Olive Garden Italian Restaurant

I used to love the Olive Garden in Long Island about 10 years ago. It’s gone down in years. This one is fairly average and how good your meal is depends on what you get. I’ve been very disappointed by the Tour of Italy in the past, and that is one of their signature dishes. I wondered if the chef was named Boyardee. Tonight I had a bellini, shrimp garlic scampi and a little chocolate cream desert which was laughably small but only $ 4. The salad was very good, the breadsticks a little too oily and salty, the shrimp garlic tasted like Weight Watchers and the desert was average. Another person had the tiramisu and that was great. The Bellini was memorable and so was the margarita. The prices are kind of insane for what you get, but one tip — sign up for their eClub online and you get a desert or app free with two entries. Still highway robbery. Our server was nice and our wait wasn’t long, tho we came on a weeknight. Weekends might be crazy, and I would never want to come here on New Year’s.

I don’t usually use this app and I just created an account for this specific review. There were absolutely no olives, what is up with that! Olive Garden — no olives. What? Not to mention I was sitting on the wobbliest chair in the universe and I was way too close to the kitchen. When I asked to move the waiter said that they were completely booked and tried to offer me a groupon deal so I tied his shoelaces together and he tripped and spilled spaghetti all over himself and he started screaming like a mad man. Absolutely terrible experience I will not be returning. Not even if there was an apocalypse and Olive Garden was the only place that wasn’t on fire. Hasta luego.

I went with a basic chicken alfredo which was absolutely delicious! It came with a choice of soup or salad and endless breadsticks. I had the minestrone soup, he had the chicken gnocchi soup, we loved every bite! Our waitor was a real sweetheart so the 18% gratuity tip that is already calculated in the bill (can be changed) was not a problem and well deserved.

New York-​minute review ⁵⁄₅:
«Come I to speak in Olive Garden’s funeral.
It was familiar to me and my family, and reliable for food that was good.
We all did love it once, not without cause.
My heart is in the coffin there with Olive Garden,
And I must pause till it come back to me.»
…
Okay. That’s enough.
Now let me tell you — a lot has changed since the last time we were here. A LOT.
I sensed something was up when at 6:30 P.M. there were many empty tables. In the past, the place was packed at that hour, with many more waiting to get in.
Our waiter was this older dude with little personality. And that personality was NYC taxi driver. Not the bubbly, energetic, eager-​to-​please waiter/​waitress we’d come to expect from previous visits.
We weren’t that hungry so ordered a bunch of app’s — stuffed mushrooms, fried mozzarella, 5 Italian cheese fonduta, and crispy risotto bites. The fried mozzarella, and risotto bites were OK. The others, meh.
I tried to cancel my «create your own» pasta of rigatoni + garlic white wine + grilled chicken. Without skipping a beat or batting an eye, Mr. Personality tells me the order has already been placed. ?! Gee, thanks for really trying to accommodate this diner’s wishes.
So I get my pasta. No offer of fresh ground parmesan or pepper. I see a matching set of condiment bottles — balsamic vinegar and olive oil — sitting on the window sill above us. ?! The bottles look dirty, and the olive oil is discolored. I ask Mr. Personality for another set. Again, without batting an eye, he tells me «that’s the only one we have.» ?! Really?! The pasta was MEH. The few bites of it I took that is. About as good as the Hawaiian Airlines «hot meal.»
For that experience Mr. Personality tried to tack on a 20% gratuity. HELL TO THE NO! I had him re-​do the check.
This place may still have a pulse. But it’s weak and thready. It’s appropriate that the waiters and waitresses now wear all black. Better update your resume too Mr. Personality.

We enjoy olive garden soup & salad when we are traveling and the consistent quality of food
We had a nice table with a window, view and our service was excellent… later we stopped for a glass of wine post theatre.

