McDonald's in central Rome.

[Carolyn R]

First morning at our Airbnb apt just north of Piazza Navona, no coffee making option. Being the good friend that I am, I went off in search of coffee. Coffee to go is not common in Rome so it was not looking good. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon a McDonald's! It was nothing like any McDonald's I had ever seen before although I don't remember the last time I was in a McDonald's in the U.S.. Touch screens to order, no Americano that I could see, cappuccino to go for me x 2, a pastry, 3.90€. They had very nice pastries too. The workers were very helpful, the cleanliness amazing. Thank you McDonald's!

[easyboy]

McDonald's always to the rescue! Even for free WiFi at times.

 

 

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[LondonTowner]

The coffee from McD's in the UK has improved in recent years, but if I was in Rome where I can get excellent coffee I'd never dream of going to McDs.

 

I've been in the one near to the Spanish steps to use the toilet, but that's all.

[Captain Canuck]

Mcd at Spanish steps used to be amazing...fountain that was water pouring down an inside wall (think it was real marble) last time I was there it seemed bigger and not as classy

 

as to coffee...Mcd (or Ronaldo's as I call it to make it sound better) in Waikiki used to have macadamia nut lattes.....

 

finally Mcd in the Louvre has an amazing sandwich on crusty French bread

[slidergirl]

In the Piazza Navona area you will find one of the better-known coffee bars in Rome - Sant Eustacchio ill Caffe. I've walked out of there with their granita (note - I didn't like this one - too sweet), so I know they do take away. It's a 4 minute walk away from the Mickey D's.

 

of note of interesting items at international Mickey D's - the one in Konigsee, Germany, serves beer...

[steamboats]

Wow, you have to go to McD for a coffee in Rome? Haven´t you tried to go into any bar and order a coffee? Don´t sit down but go to the bar and drink it there (it´s cheaper). The Italians live on coffee in the morning. Un solo caffè and a cornetto - that´s all they have. And a caffè (Espresso) is usually about 1 Euro. You won´t find many places with coffee to go as the Italians are used to drink their coffee at the bar.

 

And yes, so far still no Starbucks in Italy - o.k. the first one is soon to open in Milano.

 

slidergirl, in Germany all restaurants can serve alcohol. There are quite a few McDs which serve beer. Beer (and wine) is legal at the age of 16y. And I´m more than happy that my 17yo DD is not interested in that at all :D.

 

steamboats

[lisiamc]

Wow, you have to go to McD for a coffee in Rome? Haven´t you tried to go into any bar and order a coffee? Don´t sit down but go to the bar and drink it there (it´s cheaper). The Italians live on coffee in the morning. Un solo caffè and a cornetto - that´s all they have. And a caffè (Espresso) is usually about 1 Euro. You won´t find many places with coffee to go as the Italians are used to drink their coffee at the bar.

 

And yes, so far still no Starbucks in Italy - o.k. the first one is soon to open in Milano.

 

slidergirl, in Germany all restaurants can serve alcohol. There are quite a few McDs which serve beer. Beer (and wine) is legal at the age of 16y. And I´m more than happy that my 17yo DD is not interested in that at all :D.

 

steamboats

 

The OP was being kind and bringing coffee back for her travel partner. It wasn't coffee that was hard to find, it was coffee with a take-away option. :)

[GrJ Berkshire]

McDonald's are great for a free toilet, anywhere, we always look out for the Golden Arches of the American Embassy for this.

You will find that culturally they are different around the world, Japanese McDonald's with greater at the door, French examples with good salad, the coffee is as close to the Western style that you will find without the Southern Europe express , typical in Italy.

[Crusin6]

We actually ate at the navona McDonald's in 2008

 

 

The euro was thru the roof and it was costing us a fortune just for pizza that trip so we said let's see if they have a dollar menu

 

 

They did....but it still cost us a fortune. Lol

 

 

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[dogs4fun]

Mcd at Spanish steps used to be amazing...fountain that was water pouring down an inside wall (think it was real marble) last time I was there it seemed bigger and not as classy

I, too, remember the MD's near the Spanish Steps but have not been there for years. Too bad it has changed.

[GigemAggies]

McDonalds has also been a savior to us in numerous countries trying to get our (fountain) Diet Coke fixes! :D

[agabbymama]

Absolutely nothing wrong with McD's. I'm not a very adventurous eater, nor do I like spending a lot of money for meals. Besides the U.S., I've visited McD's in Great Britain, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Greece, & Hungary. It's the one place you can rely on to know what you are getting, and after 3 to 4 weeks in another country, it was definitely a nice change. And as another poster mentioned, they have restrooms that don't cost any money to use.

[Carolyn R]

We actually ate at the navona McDonald's in 2008

 

 

The euro was thru the roof and it was costing us a fortune just for pizza that trip so we said let's see if they have a dollar menu

 

 

They did....but it still cost us a fortune. Lol

 

 

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Since the USD is nearly at par with the Euro, I was very surprised at how reasonable prices were. We ate very well (not at McDonald's) and spent much less than anticipated.

[slidergirl]

Wow, you have to go to McD for a coffee in Rome? Haven´t you tried to go into any bar and order a coffee? Don´t sit down but go to the bar and drink it there (it´s cheaper). The Italians live on coffee in the morning. Un solo caffè and a cornetto - that´s all they have. And a caffè (Espresso) is usually about 1 Euro. You won´t find many places with coffee to go as the Italians are used to drink their coffee at the bar.

