It is arguably the biggest name in fast food with virtually everyone at some point in their lives being tempted by the world-famous golden arches. McDonald's has 63 branches across Wales and we've previously rounded up all the McDonald's branches in Wales from best to worst according to their TripAdvisor ratings. You can get more restaurant reviews and other story updates by subscribing to our newsletters here.
I am by no means an expert in fast food or McDonald's but appreciate the for speed and accessibility when visiting the restaurant and often seek it out, usually eating there on a weekly basis. At some point everyone who visits has been forced to endure the same issues like orders forgetting dips, the McFlurry machine being broken, and products selling out (I recall visiting last year to discover a nationwide shortage of Chicken Selects).
When ordering from a chain there is an expectation of what you're about to get – a familiarity of sort that keeps bringing people back because they know and enjoy it. As the age-old expression goes: "If it ain't broke don't fix it."
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With a huge customer base to satisfy it's always going to be likely you will at some stage encounter an unsatisfying McDonald's takeaway alongside one that will make you want to return. According to TripAdvisor rankings the McDonald's in Caerphilly's Crossways Park is the worst in Wales coming in at a mere 1.5 overall rating with a lot of complaints surrounding food quality, service, and missing items. A quick glance at a food hygiene rating of the premises shows a score of two out of a possible five and declares "improvement necessary" following an inspection in September 2021.
Visiting the restaurant during a lunchtime in the school Easter holidays I was admittedly not overly enthusiastic about how busy it may be with the likelihood of mistakes occurring as a result. I encountered my first problem before even setting foot within the restaurant as queues of cars and vehicles were overspilling outside of the site, which is quite common for a McDonald's in my experience.
It was my first time visiting this particular branch and I initially thought the queue was from people ordering from the drive-through and I had not realised it was mainly due to the site operating a one-way system which forced cars towards the drive-through. Queues outside the front door were expected given the time we visited but quickly disappeared and I was ready to order. One of the most common complaints about the branch was its allegedly "awful service" which I did not encounter on my visit. An employee was helping people move along after ordering and queried if she could help me in anyway – you can't really complain about that side of the service as staff were frequently interacting with customers and making sure they had a good experience. I even overheard a conversation talking about the site being the worst-rated in Wales which they seemingly disagreed with.
Inside was how I would associate the restaurant anywhere else – busy with kids running around with plenty of staff busy at work. Queues were present but people didn't appear to be waiting around for any noticeable length of time. Given the time of year there was plenty of the management team on board making sure the ship ran smoothly during peak time and it showed – tables were cleared within seconds and it was particularly clean inside with not a food stain in sight.
A large number of complaints left on the TripAdvisor site were directed at missing items and poor food or drink quality with one person even having taken a ruler to a coffee to showcase the fact it was half-full. I decided to get a wide order to see if I encountered similar problems – a large Big Mac meal with a vanilla milkshake and six nuggets to test if they would forget dips and if the milkshakes were out of service.
Coming in at £9.58 it was cheap and cheerful and a nice one-off for lunch but not something I would be turning into a habit anytime soon. Waiting more than minutes for the food was nothing to complain about given how busy it was and the manager delivering the goods was helpful and offered me more sauces if needed – although she did say "everything should be there" which suggests missing elements may be a common problem.
To my delight everything came as I ordered and I had no issues at first glance – the milkshake was appropriately filled and chips were freshly salted and hot. The Big Mac was in slightly poor condition, looking a bit sad with a scarce spread of the sauce, and that really showed when eating as it just felt a bit dry. It was not the best one I have had by any means and it was also not particularly warm so it could certainly lay claim to the dubious honour of the worst Big Mac in Wales.
It wasn't the greatest start to the meal but the chips were the saving grace. You either get good or bad in my experience – there is no in-between – and when I visited they were fresh hot and generously salted. The nuggets came with the dips as I ordered. Eating in, none of my items were missed but drive-thru can be a different story and it was noticeable when looking out the window and watching people rummage through their bags to check orders.
The chicken nuggets weren't what I was used to per se – they felt slightly soggy and just not prepared enough. I would have preferred the batter cooked slightly more but it is personal preference.
Ultimately it was like any other McDonald's I have had. Looking at the reviews there are horror stories of missing items, cold food, hair in the food, and poor service with some even describing it as the "worst McDonald's in the UK".
I didn't have a 100% experience but I also did not have an experience that would deter me from going again and having read the reviews I expected far worse. I think the particular branch was well-staffed and prepared for a busy period and I think it helped. Consistency is difficult when fast food is such a high turnover and I think bad results are inevitable from it at points.
