23 Popular Restaurants With Birthday Specials

What's better than getting a lil' something special for your birthday? While you may expect gifts from family or friends, what about a tasty surprise from your favorite chain restaurant? Turns out, quite a few popular food franchises will reward you with free or discounted eats when your big day rolls around. The catch: You'll likely have to let them know about your birthday ahead of time by signing up for their loyalty program or club. Sure, that might mean you get a few more marketing emails in your inbox, but isn't the hassle of clicking "unsubscribe" worth it when you're chowing down on some free (or at least cheap) tacos, ice cream, wings, and more?

Check out all of these popular restaurants with birthday specials, ranging from free food and drinks to heavy discounts. Pick out your favorites and sign up ahead of your bday — or sign up for all the options and put together a free feast for the big day. We won't judge.

Ice cream is a must on any birthday and Baskin Robbins is here to help ensure your sweet tooth is satiated — both on your big day and every day. Join the Baskin-Robbins Birthday Club to receive a free single scoop of ice cream on your birthday. Signing up does require that you have a BR account, but you're not required to opt-in to the email program or to download the BR app in order to participate (though, if you do, you'll get extra deals, coupons, and special offers, plus the ability to order ice cream right from the app). 

Baskin-Robbins is one of the handful of restaurants that extends its birthday specials to the under-18 crowd — anyone 13 or older can sign up. Once you join, you'll receive a birthday coupon for your free scoop via email. You can also create a family account, and then add up to four family members' birthdays. That way, everyone in the fam receives a free scoop.

If your taste buds prefer more savory options to sweet, opt for the Buffalo Wild Wings rewards program. The Blazin' Rewards program offers you free wings on your birthday. Unfortunately, it is only a snack-size serving of wings, but the birthday coupon is valid for your entire birthday month.

Otherwise, the program gives you access to special, members-only offers throughout the year and you'll receive 100 points for every $10 spent at Buffalo Wild Wings locations. You can use your points that you've accumulated to redeem a variety of prizes, not just free food. Buffalo Wild Wings merchandise and even tickets to sporting and other various events are up for grabs.

You can sign up for the Blazin' Rewards program on the Buffalo Wild Wings website, the Blazin Rewards app, or on an in-restaurant tablet. Only adults 18 years of age or older are eligible for the program.

Chili's is also serving up delicious birthday treats on your big day. If you join My Chili's Rewards, you'll receive a free dessert item on your birthday. Choose between Chili's famed molten chocolate cake (with that gooey chocolate center and melty vanilla ice cream) or the chain's skillet chocolate chip cookie, which is drizzled in hot fudge and served piping hot. Both are exactly the kinds of indulgent treats you want to enjoy on your birthday.

Joining My Chili's Rewards will also earn you free chips and salsa as well as free non-alcoholic drinks every single time you visit a Chili's location. Other benefits include in-restaurant WiFi access, one-tap reordering, and your choice of rewards options (from free delivery to free food), when you've accumulated enough points. Just note that this is one of the restaurant rewards programs that requires you to be at least 18 or older to join.

Start your birthday off on an extra sweet note with the signature offering from Cinnabon (because, yes, cinnamon rolls absolutely are the best birthday breakfast). Unfortunately, Cinnabon isn't going to give you a free cinnamon roll on your birthday; you'll have to buy that on your own. What they will give you, however, is a free cold brew to wash it all down. All you have to do is join the Cinnabon Rewards program.

Other benefits include a four-count of Cinnabon Bon Bites just for signing up; 10 points for every $1 you spend with Cinnabon, with each classic roll redeemable for 250 points; and extra points-earning opportunities when you do things like refer a friend to the program. Just note that you will want to sign up for the program via the Cinnabon Rewards app (available both in the App Store and via Google Play) in order to receive that four-count Cinnabon Bon Bites sign-up reward.

If you're already signed up for the Einstein Bros. Bagels eClub, you may assume that you're enrolled to receive your birthday surprise from this bagel joint — but hold up. You actually won't receive anything special on your birthday unless you're signed up for the chain's Shmear Society Rewards Program, which is a separate program requiring a separate sign-up. However, if you do go through the trouble of signing up, you'll receive a free egg sandwich on your birthday, plus a free bagel and shmear (with a purchase) just for registering. The free birthday egg sandwich offer is valid for 14 days after your birthday.

Otherwise, you'll earn two points for every $1 spent at the restaurant and you can use those points to redeem free menu items. The menu items that you can pick from for your points redemption vary, though, and all of your points expire after six months.

