Mcdonalds is so boring in the UK!

mummy81_2

Krojan wrote: »

Whats wrong with MaccyD's? You know you're getting a salt enfused burnt roll, with processed "cheese" square thats more like 3 day old chewing gum found under the desks at a school, some kind of roadkill meat patty scraped from the local backroads, and sometimes a few extras like soggy weeds described at lettuce, bit of slug slime/student snot they call dressing and a picked-scab described as bacon.

Yum! I Fancy one now lol

Actually, I usually order the Spicy Veggie wrap, even though I'm not a vegetarian. So that's no salt infused roll, not processed "cheese" and no roadkill meat patty scraped from the local backroads. There's some nice crunchy iceberg lettuce, a chick pea patty that tastes better than most other veggie burgers I've had, except home made and the sweet chilli sauce is an odd colour for snot.

DCFC79

With GBK your paying a premium and for that you get a decent burger, fries and a drink (the shakes are nice), theres different menu items in the rest of europe that we dont get (an example already been given), same with other products too frm the supermarkets.

topdaddy_2

I too like gbk. Garlic sauce and skinny chips is pucker. But gives you the worst breath. Mcds has their market and does well. They dont need to change. I wont eat there.

Cornucopia

McD's should carry the "M" burger all the time - that's the most authentic burger they do.

lucy03

Having worked in the restaurant industry in a Head Office role we were always very impressed at the sheer efficiency of McDonald's. We weren't in competition with them, but their speed and consistency of product is superb which is hardly the mainstay of any food outlet, but it's a very good start. I'm not the greatest fan of their food unless I'm in a hurry, but the quality of the ingredients is usually pretty high.

I do have some sympathy with the OP though, McDonald's menu is often a bit generic in terms of the burgers but I think their core audience is often kids, hence why they build a lot of promotions around movies or well-known characters rather than big changes in the menu. Kitchen limitations is probably the biggest problem they have in doing something really different.

I don't personally much rate GBK, their TripAdvisor reviews are rarely that positive and some of their branches have horrendous scores. I've rarely had a good meal there, it's a step up from McDonalds without a doubt, but just as my opinion it's not a very big step. I'm impressed though at how many pubs have really improved their offering in recent years, some of the burgers on menus are of a really good quality and are made in-house rather than the bought in variety which seemed so common not that long ago.

Azari

lucy03 wrote: »

Having worked in the restaurant industry in a Head Office role we were always very impressed at the sheer efficiency of McDonald's. We weren't in competition with them, but their speed and consistency of product is superb which is hardly the mainstay of any food outlet, but it's a very good start.

It's the speed and consistency that makes the product so ghastly.

When you gear everything to getting exactly the same result every time and your products must be the same whether freshly cooked or having waited, heated, for customers, and you need to do this for a very low price, you are hardly likely to get anything better than mediocre quality.

antrobus

Azari wrote: »

It's the speed and consistency that makes the product so ghastly.

When you gear everything to getting exactly the same result every time and your products must be the same whether freshly cooked or having waited, heated, for customers, and you need to do this for a very low price, you are hardly likely to get anything better than mediocre quality.

"Speed", "consistency", and the desire to "gear everything to getting exactly the same result every time" are pretty standard objectives in the restaurant business. I can assure that the likes of Blumenthal's Fat Duck don't tolerate much in the way of variability either. That snail porridge is going to produced exactly right every time, and be available exactly when you need it.

Yes, McDonalds produce to a price point, so don't expect a gourmet dining experience. But on the other hand they have the buying power to squeeze an awful lot of quality out of the supply chain. Some people have nice things to say about them.

Raymond Blanc: I was amazed by McDonald's
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/11006949/Raymond-Blanc-I-was-amazed-by-McDonalds.html

barryboris

I don't mind Maccy D's from time to time. You get what you pay for, mind. If I wanted something a bit better, then yes I'd pay a bit more (and do) and go to somewhere like GBK.

But sometimes I do have a craving for a bit of Mcdonalds and am not ashamed to admit it.

davehughes182

I dont mind certain stuff on the menu in McDonalds and I am very much looking forward to the McRib making a return some point in the future. (if the rumours I hear are true).
Never been to GBK but there are loads of delightful burger places in my home town such as Almost Famous and NoLita Cantina which are simply amazing!

cybervic

I've had some very interesting stuff from McDonald in Japan, a tasty prawn burger made with real prawn, potato croquettes ball that contains cheese and sweetcorn served with Japanese curry sauce. We also had double big mac with grilled beef teriyaki, and some fried chicken fillet strip that was crispy on the skin but juicy in the meat. We are not big fans of McDonalds but were pleasantly surprised how tasty the food can be in McDonalds in different part of the world.