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Olive Garden Italian Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Italian Italian
333 36 St NECalgary, AB T2A 7R4
(403) 248-1020
Announcement
Explore three new tastes on one plate with the new Taste of Tuscany. Choose chicken or sausage plus two extras, starting at $10.95.
Announced one week ago- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 11 am - 10 pm
Fri-Sat 11 am - 11 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
About This Business:
Our Melinzano Salata, Tiramisu, secret recipe for our Pizza Sauce, bread, and pizza dough among other things are made fresh in house. Come see what you… read more »
18 reviews for Olive Garden Italian Restaurant
18 reviews in English
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Review from Violet P.
3/16/2012
I have not been to Olive Garden in years and with the news of issues with the one in West Edmonton, I would not eat there. But I was in Calgary on business and it was close to the training location, and my colleagues recommended we go there. We arrived before noon which I suggest if you want a table as it seemed busy in there. We were seated in a semi private area as we had a table for 8. The server came to take our drink order promptly. Some of us order a pasta dish and other enjoyed the salad, breadsticks, and soup meal.
I ordered the spaghetti and meat sauce for a reasonable price of $13.25. The server brought out 2 large bowls of salad and 2 baskets of breadsticks. The salad was ok, but it was made with iceberg lettuce which is inexpensive and doesn't have much nutrient. I remember they have yummy breadsticks and they didn't disappoint. Our dishes came out about 15 minutes after and I enjoyed my spaghetti. It was cooked to the consistency which I liked; not under or overcooked. The sauce was delicious and had lots of meat.
I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed my meal as much as I did. The price was decent, and atmosphere nice. Likely I won't be eating at Olive Garden in Edmonton but if I am in Calgary, I would return. -
Review from Jen G.
Calgary, AB
4/1/2012
Everyone knows The Olive Garden is notorious for the unlimited salad and bread, and this is why I went.
It was very loud, and the layout of the restuarant isn't great because we were on a main route for all people to walk to their tables and to the kitchen.
We ordered white wine, and there was no ice bucket for our wine to rest in. So by the time we were ready to pour our last glass, the wine was warm.
Our waitress started off very strong (great service, friendly) but then got forgetful and pushy trying to hurry us up (came and asked if we wanted dessert, said we wanted to finish our wine first and then she brought the bill and mentioned she was being "forced" to go home).
The chicken's texture and taste were like tofu. If it was real chicken I question as to where the restaurant gets their food.
Disappointing all around. We ended up going elsewhere for dessert and more drinks where we liked the atmosphere and the service and food was appropriate.
Will not go back here again. -
Review from Marc K.
Updated - 2/23/2012 1 Check-in Here
We tried it again...
I have no understanding why getting in is such a mess every time. We got one of their remote beepers with an expected wait time of only 15min. We waited outside the restaurant and when the beeper came up it took us less than 2 minutes to show up just to get told that our table was gone already.
We were not amused as you do not need beepers if you have to stay in shouting distance of the ladies at the front-desk.
When we finally got a table and wanted to sit down my company jumped up from her chair completely soaked. Someone obviously dropped a glass and the water as well as the broken glass was not cleaned up.
The server cleaned up the mess and exchanged the chair. During our meal our server dropped a glass again while serving a refill and my company was almost spilled a second time.
Highly unprofessional front-desk service, highly unprofessional server and poor management as there was no real excuse at all for the soaking or spilling. Did the manager show up? What do you think?
Another chance - another fail.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/21/2011
We have been here twice and never made it here again. Why?
Do not understand me wrong. We always had… Read more »
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Review from Kara R.
Calgary, AB
3/27/2012
Recently my husband and decided to go to the olive garden for lunch. Nether of us had eaten at this restaurant for a few years. We were both familiar with the long wait times in the past. However this time we were seated promptly. The restaurant decor is warm and inviting except for the uncomfortable patio furniture in the lobby. The service and food quality was lacking, with slow service and food that had been sitting under the heat lamp for a while. Both my husband and I have worked in the restaurant industry for years. I would not say that we are picky, but we do appreciate decent service and a good meal. This was not the case at the Olive Garden.
