Olive Garden Italian Restaurant

Yes - you know that this is family style, budget Italian, but I have come to rely on Olive Garden for a nice bit of food in a clean, non-snooty atmosphere, without some of the attitude these newer style Italian restaurants are giving out when you ask for some garlic bread. However, this restaurant is not clean. The toilet was filthy, and (as someone else mentioned), there is a nasty pong throughout the whole place. Staff was friendly and service was quick. Sauce on the spaghetti & meat sauce could've been better, but the salad was great and bread warm. The smell is like when you visit a friend who never opens their windows and owns 4 or 5 dogs, letting them lie on the sofa. Perhaps it is the 'nooks & crannies' layout where there may not be enough air flow, but it smells like their cheese has gone off. The floors are sticky, too. This restaurant needs a good scrub.

Standard Italian fair. Quality and consistency are fine for a large chain. If you want something novel or exciting, try someplace else. Service is very good.

Had a nice romantic evening. Food sure seems to have gotten a bit pricey. The manager was wonderful.

I am giving it a 3 1/2 half. I have been to many Olive Gardens around the country. This is the third one in Austin. I like the other two much much better. The meals we had were good. But the food just wasn't where it needed to be.

Service was good. Wait staff friendly

We arrived before 5 PM, not busy at all.

The parts that bothered me. Dinners were just OK. I expect better from them. I felt the dining areas have not been properly cleaned for a while. I could smell BO and we were not close to anyone. I can only assume the seats need a good cleaning. Table was sticky as well as the menus.

Will I return if I am on the south side? Most likely.

Like I said, I expected better.

I went during the busiest time of day, dinner rush. Was told that the wait to be seated was about an hour. However, we were able to get in much sooner than that and while our server was super busy and working his butt off the whole time, he was still attentive and definitely didn't make us feel like we were a burden, even when my companion sent back their food. What I had was delicious and I hope they make it part of the permanent menu, because I would eat out much more often if it was a choice all the time. Parking isn't the greatest, it's an older lot so the spaces are really small. But otherwise, zero complaints.