🐎 Local Lexington Meal Deals
Bourbon n' Toulouse
Two Full Orders of Cajun, $18 — Every Entrée $9
Lexington's cheap-eats institution, founded in 2004 on seven maxed-out credit cards and still the best math in town: every full order — the signature chicken étouffée, jambalaya, red beans with smoked sausage, white chili, Chicken Creole, Cajun red chili, plus four vegan and vegetarian pots — is $9 on their own menu, served over rice. Two full orders, $18 even. Half orders run $7 and the half-and-half is $10, so two half-and-halfs sample four dishes for $20 flat. Cajun chili dogs — two dogs and chips — are $8. The Euclid Ave original sits on the campus corridor; Sharkey Way adds a drive-thru.
Tolly-Ho
Two ¼-lb Burgers, $10 — Campus Classic Since 1971
"The Ho" has fed UK students since 1971, and its own menu keeps the math easy: the Tolly Ho Burger — a quarter-pound single, ground fresh daily and never frozen — is $5.00, so two burgers are $10 even. Step up to the half-pound double Super Ho at $7.50 and two still land at $15. The undercard is pure campus-counter value: Little Burgers $2.25, hot dogs $2.60, grilled cheese $3.49, a fish sandwich $6.25, and the spicy fried chicken sandwich with habanero cheese at $8.99. One steer: the $16.25 Philly steak is the splurge that breaks the theme — stay on the burger side of the board.
Keeneland Track Kitchen
Breakfast With the Jockeys — Reported $5–8 a Plate
The worst-kept secret in Lexington breakfast: the Track Kitchen sits on Keeneland's backside, and the public can walk in and eat a made-to-order breakfast alongside the grooms, jockeys and trainers who've been up since 4am. Full plates are reported in the $5–8 range — but honesty first: there's no posted menu anywhere we can link, so take the numbers as a guide and the room as the point. Pair it with the free morning workouts at the rail and it's the most Lexington morning money can barely buy. Confirm current hours and public access — especially around the April and October race meets — before you drive out.
Puccini's Pizza Pasta
Two Lunch Specials, $19 Flat — Drinks Included
The Chevy Chase neighborhood classic posts its prices on its own site, and the lunch special is the headline: a jumbo slice, a garden salad, and a large drink for $9.50 — lunch for two at $19 flat with nothing left to add. Daily jumbo slices are $3.95, lunch pasta with salad and garlic bread starts at $9.25, and a 16-inch large is $16 if you'd rather split a pie. One stale-list correction: the Boston Rd location is permanently closed — Chevy Chase Place is the one to drive to.
Joe Bologna's
Two Pasta Dinners ≈ $20 — Inside a Former Synagogue
Lexington's story restaurant: since 1973, Joe B's has served pizza and pasta inside an early-1900s former synagogue with the stained glass still in place — the cheapest 'feels like a real date' room in the city. Fettuccine Alfredo runs $9.90 on their menu and every dinner comes with a forearm-sized garlic breadstick and a side, so two pasta dinners land right around $20. Tuesdays add a 6-inch pizza-and-salad lunch special from 11 to 3. Closed Mondays.
Sedona Taphouse
Monday Half-Price Steak — Burger + Beer + Fries, $15
Monday's Dine Out for Charity is the best steak math in Lexington: flat iron steak, salmon, or grilled chicken entrées at 50% off, lunch and dinner, with $1 a plate going to a local charity — steak dinner for two in the low $20s that also does some good. The Palomar location's Burgers + Brews deal pairs a burger with a draft beer (or wine or soda) plus fries for $15 dine-in, and kids eat free all day Sunday with an adult entrée. Happy hour runs weekdays 2–6:30. Both deals are posted on the restaurant's own location pages.
LaRosa's Family Pizzeria
Two Medium Pizzas, $15.98
The Cincinnati family pizzeria's standing Medium Pizza Deal — any two or more medium one-topping pizzas at $7.99 each on larosas.com — puts two pizzas at $15.98, ordered online. The Richmond Rd full-service location sits literally next door to Skyline Chili, and the same local franchise group runs both — the Cincinnati value corridor, translated 80 miles south. A second location covers Southland Drive.
Goodfellas Pizzeria
16-Inch Pie, $19 — One Dollar Under the Line
The New York-style giant-slice joint that started right here on North Mill Street before spreading across Kentucky and Ohio — and its own ordering page keeps the math clean: a build-your-own 16-inch pie starts at $19, feeding two with a dollar to spare, and the 12-inch runs $14. Can't agree on toppings? The half-and-half pie is the same price at either size. It's a campus late-night staple, and the Wiseguy Lounge — the bourbon speakeasy upstairs — turns a $19 pizza into a proper night out.
