Do you still think McDonald’s is considered cheap?

I’m not a big McDonald’s guy anymore, but on the twice a year that I order it (it’s less than 5 mins away) it’s always cold. Had one last month and it was horrid. Fries were stone cold, that new double burger thing was ok luke warm and got a chicken burger which was like £5.50 and tasted like cardboard.

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DownrightDrewski@reddit

Drive thru is pretty fast in my occasional experience around lunchtime.

It's been much slower since they moved to assembling burgers to order.

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ModulusFlea@reddit

Much more expensive than it ever was.

Quality and portion sizes way worse than they used to be.

Boring special items/menus.

Restaurants filled up with uber-eats/deliveroo drivers, causing your food to take an age to be ready.

Enshittification at its finest.

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dr2501@reddit

No, and its gross now too. It used to be great but hasn't been the same since Supersize Me was released and they made sweeping changes in response, and it seems to get worse every year. I can't even eat it anymore.

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Tim-Sanchez@reddit

Greggs is pretty much the only fast food I consider "cheap" these days. I'd only go to other fast food restaurants out of necessity rather than cost-saving, I'd rather go to a cafe for a cheaper and probably better meal.

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RedNightKnight@reddit

Even Greggs for a family of 5 pushes me to buy a pack of wraps and some ham and cheese from the supermarket for something quick.

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kendoddsdadsdeaddog@reddit

When my kids were little we had a holiday in France and noticed all the locals were doing something similar to this. Pack of ham, cheese or pate and a baguette all fixed up quick. Ever since we had similar French picnics when out for the day, saved us a tonne of cash

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jaminbob@reddit

There are fewer greater pleasures than fresh french bread, cheese, ham, salad and a picnic table under a tree on a sunny day in France.

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Unhappy_Clue701@reddit

Preferably with a nice view, too!

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Whole-Strawberry3281@reddit

Yes sandwiches are cheaper than eating out

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Silvagadron@reddit

Des cornichons, de la moutarde, du pain, du beurre, des petits oignons, des confitures et des oeufs durs... des cornichons...

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FPL_Clown@reddit

It took a holiday to France to discover taking a packed lunch might save you money. Mind blowing.

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RedNightKnight@reddit

It’s our go to for quick picnics on days out!

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beefboxer84@reddit

Did similar Saturday, was going to buy a ham and cheese baguette, instead I went to supermarket bought a baguette some ham , cheese and lettuce and made a lovely sandwich at home. I still had enough leftover to make another later on .

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cm-cfc@reddit

I'm the same, if the kids want ice cream i see if there is a shop to buy a multipack of ice creams

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RedNightKnight@reddit

Close to £15 for 3 ice creams from the van or a 3 mins walk further for the Sainsburys.

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whyy_i_eyes_ya@reddit

I imagine nothing is cheap for a family of five these days, bad enough for us three!

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Scottie99@reddit

And what would that cost you versus a home cooked meal?

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Orri@reddit

We have Maryland Chicken in Leicester which I'll also consider very cheap fast food. Not sure if it's spread to the rest of the country though

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Amazing-Jury-6886@reddit

Awful stuff

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jacobsnemesis@reddit

They’re not cheap either

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Tim-Sanchez@reddit

Greggs is about as cheap as you could reasonably get for pre-prepared food, what out there is cheaper?

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Gravyb0y@reddit

Local bakeries for me

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Tim-Sanchez@reddit

I would always choose a local bakery over a Greggs if it's an option, but around me they're certainly not the cheaper option.

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ThePokeFeet@reddit (OP)

Local bakery’s even in freshness alone makes it a no brainer by far.

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UsernameRemorse@reddit

Pound Bakery is much cheaper although certainly has a more 'budget' feel to it

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tmr89@reddit

Are they widely available in the UK?

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Tim-Sanchez@reddit

I've always considered them fairly similarly priced to be honest

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jacobsnemesis@reddit

I don’t know tbh but Greggs is actually quite expensive in my area. Maybe their prices vary from place to place.

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MahatmaAndhi@reddit

Subway Salad is reasonable and much better than the actual subs

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triptip05@reddit

None are cheap anymore.

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tazmusicandmeat@reddit

Mcd is over priced garbage. Take £8 to Aldi and you are making yourself some elite burgers

I dont understand why people still eat the McDonald's slop that's spewed out

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wiafjskfmsk@reddit

If you get loads of sides then no cause that's how they make alot of money charging £3-5 for a few mozarella sticks or whatever. I usually get the meal deal (fries, burger, nuggets, drink) which is only £6.49 although you only get a basic burger

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marcdk217@reddit

McDonalds is one of the few places where it somehow costs me less ordering it from Deliveroo than it does to get it in the 'restaurant' itself because Deliveroo has a 2 meals for £12.99 deal but the same deal doesn't exist in-store so it ends up costing me £20 for a couple of meals.

