Olive Garden Diner Doesn’t Stop Server Grating Cheese—Unprepared for Result

A man has shared how he left his local Olive Garden restaurant with an unexpected cheese treat after a visit earlier this month.

Kyle, who lives in Pittsburgh, was at an Olive Garden with his friend when the server went above and beyond.

“My friend and I were returning from a trip to Microcenter in Ohio and decided to grab dinner at the Olive Garden, which was one of the few places still open past 9. Our server, Mickey, was exceptionally friendly,” Kyle told Newsweek.

Opting for ravioli carbonara while his friend indulged in spaghetti, Kyle accepted Mickey’s offer of cheese. However, what followed was a comical cheese cascade as Mickey liberally sprinkled it onto Kyle’s dish. “I nonchalantly sipped my water as the cheese kept coming,” Kyle recalled.

Olive Garden offers cheese at the table, the grated cheese is Romano cheese, a sheep’s milk cheese that is similar to the cow’s milk derived Parmesan. Romano tends to be stronger in flavor and saltier, but both are popular choices to adding to pasta dishes.

Newsweek reached out to Olive Garden who did not have further comment.

When all the cheese was gone, server Mickey even Kyle asked if he wanted her to get some more, but he declined, not wanting to burden her.

But upon receiving their bill and containers for leftovers, Mickey surprised them with an extra container filled with four blocks of cheese.

The story didn’t stop there, either. Kyle shared his experience on Reddit’s r/mildlyinteresting subreddit where it garnered significant attention, with more than 9,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments.

Reddit users speculated about the situation, with many suggesting that Mickey was flirting with the customer.

“You might wanna ask for her phone number,” said one commenter. While another said: “She was flirting and I’m so jealous! Wish someone would flirt with me using cheese.”

One viewer of the now viral post on Reddit simply said: “Marry her,” while others suggested crowning Mickey as “Employee of the Year.”

This isn’t the first time someone’s unusual dining experience gained viral attention, like when a woman dining alone ordered a margarita was given “the gift of a lifetime.”

Some commenters on the viral post were a little concerned about how Kyle would eat the cheese without one of the famous Olive Garden cheese graters.

But it turns out he didn’t need to worry as last year a viral video revealed that Olive Garden do sell the iconic grater.

“I got to the Olive Garden, I went to the manager. All I said was ‘cheese grater’ and she looked at me and said, ‘Give me one minute,'” TikToker @jordan_the_Stallion8 told his followers.

They not only sold the TikToker a cheese grater, but they even gave him a container full of cheese to try out.

“I don’t think you guys understand how life changing this is for me,” he said. “I canceled all of my plans.”