Trump promises 'food for everyone', but leaves restaurant without paying

Former United States president Donald Trump entered a Miami restaurant on Tuesday promising "food for everyone", but left 10 minutes later without picking up anyone's tab.

Trump had stopped by the Cuban restaurant Versailles in Miami's Little Havana neighbourhood, shortly after he pleaded not guilty in a federal court in Miami to 37 charges related to alleged mishandling of classified documents.

The restaurant is popular with Cuban voters and has long been a stop for politicians seeking to court that community.

In the restaurant's bakery, Trump was heard to have declared "food for everyone!", but he soon left without paying for anything.

"It turns out no one got anything. Not even a cafecito to go," wrote Miami New Times of the incident.

The restaurant was filled with Trump's supporters and admirers, who had sang him "Happy Birthday" - it was a day before Trump turned 77.

Former mixed martial arts fighter Jorge Masvidal, who was there, described Trump as "everybody's favourite president of all time", the Miami New Times reported.

The New York Times also said that "Trump has enjoyed relatively strong support in some Latino communities, particularly those in South Florida" and that "Versailles restaurant is a landmark that is emblematic of the Cuban diaspora".