Olive Garden Just Brought Back 2 Of Its Most Requested Discontinued Menu Items

From its best-ranked menu items to appetizers that don't hit the mark, the cuisine at Olive Garden tends to get mixed reviews depending on who you ask. Yet, when folks find a winner, they can't get enough. Sadly, despite quickly becoming fan-favorites, some of those culinary gems ended up on the trash heap of discontinued menu items which people are safe to assume they'll never eat again.

However, that doesn't usually stop a few determined souls from beseeching the chain to give those menu items a glorious return. Sometimes, that pleading pays off. Olive Garden recently announced it's bringing back two once-popular menu items: Braised Beef Tortelloni and Ravioli di Portobello. The former won over customers with its mouthwatering braised beef, roasted mushrooms, and asiago-stuffed tortelloni accompanied by a luscious marsala mushroom sauce. The ravioli dish was celebrated for its velvety sun-dried tomato sauce which coated plump ravioli filled with portobello mushrooms.

Both formerly discontinued menu items are available starting this week at the Italian chain. However, they aren't being permanently reinstated. The Braised Beef Tortelloni and Ravioli di Portobello are being offered for a limited time through March 22, so anyone seeking a taste of nostalgia should make plans for a trip to the restaurant sooner rather than later.

Olive Garden isn't only responding to customers who begged the chain to give these previously discontinued dishes another chance –- it's rewarding them for their effort. Several Change.org petitions have been created over the years in hopes that both the Braised Beef Tortelloni and Ravioli di Portobello would return to the menu, and Olive Garden wants to show its appreciation to fans who signed those petitions by gifting them their favorite entree on the house. The same goes for customers who reached out directly to the Olive Garden guest relations team. Jaime Bunker, senior vice president of marketing for Olive Garden, said in a statement, "Bringing back Braised Beef Tortelloni and Ravioli di Portobello for a limited time and gifting them to the fans who asked is our way of saying we hear you and thank you."

Folks who had nothing to do with the triumphant return of the two discontinued menu items can still get their hands on them by stopping by their local restaurant or by way of delivery through Olive Garden's app through March 22. Each entree is served with a house salad or soup (made in-house) and the restaurant's signature dish, never-ending breadsticks. Olive Garden may have been dethroned as America's top casual dining chain, but the company seems to be doing everything in its power to attract customers and ensure that demotion is temporary.