11 Sit-Down Chains With The Cheapest Deals Outside Of Happy Hour

Going out to eat is one of those simple pleasures in life that's suddenly not so simple. We're not even talking about the difficulties of making a reservation at some hot new dining destination (or worse, having that reservation stolen by robots!). Instead, we're reeling from sticker shock just looking at menu prices. Even fast food's crazy expensive these days (here's our list of the most overpriced chains), and food trucks ... fuhgeddaboutit. (Since when did it become acceptable to charge $20 for a burger with no fries, no drink, and no place to sit?) Surprisingly enough, some of the better dining deals you'll find these days are at sit-down restaurants, meaning they come complete with tables, chairs, silverware, and non-paper plates.

The deals on this list all come from the more casual end of the spectrum, since the more upscale ones don't tend to be so big on discounts, nor, if they did, would they necessarily reduce the price down into what we'd call "affordable" territory (meaning, a middle-class family could eat there without feeling too much financial pain). Even so, these lower-priced restaurants all offer the full dining out experience — being seated at a table, ordering off a menu, having your food arrive hot on a plate instead of crammed into a styrofoam box — at prices that, in some cases, may be less than what you'd pay for fast food. One note on these deals, though: While all were current at the time of writing, it's possible that they're not available at each location, and they may also be changed or discontinued at any time.

Applebee's online menu lists a deal with a somewhat ambiguous name: 2 for $2X. The twofer part is obvious, but is the X a typo? No, it's merely meant to imply (as per the fine print) that the exact price of the deal may vary by location, but in most cases it seems to be about $25. For this amount, you get two entries — the selection, too, will vary, but examples include the chicken parmesan fettuccine, grilled cheese cheeseburger, and oriental chicken salad. These come with either a pair of side salads or a shareable appetizer. Even when you factor in a 20% tip, that's two complete meals for just $15 apiece.

Some meal deals are available only on certain days of the week, which is the case at B-Dub's. This casual sports chain has a buy-one-get-one-free deal on traditional bone-in wings for rewards members every Tuesday, which applies to six-, 10-, or 15-piece orders. It's valid for either dine-in or for to-go or delivery orders placed through its app or website, though not DoorDash, GrubHub, or other intermediaries. On Thursday, you can order any number of boneless wings and receive an equal amount free. The same parameters are in place regarding dine-in and delivery, although a rewards membership is not needed to take advantage of this offer.

Chili's "3 for Me" deal doesn't mean you need to round up two dining companions. Instead, it involves three items — a starter, main course, and drink — that are meant for you, yourself, and you. These meals start at $10.99 for either the Big Smasher or Big QP burgers, while they go up to $16.99 for the deluxe versions of the Big Crispy and grilled chicken sandwiches, along with a 6-ounce sirloin or Cajun shrimp pasta. (Additional cheeseburgers and chicken sandwiches are priced between $12.99 and $14.99, while chicken tender combos are also $14.99.) Each entree comes with either one or two sides, and the appetizer selection includes chips and salsa, a cup of soup (baked potato or chicken enchilada), or a house salad. Non-boozy beverages are endlessly refillable and include a selection of flavored or unflavored lemonades and iced teas, as well as Coke products. 

Denny's seems to have adopted the value menu concept familiarized by fast food chains, since it has an entire section devoted to "Denny's Deals." There are no stipulations or parameters needed to take advantage of them since they're simply a selection of some of the chain's lower-priced entrees. The cheapest is a $5.99 two-egg Breakfast Slam with hash browns and toast, with other options including a $7.49 two-meat Breakfast Scrambler, an $8.49 breakfast quesadilla, and a $9.99 Super Slam with eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, and hash browns. The list also includes several lunch or dinner entrees. For $8.99, you can get a burger with fries or country fried steak with two sides. At the $9.99 price point, there's a fish sandwich and chicken fingers with dipping sauce, both of which come with a side of fries.

IHOP, too, has a value menu, although unlike the one at Denny's, it's limited to a small selection of breakfast items at a fixed price of $6. For this insignificant sum, which is quite a bit less than you'd pay for a Big Arch burger at McDonald's, you can feast on your choice of four complete meals: a Breakfast Faves Combo with eggs, pancakes, and bacon or sausage; a French Toast Faves Combo (same, but with french toast in lieu of pancakes); a ham and cheese omelet with pancakes; and a House Scramble of eggs with bacon and cheese, accompanied by hash browns.

