02/15/08

Gracious service

by afghanjalae

Every time I have gone to the Olive Garden on Walnut in Cary, the food has been wonderful, and the servers most gracious and kind. Once, I was running late due to traffic in the morseville area where I was coming from and the server, Devin, graciously helped my family for an hour while I was stuck in traffic. They ordered when I got there. The chicken is wonderful! and that is something to be said because usually I dont even like chicken. It may not be a hole in the wall place, but it is a wonderful place to go with a great atmosphere. I really enjoyed it.

• Pros: service, food, everything

06/23/06

Terrific lunch with great service

by lee6327

I don't know what the other reviewers are seeing but I went there for lunch 22 June and had a wonderful experience. Our waiter, Trevor, took the time to make recommendations and explain all the ways various foods were prepared. My Dad and I tried the chicken prepared on a skewer. It was really good and I liked the restaurants choice of grilled vegetables (squash and zucchini) and potatoes. Mom had the shrimp and scallops on pasta with an Alfredo sauce. She said it was the best pasta she has had in ages. A really good choice of cheeses for the sauce.

The bread was the fresh baked sticks and the salad was served in a big bowl with Italian dressing (take what you want). I love their portions. Not too much. It was a great lunch with a very good waiter. I wished I lived in Cary... I'll go back when I get close.

• Pros: Ambience, food, service
• Cons: Nothing his time...

10/16/05

Disappointment...

by tommy9205

I was very disappointed when I went to the Olive Garden on Walnut St for the first time-I thought it would be a nice, genuine Italian Restaurant chain. It obviously wasn't. Nothing there actually tasted Italian. I would NOT recommend this to anyone, especially anyone who wants the kind of food Olive Garden advertises. The wait was slow, people were standing in the line because there weren't enough seats, and it was very crowded.

• Pros: Good Parking, Consistent
• Cons: Food, Crowded, Rip-off

03/17/04

Long waits, bad service

by YahooJim

This restaurant is overly crowded, has bad service, and is not conveniently located. The food tastes like every other Olive Garden. One would think that with that many patrons they'd go to a larger building... expect 45min+ waits and wait staff that disappears. The last time I went drove me off forever- we sat in first available (smoking). Being Cary, we were the only ones in there. We had to ask a waiter to get us a server- they argued about who was responsible for our one table then the manager forced one of them to take us. Appetizer: never came. Food: cold. Drink: not refilled. We bore the brunt of a disagreement - I'll never go back.

• Pros: Consistent
• Cons: , Long waits, Noisy and crowded

07/02/03

Saddened

by bpp68

I can remember my first Olive Garden experiance in my teens. The Salad and bread sticks have always been a good addition, but there was a time that the food at least tasted fresh. It was a place I would go consistantly. A few years back that all changed. It is hard to mess up a salad, or bread sticks for that matter, so those still pass. The entrees on the other hand leave a lot to be desired. While prices have risen on the menu, the portion size and the quality have sunk. All of their entrees taste pre-prepared. and probablty are delivered via PYA or some other close relative. Olive Garden has become a "fast food" resturant for lack of a better term.

• Pros: Atmosphere, Salad & Breadsticks, Tiramisu
• Cons: Everything else

02/04/03

Not A Fan

by WaterGal

Soups and bread are good. All the entrees I've tried leave something to be desired. The eggplant tastes nothing like eggplant. The red sauce tastes like uncooked tomato paste! Could do without long-winded speeches from servers.

06/06/02

You could do better

by mgwalter

It's the Olive Garden. You're guarenteed average service, average food. Try one of the locally owned Italian restuarants for a nice change: 411 West, Cafe Luna, Pop's...

• Pros: Cheap, Predictable
• Cons: Boring, Predictable