McDonald's Testing English Pub Burger...With American Cheese

McDonald's is testing an English Pub Burger in certain Illinois locations, and initial reviews are rather positive. According to marketing materials, the burger consists of "1/3 lb of 100 percent Angus beef, hickory-smoked bacon, white cheddar and American cheese, grilled onions, tangy steak sauce and smokey Dijon mustard sauce all housed on an artisan roll."

A GrubGrade reviewer remarked, "This burger just works and tastes unlike anything I've ever had from McDonald's. In case you couldn't tell, I'm impressed." Another early reviewer said, "this burger is really amazing...I have eaten a total of 3 of these burgers in the past week, and they are one of my favorites."

Taste aside, we're struggling to understand what makes this burger English. It certainly isn't the American cheese, or the Dijon mustard...or even the Angus beef (originally a Scottish breed). This is the first "English" item on McDonald's American menu, but not the first time that the chain has attempted to market location-specific food items. For example, the NYCrispy burger has been featured around Europe (because when you think of New York City, you think of crispiness, clearly).

Rumors are that the burger is heading for Houston after August, but there's no sign of it hopping across the pond.

Comments

[Brian Trecka]

03:19 PM on 09/01/2011

http://mcdonalds.com/us/en/english_pub_burger.html

[lyredragon]

12:39 AM on 07/11/2011

leave off the sauces and the american cheese and it sounds alright. I don't know where people think that steak sauce actually tastes good. Burger king won't leave it off of anything anymore. Everyone is hopping on the angus kick, starting with hardees/carl's JR.but honestly, who can tell the difference when it's still served to you factory style and you're going to be eating it on your afternoon commute while you sit in traffic anyway? Seriously, real extra sharp white cheddar, grilled onions, romaine lettuce, a stripe of dijon and a stripe of mayo. Nothing should goop out. It's that simple.

[playsindirt]

11:17 AM on 07/10/2011

To the unwashed masses, that's cheese. I've tried to educate my kids about the cheeses of the world to no avail. They'll still only eat American (which isn't even cheese) and shredded Cheddar in the bag if they're desperate.

[sabelmouse]

12:11 PM on 07/10/2011

i had a subway sandwich once, here in ireland,. it said american cheddar and i expected cheese. i don't know what that was but it was disgusting and sickening.

[playsindirt]

09:16 AM on 07/11/2011

And you guys have such amazing cheeses in Ireland! I bet it was culture shock.

[HappyBrit]

12:36 PM on 07/09/2011

Perhaps it's the hickory smoked bacon. Oh wait we don't grow hickory in England so we don't smoke stuff with it. Could it be the steak sauce? Never seen that in a pub or restaurant in England. Must be the French fries ;-)

Hold on, I've never had a burger in a pub in England...........

[Edward Standley]

11:36 PM on 07/09/2011

I guess to expect anything from a McDonald's is to beg for disappointment. :)

[Paul Houston]

07:07 AM on 07/09/2011

Have the people who "created" this ever been inside an English pub? Have they ever been to England? They should go to the real ale festival at Olympia in London. You can get allegator or ostrich burgers there.

[William House]

01:26 PM on 07/09/2011

I would love to have an Alligator burger. Does England have a lot of Alligators? I live in Louisiana and we have them everywhere, sometimes in your backyard. That's why I think we should have Alligator burgers here. Of course it's a risky job to hunt Alligators.

[belligerent guy]

02:15 PM on 07/09/2011

Good place here in town (North Texas) that sells Emu and Ostrich burgers. I like mine with Provolone, Jalapenos, mayo and a good extra hoppy IPA.

[Styxtap]

03:23 PM on 07/08/2011

"Dijon Mustard Sauce" ...sauce is the key word here. Can they not even use real Dijon? Pathetic attempt at food in my opinion. Mayo base with fake mustard flavoring I'm sure.

[gevan]

02:44 PM on 07/08/2011

Well there was the white cheddar and maybe the steak sauce is English. Illinois? The original name for the Viginia county established north of the Ohio River?

[French Toast]

12:04 AM on 07/08/2011

Ahhh the old buzzword of artisan. A term that would never apply to McDonald's. Artisan to them means "less terrible"

Just another mess of a bacon/cheese/beef combo. Hey McDonald's or Burger King, here is what you do: Copy In N Out Burger. The end.

[grailknight]

08:43 PM on 07/07/2011

A MickeyD;s burger with American cheese and belly bacon. Where does the "English Pub" come in? If they wanted an authentic English Pub burger, this is what you do: take a cooked patty, top it with peas and carrots, top that with mashed potatoes. It's called shepherds' pie.

[KimblySpence]

05:08 AM on 07/08/2011

Uh, no. Beef would be cottage pie (shepherd's pie is lamb - there's a clue in the name) and it wouldn't be a patty topped with peas and carrots, either.

[Spleenz]

07:31 AM on 07/08/2011

Mmmm....now I want a slice of cottage pie. I love that stuff. I usually brush egg on the top layer of mashed potato and sprinkle paprika (for looks) so when it cooks it gets a golden brown and looks gorgeous.

[grailknight]

03:11 PM on 07/11/2011

True enough, but give the price of lamb in the US, I have to use either beef or pork.

[William House]

07:24 PM on 07/07/2011

If the fast food industry wants to try something new maybe they should try Alligator Burgers, you can only change a beef burger so much by adding different toppings. That would increase the alligator hunnter's business and may help with unemployment. Anybody interested in becoming a hunter? HA!

[moflard]

03:48 PM on 07/08/2011

Actually one of my favourite burgers was the Ostrich Burger we used to get at out local farmers market in the UK. Alas I´ve seen kangaroo meat here in Spain, but no ostrich so I won´t be making my own.

[Joapalookatoo]

06:41 PM on 07/07/2011

amazing that McDs has the courage to attempt surpassing their fast food niche at the risk of displeasing their 'constituents' (no, that's NOT their customers, it's their stockholders). They MAY succeed if they truly elect to value QUALITY over quantity and so called 'value' (price). Truth is, Burger King has a better FAST FOOD burger. This is about McDs dominating fast food and competing w 5 Guys, Smashburger and others (incl the local watering hole that often serves a GREAT burger).

[rnl52]

07:35 PM on 07/07/2011

You are right, but at McD locations in the Philippines, Taipei and Tokyo the big mac you get looks like it did in the 60's, complete with paper sleeve around it. Of course I eat the local food, but sometimes you just gotta have a burger.

[scorpian777]

06:41 PM on 07/07/2011

This burger reads like an artery clogger. Yikles!!!

[ebroadcast]

06:37 PM on 07/07/2011

Burp!

[invmartyc]

06:26 PM on 07/07/2011

Soilent Green is made from PEOPLE!

[ickymcpooh]

06:25 PM on 07/07/2011

looks yummy to me and i really dont care what they call it or if it dont really taste like a burger in england from what Ive read its a good thing it dont taste authentic.