McDonald’s Big Macs are iconic.
From the double patties, extra slice of bun, to the big mac sauce, the burgers are synonymous with the brand and a fan favourite.
However, new releases to the McDonald’s menu had many people asking the same question: Will the new burgers look like their advertisement?
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Of course, advertising photography takes some liberties and often what you see in an image isn’t actually what is in the burger.
But how far off the picture is the reality? I visited five city centre branches of McDonald’s and ordered their iconic Big Mac to see if any lived up to the expectation.
Having never eaten a Big Mac before, I was curious to both the taste and look of the burger and was both pleasantly surprised and disappointed.
St Ann’s Square - 5th place
This burger was a work of art. Contemporary art, with the patty trying to escape the cruel clutches of its bread master, while the lettuce and gherkin try to breach the opposite wall. Meanwhile, the cheese took inspiration from Salvador Dali’s the persistence of memory: melting clocks.
Despite its chaotic appearance, the melt on the cheese was excellent and the use of the box as a home as opposed to the paper wrappings that hold cheeseburgers ensured that no cheese was lost and was thoroughly enjoyed.
Arndale Shopping Centre - 4th place
The look of this burger was something of a disappointment, while the cheese was tastily melty, the whole thing felt a little squashed. As if it had been in a fight prior to being served.
Despite this, the burger still had all of the necessary ingredients, even if, once again, they didn’t live up the expectations I had been promised by years of advertising.
Furthermore, the service at this McDonald’s was something different.
The Arndale Centre branch is not on delivery apps and the restaurant itself is a screen free zone, which meant actually ordering from a human and getting an insight into McDonald’s life pre-technology.
Piccadilly Gardens - 3rd place
The first burger I bought had everything a Big Mac should have from the gherkins to the lettuce but the look of it still left me wondering if what I had ordered was what I was promised.
The patties were seemingly too small for the bread and the lettuce was a hazard for mess as it did not want to stay in its bready casing.
However, it was delicious. The meat was juicy and the amount of sauce ensured that the burger was tastily moist while not dripping.
Oxford Road - 2nd place
The final stop on my journey through McDonald’s took me to the Oxford Road branch where I was presented with a mammoth Big Mac which stood its ground. Finally, a burger with the height promised through advertising.
However, the level of lettuce on this burger was something else entirely. Picking it up caused an avalanche of crispy green to crash onto the table.
Oxford Street - 1st place
Somehow, the box was muddy. I haven’t figured out why, but sometimes it’s just how it is. Despite this, the Oxford Street burger was the closest interpretation of what I expected of a Big Mac.
The layers were there, the patties fitted, there was no squashing. The lettuce had not taken control and the dollops of sauce were perfectly saturating the burger.
So while I'm sure we can all agree that a Big Mac isn't much of a looker. They are certainly McTasty, from the double patties, extra slice of bun, to the big mac sauce.
McDonald's has been approached for comment.
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