Los Angeles proper does not have an Olive Garden inside city limits. The closest location is in Burbank, on North San Fernando Boulevard near the Empire Center shopping complex. If you're starting from Highland Park, that's a minimum forty-minute drive in light traffic, longer during weekday evenings when the 5 slows to a crawl between the 2 and the 134 interchange. From the Westside, Silver Lake, or anywhere south of the 10, you're looking at an hour or more each direction.
Text Karpo before you commit to the drive. It'll check current wait times at the Burbank location, map the fastest route from wherever you are, and suggest a backup Italian spot if the timing doesn't work.
LA has one Olive Garden, and it sits in Burbank
The Burbank Olive Garden sits in a large outdoor shopping center with ample free parking, which is one of the few logistical advantages it offers. The lot fills up on Friday and Saturday nights, but overflow spaces near the Best Buy and Target usually remain available. If you're coming from central LA, take the 5 north to Burbank Boulevard, then head east; the right turn onto San Fernando puts you directly in front of the complex. Metro doesn't serve this area usefully—the nearest Red Line stop is North Hollywood, still a twenty-minute rideshare away.
This is not a spontaneous errand. The drive requires a clear reason: someone in your group has a specific craving for breadsticks and Tour of Italy, or you're already in the Valley for another reason and want a predictable chain meal. The restaurant does not take reservations for parties under six, so expect a wait on weekend evenings. Weekday lunches between 11:30 and 1:00 see a steady office crowd from the nearby studios and corporate parks.
Before leaving Highland Park, confirm the restaurant's current hours, menu availability, and seating policy. A quick check can also establish whether the shopping center entrance, parking area, or nearby freeway route has any temporary disruption. For a group, decide in advance who will join the waitlist and whether everyone needs to arrive together, since that affects how easily you can use the time in the shopping center.
Make Burbank the evening, not a side stop
If you're driving to Burbank specifically for Olive Garden, plan the rest of the evening there rather than treating it as a turnaround point. The Starlight Bowl sits a few blocks south on Olive Avenue—check their posted schedule if you want a hillside walk before or after dinner. The AMC Burbank 16 is across San Fernando in the same shopping complex; showtimes after 7:00 pair cleanly with an early dinner if you call ahead to estimate your table time.
Parking at the Empire Center is free but sprawling. The Olive Garden entrance faces the main lot; if that section is full, the northern edge near Porto's Bakery usually has space, though it adds a three-minute walk. Porto's itself is worth noting as a pre-dinner stop if your group isn't committed to the full Olive Garden experience—grab a few pastries to go, then decide whether the wait at Olive Garden is worth it once you see the crowd.
The drive home reverses the freeway slog. Check the traffic before you leave rather than assuming the return will be faster. The transition to the 2 south toward Highland Park can tighten and slow behind any incident. If you're heading west toward Hollywood or Silver Lake, Barham Boulevard south to the 101 is often faster than backtracking to the 134. Build in forty-five minutes minimum for the return, longer if you're aiming for the Westside.
Keep the post-dinner plan flexible. Movie tickets, a scheduled event, or a second stop can turn a modest table delay into a rushed evening, so check the latest showtimes and traffic conditions before committing. If the restaurant's wait is longer than your group can absorb, use the shopping center as the decision point and leave before ordering anything that makes the schedule harder to change.
The backup is closer and more flexible
If the Burbank drive feels too committed or the wait time exceeds thirty minutes, LA has dozens of independent Italian spots that deliver the same casual red-sauce comfort without the freeway investment. In Highland Park, Cindy's on Figueroa serves straightforward spaghetti and meatballs in a no-frills dining room with free street parking; check the current parking rules before relying on curb space. The portions are large, the wait is rarely more than fifteen minutes, and you're back home in five.
Eastside Italian also sits on Figueroa, a few blocks south, with a slightly more polished room and a wine list that goes beyond house red. Both places offer the same general mood—red checkered tablecloths, garlic bread, and marinara-heavy entrees—that drives most Olive Garden cravings, without the requirement that everyone in the car commit to an hour of freeway time each way.
Farther west, Miceli's on Las Palmas in Hollywood offers singing waitstaff, dim lighting, and enormous bowls of pasta. The kitsch factor is higher, but the location is more central for most of LA, and the parking lot behind the building is free. Check its current hours, menu, and performance schedule before making the longer cross-town trip. If your group is chasing a specific Olive Garden menu item—say, the stuffed shells or a particular dessert—confirm that your backup spot offers something comparable before you redirect the plan.
A nearby backup also makes it easier to split the group by preference. Anyone committed to the chain can continue to Burbank while others stay closer to Highland Park, but agree on that plan before departing so nobody is stranded without a ride. For a small group, calling the backup first can clarify whether walk-ins, takeout, or a quick bar seat are available.
Verify the specifics before you leave
Call the Burbank Olive Garden directly to ask about current wait times, particularly during the busier part of Friday or Saturday evening. The host stand will give you a realistic estimate, and you can decide whether to leave immediately or push your departure. The restaurant does offer call-ahead seating for parties under six, which doesn't guarantee a table but puts your name on the list before you arrive.
Check your fuel and your parking plan if you're bringing a larger group. The drive from central LA to Burbank and back will consume a quarter tank or more, depending on your vehicle, and the last gas stations before the 5 northbound on-ramps often run ten cents higher per gallon than stations a mile inland. If you're splitting the drive across multiple cars, agree on a meeting point in the Empire Center lot rather than assuming everyone will find the Olive Garden entrance simultaneously.
Same-day traffic on the 5 and 134 can shift your timeline by twenty minutes in either direction. A Dodger game at Chavez Ravine, a crash near the Los Feliz Boulevard exit, or construction on the Burbank Boulevard off-ramp will each add time you didn't budget. If your dinner is tied to a movie showtime or another commitment, build in a fifteen-minute cushion and have a second Italian option queued in case the drive becomes unworkable.
Check the official restaurant listing and the shopping center information shortly before departure, since hours, waitlist procedures, parking access, and menu items can change. For transit or rideshare plans, confirm the drop-off point and the return pickup location in advance; a large shopping center can have several entrances, and the easiest meeting point may not be the restaurant door. Keep the restaurant phone number and the backup plan accessible to the person coordinating the group.
Practical notes
- The Burbank Olive Garden is at least 40 minutes from most LA neighborhoods; weekday evening traffic extends that to an hour or more.
- Free parking is available in the Empire Center lot; overflow spaces near Target and Best Buy stay open even on busy nights.
- No reservations for parties under six; call ahead to join the waitlist, but expect a 20–40 minute wait on weekend evenings.
- Metro does not serve the area usefully; driving or rideshare are the only practical options.
- Plan the return drive for 45+ minutes; the 5 south and the 2 south both narrow and slow after 6:00 PM.
- Confirm current wait times by phone before leaving, and have a backup Italian spot in your own neighborhood ready if the timing doesn't work.
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Sources consulted: Olive Garden Burbank · Empire Center Burbank · Metro Los Angeles
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Ask Karpo first
Text Karpo to confirm the Burbank Olive Garden is open, check live drive time from your starting point, and get a backup Italian restaurant closer to you if the freeway looks jammed. It'll also map the fastest route home once you're ready to leave.
