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Olive Garden Italian Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Italian Italian
4110 Gateway Boulevard NWEdmonton, AB T6J 6S7
(780) 437-3434
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- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
10 reviews for Olive Garden Italian Restaurant
10 reviews in English
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Review from Lauren H.
4/26/2012
Nothing fancy but did I really expect fancy?
I recently stopped in here with a coworker. Neither one of us had been to an Olive Garden in ages so we weren't sure what to expect.
The service was quick and attentive. Our server was the peppiest person I've encountered in a long time-initially a little annoying but she grew on us. She was quick to refill our waters and offer refills on drinks. She was enthusiastic about the menu and offered a few recommendations that seemed to be genuine.
We both ordered off the lunch menu. The food arrived in a timely manner and was fresh and hot. I was surprised the food was as tasty as it was...I was expecting chain plastic food to be honest. I can't really complain about the food.
The restaurant itself has that chain feel and the decor is a bit worn and dated. Also, the menu is way to extensive...too many choices and not in a good way.
Overall our experience was fairly positive and I wouldn't mind coming back here with coworkers or a group. -
Review from Jamie T.
12/29/2011 1 Check-in Here
Never been much of an Olive Garden fan, mainly because I despise most places that make me wait upwards of 20 minutes to be seated.
Granted, the fact that there were 5 adults and 3 toddlers in our party may have had something to do with the wait time.
Unfortunately for me, going to the Olive Garden has somehow become something of a holiday tradition in one of my friendship circles, as the restaurant is somewhat kid friendly. As in, no one much seems to care if you show up with three screaming infants. Well, 2 "screamers" and 1 "wanderer", at least.
The food isn't bad, exactly, but it's nothing to rave about, either. I could churn out much more "authentic" Italian fare from my own kitchen than this place does, and I'm a pudgy Japanese/Scottish dude.
I'd love to give this place less stars, but our waiter, Mike, was freakin' amazing. Buddy checked in on us regularly, and went out of his way to ensure that my friends' kids were looked after as far as beverages and crayons went. -
Review from Alex P.
8/9/2011
Starch, cheese, and more starch. What's not to like?
I've never had bad service at this Olive Garden, and I've had lots of good times there! Yes, it is junky comfort food and not terribly representative of authentic Italian cuisine. I still think it's tasty!! There are a bunch of things on the menu that I enjoy and they let me make all of the tomato-excluding modifications I want. -
Review from Alan D.
6/20/2011
Pretty much the worst restaurant that I have ever been to. This is the only Olive Garden that I have ever visited, so I'm not sure how much of this applies to Olive Garden in general (I assume most of it does).
The unlimited salad and breadsticks are apparently part of the appeal, however the salad is just some nasty limp iceberg lettuce chopped up with a few veggies, and the breadsticks are stodgy dough coated in oil.
The main dishes are made from the "Lego" school of Italian cooking, where a few basic components such as tagliatelle, white sauce, meat sauce, chicken breast, etc. are thrown together in different ways to make a range of different dishes.
Astonishingly, the prices are really not that cheap; there are many restaurants in Edmonton where you can eat much better food for less. The wine list is particularly overpriced, with high prices for very average wines. -
Review from Jason L.
Edmonton, AB
5/27/2010
Y'know, I don't get why Italian Americans and Italian Canadians get all up in arms about Jersey Shore, but they'll apparently tolerate the Olive Garden. You'd think that allowing people to think that this heavy, fatty, unhealthy food is representative of a really great cuisine is more damaging to the image of Italian people than fist pumping.
More over, this is a chain, It's menu is looked at once a year when some executive thinks it's time to refresh, not because local ingredients have come into season. Even worse, at this price level, food is mostly prepared in central kitchens then flash frozen to be shipped to "restaurants" where it's simply thawed, reheated and plated. There is very little cooking going on at the Olive Garden.
Olive Garden does to Italian food, what Famous Wok (and other food court Chinese food) does for Chinese food. Fettuccine Alfredo is from Orange County, California. Baked Zhiti is from New Jersey/New York. They're no more Italian than Chicken Balls and Eggrolls are Chinese.
Now if that's the kind of food you like to eat. By all means, Olive Garden is the place, but when you pay you should know what you're buying. But if you bought a bunch of Michelina's frozen dinners, microwaved them, then plated them onto real dinnerware, you could have your Olive Garden night out at home at half the cost and marginally more work. -
Review from Tim R.
