The Best Chain Restaurant Happy Hour Deals Gallery

Ahh, happy hour. That brief, shining window, generally during weekday afternoons and early evenings, when bars roll back drink prices in an effort to lure in customers. But while bars are still great sources of happy hours, plenty of restaurants are offering them, too. And not just on drinks — they're knocking back prices on food as well. In fact, some of the country's most popular chain restaurants offer little-known menus featuring incredibly inexpensive food and drink specials, usually available only at the bar. 

This barbecue chain offers more of an early-bird special than a happy hour, because it doesn't involve drinks, but the food is cheap and you don't need to be sitting at the bar to order it. The offer varies slightly according to location, this menu includes combo platters, stuffed baked potatoes, tacos, barbecue sandwiches, and burgers, all for less than ten bucks. The offer is available from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. 

Even this popular-if-pricey chain of hibachi restaurants has a happy hour. While the deals also vary according to location (call ahead to make sure your local branch participates), at some outposts the happy hour runs from Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the bar area, and features discounted beer, sushi, and appetizers. 

Head to Chili's during happy hour (which varies timewise according to location) and you'll find appetizers including crispy Cheddar bites, guacamole, half-sized Margherita flatbreads, white spinach queso, Southwestern egg rolls, and smoked wings ranging in price from three to six bucks. 

Morton's is generally in the "expense account" breed of restaurants, but they have a little-known bar menu with items starting at just $7. Mini prime cheeseburgers, oysters, shrimp cocktail, filet mignon sandwiches, mini crab cake BLTs, and fresh-cut potato chips with blue cheese dressing are all included in the deal. Exact prices and times vary according to location.

Established in 1926, The Palm is certainly a special occasion steakhouse. Every day except for Saturday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., though, select locations offer a Half Off Primetime menu at participating locations. Menu items including cornmeal-fried oysters,  cheeseburgers, fried calamari, and oysters are all discounted.

While Applebee's doesn't advertise a happy hour per se, it pays to stay on top of its special discounted drink offers, like $2 Absolut vodka lemonades.

Participating locations of Cheesecake Factory offer quite an extensive happy hour menu Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 at the bar. Selected cocktails, well drinks, and wines cost $5.95; selected beers cost $4; and 15 different appetizers cost just $5.95.

While just about every menu item at this high-roller's steak house is rather pricey, if you sit at the bar during certain hours at some locations you can enjoy some top-quality cocktails for just $9. Cocktails include the Classic Cosmo, Pomegranate Martini, Manhattan, and gin basil smash. 

This classy chain of Chinese-inspired restaurants offers a true bargain of a happy hour at select locations. From 3 pm to 6 pm Monday through Friday, selected wines and cocktails cost six bucks, and craft beers are just four dollars. There's also a wide variety of discounted starters and small plates.

Not all locations of Buffalo Wild Wings offer happy hours, but at the ones that do it's a great deal. For example, some locations offer deeply discounted beers Monday through Friday from 4 to 7.

Outback has a No Worries Happy Hour at the bar Monday through Thursday from 3 to 7, and Friday through Sunday from 3 to 6. Mixed drinks with brands like Absolut, Bacardi, and Jack Daniel's cost $5, and signature cocktails cost 6.

This chain of steakhouses might be on the expensive end of the spectrum, but that doesn't mean that many locations don't offer a solid happy hour at the bar. Their Five Six Seven happy hour is a good deal, with five different cocktails, wines by the glass, appetizers, and a burger ranging in price from $6 to $10 nightly from 5 to 7. French dips also sell for $13, and Blue Moons for $4. 

Most outposts of McCormick and Schmick's, the chain best known for its steaks and seafood, offer one of the country's best happy hour menus. The specials themselves vary by location, but at the Irvine, Calif. outpost, for example, you'll find 14 different dishes ranging in price from $3 to $9 Monday through Friday from 4 to 7, and rotating weekday specials including dollar oysters and shrimp; it's one of the reasons it's one of America's best steakhouse chains. 

Read more: America's 50 Best Steakhouses
America's Best Casual Chain Steakhouses
25 Things You Didn't Know About Your Favorite Fast Food Chains