Elite Tasting at Olive Garden

I had never been to Olive Garden before. To be honest, from the reviews of friends and TV commercials I had never regarded Olive Garden as a particularly nice place to eat, but after this Elite Tasting event my mind has totally changed.
To start out with: breadsticks, of course. From commercials, this seems to be the most hyped up item at Olive Garden. And they did not disappoint! A bit salty, but definitely satisfied the carb-​lover in me with the savory-​ness and buttery-​ness. Out of all the 10 dishes, my favorites were the mediterranean flatbread appetizer, the pappardelle (my favorite pasta!) pescatore, and slightly spicy hollow spaghetti with a tomato-​based meat sauce (I don’t remember the name). Shout out to our awesomely charismatic and enthusiastic waiter James! I like it when waiters share their own opinions about the food, pointing out the best way to appreciate each dish and their own personal favorites. James took great care of us, and it definitely seemed like he had made it his goal to make our meal enjoyable. At the end of the night when I had one drink ticket left, he encouraged me to get a dessert drink. Even though I was stuffed, I got the tiramisu shake and shared it with our table. With four straws in the same drink, it made for an amusing photo opp and we had a good laugh to end the night.
This was an insanely generous event, with not only 10 rich courses of food plus the cute gesture of breadsticks added to our bags of leftovers, but also drinks and a goodie bag, including swag and most astonishing a $ 25 gift card to Olive Garden. I’m excited to use it at a return visit. I’ll definitely be wearing my «I ‘heart’ pasta» shirt proudly!

This was totally awesome and such a blast !! Really felt like family dinner at the olive garden — it was fun that all the Unilocalers and +1s were in our own area of the restaurant. S/​o to Kip and Rob as well ! they were super awesome & informative and kept the mood light and fun !
The service was impeccable — i have a few food allergies which our waiter chris paid special attention to and even brought me out my own salad sin tomatoes.
Riostto Balls — whoa deep fried heaven just like our waiter chris mentioned to us — my favorite part which gave all the flavor to the balls was the 5 cheese and herb sprinkling on top of the balls — i liked that the balls were not too creamy or gooey.
Artichoke Fritti — lightly dipped in egg this was a perfection of a flash fry. just the right amount of fried-​ness so you didn’t feel greasy or gross after consuming. this is a cool appetizer !
the bread sticks are incredible and hot and long and have the perfect amount of butter/​Parmesan on top ! They are UNLIMITED — its not a mistake to over do it with these because they are truly incredible.
The citrus chicken with a glaze — wow amazing, its one of the lighter fair menu items which i really enjoyed because the rest of the options were pretty heavy. the roasted lemon squeeze ontop made all the difference, i was blown away by how much flavor that added. there is also a side of veggies !! steamed broccoli artichoke and maybe peppers or onions.
Salmon Brushetta — was a gorgeous dish, where it was shrimp risotto as a base, the piece of salmon, great size, with pesto and tomato bruschetta on top. this was such a fabulous spin on the standard bread bruschetta.
The pasta dish with the beef and cheese ravioli was unreal — this dish warms your heart and soul !!
I also really loved the APPLE BREAD PUDDING with carmel !! they should totally make this a real dessert not just seasonal !

This was my first Elite event as part of the Detroit elite squad, and it definitely was top notch!
The several tasting courses were plentiful, so much so, that we had to doggy bag a little of everything, and still left extremely stuffed. It was also great that they included drinks too. All the drinks were refreshing and just the right amount of sweetness.
The appetizers and dessert were ones I will definitely order again. The entrees had quite a range of beef, super tender chicken, and seafood. The chicken dish, that was the «low calorie» option was actually our top dish choice, crazy that it’s only a temporary dish on their menu.
The waitstaff were cheerful, informative, and super attentive. The general manager also frequently made the rounds to personally check in on everything. It was also nice they called in the culinary staff for us to show our appreciation too.
I’m also a fan of goodie bags and trinkets, so loved all the Unilocal items as well as the Olive Garden gift card and t-​shirts too.
Thanks Olive Garden and Unilocal Detroit planners that made this event possible!

An excellent event. Everything from start to finish was on pointe. The event was very well organized and all of the staff– from Unilocal to the Olive Garden– were friendly and professional. We were thanked for coming, when we were the ones that were receiving a free tasting and wonderful service.
My guest and I sat with two others and it was nice to meet other foodies/​elite. The food was served family style which worked well for this event. Ten courses is a lot of food, but the staff was already prepared for this and had to go boxes ready. I also liked that the Olive Garden staff came around and discussed the food with us. They appeared generally interested in our opinions and how we were enjoying the meal.
My non elite guest thanked me profusely on the way home.
Thank you Annette, the Unilocal team and A2 Olive Garden for an amazing time!

This might be the best Elite event I’ve been to.
The Unilocal staff was great and friendly as always. Thank you to Annette and all others involved in the creation of this event.
Also, the Olive Garden staff here got a well-​deserved applause for their service and food tonight. The 10 course meal was excellent. Some of the items were a tad salty, which the table I sat with agreed, but overall excellent, excellent food. Service was fantastic! Very attentive.
On top of the wonderful meal and service we also got lots of goodies to take home with us! I am pleased with what was put forth at this event; everything was so well planned out and efficient. I can’t think of any areas that could be improved… everything was so wonderful!
We also met some new fellow Unilocalers, which is always fun! Looking forward to seeing them again in the future as well as meeting more Unilocalers!

Every time I think Unilocal Detroit can’t outdo itself, it DOES. Fabulous event by Annette and Chelcie. Olive Garden is my dad’s favorite restaurant, so I made the trek from Troy to Walled Lake (where they live) and then to Ann Arbor for this event.
I am not a fish person, so I skipped those two courses, but everything else I tried was fantastic. I think my favorite was either the salad — fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers, in olive oil — or the citrus chicken, or the beef with the tortellini.
The only dish I didn’t really like was the bucatini — the meat on top was tasty, but the spaghetti itself (bucatini? not sure) was just okay. Everything else I tried I would order at the restaurant, though I will say I’m not a huge artichoke fan so I’d skip the artichoke fritti and the flatbread (though I do LOVE pesto, so that was great).
Our waiter was very attentive and was great at explaining what was in each dish, and we had a ton of food to take home. The only thing I wish we would have done was sit with other Unilocalers as we walked in, because we ended up having our own table and I like getting to know other Unilocalers (especially because I mostly go to the metro Detroit events and not the A2 ones!).
I’m not sure if anyone noticed, too, but those gift cards we got at the end? Those are $ 25 gift cards — I figured they were $ 5, maybe $ 10, and when I called the number on the back, I was shocked. SO generous!
Thanks again to the A2 Olive Garden and the Unilocal Detroit crew for putting on this event! I’m definitely looking forward to eating at Olive Garden again sometime soon and ordering a few of the new menu items.

This was my first Unilocal Elite Event and hopefully not my last. The Olive Garden Staff outdid themselves on their hospitality, food and service and the Unilocal staff did an outstanding job of planning, coordinating and executing the event.
We enjoyed 11 different items, starting with appetizers and finishing with one of my new favorites, an Apple Tuscan Bread Pudding.
The main course item I really enjoyed was the Salmon Brushetta. It was tender and delicious. It will be my next meal from the Olive Garden.
The Spicy Calabrian Wings was my favorite appetizer and will be ordered again as well. My wife and I had a chance to meet with several fellow Unilocalers and got to sit down to an amazing dinner with Michelle C and her guest, Kurt, and enjoy their company well.
We had a great time and look forward to doing it again!