Ugh... we were SO disappointed tonight!! My husband and I are NOT picky eaters but our meals were not up to par. Neither of us could taste ANY dressing on the salad. My lasagna tasted like it was made a week ago and re-heated one too many times. Hubby loves Chicken Marsala but not here. Weird taste. Will we try this location again? Probably... but not for a while. read more

Stopped for lunch on a Monday. Lunch portions are small, but you do get salad & breadsticks. The salad & breadsticks are always fresh & tasty. They could use a bit more butter & garlic like they used to be. Ice tea is good. Hubby had spaghetti & meatballs. It came in a small bowl & could've used a few more noodles. He said it was tasty. My ziti was very well presented & tasty. The waitress was quick to remove dishes & offer boxes--even as my slow eating husband was only 1/2 done. It's always frustrating--especially when the restaurant is not busy. We like to enjoy our food! Olive Garden decor remains the same! We did have to ask for more tea... I do love the Andes mints at the end of the meal! A nice touch!! read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Lunch portion of spaghetti & meatballs - Italian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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Food was good but the service was mediocre. We didn't get our breadsticks until the apps were served it took about 20 mins for him to come and even take our order. read more

My server was very attentive and regularly checked in. She ensured my water glass stayed filled, offered to bring different tea bags, and quickly brought soup refills. Olive Garden food is OG food. I thought the breadsticks were seasoned stingily. The salad bowl was very generous and had plenty of the accompaniments. Not bad for $11+tip! I will be back. read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Never Ending Soup, Salad & Breadsticks--Salad - Italian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Mia was a great waitress, had good humor along with keeping up with our table when needed! she did a great job!

I had a new waiter today. He was trying his hardest to please us and he succeeded. Very attentive to our refills, made great suggestions and was fast considering we were at a lunch. The chicken gnocchi soup was fabulous as always. Lots of salad and breadsticks. Lasagna lunch for $10? You can't get that value anymore for lunch. read more

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Just picked up dinner from this location. Purchased the dinner portion fettuccine Alfredo and received a tiny portion that appears to be even less than the lunch size. Paid $16 dollars for approximately 16 noodles... read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

It wasn't my original plan on a Friday night to end up at Olive Garden, but my girlfriend and her friends were craving breadsticks and endless pasta. I also had never been, and that was just one more reason for them to put me in a car and take the night on with them. When we got there, it was pretty busy and loud. Although there was a 30 minute wait, they offered us a menu for drinks with deals which was a nice feature if you couldn't be seated for a while. After being seated, we were served with a large bowl of salad. The breadsticks arrived a little later, and after eating 7 that night I can confirm these breadsticks are AMAZING. For the endless pasta, I first ordered rigatoni with Alfredo and then rigatoni with a meat sauce with cheese on top and both tasted equally great! I strongly recommend trying both! Despite the wait, I was super glad Micheal and the girls decided to drive 30 minutes for some great food. If you are looking to get quality food for a night, endless pasta and the breadsticks are a great place to start here. read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Recently ate at this location. Typical Olive Garden. Busy and loud, with the waitstaff overburdened. I'm still a fan of the franchise, but my experience here was a bit frustrating. First, they only had seats at the bar available. I took the one open stool and there were dirty dishes in front of me for about 10 minutes before being cleared away. It took another 10 minutes or so to get waited on, but in their defense, they were extremely busy. Ended up eating well and having a drink too. My advice is to arrive early and be patient. read more

The service is great! Love the food and drinks, I think this is the best restaurant ever! I whould come again soon!

Typical high quality food and service rom what's expected at OG. Family loves going here for their Italian fix!! Servers are always polite and helpful! Kids had the 6oz sirloin with fettuccine noodles, other one had the shrimp carbonara. Wife did the fettuccine chicken Alfredo, I did the lasagna Classico. And of course the salad and breadsticks. read more

Terrible customer service, ordered single dinner with desert (over $40 with tip) for curb side pickup for 6:09 pm 7-30-22 confirmation number 114341378387. Waited 10 extra minutes outside for pickup then went inside to retrieve my order. The first young lady was very pleasant, But the other young lady with long dark hair in a ponytail was not so much, I do not care about names at this point but when I asked her about the missing Marinara and Fettuccini sauce for my Tour of Italy dinner she acted very rudely and returned with the requested sauces with someone else's order for pick up and basically tossed the sauces to me with one hitting the ground and without breaking stride to deliver the other order she replied we are busy. I understand that these people are busy and under pressure but 5 seconds more would have made a world of difference. read more