Fazoli's
Hometown HQ — Family Pasta Bundle, About $5 a Head
No other city page gets this hook: Fazoli's was founded in Lexington in 1988 and is still headquartered here. The Family Pasta Duo — family-size Alfredo plus family-size spaghetti with eight breadsticks, around $17–20 depending on the store — serves four at roughly $5 a head, and dine-in still means unlimited fresh breadsticks. For a table of two, the everyday menu keeps a pasta dinner apiece under $20 at the hometown chain's own stores.
Skyline Chili
Coneys & Ways Under $20 — Kids Eat Free Tuesdays
Half of Lexington's Cincinnati-chili corridor: cheese coneys and 3-Ways keep two people comfortably under $20 any night of the week, and on Tuesday evenings kids 10 and under eat free with a $5+ adult purchase — hours are cited as 4–9 or 5–9 depending on the source, so it's worth a call to the Richmond Rd store. Skyline also holds Nicholasville, Georgetown, and Richmond if you're outside the city.
Gold Star Chili
Kids Eat Free Tuesdays 4–9pm — Own-Site Verified
The other half of the chili corridor, out at Hamburg: Gold Star's own site confirms a free kids' meal — drink and side included — with any $8+ adult meal every Tuesday from 4 to 9pm, and it works dine-in, drive-thru, carryout, and online. Signing up for Gold Star Rewards adds a buy-one-get-one cheese coney. The coneys-and-ways menu keeps a two-person tab under $20 the rest of the week too.
Sonny's BBQ
Power Plate, $12 — Drink Included
Sonny's own deals page prices the Power Plate — a half-pound of smoked pork, chicken, or turkey with a sidekick and a drink — at $12 at every Sonny's. Two plates run $24 all-in, a couple of bucks over our line but with both drinks already inside, which most $20 dinners can't claim. BBQ Bowls are $11.99, and the Richmond Rd store's Facebook runs weekday Big Deals around $10–11 that pull the math back under $20.
Cinco de Mayo
Two Quesadillas, $17.98 — Or Quesadilla + Shared Nachos Under $19
The quesadilla board on Cinco's own menu is the whole strategy: each one comes dressed with lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and tomato on the side — cheese $7.99, beef, shredded chicken, veggie, or mushroom $8.99, pork or grilled chicken $9.99 — so two of the $8.99 picks land at $17.98 and even the top of the board tops out at $19.98. The shareable route is just as good: Boom Boom Nachos are $6.99 and grilled chicken nachos $9.99, so a quesadilla plus a plate of nachos down the middle clears under $19. A kids-eat-free deal with an adult entrée has been reported here too — call to confirm the current days before counting on it.
McAlister's Deli
Two $9.69 Melts, $19.38 — Order Off the Right Side of the Board
Deli chains have mostly priced out of this list, but McAlister's own Lexington store menu still keeps three sandwiches under $10 — led by the Four Cheese Melt and the Ham & Cheese Melt at $9.69 apiece. Two melts, $19.38, one penny of headroom per sandwich. The rest of the Classic board hovers just over the line ($10.49 for the Grilled Chicken and Harvest Chicken Salad, $10.99 for the Turkey Ranch BLT and Horseradish Roast Beef & Cheddar), so the melts are the play — and the famous sweet tea will tip you over, so split one.
Big Kahuna
Two Teriyaki Chicken Plates, $20 Flat — Hawaiian Plate Lunch
The namesake math of this whole site: Big Kahuna's own menu prices the teriyaki chicken plate — marinated grilled thighs with macaroni salad and sticky rice dressed in house chili sauce, spicy mayo and sweet soy — at $10, so two plates land at $20 flat. The kalua pork plate matches it at $10, and there are cheaper routes under the line: the Spam & Eggs plate is $9, the Spam & Egg sandwich (grilled Spam, fried eggs, spicy mayo, your choice of cheese) is $8, and the teriyaki chicken and kalua pork sandwiches run $10. Loco Moco at $12 is the splurge. Two locations cover Liberty Rd and Clays Mill.
La Taquiza Centro
The $9.99 Board — Any Two for $19.98, Mexico City Style
The East Main taquería's own ordering menu lines up a $9.99 row that pairs any two ways under $20: La Chilanguita, a hot-pressed torta with your choice of meat, quesillo, black beans, guacamole, roasted salsa and chilote mayonnaise; a steak-or-chicken-fajita taco salad; and gluten-free huaraches (add asada, campechanos or suadero for 50¢). Two chilanguitas run $19.98, and the Mega version at $13.99 eats like a split. Suadero on the meat list is the tell — this is real Mexico City street food. One reported extra we haven't confirmed: $1.50 chicken and pork tacos Tuesdays and Thursdays (minimum five) — call before you plan taco night around it.
