Famous Dave's Menu

Famous Dave's Deals: Where the Real Value Is

Why the reliable savings at Famous Dave's are structural rather than promotional — and the five orders that beat any coupon.

Famous Dave's runs promotions, but they rotate and they vary by restaurant, and any page listing a fixed "rib Tuesday" price for all 130 locations is inventing it. What does not change is the structural value built into the menu itself — per-bone rib pricing, per-meat combo pricing, and Feasts. Those are worth more than almost any coupon, and they are available every day.

Famous Dave's prices at a glance

The prices referenced on this page, collected up front. They vary by location and change without notice.

CutPricePer bone
St. Louis Big Slab (12 bones)$36.69$3.06
St. Louis 2/3 Slab (9 bones)$32.19$3.58
St. Louis 1/2 Slab (6 bones)$26.69$4.45
St. Louis 1/3 Slab (4 bones)$21.09$5.27
Baby Back Big Baby (12 bones)$37.79$3.15
Baby Back Half (6 bones)$25.59$4.27
ComboPriceCost per meat
1 Meat Platter$17.79$17.79
2 Meat Combo$24.49$12.25
3 Meat Combo$28.89$9.63
Party sizeOrdering individuallyOrdering a FeastSaving
2 people~$62$55.49 (Feast For 2)~$7
4 people~$95$99.89 (over-orders)—
6 people~$140$99.89~$40
8 people~$185$99.89~$85

Deal 1: buy ribs by the biggest slab

This is the single most reliable saving on the menu, and it requires nothing but arithmetic.

The Big Slab is $3.06 a bone; the 1/3 slab is $5.27. Two people ordering half slabs pay $53.38 for twelve bones. One Big Slab is twelve bones for $36.69. Split it and you have saved $16.69 — more than most discounts are worth — for the same food. Never order a 1/3 slab.

Deal 2: the third meat costs $4.40

The second meat adds $6.70 and the third adds only $4.40. The 3 Meat Combo at $28.89 is the best per-meat value in the 'Que Combos section, and it is the cheapest way to try the brisket, the chopped pork and the ribs in one sitting. Compare it to two separate 1 Meat Platters at $35.58 for less food.

Deal 3: the Feast break-even

The break-even sits at around five people. Below that, Feasts do not help. At six and above, the All-American BBQ Feast at $99.89 — full slab of St. Louis ribs, country-roasted chicken, Texas beef brisket, Georgia chopped pork, hot link sausage, sides and corn bread, served on a trash-can lid — is dramatically cheaper than anything else, landing near $14 a head. By eight people it costs roughly half.

Deal 4: the two items nobody orders

The Southside Rib Tips Platter at $16.99 is the most mispriced item on the menu in the customer's favor. Rib tips are the strip trimmed off a spare rack to make it a St. Louis cut — same meat, same rack, same smoker — and they cost less than half what the ribs do. For one person eating alone, nothing else comes close.

The second is Onion Strings at $8.89, the cheapest appetizer and the best one. Everything else on that list is disproportionate: Dave's Sampler Platter is $27.79, the Double Winger $31.99, Shack Shrimp $16.49, BBQ Nachos $15.59. A table ordering a sampler and shrimp has spent $44 before any barbecue arrives — most of a Founder's Feast ($32.19).

Deal 5: sides, corn bread and by the pound

  • Sides at $3.29 are the cheapest of any national barbecue chain — under Sonny's $3.49. Pints for the table are $6.69 against $4.49 for a single à la carte portion.
  • Corn bread muffins at $1.99 each are the cheapest line on the menu.
  • Meats By The Pound at $16.69 undercuts Sonny's $16.99 and is the way to feed a group at home — see the catering math.
  • Lil' Wilbur kids' meals run $6.69 to $9.49, with Kraft mac and cheese cheapest and a full kids' rib dinner at the top.

What about happy hour and daily specials?

Famous Dave's is a full-service restaurant with a bar, and bar promotions, weekday lunch offers and limited-time items are all set locally and change through the year. The reliable approach is to check the app or the restaurant's own page before you go rather than trusting a third-party list, and to sign up for the email and app offers, which are chain-wide and land more consistently than anything at store level. The military discount page covers the same franchise-variance problem from the other direction.

Every price quoted here comes from the current Famous Dave's menu, updated August 2026.

Famous Dave's Deals: Where the Real Value Is — FAQs

What is the best deal at Famous Dave's?

For groups of five or more, the All-American BBQ Feast at $99.89 — roughly $14 a head for six to eight people, against about $185 ordering individually. For one or two people, the Southside Rib Tips Platter at $16.99, which is the same meat as the ribs at less than half the price.

Does Famous Dave's have daily specials?

Promotions exist but they rotate and are set locally across roughly 130 restaurants, so no fixed nationwide daily special can be quoted honestly. Check the app or your restaurant's page before going. The menu's built-in value — per-bone rib pricing, the 3 Meat Combo and Feasts — is available every day.

What is the cheapest way to eat ribs at Famous Dave's?

Buy the largest slab and share it. The Big Slab (12 bones) is $36.69, or $3.06 a bone, against $5.27 a bone on the 1/3 slab. Two people ordering half slabs pay $53.38 for the same twelve bones — splitting a Big Slab saves $16.69.

Are Famous Dave's appetizers worth ordering?

Only Onion Strings at $8.89. It is the cheapest starter and the best. Dave's Sampler Platter is $27.79 and the Double Winger $31.99 — a table ordering two appetizers spends most of the price of a Founder's Feast ($32.19) before the barbecue arrives.

Looking for the full Famous Dave's menu with every item priced?

See the complete Famous Dave's menu & prices