The Best Day of the Week to Eat at a Chain Restaurant

While most people tend to gravitate toward dining out on the weekends, there are plenty of perks for those who choose to eat at chain restaurants during the week. Specifically, you can be in for a real treat of a dining experience on a day you wouldn't necessarily expect.Why?Well, from smaller crowds to happy hour deals, there are plenty of reasons to shift your schedule to make nonother than Tuesday your regular day for dining out. (When you're thinking about what to order at the end of your meal, take a look at these 15 Classic American Desserts That Deserve a Comeback!) Why is Tuesday is the best day of the week to eat at a restaurant?"Generally speaking, the good stuff comes in on Tuesday: the seafood is fresh, the supply of prepared food is new, and the chef, presumably, is relaxed after his day off. (Most chefs don't work on Monday.) Chefs prefer to cook for weekday customers rather than for weekenders, and they like to start the new week with their most creative dishes," Anthony Bourdain explained in a 1999 article for The New Yorker. "In New York, locals dine during the week. Weekends are considered amateur nights—for tourists, rubes, and the well-done-ordering pretheatre hordes. The fish may be just as fresh on Friday, but it's on Tuesday that you've got the goodwill of the kitchen on your side."See, many restaurants receive orders of fresh products on Tuesdays, making it a great day to dine in for fresher, more flavorful food. The hustle and bustle of fellow diners is also less likely, as many people tend to go out to eat on the weekends when they have more free time."Sunday is the garbage-can day of the week," said Kate Krader, former senior editor at Food&Wine and current food editor at Bloomberg. "No doubt, they're cleaning out their fridges. Tuesdays, they're starting fresh."Because weekdays are quieter, many chain restaurants have happy hours and weekday specials to drum up business. This means you can take advantage of promotions and save money by dining out on a Tuesday, especially if you opt for lunch or early dinner. In fact, according to the restaurant deals site EatDrinkDeals, "Tuesday is one of the best days of the week for fast food deals and restaurant specials—and it's not just tacos!"With opportunities to save money, a chance to enjoy fresher food and avoid crowds, start treating yourself to a meal out on the town on Tuesday nights rather than on the weekends.Looking for more helpful tips and tricks? Your ultimate restaurant and supermarket survival guide is here!