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Review from Anastasija J.
Calgary, AB
1/20/2012
I love " Chicken Ramanta", but will be end in this week.
Superb ambience
Outstanding food
Always top quality
Always the best of service
If you like Italian pasta, don't miss this gem. The garlic prawns pasta are to die for... Never let down. Best to make reservation -
Review from Tiffany N.
Calgary, AB
8/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
Went here with my family to stuff our fa---- er, that is, celebrate my Texan Grandma's 80th birthday. There was a short 20 minute wait in order to seat our group of 10. Service was excellent and even though the food wasn't blow-your-mind-amazeballs, it was homey, comfort food that everyone enjoyed eating. And! They had a couple of vegan options for me :). Which is more than I can say for that other pseudo-Italian chain that's inexplicably named after a US State (which isn't even known for their pizza?). Price was reasonable too. Appetizers, main course, drinks and desserts for 10 people, with the gratuity tacked on (I guess they do it for groups larger than 8, which is pretty standard for most places in the city) came out to roughly $35 per person.
I went home fat, sassy, glad to be driving a roomy SUV and ready to tuck in for a long afternoon pasta coma. -
Review from Thomas M.
1/25/2012
what can I say - their food is horrible. OG is the McDonald's of "italian" food. Save your money and buy a jar of No Name spaghetti sauce.
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Review from Justin B.
12/14/2011 1 Check-in Here
I honestly started going to the Olive Garden because of the television show 'Clone High'. We always have a good time eating the amazing unlimited Soup, Salad and Bread sticks, so good. And the staff is always friendly, have a good time.
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Review from Koz T.
Calgary, AB
2/13/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Food Quality: 5/5
Parking: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Kitchen Speed: 4/5
Wait Time: 1/5
The food is great at Olive Garden. All you can eat salad, and fantastic pasta dishes. Try the Seafood Portofino! The down side of Olive Garden in Calgary is that there is only 1 location and they don't take reservations. That means that unless you go really early, or really late, you'll be waiting in the lobby like a knob for an hour or more.
Once you get in, the service staff are quick to take your order and on a good night, the kitchen has your order done quickly and correctly. On a bad night, it may take half an hour or more to get your dishes out to your table. You'll love them when you do get them though.
For the entrepreneurs out there, think about putting a burger stand in the parking lot, the people waiting will make you a millionaire! Seriously Olive Garden, just open another location in the south! -
Review from Helene R.
Calgary, AB
11/18/2010
This place seriously bothers the hell out of me. Why? Well, the 1 hour+ wait times during dinner, is absolute BS. Unless you are say 60 and prefer dining at 4:00pm- go somewhere else.
I mean come on, the owner of this place is absolutely brilliant in that he only has one, just one restaurant in all of Calgary, all one million of us have to wait like cattle (fitting isn't it?) to get into this place, SERIOUSLY? I prefer spending that time waxing my legs to be quite honest.
Then when you do finally manage to get in, you still have to wait a while to get your order taken, drinks take even longer to arrive. Then to keep you from complaining about the mediocre food, they cram all the free salad and bread sticks down your throat so you end up taking your main home for left overs... I AM SORRY, WHY WOULD I PAY $20 FOR AN ENTRÉE IF I HAVE TO EAT IT THE NEXT DAY!!!!!
For the love of god, please open another restaurant, you might be surprised that it also would be successful, if people from the far south are willing to drive their asses to the far north to "dine" in this establishment, don't you think it is worth the investment? Just a thought.
PS drive around to the back one day after the dinner rush, you will notice that the majority of the kitchen staff are teenagers hanging out for a dope break. Nice work kids, nice.
I won't be coming back anytime soon. Invest in some real staff that probably won't spit in my food if I send it back. -
Review from Ernest B.
Calgary, AB
2/25/2011 1 Check-in Here
I've been here for business and company lunches before and it was very decent (this was a few years ago). The soup and salad lunch special was actually REALLY good and fulfilling.
