Olive Garden Italian Restaurant

This was the best experience I have had in a while, and I have been to all of the Olive Gardens in San Diego. The food was great (as always), but what truly made this meal exceptional was our server Karen’s customer service.

love the food. the location is good.

I have been to this restaurant quite a few times. It’s actually my family’s go to place for special occasions because we like the food so much. I was a bit disappointed this time around. When we first arrived we were greeted and most of us sat and waited (we are a family of 9). I think it was what looked like the manager who came out and told me it would be 30 minute wait time. I said ok. Then he said it could be 30 min maybe more. I said ok. Then he said well we have to wait for people to leave because they have to push tables together. I said ok. Then he asked me if we still wanted to wait. At that point Im upset. Of course. I just said ok how many times and we’re hungry. Throughout the course of waiting, it appeared there were disagreements between manager and employees. It appeared that our table was given away to a family of 6 that came in after us. The manager kept walking back and forth shaking his head. Very unprofessional and not setting a good example. Then the manager told us that our table is ready and we will be seated shortly… that they are giving their servers a chance to catch up with their other tables! Seriously! We waited a little longer until my sister finally asked if we could at least be seated if the table is ready since we have already been standing there and we have worked all day long. Finally we were seated. The two waitress that helped us were very sweet. The younger girl was very friendly and made it a point to chat with us while she served us. I noticed that mine and my two kids entrees (pasta) were a bit cold and dried out. This is a first of all the times I have come here. I don’t know if it is because there were so many of us but I expect a little better.

I am in complete awe of my experience here today. Leticia was the server who took care of us and she was so sweet and helpful from the very beginning. It’s been a very long time since I’ve been to olive garden because my kids are so so picky. They had lots of kids options tho so of course they get the usual, chicken fingers and fries.
I wasn’t sure what I wanted and she helped me pair the perfect pasta and sauce with the chicken I was wanting. The kids meals came with their food plus a soup or salad PLUS spaghetti! I mean all of that food for 5.49!
Not only were the portions and prices right on but the service was superb! I’m blown away at how much food we ended up going home with. We’ll be back much more often!
Thanks Leticia for going above and beyond!

I really hate this Olive garden. Prior to today I was there about a year ago and vowed to never go again. The waitress was so rude I had to complain. She was beyond disrespectful so if you would have asked me a year ago I would give it 0 stars. Today decided to stop in for a lunch bite. Husband loves the soup so I thought despite my promise to never revisit this place let’s make the man happy. Super attendant/​hostess whatever you want to call her greeted us with a nice warm welcome and and a smile… Not. She didn’t and that’s the problem. My family entered and I smiled the rude looking tight bunned female didn’t greet us with anything other than a cold stare and the fact of our party size. It might be that I had to work a wonderful 4 years in customer service. Or maybe it’s just that I think when I’m about to pay for a meal from your job you need to be. Somewhat pleasant. But the servers and people here just suck I’m sorry. Generally the reason I hate actually truly despise this location in particular is the lack in customer service. They are all rude. You come here for a meal and you sit there looking at the menu asking yourself if you really want to be here or should just leave. Last year and this once again I vow not to visit this place again. Because they simply ruin your mood and experience of there somewhat good food with their attitudes. They really should all either get retrained or. Maybe visit some therapy to help make them happier people.

While I understand that they are not a gluten free kitchen, the absolute lack of regard or care that is taken is awful. Having croutons floating in the supposedly gluten free dressing is unacceptable. And then being completely ignored by the waitress, having it take 30 minutes and have to ask to order the meal, and for any drink refills, and to be given attitude for pointing out a mistake that they should never have made.

I have never been to an Olive Garden ever. I’m probably the only one I know that can say that. So for my first time, we went to the Grossmont location.
I can sum this up as a total scarf and barf. They give you an exorbitant amount of food. Unlimited salad and breadsticks, plus bottomless pastas. Carb overload. My blood sugar probably went past 200 at the end of the night.
I opted for the Tour of Italy dish. This comes with a slice of lasagna, a portion of fettuccine alfredo, and a piece of chicken parmasan. My favorite was the fettuccine alfredo. My daughter had the spaghetti with marinara and meatballs for her bottomless pasta, and a gnocchi potato cream soup. She loved the gnocchi. The meat balls were large but for 2.99 they could’ve given her more than 2. Boyfriend had portobello ravioli, which I did not care for.
The prices are… a bit much. Granted they give you a boatload of food. Our bill was $ 80 at the end. O_​O
unexpected for Olive Garden. Bottom line, I was satisfied with my meal, and now that I’m aware of the amount of food you get, I now know how to order for next time.

I just don’t get this place. It’s like going to a Raiders game. Great people watching, but seriously some scary, gross stuff going on. I did experience a first here which was fun though: there was a couple with two shirtless children waiting for a table to eat dinner at. Seriously? Maybe on the boardwalk or something, but half-​dressed kids at 7:00 in La Mesa is just weird. And the food! By the looks of the place (cafeteria-​like) and the people («Raidery») you’d think the food would be cheap. It’s not! Entrees here are just as much, if not more, than classy, fabulous places in Little Italy or downtown. Maybe $ 6 or $ 8 entrees would make this place something I could stomach if half-​drunk or senile, but at the current prices Olive Garden just does not make sense. If you want a casual Italian place to take your children, bribe them into putting on their clothes and then drive them to Bucca. It’s way better.

