McDonald’s Christmas menu is finally back in stores, but not all dishes are created equal.
To see what’s made the naughty or nice list this year, the team here at Metro.co.uk tried to lot, to give you the lowdown before you splash your hard-earned cash.
The menu includes the return of the iconic Chicken Big Mac, alongside some new contenders including the Big & Cheesy burger (with option to add bacon), Cheese Melt Dippers (stuffed with Camembert and served with a tomato dip), and a new Chicken Combo option with 10 Chicken Selects. Nugget fans will also be racing to try the 20 Chicken McNugget sharebox with four select dips and four standard dips.
To finish off your festive meal at Maccies with something sweet, there are Galaxy Chocolate or Caramel McFlurries with chocolate stars and sauce or a Galaxy Caramel Pie that features crispy chocolate pastry and a Galaxy Caramel sauce.
And while this new pie sounds pretty tempting, many were outraged over its introduction as it meant that an iconic Christmas staple got the boot this year.
Here’s how we got on with our big taste test.
The Big & Cheesy, £5.49 (single), £7.29 (meal)
Rating: 2.5/5
Rachel says: ‘The Big & Cheesy does what it says on the packet. Yes it’s big. Yes it’s cheesy. But is it Christmassy? Not in the slightest.
‘The “snowflake flour” dusted on the bun is the only nod to the festive season but feels surplus to requirement. If anything, it takes away from the cheap and cheerful flavour of Maccie D’s bread that we all know and love.
‘Supposedly this burger comes with crispy onions, but that’s news to me. There are plenty of red onions though, too many for my personal taste, in fact. Still, it fills a hole at lunchtime for a bargain price, leaving spare change for Christmas shopping. It’s nothing noteworthy, but it delivers on the basics.’
Galaxy Chocolate McFlurry, £1.49 (mini), £1.99 (regular)
Rating: 3/5
Alice says: ‘What to say about the Galaxy Chocolate McFlurry… hmmm. It almost doesn’t warrant a review. It’s literally the exact same as a regular Galaxy McFlurry apart from the fact the chocolate pieces are shaped like stars. I’m guessing that’s what is meant to make this festive?
‘Was it sugary and tasty and chocolatey — absolutely. Will I buy it after a festive drunk night out? Of course. But as for it being a special Christmas menu addition, there’s nothing new or exciting about it.’
The Big & Cheesy with Bacon, £6.29 (single), £8.09 (meal)
Rating: 3.5/5
Courtney says: ‘As a lover of all things cheese, I had high hopes for a burger called the Big & Cheesy and while I feel the size of this didn’t quite live up to the name (it’s decent, but it’s got nothing on the Big Mac), McDonald’s certainly made up for what was lacking when it came to the cheese.
‘This burger contains not one but two slices of cheese and the filling is also topped with a cheese sauce just for good measure. I was initially concerned that there didn’t seem to be much sauce inside, but it seems a little goes a long way in this case, as it’s very cheesy. The flavour was just right for me, not too artificial tasting and not too strong either. A rather mild cheese taste, but tasty nonetheless.
‘But along with the good, there were a few negatives. The Big & Cheesy with bacon is meant to contain crispy onions and red onion, but mine was just chock full of the latter which I wasn’t very keen on, although that’s just personal preference.
‘And while I do like to tuck into a cheese board or two over the holiday season, this cheesy burger just didn’t feel super festive. I’m not sure if a turkey and cranberry burger would work, but it could be fun to see McDonald’s whip up something new using more traditional Christmas ingredients next year.’
Chicken Big Mac, £4.79 (single) £6.59 (meal)
Rating: 4/5
Ross says: ‘I initially worried that the Chicken Big Mac would be too much carb-on-carb, and that’s coming from someone who once had spaghetti bolognese on top of a pizza. But it actually works really well, the Big Mac sauce surprisingly goes better with chicken than their mayo does – but I just didn’t think it needed the cheese slice. I know that might offend Big Mac purists but it would work much better without cheese.’
Cheese Melt Dippers, £2.59 (single), £6.89 (sharebox)
Rating: 4/5
Tanyel says: ‘You can’t go wrong with cheese bites – if you like cheese and a tomato dip, you’ll like these. But do they taste of camembert? Absolutely not. If I really think about it, I do get a slight richer creaminess than a regular cheese bite, but ultimately it just tastes like mozzarella. The flavour is good, so it still gets a 4 out of 5, but it doesn’t actually taste like what it’s meant to.
‘For a post-night out snack in Christmas party season, these go down a treat.’
Galaxy Caramel McFlurry, £1.49 (mini), £1.99 (regular)
Rating: 4/5
Courtney says: ‘I love ice cream and I love Galaxy Caramel, so this McFlurry was a winner for me! Some may argue it’s not the most festive choice of chocolate for this menu, but you do get mini Galaxy Caramel sweets in tubs of Celebrations at Christmas, so that’s good enough for me.
‘Plus I’m a sucker for anything that’s a cute shape, so the chocolate stars on top were right up my street. It’s not groundbreaking or particularly innovative as far as desserts go, but if it ain’t broke don’t fix it… and thanks to all that’s holy that on this occasion our local Maccies’ McFlurry machines weren’t broken!’
Galaxy Caramel Pie, £1.99
Rating: 5/5
Courtney says: ‘Ok, I’m going to confess something that might be controversial, but I’ve never been a fan of McDonald’s pies. I just didn’t get them. But that’s all about to change because this Galaxy Caramel pie might just be the best thing I’ve ever eaten from McDonald’s. And I’m not even exaggerating. The chocolate pastry is wonderfully crisp and the deep fried taste makes me think of hot doughnuts from the seaside. Add in the caramel sauce and the whole thing is just a dream for anyone with a sweet tooth.
‘Definitely get one of these before they are gone! I know I’ll be going back for more…’
The new menu is available in stores now, but if you want to get your hands on it you’ll have to be fast as it’s only sticking around for the next six weeks, while stocks last.
And if you have the McDonald’s app, you’ll be able to take your Christmas experience to the next level and be in with a chance of bagging yourself some freebies, thanks to their Festive Wins promotion.
Every day from November 1 to November 30, there will be a chance to get your favourite menu items for as little as 99p. From the Big Mac to Filet-o-Fish, McNuggets and McPlant, there’s a good chance you could get them on the cheap.
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