9 Best Olive Garden Ordering Tips

When you think about Olive Garden, perhaps you conjure up an image of one of its popular pasta dishes or maybe something from its selection of cocktails (the fruit-forward spiked strawberry lemonade took first place in our ranking). No matter what you're in the mood for, there's a range of tasty choices to enjoy on your next visit. And it never hurts to have some useful ordering tips under your belt, whether you're completely new to visiting the restaurant chain or a frequent patron. 

We've done the research to find a few of the most useful and best Olive Garden ordering tips to ensure your visit is as excellent as possible. We will cover a wide scope of insights, all relating to ordering, so you can get your best meal (and experience) yet. These should help you feel more comfortable placing your order, understanding various features and parts of the menu, and more.

You might peruse the menu and find a pasta dish that catches your eye. You may assume that you have to eat the pasta exactly as it comes, but you are free to make changes, including a big one: Swapping the pasta in your dish. Yes, that means your fettuccine Alfredo doesn't have to be fettuccine at all. Or, transform your spaghetti with meatballs into bucatini with meatballs.

Pick from five pastas: Fettuccine, spaghetti, angel hair, shells, or bucatini. That means you can swap out a pasta, so it effectively changes the entire textural composition of the dish. If you're ordering online, some of the pasta dishes have a clear customization section where you can easily click a button to request a different pasta, but for others, you might have to add it in the special instructions section. When ordering in person, simply mention to your server that you want to swap the pasta, and they can confirm if the restaurant can do it for your particular dish.

Who doesn't love a bargain in this day and age? Rising restaurant menu prices nationwide mean that customers are always on the hunt for a good deal, and Olive Garden provides a handful of options throughout the year that you could take advantage of. One such deal is the Take Home entree option, where guests can tack on a $6 pasta dish to participating meals, such as the chicken Alfredo, for example. This offer allows customers to pick from the five cheese ziti, fettuccine Alfredo, or spaghetti with meat sauce. The pasta comes chilled, so you can cook it at home, but it doesn't include any type of soup, salad, or breadsticks. Regardless, it's still a fantastic deal for six buckaroos. 

Olive Garden occasionally has offers like the Buy One, Take One, where you can get two pastas for $14.99 — although prices may vary by location. It's available with limited dishes, such as rigatoni alla vodka, four-cheese manicotti, or chicken parmigiana. Other past offers are the Fan Favorites deal for $12.99, which included braised beef tortelloni, ravioli di portobello, and four-cheese manicotti. Keep an eye out for deals online, so you can time your visit accordingly, or ask when you visit the restaurant.

Unless you want a singular soup, salad, and breadstick portion, don't make the mistake of ordering it to-go. This menu item is much better when eaten in the restaurant because you can get refills on anything you want. If you're a newer customer to Olive Garden, this deal is a great way to try different soups to get a feel for them, instead of committing to one soup if you simply ordered the bowl of soup entree. You could order the soup, salad, and breadsticks, and get a new soup every time until you work your way through the four options: Pasta e fagioli, minestrone, chicken and gnocchi, and zuppa toscana. The last one is a clear winner in an Olive Garden soup taste test because of its creamy notes, spicy sausage, and fresh kale.

You may very well be in the mood for salad, soup, and breadsticks to eat at home, and that's fair. Perhaps you don't intend or want any additional portions, but we're just letting you know it's not the best deal that you can get if you order takeout.

Olive Garden's house salad is so tasty and satisfying, and there's a reason for that. The company chills its salad plates, which makes the experience all the more refreshing. Unlike soups and pastas, there's only one standard house salad to pick from. But luckily, you don't have to eat it exactly as it comes. Feel free to make some changes while you're ordering so you can enjoy it to your preference. 

You can remove the tomato, olives, onions, pepperoncini, or croutons from your salad. To be fair, you don't receive a lot of any of the toppings as it's portioned according to how many people are eating it or are at the table — for example, two olives and two pieces of tomatoes for two people. But you can request more of anything if you want to go that customization route.

You can even pick your dressing: Italian dressing, low-fat Italian, or oil and vinegar. Alternatively, you could ask for light dressing or the dressing on the side, as it can sometimes be applied very liberally, making the salad somewhat wet.