Ikea's restaurant is the very best furniture-themed eatery to be found at the heart of a maze, and we won't hear any arguments. (We can't be the only ones who go there for the food, even when not in need of home furnishings.) The dining area is beyond comfortable — where else do you get to sit on a couch while you eat? — and the menu prices are quite reasonable, too. One of the newer items, though, is an absolute steal. A falafel meatball entree, complete with eight meatballs, a garlic aioli dipping sauce, and a side of vegetable couscous, for just $4.99? Yes, please! If you've signed up for Ikea Family (which doesn't cost anything to do, btw), the price even includes a drink, since coffee and tea are always free for members.

Eating at a steakhouse may seem like a meaty fever dream in this economic climate, but lower-end chains like LongHorn Steakhouse offer some surprisingly good deals. For the cheapest meal at LongHorn, the best time to visit is on a weekday or Saturday between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. so you can take advantage of its wallet-friendly lunch plates. The least expensive, at $9.49, comes with a salad and your choice of soups: french onion, loaded potato, or shrimp and lobster chowder. For 50 cents more, you can order a fried chicken sandwich, while $10.99 gets you a half-pound cheeseburger or a grilled chicken and strawberry salad. The most expensive option, at $11.99, is a salad topped with sirloin strips flavored with the chain's special seven-pepper seasoning. The sandwich and burger both come with a choice of salad, soup, or side, while the salads include either soup or a side — as an extra salad would be redundant.

Most Olive Garden entrees are actually quite reasonably priced when you consider that they come with unlimited soup or salad and breadsticks. Yes, maybe it's cheating a bit, but you could fill up on the freebies and get a to-go box for the entree. An even better deal, however, allows you to order from a small selection of menu items – including rigatoni alla vodka ($14.99), fettucine alfredo ($17.99), lasagna classico ($18.99), and chicken parmigiana ($21.99) — and get the same unlimited sides along with an additional portion of the entree to take home at no charge. All hail the BOTO! Unlike the better-known BOGO, this type of offer is tailor-made for solo diners and lazy meal preppers.

Here's a bonus deal from Olive Garden: The restaurant bills its breadsticks as unlimited, but there are a few rules you may not have noticed regarding their distribution. For one thing, they're for dine-in only, which makes sense, since how could a delivery order anticipate how many breadsticks you're able to eat? (They're not even trying, since you only get two.) For another, breadsticks will only accompany an adult entree ... well, usually. There is a way around this, though, if you visit on a weekday between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. During this time frame, you may choose to forego the entree altogether and instead avail yourself of unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks for $10.49.

Olive Garden isn't the only restaurant offering a never-ending add-on for sit-down diners. Red Robin, too, has such a deal, only instead of involving breadsticks, it revolves around fries and other sides. These can be ordered a la carte, but the best way to enjoy them is part of a budget-friendly Big Yumm deal. Featured items start at $9.99 for a 7-inch pizza or your choice of a Red's Double or Haystack Double cheeseburger. For an extra $4 you can upgrade to a Whiskey River BBQ chicken wrap or Cowboy Ranch Double burger, while $16.99 gets you either a crispy chicken sandwich or an avocado-bacon burger. Each entree comes with a soda, iced tea, or lemonade and a bottomless side. (Steak fries, kettle chips, broccoli, or coleslaw are all free, although options such as salads and onion rings are available at an upcharge.)

At Ruby Tuesday, every day of the week (yes, even Sundays) has its own list of specials. We don't have room to list them all, but here are our picks for each. On Monday, you can get endless trips to the salad bar (or Garden Bar, in RT's lingo) along with your choice of loaded baked potato, soup, or a single-patty smash burger with fries or tots for $9.99. Tuesdays bring chicken or fish sandwiches and burgers, also with fries or tots, starting at $6.99, while on Wednesdays, you can get unlimited lunchtime salad bar access for $7.99. You can get that smashburger-salad bar combo for just $8.99 on Thursdays, while Fridays mean $9.99 fish and chips. A Saturday salad bar lunch is $8.99. while on Sundays after 4 p.m., you can dine on ribs, shrimp, and fries for $12.99.

One of the easiest ways to save money at Texas Roadhouse isn't listed on the menu, but recent video evidence shows that the Early Dine deal is still very much on offer. Between the hours of Monday through Thursday, patrons arriving before 5 p.m. may order from a list of 11 entrees: 6-ounce sirloin, country-fried sirloin, grilled BBQ chicken, herb-crusted chicken, country fried chicken, Chicken Critters (aka tenders), pulled pork, grilled pork chop, grilled chicken salad, chicken caesar salad, and Chicken Critter salad. Each is priced at $12.99 and comes with the same choice of sides as if ordered from the main menu. You still get the free peanuts and cinnamon-honey butter rolls, too, so you can easily fill up for not much money and maybe have leftovers to take home, too.