This 2-star review is no reflection of our amazing server, Angel. She was kind, attentive, professional, and apologetic about the event that ensued. The event: We entered the building and were immediately greeted by two hostesses and one male server who was walking by. He caught eye of my shirt and immediately complimented it in his passing. The hostesses heard this conversation and as we were passing by, they seemed to believe that we were out of earshot (or didn't care) and were chuckling to each other. During their not-so-private conversation, one said, "That shirt is ugly." My sister heard and informed me. Not only is this unprofessional, but an interesting take because the shirt was a picture of my deceased dog. I'm saddened by the lack of professionalism by the two hostesses and hope they can learn to be more compassionate in an industry that requires them to be personable. read more

This review is for a late lunch for two on a Friday in mid-February. service: Waitstaff is professional and prompt. In addition, there's a tabletop kiosk where you can do your own ordering or ask your server to stop by your table. food: My wife had the Chicken Parmigiana but subbed in meat sauce for the marinara ($12.49 for lunch portion as of Feb 2026). She declared it to be just as she remembers it! I had Fettuccine Alfredo ($11.49 for lunch portion). It was just fine. My wife started with their signature house salad. I had Chicken and Gnocchi soup. details: The place was plenty busy at 2pm on a Friday! Recommend taking advantage of their online wait list to sign up for seating. This place is popular and you'll be waiting during busy times. It's a solid corporate dining experience and delivers a very consistent experience. Some seating at the bar and in the bar area but no outdoor seating that we saw. Plenty of parking right outside. Note the entrance is not on Iowa, turn on 21st Street and come around back. read more

See all

Lawrence has been expecting an Olive Garden Italian Restaurant for a few year. It has finally arrived with the assistance of the new KU Crossing Development. As with all Olive Garden restaurants, it serves home style Italian-American food. You won't find whole grain pasta or other upscale preparations here or what you would usually find in restaurants in Italy, but Olive Garden has never sought to be upscale, and the modest prices do not reflect the prices at upscale authentic Italian restaurants. Although the restaurant appears to be on Iowa Street, there is no driveway from Iowa into the parking lot. The entrance to the large parking lot is from behind the restaurant on Stewart Ave. We were there on the restaurant's opening day. We arrived for an early dinner at 4 pm and had our choice of most of the restaurant's tables. We chose a booth at a window. We were very happy with that seating. Also the service was admirably excellent for opening day. Our server was Aaron. We might request him in the future, although it was our impression that all of the service throughout the restaurant was first rate. By the time we left, at 5:30 pm, all of the tables were taken, and there was a line at the entrance waiting for seating. Perhaps that crowd might have been a reflection of the fact that it was a new restaurant on opening day. The menu clearly identifies vegetarian dishes and provides the calories of each choice. If you want to avoid high calories and to select healthy pescatarian dishes, you could choose from among the Dipping Sauces/Breadsticks, Four-Cheese Manicotti, Spaghetti with Marinara, Shrimp Scampi, Cheese Ravioli, Herb-Grilled Salmon, and House Salad. There is a fixed price for the Dipping Sauces/Breadsticks with as many breadsticks as you want and as much of the three dipping sauces as you want, including the tomato marinara, the five cheese marinara, and/or the Alfredo sauce. But since the entrees include soup or salad, you might want to bypass the breadsticks. The Minestrone soup is vegetarian and very hearty with lots of vegetables included. The spice level in the Minestrone soup and in all of the sauces is mild, so rather bland. But adding crushed red pepper and Tobasco sauce fixed that. They also have a black pepper mill on each table. We were impressed that the server offered to add freshly shredded Romano cheese to each dish we ordered. As entrees, we got the Salmon and the Shrimp Scampi. The Shrimp Scamp was very good, after red pepper and Tobasco were added. The salmon was without sauce but with some herbs added and came with plain broccoli. Adding one of the dipping sauces would have helped. But we found a small bone in the salmon, which we showed to the server. Since it was the restaurant's opening day, some problems can be expected. We hope the kitchen will be more careful about bones in the salmon in the future. But we probably won't get the salmon again anyway, since the Shrimp Scampi was so much better. In the future, we probably will always order entrees that include a pasta. Although they offer some wines and beers, they rather oddly do not offer a non-alcoholic beer, perhaps reflecting the old time Italian-American nature of the menu. A whole grain pasta cooked al dente and an NA beer would be welcome additions to the menu. Nevertheless, judged relative to the modest prices, large menu, and excellent service, this restaurant is a very welcome addition to the Lawrence restaurant scene. read more

DO NOT EAT HERE UNLESS YOU WANT TO EAT CATERPILLARS IN YOUR SALAD. My friend made a large takeout order, and after eating almost everything, she found a caterpillar in her salad. This is unacceptable. She immediately threw up. The management sounded insincere about their apology and only refunded her for one meal (it was a $100 order). So disappointed. read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Lawrence, Kansas

I treated my cousin to this new location because it was her first time to any Olive Garden. The noodles from the pastas my cousin and I ordered were mushy and unappetizing compared to normal. This was a big disappointment. The salad is crisp, though. Overall value felt lacking due to the quality of the spaghetti in the pastas. Being a new location, staff wasn't as attentive as expected, and I didn't get the chance to notify a manager, though in terms of cordiality Kailyn warmly greeted us initially. read more

Great breadsticks. They were fresh. Waitress was super nice staff. The place was clean. I will definitley come back here!

We went to their pre-opening and were happy with our dining experience. The wait staff was attentive and well-trained.