While there are plenty of popular menu items on Olive Garden's roster, you don't have to go for a typical dish while you're there. Instead, you may want to get an appetizer as your meal and call it a day. The Olive Garden appetizers are surprisingly large and filling, especially if you're planning to eat them alone rather than sharing them with the table. 

The toasted ravioli, for example, ranked as the top pick out of eight options. This app is technically still a pasta dish, but it's considered an app since it's slightly more fun — you can dunk them in marinara with your bare hands. It comes with its fried, crunchy exterior with a hint of herbiness, while the meat in the center brings a rich, umami hint that makes every bite thoroughly satisfactory. Shrimp fritto misto is a nice meal option if you want some shrimp, onions, and bell peppers; everything is crunchy and fried to perfection. Plus, you get some semblance of balance with a bit of protein and veg. The appetizers are a compelling way to dine, and they're more affordable than a typical entree.

You might be in the mood for a delicious dessert if you have some room after your meal, that is. Olive Garden has a tasty selection of treats, whether you're in the mood for a tiramisu or a slice of layered chocolate cake that resembles lasagna. However, you should pick your dessert based on whether you plan to eat it at the restaurant or later when you get home. Most options transfer well at home, such as the decadent Black Tie Mousse Cake with layers of chocolate cheesecake, custard mousse, and chocolate cake. It's sturdy enough to make it home and even last in the fridge overnight, and the same goes for the Chocolate Lasagna.

However, don't attempt that with the warm Italian doughnuts. It's all in the name; they should be eaten warm, and they don't taste as fresh if you eat them later. Plus, you don't necessarily want to reheat them either. Order these only if you can eat them at the restaurant. The tiramisu is delicate and moist as well. It can last on your drive home, but it's best eaten that same day, as it may get incredibly soggy by the next day.

You might want to pursue the catering menu if you're planning to feed four to six people. It can potentially be a better bargain than dining in the restaurant, but there are some things to factor in. These typically come with only the pasta dish, though, as soup, salad, or breadsticks are an additional fee. Some options include chicken parmigiana, shrimp Alfredo, spaghetti with meat sauce, and others. 

For example, chicken Alfredo serves up to six people and starts at $66.99. Tack on $25.79 for a jumbo salad and 12 breadsticks, which comes to $92.78. An individual chicken Alfredo is $22.79, which would cost $113.95 for five people. So, it's definitely a good deal if you are willing to get one dish for your family, work, etc. There are also larger options that feed up to 14 people, or a Create Your Own Pasta Station. Of course, the caveat with any of these is that you're limited to the catering-specific dishes. Prices will vary based on the catering dish you get. 

If you're already hungry and worried about wait times, you might want to check out the Waitlist function on Olive Garden's website. It's typically available during business hours, or 11 a.m. through 9:30 p.m.; the 9:30 time allows a buffer before the restaurant closes at 10 p.m. — although some locations may close at 11 p.m. on certain days. You can find the wait list as you navigate the website, then click on it to change your location to the correct store. 

It'll show you the approximate current wait time, which can keep you informed on how to proceed. If there's no wait time, you can feel more confident heading into the restaurant, but if there's a wait, then you can select a party of up to six people. Any more than that, you'd need to call your restaurant. It'll give you an estimated wait time for your party size, then you enter your contact details and join the waitlist. It's not a reservation, but it saves your place in line so your wait is shorter when you get to the restaurant.

Admittedly, Olive Garden's meals and appetizers can be heavy. So, you might want to order an entree from the lighter portions section of the menu. These are only available Monday through Friday after 3 p.m., but you can get them all day on the weekends. There are seven specific options to select from, including the chicken parmigiana with spaghetti, the cheesy, tomatoey cheese ravioli, the five cheese ziti al forno made with the five cheese marinara, and others. 

Let's use the lasagna classico as an example: The regular entree is 940 calories, whereas the light one is somewhere around half that at 500 calories. These dishes are great if you want a smaller portion and don't want any leftovers. We've found that some pastas (usually the creamy ones like Alfredos) don't necessarily reheat well because of their oil content; the oil tends to separate from the dairy and doesn't quite incorporate after heating it up again. But, of course, there are plenty of reasons why someone wants a smaller portion, and these are sure to hit the spot.