It was a terrible experience. First time we visited this Olive Garden and also the last.
Waitress brought us our food and after that she disappeared. We don’t know if she had an emergency or what, but we would’ve been understanding if she did. She just left and no one took over for her. A different waitress asked if we wanted to-​go boxes and we said yes. After waiting for 15 minutes she never returned and we just left.

We haven’t been to the OG in such a long time. My husband had a hankering for some pasta after church. The menu has definitely changed since the last time I was here. I noticed items that were not there before. I tried the Chicken Sorrento. It was in the lighter flare portion of the menu. I did not like the sauce the chicken was drenched in. I was scraping it off it was so disgusting. Maybe I should have stuck to the regular items. The sauce was just too sweet and overwhelming.
Our server Z was on point. He was the best server I’ve had at an OG since moving to Socal. They also have those table tablet’s available. They are $ 1.99 to use. Yikes!

Love this place and the food. We had wonderful service, we had to wait a little bit longer (we prefer table over booth) but as usual staff was understandable and polite. Food is a little bit expensive and is not really kid friendly. They forgot my daughters pasta and my son got grapes instead of broccoli other than that good service.

I am extremely disspointed that the Garlic Herb Chicken Con Broccoli is gone, and that it is all I have to say fools…

Went here earlier today for lunch with an old friend and overall, had a good experience with just a few hiccups.
Our host, the British guy, was very sweet. Our server, Shasta, was very nice and attentive as well.
However, when our server went on break, nobody attended to us for about 10 – 15 minutes despite having the call-​server light on the Ziosk.
Also, at the end of the meal, when we went to the host stand to ask for some mints, the hostess with the short hair, Gabi, seemed extremely annoyed and the other hostess next to her seemed very confused. When we walked outside with our mints, we realized that the confused hostess had given us a plastic hook, haha. I don’t have too much of a problem with that aside from the fact that it would’ve been alarming if she had made this same mistake with a young child where this hook could pose a choking hazard.
The food was really good and the portions were great. We were able to share the Tour of Italy between the two of us. The dessert, the pumpkin cheesecake, was delicious.
Overall, good time but some of the staff needs an attitude adjustment. if one of your co-​workers is frustrating, don’t take it out on customers!

Today was a good day. Everything I ordered was right on point and delicious. Our server was Gus and he was awesome. Checked on us regularly and showed us how to get through the kiosk they now have on the table tops. You can order everything and also pay your bill at your convenience.

Reggie seated us and sang to our graduate,
awesome job for our large group. Our wait staff the Lauren’s were great and the food was good.
Good time enjoyed with good people. At a good spot.

We had a party of five and it was a very enjoyable time. Our waitress Suny was professional yet very friendly. Our orders were done correctly and without any mix up.
My wife had the salmon which was grilled too long so it was a bit dry. Otherwise the food was very good! Busy for a week night but you could tell the staff was working hard but efficiently!

Jennifer K was incredible. Absolutely the best customer service I have ever had at any Olive Garden, but especially this one. She was friendly, funny, helpful, attentive, and genuinely kind.
The food was superb as well. Jennifer recommended I try the Ravioli di Portobello and it was a great choice. I will have to order it again in the future! :)
«It was a blast in a shot glass» — the boyfriend.

Two of us came in for a later lunch, around 2.
We were seated immediately which was nice, considering that I’m used to having to wait forever at any Olive Garden.
Our waitress was super nice, Abigale was her name (I’m pretty sure.)
She was super fast with taking our order for our drinks and promised us that the appetizer we were looking at was a good one.
THE FOOD:
The salad and breadsticks came out quickly, and so did the appetizer.
We ordered the fried cheese lasagna one. It was super tasty, BUT was really, really greasy. Almost as if they weren’t drained or set on something to dry out the grease, but just set on the plate while still dripping grease.
Also, it was super obvious that the alfredo under it was reheated. When you reheat that sauce, it separates itself. The butter, cheese and oils all separate. That’s what we got. No happy at all about that, and it had become flavorless.
Meh.
–1 star for the appetizer.
I ordered the rosemary garlic chicken, which comes with parmesan garlic potatoes and fresh spinach.
It was super tasty, but for the price, the chicken could have been a bit bigger or maybe come with a second piece like in the picture… Oh well. The gravy was fantastic, and so were the potatoes.
I would also like to note, that although our server was awesome, the rest of the staff were super obnoxious. The restaurant would have been nice and at a comfortable noise level, if it hadn’t been for the staff who would all group up in the hall and just chat their shift away. I’m sorry, but the last thing I need to hear, is a waitress loudly telling a male coworker about a picture someone got of her butt? What? Um… Not cool. Tone it down.
–1 star for that
All in all, the service from our waitress makes up for the completely obvious shortcuts taken in the kitchen and obnoxiously loud staff at this location.