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Dbuk2020@reddit

It's no longer as cheap as it once was but still decent value.

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Few_Food_3705@reddit

They play on consistent products nationwide over price, you know exactly what you are getting anywhere in the country. Greggs has jumped on the same sales tactic, I prefer to use a local business but it’s always a gamble, they could be 100x better or they could be a small business for a reason.

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SmegB@reddit

It's no longer 'cheap' in price, but certainly 'cheap' in quality

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PeterG92@reddit

Only thing I enjoy at McDonalds anymore is the chips but even they're hit and miss. Plenty of alternatives out there now.

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DougieHowitzerMD@reddit

Could I ask you to park up sir? We need to wait for your fries to be on freezing fuckin cold side before you get them. Have a nice day.

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BrianFantanaFan@reddit

Last time i tried one of their chicken pasties it didn't seem like there had been much in the way of "cheep" about that either.

Seemed funnier in my head

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SmegB@reddit

I too am laughing on the inside.....

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Physical-Industry-21@reddit

Mine that I've just eaten was fine and I really enjoyed it 🤷

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VolcanicBear@reddit

I like the taste but won't kid myself that it's decent quality food.

One thing I have found interesting about it these days is that it's actually filling now. Used to be hungry half an hour after eating it.

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h00dman@reddit

I know everyone has their own opinions on things, but their half their menu really is tasteless.

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banterboi420@reddit

I love doner kebabs but I can accept they are shit quality.

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Physical-Industry-21@reddit

Ok 🤷

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Thin-West-2136@reddit

Not much difference in price between McDonalds for a family or Nandos. The latter though is higher quality and a better sit down experience.

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iambigmen@reddit

The savers menu remains fairly affordable. The double cheeseburger is usually about £2.50, and I customise it to have no fucking ketchup, extra fucking pickles, onions, and then a bit of spunk.

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Geniejc@reddit

It's cheap for eating out if you go 2 happy meals and 2 adult offers you're around £20.

I paid 43 in a local cafe the other week for 3 butties, a pie and chips and drinks.

Or I can feed a family of 4 at the local bakers for a tenner and its ready to pick up and eat.

Maccies though is definitely at a crossroads.

It's not fast food anymore. More than anything stop cooking basics to order. When you've got Greggs doing drive Thru now they have a better fast food model.

When you watch The founder and remember 80s 90s maccies they have thrown most of that away to ape others rather than setting the standard.

They've listened to consultants and accountants.

Screens instead of interaction. Get some till staff back on.

Queuing with delivery drivers like it's a dark kitchen - give them a separate entrance.

Too much choice and customisation on the menu.

They should cut it back to the classics, with the odd special and it's this or nothing on customisation - take your own pickle off.

Even if they changed the pound saver menu to a fast saver menu , no customisation I'd buy from that if it meant I got served there and then.

The drive thru is a mess , no I don't want to park up and wait 10 mins while one of you colleagues aimlessly wanders back and forth from the kitchen every other order - at least have a runner with a warm bag to the car park and someone just doing the car park.

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frowawayakounts@reddit

£1.89 for a hash brown they’re having a laugh

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tmr89@reddit

I thought my local was expensive at £1.70 for a single hash brown. I guess they’ve upped it?

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ThePokeFeet@reddit (OP)

Genuinely insane how expensive a single side item is??

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tmr89@reddit

£7 for four hash browns sounds kinda insane

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explodinghat@reddit

I mean, they are pretty big. I don't think anyone's having four

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tmr89@reddit

They aren’t that big. And people can share

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explodinghat@reddit

Bit contradictory but OK

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tmr89@reddit

Nope, not at all.

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DroppinEnglish@reddit

£2.40 through ubereats etc

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Plastic-Lie1492@reddit

You can get 20 in asda for 2.49

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SnooMacarons4225@reddit

£2.19 here Im sure

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TomasNavarro@reddit

The pub I'd sometimes go for meals seems to have risen their prices to around £25 for a main meal, not counting anything else, a simple drink and dessert and you easily hit £40 by yourself.

I only really go to McDonald's for breakfast, and I haven't paid more than £5.99

I'm personally not really seeing anything like costs similar to having a sit down meal somewhere, either people must have places with really cheap sit down meals, or they're ordering quite a lot from McDonald's

Sure, it's more pricey than Greggs or a meal deal, so maybe you can't call it cheap, but certainly cheaper than a lot of olaces

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HotelPuzzleheaded654@reddit

It’s neither fast nor cheap so what is the point in it?

I can’t believe it’s still so popular.

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Oddball_bfi@reddit

It's popular because it's there and it's a drive through.

But it's basically £10 for a beef butty and some chips.

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kifflington@reddit

It's barely even food.

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ThePokeFeet@reddit (OP)

Their ability to undercook fries and dry out patties is beyond me!

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oli_ramsay@reddit

I've never had undercooked fries from McDs. They do the best fries out of any takeaway in my opinion.

