10 Chain Restaurants With The Best Lunch Specials Under $15 In 2026

With restaurant prices constantly rising, the luxury of going to a restaurant for a casual lunch has slipped away. There is one saving grace, however, and that is the coveted lunch special. Although it's popular among independently owned restaurants, it's also practiced in quite a few chains as well. No matter where you are in the country, certain chain restaurants can be depended upon for a more affordable lunch option.

We decided to comb through these chain restaurants to try to find the best options — both in price and quality. Ultimately, we came up with a list of chains, all of which have at least 200 locations around the country, that have lunch special options that fall below $15. These restaurants are also known to be of good quality, as confirmed by plenty of positive customer reviews. So if you're hungry for lunch, grab a $20 bill (you must account for tip!) and let's get eating.

Prices are as of the date of publication and may vary based on region.

With over 1,200 locations in the United States, Chili's is one of the most popular chain restaurants around. The menu is a mixture of American and Tex-Mex, and it has tons of options that fans love. For a fabulous lunch deal, Chili's offers something called the "3 for Me" deal. This offering has been available for quite a few years now, and it draws in a lot of customers who want great food at a good price.

This deal includes one appetizer, one entrée, and one drink, all for $10.99. For the deal, there is a list of specific menu items under each category that you can choose from. The appetizers include simple choices like chips and salsa, soup, or salad. The heavy hitters are with the entrées; as of the time of writing, there are 11 choices available, including burgers, sandwiches, and pastas — so you're bound to find something you enjoy.

If you take a look at Chili's prices normally, the entrées themselves range between $15 and $20, making the 3 for Me deal automatically worth it just for the discount on the entrée. If you're wondering if the portions are still large – they sure are. You won't be skimped on the amount of food you get, either.

Cracker Barrel is an American road trip staple, with many locations right off major highways around the country. It's a charming restaurant that offers a gift shop, games at each table, and a menu full of comfort food. While the breakfast food at Cracker Barrel is extremely popular, it's also a solid place to stop for lunch, especially if Southern, homestyle meals are your thing.

Cracker Barrel has a selection of weekday lunch specials. The specific dishes are offered for under $10 starting at 11 a.m. The dishes that are offered with this promotion may change from location to location, but it generally includes classics like the customer-favorite Chicken n' Dumplings served with your choice of a side and buttermilk biscuits or corn muffins for $9.69.

These dishes are specifically made to be served for lunch, so they may be a bit smaller than the normal dinner-sized portions. However, it's still a lot of food — enough for a satisfying portion size for any adult. Each meal comes with multiple sides along with the main entrée, and for under $10, that's definitely worth it.

If you're interested in a lunch deal that doesn't involve sitting down at a restaurant, Wendy's could be a great choice. For years, Wendy's had a deal called the 4 for $4, which created record low prices for the fast food industry. While that exact offering doesn't exist anymore, there are still great options for lunch deals. Now, they are called Biggie Deals, and there are three different versions of the deal that you can choose from.

To start, there's the "Biggie Bites," which is two items for $4. This allows you to mix and match from a selection of burgers, sandwiches, nuggets, and fries. If you're a tad hungrier, there's the "Biggie Bag," which gets you four items for $6. This deal allows you to choose your preference of a burger or sandwich, and then includes a four-piece chicken nugget, a Jr. Fry, or a drink. Lastly, there's the "Biggie Bundle, " which includes two sandwiches or burgers, a Jr. Fry, and a drink for $8.

Many fast food meals, which include a main item, a fry, and a drink, cost above $10. So if you want a solid deal that you can get in a drive-thru, we think Wendy's is the most cost-effective option. The offer begins at lunch, which for most Wendy's locations is 10:30 a.m.

BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse is the type of chain restaurant that has an incredibly large menu, one so large that it would be hard to not be able to find something you'd enjoy. It's also known to have large portions with high-quality food to match, so finding a great lunch deal here is truly the cherry on top. As of summer 2026, there is a $13 lunch deal at BJ's that we think gives you a great bang for your buck.

This deal is the $13 Pizookie Meal Deal, and it includes your choice of an entrée (there are eight options) and a personal-sized Pizookie. If you've never been to BJ's before and don't know what a Pizookie is, you're going to want to try it. It's a deep-dish cookie baked in a cast-iron skillet. This isn't just offered in a classic chocolate chip cookie-version, either. You can get other flavors like strawberry shortcake, salted caramel, or chocolate chunk. As for the entrées, there are options ranging from pizza to pasta to burgers, all of which are standard-sized.

When most people think of Olive Garden, they automatically think of its doughy, salty, buttery breadsticks. Although the Italian-themed restaurant's entrées, especially the pastas, are loved by many, the breadsticks are what usually make people crave an outing at Olive Garden. If you are one of those people, and also are interested in a great lunch special, the soup, salad, and breadsticks offering is the way to go. It costs $11.49 and is offered weekdays between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. You can get as many refills of each as you want, technically giving you an unlimited amount of food for an extremely low price.

