I Tried the Fettuccine Alfredo at 4 Restaurant Chains & Found a Cheesy Classic

Some of the best things in life are quite simple, and of all the beloved pasta dishes, fettuccine Alfredo certainly falls into that category. Crafted first in Rome by restaurateur Alfredo di Lelio, the dish was originally made using just three ingredients. Di Lelio is said to have thrown together a meal of mere noodles, butter, and parmesan cheese for his wife who had just given birth. He later served the pasta at his own restaurant and the rest is cheesy history.

Of course, not long after, fettuccine Alfredo made its way to the States, becoming popular around the 1920s and subsequently changing form as more and more chefs got their hands on the recipe. Somewhere along the line, cream was thrown in for added richness along with extras like garlic and parsley adornments. This creamy white pasta is the American take on the classic and one that you're most likely to find on the menu at many popular Italian chains.

Authentic or not, most versions of fettuccine Alfredo that I've encountered have been tasty. It's a hard pasta dish to mess up—though it is possible and quality ingredients are the key to success. Let's find out if the following four popular Italian-American restaurants continue to hit the mark with their own distinct recipes, or if they make a mess of this treasured comfort meal.

Here's how each chain ranked in descending order, beginning with my least favorite and counting down to the overall best.

Buca di Beppo

Buca di Beppo has been struggling lately, as evidenced by its declaration of bankruptcy just this August and its subsequent closing of locations. The chain said factors such as the pandemic aftermath and rising costs are to blame. But, perhaps a shift away from family-style dining (or dining out in general) and even details like the restaurant's own menu are affecting its success. All I can speak on is my experience with its food, specifically its spaghetti and meatballs—which I recently found to be subpar compared to other top chains—and now its fettuccine Alfredo.

Like all the chain's pasta and specialty plates, the fettuccine is served up in massive shareable portions—even the small order is sizeable, ringing up at $29.99. The dish is described as a "classic favorite" with a creamy homemade Alfredo sauce. You can also add on chicken or shrimp to the meal for an upcharge, though I did without.

The look: A large yet still manageable serving bowl of pasta. If my husband and I had been exceptionally hungry, we could have polished it off with no problem. The noodles were all glossy with sauce, showing off a standard cream-yellow color. My waiter didn't offer freshly grated cheese on top. However, it did come with powdered parmesan sprinkled mostly in the center.

The taste: Bigger doesn't always mean better. When the bowl came out not even five minutes after ordering, I immediately had reservations, and the taste soon confirmed what I feared. The pasta wasn't necessarily distasteful, just carelessly lackluster. Cooked just past the point of al dente, the noodles were covered in a thin Alfredo sauce that tasted as if it could have been poured from a grocery store jar. The cheesy flavor was dampened, leaving each bite bland and prompting me to reach for the salt and tableside shaker of parmesan more than once. To put it simply, it's forgettable and I for one opt for quality over quantity every time. Here's to hoping that Buca focuses on elevating its recipes in the future rather than continuing to fill its bowls with more and more mediocrity.

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Bravo!

Both Bravo! Italian Kitchen and Brio Italian Grill were established in Columbus, Ohio, in 1992 and are now owned by Earl Enterprises–the company also responsible for Buca di Beppo, Bertucci's, and Planet Hollywood. Both Midwest-born chains are obviously focused on Italian cuisine. But, while Brio serves a more Tuscan-inspired menu, Bravo!'s 25 locations (mostly on the eastern side of the country) stick to traditional pizzas and pastas like fettuccine Alfredo.

The dish is said to be made with fresh fettuccine, parmesan, and house-made Alfredo sauce. For $16.99, the meal does not come with a soup or salad, but you do receive focaccia bread with dipping oil—which is, in my opinion, some of the best restaurant bread you'll find, on the same level as Olive Garden's breadsticks (coming up next) or Texas Roadhouse rolls.

The look: Less saucy than others with just a thin coat of white yet almost translucent sauce blanketing the yellow ribbon-shaped noodles. Again, no fresh parmesan was offered to me. My "say when" skills were getting rusty at this point. But, some finely chopped parsley acted as adornments.

The taste: Good, but nothing special. These noodles are a bit more eggy than others and chewy but in a good way. The sauce is a nice balance between thick and thin, but aside from the consistency it's not remarkable. Not overly cheesy and with a lack of garlic notes or even salt and pepper glimpses, I'd chalk it up to mostly just cream.

It was a dish that made me literally shrug my shoulders in an I-could-take-it-our-leave it kind of manner. I do think the restaurant's more elaborate Lobster & Shrimp Fettucine or Pasta Woozie (fettuccine Alfredo with spinach and chicken) sound promising. But, the basic recipe is boring.

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Olive Garden

At the Tuscan-inspired trattoria known as Olive Garden, pasta is king—in addition to endless soup, salad, and bread, of course. Noodles of all kinds fill the hearty menu, but one specific type that receives special attention is fettuccine Alfredo. The chain has an entire section of its bill of fare dedicated to "Amazing Alfredos" including chicken, shrimp, and seafood iterations of the dish.

It almost felt like a crime to select the most basic of the bunch, the classic fettuccine Alfredo, but I did it for the integrity of the taste test. It comes with the restaurant's signature Alfredo sauce, which includes parmesan, cream, garlic, and butter, and which is made in-house every morning. A dinner-sized portion cost me $16.49 and I certainly capitalized on the complimentary salad and garlicky breadsticks.

The look: The creamy white sauce appears to have been ladled on top of the fettuccine noodles instead of mixed together. However, it's still an attractive plate decorated with parsley sprinkles and fresh shreds of parmesan cheese.

The taste: Thick and tasty all around. The long, flat noodles were plumper here than at other chains yet still cooked well—soft but not mushy. The sauce, though, is where the dish truly shines. It leaned more towards buttery rather than cheesy, and it was unbelievably rich and creamy. It adhered well to the pasta, after I gave everything a good twirl, and there was plenty of it to go around, without being overwhelming. It may not be the most authentic plate of fettuccine Alfredo out there. But, it's a classic comfort food and dish I wouldn't mind eating, especially with never-ending refills.

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Carrabba's

When you take a look at Carrabba's menu of Italian-American fare, you'll see fettuccine pop up in the entree section multiple times. It's featured in the Fettucine Carrabbas with chicken, peas, and mushrooms, and in another dish, it combines with shrimp and mushrooms in the Fettucine Weesie. To find a standard order of the saucy noodles, though, you'll actually have to look in an unexpected place: the sides section. I would have never thought to order pasta as a side, but it's pure genius.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

The fettuccine Alfredo side costs $7.29. However, my serveer was able to finagle a full entrée size for me at a cost of $14.79. It came with bread and oil and a choice between soup or salad. I went with the Mama Mandola's Sicilian Chicken Soup.

The look: Well-plated with a well-incorporated sauce—every ivory-colored noodle was fully covered as soon as the plate hit the table. Parsley flakes and grated cheese rested on top. Admittedly, I would have normally asked for more fromage but kept it in check so as to not bury the rest.

The taste: This is the first rendition where I could fully taste and appreciate the parmesan—and no, it wasn't just because of the shreds on top. The cheesiness of the sauce overtakes your palate, but at the same time, the dish resembles the perfect blend of butter noodles and a rich Alfredo sauce–what could be better than that?

I also have to commend Carrabba's on the fettuccine itself. Unlike other chains, it seems like the restaurant really poured time into its formation. An effort that results in a quality homemade flavor that's almost sweet and noodles that make a big impact despite their thin stature. My compliments to the chefs at Carrabba's.