Edmonton, AB
12/26/2009
Olive Garden is a really popular destination, whether it be for lunch or dinner any day in the week. I've showed up as early as 5pm for supper, and I still have to wait for a table. How early do these people eat supper?? Anyways, this restaurant is often very noisy, so forget about a quiet sit-down dinner. It does however offer a very good social atmosphere and encourages a lot of sharing of dishes. The complimentary (unlimited) salad and bread sticks are also another enticing feature.
Olive Garden has a lot of items on their menu. Bruschetta and Caprese Flatbread are good choices for appetizers, however the tomatoes sometimes taste bland on their bread. If you can't decide what to get, you can always 'Create a Sampler Italiano' with 2-3 menu items. If you're going for lunch, this might be all you need if you're going with another person.
Lasagna, Linguine, Chicken Parmigiana and Fettuccine Alfredo are among some of their 'classic recipes', while they offer a lot of a variety of Beef & Pork, Chicken, and Fish & Seafood dishes. We're usually too full to reach the dessert menu, but if your taste buds still wants more, I would recommend their Lemon Cream Cake, and their Zeppoli, soft Italian doughnuts dusted with powdered sugar, and served with a chocolate dipping sauce.
So what gives for the 3 stars? Well the food quality is so-so. The food is not very authentic, yet you can tell that they're trying hard to be. The dishes seem to have been prepared in a rush and this is apparent in food quality. Also, I've had an experience where the chicken parmigiana arrived cold and with lots of condensation, leading me to believe that they prepare the dishes in advance, refrigerate it, then heat it again prior to service. Also, there is barely any service from the servers. They take your order, deliver the food, then you rarely seem them afterwards. Perhaps if there was another location, the restaurant would not be very crowded, and there would be better service instead of trying to cycle through as many customers as possible. -
Review from Jennifer H.
Victoria, BC
3/31/2010 1 photo
Anyone who knows me well, knows I'm not a fan of chain food, but the Olive Garden is a guaranteed pleaser when undecided about dinner. Sure it's formulated, but it seldom disappoints and this location is no exception and has earned that extra star, despite being part of a formulated chain. It was perfect for an after movie meal with the family. The servings are more than generous and the bread is hard to ignore, so if there was ever any advice to give, it would be to save the bread for sopping up the sauce. Well, it's that or share an entree and indulge in all the bread you want. And well done to an American chain that as a BC wine on it's list. It was noted.
Last nights service, however, is really the whole reason four stars were given to any chain in my profile. Talk about friendly! Our server was prompt, efficient and friendly. Well done! -
Review from Adam S.
12/20/2009
Is a caricature of Italian food, which isn't to say the food is awful, but it is not authentic (which they try SO hard to be). Is a chain restaurant with prefab sauces and items throughout the menu. Servings are plentiful and generous but the quality is so-so. Staff are completely random in terms of service quality, at best they are forgettable and at worst they are slow and rude. This restaurant is a lower-middle class affectation of what a real Italian restaurant might be.
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Review from Natalie M.
Edmonton, AB
12/20/2009
The Olive Garden is another one of our favorite places to come together, eat and talk. The good is crazy yummy and we love their complementary salad and breadsticks; so delicious. If you are Italian then you know that good food is the best thing between friends; we love to order different appetizers and sharing between each other. Some fantastic appetizers to order is the Sampler Italiano that you can create, the Brushett ($7.75), the Hot Artichoke-Spinach Dip ($8.50 too good for words), the Lasagna Fritta ($9.25), the Smoked Mozzarella Fonduta ($8.95), the Stuffed Mushrooms ($7.75) and best of all the Calamari ($9.50). There are some days were all we order are appetizers and just stuff ourselves on that. But when we do order the main dish we usually order the Fettuccine Alferdo, the Five Cheese Ziti al Forno (which is baked), the Cheese Ravioli (with marinara or meat sauce), the Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara is really good. If you manage to save room for dessert I would suggest the White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake or the Lemon Cream Cake, my brother your recommend the Tiramisu.
The service is really great; they don't seem to get mad at us for staying there for like three hours on a busy night. That's another thing, the place is busy as busy can be so if you can make a reservation (I'm not sure they will let you make reservations on the weekends). Their prices are pretty good considering you get large portions and very thing tastes so good.
In Edmonton there are only two locations, one on Gateway Boulevard and the other in the West end area. They should really think about expanding! -
Review from Vanessa Y.
Edmonton, AB
10/12/2010
there's something about the olive garden that always keeps my family coming back. Unlimited salad is great! I love the tangy sauce. Soups are great, my sister sticks to her rustic chicken (don't hold me to the name) soup and never tries anything else. I have always enjoyed the Olive Garden and will forever go there as a treat!
