Forget Olive Garden: This Affordable Italian Chain Is Dishing Out Huge Portions

In terms of casual dining Italian restaurant chains in the U.S., Olive Garden is obviously the big dog on the market. After all, it wasn't until 2025 that Olive Garden was passed by Texas Roadhouse as the most profitable casual dining chain (and it's still No. 2 in that space). Olive Garden is known for its unlimited soup and salad and generous pasta portions, but there's another Italian chain that might just outdo Olive Garden: Fazoli's.

Fazoli's is the largest quick service Italian chain in the country with more than 208 locations in 28 states. Fazoli's is everything you'd expect from an Italian chain catering to Americans — it originated in Lexington, Kentucky, after all. The portions are large, the breadsticks are plentiful, and the pasta is on par with any other large Italian chain, according to customers. The highlight of the menu might be Fazoli's Loaded Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, which features crispy bacon, Italian-style diced chicken, sauteed mushrooms, and Parmesan-roasted broccoli for $12.99 (depending on location). It also comes with two of Fazoli's famous garlic breadsticks.

Understandably, this Italian chain has a lot of fans. Again, the portion sizes are the focus of a lot of praise: "Most entrees are $9-12 and small portions are $7-8. For instance, a fettuccine Alfredo at Olive Garden is $16.29, at Fazoli's it's $9.29," a Redditor says, while going on to note that Fazoli's doesn't include a soup or salad. Another Redditor adds, "God bless Fazoli's, the only place where you can get a slice of pizza as a side item. Truly magnificent." It's true — if you make your entree a combo, you have the option of getting a slice of cheese pizza, a slice of pepperoni pizza, a house side salad, or a chocolate chip cookie.

Even with all those filling entrees, the star of the show at Fazoli's is often the unlimited free breadsticks. When we ranked the best free restaurant bread at 13 different chains, Fazoli's garlic breadsticks were second on the list, only passed by Texas Roadhouse. Like us, many reviewers say Fazoli's unlimited breadsticks are much better than Olive Garden's. One Facebook reviewer says just that, claiming Olive Garden's breadsticks are too dry. On Reddit, an alleged former employee also says Fazoli's beats out Olive Garden, adding that "you can get a half marinara half Alfredo dipping sauce and it's god tier." Another Redditor says "the butter and salt ratio on each stick is just so f*****g amazing. A marvel."

If you don't fill up on the unlimited garlic breadsticks, you certainly will on the main entrees or pizza. Options include spaghetti (with marinara or meatballs), baked spaghetti, the aforementioned fettuccine Alfredo, baked ziti, lasagna, chicken Parm, chicken broccoli penne, cheese and pepperoni pizzas, and a wide variety of subs and salads, among other items. All of this at fairly affordable prices that rarely pass $12.99. That is, unless you order the $25 family meal, which includes family-sized portions of fettuccine Alfredo and spaghetti with marinara or meat sauce, along with eight garlic breadsticks.

It's not often you find a quick-service chain that focuses on pasta and Italian food, but that's exactly what you get with Fazoli's. The generous portions, widely loved breadsticks, and inexpensive fettuccine Alfredo keep customers coming back. If you're close to one of its locations across the U.S., it's definitely worth a visit.