Don't Miss The Absolute Best Deal On Chili's Lunch Menu, Here's When It's Available

Chili's is a sit-down dining chain known for its affordable, Southwestern-inspired menu and wide variety of options. Some of the restaurant's most popular menu items include entrees like ribs, pasta, and fajitas. If you want the best deal on these meals, you'll want to head to a location between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to grab lunch. This is when Chili's offers a low-cost lunch combo known as the "3 for Me" deal. 

First launched in 2022, the 3 for Me combo includes a drink, appetizer, and a main course starting at just $10.99. For that entry-level price, you can choose between two burgers. The first is the Big Smasher Burger, which comes with Thousand Island dressing, cheese, pickles, lettuce, and onions. Next is the Big QP Burger, which comes with two slices of cheese, pickles, and onions, plus the usual suspects of ketchup and mustard. Both entrees come with fries.

The starter options at this price are fairly limited. Only soup, salad, or chips and salsa are included. Other options, such as the dip trio, are available for an additional charge, but some of the best appetizers Chili's offers, such as the fried mozzarella, aren't available at this price point.

Chili's first introduced the 3 for Me deal as a way to show customers that the brand could offer high-quality meals at affordable prices. It served as a way of competing with fast food meals, which are known for being a cheap, easy way to eat. Taking this into account, the chain introduced the Big QP Burger — a fast food style burger but with a bigger portion than a standard fast food dish — as a 3 For Me option because they wanted to offer diners the best of both worlds: the familiar grab-and-go flavor in a sit-down environment. 

Aside from the burgers, the 3 for Me has 13 other meal options at slightly higher prices, including Chili's Crispers, chicken bacon ranch quesadillas, and a sirloin steak. The steak and Cajun shrimp pasta are tied for the priciest meal option at $17 each. 

Fans of the chain took to Reddit to express their excitement over the deal, saying both the price and quality make the lunch combo worth it. "It's a better deal than almost any fast food these days," one user wrote, which seems to be exactly what the chain is going for. However, customers did note that the $10.99 price tag is slightly misleading, as only two entree options cost that amount. Plus, if you're a rewards member, you already get Chili's chips and salsa for free, so the starter options might feel even more limited.