Olive Garden is always a dependable spot when you're in the mood for classic Italian-style comfort food. The pasta dishes are filling and flavorful, and the menu has a good variety so it's easy to find something you're in the mood for. The atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming, which makes it a good place for dinner with friends or family. Service has always been friendly whenever I've visited, and the unlimited breadsticks and salad are always a nice bonus. Overall it's a solid restaurant in Riverside for a casual Italian meal. read more

After not visiting Olive Garden for a couple of years, my family and I decided to stop in for a simple Friday dinner together. What we experienced turned into something far more memorable and it was entirely because of our server, Alexis. I've spent over 20 years in the food service industry, starting at the bottom and working my way up, and I can confidently say that the level of hospitality Alexis delivered is something I haven't seen in a very long time. From the moment we sat down, she was warm, professional, and incredibly knowledgeable about the menu. She didn't just take our order she guided the experience. She suggested new drinks and introduced us to items from the updated menu, including the Calabrian Steak & Shrimp Bucatini, which ended up being phenomenal and is now a new favorite of mine. Her timing, attentiveness, and awareness were impeccable. Water glasses never sat empty, she checked in consistently without ever interrupting the flow of the meal, and she made sure each member of my family including the kids felt taken care of. This is the kind of service people hope for when they go out to eat. The kind that makes you feel welcomed, comfortable, and genuinely appreciated as a guest. Dining out isn't just about food it's about the experience, the hospitality, and the feeling that you're being taken care of. Alexis delivered that at a five-star level. Frankly, someone with her level of professionalism, awareness, and hospitality shouldn't just be serving tables she should be training others or in a leadership role. She represents the standard that every restaurant strives for. Because of Alexis, my family and I will absolutely be returning to Olive Garden. Outstanding service. Outstanding experience. And a great reminder of what true hospitality looks like! read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Calabrian steak and shrimp Bucatini - Italian Near Me - Riverside, California

I really hate writing negative reviews, but unfortunately this location has really gone downhill. This used to be one of our favorite locations and would go every time we were in town, but our most recent visit was extremely disappointing. The service was slow and inattentive, and it took far too long just to get basic things like drinks and refills. The breadsticks used to be fresh and one of the highlights of the meal, but the ones we were served were completely inedible -- dry, tough, and tasted stale. What really made the experience worse was I found a couple long hairs in my pasta, and the way the situation was handled was completely out of line. When I politely mentioned the issue to the manager Doreen, I was brushed off and treated rudely rather than having the concern taken seriously. That level of customer service is really disappointing. Overall, the quality of both the food and service has gone downhill. I really hope upper management takes a closer look at what's happening here because right now it's not a place I would recommend. read more

We dined here on May 7th at 7pm. We were sat right inside to the left 2nd or3rd booth in against the server station. Our server was a girl. Not much attention to service standards that's for sure. We were given no appetizer plates for the bread. Our drinks were dropped without straws. We were given to go boxes and there was no pre-bussing of our table. Service was sub par at best. I did notice another server across the way: young kid blonde. I could hear him speaking to his tables and he was very attentive to his tables vs our server. Seems some servers (including ours) could use some service training with steps of service and standards to keep repeat clientele. read more

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Our server, Danny, was exceptional as he explained the menu, constantly provided us with refills, and even packed our leftovers to go which we have never had at Olive Garden. The breadsticks were warm and buttery, the salad was packed with fresh vegetables, and both pastas were great! This location is very clean and has excellent customer service. Will definitely be back! Came here Sunday evening and the restaurant was packed but we were seated within 5 minutes. Plenty of parking as this location is located within a huge shopping plaza with stores like Burlington and Homegoods, directly across the street from Tyler Mall. read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Spicy Bucatini Pasta, Braised Beef Tortellini Pasta, Never Ending Soup, Salad & Breadsticks - Italian Near Me - Riverside, California

