Long Island's best all-you-can-eat restaurant deals

"The time is right to bring back all-you-can-eat." So said Rocco Mangel, of Rocco’s Tacos in Huntington Station, where diners can eat as much as they'd like for $34.99 on Tuesdays.

"People like to feel like they’re getting something for their money," Mangel said.

The all-you-can-eat (AYCE) concept has evolved from the days where it meant serve-yourself buffets or family-style platters. Today's versions might involve personal service, the most pronounced example being servers grilling meats tableside at some of the Korean barbecue restaurants that have opened across Long Island in recent years.

"I love all-you-can-eat, buffet or otherwise," said Patricia Galasso, of Riverhead, who favors the AYCE barbecue spread at Maple Tree BBQ Smokehouse on Fridays. Although she doesn’t eat out as much as she used to, she said "good spots with all-you-can-eat deals are at the top of my list" when she does.

Whether you’re craving a deal, or just feeling extraordinarily hungry, the never-ending plate is making a comeback, albeit with some parameters: No doggie bags, the entire table must partake and there could be a penalty if you over-order food and don't eat it. But, overall, AYCE has become a more civilized, rewarding experience.

Here are the top deals for bottomless meals on every night of the week — except Sunday, because we need a day to digest.

Mondays: Endless Pasta at ITA Kitchen in Garden City and Patchogue

COST $35

One of the more long-standing, pretheater dinner traditions in Manhattan is at Lidia Bastinach’s restaurant, Becco, which features a roving three-pasta service that has stood the test of time. Servers rotate piping hot portions of pastas scooped directly from the cooking pan onto patrons’ plates. Twirl, slurp, repeat. On Long Island, ITA Kitchen (short for "Italian American") has a local riff on the promotion at its Patchogue and Garden City locations. It’s called — what else? — "Endless Pasta."

Opened by Salvatore and Christina Sorrentino in 2019, ITA embodies a pasta-centric ethos, with featured macaroni dishes that might include pan-seared ricotta gnocchi in a truffle cream sauce or rigatoni Amatriciana with shaved ricotta salata. The all-you-can-eat options change weekly but always give diners three saucy pastas that can be sampled, savored and sampled again. Past combinations have included carbonara mac-and-cheese, a hybrid penne pesto a la vodka, and rigatoni Caprese with San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and cherry tomatoes.

More info: Served Monday to Thursday at 9 Nassau Blvd., Garden City South (516-485-4848) and 69 E. Main St., Patchogue (631-908-6977), itakitchen.com

Tuesdays: Taco Tuesday at Rocco’s Tacos at Walt Whitman Shops

COST $34.99

"We really built a brand on all-you-can-eat," said Mangel, the Hauppauge-born founder of Florida-based Rocco’s Tacos, which recently opened its New York flagship at the mall. "We’ve got a great playlist, we turn the music up, we have fun family atmosphere, plus unlimited tacos and tequila."

Every Tuesday, for just under $35, guests can roam the 15 tacos on Rocco's menu, including adobo-spiced chicken, pork-based cochinitas, chorizo, grilled or blackened fish, mushroom or spicy ground beef tacos. More untraditional: smashburger tacos with American cheese, chipotle sauce, sweet relish and pickled red onions, and hot honey chicken tacos topped with charred corn esquites tossed in avocado ranch. The lone outlier are steak tacos, which cost an additional $2.50 each.

Pair your tacos with $7 house margaritas, shaken or stirred, $27 pitchers, or $70 silver tequila bottles. There's a large, rectangular bar with suspended televisions and a base decorated with colorful cultural images from the 54 cards of lotería, the Mexican game akin to American bingo, to sit and sip those specials. Twinkly celestial lights hang from the ceilings and lucha libre wrestling masks adorn the walls.

More info: Available Tuesdays at 160 Walt Whitman Rd., #1170, Huntington Station, roccostacos.com.

Wednesdays: Japanese hot pot at Spring Shabu-Shabu in Westbury

COST $23.95

Spring Shabu-Shabu, a sleek, modern spot partitioned by blond wood beams and surrounded by stark white walls, is just one example of the all-you-can-eat hot pot trend that’s swept Long Island.

"A few years ago we didn’t have any hot pots, but now they’re opening up everywhere," managing partner Jonathan Lee told Newsday when the eatery opened in 2024. "It definitely is more popular with the younger generation." Now open in Boston, and Flushing, Queens, the concept was inspired by a Japanese buffet Lee’s father experienced in California.

Shabu-shabu is a Japanese style of hot pot that translates to "swish-swish," for the ingredients sloshing around in the boiling dashi soup. The selection here is less than traditional, with everything from sujebi, or hand-torn Korean dough noodles, to a whole wall of Chinese fish cakes. The quality of the buffet is strikingly high for $23.95, which Lee said he's able to do because the flat rate does not include the thinly sliced meat add-ons, like beef rib-eye and beef top blade, which go for about $5 each. 