 

And yes, so far still no Starbucks in Italy - o.k. the first one is soon to open in Milano.

 

slidergirl, in Germany all restaurants can serve alcohol. There are quite a few McDs which serve beer. Beer (and wine) is legal at the age of 16y. And I´m more than happy that my 17yo DD is not interested in that at all :D.

 

steamboats

 

I was just pointing out a cultural difference that a American who must eat at a McDonald's would find in Konigsee . All my athlete kids would head to that place - I only went in to find them. I preferred the local cuisine of a brat and a beer from a mom & pop place, not the bland food of an international conglomerate ;)

 

I never saw the attraction of having to eat at McDonalds or KFC or any American chain when there are so many good local places to eat everywhere I've traveled. To me, they are a pollution - nothing like looking at the Sphinx and seeing a KFC in your viewfinder, or on a falluca ride on the Nile in Aswan and seeing a multi-story McDs, a McDs in the Centro Storico in Rome, a Hard Rock Cafe on La Rambla in Barcelona. One can find reasonable priced, good, food if you don't stay in the tourist district - sometimes even a block away yields a difference. What do the Italians do when they travel to the US and can't find an Autogrill? What do French do when they can't find a Paul? Our food franchises are one of the bad exports we've foisted on the world. <off soapbox>

 

Sorry for the rant. I feel better now. OP: do try walking in the other direction and you can get your takeaway caffe at the previously mentioned Sant....

[Crusin6]

Since the USD is nearly at par with the Euro, I was very surprised at how reasonable prices were. We ate very well (not at McDonald's) and spent much less than anticipated.

 

 

We had a much better euro experience in 2012 and I'm planning on doing a jig for our upcoming trip!!!

 

I always pay in euro and pay hotels at checkout. Got great deal this summer at great locations

 

 

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[Crusin6]

During our 2012 trip we had a 5 hour layover coming home in Dublin airport

 

 

For the 330 days prior to that flight. Lol. I kept saying omg we will have the best scones around ( well we had no choice actually) and lo and behold the scones were delicious and dh and I washed them down with incredible coffee too

 

 

Now my kids are well traveled and somewhat in the foodie category I would say.....but they passed on the scones....and we found them sitting with all the other American teens waiting for their connecting flights....at Burger King. Lol

 

Every kid there was thrilled it appeared

 

 

We had a second cup of coffee and another scone and just let them be.

 

 

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[hancogran]

We just returned from spending 5 days in Rome after a cruise. There was a McDonalds right across from Termini and our hotel was very close by. The coffee was great (compared to many places around there). We had breakfast there one morning too.. the only problem is you have to go to one counter for your coffee and a different counter for your food.:(

 

We never go to McDonalds at home but we sure were glad of it in Rome.

[VBMom13]

When in Rome... I always go into the McDonald's that's under the Spanish Steps. It's actually very pretty. I like to compare the prices to U.S. McDonald's.

[buchhalm]

My first thought was "WHAT!? McD. in Italy?? Shame on YOU!"

But then again, I must admit that, when driving long distances in Australia, we tend to stop at pretty much any McD along the way every 250 km or so.

Clean rest rooms and clean food, even if its only a thick slice of raisin toast or a muffin.

Beats the greasy spoons that are seemingly run by relatives of the guy from Wolf Creek and tend to be depressing, dirty and expensive.

[ExpatBride]

Our food franchises are one of the bad exports we've foisted on the world.

 

Many people all over the world would disagree. I don't eat fast food, but it was a big deal when we finally got a KFC and Dominos in Denmark and both are still very popular.

 

And if I'm in need of the ladies' in my travels, I alway look for McDonalds because it's clean and usually free of charge.

[steamboats]

The OP was being kind and bringing coffee back for her travel partner. It wasn't coffee that was hard to find, it was coffee with a take-away option. :)

 

I´ve mentioned that the Italians have no real culture of a "coffee to go" (I should have said take-away, sorry, we do use a lot of English words in German which aren´t used the same way in English).

 

 

I was just pointing out a cultural difference that a American who must eat at a McDonald's would find in Konigsee .

 

So did I. BTW we have big discussions about the take-away cups and pollution. More and more cities do move on to recycling cup systems (you pay a deposit of 1 Euro and can return the cup in any other location - of course there´s an app telling you which shops/bakeries are taking part in this system).

 

steamboats

[LondonTowner]

As I have already stated I sometimes go into McDs to use the toilet, but not to eat.

 

Many of them throughout Europe are wiseing up on this as the toilets have a code which is on your receipt which you have after buying something.

[GrJ Berkshire]

Just buy a coffee then to get the code!!

Golden Arches is still a good loo stop.

[slidergirl]

As I have already stated I sometimes go into McDs to use the toilet, but not to eat.

 

Many of them throughout Europe are wiseing up on this as the toilets have a code which is on your receipt which you have after buying something.

 

I always buy something if I want to use the toilet someplace where I'm just going in specifically to use the WC. It's just respect for the business and a "thank you" for keeping a WC clean. Otherwise, I would feel like I'm poaching from the place. I've been places where tourists so badly abused the "I'm going to just go in and use the WC" that there are now signs telling people that the facilities are for customers only. Another sad tourist commentary...