It's a chain restaurant yes -- but even at chain restaurants there are variations in quality of product and service, and this location is consistent. You know what you are getting when you walk into Olive Garden, and the staff here are going to make sure that you get what you are expecting! The people who work here genuinely care about the work they are doing. From the kitchen to the servers - you can see their intentions in everything brought to the table. I can't say the same about every Olive Garden I've been to, or even every Olive Garden in this area. If you want to have a great experience -- this Olive Garden is the one to visit. Great food - friendly staff - exceptional service from employees you can tell genuinely care about the work they do. I love coming to the Ankeny Olive Garden, and I never doubt that I'm going to have a great time! read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Spaghetti with Meat Sauce** - Italian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Hey there all my Yelp friends. I wanted to give my feedback on Ankeny's Olive Garden. I moved to Ankeny a few years ago and have ordered Olive Garden a few times through door dash. I had no complaints, however the food did not knock my socks off. Last week my wife and I dropped in for lunch, and there service was amazing. We were seated very quickly. Our waitress came right over and introduced herself, talked about the specials, and really wanted to engage with us. I had a dish not on the menu(penne pasta with pesto), but when I asked about it, she said sure we can make that for ya. My wife had tortellini with Alfredo sauce . The food came very quickly and we started right in. I'm really surprised how much better the food was being right in the restaurant vs home delivery. Good food, great service equals 5 stars in my book every day. We will return soon! Thanks for listening to my ramblings - Sepi read more

Pasta. They mostly have pasta dishes. I really like the soups here, especially the chicken gnocchi and the potato sausage kale soup. Both are very good. The breadsticks here are nothing compared to the garlic buttery ones at Fazoli's. I've had several pasta dishes here and all were about average. The stuffed Marsala chicken was really good. Their calamari is very good with a light crispy breading. Clean. Family friendly. Friendly staff. Lot parking. Prices are a bit up. CyHawkApproved. Marcy'sDinerTantrumScale 5/5- NoScreamingKids. read more

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We arrived Saturday for the 11 o'clock lunch hour. We were served a wilted off tasting salad that made us sick the rest of the weekend. I don't know if the salad sat out all night or it came from another table. Either way, we're done as customers and will not recommend this restaurant. read more

We got sat right away and had a very nice server! The food didn't take long and was so yummy! Always a fan of the chicken and gnocchi soup! Even though we arrived shortly after seven it was still relatively quiet with tables spread out which was nice for a date night out. read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Shrimp Scampi - Italian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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Went there for lunch. Order off the lunch menu, and neither where disappointed. Food was well prepared and hot. And the Service was outstanding! Will go back when in town. read more

Golly Gee. I had Gabriel as my server and he was more than a server! He's doubling as my financial advisor! Not only that, he took my wife on a vacation to Cancun for 3 months! What a good guy. She would be lucky to keep him. Also, the 5chz marinara is gas don't skip out on that. I miss everyone but James. Take care guys. read more

We had take out from the Olive Garden While I did not get to see the service they provide besides bringing my order out to my vehicle at the time that was promised. The food was good along with the salad and bread sticks. I would say the bread sticks were a bit tough but that me be the result of not getting them fresh. I would go back again as their food seems to be good every time we order from them read more

Olive garden I have not been to an Olive Garden in a long time. I usually stick to the little local restaurants than the chain. However we had a gift card to burn so we made our way into the busy Ankeny spot. With a full house we were luck and found there was a table for two open. We were quickly waited on and the waitress was funny and very sweet. I have no problem at all with the dining experience. The salad and breadsticks were good and we even tried an appetizer of the stuffed mushrooms. It was a little greasy but good. I had the Baked Tilapia with Shrimp: Delicate white fish and shrimp baked with a white wine sauce and served with parmesan-garlic broccoli. - Well I nix on the broccoli but the dish was still pretty good. I am glad that the waitress suggested it. The hubby got his own meal and was full after the salad and breakstick norm. I really give a thumbs up to our server, she was great. The place was really busy and I have no complaints. read more

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The soup was not hot,breadsticks were not fresh,very disappointing! The meatball Parmigiano appetizer was so so, not hot either!

