Olive Garden Keeps Attempting Pizza, But It Fails In The US
In the U.S., there's no restaurant more synonymous with Italian food than Olive Garden, with its oversized servings of breadsticks, chicken parm, lasagna, and saucy pastas. When perusing the chain's offerings, however, you might notice a big, round gap, a bizarre absence of one of America's favorite Italian dishes. We, of course, mean pizza, the only Italian chain restaurant classic that Olive Garden hasn't found success with, despite multiple attempts.
Olive Garden first offered pizza in the early 1990s as part of its "Pronto!" lunch menu. The description was certainly mouth-watering: The pies were made with a hand-stretched, garlicky crust inspired by the chain's famed breadsticks, and served with Alfredo or marinara sauce for dipping. Options included Meaty Italian, Spicy Sausage & Peppers, Roma Garden with spinach, artichokes, and tomatoes, and Chicken Alfredo, a precursor to Olive Garden's Alfredo obsession of today. Customers could also create their own pizza using a variety of toppings.
These pies sound like a dream for those nights when you want Olive Garden entrees that aren't pasta, but either customers or corporate just weren't into them. The chain still sold pizza at least as late as 1997, but sometime after that, the pies quietly joined the list of discontinued Olive Garden items. Some customers say the pizzas met their fate because they simply weren't very good, but others have fond memories of the pies, especially the Chicken Alfredo version. Either way, OG wasn't ready to give up on pizza permanently, for better or for worse.
Olive Garden failed thrice to sell pizza in the U.S.
Olive Garden has never spoken about why it discontinued its original pizzas, leading customers to speculate. One potential reason that gets mentioned over and over has to do with efficiency: The pizzas may have taken too much time and effort to cook and bogged down operations. Extra labor can be worth it if the dish is a bestseller, but many fans are almost certain that OG's pizza had low sales and profit margins, and no restaurant would keep a fiddly dish on the menu if it doesn't even make dough (no pun intended).
Olive Garden took a second crack at pizza in 2015 with the Breadstick Pepperoni Pizza appetizer, a halved breadstick topped with marinara, smoked mozzarella, and pepperoni. The dish was created by MasterChef Junior winner Logan Guleff, and like most promotional crossovers at restaurants, it only lasted for a limited time. OG's third and final attempt to sell a pizza-esque item in the U.S. came in 2018 with the unconventional Meatball Pizza Bowl, a bowl-shaped pizza crust with cheese, meatballs, and meat sauce. This time, it's pretty clear why the dish was discontinued, as reviews and customer feedback called it overly greasy and fussy to eat, with a too-thick crust and teeny tiny meatballs — a definite dish to avoid ordering at Olive Garden. As of this writing, the only pizza offered at Olive Garden U.S. is a miniature pie from the kids' menu. However, outside of America, things are a little different.
You can still get Olive Garden pizza at some international locations
To the shock of many U.S. customers, a 2024 TikTok video showed that pizza is still served at an Olive Garden location at the Tocumen International Airport in Panama. Among the offerings is the mythical Chicken Alfredo pizza, as well as Meat Lovers and Margarita pies. The airport menu even has a "create your own pizza" option, just like Olive Garden U.S. had in the '90s. More surprisingly, other international OG locations also sell pizza as of this writing.
Olive Garden Costa Rica offers a Pizza Margherita as part of its "Pronto Bowl" menu available from Monday to Friday. It's interesting how this calls back to the "Pronto!" lunch menu pizzas sold in America at one time. Meanwhile, Olive Gardens in the Philippines serve up a whole line of pies with a "thin crisp crust," including Margherita; Anchovy Olive; Four Cheese; Bacon & Spinach; Truffle & Honey Mushroom; Sausage & Cheese; and, of course, the fan-favorite Chicken Alfredo.
American Olive Garden fans may be drooling at the thought of these treats, but it remains to be seen if any of these items will hop onto U.S. menus. For now, the total lack of 'za is a major thing you need to know before going to Olive Garden for the first time, lest your cravings for a slice be met with a total letdown (and an urge to dash to the Little Caesars across the street).