Question for my British friends

[MATHA531]

Well here's a difference...most of the Mickey D's in London at least have free wifi!

[sddsddean]

Well here's a difference...most of the Mickey D's in London at least have free wifi!

 

Nearly all the ones in the UK do.

 

Simon

[vadell]

Some years ago we were driving to the airport in Majorca when our children were hungry and so we stopped at McDonalds. It was considerably different at that time they had alot of more healthy options than we did at home in the UK several different salads & fruit. I assume the basics are the same but they must change to different markets if this was anything to go by.

[TLCOhio]

Terry, great pix. Cheers. Len

 

THANKS, Len, for the nice comment on the pictures! It's fun to be able to pull out some "oldie" visuals from earlier travels. Your posting/question was good in pulling out an interesting and wide range of different comments/info. McDonalds isn't my favorite, but there are times when they serve a need in price, coffee, restrooms, speed, etc. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For more details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle Silver Cloud experiences:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[Globaliser]

When I gently enquired if they were'nt hungry they said they were hungry but really wanted some 'proper' food like at McDonald's. ...

Similarly I've often picked up US people from their hotels in London first thing in the morning and the first request was to stop at the first 'McDonalds' where they can get a 'proper breakfast'.

Travel is really wasted on some people!

 

[Edited to add:] Maybe I've got that wrong; maybe it's food that is really wasted on some people!

[juliecat]

McDonalds in the UK have Cadbury Creme Egg McFlurries! Not sure if they're seasonal.

[Col1874]

McDonalds in the UK have Cadbury Creme Egg McFlurries! Not sure if they're seasonal.

 

They are seasonal :(

[newport dave]

They are seasonal :(

 

Do they have deep fried Mars bar ones in Scotland..:eek::eek:;);)

[lord of the seas]

That's what I call a Big Mac

[sddsddean]

How about a Glasgow salad? (Plate of chips!)

 

Healthy Glasgow salad? (Plate of chips with a pickled onion on top!)

 

Simon

[h3rjp]

Oooh, I can't believe I came late to this thread!

 

As most other people have said, the core food is more or less the same. But there are some differences. There are also subtle differences in the ingredients too - for example the chicken nuggets (compare the USA ingredient list with that of the UK) are made slightly different, so taste slightly different.

 

At breakfast time you can get most things you are used to, but alas not the McGriddle (always one of my vices when I'm in America) nor will you find a breakfast buritto. You will find a bacon roll (made with english-style back bacon) and a range of porridge dishes.

 

Also McDonalds only use free range eggs across their entire menu (I don't know if they do this yet in the USA) and the milk that comes with your tea is organic - which is a nice touch. Actually the tea and coffee that McDonalds sell is always pretty good.

 

On the core day time menu, you do get items like "deli subs" (think a sort of Subway type meal), which are made fresh to order. I particularity like the vegetarian deli sub.

 

All the meal combinations can be ordered with a side salad (instead of fries), plus you can order a bottle of mineral water instead of a regular soft drink.

 

I've included a link below to the nutrition counter for each of the menu items... while you may not be interested in the fat content, it allows you to explore the different items on offer.

 

Oh and just to make it more confusing, there's always some sort of special item on the menu - at the moment it's the rather nice looking "M with Bacon".... oh great, now I'm hungry!!

 

http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/food/nutrition/nutrition-counter.mcd

[Sauer-kraut]

Oooh, I can't believe I came late to this thread!

At breakfast time you can get most things you are used to, but alas not the McGriddle (always one of my vices when I'm in America) nor will you find a breakfast buritto. You will find a bacon roll (made with english-style back bacon) and a range of porridge dishes.

 

Nothing really lost there -- ;)

[crazydizzymoo]

I can't compare to other countries, I only know about Maccy D's in England (and generally avoid it unless I want to feel disgusting and greasy) but in the UK McD's has been pushing for a change in it's public image.

As mentioned salads, deli subs and wraps have been introduced. Also within the 'Happy Meals' children (or health conscious parents) can change fries for a fruit snack pack and fizzy pop for fruit drink.

More noticeable is the change in decor and advertising. McD's have abandonded a lot of their traditional red and yellow in the interiors for natural colours, browns and greens. The advertising is also focused on British production and free range and organic products.

I know this isn't necessarily what you were asking about but I find it really interesting how McD's has tried to change it's image in the UK.

[Globaliser]

... but I find it really interesting how McD's has tried to change it's image in the UK.

It was a business necessity. Before the strategy change, McDonalds was doing quite badly here; consumers were choosing to eat elsewhere because of McDonalds' reputation for cheap and nasty food.

