Tell McDonald’s what’s important to you when eating out with your family - £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED!

[EmmaMumsnet]

Whilst eating out with the family can provide a much-needed treat and opportunity to reconnect, it can also entail much compromise in order to ensure that all members are satisfied with the outing. McDonald’s UK is keen to find out what is running through your mind when it comes to making that often tricky dining decision whilst keeping smiles on everyone’s faces.

Here what McDonald’s has to say: “We’re looking at new options for our Happy Meal and invited Mumsnet behind the scenes as we started the food development journey! Our restaurants have changed, options like kiosk ordering and table service make it easier for families to enjoy our food but we want to know what you look for when eating out as a family.”

Whether you are celebrating a special occasion, visiting your favourite family restaurant or simply popping into a local take away, we want to know on what basis you make such decisions. Is it the provision of colouring sheets for the kids, or haute cuisine for the more mature members of the family? Maybe you find it difficult to identify a restaurant with menus capable of pleasing all parties and resort to visiting several locations? Is making sure your children’s meals are well balanced or that the location is family friendly important to you?

Whatever your main considerations are when choosing somewhere to eat out with your family, please share them below and you will be entered into a prize draw for the chance to win a £300 voucher of your choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

Cleanliness I hate when tables, floors and toilets are dirty I then worry about the food served, good service and hot, tasty food essential!!

I hate hovering around waiting for a free table - I would prefer a proper queue! Quick service as the little ones really don't find the colouring in that interesting. Instead of putting toys in the meals lets have something more interesting for the kids to play with while they are waiting for their order

For us McDonald's is very much a treat usually go one a month sometimes more if we can afford to or if we are out and about and the kids are getting hungry . I do get disappointed that the cost is so high, I usually spent around £18-£20 PER visit.
We order our usual two happy meals , son has a coke and daughter a shake. (Son has a bowel condition so can not have milk products) coke isn't much better him tbh. He does like Ribena drinks but mcd only supply fruit shoots which he hates. Me and my husband usually go for a hig mac medium meal with shakes, quite a few times im disppointed with the shakes as they are overpowering and very sweet im told this can happen when they just change the syrup so shakes are hit and miss.
We like places that offer easy disability access as my husband has osteoarthritis so can not walk far. I'm happy that most our Cornwall McDonald's do have easy access. I like the new interactive areas for thrnkids but the downfall to them are they are taking away the family time and it is hard to get the kids to stay at our table to eat as they are distracted by the play tablets.
We like to know that when we eat out the kids could perhaps have a snack whilst they wait for food so they don't become bored, luckily McDonald's is fairly quick service.
I also think like others have said the toy in a McDonald's is annoying as often get duplicates and can rarely collect them all without having to go every week or fortnight which most larger families won't afford.
The cost is usually higher than a chip shop meal which is usually hotter and more filling then a McDonald's.
My son is also autistic so he usually goes for the same meal a happy meal just to get a toy but the portion size isn't filling enough now he's nearly 8, so a larger happy meal would be great.
Then it's the usual things you would expect like clean tables and toilets, easy ordering systems which our Cornwall one has to be honest.

A good varied menu and quick service

when choosing somewhere to eat the menu is the most important - something DS likes as well as something suitable for us. Also needs to be clean and children friendly

Wipe clean tables that the kids can draw on!

Family friendly. The little ones behave well but they can be noisy, i don't want a place where the slightest raise of volume will draw looks and disapproval.

Space. If it's too cramped a place, the little ones feel caged, space so they can move if they want.

Good varied menu to suit all tastes and quick service to stem the boredom of waiting.

Definitely clean high chairs or booster seats for toddlers. Some are absolutely disgusting!
Plenty of room round the tables - I hate having the kids, buggy, bags etc all on top of each other and then sitting trying to eat and banging elbows.
Kids food that is served in a cooler plate at a temperature they can actually eat straight away. Some places serve food that is way too hot and put it right in front of the child who automatically digs right in and burns their mouth. And served before the adults so you can supervise without your own food going stone cold.
Kids cutlery - the Ikea plastic ones are the best.

Family friendly definitely - in that the place has a nice relaxed feeling and no eye rolling about kids being a bit loud. We don’t expect one place to meet every kind of situation though. There’s a lovely lounge style cafe near us with comfy seats, toys and colouring, lovely food for kids and grown ups alike, plus we can take our dog. It’s our go-to for lunches out.

But at the same time our kids love going to McDonald’s - it’s a real treat for them. We go as a family of four but we wouldn’t go there with grandparents etc. Chicken nuggets and fries and a milkshake - great treat food! I’d love to know whether you source your chicken meat responsibly.

They also love the toys of course, but we avoid going to often as I don’t like lots of plastic tat building up. The top trumps card recently went down well, so maybe more card based games?

