News & Trending Shopping & Deals News

8 Reasons to Never Eat at Olive Garden

Are free breadsticks enough to keep diners coming back?

By Amanda Machado , Edited by Calista Headrick

Updated Oct. 16, 2026

Add Us On Google

Olive Garden has long been thought of as America's favorite Italian chain restaurant, but its days might be numbered. Recently, Texas Roadhouse overtook it as the top chain restaurant in the country, and while this isn't an indicator that Olive Garden is going under, it is a referendum on some of its stubborn decision-making and what's perceived as declining food quality.

If you ask both customers and former employees alike, there are issues that not even the free breadsticks can make up for. From slugs in the soda to canned chicken in the pasta, there are more than a few reasons you should never eat at Olive Garden, especially if you're trying to stretch your restaurant budget.

But take everything with a grain of salt — for every employee who says the chicken is microwaved, you could find another who says it's a high-quality establishment.

Earn $100 cash rewards bonus with this incredible card

The Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card (Rates and fees) has no annual fee and you can earn $100 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.

Cardholders can also earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.

The best part? There's no annual fee.

Click here to apply now.

Poor food quality

The call is coming from inside the house at Olive Garden. Former employees are talking about their experiences working at the chain, and the degrading quality over the years.

It's reported that some chicken isn't actually 100% chicken, some chicken is canned, and some of the cheeses are a mystery cheese product. No matter how endless the pasta is, the poor quality isn't worth risking for many diners, and employees confirm that much of the food is just microwaved.

Make Money: 8 dumb ways to make money (almost anyone can do this)

Limited menu items

When a restaurant is trying to cut down on food waste, they'll start cutting menu items so fewer ingredients are required to keep the kitchen running.

That's what Olive Garden appears to be doing as they discontinue beloved items like the chicken alfredo pizza. There is, however, a rumor that the steak gorgonzola alfredo is making a comeback after being removed from the menu, and that will definitely bring longtime fans back to the OG.

Insect issues

Even worse than mystery meat is not-so-mystery insects crawling through dishes. Former employees claim that spiders and caterpillars are regular visitors to the kitchen, and slugs have a taste for the soda fountain. While you might not spot any bugs at your table, know that it's because of eagle-eyed employees making sure that eight-legged friends don't make their way into the dining room.

Earn as much as $1K doing simple online tasks

A company called Freecash has compiled all sorts of quick cash tasks from about a dozen advertisers and market research companies thirsty for more data. Freecash has paid out over $13 million to users since 2019, and has over 50,000 five-star reviews on Trustpilot.

Calorie bomb dishes

How does Olive Garden make subpar ingredients taste good? By loading them with sodium and MSG. Employees recount seeing diner after diner get sick from their dishes — some even while still sitting at the table. Not only are the pastas calorie bombs, but people tend to overeat when given the opportunity to keep the bowls of pasta coming. It's a recipe for a stomachache that will leave you more than sluggish.

Refusing discounts

Discounts are the name of the game for many chain restaurants, but Olive Garden doesn't want to court diners with flash-in-the-pan sales. Instead, they're refusing to budge.

In a world where people are feeling the pinch on their dining budget, this might be reason enough to skip the never-ending pasta and, instead, go somewhere where they'll spend less up-front. All-you-can-eat pasta is great, but not when it costs more than you'd pay for an entree elsewhere.

Rising prices

If prices were staying stable, diners might look past the refusal to offer discounts. But there's a bigger issue brewing — prices also appear to be rising. In some areas, pasta prices have risen from $12 to $18. That's a 50% increase, and it's not coming with a 50% increase in the amount of food on your plate.

While the restaurant blames inflation, the reason doesn't matter to diners who feel like they're getting less food and lower quality while spending more money.

Don't miss: 8 clever ways to save money so you can still afford to eat out

Slow service

It's not just Olive Garden; many restaurants across the country are navigating long wait times and slower service, often due to staffing shortages. But the optics aren't good for Olive Garden, which has diners reporting that they've waited up to an hour, even as they notice that the dining room is more empty than full.

When your family is hungry, and you're looking for a good Italian meal on a budget, you don't want to blow the entire cost of the meal on drinks while you wait. And that's when the slow service becomes a deal breaker.

Sanitation problems

It's best not to know how the sausage gets made…but unfortunately, former employees like spilling the behind-the-scenes stories from Olive Garden.

From employees not washing their hands to a lack of hair nets in the kitchen to breadsticks with ink imprinted on them from the bags they're sent in, there are more than a few issues with cleaning and sanitation processes at Olive Garden. This might be an eat-at-your-own-risk situation.

Bottom line

While Olive Garden is not in danger of closing, it is still facing the reality that it's no longer America's top chain restaurant sweetheart. And, in an era of more Americans eating local, it might even find itself coming in behind their favorite neighborhood Italian spot.

Major issues might be location-dependent, but it's a fact that menus are more limited, prices are rising, and you have to decide whether an unhealthy evening is worth your hard-earned money.

More from FinanceBuzz: