Olive Garden Italian Restaurant | Family Style Dining | Italian Food (2024)
At Olive Garden, while perfect plates of pasta are our specialty, we know healthy meal options are important for your family. We've committed to offering a variety of choices available every day while ensuring our smart dining options maintain the delicious flavor your family desires.
You can learn more about the sustainability pledge that Olive Garden and the other brands in the Darden family have made by visiting the Darden website.
Whether you're eating light or in the mood to indulge, we take pride in giving choices and letting you decide. That's why we make nutritional information for our food readily available to help inform your choice.
How is your nutrition information calculated?
We analyze our menu items either through calculated analysis (a sophisticated software program) or by chemical analysis (sending multiple samples to be tested in a lab). There are many factors that go into deciding which method to use, including the type of food, preparation, and information from our suppliers. Both types of analyses are based on the standardized recipes we use in our restaurants every day. As our chefs make changes to a recipe, we make the changes to our analysis. We know we can never make the exact same dish twice, but our approach to nutrition analysis helps ensure the nutrition we report is representative of what will be served in the restaurant.
What is a serving of soup?
The serving size for all soups is 8 fluid ounces. ToGo orders receive 16 fluid ounces.
What is a serving of salad?
One serving is about 5 ounces. The amount of salad served depends on the number of guests in your party. For a party of 1 to 2 guests, about 10 ounces would be served (so ½ of the bowl would be one serving).
There is no dairy in our breadsticks or in the breadstick topping. The garlic topping is made from margarine.
Do you have any menu items that do not contain garlic?
Given the role of garlic in Italian cuisine, garlic is used in many of our dishes. The following menu items do not contain garlic. If a dish or menu item is not on this list, please assume it contains garlic.
Appetizers, Soup and Salads
Chicken & Gnocchi Soup.
Famous House Salad with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and/or Balsamic Vinegar. Request without croutons and without signature Italian dressing.
Entrées
All of our CYO Pastas do not contain garlic (however, all of our pasta sauces do contain garlic). Choose any pasta and pair it with Olive Oil, or Parmesan Butter sauce. If you'd like a topping, choose Sauteed Shrimp.
Grilled (with salt & pepper only) Salmon or Sirloin with Steamed Broccoli on the side. Request them to be grilled with no other seasonings/spices.
Kids Entrées
Mac & Cheese.
Any Pasta with Parmesan Butter Sauce.
Do you have any menu items that do not contain onion?
Given the role of onion in Italian cuisine, onion is used in many of our dishes. The following menu items do not contain onion. If a dish or menu item is not on this list, please assume it contains onion.
Breadstick & Salad
Breadstick with garlic topping
Famous House Salad with signature Italian dressing. Request without onions and without croutons.
Entrées
All of our CYO Pastas do not contain onion (however, all of our pasta sauces do contain onion). Choose any pasta and pair it with Olive Oil, or Parmesan Butter sauce. If you'd like a topping, choose Sauteed Shrimp.
Grilled (with salt & pepper only) Salmon or Sirloin with Steamed Broccoli on the side. Request them to be grilled with no other seasonings/spices
Kids Entrées
Mac & Cheese.
Any Pasta with Parmesan Butter Sauce.
Do you use MSG in your foods?
Our food recipes do not use added MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) and, based on information from our suppliers, MSG is not added to any of the ingredients we use. However, certain foods and ingredients naturally contain glutamate or glutamic acid (such as tomatoes, milk, cheese, mushrooms and certain yeasts and proteins).
Risotto. Many people don't prepare risotto at home due to its time-consuming nature, which is the perfect reason to order it when dining at an Italian establishment. Rice, cheese, and broth combine to create the perfect base for any risotto meal.
On his interactions with the "chef": "The only time we saw the "chef" was when she made a bolognese sauce while taking pictures with each of us to send to our local newspapers." On how much Olive Garden paid for, and what they got in return: "Basically, yes, they send people to Italy every year.
In Italy menus generally start with antipasti (appetizers), primi (pasta, rice, or soup), secondi (main courses, usually meat or fish), contorni (side dishes), and dolci (desserts). That said, you're not actually expected to order four courses every time you sit down at a restaurant.
Pizza. Besides pasta, pizza is perhaps the most popular and recognized Italian food. Pizza is considered a national symbol representing Italy to the rest of the world, so much so that UNESCO has acknowledged pizza as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The Tour of Italy at Olive Garden gives customers a sample of some of the restaurant's most popular dishes; chicken parmigiana, fettuccine Alfredo, and lasagna classico. You can start with any dish on the plate, but the chicken parmigiana is a great way to kick off the meal.
They serve middlin' good at best Italian-American food. It's a chain restaurant. That means the emphasis is on consistency. Every Olive Garden restaurant you walk into will serve exactly the same chicken parmesan, something you won't find in Italy.
But, as it turns out, the Italian cuisine at Olive Garden is just as plentiful in the region. Data from ScrapeHero indicates the nation's second-largest state is brimming with 109 locations of the chain, which accounts for 12% of all of the company's U.S.-based restaurants.
“Buon appetito!” This phrase means “enjoy your meal” and it's the perfect way to start an Italian meal. It's how you say good appetite in Italian. “Grazie altrettanto!” This is simply the answer to buon appetito.
Added up, the traditional Italian meal – spanning antipasti (appetizers), primo (pasta or risotto), secondo (meat or fish entrée), contorni (sides), and dolce (sweets) make for a whole lot of cibo (food). Thankfully, you're not obliged to order every course at a restaurant in Italy.
Trippa alla Fiorentina. A classic Florentine dish, trippa alla Fiorentina features tripe stewed in a savory tomato sauce with onions and herbs, celebrated for its distinctive flavor and texture.
Introduction: My name is Nathanael Baumbach, I am a fantastic, nice, victorious, brave, healthy, cute, glorious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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How is your nutrition information calculated? 
How is your nutrition information calculated? 