My children are getting older (no need for high chairs etc now) but what I appreciate for them is cleanliness (one of my children won't eat anywhere that isn't totally clean...), and some basic staples on the menu for fussy kids as well as more adventurous stuff. An ice lolly or ice cream option as dessert always goes down well.

One thing that drives me mad is when they bring all the adult food out before the kids' meals and the kids food is piping hot and so they can't eat immediately and get frustrated... pizza express used to do this, but they've improved of late here.

We value quick food with a relaxed attitude to kids. Colouring sheets are good while you wait but are a pain if you get them with your food as the kids then do that instead of eat. I think it's quite nice having the happy meal to be honest as it is. They usually choose the healthier choices but it could be a little healthier on the fruit and veg side has to be said! Half the time we don't eat the carrots or the fruit as they just don't taste great and actually just providing a piece of fruit rather than cut up and packaged would be better. I think having a kids pudding is a good idea and I'm not sure if McDonald's still do that or not? Did they used to be an option where you could go and get a small flurry for a little extra after happy meal?

I like a meal to have more of a fruit and veg portion . For example cucumber sticks, tomato and more fruit options. Also when we eat out we would prefer a kids meal to be a smaller size version of the adults meal, not just something with chips.

The food. If I go to any restaurant I don't want to be offered meals for children that are different to what is on offer for adults. I want to see all meals offered at a smaller size and price for the children so that they get used to eating what everyone else does.

A great menu choice that will suit the whole family!!

I think mcdonalds offers great value for families and is often our go to choice if we are out and about and want something quickly. I think the screen ordering is great as you can take a bit more time and don’t feel so awkward ordering things without the sauce etc. I also like the colour in table cloths and the fact that happy meals include a book voucher. I would like to see a family meal deal.

Real food for children, not just chicken nuggets and fries.

Selection of veg

Clean

The priority for us, when eating out is finding something everyone will eat; Italian is usually a winner. And even better if there's an early evening special offer menu.

Fast service is important with young children; I want to be out within an hour. Crayons & paper always go down well. I usually take their Kindles so we can eat in peace

Unfortunately, haute cuisine, lots of tableware/glasses, leisurely service & a formal atmosphere don't go down so well for my family.

My kids LOVE MacDonald's- the happy meals are very good value & there are some healthier options available. They especially love the toys which come with them & will often play more with them than their "proper" toys. I'm quite a healthy eater & do find it a bit of s challenge to find something I like, so will be happy with a Diet Coke.

Stop home delivery because you can't manage. Orders are wrong every time. Things are left of the order and 1 or 2 people can't eat before you left their stuff of the order. And when I phone McDonald's they do nothing about it. Don't even refund or offer to bring the missing food. If does not happen in store so why does it happen with delivery.

Our MacDonalds has had a refurb and is very nice but nearly all the tables have fixed bench seating with a fixed -to-the-floor stool at the end of the table. Did no one consider disabled people in wheelchairs might like to eat in there?

A menu that includes things for my dairy and soya intolerant children.

A clean high chair, nice and good service and no judging if the toddler watches something on a silent screen so we can get some hot food.

Mcdonalds is a treat when we go travelling long distance, my eldest likes the toy and fruit shoot plus I can check the menu quickly online for dairy and soya ingredients.

With young kids, speedy service is always appreciated as kids and waiting aren’t a great combination! Cleanliness, healthy and appealing food as well as good value for money are all very important.
Once we find a place we like we tend to go back, if the kids are happy then mum and dad are happy. 🙂🙋🏻🙋🏻‍♂️

Good food hygiene. Clean premises. Friendly service. Reasonable prices. Flexible menu choices. Pleasant surroundings. Adequate information on allergens or origin of ingredients if requested.

Clean toilets & changing facilities for babies. No sweeping the floor while we are eating like often seems to occur. Healthy options & some veggie choices. Tap water available too.

Food quality and price are the first two factors but also places that have toilets that are downstairs and you can get a pram into because when dining alone with my 5 kids I can't leave some kids alone at the table with baby in the pram and I cant leave the pram outside the toliet with baby in it, and the older kids cant take younger ones to the toilet. So if one kid needs the toilet I need to be able to take the pram in with me while they use the loo. My local mcdonalds you can fit a pram just outside the toilet entry so i can wait there with the others till my kids finished which is perfect.

Also its got to be SUPER child friendly as my 5 can be quite accident prone and drop drinks ice cream etc and nothing worse than staff that tutt of groan when tou tell them theres been a accident and can you have some paper towels

Good vegetarian options would be welcome.
I'm not a frequent visitor to McDonald's but I like the ordering on the screens. Less pressure than ordering at the counter.