Why Olive Garden's Lunch Specials Are Definitely Worth Catching

When you have a craving for Italian American comfort food, Olive Garden is the go-to destination. Along with classic pasta dishes, this chain also has a reputation for serving massive portions of its menu items, from chicken parmigiana to spaghetti with meat sauce. Portion sizes are so substantial at Olive Garden that many diners end up taking home quite a few to-go boxes. And while leftovers are appreciated, diners have the option of ordering smaller portions at a lower cost. Olive Garden's Lunch-Sized Favorites menu features the dishes you know and love from the resturant for a fraction of the price. 

However, these items are re-sized for lunchtime, which means smaller servings at a reduced price. On this menu, the lasagna classico is listed as $11.49, while the same dish costs $18.29 on the dinner menu. Keep in mind that midday meal portions are still pretty hefty, even if they're smaller than what Olive Garden serves up at supper time. The one drawback is that Olive Garden stops serving lunch specials after a certain time each day, meaning that diners must visit the restaurant on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to take advantage of the savings.

With restaurant prices moving past grocery costs, many diners must seriously consider their budgets before planning a night out at their favorite establishment. Accordingly, fans of Olive Garden likely want to know the specific size differences between lunch and dinner portions at the chain. To this end, Olive Garden's website features a nutritional menu that offers insight into the restaurant's different dishes.

While exact portion sizes aren't listed in the nutritional guide, customers can gain a better understanding by reviewing the total calories in each dish. Keep in mind that the ingredients are the same in both dishes, so the calorie variation is based solely on portion size. Consider that Olive Garden's dinner-sized lasagna classico clocks in at 940 calories, while the lunch portion of the same dish is just 500 calories. That means that the lunch item is almost 50% smaller than the dinner option, which is a pretty notable size difference.

Let's imagine you want to save money on dining out but have a voracious appetite. In this case, you may be better off ordering the lunch version of Olive Garden's never-ending soup, salad, and breadsticks. This menu option costs just $9.49 and offers a soup selection that includes minestrone, pasta e fagioli, chicken and gnocchi, zuppa Toscana, and Italian wedding soup. Should you order the endless deal when the lunch special is not available, expect to pay $11.49.

As for whether the deal is truly never-ending, Reddit offers some possible answers. In a thread asking if Olive Garden employees ever needed to cut somebody off from unlimited menu items, a commenter replied, "We would never be aloud to cut someone off." While another person added, "You can even take salad soup or breadsticks home for no extra charge." 

These answers seemingly indicate that the restaurant's never-ending lunch special is the best way to get the most for your money. And while it definitely sounds enticing, remember that Olive Garden's menu does not include a super salad, despite persistent rumors to the contrary.