McDonald's — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

It was one of those damp, dreich Edinburgh afternoons, the kind where the cold mist hovers in the air, curling around your neck like a clawed hand over Aurther's Seat leaving you craving something anything that feels hot inside warming the soul. Naturally, I found myself drifting into the drive-thru at McDonald's on London Road, drawn not by hunger but by something deeper, something darker, the need to fill an existential hole. And there, illuminated was my prize: a cheeseburger. Not just any cheeseburger, mind you this isn't a Marks & Sparks review. This cheeseburger was about to lead me down a path I hadn’t anticipated.

After parking and peeling back the wrapper, I was greeted by something that felt oddly charged, more suggestive than any piece of fast food had a right to be. Those buns brown and brazen didn’t just sit there with a soft, pillowy innocence. They were firm! With the kind of weight that made them feel knowing, like a pair of dark, insidious temptresses. And there, wedged between them like a man with far too much confidence, was the Scottish meat.

This wasn’t just any slab of prime Scots beef. This was thick, juicy, unapologetically bold a Scots beef patty that hadn’t just been placed there, but positioned with intention. It sat with an almost obscene arrogance, daring the buns to hold it all together, spilling out at the edges like it knew it was too much for the arrangement, but didn’t care. There was a reckless hedonism to the whole thing, the kind of encounter that makes you question whether you’re a participant or a mere witness to something far more illicit than a burger transaction.

The first bite confirmed what I already suspected. The meat, firm and defiant, pushed back against my teeth. This wasn’t a passive slab of beef; this was an active participant in the drama, each chew like some orchestrated foreplay between me and the elements of this burger. The buns, though seemingly overpowered, held firm with a sultry grace, their softness offset by the resistance of the meat which opened me right up to a new experience. It was a balance of power, a dance of surrender and dominance, each bite laden with innuendo.

The onions casually atop were like voyeuristic provocateurs, sitting there in their small white cubes, offering just enough of a bite to remind me that this wasn’t your standard issue fast food affair this was something else. That thick patty of Scottish beef was far too substantial for the delicate space it had been given, like a raucous guest at a genteel dinner party. It didn’t belong, but it was there, making its presence known in every bite, daring me to finish it, daring me to question if I could handle it.

As I sat there, rain streaking down the windows of my car, the dampness pressing in, I realized this cheeseburger was more than just a sum of its parts. It was an encounter brief intense absurd yet deeply satisfying. The buns, the onions, that brazen slab of meat, all came together to create something more almost indecent.

Sometimes, you tell yourself a cheeseburger is just a cheeseburger. But sometimes, as I learned that afternoon at McDonald's, it’s something much, much more a fleeting moment of transcendence, wrapped in mayo stained paper, that stays with you long after...

To the people complaining about the toilets and tables and the place being messy, why don't you tell your fellow customers to clean their own mess after they use the toilets and to clean their tables after they finish. Just because somebody else is there to clean the place, it doesn't mean you don't have to do your part. As per McDonald standards that toilets are checked every 15 minutes and there are staff to keep the dining area clean. If a customer uses the toilet every minute, and do not keep it clean, or do not clear-up there tables, the staff will have a hard time cleaning the place. Then the staff will have to be re-stationed to clean the toilets or dining area. That breaks the rhythm of the service. That way the service slows down, the volume of orders increases, and that makes it difficult to cope with the orders. Then you people complain about your orders taking too long. That puts pressure on the staff and management. At this point the staff are under extreme pressure and because of that, unknowingly they get your order wrong and your food will also get cold. Now the worst part is when things go horribly wrong, the customers will line-up to complaint to the manager and the manager has to deal with complaint after complaints. Sorting out complaints further breaks down the rhythm. Now at this point, the manager has lost focus. The manager is now dealing with complaint handling, finish product and waste management, staff rotation and the mess that you people make. Due to that reason, the manager has lost sight, the staff have lost sight and the customers have lost sight and everything is now messed-up and the root cause is because the customers are not doing their part in keeping the place clean. When the place is not clean, other customers are not expected to clean the place and the cycle repeats itself. It's easy to blame the management, but the problem always starts with the customers. You as customers clean-up your rubbish and things will improve. Employing most staff is not the answer and being short-staffed is not the right excuse. Hiring staff is one thing and scheduling is a whole different area which is done on the basis of expected...

Absolutely horrific experience here. My partner and I are moving home and on a long drive from Scotland to England. We have not eaten at all today and both of us have health issues.

We got to the drive through on Meadowbank and when at the speaker, the behaviour of the girl was vile.

There was barely any information on the menu board and with no cars behind us, the cashier tried to rush us when trying to order.

The menu says Caramel Frappe i.e. no mention of coffee, so we asked if it was the coffee one. The server replied that it was just a Caramel Frappe.

We paid said we would just take them other things we had ordered.

When we got to the window to pay, I tried to ask again re the Frappe. The (same) server said that the Frappe contained Coffee flavour but not coffee. I said that was fine but was the menu board just said Caramel, we had asked the question. The server then stated that it was how I had worded it (basically being extremely pedantic and trying to provoke). I asked if we could please pay for our food and leave. The cashier told us that she was not serving us for being "extremely rude". I asked to speak to her manager. She did not say she was going to do so, she just shut the window and walked away.

Eventually, another girl came and was stone faced and immediately as pedantic. She didn't introduce herself and went on the same power trip as the other girl. Again, I explained that we haven't eaten all day, are on a long journey and just wanted to pay for out food and go. She too refused and said she was the manager and was not going to serve us as she had been listening on her headset to us placing our order and stated that I had been extremely rude.

The only rudeness came from the tardy, power hungry staff at this branch of McDonald's. Apparently their names were Sophie and Kelly, one of them being the manager.

It was by far the worst experience I have ever had in any food establishment and these people don't deserve to be employed in a customer facing role.

Their behaviour resembled playground bullying and they should be ashamed of themselves.

The place was empty and I...