McDonald’s

I used to work across the street from the big Hilton Hotel on O’Farrell St in the 2000s and was definitely heartbroken when McDonalds shut down its Powell St location and was replaced by the Sephora cosmetics store. The Burger King next door filled the bill for a while although the prices there were way higher than the BK’s outside of downtown San Francisco.
Seeing a new McDonalds open up at Sutter St during an era when other McDonalds locations were shutting down in San Francisco (Van Ness, 16^th and Mission, Market St at the Über building) was a surprise. I now work at a location that is within manageable walking distance to the Sutter St MickeyDs. Still the great value menu within my usual price range and plentiful seating… also tried the Create Your Taste burger for the first time. The touch menu was easy to navigate and made my burger topping selections with ease. The wait was expected and the burger and fries were brought to my table efficiently. Nice experiences in my weekly visits.
I can’t afford to be a food snob with the income I am making, especially living in costly San Francisco… I welcome any McDonalds as a place for familiar comfort food in my price range. Luckily, I now work near 2 of them within walking distance (Sutter St and Front St). If they open more for other hourly wage-​earning San Franciscans living within their means, I’ll be lovin’ it.

Best McDonalds I’ve ever been to. They should adopt this model everywhere. It actually tasted more like a gourmet burger and you can customize it anyway you want. It’s still McDonalds so keep that in mind but it’s a unique concept and one we enjoyed.

Best customer service of all the McDonald’s been in only complaint is when ask for ketchup, a worker told me they had two machine ketchup on the counter then I said you guys ran out it’s not working on both of them she looked at me like, didn’t know what was talking about since that worker was busy talking to a friend of hers when got my sauce had to ask for more gave me too little minus one star, not paying attention customer simple request anybody could get this issue fixed instead this person didn’t.

Sometimes you just gotta give it to the dirty cheap little pleasures in life, even if it’s not the best option for you! And sometimes, that’s where McDonald’s comes into play! Out of the self serve kiosk locations, I’ve only been to this one and the one at Stonestown. Wait time here is a lot shorter than Stones. A few times when I’ve found myself needing a quick easy option for lunch while at work, I head about two blocks up to this location.
I love these kiosks because we’ve all had an order or two screwed up at a fast food place before. This eliminates the probability of this happening. Plus, with the kiosks we have the ability to order a custom burger or chicken sandwich.
Yay for cheap easy eats! Now how about cheap rent? No?! A girl’s gotta ask right?

This is not a McDonald’s this is more like a café that happens to have delicious salty french fries
Everyone is helpful and nice here
I wasn’t afraid to sit because it is clean here!
No homeless
I’m sad that I just discovered this place wish I knew about the only place that is affordable and fast in union square
Prices are still low

This is the best McDonald’s I have been to. Facility still looks nice and new, clean restaurant, service is prompt and team members on duty were very friendly.
Here, customers can order and pay at the kiosk then wait for their food. They can also walk straight to the registers to order and pay for their food. Customers can actually order their food via the kiosk machines, grab a locator and their food is brought to them. I really like the technological advancement McDonald’s is adapting to. This tactic certainly cuts waiting time in half — PROPS.
Here are some of the items I ordered:
— French fries (small)
— Chicken McNuggets (6 pieces)
— Vanilla Milkshake
The vanilla milkshake is actually very good and this is my second time ordering this beverage. One thing I liked was the cherry they put on top giving it a very rich, delicious taste.
I am impressed with their speed of service, the food comes out fast, fresh and delicious. Also, additional seating is available upstairs. Overall, positive first experience here and I liked it.
Reasons for rating:
— clean facility
— prompt service
— convenient location
— friendly team members
— outlets available

