I'm not particularly loving it (McDonald's)

Member Name: wendz86

Product:	McDonald's
Date:	09/02/09 (179 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great for hangover food or a quick bite to eat

Disadvantages: Unhealthy, not great quality

McDonalds is one of those places that as a child was a real treat to me. We had friends who were taken there all the time but for my sister and myself it was a once every now and then treat. This did make it much more exciting for us though.

Now I am a little more reserved about wanting to make a visit to McDonalds. Don't get me wrong sometimes I crave it and really want a big burger and some chips but I always seem to regret it afterwards. Fast Food just makes me feel lethargic and ill now!

McDonalds has two menus available throughout the day. The first is the breakfast menu. This is available till 10.30 am and has a range of choices available. These include sausage and egg mcmuffins that are basically muffins with a round egg and round piece of sausage. I love these and they are great for a hangover. Pretty sure they are not very healthy though. Also available are bacon rolls that come with a choice of tomato sauce or brown sauce. Both of these you can get as a breakfast meal, which comes with a hash brown and a drink. You can also get a big breakfast, which has got sausage, egg, hash brown and fried toast. The breakfast products are very artificial but I still quite enjoy them. They do some healthier options as well now including bagels and porridge. Drinks available include tea, coffee and orange juice along with the other drinks they usually provide.

After 10.30 am they move onto the main menu which is available all day. This has a wide range of meals available. There are the normal value meals that consist of either a Big Mac, quarter pounder, chicken nuggets, chicken burger or fillet o fish. They come with a portion of fries and a drink of your choice. These meals vary in cost but are usually around 3.89. When a friend and I were bored the other day we looked up which had the least and most calories out of these and established that the chicken nugget meal had the least and the Big Mac meal had the most. The good thing that McDonalds do now is provide all the nutritional information about the food they sell. They usually have a sheet on the tray you get given with this on or you can look on the website. Great for those who are on a diet or have dietary needs. I usually choose one of these meals when I visit mainly because it is just easier. The burgers are quite tasty but never look perfect like they do on the adverts. They are always a bit greasy and a bit sloppy which can put you off a bit. I also pick the gherkins out as well as I do not like these, thankfully I have a boyfriend who does. The fires are ok but I much prefer Burger King Fries, which are a lot crispier. McDonalds fries can be a bit limp and not cooked well enough. I find the chicken burger has far too much mayonnaise for my liking but the burger itself is quite nice. I also find the chicken nuggets very nice.

Other choices of food include salads, delis (trying to copy Subway perhaps) and chicken wraps. They often also have seasonal choices or one off burgers that are only available for a week. Some of these are very nice but I still usually stick to a simple choice. You can also buy items separately including burgers, fries and wedges. They used to do a pound menu where you could buy things like a double cheeseburger for a pound but this seems to have been changed to the value menu as I guess you cannot buy these for a pound anymore. It is good though that if you just want a snack rather than a full meal you can buy just a small burger or a packet of fries.

McDonalds also sell deserts. The most famous of these is the Mcflurry, which is basically Mr Whippy style ice cream with some kind of topping mixed in. These are usually some kind of Cadburys chocolate and they also do special ones every now and then like matchmaker or Chocolate Orange. I quite enjoy these as a desert, as I quite like this kind of ice cream. I do usually find I am too full up though after a big meal. I have on occasion gone in to McDonalds just to buy one of these.

The drinks that are available include fizzy drinks such as coca cola, diet coke, fanta and sprite. You can also get a bottle of water or a orange juice. They still do milkshakes although I have heard quite a lot of horror stories about these, which has put me off. These come in strawberry, chocolate and vanilla flavour usually and are very thick and made of ice cream I believe. You usually have to pay a bit more for one of these when buying a meal that a normal drink.

They do happy meals for children. These include a range of items including burgers, chicken nuggets and fishfingers. They also now have the choice of fries or a bag of carrot sticks or a fruit bag. I know which one I would want as a child but at least it gives parents a choice of what to feed their child. These meals also come with a drink that they can choose from the usual fizzy drinks, milk, water or orange juice. These meals come in a small box and come with a toy in the box as well. I used to love collecting these toys up as a child.

I think the choice of food that McDonalds has available is good but it is still quite limited. They have tried to branch out with their salads and delis but if I wanted one of these I wouldn't go to McDonalds for it. I go to McDonalds for when I am hungover or when I fancy something filling and greasy.

The quality of the food has got slightly better. I am less concerned now about exactly what I am eating, although most of the time I would prefer not to know. It is good that they provide more transparent details about the contents of your meal now though. It is not brilliant quality food but it is cheaply priced so I don't think you can expect much more.

The service in McDonalds is fairly good. They serve you quickly and your food is ready in seconds. The staff may not be the friendliest and take much time out for you but it is a fast food restaurant.

The toilet facilities are usually kept in quite good condition in McDonalds. They also have baby changing facilities in the ones I have visited. Some of the restaurants now also have a kind of play area/gym for children. They are obviously trying to help out by providing them with exercise equipment so they don't get blamed for all the obesity problems in the country.

Most of the McDonalds restaurants are open from 6am and they vary in the times they close.

Overall I think that McDonalds is an OK place to visit every now and then if you want a quick and easy meal but it is certainly not the best food you will ever eat.

Summary: An OK fast food restaurant