Olive Garden is an American restaurant chain specializing in Italian-American food. General Mills opened The first Olive Garden on December 13, 1982, in Orlando, Florida. 668 Olive Garden Restaurants As of 2008, there are.

By 1989, General Mills had opened 145 restaurants, making it one of the fastest-growing units in the company's restaurant holdings. While not a "critical success", it was popular, and its per-store sales soon matched sister company Red Lobster. The company eventually became the largest chain of Italian-themed full-service restaurants in the U.S. Olive Garden is owned by Darden Restaurants, Inc., which was spun off from General Mills in 1995. Olive Garden restaurant at Times Square, New York City

The ambiance of Olive Garden restaurants seeks to replicate an old-world Italian style, utilizing foliage in their dacor, stucco walls, and background music consisting of Italian themes. Their cuisine, however, differs from authentic Italian cuisine in a number of respects. For example, veal, often served as an entrance in traditional Italian cooking, is largely absent from Olive Garden menus. Also, their appetizers do not include cold-cut antipasto dishes, which are a key feature of a traditional Italian meal. Their culinary identity is better described as Italian-American cuisine.

Newer restaurants are styled after a farmhouse in the town of Castellina in Chianti, Tuscany, on the grounds of the Rocca delle Macie winery. The farmhouse is home to the Riserva di Fizzano restaurant adjoining the Olive Garden Culinary Institute of Tuscany, which is led by executive chef Romana Neri.