Came here for lunch on Tuesday, which was my last day in the city :(located slap bang in the middle of times square, its a nice italian restaurant. If you tell them you want a window table, they will take you upstairs and you can choose where to sit. I had the best seat in the house!!! Sitting right oppostite of the hustle and bustle! From different angles, you got different pictures. I took quite a few!
The lady brought out so many different menus, which were all a bit confusing, but they serve everything during lunch. Americans are known for extra large portions, so when our food came out, I was fine about it, cause they weren’t too big! But big enough that I couldn’t finish it… I went for «create your own pasta» with tri-​coloured pasta with primavera sauce and sauteed shrimp. It was sooo good, the sace was creamy and tangy, packed full of vegetables and the right amount of shrimp, very flavoursome, very much like comfort food, homely style cooking, which I loved so much. Wasn’t a fan of the roasted tomato sauce for the breadsticks, just tasted like a cheese sauce tbh. The fried mozarella sticks were sooo nice!!! But I’ve had the same at other places, so nothing new there.
The service we received from the lady was on point, she kept coming over to make sure we were ok, and if we needed anything, you can add extras on the side with your main meal like extra vegetables etc. If you choose a small plate, then the extras are worth it!
The cocktails were good too, I got the Sangarita, its like a sangria, red wine, rose, raspberry liqour and bitters, as much as I enjoyed sipping through it, not only was it huge, it was also one of the strongest on their menu!!! Wayy tooo strong for my liking, i’m all about balance, this was not it for me! i had to squeeze a lemon and orange into it!
It is a nice place, I would come back to it, also they have a great choice for veggies!

I’ve only been to this location a couple of times — traditionally I go to olive garden in Kansas City or Overland Park. Today my boyfriend and I went for lunch and to celebrate the end of my finals (I am a student at Columbia). The service was okay — it was a little slow for my liking, but I suspect the server was trying to give my boyfriend and I space since we were on a date.
At the end of the meal I realized that I was being attacked by a pesky mosquito that was buzzing around a few feet away from our table. Now, where I’m from, mosquito are everywhere and its not the end of the world. But, it did take me by surprise and irritate me some that I was suddenly covered in bug bites. I asked to see the manager, Ian, and briefly explained the situation to him.
I’m not kidding, I felt like I was back in the Midwest. I haven’t received hospitality or concern like what he offered since moving here last year. It wasn’t that he offered to comp my lunch or that he apologized for the situation, though he did do those things, it was the WAY he handled the situation. It was the level of concern he showed and his compassion for the guests in the building.
From the years of personal experience I’ve had, I’ve been taught that it isn’t the bad situation that affects a guest’s experience, its the way that it is handled. And today, Ian did a remarkable and noteworthy job.
Thank you so much for your hospitality.

This is your standard Olive Garden yet in the heart of Time’s Square.
Aside from the views from the floor to ceiling windows the service and food are the same without anything special. The food tastes reasonably well and the bar is fully stocked.
It’s not a place that a visiting tourist should go to, but NYC natives might hit it up for fun.

Olive Garden in Time Square NYC has the best food of all their locations even though they claim it’s all the same. This location used real meat instead of processed chicken. The shrimp app was fresh wit crispy outside and tasty spicy scampi sauce, the drinks are good at all locations and the dessert is always good with nice presentation. I love their soup at all locations but the entrees are hit or miss

Walking in feels the same as walking into Flashdancers, at noon.
Server asks me if I want refill on my huge bowl of soup, as if it is a Diet Coke.
Meatballs are dense!
Everything comes with a choice of multiple dipping sauces.
Scampi means shrimp, there is a dish called shrimp scampi. There is a dish called chicken scampi which is chicken served in a creamy scampi sauce, yet it contains no shrimp.
It is damn near impossible to get out of here not consuming at least 2,000 cal (daily recommended calorie consumption), if you add in an appetizer or soup, at least one breadstick, entrée, a drink and possibly a dessert (although they do have small alternative servings of desserts). I paid very close attention, and I am in for just under 1,000. $ 18.50 including tip. Honesty, if I had to, I would definitely go back.

I don’t know what it is that makes Olive Garden the butt of so many jokes. I’ve always found the food here to be consistently decent. Yes, it’s not your gourmet dishes from Sicily. There are places for that in New York. Here you get decent Italian at great prices. It also takes me back to my childhood in the 90’s when going to the OG was a thing.
Free unlimited breadsticks and salad or soup is such a selling point. The pasta e fagioli and salad are delicious actually! I also love the breadsticks, which are freshly baked and come wrapped in a fresh napkin.
My friend and I came to this location just for the experience of dining in Times Square. Take an elevator to the top floor to get seated. It’s a a fairly large space but I can see this place filling up quickly.
1. Tour of Italy: your choice of three items. We got the fettuccini Alfredo, lasagna, and chicken Marsala ravioli. All 3 items were decent and filling. We enjoyed the variety. It’s also under $ 20.
2. Stuffed mushrooms: decent as an appetizer. Not too salty with good texture.
3. Beef and chicken ravioli: these were surprisingly delicious! Little savory bites that can be dipped in marina sauce.
Take a stroll down memory lane. Or just give it a try if you’re in the area and want something cheap and decent.

