I visited Olive Garden today as part of an ongoing goal to do "normal people" things like going out to eat. Since I skipped out on this place for my birthday, I thought I might as well make it the first stop in the road.
I was pleasantly surprised. Our waiter, Andrew, was excellent; drinks never went empty and breadsticks always magically reappeared. The breadsticks were salty, and they were no doubt meant to be guilty pleasures. I didn't care... I ate five of those glorious baked goods. This aspect of the meal was good enough to bump up a would-be three stars to four stars.
Now for the rest of the food. I ordered the Lasagna Classico with a side of salad. The salad was fine but nothing to write home about. My mom could have made a better one in two minutes. Same goes for the lasagna. This cheesy monstrosity was decent, but I've eaten frozen lasagnas that could easily compete with what Olive Garden is offering. I would say that the entree itself receives only 3 stars, strictly for being decent.
Overall, this meal receives four stars for the stellar waiter and fantastic breadsticks. As for the other stuff... work on making your entrees stand out, Olive Garden!