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jadedgoober7@reddit

Nonsense, of course its fiod

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aigroti@reddit

The only cheap food I consider McDonald's has is the wrap of the day.

On a similar tangent I tried Taco bell for the first time in the UK. It was exceedingly average but I thought you got as much food as I did at McDonald's (maybe a little bit more) but the quality of ingredients was nicer (I wouldn't describe as "nice" though) with the fresh salad and guacamole added to food.

McDonald's is a mainstay in global markets and Taco Bell is too "out there" for a lot of people but if they would put more bloody seasoning on their food I think they could realistically compete with other big franchises in the UK with their prices but I feel it's too little too late with how with costs going up people are put off on the idea of takeaway in general.

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Milam1996@reddit

No it’s expensive, mid portions that do not fill you and it’s incredibly unhealthy.

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Otherwise-Plane8282@reddit

You’d be better off going to a burger van, at least you know it’s cooked fresh and will be hot

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t0et0e@reddit

The main advantage over the years of travelling top to bottom on motorways, was Mcd's kept their prices consistant without hiking them up at services, but it now nearly £40 plus to feed us as 2 adults 2 teenagers.

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Greedy-Cranberry-164@reddit

How is that possible, I can feed myself for £7 with a meal so £28 for four.

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Flying_spanner1@reddit

£40!!!

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Puzzled-Job9556@reddit

£10 each for a meal isn't exactly expensive

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Basketcaseuk@reddit

It is for the slop you’re given.

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Puzzled-Job9556@reddit

Slop or not, £40 isn't surprising for a family of 4.

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Basketcaseuk@reddit

Ok bud, if you say so.

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Puzzled-Job9556@reddit

I do. £10 for a meal for a person shouldn't come as a surprise.

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Basketcaseuk@reddit

“Meal”

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Puzzled-Job9556@reddit

What are you struggling with here? Regardless of what you think of mcds quality (I agree, it's shit), £10 per person shouldn't come as a surprise.

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Flying_spanner1@reddit

What comes as part of a meal is the issue here. Then again going out for a proper meal is getting more expensive. Can easily be £20-30 per head

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Puzzled-Job9556@reddit

Exactly. So £10 for mcds shouldn't come as a surprise.

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Basketcaseuk@reddit

We’ve heard you, you’re more than happy with the price, I have a different opinion, thanks.

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Puzzled-Job9556@reddit

I've not said I'm happy. I've said it shouldn't come as a surprise to people. As it shouldn't. Your opinion is irrelevant on whether you are happy with it.

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JJY199@reddit

Some are not able to comprehend the difference between factory made slop and actual food

all they care about is the price to them if its cheap and edible its a good deal

These people often have terrible health and will die young

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Basketcaseuk@reddit

I’m not there every day, but thanks for the patronising post.

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JJY199@reddit

i was replying to someone else

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Scottie99@reddit

3 burgers each.

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ThePokeFeet@reddit (OP)

Honestly! A meal for 3 of us ended up being about £35, it’s disgusting!!

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Basketcaseuk@reddit

Can confirm, we went the other day as we were driving and the kids were hungry. 2 adults, a 13 year old and a 4 year old. £38.

Never again. Was absolutely shite as well.

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libdemparamilitarywi@reddit

What did you order to get it that high? We're a family of four, we normally get two happy meals and two double cheeseburger meals and it's under £20.

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Basketcaseuk@reddit

I got a medium Big Arch meal Wife got a medium 5 piece select meal Oldest lad got a medium double quarter pounder meal. Youngest a happy meal.

All normal drinks as well, no milkshakes or anything.

The medium big arch meal alone is over a 10er now!

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Exciting_Ocelot_2976@reddit

Their coffee is still cheap but the food isn't. And as others have said the service is so slow these days. Even if you pop in to just to get a coffee you can be standing around waiting for 5-10 minutes.

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Disastrous_Let7964@reddit

No. Average Maccies order now is over £10, it's ridiculous.

Granted I am somewhat of a fat fuck, but even more normal orders aren't really any cheaper.

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AverageWarm6662@reddit

I actually like McDonald’s which I often get told is weird

But I hasn’t gone in years now cos it’s just too expensive. I used to go all the time and just eat a load of cheeseburgers

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72dk72@reddit

No it's become dearer than eating in Weatherspoons

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alltorque1982@reddit

I'm sure it's been said before here but I really hope places like MCDs die out. Went to a local cafe Saturday and family of 3 had a decent lunch for £25 and a few pence. Decent quality, local, hot simple food.

The last time we had a MCDs it was around £40 and was tasteless, cold slop.

It USED to have a place. It was FAST food, the quality was a bit shit, but it was fast and cheap. A quick grab en route somewhere for around a fiver a head. Great. Filled a hole.

Then it got slower, but was still cheap. OK...

Now it's slow, shit quality and MORE expensive.

It can McFuck off.

