diff --git a/libraries/src/Menu/AbstractMenu.php b/libraries/src/Menu/AbstractMenu.php
index f5562b7ce79da..36931ebb9ffe7 100644
--- a/libraries/src/Menu/AbstractMenu.php
+++ b/libraries/src/Menu/AbstractMenu.php
@@ -62,6 +62,14 @@ abstract class AbstractMenu
 	 */
 	protected $user;
 
+	/**
+	 * Flag for checking if the menu items have been loaded
+	 *
+	 * @var    boolean
+	 * @since  __DEPLOY_VERSION__
+	 */
+	private $itemsLoaded = false;
+
 	/**
 	 * Class constructor
 	 *
@@ -71,17 +79,6 @@ abstract class AbstractMenu
 	 */
 	public function __construct($options = array())
 	{
-		// Load the menu items
-		$this->load();
-
-		foreach ($this->getMenu() as $item)
-		{
-			if ($item->home)
-			{
-				$this->default[trim($item->language)] = $item->id;
-			}
-		}
-
 		$this->user = isset($options['user']) && $options['user'] instanceof User ? $options['user'] : Factory::getUser();
 	}
 
@@ -166,14 +163,17 @@ public function setDefault($id, $language = '*')
 	 */
 	public function getDefault($language = '*')
 	{
+		// Get menu items first to ensure defaults have been populated
+		$items = $this->getMenu();
+
 		if (\array_key_exists($language, $this->default))
 		{
-			return $this->getMenu()[$this->default[$language]];
+			return $items[$this->default[$language]];
 		}
 
 		if (\array_key_exists('*', $this->default))
 		{
-			return $this->getMenu()[$this->default['*']];
+			return $items[$this->default['*']];
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -301,6 +301,21 @@ public function getParams($id)
 	 */
 	public function getMenu()
 	{
+		if (!$this->itemsLoaded)
+		{
+			$this->load();
+
+			foreach ($this->items as $item)
+			{
+				if ($item->home)
+				{
+					$this->default[trim($item->language)] = $item->id;
+				}
+			}
+
+			$this->itemsLoaded = true;
+		}
+
 		return $this->items;
 	}
 
diff --git a/libraries/src/Menu/SiteMenu.php b/libraries/src/Menu/SiteMenu.php
index 06aa45c370119..7c5205fb6022b 100644
--- a/libraries/src/Menu/SiteMenu.php
+++ b/libraries/src/Menu/SiteMenu.php
@@ -190,12 +190,12 @@ public function load()
 			return false;
 		}
 
-		foreach ($this->getMenu() as &$item)
+		foreach ($this->items as &$item)
 		{
 			// Get parent information.
 			$parent_tree = array();
 
-			if (isset($this->getMenu()[$item->parent_id]))
+			if (isset($this->items[$item->parent_id]))
 			{
 				$item->setParent($this->getMenu()[$item->parent_id]);
 				$parent_tree  = $this->getMenu()[$item->parent_id]->tree;
@@ -277,14 +277,17 @@ public function getItems($attributes, $values, $firstonly = false)
 	 */
 	public function getDefault($language = '*')
 	{
+		// Get menu items first to ensure defaults have been populated
+		$items = $this->getMenu();
+
 		if (\array_key_exists($language, $this->default) && $this->app->isClient('site') && $this->app->getLanguageFilter())
 		{
-			return $this->getMenu()[$this->default[$language]];
+			return $items[$this->default[$language]];
 		}
 
 		if (\array_key_exists('*', $this->default))
 		{
-			return $this->getMenu()[$this->default['*']];
+			return $items[$this->default['*']];
 		}
 	}
 }