What Time Does Taco Bell Start Serving Lunch?

Taco Bell is the fourth-most-popular fast-food chain in the United States (per QSR); and, with 7,815 locations (per ScrapeHero) spread across the country, there's a very good chance you've eaten there for at least one out of the day's four meals. Yes, we said four because, of course, Taco Bell is a proud champion of the midnight Fourthmeal, a promotion it has advertised on and off since the early 2000s. But the brand's apparent warping of our standard three-meal day doesn't always align with its store hours.

There are only a limited number of Taco Bell locations that remain open 24/7. The majority conform to limited hours and have limited menu offerings to align with them. You might think a company that ran a whole ad campaign based on rejecting the three-square-meal system would have loose parameters for mealtimes, but Taco Bell actually has a hard line between breakfast and lunch.

There may be some variance in hours from one Taco Bell location to the next, but most franchises offer meals in the same three time slots. Ever since Taco Bell began serving breakfast in 2014, most locations have offered the breakfast menu between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. As soon as the day's breakfast service comes to a close, the restaurant switches gears to lunch, meaning that lunch usually begins at 11:00 in the morning. Most locations are open every day.

While 11:00 a.m. is the standard start time for lunch at Taco Bell, it is still worth looking up the hours at your local franchise because certain locations may offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner at slightly different times. As far as the end of the meal period, most Taco Bell locations officially stop serving lunch at 2:00 p.m. However, the line between lunch and dinner is much looser than the line between breakfast and lunch. You can't get any breakfast items after 11:00 a.m. except for Cinnabon Delights, which are available as a side item. However, the lunch and dinner menus overlap.

Taco Bell does not offer a separate menu for dinner from the one it offers at lunch, meaning there is no difference between these two meals. Therefore, the official 2:00 p.m. ending period for lunch is really of no consequence, and you don't need to worry about showing up too late for lunch. It would be more realistic to divide the menu into two segments: breakfast and the rest of the day. It is worth noting, however, that some franchise locations may start serving lunch earlier than 11:00 a.m., beginning around 9:00 or 10:00. Still other locations may offer it all day.

While the breakfast menu features items like the breakfast Crunchwrap and bacon-and-egg and sausage-and-egg burritos, the lunch and dinner menus feature their typical offerings of tacos, burritos, and quesadillas. There are some items you should avoid at Taco Bell based on food safety and quality concerns, but the basics are generally safe bets.