Applebee’s $5.99 Lunch Menu With Prices: What’s Actually on It
If you’ve searched for “Applebee’s $5.99 lunch menu with prices,” you’ve probably noticed the same handful of item names popping up over and over — a burger and fries, a chicken wrap, a cup of soup with a side salad. That repetition isn’t a coincidence. Applebee’s has run a low-cost weekday lunch tier for years, and while the exact lineup shifts by season and by franchise owner, the $5.99 price point has stuck around as the entry level of its lunch menu. This guide breaks down what’s typically included, how the pricing works, and what to know before you go, so you’re not caught off guard by a menu board that looks a little different than what you read online.
One thing worth saying up front: Applebee’s is a franchised chain, and its corporate site doesn’t publish a fixed national price list for lunch specials — it tells customers pricing and availability vary by restaurant and to check locally. So think of the numbers below as a well-documented starting point, not a guarantee for every location.
What Is Applebee’s $5.99 Lunch Menu?
The Applebee’s $5.99 lunch menu is a weekday, midday-only pricing tier that sits below the regular menu and below the chain’s $7.99 and $9.99 lunch specials. It’s built around smaller portions of familiar items — sandwiches, wraps, a burger, a couple of salads, and a soup-and-side combo — rather than being a separate menu with unique dishes. The idea is simple: give someone on a lunch break a full plate for less than the price of a fast-casual combo meal, without waiting on a kitchen built for dinner-sized entrées.
Because it’s positioned as a value tier rather than a flagship promotion, you won’t usually see the Applebee’s $5.99 lunch menu advertised on billboards or TV commercials the way the 2 for $25 deal is. It’s more of a “regulars know about it” menu, often printed on a small insert or a laminated card the server hands you separately from the main menu.
Applebee’s $5.99 Lunch Menu Prices
Here’s how the lineup is most commonly reported across current lunch menus. Treat the $5.99 figure as the standard base price at participating locations — some markets, particularly higher cost-of-living areas, may run $0.50–$1 higher.
| Item | What’s In It | Typical Price |
|---|---|---|
| Classic Burger & Fries | Beef patty, lettuce, tomato, pickle, side of fries | $5.99 |
| Grilled Chicken Sandwich | Grilled chicken breast, bun, side of fries | $5.99 |
| Turkey Club Sandwich | Sliced turkey, ham, bacon, cheddar and Swiss, honey BBQ mayo | $5.99 |
| Chicken Caesar Wrap | Grilled chicken, romaine, Caesar dressing, flour tortilla | $5.99 |
| Southwestern Chicken Wrap | Grilled chicken strips, pico de gallo, cheddar, fajita seasoning, Mexi-ranch | $5.99 |
| Soup & Side Salad Combo | Cup of daily soup + small house or Caesar side salad | $5.99 |
| Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad (lunch-size) | Grilled chicken, romaine, parmesan, Caesar dressing | $5.99 |
| Oriental Chicken Salad (lunch-size) | Grilled or crispy chicken, mixed greens, almonds, sesame-ginger dressing | $5.99 |
A few notes on reading that table. First, portion sizes on the $5.99 lunch menu run smaller than the dinner versions of the same dish — the Oriental Chicken Salad you’d order at 7 p.m. is a bigger plate than the one on the lunch card. Second, drinks and most add-ons (extra dressing, a side upgrade from fries to a side salad) usually cost extra, typically $1–$3. Third, the soup-and-salad combo tends to be the one most consistently offered across locations, since it doesn’t require a dedicated protein prep.
What’s Actually Included at Each Price Point
It helps to think about the Applebee’s $5.99 lunch menu in four buckets rather than as one long list.
Burgers. The Classic Burger and its fries side are the anchor of the $5.99 lunch menu at most locations — it’s the item servers mention first when you ask what’s available. Some restaurants swap in a bacon cheeseburger version at a slightly higher price point ($7.99), so if you want the base $5.99 price, confirm you’re ordering the plain classic.
Sandwiches and wraps. This is where the $5.99 lunch menu offers the most variety — grilled chicken, turkey club, chicken Caesar wrap, and the southwestern chicken wrap all show up regularly. If you’re deciding between them, the wraps tend to run lighter (less bread, more protein-to-carb ratio) while the sandwiches come with a full bun and a larger fries portion.
Salads. Applebee’s includes lunch-portioned versions of two of its more popular salads — Grilled Chicken Caesar and Oriental Chicken — on the $5.99 tier. These are noticeably smaller than the full-size dinner salads, which is the trade-off for the lower price.
Soup and side combos. The cup-of-soup-plus-side-salad pairing is the closest thing to a “light lunch” option on the $5.99 menu. It rotates based on the daily soup, so what you get on a Tuesday might differ from what’s available Thursday.
Applebee’s Lunch Hours: When the $5.99 Menu Is Actually Available
This is the part people get tripped up on most. The Applebee’s $5.99 lunch menu is not an all-day option — it runs during a specific window, and it’s typically not offered on weekends.
| Day | $5.99 Lunch Menu Availability |
|---|---|
| Monday–Friday | Usually 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM (some locations extend to 3:00 PM) |
| Saturday | Generally not offered; regular menu pricing applies |
| Sunday | Generally not offered; regular menu pricing applies |
Outside of that weekday window, the same dishes are still on the menu — you’ll just pay the standard price instead of $5.99. If you’re planning a visit specifically for the lunch pricing, arriving closer to 11:30 or noon on a weekday is the safest bet, since some franchise locations tighten the cutoff earlier than 2 p.m. during slow afternoons.
