McDonald's — Restaurant in Kempsey

There’s a certain kind of sadness that lives inside small-town Macca’s—and Kempsey’s wears it like a uniform. You think you’re just ducking in for a cheeseburger or to kill time waiting for the train, but this place doesn’t let you leave clean.

The second those automatic doors hiss open, you’re hit with the smell of stale fryer oil and floors that haven’t been properly mopped in weeks. It’s like the place gave up trying to feel fresh and just embraced the grime.

I went in around 7 PM. The kind of time when families are finishing dinner and the late crowd is starting to drift in. Inside, it was chaos. One worker on counter, clearly overwhelmed, juggling drive-thru, in-store, and delivery orders. Half the self-serve machines were out of order. No one was cleaning. No one cared.

But the real story isn’t the food. The real story is the bathroom.

Jesus Christ.

The tiles were stained. The tap handles were sticky. The mirror was fogged up with god-knows-what smeared across it. One of the stalls didn’t have a door. Another one had someone sitting on the floor—either asleep or passed out. I didn’t check too hard. A lighter rolled out from under the cubicle. That told me everything I needed to know.

There was a needle cap by the sink. No staff in sight.

I held my breath, washed my hands with cold water because the hot tap didn’t work, and got out fast. I didn’t even eat inside. I took my food to the car, where at least I could control what I was breathing in.

Outside, a few people were loitering near the bins. One guy was shouting at himself. Another was trying to trade a vape for chips. Security? Nonexistent. Just some CCTV cameras probably long disconnected.

The food was what you’d expect. Lukewarm fries, soft burger bun, and a Coke filled three-quarters with ice. At this point, it’s not about taste—it’s about survival. You eat, you leave, and you try not to think about it.

This Macca’s is less a restaurant and more like a pit stop on the road to rock bottom. It's not just dirty—it’s forgotten. No pride, no care, just a hollow shell feeding whatever rolls in off the highway.

Rating: 1/5 Half a star because the Coke was cold. Half a star because they didn’t get my order wrong. But everything else? Rough. This place needs more than a mop—it needs a reset. Or...

Absolute debacle everytime I go there. Staff have no idea what they're doing. Ordered 2 simple medium McChicken meals one with cheese and another the new spicy one at drive through, told to pull aside and wait... First order they brought out had hash browns... .. Next attempt they brought out a small fries and McChicken without cheese.... Next attempt was the same.... Meanwhile like 6 cars have banked up behind me blocked by the cars waiting for their order. Then I had to get out of the car with a crying baby in the back... 15mins later. Approached the side entry and asked what is so hard about this order do they need to re check the order? The girl then gave me back the same bag with a mchicken and small fries in it. I asked for manager who sorted it out by putting the cheese on that same now cold McChicken and correctly got the order back out to my car. Gobsmacking service and it code like 28bucks for the pleasure of it all. Don't know why we keep bothering with this declining franchise it's same story different circumstances everytime......

If only i can give 0 stars, it should have been that! Went on the app to order to pick up by drive thru only to find out they have close their drive thru and have to go in to pick up and yet i have to do the order again inside and pay which is super annoying to whom who is in a hurry and the staff there has 0 customer service. Waiting for my order then these two staff chitchatting taking all their time to pack a 6pc chicken nuggets so irritated i put a hard force in handing the receipt on their bench when the number was called out then turning around heard loud bang i assume the staff reacted a bad reaction ti a customer who is so irritated! A customer is already in a bad mood with their drive thru and they will still give you the bad attitude. You should fire staff that does not know how to deescalate the situatuion instead it triggers more anger to the service but since its a waste of my time to call out that bad behaviour, just turn around and left since my time is more valuable as i said we are in a hurry!!!!!!!! Freakin mad!...