If you’ve seen TikTok clips of friends predicting how many bowls of never-ending pasta they can eat, only to tap out after their second plate, odds are they were testing their luck at an Olive Garden.
For as little as $13.99, Olive Garden fans can dig into a bottomless pasta deal that comes with unlimited soup or salad and breadsticks. It’s the chain’s fourth time bringing the offer back this year, though it’s only around until November 16.
It may sound simple to go through bowl after bowl easily, but those who have been through it say there’s a real strategy behind making it past round one. Some have learned this the hard way.
The First Order Matters
TikTok creator @exicrine shared a clip that’s now been viewed more than 1.4 million times, showing what happens when you start off strong with the wrong pasta.
“Pov: you’re already full on the second bowl of endless pasta after saying you were gonna run olive garden out of business,” they wrote in the overlay.
In the video, @exicrine looks like they’re struggling to start their second bowl, while their friend, @jcastro2524, jokingly mouths along to a line from “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”: “You have to keep drinking like you said, remember?”
They shared more details in the caption. “Olive garden endless pasta tip: do not get the rigatoni,” they wrote. “It’s too robust and dense and will make you tap out please think about surface area.”
The pair had confidently guessed they’d reach 100 bowls in a previous video. Instead, @exicrine managed three before boxing up two to go, while Josh finished six plates and also took two extras home.
Strategy Matters More Than You Think
Pros at Chowhound caution that what you choose—and how you pace yourself—matters a lot.
The promo lets you mix and match four pastas (fettuccine, spaghetti, angel hair, and rigatoni) with five sauces, plus optional proteins like meatballs or chicken for an added charge.
The trick, regulars say, is to ask for smaller portions early on so that you can try more combinations without filling up too fast.
And whatever you do, don’t fall for the breadsticks-and-soup trap. As Chowhound put it, the salad and starters are a rookie mistake. If you want to survive multiple refills, you need to keep that stomach space free.
Commenters Share Their Own Survival Tips
In the comments, Olive Garden fans chimed in with advice.
“Getting angel hair is the worst mistake you could’ve made,” one person wrote.
Another claimed the opposite: “Start with rigatoni always!! Then the long noodles, no soup salad or breadsticks before the first bowl.”
Others said it’s the extras that ruin the challenge. “It’s the soup and salad and breadsticks that get you, you must resist them,” one commenter advised.
@exicrine olive garden endless pasta tip: do not get the rigatoni it’s too robust and dense and will make you tap out please think about surface area @Josh Castro guest appearance #olivegarden #foodie #foodtiktok #foodtok #pasta
Not everyone was enthusiastic, though. “As someone who works at Olive Garden endless pasta is making me wanna quit my JOB BRO,” one employee admitted.
BroBible reached out to @exicrine and Olive Garden via email for more information.