Rose & Jim's Bar & Grill
Two Burgers + Shared Fries, $20.00 Even — Since 1985
The Georgetown Rd dive holds the line like it's still 1985: on their own menu a hamburger is $7.50 and a cheeseburger $8.25, so two burgers with a $4.25 basket of fries between you lands at $20.00 on the nose. Plenty of room under it too — grilled cheese $6.75, hot ham & cheese or hot turkey & swiss $9.25, homemade chili bowl $9.75, and the $9 beer cheese platter for the full Kentucky experience. The Herald-Leader's Best of Lexington badges (2023 and 2024) are printed right on the menu, which is the kind of flex a time capsule earns. Heads up: all to-go orders add $1 — eat it at the bar like you're supposed to.
Blue Door Smokehouse
Two Brisket Sandwiches + Two Sides, $19.00
Lexington's small-batch brisket shrine prices better than its reputation suggests: on their own menu the sliced beef brisket sandwich is $7.50 — soft bun, pickle and onion on the side — and pulled pork, pulled chicken and smoked sausage all run $6.75. Two brisket sandwiches plus the add-two-sides for $4.00 lands at $19.00 even, and two pulled pork sandwiches topped with slaw (75¢) come in at $15. One rule: go early. When a smokehouse this size runs out of brisket, it's out.
Dad's Favorites
Every Sandwich $7.95–9.95 — Any Two Under $20
The beloved family deli where the entire board fits our theme — nothing tops $9.95 on their own menu. The daily list runs from the $7.95 Smokey Pimento BLT and Dad's Grilled Cheese through a lineup of $8.95 builds (Asiago Pot Roast, Pepper Jack Club, Green Chili Jack Smoked Turkey), everything dressed in Dad's house-made cheeses and Signature Sauce. Then the day-of-week specials do the flexing: Reuben and Rachel Thursdays, the Cuban on Wednesday, and Friday's Grip 'N Dip — pulled pork, chipotle cheddar and Grippo's chips on brioche with beer cheese for dipping — all $9.95, so even two of the priciest sandwiches land at $19.90. Expect the line; it moves.
Stella's Kentucky Deli
Two Classic Sandwiches w/ Chips & Pickle, $18.90–19.90
The old cheap-eats lists worried Stella's had priced past $10 a sandwich — the historic Jefferson Street farm-to-table deli mostly has, except for the column that matters. The Classic Sandwiches come with chips and a pickle wedge and hold at $8.95–9.95: house-made pimento cheese, lemon-rosemary chicken salad, the grilled-apples-and-Kentucky-bleu-cheese with toasted walnuts, and the Big D (local bratwurst with house kraut) — any two land at $18.90–19.90, sides included. The vegan column goes cheaper still: grilled PBJ $6.95, peanut-butter-and-Nutella Candy Bar Sandwich $7.95. Skip the regular/double-meat board and the burgers ($10.50–14.50) — that's how two people blow past $20 at a deli this good.
girlsgirlsgirls Burritos
Burritos $8.99–9.99 — Any Two Under $20
The campus burrito counter with the all-lowercase name and a menu with attitude to match. The Thin Lizzy — your protein and queso rolled tight and griddled golden — is $8.99 on their own menu, the BBQ Burrito (choice protein, BQ sauce, pickled red onion, cilantro) is $9.99, and the Basic Bitch quesadilla runs $9.99, so any two land between $17.98 and $19.98. Big homestyle chicken strips with a dip go $6.99 for three or $8.99 for five, and vegan eaters get real coverage — vegan cheese on the quesadilla and vegan chicken strips right on the menu.
Pasta Garage
The Appetizer Route — Fried Lasagna + Entrée Caesar, $15.99
At the Italian counter-serve garage, the honest play is the top of the menu: the pasta entrées run past our line for two, but the appetizer column eats like dinner. Fried lasagna — half a portion of lasagna, parmesan-breaded and deep-fried with house-made marinara — is $7.99. Deep-fried caprese gnocchi with vodka sauce, $6.99. Six cheese breadsticks, $7.49; the meatball appetizer, $8.99. Entrée-size Caesar or garden salad is $8 (side $4), so fried lasagna plus an entrée Caesar is $15.99, and two apps with a side salad lands around $19. Adding chicken to the salad ($4) is where the climb past $20 starts — you've been warned.