Why Applebee’s $5.99 Lunch Menu Prices Vary by Location
Applebee’s operates almost entirely through franchisees rather than corporate-owned stores, and franchise agreements generally let individual owners set their own menu pricing within a suggested national range. That’s the practical reason you might see the $5.99 lunch menu priced at $6.49 in one city and exactly $5.99 twenty miles away — it’s not inconsistency for its own sake, it’s local ownership responding to local rent, labor costs, and food costs.
It also explains why the $5.99 lunch menu isn’t something you’ll find spelled out on Applebee’s national website the way the 2 for $25 deal is. Corporate-level promotions get uniform pricing and national marketing; store-level value menus like this one get left to the franchisee, which is also why your server is often your best source for what’s currently running and at what price.
How to Order From the $5.99 Lunch Menu
You’ve got four practical ways to get it:
- Dine-in. Ask your server specifically for the lunch menu — at some locations it’s a separate card from the main menu, so it won’t show up unless you ask.
- Carside To Go. Applebee’s curbside pickup service, ordered by phone or through the app, generally honors the same $5.99 lunch pricing during the lunch window.
- The Applebee’s app or website. Online ordering reflects your specific restaurant’s current menu and pricing, which is the most reliable way to confirm the $5.99 lunch menu is running before you commit to a trip.
- Third-party delivery (DoorDash, Uber Eats). Some locations include lunch specials in delivery menus, but delivery platform pricing sometimes runs a bit higher than in-store pricing to offset commission fees, so don’t assume the $5.99 figure carries over exactly.
How the $5.99 Tier Compares to Applebee’s Other Lunch Deals
Applebee’s actually runs a few different lunch price points, and it’s easy to conflate them. Here’s the quick comparison:
| Deal Tier | What You Get | Typical Price |
|---|---|---|
| $5.99 Lunch Menu | Sandwich, wrap, burger, salad, or soup combo (lunch-size) | $5.99 |
| $7.99 Lunch Combo | Slightly larger entrées, some combo/pairing options | $7.99 |
| $9.99 Daily Specials | Full-size burgers, pasta, and chicken dishes | $9.99 |
| 2 for $25 | Two full entrées + one shareable appetizer, all-day | $25 total |
If your priority is the lowest possible ticket, the $5.99 lunch menu is the tier to ask for. If you want more food and don’t mind paying a few dollars more, the $7.99 or $9.99 tiers get you closer to dinner-sized portions.
Tips for Getting the Best Value
A few things that consistently help people get more out of the Applebee’s $5.99 lunch menu: order water or a fountain drink instead of a specialty beverage, since sodas and lemonades are usually cheap add-ons while cocktails are not included in lunch pricing at all. Join Club Applebee’s before you go — it doesn’t discount the $5.99 lunch menu directly, but it’s how you get birthday rewards and occasional bonus offers stacked on top of a lunch visit. And if you’re ordering for a group, check whether your location’s $5.99 lunch menu overlaps with the 3–5 p.m. half-price appetizer window; arriving right at the edge of lunch hours sometimes lets you catch both.
Calling ahead is genuinely useful here. Because the $5.99 lunch menu is a franchise-level program rather than a corporate one, a two-minute phone call to your specific Applebee’s confirms both the current price and which items are included that week, which saves you from ordering off a list that’s slightly out of date for your location.
FAQ: Applebee’s $5.99 Lunch Menu
Is the Applebee’s $5.99 lunch menu available every day?
No. It’s typically a weekday-only offer, running roughly 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Most locations don’t extend it to Saturday or Sunday.
Does the $5.99 lunch menu include a drink?
Generally not. The $5.99 price covers the food item and its standard side (usually fries or a small salad); fountain drinks and other beverages are ordered and charged separately.
Can I order the $5.99 lunch menu for delivery?
At many locations, yes, through the Applebee’s app, website, DoorDash, or Uber Eats. Pricing on delivery platforms can run slightly higher than in-restaurant pricing, so double-check the listed price before ordering.
Why did my local Applebee’s charge more than $5.99?
Applebee’s restaurants are largely franchise-owned, and owners can set prices within a range based on local costs. A $5.99 lunch menu item might run $6.49 or $6.99 in a higher cost-of-living area.
What’s the difference between the $5.99 and $7.99 lunch menus?
The $5.99 tier covers smaller-portion sandwiches, wraps, a burger, salads, and a soup-and-side combo. The $7.99 tier typically steps up to slightly larger entrées or combo pairings.
Are the portions on the $5.99 lunch menu smaller than the regular menu?
Yes. Salads and entrées on the lunch tier are portioned for a midday meal, noticeably smaller than the same dish’s dinner-menu version.
How do I find out if my local Applebee’s still offers the $5.99 lunch menu?
Check the Applebee’s app or website for your specific restaurant’s current menu, or call ahead — since this is a location-level program, that’s the most accurate way to confirm it’s still running.
Final Thoughts
The Applebee’s $5.99 lunch menu remains one of the more consistent value options in casual dining, even though it isn’t something the company promotes nationally the way it does its bigger campaigns. The trade-off is straightforward: smaller portions and a tighter time window in exchange for a genuinely low price on a sit-down meal. If you’re working around a lunch break and don’t want to spend more than the cost of a drive-thru combo, it’s worth asking your server about it directly — and worth confirming the current price and hours with your specific location before you go, since franchise pricing means your results really can vary a few dollars from what you read online.
