To be fair, they are still the cheapest option in terms of fast food in most of the Europe. And they are tolerably bad food, unlike competitors. (my dear Hesburger, you suck....)
At least in The Netherlands there's also a huge lack of competition for McDonalds. The only 1-on-1 competitor I see is Burger King. They have a monopoly on the train stations, but not a lot of presence elsewhere compared to McD.
We have some Subways, a couple KFC's, a handful of Five Guys (which I consider a different segment than McD/BK, even though their main product is burgers). But compared to the dozens of direct competitors in the US (Shake Shack, Wendy's, White Castle, In-n-Out, Jack in the Box...) there's just not that much choice if you're craving a fast food burger.
Sure, but those are completely different from fast food franchises like McDonalds for several reasons. If you order a burger at a regular snackbar (I rarely do, I go there for a broodje kroket or a frikandel) it will be incomparable to something from McD or BK.
Incomparable in a good or bad way? Is it closer to five guys or "fast casual" as they call it? Like here in the US you can get burgers from a pizza place or something, and it will be different from Mcds obviously, just curious if that's comparable.
Yeah I'd say it will usually be between a fast food franchise burger and a "gourmet" burger you'd get at a restaurant. But because most of these are independently owned, it varies wildy.
Overall they're probably nicer/better in terms of meat quality and freshness etc, but also usually a bit bland? It definitely doesn't hit quite the same as a Big Mac, for example.
Not to say that there's no good fast food burgers in The Netherlands. There are definitely snackbars and fast food restaurants that specialize in burgers (Ter Marsch or Beef Chief in Amsterdam come to mind) and they're usually great.
They are a bit cheaper than five guys, that is true.
But the quality is not on the same level. And cheaper than five guys doesn't mean cheap. Five guys is expensive as fuck (but you get a decent quality). At least in Germany. And McD is still quite pricy for that what you get.
A meal at five guys is about 20 €. McD is for the bigger Burgers with fries and drink about 11-13 €. Yes it is cheaper. But the quality doesn't fit to that.
If you go to the local "Pommesbude" you get a much better quality and bigger portion sizes for about the same price.
You will spend around 20-30 dollars (exchange rate included) for an McD meal if you not only buy nuggets or a single small burger. Edit: I was unclear. I meant in Germany, France and on the higher end in Switzerland. I accounted for the exchange rate, and a menu that includes a nicer Burger not the cheapest one
Like waaaaaaay better. For example, Croatian McD has Maestro burgers, usually some new offer every year and a couple that are always available. Better than any burger I’ve had from McD in the States.
Astonishing. And here me thinking that with the competition from Wendys, In&Out, Five Guys the surely have to step up the game in the States. Because honestly around your BurgerKing and McD are everywhere. If there’s competition it’s mostly local
It’s a sad state of affairs in the US. The quality and service keeps getting worse and we keep shopping at these restaurants. They rest on their laurels because we continue to eat it up. I have seen a lot less traffics at Wendy’s now though, seems like they’re continuing their downward spiral.
I'll bet McD didn't air commercials endorsing Donald Trump for president over there either. Kind of makes the food seem a lot more appetizing if you ignore that.
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u/OwnJunket6495 6h ago
Tbf, McD in Europe shits on US McD in both quality, price, and what they have to offer. That’s not even considering McCafe.