What Is The Age Requirement For Olive Garden's Kids Menu?

Like many other popular restaurant chains, Olive Garden welcomes diners, young and old, to its establishment. However, only children of a certain age can enjoy items from the restaurant's kids' menu. While you may be a child at heart, only kids aged 12 and younger have access to the children's menu and all the delicious child-sized meal options within. And lest you think that Olive Garden is being overly fussy in setting age restrictions, keep in mind that it's common practice in the restaurant industry.

Most restaurants have age limits on children's menus for financial reasons. Children's menus are often viewed as a promotional tactic, as parents are more likely to visit an establishment that offers something for their little ones to eat. But because kids' meals are typically less expensive, restaurants want to deter adults from ordering them for themselves and paying less than they would for an entrée. This makes sense at Olive Garden, as it offers many child-sized versions of its famous pasta dishes.

The Olive Garden kids' menu features quite a few classic pasta preparations, albeit in child-friendly portions. Sauce options include tomato, alfredo, meat, or five-cheese marinara, which can be paired with pasta like rotini, shells, spaghetti, or fettuccine. There's also cheese-stuffed ravioli, which is accompanied by tomato sauce.

Olive Garden also features more conventional kid fare on its menu, such as chicken fingers, french fries, and mac and cheese. The restaurant even offers a personal pizza to young diners, which is sadly unavailable in adult portions, although the Italian-influenced chain did offer pizza options in the past. Children can choose between plain cheese and pepperoni pizza, with fries, grapes, broccoli, or spaghetti with tomato sauce as side options.

Nearly all the kids' meals are priced around $7, while the grilled chicken and pasta are slightly more at a little over $9. Diners also have the option of adding a take-home entrée for just about $6, and choices include spaghetti with meat sauce, five cheese ziti, or fettuccine alfredo.

Many parents are naturally concerned about the nutritional content of the food their children eat, so Olive Garden makes it easy to access this information. For instance, you can check out the nutrition information page on its website, which lists things like the saturated fat, calorie, and sodium content of each dish. Olive Garden also provides an online guide with allergen information, which is crucial for kids with allergies or sensitivities to certain ingredients.

Because children can get a little antsy when dining out with their parents, Olive Garden even offers a bit of entertainment. The special kids' menu features a cast of characters that represent some of the beloved dishes served at the chain, including Ricky Ravioli and Bene Breadstick. The kids' menu also provides fun activities, which children can complete with complementary crayons. Finding a restaurant that both adults and children love is often challenging, but Olive Garden strives to offer something for the whole family.