I’m in Madrid at the moment, and just had their fries topped with cheese and bacon (10/10) – they also have burgers with Gouda or mozzarella sticks in them, American style buffalo chicken burgers, and they have chicken wings! Why does maccies in the UK have so much less variety?

38 comments

  1. It’s because of demand from consumers. Consumers in Spain want those things. They don’t in the UK.

  3. Swings and roundabouts, they’re better in some areas overseas, not so much in others.

    The UK tends to have much better vegetarian options, where in Spain there’s often none. I once got a bun with some lettuce in it as the only available choice in Spain. The kids thought it was hilarious.

  4. It depends on the market, McDonald’s had mozzarella sticks before in the UK, maybe they weren’t popular enough to keep?

    All companies do it, McDonald’s in Japan had a sea salt ice-cream, it was really good (by my taste) but it might not be popular everywhere!

  7. I think what makes McDonalds in the UK stand out is how efficient and simplistic everything seems. Unlike other UK fast food outlets it doesn’t overcomplicate any choice, item or process (with the possible exception of ordering a Milkshake). Combine that with the strict quality control across the UK Franchises and you have a guaranteed 6 or 7 out of 10 meal every time. It means you rarely ever get fast food perfection at McDonalds but its reliability and consistency makes it a safe option and as such it is popular amongst a wider demographic than many ‘superior’ fast food outlets. I’d love some of the more wild items you see in Foreign McDonalds Outlets, but what they are doing in the UK is clearly successful so I can’t see them changing anytime soon.

  8. Have you been to Maccy’s in the USA? It’s rubbish.

    In Holand you have to pay for sauces (and the toilet).

    In France, they have the McCafe sections to McDonalds; and excellent addition.

    <Insert Pulp Fiction quote about Quarter Pounders in Europe>

  11. Why are most things in the UK crap compared to elsewhere?!

    I recently had KFC abroad and it was so much better than ours.

  13. Mate, I went to visit my mum in Italy and went to mc, what they give you is the bun and the meat with some souce in it. Nothing else, even the Big Mac got only a piece of lettuce and that’s it!

    Also the chips in Italy taste so good but only because they put a lot of additives in it, glad here they only use potatoes and nothing else.

  14. Had a Macs in Lisbon a few weeks ago and it was phenomenal, had one last night in the UK and it was average….oh well

  15. My local mcdonalds sells fried chicken buckets like kfc, otherwise it’s fairly standard but their breakfast menu consists of a ham and cheese sandwich so the uk wins breakfast hands down.

  17. Because Brits like it that way. That’s why it’s a lot, and I mean a lot better in France and Spain. They are delivering to your taste. Sorry.

  18. They use too many onions, and their burgers are always cold, and their McFlurrys ice cream is gross, and tastes of nothing.

  19. Could it be that we already have a plethora of takeaway options for reasonable prices leaving McDs to compete solely on price and speed? I’ve heard in Pakistan Mcdonald’s is a middle of the road option having decent quality but relatively more expensive than we are used to.

  20. We don’t have them in the UK because we have the type of people that go to Madrid and eat McDonalds.

  21. I like that in madrid, one of the world’s great cities and food destinations, you’re at a macdonalds

  23. Try going to Poland. Their McDonald’s is damn better than some burger places in the UK. Great selection of burgers, properly salted fries and damn great ice cream. Ice cream in the UK McDonald’s is awful. Especially flurry.

    And for those who are thinking that it’s just about options and choice, but no, ingredients are vastly different. When patty in the UK taste like cardboard, patty in Spain tastes like a proper burger patty.

  25. Believe it or not – Ours is healthier. McDonald’s had a lot of bad press in the U.K., as well as pressure from regulating bodies and the government. Add to that the super size me book and movie, and also the idea that it was just for “chavs”. All of that led to McDonald’s making their menu simpler and ‘healthier’ compared with most countries. Different ingredients too. As well as changing their marketing to make it seem like a place for a quick snack.

    My friends from the states always comment on how much fresher and lighter our McDonald’s is.

    They adapt to the market

  26. My dad recently came back from a work trip from Germany and he said that the burgers are usually fried just before served

  27. Is it? I had a mcdonalds in Italy and Amsterdam and it was awful. Maybe your local Maccies is just shite. Mine is good.

  28. The halloumi they sell actually broke my heart. Worst tasting ever. What a waste of money and I’m not even supposed to be eating cheese, 100% was not worth the aftermath. Fuming.

  29. Spanish food is so much better than other countries in general that, if McDonald’s would be as bad as in other countries no one would ever have it

  31. I’m from Madrid living in London and the thick cut chips with the ‘deluxe sauce’ is what I miss the most from McDonalds 🥲

  32. Mcdonalds in Rome serve beers!

    Both me and the wife were disgusted with ourselves that we had to go there for food- but it was one of those annoying situations where we just didn’t have time for proper food while waiting for our taxi to the airport!

    If I remember right there was a bride and full wedding party in there

  33. Same reason Heineken brewed for the UK doesn’t taste as delicious as the Dutch one, same as the Bira Moretti. British people have a reputation of having the palate and food curiousity of caveman, somewhat unfairly I’d like to think too, so the companies don’t bother “feeding strawberries to a horse”

  35. What I realized is that most McDonald’s in the UK as I’m the restaurant itself seems rundown and dirty , when I visited both Greece and Poland ones they looked like a whole different brand

  38. Last week I found out you can swap your normal drink in a McDonald’s meal out for a caramel iced frappe, my life has been changed forever.

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