Olive Garden Calgary Restaurant Review

August 27, 2012
By Cody Battershill

Olive Garden Calgary Restaurant Review

A friend of mine recommended we go eat at the Olive Garden in the northeast, so we did. I would be lying if I didn’t think there was some kind of motive for my American friend to suggest an American restaurant chain, but all in all, my dining experience at Olive Garden was a good one.

As the only Olive Garden in Calgary, it was not a big surprise to see it completely packed. We asked for a table and were told it would take around 20 minutes, so we settled for the lounge and sat down immediately. Starving, and in a rush to eat before heading over to GlobalFest, we quickly chose what we wanted, and in no time, it was sitting in front of us, ready to be eaten.

Appetizers

Bread sticks – Basically what you think they are, about an 8 inch piece of breadstick and are bottomless. So if you like bread with your soup or pasta, try them out! We ate one batch and had another brought out as they are really good for soaking up extra delicious pasta sauce or soup still on the plate.

House green salad – A large romaine lettuce salad with olives, tomatoes, onions and a smidgeon of cheese served in a large salad dish, enough for 2 to 3 servings and your choice of sauce. And cheap!

Minestrone soup – If I am going to an Italian restaurant, then the minestrone is a must. It tasted delightful, and had all the necessary ingredients for good minestrone.

Main Course

Spaghetti and meat sauce with melted cheese on top – Classic spaghetti with some mozzarella cheese melted on the top. The meat sauce was very rich in tomato flavour and the meat was a mix of beef and Italian sausage. Yummy! Also, this dish is huge. If you are hungry, or want something to take home for lunch tomorrow, then this dish is for you!

Ravioli di Portobello - Large ravioli’s filled with Portobello mushrooms in a creamy sun dried tomato and smoked cheese sauce. What a creative ravioli, which goes extremely well with the creamy sauce. This is where the bread sticks came in handy to soak it all up after the ravioli was gone! If you are a mushroom fan then this dish is for you.

For as busy as Olive Garden was on this particular night, I am amazed at the fluidity of our server and kitchen to make sure our food was prepared fast, and was brought out to us as soon as it was ready. On that note, our server did a fantastic job in responding to our requests and was one of the best I have had in a while.

I highly recommend Olive Garden at Marlborough Mall in the northeast. Find it heading east on Memorial Drive and turn left on 36th Street NE; it will be on your left hand side.

Let us know what you think about this Olive Garden below!!