Olive Garden Catering Alternatives: 10 Better Options for Your Office

Olive Garden is one of the most popular Italian catering choices for offices, but it has real limitations that drive teams to look elsewhere. Family-style trays do not work for hybrid teams that need individual portions. Catering items arrive with no dietary labels. Pasta dishes lose texture during the 30-to-60-minute transit hold. And in many city centers, the nearest Olive Garden is miles away. Below are 10 Olive Garden catering alternatives that solve at least one of those problems, with options spanning premium Italian, casual chains, and lighter Mediterranean. For a full breakdown of what Olive Garden offers, see our Olive Garden Catering Guide.

Why Look Beyond Olive Garden Catering?

Olive Garden has obvious appeal for office catering: 800-plus locations, recognizable Italian-American comfort food, and a per-person cost ($8 to $13) that fits most budgets. But five issues come up repeatedly when offices try to make Olive Garden a regular catering choice.

• Family-style trays only, no individual portions. Catering trays serve 4 to 6 or 10 to 12 people. There is no boxed-lunch or individually plated option. For hybrid teams where some people want their food handed to them and others are eating at their desk, the format breaks down.
• No dietary labels on catering items. Allergen and gluten-friendly information lives buried on the website. Catering trays themselves arrive with no labels, no ingredient cards, and no guidance for people with restrictions. Someone on your team has to manually map each tray to the online allergen guide.
• Pasta loses texture during the hold. Olive Garden’s catering pasta is cooked, sauced, and packed at the restaurant, then sits in an insulated tray for 30 to 60 minutes before serving. Even with reheating, the noodles soften and the sauce separates. The food that arrives is not the food you would get sitting in the dining room.
• Limited urban availability. Olive Garden’s footprint skews suburban. In Manhattan, San Francisco, Boston, and large parts of Seattle, the nearest location is a 20-to-40-minute drive away. Delivery fees scale accordingly, and same-day catering is often unavailable.
• Sodium-heavy and carb-heavy menu. Italian-American comfort food at this scale is calorie-dense and salty. Lasagna Classico, Fettuccine Alfredo, and Chicken Parmigiana all clear 1,000 calories per serving with two-thirds of a day’s sodium. Teams that cater regularly often want a lighter rotation.

If any of those sound familiar, here are 10 alternatives worth trying.

10 Olive Garden Catering Alternatives for Your Office

1. Maggiano’s Little Italy: The Premium Italian-American Direct Upgrade

Maggiano’s is the closest direct alternative to Olive Garden, and it beats Olive Garden on three things: presentation, individual boxed lunches, and a Classic Pasta menu where you can mix any pasta with any sauce.

Quick stats: $14 to $20 per person | Family-style trays + individual boxed lunches | 24 hours lead time | 50-plus locations

Maggiano’s catering covers the same Italian-American territory as Olive Garden (lasagna, chicken parmesan, fettuccine alfredo, salads, bread) but with sharper plating and slightly elevated ingredients. The Classic Pasta program lets you choose any pasta shape with any sauce, including a butter-and-parmesan option that holds better in transit than alfredo. Boxed lunches ($13 to $18 per person) include a half-pasta entree, salad, and dessert in an individual container, solving the family-style problem. Geography is the trade-off: Maggiano’s has roughly 50 locations versus Olive Garden’s 800, mostly clustered in major metros.

Order tip: Order at maggianos.com/catering. The Classic Pasta tray with marinara plus a Chicken Parmesan tray plus a Caesar salad covers most office groups for around $16 per person.

2. Buca di Beppo: Family-Style Italian Built for Big Groups

Buca di Beppo’s catering is purpose-built for parties of 15 or more. Apartment-Sized platters serve 6 to 8 people each, and a few platters plus a salad covers 25 to 30 with leftovers.

Quick stats: $14 to $19 per person | Small platters serve 4 to 6, Apartment-Sized serve 12 to 14 | 24 hours lead time | 60-plus locations

Buca’s menu leans into the family-style format that Olive Garden does in a more measured way. Platters of spaghetti and meatballs, baked ziti, chicken marsala, and Caesar salad come in oversized portions designed to be passed at the table. For a holiday party, end-of-quarter celebration, or anything with a 25-plus headcount, the per-person cost drops below Olive Garden’s once you account for the actual food yield. Like Maggiano’s, Buca’s footprint is concentrated in metros and suburbs (60-ish locations), so urban offices in major cities should have an option within delivery range.

