Why We Ranked This Original Olive Garden Cocktail The Absolute Best On The Menu

Though Olive Garden was recently overtaken by Texas Roadhouse as the most popular casual dining chain in the United States, it's still a wildly popular restaurant. The chain offers plenty of classic Italian appetizers, entrees, and desserts at its nearly 900 locations across the country. When you think of Olive Garden, you might focus more on Alfredo, carbonara, lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, or, of course, those unlimited breadsticks, but the popular restaurant chain actually has quite a few cocktails to enjoy as well.

When we ranked every Olive Garden cocktail from worst to best, the standout winner was the Italian margarita. The drink is composed of Jose Cuervo Especial Silver tequila, triple sec, and a shot of amaretto — a sweet Italian liqueur — on the side, meant to float on top of the margarita. It doesn't appear the restaurant chain even uses a typical sweet and sour mix in its Italian margarita, which is a nice change and allows the sweetness of the amaretto and triple sec to shine through. The drink also comes with sugar, instead of salt, lining the rim.

We didn't expect much from Olive Garden's original cocktail list, but it's clear a lot of thought was put into this drink. And for just $7.50 — which is actually the most expensive of Olive Garden's featured cocktails — the Italian margarita is a pretty good deal. Perhaps, it's even worth a visit to the bar on its own.

It's not often a massive chain restaurant makes a drink that becomes a bit of a viral sensation. But that's exactly what's happened with the Italian margarita at Olive Garden. Wine Enthusiast wrote about the drink's sudden surge in popularity during the summer of 2025.

The drink is mostly well-received by online reviewers. One TikTok reviewer called it a "posh" drink. Another Instagram reviewer loved and recommended the drink. A restaurant chain must know it has a hit of a menu item when said item inspires copycat recipes all over the internet. And that's the case with this drink. One popular version incorporates a homemade sour mix that's a simple combination of melted sugar, water, lime, and lemon juice. The cocktail includes said sour mix, Jose Cuervo Blanco or a similar white tequila, triple sec, amaretto, and an orange slice garnish on a sugar-lined rim.

Not all the reviews of this cocktail are positive, though. Some call it overly sweet or lacking in alcohol. But compared to the other featured drinks at Olive Garden, we think this one is a winner. This is no high-brow fancy margarita by any means. It's just a good chain restaurant cocktail you can depend on if you want a little something extra as a precursor to your pasta-heavy lunch or dinner.