Woman goes to Olive Garden for All-You-Can-Eat. 10 hours later, the workers name her ‘pasta champion’: ‘This is so unhinged’
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A woman visited Olive Garden for its Never-Ending Pasta Bowl promotion. Then, she ate 13 bowls and broke her local restaurant's record.
On Sept. 2, Madison (@ugh_madison) documented her Olive Garden experience in a TikTok that amassed over 819,000 views as of Saturday.
“I got there at 11 and paid $15 for all-you-can-eat pasta,” she explained.
How long did she stay at Olive Garden?
Her waitress initially told her that the restaurant's record stood at nine bowls.
“But nine bowls is not a record,” she said. “That is a small treat.”
After three and a half hours, her original waitress finished her shift. The woman tipped her before continuing the challenge with another server and more pasta.
“My server said most customers can't even eat two bowls of pasta,” she explained. “But I'm not playing games.”
In total, the woman spent 10.5 hours at Olive Garden and ate 13 bowls of pasta. At one point, her waitress brought her a “one-of-a-kind pasta trophy” to celebrate her breaking the restaurant's record.
“I'm proud to say I set a new record at my local garden,” she said.
What are the caveats of Olive Garden's Never-Ending Pasta Bowl promotion?
Olive Garden's Never-Ending Pasta Bowl promotion offers diners unlimited servings of select pastas and sauces for one fixed price. The 2026 promotion starts at $14.99 and lasts from Aug. 31 through Nov. 22. Customers can choose from several pasta shapes, sauces, and optional protein toppings. However, prices and availability notably can vary by location.
Additionally, Olive Garden's website does not mention a limit on the amount of pasta one can order, nor does it mention a time limit. Additionally, the woman's TikTok did not indicate she ran into any time or refill limits.
The chain first introduced its Never-Ending Pasta Bowl in 1995. The promotion became an annual tradition, although Olive Garden paused it in 2020 and 2021. The restaurant brought it back in 2022 after a two-year hiatus. The return helped boost sales, with same-store sales rising 7.6% during the quarter that included the promotion.
However, unlimited refills can create financial challenges for restaurants. In 2021, Darden Restaurants CEO Rick Cardenas said the pasta promotion had historically been less profitable than other customer visits. The company questioned whether it needed the promotion to attract enough diners. However, Olive Garden eventually brought it back after slowing summer sales.
Can similar deals be found at other chain restaurants?
Olive Garden is not the only chain to experiment with bottomless deals. Red Lobster introduced its Ultimate Endless Shrimp promotion, while Applebee's has offered unlimited riblets.
Despite the publicity these promotions generate, they have gotten some restaurant chains in trouble. Most famously, Red Lobster had very pubic financial troubles after making Endless Shrimp a permanent menu option in 2023.
The promotion contributed to an $11 million operating loss during the company's third fiscal quarter. Executives said more customers ordered the shrimp deal than expected, hurting its financial performance. The company later raised the promotion's price to $25.
@ugh_madison
Subplot reached out to @ugh_madison via TikTok direct message and the TikTok comment section, and to Darden Media via email.
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