I haven't been to this Olive Garden in yearsssss. I used to love this location. It seems to have gone downhill though. Our service was terrible. It was very crowded; I will give them that grace at least. Still, I expected more. Service was very slow, and our waitress took forever to comeback. I ordered chicken tortellini with shrimp instead of chicken. My friends ordered the never-ending pasta bowl. My friends were on their 4th bowl of never-ending pasta bowl, when they finally brought out my shrimp tortellini. Why did it take so long? My friend's had eaten 4 bowls of pasta before my tortellini was brought out. Horrible. Then they brought out my shrimp tortellini with chicken. When I said no chicken and asked for shrimp instead. Unacceptable. Took 10 years to make my pasta, and then you make it wrong. The waitress took it back to be fixed, so I waited even longer to get my food. My friends finished their never-ending pasta bowl experience, before I even had my food. The waitress did remove the charge for the tortellini. Thank you. The least you could do really. I sat there watching everyone eat. My friends were ready to leave by the time I got my food remade. No joke. Not even exaggerating on that. My friend Manuel and Danny were ready to leave. They had finished their never-ending pasta bowl and had been sitting, waiting for me to get my food. My friends said their pasta bowls were fine. Same with my husband. They just had to wait a long time for the waitress to come back each time. Waited for refills on our drinks and for cheese for the topping on each pasta bowl. Waited a long time for more breadsticks and for alfredo boat refills. It was just not good on the service. We waited and waited on every little thing. I could tell the waitress was overwhelmed. I think she had too many tables or something. It was Saturday night, busy, with lots of people doing the never-ending pasta bowl. Ambiance was loud because of all the people there. Really disappointed in this experience overall. I normally love the Olive Garden. This was just a bad experience. read more

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The waitress was very kind and sweet. Just the manager had told us that we needed to pay for a plate that couldn't be returned. Since it was already made, they packed it up for us, but yet they never brought it to us. I will not be coming back here no more. read more

Honestly our food was great, but you know what was better? Our server! Danny was honestly the best part of the night!! He made our night 100% better. Thanks so much Danny! Maybe we will run into each other at the farmhouse collective read more

I haven't been to OG in years but it was the only place open later on christmas eve. There was a rude customer thinking she had priority over everyone that came in before her because her party members were "doctors" Sorry I have my doctorates degree too but that's no way to treat the employees, especially during the holidays. Food was great, but Elia our waitress made our night so special! she had wonderful service and was always smiling even when it was super busy. I would come here again for sure. read more

When I crave zuppa Toscana, I run to Olive Garden I love having the soup with the salad and the breadsticks. It's a classic lunch or dinner that reminds me of going there with my family. The service is always good and the ambience is also good I'm so glad that we have an Olive Garden nearby read more

Just like clockwork, you can always count on what to expect @ Olive Garden: Yummy Soul Food Consistent Flavors Impeccable Service Endless Bowl of Fresh, Crisp, Icy Cold Salad Endless Basket of Soft Garlic Bread Sticks Warm, Upbeat Atmosphere Freshly Grated Parmesan Offered on Everything Not Enough Restaurants Locations Avoid Lengthy Wait: Visit Between Lunch & Dinner My Favorite: Endless Soup, Salad & Bread Try Out All the Soups PrePacked, Discounted Entrees Avail Togo read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Olive Garden's Choice of Soups. - Italian Near Me - Riverside, California

If i could do zero stars i would. We found a piece of plastic in our pasta and the manager gave no type of compassion nor acted like she cared. Hopefully someone at this restaurant knows what they're doing because this service was ridiculous. Server also gave us the bill immediately before we had even ate our food. Noticed she did not do this to other tables. Will never come back here again and do NOT recommend read more

Had a great experience at Olive Garden! They told us it'd be about a 30-minute wait, but we got seated in like 5 minutes nice surprise. Our server was super friendly and checked on us often, which I really appreciated. The food came out hot and fresh. I tried the Unlimited Pasta and it was really good perfectly cooked and full of flavor. Plus, you can't go wrong with those breadsticks! Overall, a solid visit. Good food, great service, and I'd definitely come back again. read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Riverside, California

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I rarely change my reviews....especially to a higher number but this place deserved a change due to our recent experience. The place overall did a complete turn around from my last visit. From us sitting so quickly with the nice hostess, who offered my kids children's menus to color on and crayons. To the exceptional service from VIRGINIA our waitress who went above and beyond with my family and our annoying requests. Additionally the food tasted wayyyy better!! The soup was piping hot the way we all like it, and full of flavor, that chicken dumpling soup alone we had 3 bowls!! Ugh so good. And the bread was also brought back fresh and always refilled timely. Our go to will always be the chicken Alfredo, for the extra money I get it fried aka chicken frittada. So much food for $23 bucks!!! Unlimited soup and breadsticks is just the kicker. The place was clean too and didn't smell like overused mop. It was just a way different vibe than last time. Even on a busy Saturday we had a great time and will come again!! read more