We stopped in for a brief light lunch. Our waiter greeted us and offered us his only open table in the bar area rather than waiting for another table. We gladly accepted. Drinks were prompted and provided numerous refills without being asked! We both elected to go with endless soup, salad and breadsticks. Salad was very fresh, perfect amount of dressing! Waiter provided freshly grated cheese. I went with the minestrone soup. Broth was amazing. Soup had too many tomato chunks for my liking but I ate around them. The breadsticks were a little harder than what we prefer but everything else was amazing. read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Unlimited Soup, Salad & Breadsticks - Italian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

To start, our service was friendly, prompt, and accurate. There was no wait to be seated. Our food was delicious and our server made sure to give us more soup or beverage whenever we ran out. The ambiance was good, it was not super noisy, nothing seemed rushed but it was still fast. Overall would recommend! read more

We came 1/12/19 (writing this while we're still here) and our experience was GREAT! It's been awhile since we've had such a pleasant restaurant experience. Ankeny Olive Garden definitely set the bar high. Estimated wait time was 20-30min, we got sat in less then 10min. Our spicy shrimp scampi appetizer was amazing. Entrees amazing. We're so full, and we have plenty for left overs! Our server Dan was new and he seemed like a seasoned vet. Was definitely on top of things, very attentive and took great care of us! So happy we came! read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Lobster and shrimp Mac and cheese - Italian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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My previous visit to this Olive Garden wasn't very good. I'm glad I tried it again! This visit the waitress Naleesa was very nice very helpful . my fish was cooked perfect and the endless salad and breadsticks always good the my boyfriend that was with me enjoyed it immensely love the peach tea and the little dessert read more

Went here for lunch the other day. I don't expect the most authentic Italian here, however this is one of the few times I've been disappointed at Olive Garden. Ordered Cheese tortellini with chicken. While the plate was definitely hot when it hit the table, the tortellinis were still cool in the middle and the Alfredo sauce was gritty. I hate to assume, but I'm guessing this was thrown through the microwave and served. My server didn't seem concerned. read more

I usually love this place but after my experience with a hostess/worker tonight, I'm very upset. I walked in and asked how long of a wait would be, seeing they were busy and without saying anything back to me she just laughed at my question. It was so incredibly rude. I was very understanding and open to options, so I wasn't going to be upset if the wait was too long. But I left upset because of her response to my simple question. Other than this terrible experience, I love the food. I just wish the waiting staff were more professional. read more

It has been a long time since we have been in a Olive Garden. I had received a gift card to the Olive Garden and decided to go there last night to celebrate my birthday. We got there at 5 pm and the wait was already 45 minutes. I ordered the Taste of Italy and my wife ordered the 6oz sirloin. She had the sausage potato soup instead of the salad. Really good flavor and the right amount of everything in it. When it arrived the Taste of Italy was perfect. I really enjoyed the chicken parmigiana. Just the right amount of crisp and flavor. The sirloin was a different story. She had ordered medium well and what came closer to a medium rare. When there is that much blood she can't eat it. The waiter, Austin, was fantastic. He checked about getting a replacement and said it would take at least another 20 or more. They adjusted the bill instead and she ate the pasta. The chocolate layered desert was fabulous and really more than two people can share. If it had not been for the steak, I would have given 5 stars. read more

Great food great restaurant. Wait time was about 20mins at 7pm on a Thursday so not terrible. I ordered the salmon and it was delicious flaked right apart great flavor until the last bite ... the last bite had bones in it .. we made the staff aware and they were very apologetic (bones in the salmon are not the responsibility of the restaurant rather their providers) and the manager made sure to let us know he would be sure and let them know ... it was a very relaxing evening with my wife and a couple bones didn't ruin that!! read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Drinks! - Italian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Why? Just why does this restaurant exist? The service we received after waiting 25 minutes to be seated was absolutely horrid. Look, we know eating at an Olive Garden is going to be mediocre at best, but the service should at least be proficient. Bring us the drinks we order in a timely manner, NOT 15 minutes after we order them. Get our simple order correct. Why is a restaurant that only exists to serve pasta, serving over cooked spaghetti? FFS, your only job is to serve pasta. Get it right. We only try Olive Garden once every 5 years after we've had time to forget how horrible it is, and it always reminds us how horrible it is. Our bad for stupidly giving them another chance. read more

