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Original poster

What the hell happened to McDonald’s ?

217 replies

Painrelief · 12/07/2025 00:12

Last night on the way home we popped into a Maccies drive thru . I haven’t been for months due to the Monday app deals being rubbish anyway the food was disgusting . The worst I’ve ever had from a McDonald’s , The filet o fish had blatantly been recooked as the fish had fries attached to the chewy as a boot batter and the cheese burger was from dinner time I think judging by how stale it was . My mate said hers the night before from her local one had been warmed up aswell …

But seriously the prices ?!! How can they justify it ! £2.19 for a mayo chicken or a cheese burger now (used to be 99p!) and the arch meal starts from £10.99 !!!
even the slush I had from a different maccies earlier in the day was just liquid and £3.19 !

McDonalds used to be a cheap and quick treat . How have the prices gone up so much and so quickly !!!

Do you still go to McDonald’s ? Has the standards dropped or something because I’ve never experienced such awful food .

OP posts:
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PassOnThat · 13/07/2025 01:20

A Happy Meal costs roughly the same as a cappuccino from Starbucks so no, I don't think it's bad value. I find their food bland but my kids will eat it and tbh the ingredients really aren't that bad. It's definitely our motorway service station meal of choice for the kids over Burger King (tastes much saltier and more expensive), noodles (which they won't eat) and overpriced limp sandwiches (which will be nibbled and rejected). We go for the fish fingers or chicken nuggets for the kids and then they have the milk or water to drink.

EmeraldShamrock000 · 13/07/2025 00:23

Food and stock prices have increased, the minimum wage has increased,
The money has to come from the customer.
McDonald's is still a reasonable price in comparison to other fast food places.

My local McDonald's has a good reputation, clean and efficient.

cheesycheesy · 13/07/2025 00:18

I live in London and these are the prices for pickup on the app. Some cheap deals! I assume delivery is higher. A meal deal or coffee would be a similar price. Some people here are very out of touch.

What the hell happened to McDonald’s ?
What the hell happened to McDonald’s ?
Gingerkittykat · 12/07/2025 18:34

OxAl82 · 12/07/2025 09:40

£2.79 for a happy meal?! Where do you live? It’s £4.39 for one where I am and don’t get me started on Chippy prices -£5 for chips here!

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I've just checked on the app at the three Mcdonalds closest to me. The happy meals cost £3.79, £3.89 and £3.99 so they obviously have the ability to charge different prices.

Poonu · 12/07/2025 16:11

MrsSkylerWhite · 12/07/2025 15:07

It isn’t if you read the ingredients.

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Do your research friend.
Or watch Morgan Spurlocks documentary
You wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

Hellohah · 12/07/2025 15:21

DS works at McDonalds so I didn't realise how much it had gone up. He gets employee discount, £2.50 for a meal or thereabouts.

I think it depends on the store, where DS works they only cook Fillet O Fish to order, they never cook any on the off chance. But clearly other branches do it differently. I'd never order one but definitely not now knowing some places would let them sit 🤦🏻‍♀️

MrsSkylerWhite · 12/07/2025 15:07

Poonu · 12/07/2025 13:58

Macdonald's is absolute crap food. Why is it considered a treat lol

It isn’t if you read the ingredients.

MoominUnderWater · 12/07/2025 15:05

babasaclover · 12/07/2025 14:15

This is news to me, actually it’s so bad. Putting prices up in a more affluent area blatantly ripping people off cause they can?!? It’s not like they’ll be paying their staff more. Greed to the extreme

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Starbucks is the same. Big price differences in the price of a latte between the 4 branches in my small city.

MercurialMouse · 12/07/2025 14:44

Very location dependent as I think they are franchised (could be wrong). The one nearest to us is great, everything fresh and lovely. One slightly further is always abysmal.

Poonu · 12/07/2025 14:20

ninjahamster · 12/07/2025 00:21

Maccies in my area is really good, always freshly cooked and hot.

"freshly" 😂

OxAl82 · 12/07/2025 14:19

babasaclover · 12/07/2025 14:15

This is news to me, actually it’s so bad. Putting prices up in a more affluent area blatantly ripping people off cause they can?!? It’s not like they’ll be paying their staff more. Greed to the extreme

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Unfortunately it is also the same in Wetherspoons. In Oxford a deli deal is £7.73, in Bicester it is £6.00 ! (Just checked pricing!)

babasaclover · 12/07/2025 14:15

OxAl82 · 12/07/2025 11:07

I live in Oxford (unfortunately!). It’s surprising how much the price varies though as 10 miles away in Bicester they are £4.19 !