The service at this Olive Garden was top notch. We arrived for a late meal, was greeted immediately. The hostess was friendly and genuinely happy to be there. The server we had was fantastic and very attentive. Our order came out quickly, everything was correct, and delicious! She was friendly and checked on us often. Upon leaving the restaurant, every server, hostess, and buster said good evening as we passed.
Kudos to a good customer service experience at this Olive Garden.

I took the family to Olive Garden (OG) while they were visiting, and this La Mesa location was one of the nearest locations. At first, the eatery was hard to find because we entered the shopping complex around the BJ’s side. We had to basically drive around the entire plaza to find OG, but we finally spotted it once we passed Wal Mart.
Because we visited OG for an earlier dinner on a Sunday, we were seated immediately. I appreciated how our party of six was seated in one of the restaurant’s back rooms. It didn’t seem as noisy as the main dining area, and we had a pleasant, peaceful dinner together.
Service was spot on and prompt, including the complimentary wine (I loved the red dessert wine that I sampled) and the salad and breadsticks came out soon after we placed our order. Here’s what my family and I got during this visit to OG:
«Create a Sampler Italiano»: My grandma choose this appetizer for her dinner and opted for three of the available choices — calamari, stuffed mushrooms and fried zucchini (I probably would have gone with the fried mozzarella, chicken fingers and fried zucchini). She was pleased with her entrée and liked the crispy calamari. The calamari were lightly breaded and fried and came with Parmesan-​peppercorn and marinara sauces for dipping; I thought the Parm-​peppercorn sauce complemented the crispy pieces quite nicely (featured a welcomed zest). Though the zucchini didn’t feature as much breading as I prefer, the morsels were tasty (I had a few of the bite-​sized pieces), but I think the highlight of the entrée were those stuffed mushrooms. I don’t even like mushrooms as a whole, but these caps were plump and contained a savory, buttery filling consisting of Parmesan, Romano and Mozzarella cheeses, topped with herb breadcrumbs. The cheesy filling made these mushrooms bomb! This is definitely a great app to share or to order as your full-​sized entrée.
«Chicken & Gnocchi Soup»: This is my FAVORITE soup from OG and features a creamy broth that’s filled with roasted chicken, traditional Italian dumplings and spinach. I always ask for extra grated cheese on top my soup and enjoy stirring the mixture until it turns into a melted concoction. The gnocchi are always tender and chewy, and there are ample chunks of chicken in the soup. I usually get two bowls with every visit to OG … yay for that unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks!
«Eggplant Parmigiana»: My mom says this is the best «Eggplant Parmigiana» around and she always gets this at OG … no matter what other specials the eatery is currently offering. This entrée entails fresh eggplant that’s hand-​breaded and lightly fried, topped with homemade marinara and melted mozzarella cheese and served with spaghetti. Mom always asks for light marinara sauce – she’s like me and doesn’t really like tomato/​meat sauce – and likes how the eggplant is thinly sliced and sufficiently breaded. The eggplant always comes coated generously with cheese (even before the grated cheese is offered).
«Tour of Italy»: This is my dad’s go-​to entrée because it’s basically a sampler of some of the eatery’s classic dishes (which happen to be his favorites). It includes «Chicken Parmigiana,» Lasagna Classico” and «Fettuccine Alfredo.» My dad loves OG’s lasagna, but with this entrée, he can also enjoy the breaded «Chicken Parmigiana» and the creamy, savory noodles that entail «Fettuccine Alfredo.» This is a great choice if you’re also torn between several of these entrees — with this dish, you can enjoy some of the eatery’s best-​sellers on one plate.
«Lasagna Classico»: I’ve ordered several of the different pastas and raviolis at OG before, but on this visit, I settled on the lasagna because I hadn’t had a good lasagna in a very long time. This version is prepared fresh daily with layers of pasta, Italian cheeses and the eatery’s homemade meat sauce. The lasagna had more meat sauce than I remembered it to have the first time I got it, but I didn’t mind as much because it didn’t feature a super strong, tomatoey taste. I just got lots of extra cheese to top it off! The layers of wavy noodles taste fresh and each layer is strung together with lots of melted cheese. This is definitely one of my favorite lasagnas to date.
«Stuffed Chicken Marsala»: My cousin definitely picked a winner when he ordered this entrée, and all you mushroom lovers are sure to delight in this savory dish. It features creamy marsala wine sauce with mushrooms over an oven-​roasted chicken breast, stuffed with Italian cheeses and sun-​dried tomatoes. The entrée is served with garlic-​parmesan mashed potatoes. The chicken breast was moist and tender and the cheese-​filled interior was absolutely amazing! The garlic-​Parm mashed potatoes sported tons of flavor — great balance between the garlic and the cheese. I also really liked the creamy marsala wine sauce that was soaked all over the chicken breast. Winner, winner chicken dinner!