Came here with family on a Sunday afternoon, we had a party of 6 with 2 kids. Service was excellent! The waitress was very attentive and was quick to refill our drinks, breadsticks and salads. My girlfriend and I ordered the fried calamari and fried ravioli for appetizers, the calamari was good but the ravioli was a bit dry. For our main course we got the pasta that comes with the unlimited breadsticks and salad. The salad was amazing! It had olives, onions, tomatoes and banana peppers in it topped with croutons and freshly grated cheese. We got the rigatoni with spicy meat sauce with Italian sausage, and the rigatoni with sun dried tomatoes and bacon sauce with grilled chicken. Both had great flavor but after barely making a dent in our pastas, we were stuffed! The service here was great! Our waitress was nice and friendly but wasn't smothering us either. It was my first time here so I was very impressed that they bag your leftovers for you. She also gave our party about 20 mints at the end. Great service, good food, will return! read more

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I cannot even count how many Olive Gardens I've been to in my life, this one does not standout any different than a standard Olive Garden. Good food, friendly staff, great family atmosphere. A negative about not only this Olive Garden, but ALL the ones I've been to, THE WAIT DURING PEAK PERIODS ARE LONG! Now this is almost unavoidable and it reflects on the popularity and quality of this restaurant. Customers are mainly family and elderly people. Good relaxed atmosphere. No problems I experienced here, only been to this location once. read more

First off this Olive Garden has the best food and waitresses. But the HOSTESSES are always struggling. they continue to mess up our reservations and everything. We call ahead multiple times and they have told us that they don't have us down. WHAT? This Olive Garden needs to have better communication. Do Not Go Here. I HATE THE ANKENY OLIVE GARDEN. read more

This is a great place date night, however, it does get very packed and the time we went we were told it would be a 45 min wait, it was definitely over 45 mins by the time we got seated. The wait was terrible and I would not recommend going there during the weekend. The reason I'm giving this a 4 stars is because even though it took awhile to get seated the service we got was very good and the waitress was very nice despite the craziness going on! read more

took very long breadsticks took forever food was expensive and did not taste well overall 2 stars

OH MY! Wonderful! We ordered by phone to go instead of online because of a special order on one of the 4 meals we ordered. The person taking the order was accommodating and helpful! When I got there to pick up the order I was super impressed with the service I received from Bailey! She brought my 4 meals out in a shopping basket. She unfolded the paper sack and put a cardboard support in the bottom of it. Then she waited for me to get up to the counter, that pulled out from under the regular counter for use only when needed. This was cool but I was amazed when instead of just putting my order in the sack she showed me EVERYTHING! All the containers had see thru lids and I was able to see for myself that all the meals were correct, even the special order, which she pointed out for me. When I got home with the food my family and myself were impressed with the amount of food we received! The salads that come with the meal were ginormous! (See the pic I posted.) We ordered the seafood stuffed giant manicotti in Alfredo sauce, triple meat giant stuffed manicotti, lasagna and the special order was cheese stuffed giant shells in asiago garlic Alfredo sauce instead of in the meat sauce. (Tomatoes make me sick.) All of the entrees were huge and came with salad and bread sticks. All were extremely tasty! The asiago garlic Alfredo sauce is the best! None of us were able to finish our salads or entrees! The prices were good and we will most definitely order takeout from this Olive Garden again! read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - The To Go salad that comes with your meal! - Italian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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Usually just get soup and salad which is always good. Will occasionally get pasta which makes 2 meals. Staff is usually very friendly. Lunches are decent priced read more

So I went to Olive Garden to celebrate mine and my daughter's birthday. We were seated in a timely manner. After being sat at our table, it took 15 minutes for a server to come take our drink order. After taking our drink order he began to walk away, we said we were ready to order. He turned around and came back to get our food order. My mom's soup came out with her main dish, instead of with mine and my daughter's salad. When we were out of breadsticks he didn't offer to get us more. I asked when I placed our dessert order, for our desserts to be boxed up, because it took awhile after we were finished eating to get our check. He ended up bringing the dessert out on plates instead and then seemed upset when I asked for boxes, again. The whole time we were being waited on he seemed rushed. When we weren't being waited on, we had to wait several minutes before we could find someone to help us. read more

It was my husbands birthday and we were given royal treatment by Bridgette! She was very nice, attentive, got everything right and managed to box everything up for us quickly so we could still make our movie on time!! Very pleased with her and the food was good as usual! read more