If you are in the mood for a classic entrée, Olive Garden still offers some lunch discounts. If you visit any location during the week before 3 p.m., you will be able to choose from a special "lunch-sized favorites" section on its menu. Most of these dishes are either $12.49 or $13.49 and include things like Lasagna, Fettuccine Alfredo, and Shrimp Scampi. These portions are smaller than the restaurant's normal sizes, but they still fall between 400 and 1,000 calories, meaning they're still filling. 

You may not think you can get a solid steakhouse meal for under $15. Luckily, if you head to Outback Steakhouse for lunch, it's entirely possible. Outback Steakhouse, an Australian-inspired restaurant, has over 600 locations in the U.S. alone. For Americans who love a steakhouse, this restaurant offers a fun twist on classic entrées. The menu is filled with a ton of different steaks, burgers, sandwiches, salads, and other savory entrées. If you head over to one of its locations for lunch on a weekday before 4 p.m., you'll be able to choose from discounted options on its special lunch menu.

The lunch menu may vary depending on the location you visit, but in general, the meals are $14.99 and under. There are steak, salad, burger, sandwich, and chicken options, and while the portions appear a bit smaller than usual, they're still appropriate for one adult to have as a meal.

If you're visiting a high-end mall in America, chances are you'll come across a P.F. Chang's. The interiors of the restaurants are usually quite nice, with colorful artwork and grand pieces of decor. Just by the look of it, you wouldn't necessarily think that you'd be able to score a delicious lunch there for under $15. But if you visit Monday through Friday before 3 p.m., you'll be able to order from lunch specials, with many dishes available for $14.99.

These lunch specials include many popular meals at P.F. Chang's, and while some do cost between $15 and $17, there are some great options at the $14.99 price point. These include mains like the Spicy Chicken, Orange Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken, and Sesame Chicken. Each of the dishes comes with your choice of a starter (including soups, spring rolls, and egg rolls) and rice or noodles. If you want a lighter dish, the lunch soup and salad cost just $11.99. The portions for the lunch specials look like they're a great, filling size.

For a classic American-style steakhouse that offers an affordable lunch, Longhorn Steakhouse is the place to be. It's been open for more than 40 years and now has 600 locations scattered around the U.S. Generally, the dishes at Longhorn tend to fall between $20 and $30, but for lunch, you can snag some classic steakhouse plates for just $10.99. These can be snagged on Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.

While there isn't a large variety of options for the $10.99 lunch deal, the meals that are offered are very well-reviewed. For example, one of the offerings, the 7-Pepper Sirloin Steak Salad, is said to be top-tier and flavorful. Another option and fan-favorite is the ½-pound Steakhouse Cheeseburger, which people love for its well-seasoned and juicy flavor. All of these lunch options also come with your choice of a side, with options like loaded baked potatoes, various options for soup, veggies, rice, and more. All in all, you'll get a large serving of food for an incredibly low price.

Who doesn't love a plate of chicken wings from a restaurant? Buffalo Wild Wings is a go-to for folks looking for a plate of crispy, sauce-covered wings. Meals at Buffalo Wild Wings usually cost between $15 and $25 for a main and a side, but if you visit weekdays between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., you'll have access to special lunch combos that will save you a ton of money.

Most of the lunch combos cost just $12 and come with a main, a side, and a drink. If you're craving the famous wings, you can get a 6-piece bone-in wing order or a 10-piece boneless order. For both options, you get to choose from Buffalo Wild Wings' selection of 26 different sauces, none of which cost extra. There are also other items that you can get on the lunch combos menu, like Crispy Chicken Dippers, Buffalo Ranch Chicken Wrap, tacos, or a cheeseburger. You can get major savings at Buffalo Wild Wings if you stick to ordering from this lunch menu.

One of the most classic lunches is a sub or sandwich. It's easy to eat on-the-go, is filling, and is on the more affordable side compared to other lunch options. In this day and age, though, a simple sandwich can sometimes cost you $10 or more. Luckily, Subway offers some fantastic lunch offerings that will not only save you some bucks, but also offer a delicious meal. Subway has been around since the 1960s, and it has remained a favorite for many people throughout the years.

Each day at Subway, there is a sub of the day. This style of sub changes every day and is offered for just $4.99. It comes in a 6-inch size, which is generally about 400 to 600 calories depending on the type. If you want a bit more food, you can also get the sub of the day in a meal version for $6.99, which includes a drink and a side of chips. Normally, the 6-inch subs cost around $7.50 and above, so you're still getting a major discount even if you opt for the meal version.

To come up with a list of 10 restaurants that had the best lunch specials in 2026, we first decided on a price point that we thought was fair for a discounted lunch. With many restaurants costing around $20 and above for a full meal, we thought that $15 was a great price point. From there, we went through countless chain restaurants to find which ones actually had a lunch deal and narrowed it down from there.

Beyond the $15 threshold, we only featured restaurants that have good reviews to back them up. Each restaurant in this list has fans that return again and again for its meals, happy customers who post about their eating experiences there online, and over 200 locations in the U.S. — proving that it has enough demand to maintain such a large quantity of locations.