‘The mold in plain sight’: Olive Garden customer orders a drink. Then she sees it’s topped with a moldy strawberry
An Olive Garden customer says she was served a drink with a moldy strawberry. She couldn't believe the company's response.
When one orders from a restaurant, they expect their meal to be cooked to order using the freshest ingredients possible.
This may be the goal of many restaurants. However, they often fall short of the task — leaving customers with meals that range from disappointing to disgusting.
Customers who have had such experiences often share their stories on social media. For example, one IHOP customer went viral after claiming she was served a moldy sandwich; another Popeyes customer also revealed that her sandwich had mold.
Now, an Olive Garden customer has the internet talking after sharing their unpleasant experience ordering a drink at the chain.
What’s wrong with this Olive Garden drink?
In a video with over 4.8 million views, TikTok user Samy Nguyen (@samy.nguyen1) shows a drink at Olive Garden. The drink is topped with a strawberry that has clearly molded.
“When your husband doesn’t want to be the one complaining so he hands it you to do the talking,” she writes in the caption of the video, which shows the drink being passed from one person to another. “Cmon #olivegarden…you could do better!”
Strawberries can go bad relatively quickly. Southern Living suggests that unrefrigerated strawberries may go bad in a day or two, while refrigerating one’s strawberries can extend their lifespan by up to a week.
Thankfully, if one accidentally ingests a moldy strawberry, the small size makes it unlikely for the mold to make them sick unless they are allergic to mold. Additionally, mold dramatically impacts the flavor of the berry. So the chances of one eating a moldy strawberry without knowing are small.
Still, that doesn’t explain why the restaurant thought it appropriate to pick up the moldy strawberry, slice it, then serve it with a drink.
Olive Garden’s response
In a follow-up video, Nguyen says that she reached out to Olive Garden guest relations via email. While she says the company did respond, she’s not satisfied with their answer.
“Olive Garden is trying to make it right, offering a $25 gift card,” she says, showing an email apologizing for the incident and offering the aforementioned gift card. “Like, are you guys missing a zero?”
As the video continues, Nguyen says she’d rather her videos simply stand as a “public announcement” about the chain. She adds, “it sucks because, as parents in this economy, we work so hard like to go out and enjoy a meal, and this [expletive] happens.”
@samy.nguyen1 When your husband doesn’t want to be the one complaining so he hands it you to do the talking 😂 cmon #olivegarden @Olive Garden you could do better! #mold #strawberry #ew #olivegarden ♬ original sound - samy 🤍
Commenters are disappointed
In the comments section, users expressed their shock and disappointment at the incident.
“The mold in plain sight would’ve made me lose my whole appetite,” wrote a user.
“No way they sliced it and put on there and thought wow that looks great send it out,” offered another.
“I work as a cook and i’ll admit we make mistakes by not checking things. it’s unfortunate to happen but it does. however this is pure laziness,” declared a third. “you’re telling me that the bartender and waitress didn’t catch it?”
We’ve reached out to Olive Garden via email and Nguyen via TikTok DM and comment.
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