[handfordr]

IAs mentioned salads have been introduced..

 

And quietly dropped again through no demand from McD patrons

[Towncar T]

Thanks for the info, but I didn't ask how they taste. I asked if they have a different type of menu other than what we, say, in NY might be used to.

I know, having just been in /Seattle, that they do serve different types of burgers in the northwest, and different types in the Southwest. Yes, a big Mac is a Big Mac, but they offer many other things with it, and also as other things on the menu, trying to appeal to that part of the country.

All I was asking was if they offer something more British on their menu.

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

No they don't.

[Towncar T]

I can only compare the UK ones to the New York & Florida ones, and there is very little difference.

 

Been to one in Paris but as I don't speak french, I have no idea if they served McFrogleg burgers, I just had a big mac!

 

Burger King in the states though.... I went for a Supersize, just for the hell of it... Needless to say I didn't even eat half of the burger :D

 

I too have been to the ones in Paris (and lots of other places in France) and I do speak French. The only difference I noticed (and maybe it's universal now, as I don't go into their stores - just don't like McDonald's burgers) but they sold beer in the ones in France.

 

And no, they didn't serve McFrogleg burgers.

[Wavesprite]

When we were in China, the McDonalds had corn as a side, instead of fries.

[CDRMark]

How do you define British? Fish and chips? ....Snip

Chicken Tikka Masala? :)

Cheers

Mark

[sheeper370]

Chicken Tikka Masala? :)

Cheers

Mark

 

Ahh - the British National Dish!

 

I blame it on my downfall. I was sucked in by it's creaminess and smoothness. Then I experimented. :(

 

It led to Rogan Jost, beef madras, then vindaloo and my ultimate addiction - lamb biryani.

 

I wish I could break the habit, but I fear I am now a lost cause...

[DMRick]

Well here's a difference...most of the Mickey D's in London at least have free wifi!

Most of the McDonalds here in the Northeast have free Wifi as well. As does the one near the All Star hotels in Disney.

[MATHA531]

Most of the McDonalds here in the Northeast have free Wifi as well. As does the one near the All Star hotels in Disney.

 

Here is a big difference, however. In the USA, it's almost a given that whatever hotel or chain or whatever you stay at, free wifi will be included from the cheapest motel 6 through most Marriots. The exceptions are the more expensive business type hotels which cater to the expense account crowd.

 

OTOH in London and most of the UK,l you will find few hotels have free wifi (for some reason I have found almost all in Ireland do, however for whatever that is worth).

 

So the free wifi at Mickey D and at Starbucks come in very handy (unless yu spring for a stick modem).

[goldencup]

Really? That sounds very strange. Certainly in my home town (a seaside town on the south coast of England) most of the larger hotels have free WIFI. My husband works in the hotel industry and says that is the norm.

[MATHA531]

Really? That sounds very strange. Certainly in my home town (a seaside town on the south coast of England) most of the larger hotels have free WIFI. My husband works in the hotel industry and says that is the norm.

 

I can only go by my experiences and word of mouth....this past August I did a combination visit to London and a fairly quicky tour of Scotland and Ireland. My hotel in London, a middle of the road type, wanted 10 quid a day for internet access. I've stayed at other London hotels and never have had free internet access.

 

We stayed at hotels in Glascow, and several other Scottish towns and not one had free wifi. As I said I was sort of prepared with a stick modem.

 

When the tour left Scotland and headed for the Irish Republic, every hotel had free wifi. Yes I know it's a very small sample to make a generalization but these were all random hotels and one would think they sort of conform to the expected norms.

 

Again, the interesting thing about our country (USA) is that fgree wifi is almost universal until you get to the top of the line hotels frequented by business people on expense accounts. Then you pay and pay and pay...

 

Again, this is not a scientific study. Maybe I'm just getting the wrong hotels but this seems to be my observation. Maybe there are towns where this isn't so as I'm just a big city boy anyway.

[DMRick]

OTOH in London and most of the UK,l you will find few hotels have free wifi (for some reason I have found almost all in Ireland do, however for whatever that is worth).

 

So the free wifi at Mickey D and at Starbucks come in very handy (unless yu spring for a stick modem).

 

I never gave it much thought, as the last hotel we stayed in in London had free wifi. It was a pretty inexpensive one, but we only used it to sleep in and check our email. In Ireland I haven't had a chance to check out the hotels, since our son lives there and we use him like a bed and breakfast (LOL). He always offers free wifi.