What happened to the bread sticks? It used to taste really good, but now it just tasted like dough and doesn’t even have enough flavors. The waiter even asked us what type of dipping sauce we wanted but never said it will cost an extra $ 5. We found this out when we were about to pay. I ordered the tour of Italy with the lasagna, chicken marsala ravioli and fettuccine alfredo. The chicken marsala ravioli was a bit dry. The lasagna and fettuccine alfredo tasted alright. What I don’t get is why is the gratuity of 18% already added to the bill? Shouldn’t the 18% gratuity only be added to the bill if you have a party of 5 – 6 or more? We only had a party of 2! It seems like they know Olive Garden will provide bad services so they just add 18% gratuity to the bill so you can’t pay less if the service is crappy. The waiter didn’t even wait for us to leave the table before taking the bill. It was kind of disrespectful and made it seem like we will not pay. I would come back before because of the yummy bread sticks, but now I don’t think I would come back anymore.

Tourists trap!
Pay attention in the bill — the «suggested» gratuity is 18 percent and they charge you with it. So you can leave more tip. Stay away!

Olive Garden in Times Square? Can’t we do better than that you might ask?
Yes, but — it was really cold and this place is right next to the TKTS booth! On the Sunday after the blizzard we froze waiting in the TKTS line and needed a warm place to kill an hour before our show. OG it is!
The menu and food is typical Olive Garden — you know what to expect. Subtract a few dollars from the price of each dish and this OG could be in anywhere, U.S.A.
I will say that this restuarant is very different than most NYC restaurants. The tables are not squished together. You have plenty of room. The temperature was no oboxiously warm. Also, the restroom was not up or down a flight of stairs from the dining room. ;)
And — we had a great review of people in Times Square to do some people watching.
All told, we had a nice lunch in the right place at the right time.

Went in for dinner after a long day of traveling to NYC.
As I had a seat at the bar, since I was alone, the bartender was very welcoming and chatty.
Food was up to par, service even better.
Will come back again.

The food at Olive Garden never disappoints. The bread sticks, chicken and gnocchi soup, and salad are so so delicious. I can eat that soup for days and days. For the main course we got the Northern Tour of Italy and the Cucina Mia — whole wheat linguini with crispy chicken and Asiago alfredo. The whole wheat overpowered the taste of the sauce so probably would not get it again. Northern tour was delicious.
Only downside was that we went for the never ending pasta which was ending on ¹¹⁄₂₂ and we went on ¹¹⁄₂₁. However the Times Square location ended it early and it’s not posted anywhere! Really disappointed. Additionally we wanted to get the bread stick chicken parm sandwich which is also advertised on the website but the waiter said its being phased out next week so they couldn’t do it for us. Pretty sure the guy at the next table had a sandwich and fries. Hm.
Also this location is way more expensive than in NJ suburbs. Each dish is anywhere from $ 2-​$ 6 more. We went on Saturday afternoon so the service was fine but I’ve heard dinner can be extremely slow.

I recommend this restaurant.
The service is really great. Entrees, bread and drinks will be refilled.
Our waiter was top notch. He was extremely polite, caring and really deserved his tips.
The food is amazing.
Home made soup, pasta and meat are really good.
The only thing I disliked was the way they try to sell wine.

Lametalian. Olive Garden is known for it’s fake Italian food, some love it some hate it. I’m on the border line. I love the bread sticks and Alfredo dipping sauce… that’s nearly it… every once in a while however they have a special that is absolutely delicious. The one regular thing I would get when i was younger (Canaloni al Forno) is off the menu… so here is my sad face… but, not SO sad.
especially the fact we are in NYC with sooooo many better options, please never ever go here, it’s crowded, loud, slow, and disappointing, even for a lousy chain restaurant.

My daughter and I save this Olive Garden for special occasions. We have never been disappointed. It is costly for a chain restaurant. That is to be expected because of the Times Square location.
We are always seated promptly. Service is always great. No matter what I order I am pleased. The garlic sticks are the best. They have always been my favorite anywhere. We love to share the salad and always have more than enough.
I like the flatbread pizza. I always get desert. I like all the deserts on the menu! So many good ones to choose from. I took a couple net pictures to post here. I’m always so hungry I eat everything before I get a picture. I’ll just have to go back soon and get my own pictures.

