Popular Restaurant Chains With Happy Hours That Can Save You Money

Taking advantage of happy hour is one of the most reliable restaurant tricks to save you money. Who doesn't like a $3 beer? Popular appetizers are also cheaper. Some restaurants set one price for all of their happy hour appetizers, others offer varying discounts, while still others charge half their standard price for half their standard portion size. Happy hour can occur at various times of the day, though the traditional periods start late afternoon and end before the restaurant's prime dinner hours. Frequently, chain establishments re-run happy hour again during the last hours before closing. Some limit happy hour to weekdays, while others extend it through the weekend. This is fortunate, because its the chains that often have the most lucrative happy hours (there's much to be said for effective marketing).

These chain restaurants, in particular, are known for cheap and effective happy hour tipples. The restaurants appear in alphabetical order. If the chain maintains fixed prices for its happy hour offerings regardless of location, those prices appear in our listing. If not, we've used the specific prices of one of the chain's locations.

When you need more than the standard happy hour, escape to the tropics by spending 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. (Monday to Friday) at Bahama Breeze. You can also save money during an additional happy hour from 9 p.m. to closing, Monday to Thursday. Kick off your happy hour with $4 14-ounce draft beers or $5 20-ounce beers on draft or in bottles. Well cocktails containing vodka, gin, rum, whiskey, or tequila are also available for only $5. Six dollars will get you a specialty drink, such as the Bahamarita and the Bahama Mama. Other drinks at that price include a classic margarita, a pineapple-coconut martini, a pina colada, and a mojito cubano. Sangria and wines are $7.

What's happy hour without wings? You can have classic wings, or you can keep the island theme going with Jamaican jerk wings. Each option costs $11.99. The remainder of the Bahama Breeze happy hour food menu is half portions of appetizers for half their standard price. There are three shrimp options — jerk shrimp, coconut shrimp, and spicy Firecracker Shrimp. Other seafood offerings are conch fritters and a tuna tostada. Non-seafood meat appetizers include beef empanadas and chicken tostones. Rounding out the menu are cheese sticks, a cheesy crab dip, and a spinach and artichoke dip.

Bonefish Grill likes to call its happy hour its "social hour." Whatever you want to call it, it's an opportunity to save $1 on draft beer from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. seven days a week. There are also spirits, cocktails, and wines at discounted prices. Spirits for $7 include products from labels like Jack Daniel's, Maker's Mark, Absolut, Dewar's, Bacardi, New Amsterdam Gin, and Tito's. Bonefish Grill's house wines are available as six and nine-ounce servings, priced at $1 per ounce. Premium wines are six ounces of a pinot noir or sauvignon blanc for $9. A nine-ounce serving is $13. 

Hand-crafted cocktails are all yours for $7. Examples include a margarita, a sour, and an Old-Fashioned. Want to try several martinis without breaking the bank or overindulging? Try Bonefish Grill's martini sampler with mini versions of the Heatwave Martini, a pomegranate martini, and the restaurant's in-season creation. Satisfy your social hour hunger with chicken bites, beef potstickers, sliders, Ahi tuna, shrimp toast, and breaded cauliflower. All happy hour food selections at Bonefish Grill are priced from $7 to $9.

Happy hour is an excellent opportunity to indulge in BJ's signature beers, which the company has been creating since 1996, for only $5. Dark Horse wines are also available for $5. Mixed beverage aficionados can satisfy their taste for call drinks for only $6. If you need more than a beverage, there's a mini deep-dish pizza and specified appetizers available for $7, including BJ's Deep-Fried Chicken Pot Stickers and Avocado Egg Rolls. The old reliable chips and dips will cost you just $4. The typical happy hours for BJ's are weekdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., and late night from 9 p.m. to closing Sunday through Thursday.

Don't overlook BJ's daily specials, which feature entrees, desserts, and beverages. You could combine specials with happy hour deals to create a complete low-cost meal. Sample offerings of the daily specials at one location include 50% off pizzas, half-priced wines, a specialty burger with limitless fries for $12.99, and a full rack of ribs with two sides for $24.99. There's also a three-course special on the weekends featuring either a double bone-in pork chop or prime rib. Both dinners include your choice of either soup or salad, two sides, and BJ's Pizookie, the restaurant's personal pizza pan-sized dessert cookie topped with two servings of ice cream.

Monday to Friday, the happy hour at Buffalo Wild Wings is from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. If you can remember that, then you can also remember the prices. Everything discounted for happy hour is priced from $3 to $6. The house beer, a tall draft of Goose Island's Wild Herd Kolsch, is $4. Bud Light is $5, and a Voodoo Ranger IPA is $6. You can also grab a strawberry margarita for $6.

If you're only in the mood to nosh, the chips with salsa and the tater tots will only cost you $3. Satisfy your urge for cheese with $5 mozzarella sticks, or your craving for a little salt with pretzel knots for $6.

