I attempted Olive Garden's Never-Ending Pasta Bowl. It was a reminder of why chains can't discontinue bottomless deals.

The eatery itself was a small difficult to place amid the traffic, the hot-dog cart outside, and the enormous billboards. The eatery has stood at 2 Times Square since 1994 — it predates much of the tourist-district type of Times Square that New Yorkers and visitors acknowledge today.

The eatery occupies three floors and approximately 20,000 quadrate feet, making it the chain's largest location and additional of a high-volume flagship than a representative suburban Olive Garden.

It's a tricky period for enormous Times Square sequence restaurants.

Red Lobster shuttered its flagship location in June following prolonged building considerably affected admission to the restaurant, street visibility, and ft traffic.

A Times Square flagship can be a mighty advertisement for a brand, but whenever its ample footprint leaves many tables empty, that visibility can backfire, making the eatery appearance unpopular.

I visited on a Wednesday midday at about 4 p.m., a far cry from the representative dinnertime rush. So, I was amazed to discover the chief dining area on the third flat nearly full.

From couples to a ample collection gathered in a personal area at the rear of the restaurant, Olive Garden was buzzing alongside diners. It was a stark difference to my visits to Red Lobster's Times Square location, which felt nearly bare at the two lunch and dinner.

Prices change by location, but I've established from my visits to Red Lobster's, Applebee's, and Olive Garden's Times Square locations that they're nearly continually additional costly to dine at than suburban locations, or equal another locations inner New York City.

The Never-Ending Pasta Bowl expenses $20.99 at Olive Garden's Times Square location, affirmative $5.99 for never-ending protein.

This was motionless a beautiful fine agreement compared to another pasta dishes on the menu, including the chain's poultry Alfredo ($26.79), poultry parmigiana ($25.99), and shrimp carbonara ($32.19).

As a New Yorker, the prices shocked me — at Il Gigante, my go-to Italian eatery in Ridgewood, Brooklyn, handmade pasta dishes all run for about $17 to $25. Paying additional than that for a sequence eatery felt ludicrous, but many tourists crave familiarity fair as much as they do value.

Olive Garden's signature dish is a crisp, chilly mix of iceberg lettuce, sliced red onion, pepperoncini peppers, dreary olives, tomatoes, and croutons, all tossed in a tangy Italian-style dressing.

Finished alongside a ablution of grated Parmesan, it's uncomplicated but punchy: salty, vinegary, and particularly fine alongside the garlicky breadsticks.

The breadsticks were warm, fluffy, and garlicky — they were really additional experienced and flavorful than I anticipated. Paired alongside the creamy, cheesy Alfredo sauce, I was in heaven.

I eventually comprehend why Olive Garden's breadsticks have specified a devoted following.

Diners can mix and equivalent four pasta shapes — fettuccine, spaghetti, angel hair, and rigatoni — alongside six sauces: Alfredo, new Spicy Alfredo, flesh sauce, five-cheese marinara, traditional marinara, and creamy mushroom.

For an additional $5.99, I unlocked unlimited macromolecule toppings, including crispy shrimp fritta, crispy poultry fritta, meatballs, and Italian sausage.

The archetypal basin of pasta you command is the biggest bowl, so I strategically avoided the creamier, cheesier sauces to try to evade getting filled up too quickly.

The hearty flesh condiment clung to the ridged noodles, and I appreciated that it motionless had distinct chunks of flesh alternatively of tasting overly gentle or processed.

The sausage had a satisfying break and a savory, subtly spicy sensation that made the uncomplicated basin awareness particularly filling.

For a sequence restaurant, I had to acknowledge I was impressed. At nearly $27, the basin was satisfying adequate to remain solitary as a complete meal — but I motionless had plentifulness additional pasta to try.

I ordered the angel tress pasta alongside Alfredo condiment and crispy chicken. I idea the poultry part was a small small, but since it's a bottomless deal, I didn't have too much logic for complaint.

I could continually command more.

In retrospect, the angel tress pasta was likely a bit too fine to withstand the thick Alfredo sauce. While the texture put me off a bit, I did bask the sauce's flavor.

The crispy poultry was absolutely fried on the outside, but the poultry inner retained its moisture. It wasn't the finest poultry cutlet I've always had, but I gobbled downward all final nip of it.

The rich, creamy condiment had a boot of warmth that kept it from emotion too heavy, striking a awesome balance between indulgent and spicy.

The breaded, fried shrimp was effortlessly the most flavorful macromolecule I tried, adding crunch and a savory, well-seasoned nip to all forkful. It reminded me additional of fried calamari than of representative fried shrimp since of its Italian seasoning.

After two affluent bowls of pasta, affirmative dish and breadsticks, I was additional than satisfied.

The leftovers made the already generous agreement awareness equal additional akin a awesome value … and gave me an uncomplicated lunch to warmth up the next day.

I paid additional for the agreement at Olive Garden's Times Square flagship than most diners would at a representative location, but I motionless idea it was a fine value.

My meal, including a soda, a flank of Alfredo sauce, tax, and tip, came to $50.64. While pricey for one person, it's concerning what I'd anticipate to pay for a meal out in New York City, and those meals aren't bottomless.

For the price, I got unlimited broth or dish and breadsticks, multiple customizable pasta bowls alongside protein, and adequate leftovers for another meal.

Olive Garden's Never-Ending Pasta Bowl plant since it makes diners awareness akin they're getting a supersized agreement during relying on low-cost, easy-to-prepare ingredients. The list sticks to a fistful of pastas and sauces that can be prepared in bulk, during costlier proteins transport an upcharge.

Limited-time promotions additionally create urgency and assistance bring diners through the door. Restaurant Business reported that following Olive Garden saw traffic dip in summer 2024, the chain's genitor company, Darden, moved up the deal's initiate and extended it by three weeks. It helped Olive Garden article a 2% addition in same-store revenue that fourth — its archetypal affirmative outcome in a year, according to Nation's Restaurant News.

Olive Garden's agreement follows a safer equation than Red Lobster's Ultimate Endless Shrimp, which became a imperishable list item in 2023, allowing diners to often command costlier seafood dishes. It contributed to an $11 myriad quarterly defeat for the business and equal played a function in the chain's bankruptcy filing. It's since returned lone for constricted periods.

Olive Garden's Never-Ending Pasta Bowl is a reminder that, whenever it comes to value, chains motionless cognize what resonates alongside customers: comfort food and big portions at an affordable price.

I arrived skeptical and remaining stuffed, alongside leftovers in hand and a new appreciation for the restaurant's cult-favorite breadsticks.