This is the nicest McDonald’s I have ever been to. Hands down. WOW. LOL.
The restaurant itself is VERY spacious. There’s seating downstairs and upstairs. There’s the touchscreen kiosks towards the front, but also the normal cashiers in the back. Everything looks very sleek and modern while still retaining it’s McDonald’s trademarks! It’s like a modern, fancy version of Micky D’s!
So I came here specifically to try out the build your own burger thing. You can customize your burger to your liking using the touchscreen kiosks in the front. There are four stations. The touchscreens are HUGE. And easy to read. So that’s nice LOL. It’s pretty simple to use. The first screen prompts you to select what type of burger you want to customize (beef, grilled chicken, crispy chicken, and I think there’s just a general customize option also). You can pick everything from the bun, to the type/​amount of toppings! At the end of it, you add the burger to your cart and it asks if you want to make it a meal, and what size. The tricky part here is, if you pick a drink DO NOT PRESS CANCEL IF YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND AND PICKED THE WRONG DRINK LOL. That’s what I did. I wanted iced coffee. So I clicked coffee. But ice coffee was under the iced/​cold drinks, not coffee menu. So I tried to go back, but the only option was cancel. And that cancels your whole order and you have to start from scratch. Sad. Don’t make the same mistakes I did, kids. It’d be nice if they added a back button to their ordering software. The staff was incredibly nice and helpful though — they saw me struggling and came by to help me out! Once you finish ordering, you get your receipt and one of those buzzy light up number things, and they bring you the food when it’s ready! The food comes out SUPER fast too!
The food itself gets served to you in a fancier tray than the normal Mcdonald’s trays. Also the fries come in a basket! And the burger comes in a fancy basket too! So many baskets! So fancy! So wow! But actually, kudos on the presentation. The burger was tasty. Probably too early to eat a whole burger, it was 11:30 AM LOL. The food tastes the same as normal McDonald’s. I chose an artisan bun, and that was really good. It was also a HUGE burger because I went buckwild on the toppings LOL. I let the burger sit for a bit after I ate half of it because I was chatting with my friend, and then I couldn’t finish it because 1) I was full, and 2) the beef looked started looking funny. The meat quality isn’t the best, but ya know, this is McDonald’s we’re talking about. It was still a decent burger. The quality and presentation of the food is I think better than most other McDonalds. The fries of course were delicious. McDonald’s fries are the best. They tasted less salty than they normally do, which isn’t a bad thing — healthier for sure LOL.
Overall, this is a cool McDonald’s. The create your own burger thing is great. The restaurant is clean and modern and the staff is overwhelmingly nice and helpful! Definitely the best McDonald’s I’ve ever been to.

In der Nähe des Union Square sind wir mittags in diese McDonalds Filiale reingestolpert. Was wir vorher nicht wussten; es handelte sich hier um eine der neuen Filialen mit dem «Create your Taste» Konzept.
Die Inneneinrichtung dieses McDonalds war einfach nur vom Feinsten. Sehr geschmackvoll eingerichtet und es gab auch extra Plätze, wo man mit dem Laptop arbeiten konnte. Auch die Toiletten waren sauber, modern und gepflegt. Im Restaurant kann man das kostenfreie WLAN nutzen.
Erst im Nachhinein habe ich erkannt, dass man an den Touchscreen-​Automaten sich einen Gourmet-​Burger (Build your custom burger) nach seinen eigenen Vorstellungen kreieren kann. Zur Auswahl stehen 30 verschiedene Zutaten und verschiedene Buns. Das herunterpulen von ungeliebten Zutaten wie Zwiebeln oder Gurken auf dem Standardburger gehören hier der Vergangenheit an. Die Ergebnisse sehen wirklich sehr ansehnlich aus.
Die neuen Filialen sind sicherlich eine Antwort auf die Umsatzrückgänge in der Vergangenheit und den vielen Burgerketten geschuldet, die auf hochwertige Zutaten Wert legen. Wann das Konzept auch nach Deutschland kommt, ist mir nicht bekannt.
Eine wirklich tolle McDonalds Filiale, wo alle auf ihre Kosten kommen. Vom Standard-​Sortiment bis zum Burger zum Selberbauen ist hier alles möglich.

Yes — the future of McD is here and it looks and tastes wonderful! Even my skeptical boyfriend said he’d take their custom burgers over Super Duper. Under $ 10 for lunch in downtown SF? Yes please!
Seriously though, the store owner clearly cares about this store; as evidenced in the design and cleanliness, modern tech (big kiosks, though there’s still a counter in the back) and happy/​friendly wait staff! More stores should be this well maintained and functional.
Pro tip: order a CYT burger (even the guac here surprised me in being fresh!) at the kiosk and your fries will come out super fresh in a metal basket! Be prepared to wait a little longer for the table service, but it’s worth it.