Keep a close eye on promotions. Buffalo Wild Wings has some money-saving offers available for all diners, others for rewards members only, and some for those ordering takeout or delivery. One example of the company's promos is its Pick 6. Choose six items to create a meal for two for as little as $19.99. Meanwhile, rewards members can get free wings with a buy-one-get-one offer. Another deal offers a similar opportunity for those ordering takeout or delivery. Some of these promotions are available only on certain days. For specifics, be sure to inquire at your nearest location.

Head for the bar area between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to enjoy happy hour at Carrabba's Italian Grill, where you'll find $3 draft beers and $8 cocktails. The draft beers are Bud Light and Peroni, while the cocktails include an espresso martini with tiramisu liqueur, an Italian Old-Fashioned, a pomegranate martini, a Passion Pear Spritz, and a blood orange margarita. Carrabba's promotions advertise its happy hour as the time when you can get nine ounces of wine or sangria for the price of six ounces. The available wines are a red and a white, plus a chardonnay and a cabernet. There are three types of sangria on the menu — red, blackberry, and peach. Carrabba's also gives you a discount on spirits with a selection of name-brand beverages for $6. Choose from among Dewar's, Absolut, Jim Beam, Crown Royal, Bacardi, and Lunazul Blanco.

All happy hour food items are $8. For non-meat eaters, there's Bruschette Caprese with roasted tomatoes and a focaccia loaded with various roasted vegetables. If you're looking for something hardier, there are wings, meatball sliders, shrimp focaccia, calamari, and a ravioli dish featuring chicken.

The Cheesecake Factory hosts happy hour weekdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The restaurant's happy hour is held strictly near the bar, so avoid being seated in the general dining area. The available items are extensive for a typical happy hour. For example, drinks include mixed beverages, beer, and wine, which isn't standard for all restaurant happy hours. The Cheesecake Factory has such a long list of beverages, including wine, from which to choose that the ones selected by the management for your local happy hour are likely to be diverse enough to satisfy your entire group.

Appetizers tend to be priced between $9.95 and $10.95. At that price, you can satisfy your urge for a burger with Roadside Sliders, or opt for the Cheesecake Factory's special Happy Hour Burger, which features double patties and double cheese on a brioche bun. Also on the menu are chicken pot stickers, fried calamari, fried macaroni and cheese, and eight other choices. Modest appetites might prefer the small plates and snacks section of the menu, where items are $9.95. There are plates featuring crab, but vegetables dominate with such selections as beet and avocado salad, stuffed mushrooms, fried zucchini, and grilled asparagus.

If you miss the days of affordable beers at restaurants and pubs, consider Chili's happy hour offer — 16-ounce servings of selected beers for only $3. And when is happy hour at Chili's? At some locations, it runs all day, every day, from opening to closing, which is good because sometimes you just can't wait until the afternoon to take a break from your boss. At other locations, it's 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, then all day or at least with extended times on the weekend.

The beers are the light versions of Coors, Bud, and Miller. For just an additional dollar, you can grab a 22-ounce serving of the same beers. Michelob Ultra and Modelo are available in 16-ounce servings for $4 and in 22-ounce versions for $5. Five dollars will also get you your choice of either a red or white house wine.

If Margaritas are more to your liking, the restaurant offers a $6 Margarita of the Month. Each month features a new drink that is only available for that month. In the past, the margaritas have featured such ingredients as El Jimador Silver Tequila, Lunazul Reposado Tequila, Lunazul Blanco Tequila, Cuervo Tradicional Blanco, Espolon Reposado, Cointreau, orange liqueur, blackberry and strawberry purees, dragonfruit, and a Granny Smith apple.

Dos Caminos has one of the more extensive happy hour schedules you'll find. On weekdays, it's from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and from 9 p.m. until closing. Then on the weekends, it's all day. But be sure to get a seat in the bar and lounge area to order from the happy hour menu.

If you're looking for something different, take a flight, a tequila flight. Dos Caminos, which boasts a huge selection of tequilas, uses its staff's top choices to form half-ounce taste samples. A full tequila sampler of staff picks is $10. Try it and you may discover a new favorite, while still paying less than what the average American spends on alcohol. The beer selection includes Corona, Pacifica, and Tecate for $6. Wine and margaritas are $8. Dos Caminos' happy hour food menu includes a couple of queso dips, guacamole, and a chicken taquito.

Happy hour comes twice at 54th Street. It happens every night beginning at 9 p.m. and lasts until closing. During the day, it runs on weekdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Be smart and use the convenience of multiple happy hours to stay on budget because not taking advantage of happy hour is one of the ways people waste their money at restaurants. Food items generally cost from $7.50 to $8.50 and include a smashed burger, chicken fingers, boneless wings, a chicken quesadilla, crab cakes, and calamari. There are also taters, wraps, cheese, mushrooms, nachos, fried pickles, and several dips, such as spinach and artichoke.

