Sunday, Dec 22, 2024

I spent $31 at the world's most expensive McDonald's. The fries were disappointing, but I'd reorder this $10 burger you can't get in the US.

I paid a visit to McDonald's in Zurich to see the sandwiches behind the high prices.
  • Switzerland has the highest McDonald's prices in the world, and I visited one during a recent trip.
  • I spent $31 at a McDonald's in Zurich and got three sandwiches, fries, and some dipping sauces.
  • I enjoyed two sandwiches you can't get in the US, but I wouldn't repurchase the fries or Big Mac.

McDonald's is never my first choice when I'm traveling in Europe.

But of all the golden arches in the world, Switzerland sports the highest prices, as Business Insider has previously reported.

It makes sense. After all, Switzerland is widely considered the most expensive country in Europe.

Still, I wanted to see if there was something special about the world's priciest McDonald's.

On a recent trip to Zurich, I headed to McDonald's and ordered three sandwiches, fries, and three dipping sauces for 27.6 Swiss Francs.

I could pay in US dollars at the checkout though, and my card was charged $31.14.

Switzerland serves the world's most expensive Big Mac — and it was just OK


mcdonalds big mac in paper burger box on a well lit table next to french fries
This is the most expensive Big Mac in the world.

According to The Economist's Big Mac index, Switzerland has had the most expensive Big Mac in the world for years.

But the Big Mac is quintessential McDonald's, so I had to get one.


woman selfie eating mcdonalds big mac in front of wood wall
This was only my second or third Big Mac ever, and I wasn't impressed.

I don't eat at McDonald's very much, and I've probably only had a Big Mac once before. Still, I expected more.


mcdonalds big mac open side by side images show onion above the burger patty and pickles, lettuce, cheese below the patty
There was a small amount of onions on top of the patty, and two pickles, some lettuce, and sauce below it.

The pickles were crisp and vinegary. The cheese was flavorful. The patties were just thin enough. The sprinkling of diced onions was barely noticeable.

It was all the same stuff that's on an American Big Mac. The only difference seemed to be the price.

Overall, I found this burger underwhelming, especially after trying the other two sandwiches.

In my opinion, it wasn't worth the $8 I paid.

The paprika chicken sandwich was unique and tasty


mcdonalds packaged big bang chicken sandwich on a tray next to french fries
For some reason this sandwich was called "Big Bang Chicken" on the wrapper.

The Chicken Paprika, as it was called on the menu — or "Big Bang Chicken," as it was called on the wrapper — is not available to order at McDonald's in the US.

It's a fried chicken patty slathered in paprika sauce, on top of a slice of cheese on warm bun. The simple sandwich seemed to lean on the paprika sauce for its personality.


mcdonalds chicken paprika sandwich shiny bun with chicken patty on white paper packaging
I was glad to have one chicken sandwich between the burgers.

It was a nice change of pace from other fast-food chicken sandwiches I've had. The chicken patty had the texture of a chicken nugget with a crunchy crust.


mcdonalds chicken sandwich on white paper with a hand holding up the bun to show the chicken patty covered in paprika sauce
The Chicken Paprika sandwich had a generous portion of sweet paprika sauce.

The sauce was sweet, but I didn't taste very much paprika. Overall, it was tasty but a bit one-dimensional.

I paid $7.30 for it.

The $10 Big Tasty burger was the best thing on my plate


mcdonalds burger shiny sesame bun on top of lettuce bacon and burger patty in white box next to french fries
The Big Tasty might have been the prettiest burger, too.

This $10 Big Tasty burger was by far my favorite thing on the table.

It was slathered in a sweet, smoky sauce, covered in creamy Emmental cheese, and topped with big slices of onion and crunchy, smoky bacon.

The bacon was the best part, and my only criticism was that the tomato tasted bland.


mcdonalds burger shiny with hand lifting the bun to show lettuce onion bacon tomato cheese on top of burger patty in white box next to french fries
The Big Tasty had lettuce, onion, tomato, bacon, and Emmental cheese.

The Big Tasty is available worldwide but is not a main menu item in the US. I would buy it again if I was at a McDonald's that served it.

The french fries were the loser of my meal


mcdonalds order three packaged sandwiches, french fries in a paper bag, three sauce packets and napkins on a brown tray on a wood table
I ordered three sandwiches, fries, and three dipping sauces from McDonald's in Zurich.

They were pretty standard McDonald's fries, except that they were bland and not salty enough, in my opinion.

Thankfully, I had a variety of sauces to dip them in.

Some sauces at the Zurich McDonald's were different from what I could get in the US

I picked out three sauces I've never seen on a US menu: hot devil, pommes frites, and curry. Each packet cost less than 50 cents.

The hot devil sauce was unnervingly goopy, but I liked how spicy it was. It was the kind of spice that rests on the front of your tongue.


partially open mcdonalds hot devil sauce packet on a wood table
The hot devil sauce was the only spicy thing in my order.

The next one was listed as pommes-frites sauce on the menu but showed up on my receipt as simply "mayonnaise."


fingers squeeze shiny white sauce out of a green packet onto a white paper wrapping next to a chicken sandwich
The appearance, texture, and flavor of the pommes frites sauce were unappealing to me.

It did not taste like mayonnaise. In my opinion, it was flavorless and very oily.

The curry sauce was my favorite. It was really sweet and had a nice curry spice flavor.


mcdonalds curry sauce packet side by side photos showing pink labeled rectangular packet closed and open packet with a french fry dipped in the dark orange sauce
McDonald's curry sauce was my favorite dipping sauce.

I almost wish my chicken sandwich had curry sauce instead of the not-very-paprika-y paprika sauce.

The sandwiches I can't order back home were my favorites


mcdonalds order on a tray on a wood table with three half-eaten sandwiches, receipt, fries, and dipping sauce containers
I barely ate my Big Mac, but the other sandwiches were tasty.

Overall, it was fun to try new dipping sauces, but the fries weren't very good. The sandwiches I can't order in the US were my favorite items.

And if you're at McDonald's in Switzerland, skip the world's most expensive Big Mac. Get the Big Tasty instead.

Read the original article on Business Insider
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By: [email protected] (Morgan McFall-Johnsen)
Title: I spent $31 at the world's most expensive McDonald's. The fries were disappointing, but I'd reorder this $10 burger you can't get in the US.
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/trying-most-expensive-mcdonalds-switzerland-disappointing-fries-best-burger-2023-12
Published Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2023 11:38:01 +0000

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