🚀 Local Houston Meal Deals
Tacos Tierra Caliente
Taco Feast for Two
A beloved Houston taco truck (West Alabama Ice House and the Heights) where street tacos are about $2.50 each, quesadillas $4, and tortas around $7. Two people each build a plate of tacos for well under $15 — a true Houston institution on wheels.
Antone's Famous Po'Boys
Two Po'Boys
Famous po'boys — The Original (salami, ham, provolone), gyro, or chicken fajita pita — run about $10 or less each, so two people are still fully fed for around $20. Houston institution with multiple locations.
Pho Saigon
Pho — $6.95
The Midtown original of a six-location Houston chain on Milam, voted among the city's best Vietnamese — still one of the cheaper pho bowls in town, so two people each get their own steaming bowl for right around $20. Fast and reliable.
Frank's Pizza
NY Slices ~$3.75 · Whole Pie $12–15
A downtown Historic District pizzeria open absurdly late — to 3am on weekends. Cheese slices now run about $3.75 and a whole pie $12–15, so two people each grab a couple of slices for around $15, or split a whole pie under $20.
Laredo Taqueria
Tacos — ~$3 each
A Washington Avenue taqueria beloved for handmade flour tortillas and a pay-when-you-leave honor system. Griddled tacos run about $3 each, so two people each eat two or three for well under $20. Cash-friendly; closed Sundays.
Doña Tere
Tamales $4.99 · Combos ~$6
A Northside Mexican spot and growing local chain famous for tamales — $4.99 an order, with tamale combos around $6. Stick to the tamales and guisado tacos and two people each build a full plate for well under $20 (the enchilada plates have climbed past $11).
Villa Arcos
Flour Tacos — ~$4–4.50
An East End / Second Ward institution on Navigation since 1977, making breakfast and lunch tacos on homemade flour tortillas — now about $4–4.50 each. Two people each get a couple of tacos and still land under $20. Mornings into the afternoon.
Raja Sweets
Samosas $2–5 · Chaat $4–8
Houston's original Indian sweets-and-chaat house on Hillcroft. Samosas run $2–5, pani puri and chaat $4–8, and simple curry-and-dal combos $6–10, plus a case of mithai. Two people graze chaat and a combo each for well under $20. Closed Tuesdays.
Suya Hut
Suya Skewers — ~$2.79
A Southwest Houston Nigerian spot built on suya — spiced grilled-meat skewers, now about $2.79 each (rice plates have climbed to ~$14). Two people sharing a pile of skewers with plantains still stay under $20. Closed Sundays.
El Pupusodromo
Pupusas — ~$2.13
A Salvadoran mini-chain with three Southwest Houston locations griddling pupusas — revuelta, chicharrón, queso, loroco — to order at about $2.13 each with curtido. Two people each eat three pupusas for around $13. Cash only.
Rincon Salvadoreño
Pupusas — $1.50 Tue
An Alief Salvadoran kitchen on Bellaire Blvd where pupusas run around $3, dropping to a $1.50 Tuesday special. Add curtido and a plate of fried yuca and two people eat for well under $20. Salvadoran home cooking on the southwest side.
Olde Towne Kolaches
Kolaches — a couple dollars each
A Westchase kolache shop for the Czech-Texan breakfast staple — sausage, sausage-cheese-jalapeño, and fruit kolaches for a couple of dollars each. Two people each grab a few for around $15. Opens early, closes early afternoon.
San Dong Noodle House
Noodles & Dumplings — $5–7
A Bellaire Chinatown favorite for hand-pulled noodles, pork dumplings, and Taiwanese beef noodle soup, most dishes $5–7. Two people each order a plate for around $13. Closed Mondays; cash-friendly with a small card surcharge.
Golden Dumpling House
Dumplings & Dim Sum — under $8
A Chinatown/Sharpstown dumpling house on Bellaire turning out soup dumplings, potstickers, and dim sum, most items under $8. Two people each order a plate for well under $20. Cash only.
Cali Sandwich & Pho
Banh Mi — ~$5
A Midtown Vietnamese counter on Travis where banh mi now run about $5 and bowls of pho and rice plates stay cheap. Two people load up on sandwiches, or get a banh mi and a bowl of pho each, still under $20.