Recently though, we've been aiming to go here for dinner... but it's ALWAYS packed and the wait times are super long (45 - 90 minutes at times). Finally, we managed to make it there at a good time and actually got a table within 10 minutes.
A place like Olive Garden should have good pasta right? ... wrong. The chicken was (I imagine) cooked from frozen and chewy and gristly... which is really un-appetizing when diving into a tetrazzini or penne with sauce. After a few of these terrible chicken pieces, we decided to call it quits and left, our plates still half full.
Service, on the other hand, was great. People were friendly and helpful and if the food (vastly) improved, we would certainly give it one more shot... but not for another couple of years.
Parking is actually not bad, but be prepared to park in the Home Depot or Safeway lot as the shared lot between Olive Garden and The Keg tends to fill up quick.
If you're in this area and craving Italian, drive up to Sunridge East Side Marios... and have a pasta. They're consistent, great tasting and very quick on the order-to-eating time. -
Review from neil m.
Calgary, AB
2/10/2009
What can I say. They have reached a new low.
My wife and I use to go to the Olive Garden every couple of months, for years. The food was always what you would expect and was very consistant ,on the mediocer side ,at best.
When we arrived it was an 1 hour wait, which is normal at 6pm on a saturday. no problem, we wait for our table for six.I noticed other large groups that came in after we did getting in before us. I do a quick recon of the hostesses clipboard and sure enough, no less than 5 partys of 6-8 ppl got in ahead of us. Sorry they say....it will be just another 5 minutes.
We ordered drinks and they did'nt have the advertized special. Mint lime fresco something. No problem, it must have been so good they sold out. We did get the breadsticks( cold and way undercooked)
The food ,when it arrived,was obviously sitting under the heat lamp for waaay to long. Everything was dry dry dry.
Our friends young son order pepperoni pizza. It came with no pepperoni .
Dessert time. Hmmmm what to have? Nothing of course because its still all frozen!! ( insert apology here)......ha ha ha , NOT!
They normally do better.
This time , however, they completly failed on so many levels I was embarassed for them. -
Review from Janna L.
11/2/2011
Well, we said before on another review board that we would not be back here but hey - we are from Ontario and are you kidding me? An Olive Garden? Unheard of anymore back there! We returned to this Calgary location even though last time,a few months ago, the service was lackluster and we found a hair in our food. Management - well - I won't go there. We walked into the front door and figured it was a Tues night - would there really be a line up out the door at 7pm? Yep! Pretty much! We grabbed our little red buzzer thingy and sidled up to the bar. Kind of smelled like wet rags there but - where else was there to stand? The poor bartender was alone and really could have used some help. I was ready to throw an apron on to help him. He was out of almost all his red wine as "they had a really busy weekend". Wow. A 3 star restaurant that acts like a 5. The place is always packed, mind blowing! Anyways, we had our drinks (red wine and a beer), paid and were seated - in the middle of the busy aisle where our chairs were bumped constantly by servers - but that is OK, only mildly annoying. The salad today was FRESH and had more than one tomato and had 4 black olives instead of our usual 1! Score! The lettuce was crisp and cool and even our plates were cold. Lots of nice red onion too. The bread was just OK, the usual, not hot. I wonder if they will ever make whole wheat bread sticks? I would feel so much better about consuming my pasta! Haha! Our server was OK, he tried his best but he was swamped. I ordered my usual Tour of Italy (I cannot stray) and my husband ordered stuffed rigatoni with chicken. In case you are not aware, the Tour is fett. alfredo, chicken parm and lasagna, a little bit of each one. Hubby gave his an 8 out of 10, he quite liked it. I tried it and it was good. Too full for dessert and as always took half my meal home for tomorrow which is always a treat. Took a bit of time to get the bill. Not the most romantic date place but the food was so much better than last time. I pity the clean up crew tonight, the place just churns the people in and out and you could tell.
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Review from Rob C.
Okotoks, AB
5/6/2009
I have always enjoyed Olive garden in terms of the food and the ambiance.
