Olive Garden
| Address: | 3160 32nd Ave S, Grand Forks, ND 58201, USA |
| Phone: | +1 701-746-2038 |
| Site: | olivegarden.com |
| Rating: | 3.9 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
JU
Julia Cassen
My first time at an Olive Garden. Ill admit, I consider this the type of chain restaurant that Im not typically in favor of dining at due to the perception of "cafeteria style" food and interior layout. It is a bit stereotypical of that in terms of the amt of tables. This type of restaurant provides for service to many diners at a time creating the potential for a less than personalized dining experience and food not prepared for each person but for rooms full of diners. Interestingly though, I REALLY enjoyed the shrimp linguine and salad. My daughter and I split each item and Lucas, our waiter, pre split the plates. I love how the salad comes in a large serving bowl. Its mainly ice berg lettuce but its pre tossed with a decent, light and simple dressing. Fresh Romano cheese is ground for you at the table if you desire. The shrimp was cooked to perfection. Shrimp is so typically over cooked, it was nice to see it still translucent and tender. They werent baby shrimp but much smaller than average. That didnt matter bec they were delicious. Lucas offered us four wines to sample prior to ordering a bottle. We told him we wanted a red blend and he brought four options. He poured up four generous tastings for each of us in four separate wine glasses each. By the time we decided, I had drunk enough to feel like splurging on a bottle. (Great way to upsell, Lucas!) The pay-at-the-table credit card machine seems a bit tacky, and it takes up space on the table, but it certainly does allow for unlimited time to review the bill when paying, and also an easy way to select the tip amount. I hope management reads my review to see that our waiter, Lucas was TOP NOTCH! He was friendly, knowledgeable with the food and wine and allowed us a personalized, non-rushed, and over all very pleasant meal and dining experience! Great work, Lucas!! Even though I am from CA and will most likely never be back to this particular Olive Garden, I will definitely consider dining at one in another location!
A
A Private User
Sorry, Marilyn Hagerty, Im not a big fan. The gnocchi and chicken soup I had was pitiful. The chicken tasted like it came pre-prepared straight out of a can (metallic tasting). The gnocchi was perfectly round, and very soft (overcooked), and if youve ever had actual gnocchi, anywhere, you will find this not to be the case. The real issue that I had was the pricing. I paid 19 dollars for a Capellini di Mare entree. Lets put this into perspective. I got more seafood @ Drunken Noodle in EGF for 10 dollars, than this 19 dollar entree. Now lets factor in the fact the mussels and clams were overcooked and chewy. Also factor in the fact that I was raised in Naples, Italy. I wanted to pull my hair out just listening to neighboring tables talk (the inside of the restaurant is spaced for maximum profit/occupancy, not customer comfort). "Oh, my daughter visited Italy once, so I know this word is pronounced like this" *Pronounces it wrong* Youre such an expert. If youre looking to get ripped off on Americanized Italian food, this is the place for you. If youre looking for authentic Italian food, go to Italy, or eat a shot gun, because youll never find it in this country. (That includes every location from Maine to Florida cant speak for the west coast) That being said, the Tiramisu was not bad.
TA
tahamonie
2ND time @ this establishment ,That say a lot if you no what i mean ! The Food was on par with the Red Lobster and Boy do i love that place, again that says a lot.The Girls at the Front looked to be Bored as all get out ,A little annoyed by the 1 smile and 1 greeting from 4 persons a total disregard for customer is what i felt But they still get a 5 star review Simpley because the food was so good and the Atmosphere was pleasing and clean But what put this out of the park for the wife and I was the service Provided to us by a transplanted waitress from Fargo now working at the Grand Forks location "Jenifer" Trust me I know how hard some of them work and i understand its difficult to keep a smile on your face all day especially on your feet and running all day like most of them do same as my wife once did So the highest of regards to Jenifer and her professional manor of customer service.Now if someone take a second to teach the bimbos up front the importance of such behavior you might very well have fewer sorry looking reviews.If youre looking at reviews before making the choice of where to eat, like a smart person does ! Then You cant go wrong eating at the Grand Forks Olive Garden Providing you ask to be seated in Jenifers section .
A
A Private User
Took twenty mins just to get our salads and bread sticks, the seemed nice at first but rushing our drink order when we were still trying to get seated. We had two servers so we thought we would have pretty decently quick service. We ordered and very easy pasta dishes of mostly Alfredo And Mac n cheese for the kids, by the time we got the food over an hour latter it was cold, we also had o e server ask if we needed anything else and we asked for a refill and she roller her eyes and got a pissy attitude and face with us just for a refill that she asked if we needed. Overall I would take an hour wait to be seated in Fargo than the cold food and poor service in grandforks, also our first time trying the grandforks location and it wasn't busy so didn't understand how our food took so long. Oh and people who came in after us and ordered after us still got their food before our table of 8people did. Simple dishes and no extras. Hope if we do attempt giving them another chance they don't disappoint again. Think the staff could use more training.
JO
JoJo B
Last visit , not a very good experience! We ordered the "Tour of Italy" for $18. Terribly overpriced! And the Chicken Parmigiana was burnt, the Fettuccini was dry, and the Lasagne was a 2x2" piece! So each part of the "tour" was $6!! Seriously! So I asked one server(not ours) who answered the call button. He stated he would go get some extra sauce. We waited for it, after 15 mins passed by, my friend finally got his attention. He said he had forgotten about it. Then proceeded to ask us who our server was. While waiting for sauce to be delivered (now its another 10 mins and sauce is finally delivered). Shortly after that, manager comes by our table to apologize. Didnt offer to compensate us for our troubles!! My friends order was just as burnt, dry, and small portion of an order! Shes the type who wont complain, in fear of an allegedly cook/server retaliation. I still regret not sending it back! Overall, out of my past 10 visits to this restaurant, I would give it only 4 stars max, because the food and/or service has never been consistent.
SE
Serial277something
The service was slow, talking about five minutes before showing up to take drink orders. It seemed like a rush so we have it time. The manager has to come take our drink and food order. The server was a little short with us when delivering the food. Once the servers tables calmed down, she livened up a bit and responded a bit nicer. I ordered the spicy shrimp scampi appetizer. There were soggy lemons left in it which made the breaded shrimp completely soggy and unappetizing. The salad was ok, but there were large chunks of lettuce that needed to be chopped up before being small enough to chew. The main course was good, hot and good size portions, enough to take home as another meal. The server in the end was friendly and assisted with boxing the leftovers. Overall, not the best. We probably will only return if friends want to go.