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craftyorca135@reddit

I think it's too cheap and therefore I don't trust the food. I know all fast food is bad, but I don't trust cheap fast food.

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Ultimate_os@reddit

It's cheap, but quality took a big hit.

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Feeling-Medium-7856@reddit

It’s not cheap and it sucks. The inability to serve warm fries should be studied as a study of catering/business incompetence.

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ThePokeFeet@reddit (OP)

I swear the fries are always unsalted and just pure soggy

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D0wnb0at@reddit

I could be completely wrong here, so feel free to fact check me, but didn’t they have to limit the salt or something back in the early 2000’s? Cause McDonalds fries were salt with a side of fries in the 90’s and they were delicious. But I’m sure the Gov stepped in and changed the amount of salt. I remember the change vividly, but it’s been 20+ years so my memory might be a bit foggy.

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Magneto88@reddit

Their chicken nuggets have also gone downhill since the late 00s as well.

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The_Chosen_Eggplant@reddit

I think a lot of places stopped salting the fries altogether In 2020, KFC? It's stupid.

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Alarmarama@reddit

KFC made a big deal out of seasoning the fries again within the last couple of years. They taste really nice when the place gets it right, but unfortunately in loads of the outlets you now get the Indian workers not understanding portioning and completely drown the fucking chips in spices to the point they're inedible.

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D0wnb0at@reddit

Remember when Burger King had good fries instead of the chips they sell now. Such a downgrade.

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Alarmarama@reddit

Depends on the outlet. The ones in London are generally awful, tastes like they don't change the oil enough, but when I leave London and eat at a regional town's McDonald's they usually taste a lot better. The ketchup still sucks though ever since they stopped using Heinz, their own brand just doesn't taste anywhere near as nice.

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TAWYDB@reddit

It's mad that people still go at this point.

Maccies was never great food.

But pre COVID it was cheap, fast and reliable.

Now it's expensive, slow as hell and the service and food standards have gone completely out of the window.

It literally has no justification for existing anymore.

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Alarmarama@reddit

It's because the alternative options are worse. That's literally all they need to do, is price themselves marginally below Burger King and the other competitors. There is no price competition anymore because they're all in profiteering mode and energy costs which underly everything are still extortionate. High taxes and the higher minimum wage has also contributed to higher costs.

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MoodyBernoulli@reddit

It’s surprising how rare it is to get decent fries from McDonald’s.

It must be 1 in 15-20 visits you get hot, crispy and salted fries. The rest of the time it’s just luke warm, wilted grey potato.

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Stefgrep66@reddit

Yeah, how the hell do they manage it.

I mean I'd rather eat the arse of a dead rhinoceros than Mcdonalds, but lukewarm dog burger and fries!!😖

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CryptographerPure756@reddit

I wouldn’t call it cheap. I’d call it $h!t€

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bertiebasit@reddit

It’s not cheap…and when you consider the shrinkflation too, it’s a piss take

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gingerbread85@reddit

You can get a proper takeaway for similar money. Fast food places aren't the cheap option they once were.

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Inevitable-Debt4312@reddit

I don’t think of it as cheap, just good value.

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flagprojector@reddit

£2.59 for a mcflurry - almost choked before my phone hit the pay terminal

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NecroVelcro@reddit

No. I started going to McDonald's far less frequently when they discontinued the old veggie burgers (the name escapes me) a few years ago as the goujons were a poor, overpriced substitute. Now that they've obliterated all but the McPlant, I may never buy food in there again.

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kitknit81@reddit

It’s cheaper than other burger places but not what I’d call cheap these days. For my family of three it costs about £30 for a couple burger meals and a happy meal.

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asuka_rice@reddit

Cooking at home is cheaper than McDonalds.

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nuflybindo@reddit

4 burgers from saver menu hits the spot and is cheap

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Specific_Pomelo_8281@reddit

Nope, cheaper to go to a chip shop, and bigger portions.

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himit@reddit

chip shops are like £15 per person near me

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Specific_Pomelo_8281@reddit

Large chips, drink and a small fish or battered sausage is £8 plus delivery

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libdemparamilitarywi@reddit

A large Filet o Fish meal McDonalds is £7.79, so that's still not cheaper.

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Specific_Pomelo_8281@reddit

Large chips from my place is more food than any McDonald’s meal tho

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himit@reddit

cries in london prices

our chippies aren't even that good compared to up north

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jacobsnemesis@reddit

Yeah I’m kinda confused about people saying it’s cheaper to go to their local chippy here. Maybe it depends on where you live in the country, but chippy prices are extortionate now as well.

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Temporary-Bread08@reddit

I was borderline leaving my partner of 14yrs over 3 portions of chips for 15 quid. I still can't look at the month on the statements.

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RedNightKnight@reddit

A cod in batter (no chips) is £16.35 from my local.

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ThePokeFeet@reddit (OP)

Easily the way to go! Plus more local businesses!

