Olive Garden is a classic Italian restaurant chain that features delicious pasta, soups, salads, and breadsticks. Do you need to make a reservation to eat at Olive Garden?
Olive Garden has been known for its long wait times in the past. Speeding up your wait at Olive Garden will depend on the size of your dining party, day of the week, and your local location waitlist availability.
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Is A Reservation Needed At Olive Garden
A reservation is only needed for large groups of eight or more people at Olive Garden.
Any group that is under eight will not need a reservation.
Does Olive Garden Take Reservations
Unless you are a large group Olive Garden is a first come first serve restaurant that will not take reservations to reserve a table.
Olive Garden has created an online waitlist that you can add your party to that will reduce the wait time for your group.
What Is The Waitlist At Olive Garden
The waitlist at Olive Garden is a system where you can add your party to a list of arrivals.
Being on the waitlist lets Olive Garden know about your party ahead of time and reduces your wait time when you arrive.
If I Am On The Waitlist WIll I Be Ahead Of Walk Ins
Yes, being on the waitlist at Olive Garden will put you ahead of any walk-ins during the same time period.
Can You Walk In And Get A Table At Olive Garden
You can walk in and get a table at Olive Garden, sometimes you may need to wait for an extended period of time.
The busier time frames are usually weekends and around holidays and local events.
How To Make Reservations At Olive Garden
If you need to make a reservation for a large party the best method is to call your local restaurant and speak with the host or hostess to make the reservation.
Can You Call Ahead At Olive Garden
Unless you are a party of over eight people you can not call ahead to reserve a table at Olive Garden.
In this case, the best way to speed up your wait is to add your party to the online waitlist at your local restaurant.
Can You Make Online Reservations At Olive Garden
You can not make an exact reservation for a table at Olive Garden online.
The online system will only allow you to add your name to your restaurant’s waitlist, which will speed up your wait time when you arrive at the restaurant.
Is The Waitlist At Olive Garden The Same As A Reservation
The waitlist at Olive Garden is not the same as a reservation.
With a reservation, your table is ready for the exact time when you arrive and will be held for a minimum of fifteen minutes or more if you are late.
Being on the Olive Garden waitlist may still require you to wait when you arrive at the restaurant and you will give up your spot on the waitlist if you arrive ten minutes after your designated time slot.
Do I Need To Use The Waitlist At Olive Garden If It Isn’t Busy
If your local Olive Garden is not busy, a waitlist is not needed and will not be available for you to add your name to.
How Long Will They Hold You Table At Olive Garden If You Are Late
If you are running late Olive Garden will only hold your spot on the waitlist for ten minutes.
It doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to get a table, you will just be added to the first-come, first-serve group of diners and may have a longer wait than you would’ve originally had if you had arrived during your waitlisted time frame.
If You Are On Olive Garden’s Waitlist Will Your Table Be Ready When You Arrive
Being on the waitlist at Olive Garden doesn’t mean your table will be ready for you when you arrive.
You may still have a short wait but, it will be shorter than it would’ve been if you had arrived with the first-come, first-serve group of guests.
How Will I Know When My Table Is Ready At Olive Garden
When you arrive at Olive Garden you will need to check in with the host even if you are on the waitlist.
You will then be sent a text message when your table is available.
At that point, the host will bring you to your table.
Do I Need To Have The Olive Garden App To Add My Name To The Waitlist
You do not need to have the Olive Garden App in order to put your name on the waitlist.
If you visit the Olive Gardens website you will notice a label at the top of the page indicating “join waitlist”, if you click on that you will be brought to a section where you can search for your local restaurant.
Once you have found your local restaurant there will be a button that you can click to “join waitlist”.
Can I Preorder My Food At Olive Garden
You can only preorder your food at Olive Garden for a to-go order.
If you wanted to be seated at a table you can not preorder your meal before your arrival.
Final Thoughts
I can remember the days of long wait times at Olive Garder, and I am sure there are still those moments of a lengthy wait.
At least with modern technology we now have so many options to place our pasta order.
You can choose to join the waitlist and dine in or order Olive Garden to go, they will even bring it to your car.