Charlie's Seafood
Two 8-oz White Fish Sandwiches, $15.58
The fish-fry math survived — just not at the prices the old lists promise (that "fish plate under $10" figure is from 2017; let it go). Today the à-la-carte column is the play on Charlie's own menu: the 8-oz white fish sandwich is $7.79 (two for $15.58), the 8-oz catfish sandwich $8.75 (two, $17.50), and a crab cake adds $5.19. The sneaky-good order is the split strategy: one White Fish Special dinner at $12.59 — which comes with two sides — plus a 5-oz sandwich at $6.69 is $19.28, sides shared. Two full dinner specials is where the ticket jumps past $25, so stay on the sandwich side of the board.
💡 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.
📋 Check the Date on That List
Lexington’s cheap-eats roundups age badly, and the stale entries still rank. Puccini’s Boston Rd location is permanently closed but keeps showing up in lists — Chevy Chase Place is the survivor. Goodwood Brewing at Lexington Green still pours and still runs its kids-eat-free Tuesday, but its website domain has literally expired — their Facebook is the live source now. And the 2017-era “kids eat free” lists still circulating include restaurants that left town years ago (Shoney’s, Spaghetti Warehouse).
Two more to double-check before you drive: Pazzo’s $1.50 Sunday jumbo slice has been quoted in roundups since 2011 — call before you build a Sunday around it — and Texas Roadhouse’s Early Dine — a fixture of old Lexington deals lists — has crept from $8.99 in 2021 to $12.99 now, which puts two early-bird dinners past $25 and off this page — the full Roadhouse price story is here. Trust the restaurant’s own menu, or a page with a date on it. This one was checked in July 2026.
📍 Regional Chains
Bigger than one storefront, smaller than the home-page national list — regional chains with real Lexington addresses.
MOD Pizza
One 11" Pizza Split Two Ways — $11.89, 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 $11.89 at the 2217 War Admiral Way store on MOD's own ordering system, August 2026 — $5.95 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 $13.89, 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. Drinks still fit: two 16 oz fountains add $6.38 and the loaded 11-inch with both lands at $18.27. 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.
Zaxby's
Big Zax Snak Meals ~$20 for Two · Nibblerz $5.29
The Athens, GA-born chicken-fingerz chain (~950 stores across 17 states) rings Lexington with five stores per its own directory — Redding Rd, Sand Lake Dr, Sharkey Way, W New Circle Rd and 1115 S Broadway — all open to 11pm with pickup, delivery and curbside; verified July 2026. 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) was $9.99 — two meals right at twenty — and 2 Nibblerz (chicken sliders) $5.29 an order, two orders feeding two for about $11. Prices vary by store, so confirm on yours in the app.
White Castle
Sliders À La Carte · Breakfast Combos — Two Under $20
The 1921-born slider empire's two Lexington castles. Our July 2026 cart read at the chain's Las Vegas castle sets the pattern: Original Sliders $1.39 à la carte — ten built one by one is $13.90, cheaper than the bundled Shareable Meal unless you want its fries and drinks — the Breakfast Bun combo (sausage-egg-&-cheese slider, hash brown nibblers, coffee) $7.97, two breakfasts for $15.94, and the Crispy Chicken Combo $9.56, two for $19.12, while beef combos run past the line. Prices shift castle to castle, so run the same math on your store's menu in the app before you order.
Cook Out
Two Cook Out Trays — $15–18 · 40+ Shakes
The Thomasville, NC-born drive-thru cult legend (~380 stores across 11 southern states) serves Lexington from S Broadway: the famous Cook Out Tray: an entrée (burgers, BBQ, chicken tenders, quesadillas), two sides — a whole corn dog counts as a side — and a big drink, running about $7.50–9 depending on market, so two trays land at $15–18 with room for a couple of the 40-plus milkshake flavors. Cook Out publishes no prices online and takes no online orders — tray figures come from recent store boards, so confirm at the window. Drive-thru, open past 3am most nights.
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 — is four stores deep in Lexington. 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. Lexington's store is at Lakecrest Circle in Beaumont Centre — the old South Limestone shop by campus has closed, so Beaumont is the one. 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 Lexington — full list on the main directory.
Buffalo Wild Wings
Pick Six — 2 Entrées + 2 Sides + 2 Drinks, $19.99
A literal 2-for-$20: the Pick Six bundle on bww.com feeds two people — two entrées, two sides, two drinks — for $19.99 dine-in (limited time). Thursday is BOGO free boneless wings for everyone, dine-in or takeout through the BWW app and site (no third-party apps), and Tuesday runs a traditional-wing BOGO for Rewards members — terms shift, so check the app for current fine print.
Applebee's
Two $9.99 Really Big Meal Deals, $19.98
The reliable fallback, played strictly under the line: the $9.99 Really Big Meal Deal is a full entrée with a side and a drink, so two of them come in at $19.98 — drinks included, two cents to spare. If you'd rather share an appetizer, the 2 for $25 is the step up. Pricing varies by store, so confirm in the app before you order.
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