Applebee's Delivery: How to Order and What It Costs

Ordering Direct or Through a Delivery App

Why direct costs less

The food is identical and often the driver network is the same. What changes is the menu.

Third-party platforms charge restaurants a commission on every order. Restaurants cover that by listing higher prices on those platforms than they charge in the dining room. So the markup is already inside the item price before the service fee and delivery fee get added on top.

Ordering direct means paying the in-restaurant menu price, with delivery charged as a separate visible line rather than hidden inside each item.

Why direct is easier when something goes wrong

This is the part people find out the hard way. When you order through a third-party app, your transaction is with the platform, not the restaurant. A missing appetizer can't be resolved by calling the store. The manager doesn't hold your payment and can't refund it. You go through the app's support flow.

Order direct and the restaurant holds the transaction, so the location can fix it.

Where third-party apps still make sense

If you already pay for a platform subscription that removes delivery fees and reduces service fees, the gap narrows. Coverage also differs. A platform may reach an address the direct route does not, or vice versa. Checking both is worth thirty seconds on a larger order.

One more check before you order: delivery means no server to ask, so check the allergen menu for your dishes before checkout.

Carside To Go: The Cheapest Way to Eat Applebee's at Home

Carside To Go is Applebee's curbside pickup. You order ahead through the app or site, park in a marked Carside spot, and check in through the app with your spot number and vehicle description. Someone brings the order to your car.

Cost comparison: No delivery fee, no service fee, no menu markup. You pay exactly the dining-room price. Tipping the person who brings your order out is customary and still far cheaper than the combined premium of a delivery app order.

If the drive is short, this is the best-value off-premise option by a wide margin. Full details: see our guide to takeout and Carside To Go.

Which Applebee's Deals Work for Delivery

Doesn't transfer: Half price appetizers and happy hour drink pricing. These are dine-in promotions at almost every location.

Usually transfers to direct orders: 2 for $25 and standard menu pricing. Participation varies by location, as with everything franchised.

The trap worth naming: Ordering happy hour appetizers through a delivery app means paying above dining-room price for items that would have been half price if you had sat down. That's more than double what the same food costs at the half-price table. If the appetizer discount is what you want, the trip is worth it.

See all current offers: visit our specials and deals page.

Cosmic Wings: The Applebee's Brand That Isn't Labeled Applebee's

If you have scrolled a delivery app and seen "Cosmic Wings," that food comes out of an Applebee's kitchen.

Cosmic Wings launched in February 2021 as a delivery-only brand built with Uber Eats and Frito-Lay around Cheetos-flavored wings, and it started in about 1,300 Applebee's kitchens. In August 2022 Applebee's moved some of those items, including the Cheetos wings and waffle fries, onto its own menu for dine-in and takeout.

Fewer restaurants carry the delivery listing now than at launch. Whether it shows up for your address depends on whether your nearest Applebee's still runs it, so search your delivery app for Cosmic Wings before assuming it's gone.

The separate-order problem

Cosmic Wings and Applebee's are listed as two different restaurants on delivery platforms even when one kitchen cooks both. Items from the two menus generally can't be combined into one order: two orders, two delivery fees, two tips, same kitchen.

If someone at the table wants wings and someone wants a burger, ordering everything from the Applebee's listing is usually cheaper than splitting across both.

Can You Get Alcohol Delivered from Applebee's?

Temporary pandemic-era allowances have since expired or been made permanent depending on the state, so rules differ significantly by location.

Where alcohol delivery is allowed, three conditions typically apply:

• Sealed packaging: Drinks are supplied in tamper-evident containers rather than an open cup.
• A food order alongside it: Many jurisdictions permit alcohol delivery only with a substantial food purchase.
• ID verification at the door: The driver checks ID on arrival. Alcohol can't be left unattended, and a driver who can't verify ID, or who judges the recipient to be intoxicated, is required to take it back.

The drinks menu shows what is offered in-restaurant; delivery availability is narrower and set locally. Check the location finder for your area.

Which Applebee's Items Hold Up for Delivery

Nobody covers this, and it's the practical question after "how much."

• Travels well: Grilled proteins. Steaks, grilled chicken and salmon hold heat and texture. Pasta is the most reliable category overall. Sauce protects it, and it reheats.
• Travels poorly: Anything fried and sauced together. Boneless wings tossed in sauce steam in transit and soften. Ordering sauce on the side keeps the coating intact, and most kitchens will do it.
• Sides are where orders go wrong: Fries lose the most in a sealed container. Swapping to steamed vegetables or mashed potatoes means the side arrives in the condition it left in.
• Salads: Salads hold up if dressing comes separately. Ask, because it isn't always default.

Some items aren't offered for delivery at all. Skillet dishes and ice-cream desserts are the usual omissions, because they can't survive the trip. If something on the full menu is missing from the delivery menu, that's generally why.

Delivery vs Catering for Groups

For a party or an office lunch, ordering ten individual entrées through a delivery app is the most expensive possible route. The per-item markup applies to every item, then fees stack on the total.

Catering is priced for volume, with party-size platters of appetizers, salads and entrées. Orders go through the restaurant directly, usually with advance notice and often as pickup. On a large order the saving is substantial enough that collecting it yourself is worth the trip.

Rough threshold: Past six or seven meals, check catering pricing before defaulting to the app.

Is Applebee's Delivery Available in My Area?

Delivery coverage is set per restaurant, not nationally. A location eight miles away may deliver to you while one four miles away does not. Radius depends on the store's own settings and driver availability.

Coverage can also differ between ordering routes. The direct route and each platform maintain separate delivery zones, so an address outside one may sit inside another.

Fastest way to check: enter your address at checkout in the Applebee's app or on its website, or call your nearest restaurant from the location finder. If delivery isn't offered, Carside To Go usually is.

Hours also apply. Delivery stops when the kitchen does. See operating hours.

Applebee's Delivery: Frequently Asked Questions