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MudNext5256@reddit

I can’t speak for other people, but in the space of what feels like only about 3 years, my usually order has gone from a little over a tenner to closer to £20. Meanwhile I’d say the quality has gotten worse, and I don’t know what other people’s experiences have been like, but the customer service at the ones I use around York has gone from being barely acceptable to being consistently poor. As a result, I’ve all but boycotted them at this point

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ViscountGris@reddit

Don’t ask me how I know this but a Big Mac meal was £2.88 in 1992. I used to get one every Thursday because my mum got a 2 for 1 out of a newspaper she cut coupons from. That would be £7.74 in today’s money and you’re getting a meal for around that in most cities. The issue is that wages haven’t raised by much in the uk and tax policy has hit the lower middle classes very hard. So while it wasn’t exactly a luxury for me as a kid it wasn’t a big deal in money terms and I’d say that’s still where it is. Burgers are much smaller though - that’s not in dis you’re!

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sickofants@reddit

Feel like it was that price for a long time. Even until very recently you could still get coupons for £1.99 sandwich and fries, adding a drink still beat inflation. Sandwich and fries offer is £2.99 now but the app beats that if you don't use it for a while.

I think the biggest difference is that they've changed the business model to always have premium options now for infrequent customers, those are really expensive and are also designed to make the lower tiers look better value.

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itsapotatosalad@reddit

You’d never wait more than 5 minutes, and if you did it was because it was coming red hot fresh. Now you wait 20 minutes for a lukewarm old burger. It used to be worth the treat because it was rarely bad, now it’s rarely good.

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sickofants@reddit

Adding deliveries definitely seems to have changed the process for the worse although I've still had some good food at peak times.

There's probably a thread but the weirdest thing is why people are getting it delivered. It has to be cold right? So are they eating cold food or paying even more to reheat bad food and making it worse.

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KiPhoe@reddit

Tesco meal deals have replaced it.
For me its the 2 for 3.50 Asda salads.

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DL3432@reddit

No, but there are good deals out there. Wetherspoons is genuinely good VFM. A friend of mine called and said him and his wife took their three kids to the breakfast buffet at Beefeater. Kids eat free, so the whole thing was only £22. Local bakeries can be decent. McDonald's can fall into this category, but only if youre careful with selection. Most burgers are quite expensive for what they are, and that's a criticism you couldn't level at them in the past.

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Basketcaseuk@reddit

The biggest joke about McDonald’s is the kids meal. £4.60 now! Absolute rip off.

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itsapotatosalad@reddit

Maccies hasn’t been cheap for a while. Add the uber and just eat drivers getting priority and they’re no longer fast. Further add the new method of making every burger “fresh” using hours old sweaty meat patties out a drawer, and it’s not even good anymore. They’re literally a last resort for me now, I’d genuinely rather a rustlers.

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Middle--Earth@reddit

No, it's getting expensive.

I buy a burger much less frequently than I used to . I'd be in there several times a week, because it was so much cheaper than cooking at home.

Now that I have a McDonald's about three times a month, I've noticed that the burgers are shrinking and the beef tastes really salty. It just doesn't taste good any more.

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Crookles86@reddit

Good god no. I can remember a medium value meal being £3.19. Now they’re about £8

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JeffSergeant@reddit

Where can you go to a 'sit down restaurant' for less than £10?

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LazyEmu5073@reddit

Hungry Horse or Spoons!

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Teembeau@reddit

I'm mostly doing meal deals now or just buying a pie from the fridge in a supermarket.

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MrMonkeyman79@reddit

Compared with a sit down meal in a restaurant its still very cheap.

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tmr89@reddit

Not “very cheap” compared to say, Honest Burger. Which is much better quality

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Bnevillewood@reddit

A burger at Honest burger is minimum £11 without sides, so that is double the price of a double cheeseburger meal with fries and drink?

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tmr89@reddit

No it’s not. It’s £9.95 for a smash burger and chips. Triple or quadruple the number you get at McDonald’s. And both are of a superior quality

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shadow-season@reddit

If you buy their cheap items then yes, you can still get a lot of food cheaply.

If you're buying their top line items (eg Big Arch meal) then no, not cheap.

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TheMarkMatthews@reddit

McD wants you to use the app - always seems to be a 15% or more discount reward if you spend so much but the foods so expensive now it’s still not a great deal after the discount.

Usually costs £20 for 2 of us, terrible if there’s 4 of us or more

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Consistent-Gas3195@reddit

Asda any item for a penny with the my barcode at the self checkout desk 😂

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Shinyandsmooth8@reddit

Big arch meal with a milkshake is £12.40 🤣

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Oneinchwalrus@reddit

the big arch is so expensive, I went the other week and scoffed at the price. though I did end up paying ~15 anyway for food for just me anyway

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ThePokeFeet@reddit (OP)

Daylight ROBBERY!!😭

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ExPristina@reddit

£2.88. Those were the days. 🍟 🥤 🍔

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Bibb5ter@reddit

Got a double Big Mac, large fries, large coke for £9.99. Fine with that

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tmr89@reddit

So, two double cheese burgers, a dry bun slice, and chips and sugar free soda for a tenner is not good value

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Bibb5ter@reddit

Paid the sugar tax and got a full fat coke and the bun wasn’t dry. Did the job

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TawnyTeaTowel@reddit

No and it hasn’t been for years.