Alpha Bakery & Deli
Banh Mi — ~$5 (cash only)
A Bellaire Chinatown Vietnamese bakery in Hong Kong City Mall where banh mi — BBQ pork, chicken, meatball, combo — run about $5 alongside pastries and cakes. Two people each get a couple of sandwiches for under $20. Cash only.
💡 Pro tip: All deals are community-verified but prices and availability change. Always check the restaurant's website or app before making a special trip — and if something's expired, flag it on our main directory so we can update it.
📍 Regional Chains
Bigger than one storefront, smaller than the home-page national list — verified on each chain's own Houston store menus.
MOD Pizza
One 11" Pizza Split Two Ways — $13.89, Unlimited Toppings
MOD fast-fires an 11-inch build-your-own pizza in about three minutes, and the model is one price however many of the 40-plus toppings go on it — the chain's own words are "the price always stays the same." The 11-inch MOD-size with unlimited toppings reads $13.89 at the 10123 Louetta Rd store on MOD's own ordering system, August 2026 — $6.95 a head when two people split it, which is the cheapest honest way through the door. MOD sizes a salad it labels "Mega (Feeds 2)" outright at $15.14, so one order is dinner for both of you without touching the pizza menu. Want your own pie each? Two 6-inch minis with cheese run $13.78. Worth knowing before you go: your first purchase as a MOD Rewards member earns a free MOD-size pizza or salad, which makes round one genuinely two for the price of one. The trap is drinks — two 16 oz fountains add $6.78 and put the loaded 11-inch at $20.67, past the line, so drink water or drop to the $10.69 cheese build. MOD prices by store, so confirm at yours — the spread across the cities we checked runs $11.89 to $16.59 for the same pizza.
El Pollo Loco
À La Carte Quesadillas $7.99 — Two for $15.98 · Cheese Quesadilla $2.49
The LA-born fire-grilled chicken chain — first US stand opened on Alvarado Street in 1980, now roughly 480 stores across California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Texas — keeps four Houston stores — Ella Blvd, Silber Rd, S Rice Ave and Hwy 6 N per its own locator API; verified July 2026. Prices from our July 2026 read of the chain's own menu: the à la carte chicken quesadilla is $7.99 — two for $15.98 — and the just-cheese quesadilla is $2.49, while fire-grilled chicken combos push close to the line, so quesadillas are the sure two-under-$20 play. Prices vary by store, so confirm on yours in the app.
Zaxby's
Big Zax Snak Meals 2 for $19.98 · Nibblerz $5.29
The Athens, GA-born chicken-fingerz chain (~950 stores across 17 states) — its Houston store at 11550 FM 1960 Rd W runs to 3am, verified on the chain's own city page, July 2026, with pickup, delivery and curbside. Prices from our same-day read at the chain's Dallas store: the Big Zax Snak Meal (chicken fingerz, crinkle fries, Texas toast, Zax sauce and a drink) is $9.99 — two complete meals at $19.98, a two-cent margin, so treat it as exactly twenty — while 2 Nibblerz (chicken sliders) run $5.29 an order, two orders feeding two for $10.58. Zaxby's prices by store, so confirm on this store's menu in the app.
Whataburger
Breakfast Whatameals 2 for $12.78 · Burger Whatameals 2 for $17.98
The Texas 24/7 burger institution — founded in Corpus Christi in 1950, now ~1,030 stores across 16 states — where Houston's 56 stores make it the chain's biggest city: the two-for-under-$20 math runs both ways: the Taquito with Cheese Whatameal is $6.39 with hash brown sticks included — two full breakfasts for $12.78, served 11pm to 11am — and the flagship Whataburger Whatameal (burger, fries, drink) is $8.99, so two land at $17.98 any hour; the bacon biscuit sandwich is $4.49 solo. Prices read from the chain's own store-selected online menu in July 2026 — Whataburger only shows prices once you pick a store and they vary by market, so check yours. Open 24/7.
Velvet Taco
Backdoor Chicken $20 — Whole Rotisserie Feast, Mondays Only
The Dallas-born "ridiculously original" taco chain — six stores across Houston: Montrose, the Heights, Rice Village, Washington Ave, the Galleria and Memorial City — runs the Mondays-only Backdoor Chicken: a whole rotisserie chicken (brined 48 hours, roasted over an open flame), queso blanco, guac, corn pico, six tortillas and two hot sauces for $20 flat — the price is printed right in the menu name, same at every store in the chain. It's to-go only: order at the counter or app and carry it out. Between two people that's a full build-your-own-taco dinner at the site's namesake number, 161g of protein included. Chain-published deal, confirmed July 2026.
