Dish served during dinner is sent free — but not starters (6)
I believe the answer is:
entree
'dish' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'during dinner is sent free but not starters' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'not' could be 'nt' (synonyms) and 'nt' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'served' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for entree that I've seen before include "Freedom of access" , "The right to enter a particular sphere" , "Dish providing right of entry" , "Right of entrance for a dish?" , "Dish; right of admission" .)