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lukehebb@reddit

oh god no.

i’d consider mcdonald’s overpriced

i go to five guys now

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Drunk_Cartographer@reddit

It’s still cheaper than going to a sit down restaurant

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stowgood@reddit

I don't think cheap exists in 2026

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RedNightKnight@reddit

I think it’s generally risen roughly in line with inflation, from what I remember a meal used to cost in the 90s - £3.79?) but the problem is wages have stagnated.

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Qyro@reddit

Depends on your definition of cheap. I bought two full-blown meals at McDonalds the other day for £17, which is about the same as I spent on a single burger and a shake at Five Guys last month. Burger King tends to sit in the middle. Any sit-down restaurant I go in I expect to spend £40 minimum on 2 meals and a drink each. Greggs serves a completely different kind of food; smaller and less of a meal, so they'd come out cheaper just by the type of food they serve.

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HavokGB@reddit

McDonald’s was never cheap, now it’s downright expensive, and the food is bland. Twenty years ago it traded on being a slightly exotic American import like five guys or popeyes are now. Now it’s been a staple of highstreets and retail parks for decades, it’s lost that glimmer of ‘different’ and is just an overpriced slophouse

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Particular_Meeting57@reddit

I think it’s considered cheap but it’s not.

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ArtichokeDesperate68@reddit

It’s not cheap. Covid taught them (as well as others) you can just keep pushing up prices and people will still keep coming!

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OmegaMaster8@reddit

Their wrap of the day offer is cheap compared to its competitors. Other than that, their menu is not cheap.

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TanjoCards@reddit

Unpopular opinion: yes it's still cheap. Just look on uber at the mc deals they have.

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tmr89@reddit

£1.89 for a single hash brown is cheap?

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TanjoCards@reddit

Whos talking about hash browns bro

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PhantomSesay@reddit

20 chicken nuggets were £4.99, now £8!

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ThePokeFeet@reddit (OP)

Like how are we somehow getting immensely less for more??

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Atompunk78@reddit

Maccies still is if you get the £1.20 cheeseburger, everything else though is robbery far more so now than ever; at least the stupid expensive ones subsidise the cheeseburger

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BeesInATeacup@reddit

Took the teenaged kids to Wetherspoon's yesterday for lunch because it's cheaper than a Macdonald's for us all

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awwwwJeezypeepsman@reddit

McDonald’s is expensive now. Meals are legit £9-11 now. Back 10 years ago you could get one on a bus ticket for literally £3

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oldie349@reddit

McD was not cheap to me growing up. It was an out of reach aspiration until my 20s,but the last 10 yrs have seen it revert. I can afford it but it feels like a rip off rather than a convenient cheap drop off to refuel.

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Maleficent_Day_3869@reddit

it’s around £6 a meal where i am WHICH i’d be okay with paying if the quality was somewhat decent. but it’s almost always borderline inedible, id rather go to my local chicken or kebab shop if i want a cheap meal. it may cost me £6 but at least it’ll taste nice

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Grimdotdotdot@reddit

£6? Where are you?

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PutAutomatic2581@reddit

That's about the price for a large double cheeseburger meal.

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tmr89@reddit

Criminal that they now market a double cheeseburger “meal” as a bargain, when it used to cost about £3 a couple of years ago

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Maleficent_Day_3869@reddit

west midlands

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Grimdotdotdot@reddit

A Big Mac meal is £7.70 near me ☹️

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Maleficent_Day_3869@reddit

it’s £6.89 in my local maccies!

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Spottyjamie@reddit

Sometimes if you get offers/rewards it is

But not like it was a year or two ago

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mellonians@reddit

We used to cheap out with McDonald's all the time but with the massive price increases and the pain of ordering and waiting and seeing the drive thru constantly getting prioritised over us in store it's just no longer worth it. I don't want to come away from McDonald's thinking "Chinese would've been quicker and easier than this".

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MelodicPreparation93@reddit

Well it's cheaper than some places still technically. But the question is are you getting value for money? The answer is almost always no there.

It's okay if you want to grab something quick, but if I'm going for a main meal I'd rather go five guys as their quality is leagues above maccers.

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eastkent@reddit

I haven't been to McD's in months. They keep sending me offers and I occasionally look at the prices and think "Nah". The last few times we went it took ages and it was always just warm anyway.

A triple cheeseburger after 15 seconds in the microwave was fecking lovely, but as we know they took that away from us.