The special happy hour pricing for food requires a minimum $3 drink purchase, which isn't difficult to achieve since each adult beverage is at least that price. Pint drafts and well cocktails are $3.50. House wines, which include a cabernet and a chardonnay, are $4. Large draft beers cost $5, while margaritas, sangrias, and Long Island Teas are $6.

Returning to work on Mondays won't be so bad if you remember that Kona Grill features an all-day happy hour on Mondays. Tuesday through Thursday, happy hour is from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The restaurant also has a second happy hour each night from 9 p.m. to closing. Beverages start at $3 and include soft drinks, hard seltzer, domestic beer, and sake. Craft beer, the house margarita, sangria, and selected wines are available for $6. Specialty drinks, such as a Moscow Mule or an Old-Fashioned are $9.

Happy hour appetizers include edamame, tacos, and chicken satay, each for $3. Small portions can keep your budget on target and prevent you from wasting money on uneaten foods. For $6, a few of the selections are a crab or tuna roll, a cheeseburger with fries, and chicken fried rice. For hardier appetites, choices include chicken potstickers, shrimp tempura, meatballs, and sliders with fries for $9 each.

Happy hour at P.F. Chang's typically begins at 3 p.m. and lasts until 6 p.m. on weekdays. You can get your happy hour started on the right foot with either a Cosmo or a margarita at $8.99. For the same price, you can also choose your favorite well drink. P.F. Chang's offers beer lovers their preferred domestic draft beer for $5.99. An alternative beer selection is a Ha-Chi 5251 Pilsner, also for $5.99. If you're in the mood for wine, there's merlot and chardonnay available for $6.99.

P.F. Chang's happy hour food menu consists of half-sized appetizer plates at half their usual price. Choose from pork ribs, crab wontons, dumplings, and lettuce wraps that are based on a family recipe featuring either chicken or vegetables. P.F. Chang's also has dinner specials starting at $16.99. Their availability runs concurrently with happy hour, being in effect from 3 p.m. until 10 p.m. daily. The meals are individual-sized versions of the restaurant's top-selling entrees, and include a starter and your choice of rice or noodles.

Happy hour at Red Lobster means enjoying selected cocktails, namely Tito's Twisted Strawberry Lemonade, a margarita, and Long Island Iced Tea, for only $5. For the same price, you can also choose 20 ounces of draft beer or six ounces of wine. The happy hour beers are Bud Light and Blue Moon. The available wines are a pinot grigio and a pinot noir. Red Lobster's happy hour drink prices are budget-friendly to the point where they make it almost impossible not to generously tip your bartender.

Red Lobster's starters are $2 off during happy hour and include cheese sticks, crab queso, lobster flatbread, lobster dip, and stuffed mushrooms. You can take advantage of Red Lobster's happy hour savings, usually Monday to Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. However, Red Lobster is a perfect example of how local restrictions affect the hours of happy hour as well as its menu items. The company's website lists the cities and states where its standard offers are valid and also specifies places where restrictions occur.

The opportunity to save a few dollars during happy hour isn't restricted to mid-priced family restaurants. Higher-end establishments like Ruth's Chris Steak House also offer discounts during happy hour. The steak house refers to it as "Ruth's Prime Hour," which runs Monday to Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. It isn't necessary to make a reservation. However, make sure you're seated in the bar and lounge area because that's the only place where the restaurant makes its Prime Hour offerings available.

Cocktails like a whiskey sour, Tequila Sunrise, or Lychee Cosmo are $8 during Prime Hour. Notably, Ruth's Chris doesn't shy away from including expensive cuts of meat on the menu for Prime Hour. For example, there are prime beef meatballs and prime beef sliders, a step above the usual ground beef sliders at many other restaurants. Both items are $9. For $13, you can choose between bbq shrimp and pork belly skewers. Side dishes you can order for $8 to accompany your main dishes are truffle fries and onion rings.

Yard House hosts happy hour each weekday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., when you can save $2 on standard-sized draft beer, wine, and mixed drinks. The discount brings most cocktails close to the $10 mark and lowers several below it. A nine-ounce glass of wine is $3 off, while a tall glass of beer is $4 off. The founders of Yard House built the restaurant around their love of craft beer, so the establishment's beer selection is extensive and wide-ranging. The wine cellar is also well-stocked with a variety of wines at varying price points.

The appetizers are reduced by 50%. They're a select group, but are likely to include nachos, dips, wings, wraps, chicken tenders, cheese curds, calamari, sashimi, Brussels sprouts, sliders, and hummus. During happy hour, all the Yard House pizzas are available at half price. Outside of happy hour, they typically range in cost from $15.99 to $17.99. On the menu are buffalo chicken, truffled mushroom, and margarita pizzas. Other options are a cheese pizza, one loaded with pepperoni, and another designed for the meat lover in your group.