Bites Nearby: Olive Garden

Recently I took my twin girls to for lunch. I thought an endless bowl of soup and salad would hit the spot. It was such a wonderful treat—and a great change of pace from the usual hamburgers and tacos.

Overview: Olive Garden is a franchise Italian restaurant. The food is good and it offers many options if you just want to go somewhere for a nice meal. The lunch menu has some great deals like endless soup and salad. The dinner menu has some nice choices, too.

Décor: The décor is that of an Italian Tuscan village, very bright and colorful. The restaurant is very spacious with plenty of booths and tables so there’s usually not a long wait for lunch. Olive Garden also has a full bar.

Entrée: Lunch entrees were very hearty. In addition to the soup and salad, we had several lunch specials: panini sandwiches, chicken florentine and chicken caprese. The latter is new to the menu. It was topped with sundried tomato and pesto spread with mozzarella and tomato. Lunch entrees range from $5 to $10.

Service: Our waitress was very accommodating. She even gave me some extra soup to take home with me. I like that.

Hours: Olive Garden is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Olive Garden is in Canton Marketplace at 2040 Cumming Hwy. It is approximately 10 miles from Woodstock and 4 miles from Holly Springs.