A broad wave of the arm followed and indicated that we could choose from any table we wished. Ah, such graciousness! The menus were dropped on the table within our reach. What became immediately clear was that the conversation of other diners was incredibly unlikely to disturb us. We couldnt here them at all. Actually, we had to raise our own voices to hear each other over the shouting, giddy laughing and witty comments being shouted from one side of the dining room to the other, through the service door and into the service bar. We were just hoping for a quick warm bite of food. So we held onto the idea that the lack of other diners would mean we would be served and out the door in short order. What ever put that into our heads? A new person dressed in black slacks and a white shirt appeared to deliver some food items to the previous occupants of the room and then left without even a glance in our direction. Before another five minutes passed we had become quite well informed about the remainder of the employees working in our area of the restaurant. Our knowledge was all absorbed from the high rate of high volume conversation that echoed past us throughout the whole time we were there. Oh; where was I... Oh yeah, we were waiting... So, WHEN the new person returned we learned she would like to hear our wishes; beverages first. We wished for coffee and glasses of water without ice, cesear salads and the pasta with shrimp special. Again we had somehow vastly over estimated the restaurants abilities. There was no cesear salad. At all. None. We could order a side salad, at extra cost, if desired. We did. The coffee came out. The salads followed. Not bad really. We had plenty of time to evaluate the quality and refinement of the plates, bowls and forks. We had them sitting on our table for a long time after we had finished our salads and wited for them to be cleared away. Eventually the pasta followed. It was fine. The water came along after the third request. Ice is apparently a standard feature and cannot be left in the freezer to wait for someone who wants it. We asked immediately for the check in hopes that the folks with black slacks and white shirts were at least able to take our money quickly. We were not disappointed that time. Here is my analysis: This Olive Garden haws way too many employees. They have too much time on their hands and spend it engaged in a paid-for-attendance social club. Management is absent. I know because I Immediately called to speak with the restaurant manager when I got to the car. His name and office phone number are printed on the reciept and I was told, "He is not here and will be late." And finally, they cant manage to keep ingredients on hand. How much trouble is it to find romaine lettuce on a Saturday afternoon in central New Jersey? Not that tough. In sum; Stay Away from THIS Olive Garden location.

YA

Yafrany Galicia

as a side note, this was my first time at olive garden in over 2 years. this is the second time i have ever visited this location. to begin with, upon arrival last night (6/13/15), the hostess was incredibly rude. she didnt greet my date and I. she waited for us to walk to the podium. we told her there were 2 in our party, and she replied, "just 2?" in not the most pleasant of tones of voices. were then seated, and we waited over 5 minutes for our waiter. he did not greet us until after another group of guests was seated. after the waiter met with the table who was seated after us, he then came to my table and greeted us. he was very pleasant, but he did not explain why he came to us after the other table (which arrived after us). he took our drink order, and he said he would be back to take our food order. i thought this was strange since waiters tend to ask if guests are ready to put in all their food or appetizers, after taking drink orders. he did not, but i let that go. he comes back a few minutes later (maybe 3) with my dates soda and says hell be back with my drink from the bar shortly after. he does just that, but the beverage tasted like it had no alcohol. i ordered a margarita. after he drops off my beverage, he says hell be back to take our food order after taking the other tables food order first. mind you, this is the same table that arrived after us. once our food order is taken, the salad and bread sticks arrive; appetizers arrive about 7-8 minutes later. they were very timely. our entrees arrive about 10 minutes after the appetizers. at this point, our bread sticks had been eaten and the waiter offered to bring us some more. 5 minutes later, the waiter states hes sorry for the delay, but the bread sticks are being taken by other waiters because theyre taken on a "first come, first serve" basis. long story short, after another 15 minutes of eating, he still doesnt bring the bread sticks and instead asks if wed like "to - go" boxes for our leftovers. we said no because the food didnt taste that great, and we were just disappointed. overall, the visit was disappointing. from the beginning, the hostess was terrible; the waiter greeted us after another table who arrived after us; my drink was very low in alcohol; the waiter forgot our second basket of bread sticks; and the food was mediocre, at best. will i return? HELL NO! i will not return to this location, at least.

AS

Asia johnson

i went with a group of ten to celebrate my sons birthday lets just say that the only thing good about the place is their lemon with tap water and the bread-sticks and salad. our bill came up to $221 and i was completely dissatisfied. i ordered the chicken and shrimp carbonara and the pasta had absolutely no sauce. i got four pieces of shrimp and two miniature pieces of chicken tenders for a $19 meal. My husband ordered the braised brisket and he got 3 tiny medallions on Alfredo pasta and again no sauce. my friends ordered shrimp scampi and it looked like is was the kids portion even though it was dinner time and prices. I am posting a true review because i want the manager to know who I am. I am a dissatisfied customer that had to wait for a hour and pay a $221.06 bill for a p[arty of 10 people and a $44 recommended tip. One thing is that the waitress even though she messed our orders was very pleasant and helpful.