Order tip: Order at bucadibeppo.com/catering. The Family-Style Feast bundle (entree, two sides, salad, bread) is the simplest path for office parties.

3. Carrabba’s Italian Grill: Wood-Grilled Catering with Real Protein

Carrabba’s distinguishes itself from Olive Garden with wood-grilled proteins (chicken, steak, salmon) on its catering menu, which holds up better in transit than cream-sauce pasta.

Quick stats: $13 to $18 per person | Trays serve 4 to 6 or 12 to 15 | 24 hours lead time | 200-plus locations

Carrabba’s belongs to Bloomin’ Brands (Outback, Bonefish Grill) and brings a slightly more grown-up Italian feel than Olive Garden. The catering menu emphasizes wood-grilled chicken parmesan, sirloin marsala, and salmon over heavy pasta dishes, which helps with the lighter-eater problem and travels better. Sigi’s Salad (the house Caesar variant with carrots and tomatoes) and the bread service are crowd favorites. The downside: only about 200 locations, with thin coverage outside the Sun Belt and Midwest.

Order tip: Order at carrabbas.com/catering. For a mixed-dietary group, the Wood-Grilled Chicken Marsala plus a vegetable side plus the Sigi’s Salad covers gluten-friendly and vegetarian eaters.

4. Romano’s Macaroni Grill: Pasta-Focused at a Lower Per-Person Cost

Romano’s Macaroni Grill ToGo catering trays come in below Olive Garden on price ($9 to $13 per person) and double down on the pasta side rather than spreading across a wide menu.

Quick stats: $9 to $13 per person | Trays serve 4 to 6 or 10 to 12 | 24 hours lead time | 80-plus locations

Romano’s catering menu is intentionally narrower than Olive Garden’s: pasta trays (Pasta Milano, Mama’s Trio, Penne Rustica), salads, and bread. That focus makes Romano’s a strong pick for a budget-conscious group lunch where everyone is happy with pasta and salad. The chain has shrunk significantly over the past decade and now sits at roughly 80 locations, mostly in Texas, the Midwest, and the Mid-Atlantic. If you have one nearby, it is the cheapest sit-down-Italian-style option on this list.

Order tip: Order at macaronigrill.com/catering. Pasta Milano (sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, grilled chicken) holds up better in transit than alfredo-based dishes.

5. Bertucci’s: Brick-Oven Pizza and Italian for Northeast Offices

Bertucci’s combines Italian catering with brick-oven pizza, making it a strong option for Northeast offices that want one order to cover both pasta-eaters and pizza-eaters.

Quick stats: $11 to $16 per person | Pizza, pasta, and salad platters | 24 hours lead time | 50-plus locations (Northeast)

Bertucci’s catering breaks the all-pasta mold. You can mix brick-oven pizzas (margherita, pepperoni, ultimate Bertucci’s) with pasta trays (chicken parmigiana, baked ziti, lasagna) and salads in a single order. For mixed-preference groups where some people are over pasta, the pizza option keeps everyone fed. Coverage is limited to roughly 50 locations across Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Outside that footprint, look at local pizzerias on Zerocater instead.

Order tip: Order at bertuccis.com/catering. A Pizza-and-Pasta combo (one large pizza per 4 to 5 people, pasta tray for the group) is the most flexible format.

6. CAVA: Mediterranean Lighter Alternative with Built-In Dietary Variety

CAVA solves the heavy-pasta problem with Mediterranean grain bowls, pitas, and dips. Every item ships with vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free dietary labels, and the menu rotates seasonally.

Quick stats: $10 to $15 per person | Build-your-own bowl bars, pita bars, dip platters | 24 hours lead time | 350-plus locations

For teams that find Olive Garden’s menu too heavy, CAVA is the obvious counter. Build-your-own bowl bars let people assemble their own grain or salad bowl with proteins (chicken, steak, falafel, lamb), greens, dips (hummus, harissa, tzatziki), and toppings. The dietary clarity is the biggest differentiator: every item is labeled vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free, with full allergen lists. CAVA’s footprint has expanded rapidly, including dense urban coverage in DC, NYC, Boston, and Texas. For more Mediterranean catering options, browse local Mediterranean caterers on Zerocater.