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tmr89@reddit

Honest Burger is a similar price and much better quality, and for a sit down meal

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Soggy_Tangerine9340@reddit

Nope. Far too expensive these days.

Last time I went the food and clientele was horrific, never again.

Spoons and KFC are my go to.

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BakerMaker11@reddit

You can get a double cheeseburger and a wrap of the day for under a fiver, it definitely fills you up.

Double cheeseburger and medium fries is under a fiver.

Wraps on their own are like £2.20, wrap of the day meal is just over a fiver - there are still a few cheaper combos left

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FatFarter69@reddit

I literally had a maccies like an hour ago and I'm already feeling a bit peckish again. Maybe that says more about me than McDonald's but still, I don't think their meals are filling at all.

And that would be fine if it was cheap, but it's not anymore. I can't justify spending £15 for a maccies takeaway when I could get literally anything else for the same price and it would be more filling.

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No-Championship9542@reddit

It is really cheap, it's like £6 for a meal a pub is like £25 with a drink

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Sad_Cardiologist5388@reddit

Not at all, not for years.

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Chidoribraindev@reddit

£5.89 for a breakfast wrap in London the other day. I saw the screen, double checked my order, and noped the fuck out

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Mountain-Pop6348@reddit

Yes can still get a burger for £1 or whatever it is on the saver menu. Shop smart and its great value. Often vouchers for burger and fries £2.

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LazyEmu5073@reddit

The cheapest burger on the saver menu is a hamburger for £1.49. Seems only a few years ago that a double cheeseburger was less than that!

Mayo chicken for £1.69 now, I swear that was 99p not long ago!!

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themcsame@reddit

I mean, shit has definetly gone up a fair bit. I wouldn't opt to replace it with a sit down meal though, because I'd heavily suspect the situation is just as bad.

What was a £6.67 meal is now £12.13

A rstaruant might've been a £15-20 ordeal back then... But it really wouldn't surprise me to learn that a restaruant is now a \~£30+ per person ordeal basically anywhere that's above the bottom of the barrel (Spoons, Greene King, etc)

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tradegreek@reddit

It’s the dumbest pricing and I can’t work out for the life of my why people still go there when they can pay a little more per meal and get something of way better quality

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TerryGranules@reddit

I always get 2 cheeseburger and medium fries, seems cheap and filling compared to any other sandwich place.

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Coconutpieplates@reddit

Absolutely not cheap. For a price of their regular meals, you can cook a meal for a family of 4. I have the time etc so I cook 90% of the time. If I do get a mcdonalds, it's because me and friends are grabbing something quick and junky that we all agree on. And I'm a cheap bish so I usually have a code or voucher 😆

If you're using it as a sit down meal it's relatively cheap, but it's not a cheap treat anymore imo.

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Fidgie0@reddit

It sort of is and isn't. If you look at the price of the food you get compared to the price of food you could make yourself at home it's not exactly cheap. However you're not just paying for the food, you're paying for someone else to make it for you, the convenience of getting it away from home etc...

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No-Decision1581@reddit

You'd think the quality would rise with the cost. But who am I kidding?

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Louis010@reddit

No, went to McDonald’s today for breakfast and it was nearly £11 for 2 regular meals, mine didn’t even come for a hashbrown as I had a wrap. Went tim Hortons last week for breakfast and got way more food that’s also a lot nicer and much better (and bigger) coffee for about £1 less.

If there was a Tim Hortons closer to us then I don’t think we would ever visit McDonald’s again, it’s much better quality for the price.

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yourshelves@reddit

I don’t know why Tim Hortons aren’t expanding. £3.80 for a Big Breakfast Wrap, Hash Brown and their (excellent) Filter Coffee is hard to beat in today’s market.

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Postik123@reddit

I find it expensive for what it is. Plus I don't find it at all filling.

Would sooner pay £10 for a large chicken kebab. Or £15 for 3 plates in Wetherspoon. Or £4 for two Chinese meals from Iceland. Basically anything other than McDonalds which I now find to be over priced, slow and inconsistent.

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Bullinach1nashop@reddit

No, it's Also no longer fast food.

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setokaiba22@reddit

Yeah it is.

People mention Greggs but you can’t even hear a sausage roll warm in Greggs for less than the £1.20 McDonald’s saver menu burgers.

McDonald’s you can grab some very cheap items to be fair

The meals are more expensive than they were before but they were historically I believe quite the same price for years until recently

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jacobsnemesis@reddit

You can hear sausage rolls?

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Neill78@reddit

I looked on justeat recently, and it was cheaper to order from an independent burger restaurant.

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the_beer_truck@reddit

It’s cheap in taste and quality, but not cheap in price anymore.

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Thomas5020@reddit

No. For the same price as a large big mac meal, the local chippy will do a 12" pizza with medium chips. Much better deal.

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jacobsnemesis@reddit

Yeah it’s not cheap. Quality is poor as well. Still insanely popular though.