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As I write this, I've been on hold for 7 min. When we ordered the eta was 7p (ordered at 5:50p). Longer than door dash, but I thought I'd take a chance at it. What a mistake. Now I get a text it will be 7:55p before my order arrives although it was picked up at 645p by Uber. Not looking forward to my cold food. Uber is "making multiple deliveries". So glad I paid over $100 for cold food. Get with Door Dash. Last time. read more

I recently came here with two friends to enjoy the return of the 'unlimited pastas' promo and was pleasantly surprised with both the service and food. A year prior, I was greatly disappointed with our service as it felt slow and our server rarely came by to carter to us despite the dinner rush having slowed down. This year though, our server Logan was very attentive and always ensured our table had everything we needed. The food and drink service was quick and everything came out as hot as possible. For my unlimited pasta dish, I chose the fettuccini alfredo (15.99) with meatballs (+4.99) and chicken gnocchi soup side. The pasta sauce was notably creamy, which freshly prepared noodles and serval large meatballs. The portion for my first serving was just right, with the subsequent plates being appropriate for if you wanted to take your last plate home with you. The chicken gnocchi soup was creamy and perfectly balance the cheese added in. I did enjoy the small portion of veggies added into the soup, especially when paired with the soft, chewy gnocchi. I also ordered a recommended cocktail from Logan which was the Blue Capri Cocktail (8.50). It was a tropical drink, balanced with ice and citric juices. It is a perfect drink if you want something that does not taste of strong alcohol and balances well with unlimited pastas. We also shared an appetizer of mozzarella sticks (10.29) which came out hot out and easily pulled apart. The marinara sauce was a perfect balance of sweetness to add to the melted cheese within the sticks. As for our overall service, Logan was a wonderful and humorous server. He was always friendly with us, helping ensure our order was correct and came out quickly within 17 minutes. He was quick to check-in with us about the meal and always kept a smile on his face. I do have to give him props for quickly correcting an error on our bill by correcting it immediately. All in all, the service, quality and atmosphere is a perfect 8/10, with the biggest draw back being the long wait times for seating, but this can easily be bypassed if you join the waitlist online so that by the time you show up you can quickly be seated. read more

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Today, 1:30 brought breadsticks, no bread plates.. brought salad, no salad plates??? Said they would bring some.. didnt happen.. never asked if we'd like more salad never asked for drink refill, and worst of all the Zuppa Tuscans was mainly just broth tried a second bowl it was the same.. paid our bill and left disappointed.. Guess I should have asked for a manager read more

Amazeing service our waittres Sarah Was very kind the restaurant gives good vibes and feelings and don't get me started on the food it was amazing good ambiance and food but all around my experience was amazing Sarah genuinely needs a raise she helps every time we visit this place read more

Our sever, Donna, was excellent! She made great recommendations and was attentive throughout the meal service. She was exceptional in every way! The food was also very good. Loved the music playlist. Terrific night out. Thank you, Donna! read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Birthday Girl Marbry - Italian Near Me - Riverside, California

Not bad pasta here! Would come again if I'm craving something quick and tasty. The service was nice. I would say pretty decent

I went in for a pickup yesterday and was honestly really excited to try this pasta. Unfortunately that excitement disappeared the moment I opened it. It looked nothing like what's shown on the website. There was barely any sauce to the point where you could mostly see the plain color of the noodles. The flavor matched the appearance too it just tasted like generic pasta with a very light coating of sauce. Definitely not what I expected. read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Very disappointing - Italian Near Me - Riverside, California

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Today we ordered on their website soup, salad, & breadsticks as well as an additional salad to be delivered. The delivery price was steep at $7.99 and was delivered by Uber on-time. Unfortunately, one of the salads was missing. It was $9.99 + tax and possibly other fees. I called the restaurant and a young lady said she'd need to get her manager and put me on hold. 11 minutes later the manager had refunded the costs and I was able to eat my now luke warm soup. Yes there was an issue but people mess up sometimes, what mattered was that they made it right, even offering a gift card for our trouble. I still love this location for the food and the staff. read more