Order tip: Order at cava.com/catering. The Group Bowl format (serves 6) is the most cost-effective per person.

7. Panera Bread: Broader American Menu with Soup-Salad-Sandwich Variety

Panera covers more menu territory than Olive Garden (sandwiches, soups, salads, bakery, breakfast, mac and cheese) which makes it the easier fallback when teams are tired of Italian.

Quick stats: $10 to $18 per person ($15 to $22 all-in) | Sandwich platters, salad bowls, soup totes, boxed lunches | 2 hours lead time | 2,000-plus locations

Panera’s strength is breadth: a single catering order can cover boxed sandwiches, a salad bowl, a soup tote, and a sweets tray. Same-day ordering with just over two hours’ notice also beats almost everything else on this list. The trade-offs (no dietary labels on catering items, all-in costs 30 to 40 percent over the listed prices, carb-heavy menu) are well-known. For a deeper look, see our Panera Catering Guide and Panera Catering Alternatives.

Order tip: Order at panerabread.com/catering. Broth bowls and the You Pick Two boxed lunches are the most-defended items on the menu.

8. Boston Market: Comfort Food Without the Italian-American Frame

Boston Market is the alternative for teams that want comfort-food catering but are over Italian. Rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, cornbread, and green beans cover the same warm-meal register from a different angle.

Quick stats: $9 to $12 per person | Family meals serve 4, 8, or 12 | 24 hours lead time | Roughly 200 locations

Boston Market family meals are sized for office groups and price out below Olive Garden’s lasagna trays. The food holds in transit better than pasta does (rotisserie chicken stays good in foil pans, mashed potatoes reheat cleanly), so what arrives is closer to what you would get in the restaurant. Footprint has shrunk over the past few years and is now concentrated in the Northeast, Florida, and Southern California. Outside those areas, the local-caterer option below is the better path.

Order tip: Order at bostonmarket.com/catering. The Whole Rotisserie Chicken Meal (chicken, two sides, cornbread) feeds about 4 people for under $40.

9. Pizza Catering from Local Pizzerias

Pizza catering is the simplest comfort-food pivot off Italian. Per-person cost ($6 to $10) undercuts every Italian chain on this list, and pizza scales effortlessly to 50-plus headcount.

Quick stats: $6 to $10 per person | Whole pies (8 slices each) or sliced trays | Same-day available at most pizzerias | Available everywhere

Order from a local pizzeria and you get fresher product (made-to-order, not held in trays) at a lower price than chain Italian catering. For 30 people, plan on 8 to 10 large pizzas plus a salad, totaling roughly $200 to $260 all-in. The other advantage: every metro has a strong local pizza scene. Browse local pizzerias on Zerocater, including Firenze Italian Street Food in Chicago, Nonnas 1977 in NYC, PastaFi in Chicago, or Due Cucina in the Seattle area. For ongoing pizza programs, Zerocater’s Corporate Catering platform can set up recurring weekly orders.

Order tip: Aim for 2 to 3 slices per person. Mix one cheese, one pepperoni, one veggie, and one specialty per 30 people for the best coverage.

10. Local Italian Caterers via Zerocater: The Full Upgrade

The biggest limitation of every chain on this list is that you are ordering from a single restaurant with a fixed menu and standardized recipes. When you order through Zerocater, you get access to 1,000-plus vetted caterers across every cuisine, including local Italian restaurants, pasta makers, and brick-oven pizzerias. Order from a local trattoria one week and a Sicilian deli the next, all through one platform.

Quick stats: Varies by caterer | Same-day ordering available | Setup, serving staff, and cleanup options | Available in major metro areas

What sets local Italian caterers apart from chains: real recipes (not corporate R&D), pasta cooked to order rather than held, fresh-baked bread instead of frozen-and-reheated, and the option to add staffed service for executive lunches or client events. Browse Italian catering on Zerocater in your city, including Nonnas 1977 in NYC, PastaFi and Firenze Italian Street Food in Chicago, and Due Cucina in the Seattle area.

With CaterAi, you describe your event (headcount, budget, dietary needs) and get custom Italian (or any cuisine) menu suggestions from multiple restaurants in minutes. Try CaterAi now.

Olive Garden Alternatives at a Glance

Olive Garden for reference: $8 to $13 per person, 24 hours lead time, family-style trays only, no individual portions, no dietary labels on catering items, suburban-skewed footprint.