Choose from five broths for individual hot pot crocks, including kimchi broth and spicy pork bone with a Sichuan chili paste. The clean-flavored dashi broth made from bonito flakes and kelp is the most traditional way to go, but the darker vegetarian broth's strong mushroom flavor is a winner. Then, add your choice of nearly a dozen varieties of plump noodles, plus vegetables, including purple kale, bok choy and chrysanthemum leaves. Dip in some of the sauces on offer, some funky, some mild. Swish-swish-swallow. Pro tip: Don’t miss the unlimited green tea soft-serve ice cream.

More info: Served daily at 1195 Corporate Dr., Westbury, 516-385-5565, springshabu.com

Thursdays: Korean BBQ at Won KBBQ in Carle Place and Commack

COST $26.95-$29.95 lunch and $45.95 dinner ($29.95 vegetarian)

If it feels like everywhere you turn, another Korean BBQ spot has popped up, you’re not wrong; there’s been an onslaught of these restaurants over the last five years. One of the most satisfying hails from Bayside, Queens, the growing empire of a Hong Kong family that now has outposts in Carle Place and Commack.

Perhaps it's the interactive nature of tableside Korean barbecue that appeals to families, or the fact that this style of dining gives budget consumers a way to dip a toe into Korean cuisine, loading up on thin-cut and marinated meats and banchan side dishes. Either way, these two cauldron pot barbecue joints are using extremely high quality meats — 20 varieties of mostly pork and beef cuts, plus a couple of chicken and one spicy squid — as well as substantial sides, bubbling soups, japchae glass noodles, and steamed custardy eggs. Don't miss the thick-cut pork belly, which comes in long fat slabs. Another favorite is the kalbi marinated steak. Also make sure to order a side of lettuce so you can roll your ingredients into fresh wraps.

Run by manager Angela Hong and her mother, owner Kelly Im, Won KBBQ’s Commack spot mirrors the Carle Place site with its signature black-and-red color scheme and cauldrons on every table that double as Korean barbecue grills. But different from many Korean barbecue spots, at Won KBBQ, it’s not a DIY affair. Here, servers grill diners' meats tableside, draping meats across the stately, scalding dome and moving them to the sides and top of the grill to rest once done. An all-you-can-eat luxury, certainly.

More info: Offered daily at 125 Old Country Rd., Carle Place (516-226-3282) and 200 Jericho Tpke., Commack (516-855-0202), wonkbbq.com.

Fridays: Unlimited BBQ at Maple Tree BBQ Smokehouse, Riverhead

COST $33 ($15 ages 12 and younger)

If this smoke-centric spot adheres to any one barbecue style, it's Texas. "Our hero is Aaron Franklin," co-owner Dennis O’Leary said, referring to the founder of Austin, Texas' acclaimed Franklin Barbecue. No surprise that his team excels at brisket, Texas' signature 'cue, as well as its cousins pastrami (brisket that's brined before smoking) and burnt ends (the carbonized tips of the brisket, doused with sauce).

While Maple Tree offers up $1 wings on Wednesdays, it’s Fridays that a bigger prize is on the menu: AYCE barbecue including those same wings, ribs, North Carolina pulled pork and sweet chicken sliders, beef brisket and pastrami, and cornbread. Sides like "kallards," kale that has been briefly braised in pork broth, smoked baked beans, Mac-and-cheese, roasted sweet potatoes, potato salad and cole slaw, round out the offerings. Dessert is brownie bites. For $6, add a craft beer, local wine or sangria.

More info: Served Fridays at 820 W. Main St., Riverhead, 631-727-2819, mapletreebbq.com

Saturdays: Sushi at Cinnabar in Massapequa

COST $34.99 sushi and Japanese hot plates, $54.99 includes Cajun seafood ($7.99-$29.99 for kids based on height)

The clubby Cinnabar in Massapequa — an all-you-eat spot that trades in Asian cuisine — is paneled with dark red tones and glowing purple lights, human-size birdcages over tables in the anteroom and a moody atrium of a dining room, accented by a backlit sushi bar. Within this dramatic landscape, an assortment of specials can be had, from build-your-own Cajun boil to hibachi lunch specials to the main draw: all-you-can-eat sushi.

Grab a table, snack on the complimentary nuts and pickled radishes while you opt for unlimited Japanese appetizers such as shumai, spicy rock shrimp, gyoza, edamame and tempura pieces. There’s miso and hot and sour soup; green, kani and seaweed salads, and even a selection of hot Japanese dishes like teriyaki and fried rice. However, it’s the second page of the all-you-can-eat selections — the sushi — that we’re here for.

Choose from Angry Dragon rolls, rice-less Naruto rolls, rainbow rolls, or a simple salmon and avocado roll. California rolls, vegetarian futomaki rolls, even cucumber rolls are in the mix, but we suggest going for the biggest and baddest of the bunch, like the Santa or Lobster Lover rolls, both using lobster as an ingredient. Sushi and sashimi are served one piece per order, and include options from red snapper to crab, eel to tuna. And while the entire table must partake in the same dining experience, each shimmering piece of squid, salmon, tuna and shrimp is worth the investment. The bar even punches above its weight, with an unexpected cocktail like the Open Sesame ($15), which works sesame oil into a sweet citrus vodka drink rimmed with sugar, but giving off savory, nutty aromas.

More info: Offered daily at 45 Carmans Rd., Massapequa, 516-308-4648, instagram.com/cinnabar_ny