• I dined at Olive Garden and Carrabba's to see which Italian-food-serving chain had better dishes.
• Olive Garden's take on fettuccine Alfredo, chicken Parmigiana, and lasagna came out on top.
• I thought Carrabba's bread was good, but Olive Garden won this taste test for me.

As someone who grew up in the suburbs, restaurant chains like Olive Garden and Carrabba's always had a special place in my heart.

Some get a bad rep and, sure, they may not always be the most authentic, but sometimes there's comfort in knowing exactly what to expect. Plus, they can have some pretty great dishes.

Both chains serve tons of Italian-American classics, and I was curious which had the better bites and dining experience. So, I headed to both an Olive Garden and Carrabba's in the Panama City Beach area of Florida and tried ordering almost the same meal at each.

Here's how they compared.

First, I stopped by Olive Garden for an early dinner.

I started this taste test with my local Olive Garden since I was more familiar with it.

The Italian-inspired chain has more than 900 locations worldwide (most in the US) and is known for its "Italian generosity," in part because its meals come with unlimited breadsticks and salad.

Olive Garden felt welcoming when we stepped inside.

I thought the Tuscan-themed exterior of Olive Garden was warm and inviting.

The restaurant's interior seemed pretty basic, with glowing digital-order tablets at each table. Still, an effort seemed to be made to warm things up with artificial plants, brick accents, and yellow curtains.

My husband and I were greeted and seated immediately as an instrumental of "That's Amore" played overhead.

At Olive Garden, we started with the house salad and breadsticks that came free with an entrée.

After we ordered our entrée to share, our waitress brought out chilled salad plates, a massive bowl of Olive Garden's house salad, and three breadsticks.

She offered to grate cheese onto the salad, which we declined, and said she could bring out more breadsticks if we wanted them.

I was surprised by how generous the salad portion was, especially since we just ordered one entrée. We also could've asked for more at no extra charge.

The salad came topped with red onions, tomatoes, olives, pepperoncinis, and croutons. I thought it was crispy and refreshing, and the chilled plates were a nice touch, especially in the Florida heat.

The buttery breadsticks were warm, just a touch salty, and perfect for sopping up soups and sauces.

Olive Garden's Tour of Italy was a combo plate of classics.

For an entrée, we ordered Olive Garden's Tour of Italy, which came with fettuccine Alfredo, lasagna classico, and chicken Parmigiana.

The dish felt like a perfect opportunity to try a little bit of everything, and it felt like a solid deal at only $21.

Since my partner and I ordered it to share, our server asked whether we wanted the kitchen to divide the dish into two portions. I appreciated the offer, but we opted to have it served as-is and split it ourselves.

I thought the lasagna classico had a nice mixture of textures and flavors, with classic Italian seasonings and tomato sauce. It featured a meat sauce made with pan-seared beef and Italian sausage, along with Parmesan, mozzarella, and Romano cheeses.

The fettuccine Alfredo was creamy without being greasy and was exactly what I expected from a saucy pasta dish. I thought it was good, but it wasn't my favorite out of everything on the plate.

For me, the clear winner on the plate was the chicken Parm. The chicken was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, with just the right amount of cheese and homemade marinara sauce on top.

The tiramisu at Olive Garden was a creamy, dreamy ending to a lovely meal.

We followed up our Olive Garden feast with some tiramisu that cost us $9. The dessert has always been a must-order for us when we've done takeout, so we already knew we loved it.

The restaurant served it with whipped cream and a fine dusting of cocoa powder. The tiramisu was creamy and sweet, with just the right amount of coffee flavor and bitterness from the espresso-dipped ladyfingers.

When the meal was finished, our server packed up our leftovers from the Tour of Italy, along with two breadsticks, and handed us the check with two chocolate mints.

A few days later, we headed to Carrabba's for dinner.

Carrabba's is a smaller Italian-American restaurant chain with around 200 US locations, 66 of which are in Florida. Like Olive Garden, Carrabba's has a family-centric vibe.

