Olive Garden Italian Restaurant

My boyfriend and I went in tonight (it’s a Thursday) for dinner around 8 pm. It was slow, so we were seated by the hostess right away. Fifteen minutes later, even after attempting to flag someone down, no waiter had stopped by our table, even just to greet us. We decided to go elsewhere.

As we were walking out, I heard one of the waitresses remark snidely to another, “Are they just leaving?” I was within five feet of her when she said it. She had the opportunity to apologize or at least acknowledge the delay, but didn’t. I stopped and let her know that we were leaving because we’d been waiting fifteen minutes without so much as a greeting. She did apologize then, but made no effort to retain our business.

Service: 1

Got sat and they were extremely slow, 15 minutes go by AND multiple attempts to get a waiter to come over and nothing. A group of waiters were gossiping right near us, heard us call for assistance and still not acknowledged until we finally gave up 20 minutes in and headed for the door. Absurd, it was at 8:00pm tonight so whoever runs the place take notice of who you have employed.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Olive Garden is hard to beat for Italian food. We went right after church with friends and only had a minor wait. It opens at 11 00 on Sundays and there is always a line to get in at that time. It also fills up fast on Sundays! I always order the delicious lasagna, and with it the unlimited salad and hot bread sticks. For some reason this is some of the best lasagna I have had....and the serving size is VERY generous to the point I take half home! If you like lasagna I would encourage you to try it!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I’m writing to share the worst dining experience I’ve had here in Pensacola — and it happened at Olive Garden.

From the moment my sister and I walked in, no one greeted us. We waited to be seated, and when our names were finally called it was done so quietly, like they didn’t even want to acknowledge us. Once seated, our server (named Will) seemed standoffish from the start. I asked for my drink to come with my food, but when it arrived he took it away again — and it didn’t come back until about 20 minutes later, well after we had already received our salad, bread, and appetizer. When I finally got the alcoholic drink I ordered, it tasted awful, there was barely any alcohol in it.

On top of that, the atmosphere felt racially biased. We were seated all the way in the back, in the section where Black patrons were seated. All around us, other guests stared, giving nasty looks that made me feel uneasy and unwelcome. Our server never checked on us.. never asked if we needed anything else. Meanwhile, a nearby table of another party received warm greetings, attentive service, extra bread upon request, everything. It was top-tier treatment for them and we were totally ignored.

Honestly, I will never return to this Olive Garden, and I cannot recommend it to anyone of color. I hope the district manager reads this, because it’s clear the store manager is allowing this kind of treatment.

We’re all just trying to get by out here, people don’t have money to waste! and when service is unfair based on race, that makes it even harder. I expect servers to treat everyone equally. My experience there was unpleasant, disrespectful, and discriminatory. I will not be coming back.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 1

I visited Olive Garden last night around 7:30 PM with one other guest. Upon entering, we waited at the front for a hostess to seat us. One of the employees at the to-go counter saw us come in, and I heard him call out to notify the hosting staff that guests were waiting. Despite this, no one came to greet or acknowledge us.

A person who appeared to be a manager walked by, looked in our direction, and continued talking to another employee without addressing us. Two additional staff members came to the host stand shortly after, but rather than assisting us, they stood there having a personal conversation. One of the employees at the to-go counter had to remind them again that we had been waiting for some time.

Even after making eye contact with me, one of the hostesses continued her conversation instead of helping us, which felt unprofessional and dismissive. There was no sense of urgency at all. By the time my dining companion arrived, he was confused as to why we were still waiting and joked that maybe we needed to seat ourselves. Only after that second reminder did someone finally come over to seat us.

Once we were seated, things improved. The food was good, and our server, Will, was attentive, polite, and provided great service throughout the meal. He made up for the rough start and ensured we had a positive dining experience at the table.

Overall, while the meal itself and our waiter were both great, the service at the entrance was disappointing. The dismissive behavior and lack of attentiveness from the host staff created an unnecessary delay and poor first impression. I hope the restaurant addresses this, because the rest of the experience showed that the team is capable of much better service.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 3

The food was consistently cold, was rarely checked on and could not find waiter. The food also made me and my fiancée sick.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 2

When on road trips, Olive Garden is usually a staple for us. Tonight the food and service was exceptionally bad. They were out of ravioli and the server suggested the tortollini. Apparently what they were out of was cheese because the tortelloni came out as just the pasta with very little stuffed inside. The minestrone scoop had exactly two pieces of vegetables in it. One piece of the stuffed chicken marsala was cooked exceptionally well, the other one should not have ever been served. When I let the server know she seemed either indifferent or unsurprised. With absolutely no offer to replace anything. This was a complete disappointment.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 2

I just left this Olive Garden, and I had the most amazing experience I’ve ever had at any restaurant, and the main reason being my server, Kenny. He is the sweetest, most genuine person I’ve ever met. He was so happy to be there serving us. He treated us so well, and I will never forget his kindness. Definitely ask for him on your next visit!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Visit Date: Sunday, November 23 (Lunch Time)
Table: 52
Server: Heather D.

My family and I came to Olive Garden for lunch—my husband, our 7-year-old daughter, and myself. We sat at Table 52 and waited for about 10 minutes before anyone approached us. Our server, Heather D., walked around the surrounding tables and even began serving the guests who arrived after us, at the table right next to ours.

Eventually, she came over. It seemed she realized we had been waiting, but instead of apologizing, she said, “Oh, you guys came at the same time—sorry about that!” I knew this wasn’t accurate, as we arrived well before the other table. It felt like an excuse rather than an acknowledgment of the delay. I tried to brush it off and continue the meal.

When ordering, my husband asked for salad with his meal, and I asked for soup. Heather even asked which soup I preferred—so clearly she heard the request. However, the soup never arrived. When I asked about it, she responded, “Oh, it’s either salad or soup.” At that point, I was already disappointed and didn’t want to make things worse, so I simply let it go.

What was frustrating is that she asked for my soup preference, but then assumed I wanted salad. Instead of double-checking or clarifying, she just dismissed it. I have visited this restaurant many times and usually have great experiences—but today felt different. The service came across as unprofessional, forgetful, and full of excuses. It was disappointing.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 2

Service: 1

We had a great lunch today of spaghetti with meatballs and chicken alfredo. The salad was so fresh and the breadsticks were the best that we've ever had at any other Olive Garden. We've eaten at this one several times before, but today they upped the bar! Timothy was our sever and he was excellent!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Service was great. The food felt like it was leftovers warmed up. Maybe it was a bad night but was not impressed by the food.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Food came out fast and the service was amazing! Prices arent too bad either.

Ate here the night I got engaged

Recommended dishes: Salad and Bread Sticks, Chicken Parmesan

Waited 30 minutes to be seated even though there were plenty of seats available. The greeter and our waitress were rude and not interested in providing my family with proper service

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 3

Service: 2

Great food and service. Prices were all right too. We enjoyed it!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Endless Salad, Salad and Bread Sticks, Lasagne, Tiramisu, Tour of Italy