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Dry_Action1734@reddit

Generally, no. Depends what you want.

I’d rather get a ~£5.59 meal deal with a little burger, nuggets, chips (a warm meal for lunch) with a drink, than a £5.50 sandwich, crisps, and drink from the Waitrose next to the office.

If you eat outside of that deal, yeah it gets expensive fast.

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Physical-Industry-21@reddit

I've just literally got back from our local McDonald's and I ordered 2 medium meals, a share tray and a chicken mayo and it cost £25. Cheap, but not really.

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pogo0004@reddit

Nope. Costs nearly as much as a Chinese here.

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ThePokeFeet@reddit (OP)

Genuinely, some chip shops around too are nearly 3x cheaper in comparison to the portion from McDonald’s

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pogo0004@reddit

Yup. Expensive,slow service and small portioned these days. And weirdly still busy.

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MrsSEM84@reddit

McDonald’s have got quite pricy, they’re not the worst but it’s still quite a lot for a family. We do a weekly takeaway for a family of 5 (taking it in turns to choose) and McDonalds usually comes in at about £45/50. When it’s my choice I always go with the chip shop as I can still feed the 5 of us for under £30.

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Sparko_Marco@reddit

Its not cheap nor is it fast food anymore, however it is still cheaper and faster than a proper restaurant.

I rarely go anymore because they temporarily closed our local one to make improvements and when it reopened it has a smaller seating area as they created a second entrance for delivery drivers to collect theirs which seems to take priority over anyone else and it feels very corporate and bland in there now and you feel like an inconvenience to the staff when sitting in. I'm sure they just want to cater for the drive through and delivery drivers,

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TooLittleGravitas@reddit

Even less value for money if you get it delivered and it arrives cold and soggy.

Yet it still seems popular??

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jaybizzleeightyfour@reddit

Nope, I used to go a couple of times a month when it was, can't even remember the last times I've been, you can get burgers and chips from a decent restaurant for not much more.

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ThePokeFeet@reddit (OP)

Exactly, I’d rather spend a couple quid more to get significantly better quality and value

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-TheHumorousOne-@reddit

It's still relatively cheap, but why on Earth people wait half an hour plus via their drive thru on a busy Saturday evening is beyond me.

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cheandbis@reddit

Given the one near me clogs up the roundabout at the retail park it's on, it must still be popular and therefore cheaper than alternatives as I can't believe people choose to eat it unless it was cheap and/or more convenient.

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bob_dazz@reddit

They're wedded to the chemicals in it - they feel the price too but just want that taste.

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DeirdreBarstool@reddit

People are creatures of habit and advertising is remarkably powerful.

Dominos is crappy pizza at insane prices, even with the deals, yet lots of people still default to it when they want pizza.

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Alyssa9876@reddit

We have a lovely local Italian restaurant, family owned and been around for decades. On Monday you can order any pasta or pizza on the menu for 6.95. Add a soft drink and that’s similar to a maccies. But a whole lot better quality and taste. Portions are huge so often I end up taking half with me for another meal lol.

I remember kids happy meals being around a pound those days are long since gone.

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ThePokeFeet@reddit (OP)

That is absolutely the way to go! Supporting these local businesses that actual have care and have heart in what they do! Especially if there’s that deal on the menu lmao

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Did_OJ_Simpson_do_it@reddit

Not cheap but it’s still cheaper than most other places like Burger King or KFC.

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ThePokeFeet@reddit (OP)

That’s very true, Burger King is the WORST for price and quality, most dry burger I’ve ever consumed

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DockingEngaged@reddit

100%--literally. Since the pandemic the cost of fast food has risen dramatically with certain food items doubling or even tripling in price. In Canada McDonalds is one of the worst offenders. Businesses learned that customers were willing to pay more so they're charging more. The price of certain value meals aren't that far off what a few restaurants and pubs in my area charge for a burger.

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EatingCoooolo@reddit

I have never enjoyed fast food but if I wanted a burger i’d buy the mins and bun, season it and cook it myself.

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Capital_Shift871@reddit

Yeah, it definitely doesn’t feel ‘cheap’ anymore and it’s more like convenience food now than budget food.

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Scottie99@reddit

Bang on.

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dbxp@reddit

The saver menu is ok, if you're going for the higher priced items I think your going to the wrong place regardless of price

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SmartPipe3882@reddit

I think McDonalds hit a point a long while ago where it realised it didn't need to price at the bottom of the market to attract business anymore. You don't go to McDonalds because it's cheap. You go because it's consistent. Because you know you'll get exactly what you expect, every single time. And whilst it's not cheap, it's not unfair in its pricing.

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FewAnybody2739@reddit

No, not cheap. Often not fast either.

They're competing with cafes and pubs now that you can't smoke indoors, I can only think their appeal is that they are already there. Perhaps too that their variety means everyone in a group will be able to have something they like. Don't know why you'd UberEats from there though

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