Skip the Chain: Order Local Through CaterAi

Every chain on this list solves one or two of Olive Garden’s limitations, but they all share the same fundamental constraint: a single restaurant with a fixed menu, designed for the median customer, scaled by the corporate kitchen. For offices that cater regularly, the real upgrade is switching to a platform that gives you access to hundreds of restaurants and lets you rotate cuisines week to week.

Zerocater connects your office with 1,000-plus vetted caterers across every cuisine and every metro. Order from a local Italian trattoria this week, a Mediterranean caterer next week, and a BBQ team the week after. Every order is managed by Zerocater’s operations team: reliable delivery, proper setup, and a real human to call if anything goes wrong.

Why offices switch from chain Italian to Zerocater:

• Access to local Italian caterers, pasta makers, and brick-oven pizzerias, not just chain menus
• Same-day ordering available for many caterers
• Individually portioned options (boxed pasta lunches, single-serve trays) when family-style does not fit
• Staffed service, setup, and cleanup options for client lunches and events
• Built-in dietary filtering (vegan, gluten-free, halal, kosher, and more)
• One platform for events, daily meals, and ongoing meal programs

With CaterAi, you describe your event and get custom menu suggestions from multiple restaurants in minutes. No browsing menus, no calling vendors, no spreadsheet of phone numbers. Share your headcount, budget, and dietary needs, and CaterAi builds the plan.

Plan Your Office Catering with CaterAi

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the closest catering alternative to Olive Garden?

Maggiano’s Little Italy is the closest direct alternative. The format mirrors Olive Garden (family-style pasta trays, salad, bread) but with a more polished presentation and a Classic Pasta menu where you swap any pasta with any sauce. Pricing is similar at $14 to $20 per person. Maggiano’s also offers individual boxed lunches, which Olive Garden does not.

Which Olive Garden alternative is cheapest for office catering?

Local pizza catering and Boston Market are both budget-friendly. Pizza catering from local pizzerias runs $6 to $10 per person and feeds large groups easily. Boston Market family meals run $9 to $12 per person with rotisserie chicken, sides, and cornbread. Romano’s Macaroni Grill ToGo trays also undercut Olive Garden at roughly $9 to $13 per person.

What is a lighter alternative to Olive Garden’s pasta-heavy menu?

CAVA is the strongest lighter alternative. Mediterranean grain bowls, pita platters, and hummus spreads cover the same comfort-food register without the cream-sauce-and-cheese weight. CAVA also includes clear dietary labels (vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free) on every catering item. For salad-forward catering, Panera and local salad caterers on Zerocater are also options.

Which Olive Garden alternative has the best dietary labeling?

CAVA and Panera Bread both publish dietary information on catering items. CAVA marks every item with vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free flags, plus full allergen lists. Panera shows calorie counts on its catering menu. Olive Garden lists allergens online but does not include any dietary tags on catering trays themselves. For the broadest dietary coverage, see our guide to ordering catering for mixed dietary needs.

Can I get individually portioned Italian catering instead of family-style trays?

Yes. Maggiano’s offers individual boxed lunches with a sandwich or pasta entree, side, and dessert for $13 to $18 per person. Carrabba’s offers single-serve catering pans portioned for one. For local Italian boxed lunches with same-day ordering, browse Italian caterers on Zerocater. For more individual-portion guidance generally, see our Boxed Lunch Catering Guide.

What is the best Olive Garden alternative for a large office party or holiday event?

Buca di Beppo is built for big groups. Catering platters serve 4 to 6 or 12 to 14 people, and Apartment-Sized portions are sized for parties of 20-plus. Pricing runs $14 to $19 per person. For a more interactive option, pizza catering from local pizzerias scales easily to 50-plus and lets people grab and graze. For large staffed events, local Italian caterers on Zerocater can provide setup, serving staff, and full cleanup. For more event planning context, see our Board Meeting Catering Guide.

Related guides: Olive Garden Catering Guide | Panera Catering Guide | Panera Catering Alternatives | Chipotle Catering Guide | Chipotle Catering Alternatives | Chick-fil-A Catering Guide | Best Catering in NYC | Chicago | Atlanta | Board Meeting Catering | Boxed Lunch Catering | Mixed Dietary Needs

Back to blog home