You Can Eat At The Biggest Olive Garden In The Country In This US City

Olive Garden food sits plated on a wooden table – Olive Garden / Facebook

The Olive Garden is an American institution, and despite its reputation for not being traditional Italian food, hungry customers flock to its locations to fill their bellies with soups, pasta, and especially breadsticks (never mind that it fell in 2025 to the Texas Roadhouse as the largest chain restaurant in America). But despite similarities in menu offerings from location to location, it might surprise you to learn that each individual restaurant doesn’t necessarily have the same layout. This is nowhere more true than with the biggest Olive Garden in the country, which is located in — surprise, surprise — the most populated city in the U.S., New York City.

Not only does the largest Olive Garden in the US of A (as well as the entire world) make its home in New York City, it’s actually located in the tourist hub of Times Square. This expansive restaurant fills an entire block, and includes three entire floors; it’s so large that it has its own escalator. Thinking about dropping on a whim? Not a great idea, especially during the busy weekend dinner hours, when the waitlist can last over three hours.

There are also the costs-per-dish to contend with. Olive Garden apparently practices dynamic pricing, and the Chicken Alfredo that might cost you just $21.99 in Yonkers, NY, will set you back $26.49 in its Times Square location. That’s showbiz, baby.

Read more: 18 Popular BBQ Chains, Ranked

The Times Square Olive Garden has been there when it was needed most

Pedestrians walk by the entrance for the Times Square Olive Garden – rblfmr/Shutterstock

You might not associate the Times Square Olive Garden with post-disaster efforts, but that’s just what it has contributed over the years. In an r/AskReddit thread that wondered why people have eaten there (this post actually went viral in 2017), one first responder told the story of how, in the aftermath of 9/11, that location only served New York police, firemen, EMS, etc., as they worked around the clock at Ground Zero, completely free of charge. “You would be working 12, 14, 18[-]hour shifts and you could go here, eat[,] and relax. I[‘]ll never forget the hospitality we received,” they wrote.

The country’s largest Olive Garden also came in clutch during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The biggest Atlantic hurricane to date, Sandy knocked out the power to a lot of lower Manhattan. Times Square still had power, though, since it’s in Midtown Manhattan, so another commenter on that same Reddit thread was able to make their way to the Olive Garden, where for $25, they obtained food, as well as electricity to charge their phone.

It’s also worth mentioning, while not a disaster, New Year’s Eve is a hugely chaotic event in Times Square, and some people have found respite from the crowds at the Olive Garden. This location, for a flat fee (which has increased year-to-year), serves up an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner, unlimited drinks, a decent view of the ball-drop, and perhaps most importantly — access to restrooms.

Want more food knowledge? Sign up to our free newsletter where we’re helping thousands of foodies, like you, become culinary masters, one email at a time. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google.

Read the original article on Food Republic.