Olive Garden is one of those restaurants that seems to be found almost anywhere in the country. There seem to be very few cities without an Olive Garden.
Setting:
Outside, there are white walls with the green lettering labeling the restaurant an Olive Garden. The building is kept clean giving it a pretentious look.
Once inside Olive Garden, it is quite dark. One of the employees will seat the people who are there to dine at a booth or a table.
The temperature inside the restaurant is quite warm. This is nice for a cold day, but not great for just a fall day and definitely not good for a summer or spring day.
Service:
A waiter or waitress will then bring menus to the table. If there are children, hopefully they will bring a child’s activity sheet and crayons. This sheet also has a children’s menu. There seem to be at least five different activity sheets, though they all have the same activity on the back, which is a maze to bring Ollie (an olive, because of Olive Garden) to where the rest of his friends are going. After the drink orders are taken, the drinks and some breadsticks should be brought to the table.
Soon orders for an appetizer may be taken if one is wanted. There are a variety of Italian appetizers available, so at least one should be sure to please most everybody that is dining.
Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant, so the food is mainly soups, salads, and pastas.
A bit after the appetizer is brought, the entrée orders should be taken. The waiter or waitress should come by occasionally to clear the table of used plates that are no longer needed. He or she should listen to what diners want or need as they may want to keep certain plates at the table for reasons.
Chris, the waiter we had, was really great. He was able to answer all of our questions and was willing to check when he did not know the answer. He could tell us about all the food and had no problem with brining extra plates so we could share our food. He even was able to tell us how much of each food came on a plate and the size of the meatballs.
Menu:
There are all kinds of Italian foods on the menus. The appetizers have some fried foods, some ravioli, and some fondue. The entrées all tend to be some type of dish with noodles or some soup and breadsticks. There are a few other things for children such as macaroni and cheese and French fries.
The red sauce is not great, but the garlic Alfredo sauce is very good. The beef and the chicken are also well prepared and taste good, but the cheese and noodles taste the best.
Then, there are a variety of desserts as well. The raspberry cheesecake is delicious. For fans of chocolate, the chocolate gelato is a must.
For those who like alcohol, alcohol is also served. They even have a chocolate martini for fans of chocolate and alcohol.
The price is a bit steep, but it is a common price for a dining experience like this.
Ratings:
Food: 3 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Location: 3 out of 5
Contact Information:
Olive Garden is located at
1721 West Prien Lake Rd.
Lake Charles, LA 70601
Olive Garden can be contacted by calling 337-474-7380.
