The story
Located in the heart of Times Square, this Olive Garden location serves as a prominent fixture for visitors in New York City. Despite its central position, the restaurant has faced significant criticism regarding its culinary offerings and overall dining experience.
Creator Bertra recently offered a harsh assessment of the venue, labeling it the "worst Italian restaurant in the US." In a pointed review, Bertra described the visit as an "overpriced, traumatic experience," asserting that the food lacks authentic Italian flavor and that most menu items are ultimately inedible. The critique specifically highlighted dissatisfaction with staples such as the Lasagna Fritta, Zuppa Toscana, Chicken Parmigiana, Fettuccine Alfredo, Lasagna Classico, and Spaghetti con Polpette. For those seeking a traditional Italian meal in Manhattan, this location remains a highly controversial choice among diners.
Synthesised by AI from every creator’s review. First reviewed 2025.
Most-loved dishes
AI summary of what 6 dish mentions say about the food
Reviewers rave about the Zuppa Toscana, calling it a hearty, soul-warming standout. The overall vibe is reliably comforting and satisfying, exactly what you expect from a familiar favorite.
“This is the Tuscan soup with meat, onions, and kale. It looks like a Tuscan soup. I don't know the Tuscans, but their aspirated C and their cheap humor have ruined this country. I hate Tuscany even more now. It's bitter in a bad way. The kale gives a strong flavor, but this tastes of sadness, pain, regret. It's terrible.”
What creators say
1 creator has covered Olive Garden. Most active: Bertra
Olive Garden is the worst Italian restaurant in the US — an overpriced, traumatic experience where nothing tastes Italian and most dishes are inedible.
Dishes mentioned
Lasagna Fritta
This is supposed to be a sheet of lasagna pasta fried with béchamel and meat inside. But there's no meat inside, it's only on top. The inside is mozzarella, not béchamel. The marinara is the aggressive American marinara — acidic but also sweet, more diluted than our tomato sauce. After a while you get used to it. This thing is not a lasagna, it doesn't even come close to a lasagna, but it's good. It's edible.
Zuppa Toscana
This is the Tuscan soup with meat, onions, and kale. It looks like a Tuscan soup. I don't know the Tuscans, but their aspirated C and their cheap humor have ruined this country. I hate Tuscany even more now. It's bitter in a bad way. The kale gives a strong flavor, but this tastes of sadness, pain, regret. It's terrible.
Chicken Parmigiana
This is a mega American thing that never existed in Italy. It's a parmigiana where instead of eggplant there's an over-fried chicken cutlet, hard as cement. It's not bad per se because it's a chicken cutlet with tomato and mozzarella on top. But this particular cutlet sucks. It's very salty, overcooked, over-fried, hard as rock. I'd give it a 5 only because it's edible. It's just salt. I feel like spitting it out.
Fettuccine Alfredo
I smell something. I'm shocked by what I put in my mouth. It tastes a bit rancid. Something's wrong. It tastes exclusively of low-quality butter and a bit of cooking cream. No trace of parmigiano, no trace of grana, no trace of cheese — it's pain. The pasta is pre-cooked, then left there and tossed. It's reheated pasta. On the edges it goes boing boing, and it's not great pasta anyway. Very bad.
- Lasagna