The Olive Garden in Riverside is always a solid choice for a comforting meal. The chicken parmesan was perfectly crispy and flavorful, and the service was attentive and friendly from start to finish. read more

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Found hair in my food, i ordered the carbonara raviole. Ruined my appetite couldn't finish the rest of it. read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Hair on food - Italian Near Me - Riverside, California

Service was great! Food was great at the moment, Definitely will not be eating here again food poisoning for both partner and myself. Ruined weekend bad chicken or something We only had chicken Alfredo ‍. read more

I have never been this frustrated with my service at Olive Garden before. Amazing but my server must've just been brand new or learning, but struggled the entire service. Repeat order back to me yet. Still brings it out wrong states they're gonna bring out the correct item but then 20 minutes later it's still not there. States they're gonna give you a refill of something but then forgets multiple times. Something as easy as getting you to go box took three times asking and almost 20 minutes. Would've left if it wasn't for my daughter. Also keep in mind it was only 4:15 PM when we got there so they were not busy. Will not be returning to this location. read more

Taking another chance on this place because those commercials really get us craving this food. I couldn't believe that a similar thing happened to us where our names were lost in the system though the hostess sat us after we made them aware that we were called and told to wait and now 3 parties were seated after us. There is something seriously wrong with the system here. I can't fault the employees because everyone here is hustling! They're trying so hard but even the most patient of patrons will get pretty cranky if an hour goes by without food. Unfortunately it wasn't just our table either, it was our surrounding tables. I just think they need a system makeover. Something is off and whatever system they have in place the few times we have been here is not exactly working. The bar seems to be the one place that didn't have as many issues. Again, everyone was working so hard here but I think there needs to be some work on firing tickets. My husband said no more visits here. And I told him change the channel whenever their commercials come on so we don't get tempted to come back. read more

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Have you heard of Comet or Ajax ? This is the view from the bar. The food and service were great. But watching the servers go in and out from the door with food trays worried me. read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - View while sitting at the bar. If the door is that dirty, I can only imagine the kitchen. - Italian Near Me - Riverside, California

Went here the other day and I was surprised how pricey everything has become. $21 for a chicken fettuccine. Now that's outrageous. The service is great and the ambience of the restaurant is clean and well lit. I probably won't be coming back to O.G. For a while given how much of a price increase they have made on their food. read more

Honestly our sever Amanda was the best she took care of everything she's so beautiful to making fall in love w her beautiful eyes anyway food was great service was excellent even tho my sister was being a lil loud and rude I'm sorry lol but 10/10 Amanda if you see this hmu @filbreezy_ read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Riverside, California

We'll start with the service! Christian was our server! He was excellent! Just attentive enough but not over attentive! The ambiance was nice and quiet, meaning you can or could carry on a conversation. That was because we arrived right after they opened! However, as the noon time crowd arrived with a load of younger folk in the mix, the ambiance disappeared! I've been a consumer of the dinner hour, occasionally, in the past but there was just a "din" of a lot of folks talking, so it wasn't too bad! Just a note: the traffic went from bad to worse from the time we arrived to the time we left. I would NOT recommend having a drink during lunch or dinner because you have to have your wits about, you're driving on the surrounding surface streets and the 91 Freeway as it directly adjacent to the TYLER Mall!! Enough said? The food! Where do I start? The "all you can eat salad" arrived with the wonderful bread sticks! There could've been a bit more salad dressing on the salad. It's a very good version of Italian dressing! We both had the Seafood plate. The selection had plenty of scrimp, some clams (I think) and lots of pasta! My Buddy had the routine Alfredo version, which he enjoyed! I substituted the "so-called Marinara red sauce" for alfredo sauce! Nothing has changed in this department! The red sauce had very little actual taste other than the half gallon tin can have stewed tomato, taste! The serving was very good but not plentiful enough to be called generous. The price was about average for a similar dinner, elsewhere, ($24.99)! As a suggestion only: Have a small shaker available with Garlic, minced onion, Marjoram, thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano and basil, and if you like it "zippy" add some red pepper flakes thrown in to the mixture. There are several Italian spices available. Everything except the garlic, onion and pepper flakes come in McCormack's (brand) or version of "Italian Seasoning". Adding these ingredients doesn't substitute for cooking the sauce with this stuff in it but it'll due in pinch as a suitable substitute, in my opinion! I too a "to go" box plus the $6.50 second helping, which is an excellent value but I'll doctor it up before I reheat it! LOL 1. Will we return? Only for the lunchtime soup and salad! Diner beware! 2. When you walk in the front door of a "Real" Italian Restaurant, what's the first thing that you epect to notice? The smell of garlic! There wasn't any such "ambiance", here! 3. Volume doesn't make up for Quality, or the lack, thereof! read more

I give my experience today a 5-star mostly because of the service we got from Heather! She went above and beyond to make sure we got everything we needed and our food was made exactly the way we preferred. She was very attentive and continuously checked in on us to make sure we had everything we needed (refills, breadsticks, cheese, etc.). The food was good as well. I ordered the Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo and my friend had the Chicken Alfredo and we really enjoyed both. The steak was cooked exactly the way I asked and it added such great flavor to the Alfredo pasta. I would be happy if I ever came back and got Heather as my server again. Thank you Heather and thank you Olive Garden! read more

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo - Italian Near Me - Riverside, California

The pasta e fagoli soup was perfect! I could live on it. Simple but perfect! Service is also exceptional. This is a well-run restaurant.

Rude waitress. It was my sister birthday we wanted to celebrate there. Food was never came

I've been to this location several times and we'll keep coming back. The waiter Kimani has been attentive and friendly. The manager, Emilie is always so kind and positive. If you see her, you'll know. She's always smiling and interacting with guests and staff. I have over heard her praising her staff for a job well done and been told what a great manager she is. What I've observed is the whole team working well together with everyone staying on top of everything and speaking highly of one another. read more

Had soup and salad bread sticks for the dinner and ice tea . My friend had the same but she took awhile to decide what she wanted ! Our waiter seemed put off by this giving us the glare . Food came and all was good but the waiter seemed like he was in a hurry ! He put the plates down but with it came a very heavy handed noise almost as if he slammed them ! It wasn't just one plate it was all of them ! I felt this was very rude but let it go . The soup tasty salad fresh and bread sticks warm ! But this is the first time I've been to Olive Garden for all you can eat soup salad refills on ice tea where he never offered to refill any of the food or drinks ! I had to ask twice for a refill . Very disappointed in service will be awhile before I go back ! Of course his service or lack of was reflected in the tip read more

We came to celebrate our husband's birthday on a Friday night. We got there at 5:30 pm before it got too crowded. The restaurant was nice and cozy when we got there since it was still early. We got seated right away and our waitress came to greet us in minutes! She was friendly and attentive. Although she messed up on my order and forgot some things, she did apologize and tried to make it right. I appreciate her for trying to fix the problem and she did keep checking in on us. The restaurant was getting packed and all the tables were filled up in our area. We got filled up with appetizers and salad and bread sticks. When we got our food, I was too full to eat it. The food was very good and we enjoyed it. I had to take mine home since I could barely eat it. They surprised my husband with singing happy birthday when they brought out his dessert of his choice. He enjoyed that dessert. We love this place! read more

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I haven't been to Olive Garden in suuuuch a long time but decided for nostalgia's sake to come back for unlimited breadsticks, soup, and salad. On the weekdays it's only 9.99 which is a great deal! A lot of people have a lot of negative things to say about Olive Garden. While I don't remember being particularly impressed with the entrees, the breadsticks, soup, and salad definitely stuck out so this special was perfect. These items must be prepared in bulk so I was honestly quite surprised by how long it took for everything to come out. Even just waiting for a salad took an unnecessarily long amount of time. The first round of breadsticks, we were given 2/person. However when we asked for another round of breadsticks we were only given 1/person. The breadsticks were also not as warm as I would've expected them so I'm really not sure what the wait was for. The Zuppa Toscana was about as good as I remembered it, although the amount of potatoes in my soup seemed a little excessive. Overall, it was fun to walk down memory lane and I was glad I got to take advantage of the weekday deal but otherwise probably would not have come. read more

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The food was good as always with the breadsticks and salad bowl. Atmosphere was open and friendly. Our server - Claudia was just great. read more

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Thank you, Olive Garden for allowing us to be served by Ana. She was a wonderful waitress. She was carrying and attentive to our needs. As busy and the restaurant was, she surprised us with her quality and professionalism. Thanks Again. read more