The Worst Dish At Olive Garden According To Nearly 24% Of People

As the most popular Italian restaurant chain in America, Olive Garden does have its share of loyal fans that enjoy dining at the eatery with their loved ones. The brand even states on its website, "At Olive Garden, we know that life is better together and everyone is happiest when they're with family." As such, the restaurant focuses on providing a range of food options for all its customers to share such as salads, soups, pastas, and much more.

According to Insider, the company began its journey in Orlando, Florida back in the early 1980s and has grown at an impressive pace since then with nearly 900 locations in North America today (per Statista). While those tasty breadsticks remain pretty popular, fans of the restaurant also have some classic favorite dishes that they keep going back to, while others can't stand certain dishes. Mashed conducted a survey with 645 respondents in the US that asked which dish was their least favorite entree at Olive Garden, choosing among options like Chicken Alfredo and Shrimp Alfredo, Five Cheese Ziti, and Chicken Marsala. And it turns out 24% really don't like this one.

Given how much people love many dishes at Olive Garden, Mashed wondered which ones they actually don't like. The survey had some interesting results. Among the mid-range picks that people don't love but don't despise there is the classic Shrimp Alfredo and Chicken Alfredo dishes, earning a respective 20.93% and 13.95% of the votes. Chicken Marsala was in that pool as well with 17.05% voting it as their least favorite dish.

But the top dish most people don't like is actually pasta-based, which makes it all the more surprising. The Five Cheese Ziti took a share of 23.72% of the vote, making it the winner (or loser, as it may be).

Described by Olive Garden as "a baked blend of Italian cheeses, pasta, and our signature five-cheese marinara," perhaps it's the calories diners don't like. One bowl of this entree packs in 1,220 calories.