11 Restaurant Chains Where Free Bread is the Best Part of the Meal
There is a lot to love about going out to dinner, such as not cooking for the family, and avoiding tedious kitchen clean up. But for many, it's those gestures of hospitality that make the experience, and one of the best gestures is a basket of bread or rolls before the meal even starts. When that basket hits the table, it not only feels like you're getting a little something extra for your dollar, but it adds to the fun of the evening. Picking the warm little rolls out of a cloth napkin, slicing and sharing a small loaf of bread, and passing the butter around kicks off the evening right, and gets the conversation flowing. We love freebies and we love sharing a meal with friends and family, so ahead, find our top picks for the best free bread at your favorite chain restaurants.
Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen
While we'll never pass up a bread basket, or fresh rolls, Cheddar's welcomes diners with freshly baked honey butter croissants, and that's tough to top. The pastries are baked to a flaky golden brown, and then each pastry is topped with a drizzle of house-made honey butter.
Red Lobster
The only biscuit starter on this list, Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits are so beloved that the seafood chain sells a mix, so you can whip up a batch at home. Served fresh and hot with entree orders – and you can order an extra half dozen or dozen – the biscuits have a buttery, flaky texture, with a rich cheddar cheese flavor, and a garlic butter topping that adds an aromatic layer of flavor.
Outback Steakhouse
Outback Steakhouse may have started in Tampa, Florida, back in 1988, but this Australian-inspired restaurant has become a go-to spot for steak lovers nationwide. But before the sizzling steaks hit the table, dig into a warm, unsliced mini loaf of super soft honey wheat bread. Sweetened slightly by the honey in the recipe, Outback's loaf comes with a pat of softened butter, ready to schmear.
Olive Garden
One cannot mention free bread at a restaurant without mentioning Olive Garden's famous never-ending breadsticks. Whenever ordering an entree at the Italian chain, diners are given the choice between never-ending soup or salad, along with all the breadsticks they can eat. Fresh out-of-the-oven, these soft, comforting breadsticks have been known to fill hungry bellies before the pasta even arrives.
Carrabba's Italian Grill
Carrabba's Italian Grill serves complimentary bread and dipping oil with every entrée order, even take out! The bread is a soft, crusty country loaf and comes sliced in a basket at every Carrabba's location we've visited, along with a side of olive oil and herbs to dredge the bread in. The chain's free starter has so many fans that copycat versions have sprung up, if there isn't a Carrabba's nearby.
Texas Roadhouse
Another steakhouse with an excellent bread service, Texas Roadhouse serves small, warm white rolls to diners before their meal. Yes, the rolls are crunchy on the outside and soft within, but the reason most of us love them is they provide the opportunity to spread the chain's compound butter on every piece. To make compound butter, softened butter is mixed with ingredients – in this case powdered sugar, honey, ground cinnamon, and a small amount of salt – and cooled again. The butter is so crave-able, it's become a favorite copycat recipe for food bloggers!
Bertucci's Brick Oven Pizza & Pasta
If you grew up in the Northeast, you probably have fond memories of Bertucci's, which serves thin brick oven pizza, and classic Italian-American dishes. But the restaurant's freshly baked rolls have been a hallmark feature since the restaurant opened in 1981. Served fresh from the oven, they are included with lunch or dinner and served with a house olive oil dipping sauce. These warm and soft rolls taste like comfort and nostalgia, but you might have a hard time with that pizza after munching on a few of them.
The Cheesecake Factory
What's better than a basket of bread? The Cheesecake Factory knows: A basket with two kinds of bread. Your meal at the chain starts with a basket containing hearty brown bread, slightly sweet and dense, and slices of relatively lighter sourdough bread. The bread comes with whipped butter, and is always free with your meal.
Romano's Macaroni Grill
Another Italian chain with excellent free bread, Romano's Macaroni Grill serves three full fresh loaves of Rosemary Peasant Bread with what they call a large order – meaning an entree or grill selection. But even if you order small, you'll get two loaves of the herbaceous, fragrant bread along with a dish of seasoned olive oil for dipping.
Ruth's Chris Steakhouse
The steakhouse with two first names, Ruth's Chris, was America's favorite restaurant chain in 2024. And no wonder, with fresh-broiled hunks of USDA Prime beef that come out of the kitchen hissing on scorching-hot, bubbling with melted butter. But, before you get to the steak, a loaf of crunchy sourdough bread hits the table – or in some locations, a mixed bread basket – to get the meal started with some doughy goodness before it's time to get down with that Prime beef.
Bonefish Grill
While this list is dominated by steakhouses and Italian restaurants, Bonefish Grill, primarily a seafood restaurant, offers a complimentary signature miniature loaf of bread. The artisan bread is flour-dusted, soft and light, and is the perfect delivery system for the flavorful pesto oil that comes with it.
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