According to the chain's website, the Sicilian-American founders' family recipes have been on the restaurant's menu for years.

Carrabba's didn't feel quite as welcoming as Olive Garden.

I appreciated that the Carrabba's I visited had outdoor patio seating, an open kitchen, a main dining room, and a bar area.

However, I didn't find the interiors quite as warm as Olive Garden's, with white tables and bright overhead lights. Perhaps it didn't feel as cozy because the restaurant was so empty, which I found surprising for a Wednesday night.

Carrabba's bread, which was included with the entrée, was my favorite part of the meal.

At Carrabba's, we were served complimentary bread, along with a small dish of dried spices. Our server poured some olive oil from a cruet already on the table onto the spices.

The loaf of bread was warm and fluffy had a crisp crust on the bottom that I enjoyed. It was nice to dip pieces of it into the seasoned olive oil, which elevated the flavor.

A house salad was also complimentary with my entrée, but it didn't impress me much.

Carrabba's house salad featured carrots, shredded red cabbage, olives, sliced pepperoncinis, and a side of creamy Parmesan dressing.

It wasn't bad, but I didn't find Carrabba's house salad as flavorful or as texturally or visually appealing as Olive Garden's.

It was also considerably smaller than the family-style salad we got at Olive Garden.

Carrabba's Italian Classics trio had some hits and misses.

Carrabba's Italian Classics trio, which cost me $25.50, had similar dishes to Olive Garden's three-part entrée and came with fettuccine Alfredo, lasagna, and chicken Parmesan.

Carrabba's entrée presentation wasn't as impressive as Olive Garden's, either, and overall, the flavor was a bit of a letdown for me.

The lasagna was made with two different sauces (pomodoro and meat) and had Romano, ricotta, and mozzarella. Despite its many ingredients, I thought the dish was flat, lacked distinct layers, and mostly tasted like basic tomato sauce.

The fettuccine was cooked well, and the Alfredo sauce was creamy with a nice flavor from the Romano cheese. I thought it was OK, but nothing too memorable.

Carrabba's chicken Parm came topped with the same pomodoro sauce used in the lasagna, along with Parmesan, Romano, and mozzarella. The chicken was crispy and had a pleasant smoky flavor, but I thought the cheese on top was over-toasted and a bit goopy.

The tiramisu at Carrabba's was served with elegant chocolate shavings.

I had high hopes for Carrabba's tiramisu, which sounded delicious on paper and cost us $9.80.

According to the menu, the ladyfingers had been dipped in liqueur-laced espresso and layered with sweetened mascarpone, Myers's rum, and chocolate shavings.

When we got the dish, I noticed the chocolate shavings were also sprinkled on top. But for me, the dessert — particularly the cream — had what I'd describe as a somewhat artificial flavor. I honestly enjoyed the chocolate shavings more than the tiramisu.

We scraped the plate clean at Olive Garden despite being pretty full, but at Carrabba's, we left about half of the tiramisu on the plate.

From the food to the service to the atmosphere, Olive Garden won every category for me.

I came into this taste test as a slightly bigger Olive Garden fan, and my affinity for the chain felt validated by my dining experiences.

I was a big fan of the portions, which seemed larger than Carrabba's, and appreciated the small added touches like chilled salad plates, extra breadsticks packed with leftovers, mints with the check, and even our server's offer to split our shared entrée.

At the time of writing, prices were comparable, though I appreciated that Olive Garden's were lower. Since then, prices of both have shifted: Olive Garden's Tour of Italy would now cost $23, whereas the Italian Classics Trio would be a whopping $28.50.

Ultimately, I enjoyed the flavors of each dish at Olive Garden and definitely plan on returning to the Italian-American restaurant chain when I get the chance.

This story was originally published on October 13, 2023, and most recently updated on June 22, 2026.

Read the original article on Business Insider