10 top freebies at Long Island restaurants 

While everyone knows there is no such thing as a free lunch, with spiking food costs it’s hard to blame anyone looking for a good deal. The following Long Island eateries provide unique and interesting freebies for customers to enjoy with their lunch and dinner. Whether it’s free cotton candy or a popover with chicken broth, garlic knots or zeppoles, these treats are a wonderful way to start or end your meal, on the house.

Salvatore’s of Elmont

312 Meecham Ave., Elmont

While at many spots wine, pizza and garlic knots are a menu item, at Salvatore’s of Elmont, guests can chow down on a free mini personal pizza and garlic bread while sipping complimentary red or white wine as they’re waiting for their meal. Giving free wine to customers started during COVID when Anna and her husband, Vito Cortesiano, were applying for their businesses liquor license and decided to give it for free to their customers. It's continued ever since. Customers can also bring their own wine to the restaurant with no corkage fee.

"We’re a small business," Anna Cortesiano said. "We do it for the community; we love what we do; we bring love to our dining room, to the food that we make."

After finishing their meal, guests can also enjoy free zeppoles with raspberry, vanilla or chocolate drizzle as a sweet treat.

More info: 516-488-8484, salvatoresofelmontmenu.com

NM Cafe

620 Old Country Rd., Garden City

This cafe hidden on the second floor of the Neiman Marcus department store at Roosevelt Field transports visitors to a lush and swank Manhattan-style brunch destination. Diners get a free popover served with strawberry butter and a cup of chicken broth to pass the time waiting for lunch options such as salmon tacos ($26) or chicken salad ($26).

Store manager Sheila Conroy said the restaurant goes through 800 to 1,000 popovers a week.

While the rising costs of eggs is the "biggest challenge" in providing gratis popovers to customers, Conroy said, Neiman Marcus Cafe is happy to continue.

More info: 516-368-0471, stores.neimanmarcus.com

Stresa Restaurant

1524 Northern Blvd., Manhasset

For dinner, this Italian restaurant gifts Parmesan cheese cut straight from a fresh wheel to its customers. Co-owner Tommy D’ Anna said dinner guests also get complimentary hors d'oeuvres of the day, such as a small rice ball with tomato sauce. A complimentary selection of desserts includes chocolate cake, cheesecake, fruit tart and tiramisu along with biscotti cookies.

Providing these sweet treats is their way of marketing, D’Anna said. "It might be that extra thing that gets the person to come back if they get here once," he said. Stresa can go through up to 50 cakes during a busy week.

Although the rising cost of food has made it difficult to continue, D’Anna said these freebies are here to stay. "You have to make it up another way," she said. "We don’t cut back on portions; we cut back in other ways where the customer doesn’t see."

More info: 516-365-6956, stresarestaurant.com

Uncle Bacala's Italian Seafood and More

2370 Jericho Tpke., Garden City Park

This restaurant ends lunch and dinner whimsically, with free cotton candy at every meal. The tradition started years ago, when owner Peter Hewitson got the idea from a former business partner who was doing it at a New York City restaurant he owned.

Made with real sugar, Uncle Bacala’s cotton candy is made in large batches, which makes it difficult to know exactly how much they go through week per week, Hewitson said.

More info: 516-739-0505, unclebacala.com

Vincent’s Clam Bar

179 Old Country Rd., Carle Place

This Carle Place eatery known for its oversize portions of food starts guests off with a warm bread boule served with a saucer of olive oil with Italian seasoning.

Floor manager Jay Morelli said the restaurant goes through more than 2,000 loaves a week, because the freebie is also packaged up for takeout orders. Rising prices haven’t affected how this restaurant doles out this perk.

"I feel like [this restaurant] is almost recession-proof," he said. "We love to be as hospitable as we can."

More info: 516-742-4577, vincentsclambar.com

Jake's Steakhouse

2172 Hempstead Tpke., East Meadow

Kids ages 12 and younger eat free on Sundays with the purchase of an adult entree, as part of a new promotion that started in early April. Kids options (one per adult entree purchased) include mac and cheese, a burger, grilled cheese, pasta with butter or marinara, chicken fingers, hot dogs and sliders. Kids also get a free scoop of ice cream, according to manager Paul Haggerty. This deal is not offered on holidays. Jake's Steakhouse chose Sunday as the day for this freebie because it "incentivizes the family going out to eat," Haggerty said. "Our motivation is to give parents a break," he said. "Not everybody that’s raising a family has the opportunity to always go out to eat."

More info: 516-222-8400, jakessteakhouse.com

Bella Notte

2955 Merrick Rd., Bellmore

Guests get both sweet and savory free treats with meals at this Italian restaurant. Diners start with gratis bruschetta, grilled bread topped with garlic, olive oil and salt. At the end of every meal, customers are also given biscotti cookies made fresh every morning, owner Anthony Pizzuto said. They go through more than 1,000 cookies a week. These freebies are also given for takeout orders.

More info: 516-221-1905, bellanottebellmore.com

Besito Mexican Restaurant

Roslyn, West Islip, Huntington

At the end of each meal, Besito gives diners a tiny Mexican "worry doll" that servers suggest to "put it under your pillow and it’ll take all your worries away." Those who want something edible to satiate the desire for a treat can also expect free chips and salsa to enjoy before their meal.

Worry dolls originated in Mayan folklore in Guatemala and parts of Mexico. Joanna Pereira, a manager at the West Islip location, said dolls are made in Mexico.  "It’s our signature thing that we have just to feel closer with the customer," she said.

More info: 631-549-0100, besitomexican.com

Tricia’s Cafe

26 E. Main St., Babylon

Tricia’s Cafe is continuing a 27-year-old tradition with its creative and savory freebie, a bowl full of pickles, sauerkraut and hot chili peppers.

"We do burgers and some southern food, catfish and all that kind of stuff so the pickles go with that," owner Dave Barreiro said.

The business goes through more than 500 pickles in a week, Barreiro said.

More info: 631-422-7879, triciascafeny.com

Good Ground Tavern

239 E. Montauk Hwy., Hampton Bays

Guests have been enjoying free rosemary focaccia and hot honey with whipped ricotta at Good Ground Tavern since 2024, according to general manager Josh Strom. It's a blend of sweet with a touch of heat to rev up the appetite before a meal.

"If the homemade rosemary focaccia is what they know us for, hopefully that brings new business and continues to bring repeat business," Strom said.

More info: 631-763-6300, canoeplace.com

By Melissa Azofeifa

melissa.azofeifa@newsday.com

Melissa Azofeifa is a restaurants reporter with Newsday's FeedMe team. Having grown up on Long Island, she loves talking about food and its impact on culture. A graduate of Stony Brook University, she joined Newsday in the fall of 2024.