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We only get so many trips around the sun, so when your time comes to mark another year on Earth, you deserve to celebrate! While we all love to celebrate with food, what’s even better? You guessed it: free food. On your birthday don’t miss out on these sweet restaurant birthday deals.
From a slice of cake to a free drink or appetizer, there is a bounty of restaurant freebies you can enjoy on your birthday. And in most cases, it’s okay it’s not exactly your actual birthday, but on the day or within the month you’re celebrating the occasion.
We’ve rounded up 21 popular chain restaurants that offer free food for your birthday, so there’s bound to be something that will appeal to your palate here. And while some of these places are not going to ask you for an ID to prove that it’s your birthday, you should always be prepared to show proof. Also, be aware that many will ask you to sign up for their rewards program or app, so be sure to do so well before the big day, because some have waiting periods.
Now, let’s talk free food!
At Au Bon Pain, you can get a free pastry or coffee on your birthday, a great way to start a day of many freebies. Just make sure you sign up for the company’s eClub to make sure you’ll be eligible for the giveaways. Especially because you can also get a coffee or pastry just for signing up.
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You can get a free burrito from Baja Fresh on the occasion of your birthday, but there are a couple of caveats: one, you need to buy a large drink to get said complimentary burrito. Two, you need to be enrolled in Club Baja. And three, you will need an ID for this one. That said, you have a two-week window to make use of the offer.
Breakfast is on Denny’s on your birthday. As in a free Grand Slam Breakfast. And no, you don’t have to order your Grand Slam at breakfast time, it can be dinner. Just get the chain’s app before your big day.
El Pollo Loco offers a generous birthday giveaway in the form of either a Chicken Tostada Salad or a 2-Piece Chicken Meal. Either way, that’s about a nine-dollar value, which is a solid offer, yours with the Loco Rewards app.
You can get a big stack of pancakes on your birthday care of IHOP provided you join the International Bank of Pancakes program at least a week before your birthday. When you do that, you’ll get five free “pancoins” for your birthday, and each pancoin can be traded in for a pancake.
Noodles & Company is another chain that offers you an entire entrée for free on your birthday, but only if you are a Premier member of the company’s Noodles Rewards program. You achieve that by—you guessed it—spending a lot of money there. But hey you get a free dessert on your birthday even if you just signed up.
Dessert is on Baskin Robbins on your birthday! You can enjoy a free scoop of ice cream, a small soft serve serving, or a few bucks off an ice cream cone. But of course, you’ll need to be enrolled in the Birthday Club.
Members of Jack in the Box’s Jack Pack can get two free tacos on their birthdays. And they earn a point for every dollar spent via the Jack Pack app, and those can be redeemed for more free eats.
You can get a free burger from Red Robin any time during your birthday month, and that’s a generous offer. Also generous is the fact that every tenth item you order here can be free when you use the Red Robin Royalty program.
Sonic offers MySonic app members a free milkshake on their birthdays. And that’s a shake made with real ice cream, mind you. Note that the birthday rewards at Sonic sometimes change, so if you’re reading this well into the future, the offer may have switched. Also, how’s the future going?
On their birthdays, members of the Waffle House Regulars Club get free—wait for it—waffles. Which makes sense. Also, you get a free side of hash browns when you first sign up to be a Regular.
You can call in a free dessert from Papa Johns during a two-week period surrounding your birthday, just order online or via the app and make sure you are a Papa Rewards member.
As long as you have joined the Ruby Rewards program, you can get a free dessert or an add-on “Garden Bar” item any time a week before or after your birthday.
A half-dozen chicken wings can be yours for free at Buffalo Wild Wings, and you can call in your free wings any time during your birthday month. Just join the Blazin’ Rewards program to make use of the offer.
Sorry, Buffalo Wild Wings, but Hooters has you beat on this one: HootClub members can get not six, but 10 free wings on their birthday. Just get the app and choose your preferred Hooters location to be eligible.
You can enjoy a free donut any time during the month of your birthday thanks to Krispy Kreme. And if you first sign up for its rewards program during that month, you can get two free donuts, as joining comes with a freebie, too.
You can enjoy a free order of cinnamon sticks delivered along with your birthday pizza when you are a Hut Rewards member. (Or you can enjoy said free dessert delivered to your table if you’re dining in.)
Want a tasty and free birthday snack between all those free birthday meals and desserts? Wetzel’s has you covered with a free pretzel—an Original or a Sinful Cinnamon Pretzel, to be specific.
It’s your birthday, so you’re probably going to have a cupcake anyway, right? It’s only fitting that it be free, and Sprinkles has you covered there. You get the Birthday Perk added to your app the Wednesday before your birthday, and you can redeem it for 30 days.
You can get a free dessert from California Pizza Kitchen on your birthday provided you are a member of the CPK Rewards program. You’ll also get a free starter when you join, and you can rack up points that can be cashed in for cash off your bill.
You can get a free coffee, tea, pastry, or “ready-to-drink bottled beverage, and several other menu items from Starbucks on your birthday. The offerings are impressively wide, you just need to be a Starbucks Rewards member at least seven days before your birthday, provide your birthday when signing up, and have made at least one paid purchase prior to the giveaway.