Estuve en el mes de mayo, la verdad tuvimos que esperar un tiempo para poder cenar ya que es un local bastante concurrido pero mereció la pena, platos abundantes y muy ricos, el trato del camarero muy bien aunque le entendía bien poco y no por mi ingles sino por el suyo jajajajaj

a comida aqui é deliciosa!!! eu adoro a salada que eles servem antes da refeição principal, e o melhor, a salada é grátis!!! para mim, o melhor é o fettuccine com molho Alfredo e filé minhon. maravilhoso …(the food here is delicious !!! I love the salad they served before the main meal, and the best, the salad is free !!! for me, the best is the fettuccine with Alfredo sauce and minhon fillet. wonderful)

My American friends always rave on about Olive Garden so I thought I’d give it a crack whilst on my vacation!
We ordered some soup and salad and pasta and I didn’t even get half way through it and I’m as full as Santa’s sack on xmas eve. The food is very nice and tasty and our waitress she was just so bubbly and had the best customer service (¹⁰⁄₁₀)!
It makes me so annoyed that we don’t have exceptional customer service in Australia like they do in America.

A ver… es una cadena cadena de restaurantes de comida italiana, por lo que de artesanal no tiene mucho, es verdad, pero no por eso deja de ser efectivo, principalmente si estás cerca del Time Square y te agarra una lluvia fuerte, o una gran nevada o simplemente el frío te congela el cuerpo. Este restaurante está justo atrás de la tribuna del Times Square, frente a donde de sacan los tickets para el teatro, y es un gran refugio y un parate en la zona (y mil veces mejor que Mc Donalds, desde ya)
La comida está muy bien: pastas al dente, muy sabrosas y porciones abundantes, con cada plato te dan además una sopa o una ensalada, según sea tu elección y la panera incluye un pan con ajo que es un sueño por su sabor y su textura.
En mi primer viaje a NYC fui a este lugar por recomendación pero la segunda fui solo por su sopa de crema y pollo que es increíble!!!

Ich liebe diese Kette. Egal in welchem Bundesstaat ich bin, es würd immer mal in einem Olive Garden gegessen. Punktabzug gibt es, da es mega laut ist und die Kellner die Tische möglichst schnell neu besetzen wollen. Da kommt in diesem Lokal kein gemütliches Essen auf. Dennoch die Lage ist Top

Der eine Stern bekommt das Restaurant lediglich für den Standort!
Der Service!, Naja alle Gäste die nach mir gekommen sind wurden vor mir nach den Wünschen gefragt. Die Servicekraft verzog schon das Gesicht weil ich alleine war! Soweit zum Singledasein!
Nach dem ich merkte das sich andere Gäste aufregten wegen des Nichtbeachtens, stand ich auf und bin gegangen!
Mein Geld gebe ich lieber dort aus wo es auch Willkommen ist!

Frueher war ich ein echter Fan des Olive Garden. Gestern als ich mir die Lage am Times Square rausgesucht habe, bin ich auf einen Bericht gestossen Dort steht, mit welchenMethoden im OG versucht wird Wein an den Kunden zu bekommen (steht auf dem Tisch, wird nachdringlich empfohlen, bei Ablehnung werden Glaeser usw. Abgeraeumt) Dass hat sich zwar sehr merkwuerdig angehoert, doch ich konnte das akzeptieren. Als wir dann dort waren, super netter Empfang Alles toll bis zum Moment der Weinablehnung. Der Kellner war die ganze Zeit sehr verschnupft und hat uns unaufgefordert die rechnung mit dem Dessert gebracht. Eine ungewohnt kuehle Bedienung, trotz Umsatz von 80 Dollar zzgl. Trinkgeld fuer zwei Gaeste. Fazit: an dem Bericht scheint wahrheit zu sein Der Olive Garden ist keine Empfehlung mehr. Der Link:

Sehr leckere Nudeln und italiänische Gerichte.
Der never ending pastabowl ist mein Favorit. soviel Pasta wie man essen kann für ca 10 Dollar!

Ein super schönes Restaurant mit dem weltbesten Ceasar Salad. Ich war total begeistert. Diese Qualität ist nirgendwo hier zu finden!

Nach drei Tagen NY war ich froh als meine Freunde mir hier hin gebracht haben Vitamine das brauche mein Körper! Und der Re-​fill Salat war auch wirklich sehr sehr lecker

In der USA sind italienische Restaurants in der Regel reichlich amerikanisiert. Olive Garden hat es aber geschafft, gute italienische Küche mit leichtem USA Feeling zu kombinieren. Gute Weine und super Nudelgerichte zu fairen Preisen bestimmen die Karte. Der Service ist wie immer perfekt. Besonders gelungen finde ich den all-​you-​can-​eat Vorspeisensalat, den man grundsätzlich zu jedem Hauptgericht serviert bekommt. Zudem ist diese Filiale der Kette direkt am Times Square gelegen. Zentraler gehts nun wirklich nicht.