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This is news to me, actually it’s so bad. Putting prices up in a more affluent area blatantly ripping people off cause they can?!? It’s not like they’ll be paying their staff more. Greed to the extreme

Poonu · 12/07/2025 13:58

Macdonald's is absolute crap food. Why is it considered a treat lol

MrsSkylerWhite · 12/07/2025 13:34

ninjahamster · 12/07/2025 00:21

Maccies in my area is really good, always freshly cooked and hot.

This.

Anyone expecting to eat meat for 99p obviously doesn’t have concerns about welfare standards.

Do you work for Burger King, OP? 😁

Pherian · 12/07/2025 13:31

Painrelief · 12/07/2025 00:12

Last night on the way home we popped into a Maccies drive thru . I haven’t been for months due to the Monday app deals being rubbish anyway the food was disgusting . The worst I’ve ever had from a McDonald’s , The filet o fish had blatantly been recooked as the fish had fries attached to the chewy as a boot batter and the cheese burger was from dinner time I think judging by how stale it was . My mate said hers the night before from her local one had been warmed up aswell …

But seriously the prices ?!! How can they justify it ! £2.19 for a mayo chicken or a cheese burger now (used to be 99p!) and the arch meal starts from £10.99 !!!
even the slush I had from a different maccies earlier in the day was just liquid and £3.19 !

McDonalds used to be a cheap and quick treat . How have the prices gone up so much and so quickly !!!

Do you still go to McDonald’s ? Has the standards dropped or something because I’ve never experienced such awful food .

I worked at a McDonald’s in my youth. They have timers on all prepared food to be thrown away once the timer went. Food was not to be reheated. Someone could get ill from that and I’d report it to the store manager and if they shrug, depending on where you live if there is food standards etc… report it there.

MoominUnderWater · 12/07/2025 13:27

I went for the first time in over a year a few weeks ago. Could not eat the fries, the salt content was unreal. Not sure whether I’m not used to them now/whether they have increased the salt content on purpose/whether I got a bad batch.

ninjahamster · 12/07/2025 13:23

TourdeFrance25 · 12/07/2025 00:57

How are the prices?

do they vary depending on location?

it's been well over a year since I've been. I'm not supposed to eat it (health issues) so it was a very rare event, so not up in his the pricing works.

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Prices are standard I think? We don’t go too often as we are a very low income family so it’s not feasible.

TicklishMintDuck · 12/07/2025 13:19

Overpriced and overhyped. Plus the food is always cold. Had a much better experience going to McDonalds in Malta last year. Food was hot, burger properly assembled and they do steakhouse fries.

Beyondburnout · 12/07/2025 12:30

happinessischocolate · 12/07/2025 11:50

Yeah it’s not broken, they just don’t want to clean it apparently - or dont have time to

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Makes sense. It's always broken in a heat wave. I think I need to make my own milkshakes.

HRTQueen · 12/07/2025 12:05

the busier the better as they all have the
same supplier but it will be freshly cooked and hot

it’s still cheap compared to most restaurants/takeaways and it’s never been good quality it’s cheap food that is tasty because of the mix of salt and sugar

I love McDonald’s I want food sometimes that’s high in sugar, salt and fat and easy to eat McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King (both better quality food) are just that crap food that has a certain taste/mix that can be satisfying

happinessischocolate · 12/07/2025 11:50

Beyondburnout · 12/07/2025 10:18

I heard they lie about the milkshake machine not working.

Yeah it’s not broken, they just don’t want to clean it apparently - or dont have time to

OldieButBaddie · 12/07/2025 11:41

I haven't been to McDonalds since 1984, doesn't sound like I'm missing much!

MidnightMeltdown · 12/07/2025 11:38

You’re complaining about paying £2.19 for a burger? Seriously? You can’t even buy a a coffee for that in most places. How cheap do you expect animal flesh to be?

Maybe it used to be 99p, but as we all know, everything has gone up, including food, labour and transport. YABU moaning about the price at one of the cheapest places you can possibly eat.

magicpant · 12/07/2025 11:26

Is it just me, not a frequenter of McDonalds right enough, who thinks £2.19 isn’t expensive at all for a chicken or a cheeseburger? I get that you say it ‘used’ to be 99p but that doesn’t make it expensive for what it is at a little over £2