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| - Wait and wait and wait and.... wait some more?
My boyfriend and I went to this Olive Garden this past weekend on Friday night. I had just worked a long shift outside and I was hankering for their bread sticks. The craving just hit me and I could have nothing else.
Of course, on a Friday night the place was packed, especially with a lot of families. We asked how long the wait was and we were informed it would be 30 minutes. Typical, so we went outside and waited. Luckily, I don't believe we waited much more than 30 minutes until we were seated.
The place was really loud, but what can you expect? Tons of families and it's Olive Garden, so I guess you just get over it. I decided to get their dish that is featured on the menu: Stuffed Rigatoni with Grilled Chicken. My boyfriend opted for the Chicken Ceaser Salad. Of course, my meal came with the huge salad and bread sticks. The salad was on par with what you normally get. The bread sticks always came out yummy and buttery and slightly salty. I don't know what they do to them, but they're so good!
Next - the meals were okay, nothing spectacular. The chicken was disappointing, obviously Olive Garden gets their chicken strips out of frozen bags. The pasta was pretty good and the white sauce, well I can't complain about it. Boyfriend said his salad was pretty good. What I don't get is Olive Garden's prices - they seem a bit high to me. I mean, I realize it's "Italian" (ha ha), but it's Olive Garden... I shouldn't have to pay $13.95 for mediocre lasagna.
What was the worst part of the experience was the waiting for our food and waters to arrive. The service was so slow my boyfriend and I commented on it several times. That's when you know your service is bad - you notice it. Yes, they were busy and yes, it was Saturday night, but still, I gotta say the service was rather mediocre.
All in all, Olive Garden is still as mediocre as it ever was. I don't think I'll be returning for dinner on a Friday night any time soon. Probably gonna stick to lunch and their unlimited salad, soup, bread sticks promo.
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