Serve Me Free Biscuits, Breadsticks, or Chips and Salsa and You Have a Loyal Customer for Life

There’s something wonderful about going to a restaurant and knowing you’re going to get something for free without even asking for it. I’m not saying this because I don’t want to spend money for the things I eat; it’s just an itty bitty bonus bite the restaurant provides that makes the meal that much better. Whether it’s the complimentary chips and salsa at many Mexican restaurants or the unlimited breadsticks at Olive Garden, it’s always a welcome treat and it’s high time we appreciate the gesture.

Related: I Ate Alone at the Times Square Olive Garden for Ten Days, and I'm Different Now

How do restaurants give food away for free?

First off, let’s recognize that nothing is truly free. The cost of these items are definitely built into the price of other menu items, but not seeing it on the bill is “free” enough for me. And it’s not like you can waltz in and ask for complimentary rolls unless you’re ordering a meal, but it’s still absolutely lovely.  It makes you believe the restaurant really cares about you and it often ends up being one of your favorite things about going to eat there.

Related: Want Bread? Extra Lemon Wedges? Drink Refills? You Should Pay for Them

Take me right to Cheddar Bay

Chain restaurants are especially good about this and it’s what makes them so endearing to so many people. Ask anyone what their favorite thing about going to Olive Garden is and most people are going to bring up the breadsticks. They’re so popular there are countless versions of copycat recipes online for people to make at home. The Cheddar Bay Biscuits at Red Lobster are so beloved that they can even be bought in grocery stores. I've heard that the complimentary rolls and cinnamon butter at Texas Roadhouse are so delicious that people would give their eyeteeth for them which seems wholly unnecessary since they are, in fact, free. Money nor eyeteeth needed. Customers simply love something that’s free.

"Customers simply love something that’s free."

Darron Cardosa

It's not just customers who love a restaurant freebie

I worked at a restaurant called the Black Eyed-Pea in Houston, Texas, for a few years and their dinner rolls and cornbread were legendary. When I approached each table, the first thing I asked was if they cared for rolls, cornbread, or both. Most customers opted for the combo which was served in a red plastic basket full of warm yeastiness and cornmealiness wrapped in a dark green napkin accompanied with a metal ramekin of whipped butter. Customers loved it and I was often told it was their favorite thing about eating at Black-Eyed Pea. As a young, starving actor, it was my favorite thing too because every day I tried to leave the restaurant with a bagful of them along with any leftover chicken fried chicken that I could get my hands on.

Win the kids over, get a customer for life

When I was a kid, my family used to eat at a Mexican restaurant called Monterey House. The waitresses wore frilly white dresses with red embroidered flowers and the waiters wore crisp white shirts with black ties. Even though this was in South Texas, in my mind we were dining at one of the finest eateries in all of Mexico. They greeted us with a basket of warm tortilla chips and salsa, but that’s not what excited me and my two brothers. Under those chips would be three pieces of goat's milk candy, wrapped in wax paper. I can still taste it even though it’s been well over 40 years since I’ve eaten it. We were always amazed that there was one for each of us, not realizing it was specific to our table.

"The best things in life at a restaurant truly are free."

Darron Cardosa

Our parents played along. “Wow, one for each of you, that’s perfect!” We would eat it before we even had our dinner and then when my dad was paying the bill at the register, we would beg him to buy us three more pieces. Those Monterey House servers knew what they were doing by giving us three pieces of free candy, because my dad always gave in and bought us three more.

From the fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant to the shot of limoncello at an Italian place or the perfect chocolate pudding served in an espresso cup that comes alongside the bill at my favorite oyster bar in New York City, the best things in life at a restaurant truly are free.

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