Jersey Mike's gets props for offering one of the most substantial birthday bonuses on our list. Rather than a coupon for a free appetizer or dessert, or a mere coupon for a discount or buy-one, get-one item, Jersey Mike's will give you a full sub for your birthday. All you have to do is join the My Mike's email club.

Beyond the free birthday sandwich, though, the Jersey Mike's rewards program is a little more complex than some of the others on our list. You earn "Shore Points" with each purchase, and the amount of points earned differ according to your menu item. Kids' meals are worth three points; mini subs and breakfast sandwiches are worth four; regular subs, wraps, and sub tubs are worth six; and giant subs are worth 12. Then, when you want to redeem your points, you need 48 points for a mini sub; 72 for a regular sub, sub tub, or wrap; and 144 for a giant sub. That's a lot of math.

Who doesn't love a piping hot donut from Krispy Kreme? Get both a free coffee and a free donut at Krispy Kreme during your birthday month (via The Spruce Eats) after you sign up for Krispy Kreme Rewards. You'll receive an email with the details of your birthday offer and the offer is valid all throughout your birthday month. 

Otherwise, after you register for the rewards program via either the Krispy Kreme app or online, you'll get a free donut just for signing up. You'll later earn one credit every time you purchase a donut and you'll get a free donut after you acquire 12 credits. The Krispy Kreme Rewards program is also separated into "tracks" so you can receive the same items that you buy most often, for free; the more single donuts, coffee, specialty coffees, and dozen donut boxes you buy, the closer you are to redeeming whichever of these you buy most.

The MyPanera program comes with a wealth of benefits including a free birthday treat every year. While Panera Bread isn't quick to divulge what exactly the birthday surprise is, an older Facebook post from the brand indicates that the birthday treat changes up depending on the year and the user. Panera asked followers what their favorite birthday treats have been since joining MyPanera and followers reported back with a range of free items including You Pick Two combos, bagels, pastries, and soup.

Otherwise, members receive a free pastry item for joining, free delivery after a month of membership, and even a free three-month trial of Audible Plus. You also have the option to upgrade to a MyPanera+ coffee subscription, wherein you receive unlimited coffee for $9 per month. To join, go to the MyPanera page and either sign up with your email address or Facebook account.

We applaud those restaurants that choose to give their loyalty members actual, full-size entrees as their birthday surprise. Red Robin thankfully falls into this category, offering Red Robin Royalty loyalty members a free burger for their birthdays. There are a few stipulations, though. You only receive the free birthday burger reward if, upon signing up, you provided your email address, phone number, and birthday, and then you validated your phone number and subscribed to receive marketing emails or text messages. If you do all this, though, you'll also get access to other special offers, such as a "buy nine, get a tenth item free" reward and a $20 credit that is offered after making certain purchases in five visits over five weeks.

Want your kids to be able to join in on the fun, too? Children and teens under 18 years of age are also eligible to receive free birthday burgers from Red Robin. All you have to do is register your child's birthday in the Teens/Kids Club (found in your Red Robin Royalty account) and then chain will email you a Birthday Burger coupon prior to their birthday.

Love 'em or hate 'em, mall food court favorite Sbarro is here to deliver (at least more than Pizza Hut) when it comes to your birthday. Forget the free breadsticks, because Sbarro gives members of its Slice Society loyalty program actual free pizza on their birthdays. All you have to do is sign up on the website and await the bounty offers from the pizza chain which include emailed coupons and promotions. 

This loyalty program is as straightforward as it gets, with no points, credits, or "stars" to earn or redeem. But you will get free pizza when you sign up (specifically an XL NY slice with the purchase of a beverage) and then free pizza on your birthday. And while the Sbarro Slice Society page doesn't specifically mention that the birthday gift is actually pizza, a 2020 Facebook post from the brand does confirm that members receive free birthday slice coupons.

One of the few sit-down, casual dining restaurants that offer birthday surprises, TGI Fridays offers a near-identical birthday gift as Chili's, with a free birthday dessert for all Fridays Rewards members. You also, like at Chili's, will get free chips and salsa with every dine-in visit as a Fridays Rewards member.

Unfortunately, much like with Subway's MyWay program, it's pretty difficult to earn other free food at TGI Fridays. You get one point for every $1 spent on food and drinks and you can start redeeming points after 30 points earned, but that'll only get you one non-alcoholic beverage. For any actual food, like a free dessert, you'll need at least 50 points. Earning something like a free entrée requires at least 125 points, or $125 spent during past visits.

Still, you can't go wrong with a free birthday dessert, like TGI Friday's Cinnabon caramel pecan cheesecake or Carlo's Bakery rainbow cake, so it's worth signing up just benefit, even if you don't actually earn or spend any points in the future.