Dining Early At Texas Roadhouse? Consider This Before You Order

By Bobby Lewis
A grilled beef tenderloin steak topped with melted butter sweet marshmallow/Shutterstock

Texas Roadhouse is a popular enough steakhouse chain that you might consider trying to avoid the dinner crowds by eating a little early. While this is a valid option, there are a few things you should be aware of before rolling up to your local restaurant for an early dinner.

For one, don't arrive too early. Though locations vary, most Texas Roadhouses only open at 3 or 4 PM during the weekdays, reserving lunch for weekends only. Make sure to check your local restaurant for when it actually opens. Regardless of when they can first seat you, there are some things to know about the menu at this time.

The dinner menu is available at opening, though some special items that take a long time to cook, like the prime rib, may not be ready that early. Still, this is the best time to get a cheaper meal at Texas Roadhouse anyway because of the chain's Early Dine-In special, a select menu where every item only costs $12.99, depending on your location.

Taking advantage of the Early Dine-In special

A Texas Roadhouse neon sign against a blue sky Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock

Texas Roadhouse's Early Dine-In menu is worth a try, especially for frugal diners who hate a late dinner. It features an assortment of salad options as well as chicken, pork, and steak dishes. One of the steaks available is the 6-ounce sirloin, a tasty choice that nonetheless fell behind the curve in our ultimate ranking of Texas Roadhouse steaks. But it's hard to complain about a steak and two sides for less than $13.

On most days, the Early Dine-In special is only available from open until 6 PM. Weekday lunch service isn't profitable enough for most chain restaurants, which is why Texas Roadhouse only serves lunch twice a week. But on weekends they open for lunch at 11 AM or noon, and the Early Dine-In special moves up quite a bit.

Texas Roadhouse's special menu for early eaters is usually available from open until 3 PM on the weekend, depending on the location. The full menu is tempting, but this midday Early Dine-In potentially makes weekend lunch an unbeatable bargain. And it's clearly good for business too — America's most profitable steakhouse chain isn't LongHorn or Outback, after all.