Olive Garden

Reviews 4

BR

Bruce Sullivan

Family of four, two kids, two adults. We arrived without reservations early on Sunday evening (just before 6). We were seated promptly and our waiter arrived shortly thereafter with menus and the like. In general, he did a fine job with no issues, but was also generally unremarkable. With one exception, he got the order correct. But he was both uninspired and uninspiring. He was 15% tip material, no better, no worse. The food was pretty much the same. it was average fare for a just-above-average chain restaurant. We ordered the cheese pizza and chicken parmigiana for the kids, my wife had the chicken marsala and I ordered a few of the taste of Italy small dishes -- The crispy risotto balls, scampi alla greca, and crispy asparagus. We also took advantage of the ‘bottomless’ salad. The salad was decent, with a variety of extra stuff alongside iceberg lettuce. Its sin? Not nearly enough dressing, and a few too many pepperoncini. Without enough dressing, the juice from the peppers overwhelmed the salad and the tastebuds. One quickly learned to avoid that simply by not cutting into the peppers. We had three servings of the bottomless salad, all of which had the same issue. The scampi was set on a layer of polenta and covered in puttanesca sauce that was too heavy on black and green greek olives. I like a good puttanesca on occasion, but the abundance of olives made the sauce overly salty and it overwhelmed the more subtle flavors in the rest of the dish. The polenta never stood a chance. The crispy risotto balls were also a disappointment. Risotto should not be deep fried. While not overly greasy, it tasted like a deep-fried ball of, well, something bland. The waiter brought the incorrect asparagus dish, but what he brought was actually quite nice -- perhaps the best of the taste dishes. They were breaded lightly and deep fried, accompanied by a garlic aoili. My kids were happy with their dishes, and the chicken marsala was nicely done as well. it was tender, moist and reasonably flavorful. But it was also unremarkable -- Ive had as good or better elsewhere. The pasta with both the parmigiana and marsala was served unadorned and unsauced next to the chicken, as though they had no relationship whatsoever. Plain pasta in an Italian restaurant? C’mon. One final observation: Very few entrees included vegetables. It was all pasta (no surprise there) and garlic mashed potatoes. Really, OG? Real Mediterranean food generously employs fresh local fruits and vegetables. (Yes, there’s a footnote that says you can substitute vegetables, but what? And how good are they really, if they don’t offer them up as standard fare?) At an average of about $20 per dish, I think you can afford to offer up more than mashed potatoes or plain pasta served as a side not a component. And that, I think, sums up the visit over all. The experience was okay but unremarkable and a bit overpriced. I normally would have left somewhere in the neighborhood of 20% gratuity. I left slightly more than 15% instead.

A

A Private User

My husbands family has frequently visited the Olive Garden in Kirkland as it is central location for everyone to meet at for birthdays or special occassions, and the food is pretty good there. Typically, in the past, we have had pretty good service. However, our most recent visit was a long list of frustrations. First, the room we requested for our party of 10 (after a 45 minute wait) was given to someone else and we were escorted to a side room with really poor lighting. It was hard to read the menus. The bulb above me was even out, which added to the lack of visibility. The room also had a low ceiling which made it hard to hear conversations with our large party. Our main waitress got confused several times with our orders or instructions we had about the birthday cake we had brought and had put back in the fridge in their kitchen. Another waitress took our orders...and then we waited for 30 minutes before we finally asked the manager why we hadnt even received any bread or salad yet. 15 minutes later the bread and salad arrived, but they forgot to refill our glasses. Our main dishes, as well as them going to get the cake also took a long amount of time. The manager gave us 4 free desserts and 25% off our bills, since we had to wait for so long for the bread and salads, but by the time the check arrived, also after a long wait, we realized we the bill had mistakes on it such as saying someone who ordered a kid size meal, ordered an adult size, and someone who ordered just marinara actually ordered a meat sauce. When we tried to explain this, as well as the still present 25% and our waitress didnt seem to understand and argued with us. Now I am a person who hates confrontation, but after all these mistakes we were left frustrated and exhausted. I think we were labeled a bad table, when all we were trying to do was have a enjoyable birthday meal. The manager finally arrived and said we could all have our meals and everything for free. Ive had better service there before, but tonights service was messed up. What was supposed to be a pleasant birthday dinner with family ended up being loud, blurry, and stressful. I say...go at your own risk. The food is good, but the service is hit and miss.

SH

Shriram Paramesh

Please do not waste your time and money in this particular restaurant. I generally give 2 chances to a restaurant before I rate it and here is my rating for Olive Garden, Kirkland, WA after visiting it twice - 2.5 stars max. Here is why: (1) Food: I ordered Eggplant Parmigiana. It was a piece of crap. Bland, tasteless. Overpriced! The only exceptions are: Minestrone soup, salad, bread sticks. They are good. (2) Service: I asked if the dish can be made a bit spicy. I was told NO. But instead, I was "told" that I could be offered red pepper flakes. I agreed. But I never got one until, he FORGOT! Later I got it after my friend reminded him. I had also ordered lemonade. I asked him to get it with the food. YET AGAIN, he FORGOT! When I reminded him, he said...Oh! I wanted to let you know that we are out of lemonade pre-prepared for the day! I was like...wow..does "making" a lemonade take 18 hours or something, that needs to be pre-made?? Guess what! He later comes with a lemonade, when I was almost done eating! (3) Previous Feedback: My ex manager who was an Italian himself disapproved of this particular restaurant. He said that they reheat frozen food and serve. I trust him since he is a foodie like me :-) Oh..did I forget to mention? The above was all just "my" part of the story. My 2 friends have their share as well. One friend, let me call him G, ordered Pomodoro Capelini with Chickn. Guess what! He gets back a nasty pasta with loads of marinara with NO chicken! G quietly ate it up. Another friend, let me call him K, ordered custom pizza without tomatoes. Guess What! He had tomatoes in his pizza.

J

J Magallones

Being Prompt. Being prompt doesnt mean rushing or hovering, but it does mean taking care of customers needs in an appropriate time frame. Being Friendly. Good service in the restaurant means friendly, a welcoming service. Being Available. Good customer service simply means being available. Being Exceptional. Willing to go above and beyond, this kind of customer service by being willing to make special creations for guests, offering them refill of drinks, bringing mints after dinner and engaging in other little practices that show they are going above and beyond expectation. Good customer service means making your guests feel welcome and taken care of. It means that no matter how they come to you, they leave happy. Most important, no matter what the business, giving good service means your customer will come back for more. That is Mr. ARMAND SAHAKIAN Dear Mr. Chong Pak: Id like to compliment one of your employees, Mr. Armand Sahakian, for the excellent service he provided me and my family during our recent visit in your restaurant Olive Garden 1318 11325 NE 124th St. Kirkland, Wa 98034-4304. I am pleased with the service we receive at your branch. Mr. Armand Sahakian’s professionalism and ability exceeded my expectations. He was an exceptional waiter. Such a commitment to great customer service is to be commended. Sincerely, J Magallones