Torchy's Tacos
Breakfast Tacos $4.15 · Two Breakfast Burritos $16.30 · Taco Two Step $9.95
The Austin-born taco chain blankets Houston with ten stores — the Heights, Rice Village, Shepherd, West U, Galleria, Memorial City, Westchase, Vintage, Katy Freeway and Louetta — all priced the same. Breakfast is served all day: bacon, crispy-potato or chorizo egg-and-cheese tacos with roja salsa are $4.15, and the loaded Breakfast Burrito is $8.15 — two burritos land at $16.30, four breakfast tacos at $16.60. Prices read from the stores' own ordering menus, July 2026. Limited-time bonus, same $9.95 at every store in the chain (all 120 checked, July 2026): the Taco Two Step — pick two signature tacos, served with chips & salsa and a 22oz drink — a complete meal for two at $19.90. It's on the Limited Time Only menu, so it won't last forever.
Jet's Pizza
$5 Off Any Specialty Pizza Online — Medium All Meaty $17.87
The Detroit-style original — Sterling Heights, Michigan, 1978, the chain that made the buttery, caramel-crusted square a national thing — circles Houston with six stores — Kingwood inside the city limits plus Spring, Tomball, Conroe, Missouri City and East Pearland. The play is the $5 Off Any Specialty Pizzas deal built into the chain's online ordering menu: a medium All Meaty (pepperoni, ham, Italian sausage, bacon, hamburger) listed at $22.87 on our August 2026 read at the chain's Denver store and rang up $17.87 with the deal applied — under the line with room for tax, and a medium is eight big slices, plenty for two. It's a deals-menu item so it can rotate out — and if it does, texting your order to your store takes 15% off menu-priced pizza. Prices vary by store, so run the math at yours before checkout.
Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii
Breakfast Sandwiches on King’s Hawaiian — Two + a Drip Under $20
Born at a Kona coffee-farm stand in 1989 and named for the donkeys that hauled coffee down the volcano slopes, the Hawaiian-coffee franchise is now about 40 stores strong, reaching Houston through the Cypress store on Fry Road, out in the northwest suburbs. The food play is the breakfast-sandwich board, served all day on King's Hawaiian sweet bread: bacon or sausage egg-and-cheddar, the Aloha (ham, egg, swiss, grilled pineapple, BBQ drizzle) and the Spam-stacked Bad Ass One. Across the three store menus we price-checked (Tolleson AZ, West Jordan UT, McKinney TX — August 2026), sandwiches run $6.77–$7.93 and a small drip of the Hawaiian blend $3.69–$4.49, so two sandwiches plus a shared drip lands at $17.23–$19.89 — under the line in every market we checked. The $7–9 flavored lattes are where the math breaks; stick to drip and it holds. Prices vary by store, so check yours.
🇺🇸 Also Valid Nationwide
These chain deals work anywhere in the country, including Houston.
Firehouse Subs
Two $5 Snackers — $10.75 · Born in Jacksonville 1994
Jacksonville's biggest food export reaches here too: founded in 1994 by two firefighter brothers, now 1,200+ stores — and its own locator lists 11 stores inside Houston. The $5 Firehouse Snackers (BLT, Cordon Bleu, Sweet & Spicy Ham, Turkey Jalapeño half-subs) feed two for $10.75 all-in, and two small 4-inch Hook & Ladders run $12.78. The 8-inch mediums most people order run $10-plus — the only medium pair that stays near the line is the build-your-own ham or turkey. Priced on the chain's own ordering system at its Jacksonville San Marco store, July 2026 — prices vary by store, so confirm at yours.
Buffalo Wild Wings
Pick 6 — Meal for Two from $19.99
The Pick 6 lets two people build a shared meal — choose six items across wings, tenders, and sides — starting around $19.99. A reliable two-for-$20 play at any BWW. Dine-in or takeout; pricing varies slightly by market.
Olive Garden
Lunch Duos — Lunch for Two Under $20
Mon–Fri before 3pm, build a Lunch Duo from mini pasta bowls, sandwiches, and flatbreads, each with soup or salad — two people typically lunch for under $20 (prices vary by location).
See all national chain deals →
See All 3,400+ Deals
Browse the full directory — 186 cities, national chains, updated August 2026.
Browse the Directory