The food has to be out of this world to make me wait for more than 20 minutes for a table. The food is good ..... but far from O O T W.
I have not been back for ages and likely won't be any time soon.
Build more restaurants! -
Review from Zoe L.
Calgary, AB
2/7/2010
My Hubby and I went to the Olive Garden for a treat. I love this place!
We had to wait about 30 minutes for a table on a Sunday early evening. Usually the waits here are long on the weekends and they don't take reservations during those times.
Once seated our server came promptly and took our drink order. I find the staff here usually are friendly and have a fun attitude. I had gotten a glass of wine, their glasses go for around $6 or $7. You get free refills on their pop and iced tea. We got our drinks quickly and he took our food order. My Husband got the tour of Italy and I got the chicken con broccoli, but with whole wheat linguine instead of the normal pasta. It was no problem for me to substitute.
We were brought our garden salad and bread sticks while we waited. I always binge on their bread sticks, which is silly because then I don't have much room left for my pasta. But they are so good, I'm pretty sure they coat them in some addictive substance or something. Needless to say we enjoyed them thoroughly and got a couple refills.
Our food was really good. I could tell the chicken in mine was frozen, it didn't have much flavour. The broccoli was a bit crunchy, but I didn't mind. My Hubby had no problem stuffing his face with his massive platter of food.
When we got our bill, I asked the server if I could have extra chocolate mints that they give you. He came back with a whole big handful! So that made me happy! This place isn't super cheap, you are looking at $13 to $16 a pasta, but the portions are big.
I like this place, we had a good experience and our food was pretty good. If you haven't been here it is a must go, at least for the bread sticks and mints! -
Review from Lindsay K.
Halifax, NS
10/17/2009
Oh yes, the Olive Garden. I think that place is fan-freakin-tastic! And everyone I talk to about it seems to agree.
I used to go to the Olive Garden almost every year for my birthday, but haven't been back in a while. When I found out I'd be having dinner there this evening, I was so unbelievably excited! All day long all I could think about was going to this place.
Guess what? I was not disappointed when I left! It was exactly as I remembered it being, and I totally loved every minute of it. My fettuccine alfredo was just perfect; not too much garlic, not too runny. It took a little longer for the extra mushrooms I ordered to come, but it was definitely worth the wait.
And believe me, there was wait. When we arrived at 5 PM we were told it was going to be an hour and a half wait. I couldn't believe it, but there really was a lot of people in the place. We decided to wait it out and have a couple of drinks at the bar before we ate. We were all happy when, 50 minutes into the wait, we were seated. It didn't even seem like we were waiting for that long because we were talking and laughing and having a good time still. I stand firm on the fact that it's worth the wait.
Did you know that at the Olive Garden you get unlimited fresh bread sticks and soup or salad with EVERY meal?! Yeah! Isn't that awesome? The only problem is that I usually fill up on the bread and salad before my meal even comes! It's okay, I still manage to scarf down most of my pasta because it's so darn good! -
Review from Cece A.
Calgary, AB
6/23/2010 1 photo
Reasons I go to Olive Garden:
There is only 1 in CGY and it's in the NE
Waiters are nice and cute to look at
Unlimited breadsticks and Salad
I like Italian food
My current fave is Eggplant Parmigiana - comes with 4 strips of eggplant and a side of spaghetti with tomato. I can't eat too much tomato so I order Angel Hair with Garlic Cream sauce.. ohhhhhhhhhhh so yummy!
Desserts are to die for: I went with 4GF's and we ordered 4 desserts. Check out my pic:
Zeppoli - Italian Donut
Tiramisu
Lemon Cream Cake
White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
My favewas the Zeppoli -
Review from David H.
Calgary, AB
6/20/2010
A - List. Rating 3.5 to 4. Great food, lively atmosphere, good service. I have been to this location several times. The quality of food is consistent. The place is always busy (expect to wait; they do not take reservations). The service is hit or miss. The menu is interesting and there is something for most everyone. I have not experienced the issues others have reported here. There must be a reason people keep coming back and lining up for?
Listed in: AWESOME FOOD
