An Olive Garden server, frustrated by misinformation circulating on TikTok about her restaurant’s Never-Ending Pasta Bowl, decided to take to the platform to advise people on the best way to order.
The video, created by user Hailey (@haileydeenaz), found an audience for her advice with more than 1.3 million views in just a single day. Responding to the Daily Dot’s request for comment, she says she works at a restaurant on Long Island in New York.
In the video, Hailey gives all sorts of advice for how to order the pasta and sauce, typically retailing for $13.99 at Olive Garden restaurants—and for meat selections, which are $5 more but recommended by the creator.
“These are some facts you need to know about the Never-Ending Pasta Bowl that we’re doing,” she says at the outset.
@haileydeenaz My hair is a mess im tired af but I wanted to make this video anyway comment any questions you want answered and ill answer them in the comments #olivegarden #neverendingpastabowl #olivegardenhack #newyork #longisland #foryou #foryoupage #tipsandtricks #serverlife #servertiktok #olivegardenpasta #presidentofthefastfoodsecretsclub @jordanhowlett ♬ original sound – Hailey 🖤
First, she reveals, “The best way you can go about this, honestly, is that you get the meat add-on … what you do is you pick your pasta shape, pick the sauce, and then you pick the meat.”
Meat options for the never-ending pasta bowl, according to Hailey, include crispy chicken, meatballs, and sausage, and it’s possible to get more meat if you’ve eaten yours and still have pasta and sauce on your plate. She also notes you can get a half-and-half meat option if you wish.
Hailey notes there’s also a gluten-free rotini option for people who need gluten-free options.
She provides ample advice for ordering, including what soup to not order if you’re planning to load up on the never-ending pasta bowl.
“As far as your starter, you get a choice of soup or salad. If you’re gonna go the choice of soup, I don’t recommend getting the chicken gnocchi,” she advises. While she deemed it delicious, she warns it might fill you up before you get to the pasta.
Also, while she says it doesn’t matter to the servers if you take some home in a to-go container, overdoing it and loading up multiple containers isn’t cool for your server.
She notes in a follow-up video accusing her of making a commercial for Olive Garden that she created the video after seeing a TikTok creator fill numerous containers with pasta that “will go bad in two days.”
Specifically, that commenter said, “This is definitely an ad for Olive Garden. And I watched the whole thing. And now I’m hungry.”
@haileydeenaz Replying to @Jeremy ♬ original sound – Hailey 🖤
Earlier this month, as part of its ongoing never-ending pasta bowl coverage, the Daily Dot documented a TikToker who bragged of “finessing” 11 bowls of pasta in a move that would no doubt irk Hailey.
Hailey notes, in the original viral video, “Your server makes all the refills, so if you’re thinking about giving us $3 on your $40 check, kind of sucks when we brought you like three soups and a salad that we made ourselves.”
Commenters appreciated the knowledge, with one saying, “Thank you for your service. May your pillow always be cool on both sides.”
Hailey told the Daily Dot, “I had 50 followers on TikTok and literally never touched TikTok. I was only making it in hopes of reaching maybe 1,000 people maximum. Once the numbers started to exponentially grow at an alarming rate, I was excited but also very freaked out.”
She noted that she was just speaking as an invested server and not an official company rep.
“I put out the disclaimer that I was not an affiliate or authorized rep—that I was just a server and basically was just informing people of their options for the NEPB promotion,” she said.
Her go-to option is the fettuccine with crispy chicken and half creamy mushroom sauce and half Alfredo. She also recommends the shrimp scampi.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Olive Garden via email.