9 Chain Restaurants with Early Bird Specials

Specials are no novel restaurant concept. Even the most basic marketing practices support their premise: getting customers in the door during slow hours with enticing deals that are too good to pass up. But don’t let this suggest that restaurants are trying to trick you into dining with them. Rather, let’s call the world of early bird specials a win-win situation. Sure, they might have you going out to eat at odd hours, but in exchange, you’ll get your meals for often unbeatable prices.

Though early bird specials commonly appeal to older diners, they’re not restricted by age — anyone can take advantage of the deals they offer. It makes sense, then, that many chain restaurants have adopted the early bird practice. Whether you dine early due to personal preference or you choose to change your meal habits to maximize affordability, the following chains all offer attractive specials that may just have you joining the early bird crew. As always, check with your local restaurant for better details about their early bird specials — the information below is general and can vary based on restaurant location (especially when it comes to franchised chains).

Early Dine is the term Texas Roadhouse uses for its early bird specials, but don’t worry — the typical early bird principles still apply. A couple third-party websites have reported on the Early Dine deal, and what it offers looks particularly enticing. Texas Roadhouse’s Early Dine goes from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, though another source suggests that the Friday and Saturday early bird specials go from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It offers an array of menu items for the gobsmacking price of $10.99, guaranteeing an easy way to get an affordable Texas Roadhouse meal.

Items the deal applies to include fan favorites like the country fried sirloin, the 6-ounce USDA sirloin steak, the chicken Caesar salad, and the pulled pork dinner. Personally, we’d advocate for going to Texas Roadhouse early even if it didn’t have a special — who wants to try to fall asleep with a stomach full of steak and fries? However, because your favorite steakhouse is a franchise, not all locations may have the special — check with your location before heading in, just to make sure. 

We know we said anyone can take advantage of early bird specials — but unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case with Golden Corral, whose special is typically called the Senior Early Bird Special. It applies to guests 60 and older, leaving younger diners with full-price mandates. If nothing else, this makes Golden Corral a great place to take the grandparents on a budget.

Unlike other meals at the buffet, Golden Corral’s Senior Early Bird special includes a drink, a definite perk, even if it only saves a few bucks at the end of the day. And, because it’s a buffet, no menu items are excluded from the special. The special can reportedly be capitalized on between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday-Friday, and it gives seniors access to anything on the buffet for the stellar price of $9.99. But — as always — double check with your location before heading in to take advantage of the deal. 

Who doesn’t love to treat themselves to Italian-American food every now and again? If you’re a regular diner at the Olive Garden, you’ll probably be happy to know that it’s another chain where some locations offer early bird specials. Although, you won’t see them named as such — instead, Olive Garden calls its early diner deals Early Dinner Duos, and the shockingly good offer is available to any diner.

The Early Dinner Duo is reportedly available from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and it offers diners unlimited soup or salad along with an entree for $8.99 — quite the steal, if you ask us. And, of course, you can always get as many breadsticks as your tummy can handle. The deal may not be offered at every Olive Garden location, but if yours has it, it’s an unmissable excuse to treat yourself. 

Houlihan’s isn’t the most ubiquitous chain in the country, with locations primarily in the eastern half of the U.S., but it does have one thing going for it: Because the restaurant showcases its early bird special (simply called The Early Bird) on its own website, we can reasonably assume it’s available at most, if not all, Houlihan’s locations. We’d also argue that, though Houlihan’s special is slightly more expensive than others on this list, it offers one of the best deals of the bunch. 

If you dine at Houlihan’s Monday-Friday between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., you can take advantage of its $17.99 Early Bird dinner. Along with coffee or soda, you get to choose from options that span three courses: Course 1 offers soup or salad, Course 2 offers a variety of entrees, and Course 3 lets you choose between a couple desserts. It’s a filling meal, for sure — and if you ask us, $17.99 is a pretty good price for what you get.

It’s also pretty safe to assume that Western Sizzlin offers its Early Bird Buffet special at most, if not all locations — after all, the deal is featured on the restaurant’s own website. The price difference between the Early Bird Buffet and that offered at other hours isn’t the most substantial, but it’s significant enough to consider dining a couple hours before you typically would.

If you dine at Western Sizzlin between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Monday-Thursday, you can gain access to the whole buffet for the very reasonable price of $10.29. That’s just over $2 cheaper than typical lunch prices, $3 cheaper than dinner, and $4 cheaper than a weekend buffet at the spot. On the day you want to head in, just eat a late breakfast and wait to eat at the buffet until mid-afternoon — or, skip breakfast altogether to save room for the buffet.

Piccadilly is another restaurant that eschews the “early bird” moniker for its early diner special. Instead, the chain calls its offer the A.M. Special. It’s aptly named enough — after all, the special lasts from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and doesn’t appear to be tied to any particular weekdays. However, there are a couple significant downsides to the deal that will exclude certain diners from claiming it.

Piccadilly’s A.M. Special unfortunately seems to only be applicable to groups of at least 15 guests, and the restaurant requires reservations be made before heading in. The special costs $13.99 per guest and includes classic breakfast fare. It’s a good budget-friendly special if you’re looking to affordably dine with a large group of friends or family, but it’s not something you can capitalize on as a solo diner, or even a small group.

Another ubiquitous U.S. chain offers an early bird special that it calls Early Diners. Famous Dave’s special can be obtained across a generous time period — from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with no days of the week specified — and it offers a hefty range of options to choose from, some of which are taken straight from the House Favorites section of its menu.

Early diners can get one of the meat platters (ranging anywhere between $11-$15), a $10 salad entree, or various sandwiches that cost anywhere between $8.50 and $11. The savings here are significant, averaging around $4 to $5 per dish. We think this makes Famous Dave’s a particularly great early bird spot, especially given its whopping five-hour time span. After all, is there really a huge difference between eating at 4 p.m. or 6 p.m.?

Fans of Cracker Barrel, it’s your time to shine — this is yet another chain that offers early bird specials, though the famous country-store-slash-restaurant is admittedly a bit vague about the specific deals. Its Early Dinner deals are specifically mentioned on the website, though we aren’t completely certain the deal is available at every single location. Call yours ahead to make sure it’s on offer.

You can take advantage of the deal Monday through Friday, anytime between 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., which we imagine appeals particularly to Cracker Barrel’s older clientele. The only detail the company itself gives about the special is that it sells smaller plates of favorite dishes at lower prices; however, a PDF we found of the menu lists homestyle chicken, chicken n’ dumplins, meatloaf, and steak tips among the available options, though no prices are mentioned. 

Last but certainly not least is Outback Steakhouse, which (at the time of writing this piece) offers an early bird special to diners at certain locations throughout the state of Florida. If the promotion is still happening at a location near you, it’s worth checking out. For just $13.99, you can get one of seven entrees, as well as a side (excluding pasta) and a beer or Coca-Cola drink. 

The special runs from Monday-Friday, and you can snag it when you dine between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Entrees include popular Outback Steakhouse menu items, such as the center-cut sirloin, The Bloomin’ Burger, Gold Coast coconut shrimp, and a caramel mustard glazed pork chop. It’s enticing enough for us to wish it was available country-wide. If enough Florida residents take advantage of it, we can at least hope it expands to more locations in the future.