Gary Hanna, who reviews UK eateries for his YouTube channel Gary Eats, was blown away by the “absolutely fantastic” standards on display in a McDonald’s restaurant in Madrid
(Image: Gary Eats)
A food critic who tried a meal in a McDonald’s restaurant in Spain has revealed that he “much preferred it” to the UK’s offerings. Gary Hanna, who reviews eateries for his popular YouTube channel Gary Eats, decided to check out what was available in a McDonald’s restaurant in the stiflingly hot Spanish capital of Madrid.
In his video, titled ‘I Review McDonald’s in Spain! The UK Should Be Ashamed!’ Gary explained that he wanted to find out what types of meals were available and compare prices with those in the UK.
Standing outside a pristine-looking outdoor seating area beneath the sun, he highlighted a sign advertising a chicken burger named the McCrispy Pomodoro and Cheese.
Sharing his initial thoughts on the restaurant, Gary said: “First things first, there’s no door security here; that’s a big difference to the UK. Beautiful outside seating area, but then again, that would happen because of the temperatures over here.”
(Image: Gary Eats)
Fast-forward, Gary could be seen sitting in the outdoor seating area in the shade (which also had cooling sprays for customers), waiting for his considerable selection of food, having made his order via touchscreen.
It comprised a McExtreme BBQ & Mayo (€7.50/about £6.50), a Pistachio McFlurry (€3.99/about £3.40), the McCrispy Pomodoro (€10.24 for burger, beer and wedges/about £8.80), a McExtreme Pulled Pork (€8.15/about £7), potato wedges, gazpacho (a cold soup served in a bottle for €2.20/about £1.90), and, in what may come as a surprise to green-eyed Brits, a beer.
Having collected his meal, Gary then inspected his three burgers, pulling off the crowns to show the camera the ingredients and presentation, saying: “My first impressions are they look like the pictures.”
First up was the McExtreme Pulled Pork, which included smoked cheese and bacon. Second was the McExtreme BBQ & Mayo, which featured lettuce, barbecue sauce, and cheese. Finally, there was the McCrispy Pomodoro, which included cheese, bacon, and mayo.
He started with the soup, and although it’s a huge departure from what you may expect in a UK McDonald’s, Gary was clearly impressed, dubbing it “refreshing” and “very tasty”, pledging to finish the entire bottle.
(Image: Gary Eats)
Gary then dived into the pulled pork burger, noting that it looked “a lot bigger” than UK offerings. Similarly, he described it as “really tasty”, especially what he described as like a “Bavarian smoked cheese”.
One criticism, however, was that the pulled pork was a “little bit too sweet”. He then sampled the pomodoro burger, which he also “really” liked, but noted that the presentation of the sauce on the crown was “quite sloppy”.
He noted that his wedges were “okay” but not “monstrously crispy” and then moved on to his final burger, the McExtreme BBQ & Mayo. He described it as “incredibly sloppy,” but he remained impressed.
Finally, he tried his Pistachio McFlurry and said he liked it before sharing his positive opinion on the restaurant itself. Gary said: “Non-stop since I’ve been in here, they’re cleaning the tables, they’re cleaning the floors, they’re mopping things up.
“They’re doing everything, and inside is immaculate. And that is a massive difference to McDonald’s in the UK. I think the standards here are incredible.”
Summing up his experience at the end of the video, Gary said he “much preferred it”, again noting the “absolutely fantastic” standards.