A Las Vegas-based Olive Garden employee shared an off-menu hack that might alter your Olive Garden dining experience forever.
Creator Tyrone (@beforealtyrone), who shares food and restaurant hacks on his account, brought this tip to the masses, getting more than 152,600 views since going up with it on Oct. 31. He declares in the caption: “This hack will change the way you eat and drink at Olive Garden.” Some commenters, however, were skeptical as to whether it would do that.
Tyrone begins the video with a companion, stating they’re servers at the restaurant bearing a drink hack that you’ll need to check in with your server about. Per Tyrone’s instructions, ask for a soda water and then some grenadine. He then demos it by pouring a healthy glug of the pink syrup into the glass.
Then, he suggests adding cream.
“And now you’ve got what’s called an Italian soda. Thank me later,” he says.
He then invites the other server to get a straw and try it. She offers her verdict, approvingly saying, “That actually tastes like sherbet.”
@beforealtyrone This hack will change the way you eat and drink at olive garden #hack #olivegarden #food #olivegardenhack #foodhack @Repost Queen ♬ original sound – Tyrone
Commenters weighed in.
“Olive Garden had Italian soda on their menu years ago,” one asserted. “Raspberry was my fav.”
“This was on the menu when I bartended there but that was almost 15 years ago,” chimed in another.
That comment led Tyrone to reply, “Woahhh.”
Someone else asked, “How is this not viral?”
Tyrone responded, “Agreed!”
Another, assessing the soda water-to-grenadine ratio, noted, “Grenadine is so sweet and that pour was HEAVY,” adding. “I can’t imagine how sweet this drink is.”
“I am absolutely appalled at how much grenadine you just put in there,” observed another, while yet another commenter declared the amount he used to be “illegal.”
Googling “olive garden Italian soda” will bring recipes basically mirroring what Tyrone said in the video. Food.com offers one that merges 2 1/2 cups of club soda, a cup of syrup, and a 1/2 cup of half-and-half. While the Food.com recipe specifies Olive Garden-branded syrup, other similar recipes suggest Torani.
A Mashed article last updated in February 2023 notes, “Most Olive Gardens have a shelf of flavored syrups for when customers order, say, a caramel apple latte, or even a peach iced tea. And though you won’t find it on any menu, you can still enjoy sipping on an Italian soda while at Olive Garden.” It also advises customers to “tread carefully (and ask nicely,” adding that should apply to “all of Olive Garden’s secrets.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Tyrone via TikTok comment and Olive Garden via email.