I’d been craving a sausage egg mcmuffin all day. Since I was finishing up with my dentist appointment across the street, I figured it was meant to be. It was Friday, December 11^th around 1:30pm. All day breakfast for lunch?! Yes please!
This is the first fancy schmancy McDonald’s I’ve been to with touch screen kiosks where you can place your own order. It’s kind of fun navigating the menu, but I only wanted a Sausage mcmuffin with egg meal with Hash browns and Mccafe coffee ($ 6.39 small), so it wasn’t too complicated. The kiosk only takes credit cards. Once you’re done ordering, just grab a buzzer, enter in the number and wait for it to go off. If you don’t want to deal with ordering from a giant screen, you can walk to the back and place your order the old fashioned way, with a real person.
Nice McDonald’s that’s both clean and modern. When the craving hits, it might be fun to come back and create my own burger.

I just love the fact that I can order exactly what I want and how much at the kiosk and then pick it up without waiting in line. Plus, there is free wi-​fi and plenty of seating.

I never thought I would see the day that I needed to review a Mcdonalds on Unilocal.As I am sure you never saw the day that you would need Unilocal for a Mcdonalds review but here we are. I am not going to try to rate every sandwich or the fries or any of the other crap that Mcdonalds has. YOU KNOW what Macdonalds is. It is still that. It is still the biggest guilty pleasure to exist in fast food.
You watched super size me, you watched fast food nation and you still don’t care. That’s how powerful this shit is. You know those nuggets aren’t real (edited apparently are real!) and those fries are processed cardboard but you still order the largest version they have. No this review is about the Mcdonald’s itself.
This place is like what you imagined the future to look like. Its what you as a kid thought you would fly you flying car to and or just teleport to from your home. It is located in the posh union square area of SF so you are already feeling pretty fancy about your choice of heart attack foods. Then you get in and see it. Its all modern and sleek with metal and shiny computer screens everywhere. It is kind of narrow but who cares. You can order your food at this mcdonalds without having to talk to a single person. THAT IS THE DREAM.
You go to the nirvana machines and press buttons until you see your dream sandwich. You can order everything from here and when you are done you pick up your buzzer like you would get in an applebees or chillis and wait for a fuckin WAITER to bring you your food. Yes you heard me right. There are servers at this mcdonalds and they will bring you your food. They will also ask you if you need anything like ketchup or extra napkins.
This is it America. We have done it. We have achieved all of our goals. Its time to sell this country back to Britain and go to an island somewhere and retire because it won’t get any better than having a mcdouble or nuggets hand served to your waiting hands.
Everything else is Mcdonalds. Its the same sandwiches and fries. Its the same feeling immediately after ingesting it all that you shouldn’t have done it. But now its in the future. One day all of them will be like this you and you will wonder how you even lived before a time like this.
Welcome to a brave new world people. I for one accept our nugget overlords with welcome arms.

As someone who generally prefers interacting with machines over humans, these «Create Your Taste» kiosks are awesome. I had no idea there were so many possible topping options. And I can imagine how frustrating it would be (for both the customer and the cashier) to order complicated combinations verbally (cue Bön Qui Qui, «But Don’t Get Crazy!»). The presentation for dine-​in is nice, kinda like a Super Duper or Five Guys. The ¼ pound burger patties are the same as they’ve always been, but the advantage is that you can drown them in your favorite flavors. For example, I ordered 4 different cheeses and 3 different creamy sauces with bacon. At that point I could have been eating a frozen veggie burger and I would haven’t known the difference.
It’s also cool that you can order the regular items from these kiosks too and pay with your credit card or phone, so no need to talk to anyone for those transactions. It would be nice if you could customize any item within reason (e.g. no onions, extra pickles, no salt on fries) to really eliminate the need to ever speak with a human at McDonald’s again.
In case you’re wondering, my custom burger emphasized the essential tastes of meaty, cheesy, creamy and spicy:
Double ¼ Pounder
Bacon
American Cheese
White Cheddar
Pepper Jack
Shaved Parmesan
Grilled Tomato
Crispy Onions
Crinkle Cut Pickles
Leaf Lettuce
Jalapeños
Sriracha Mayo
Parmesan Peppercorn Sauce
Creamy Garlic Sauce
Artisan Roll

I came back for a tasting event the President of this McDonalds invited a few people to. So I learned a few new things, burger meat is the same meat they use in all their burgers, difference is they cook to order using a spatula instead of making the burger with a press and pre-​cooking it (I’m talking about the Create your Own burger).
They kind of screwed up again… I ordered my burger on a sesame premium bun and got an artisan bun. I thought it was a fluke. But when I ordered a couple burgers to go for some friends, they did the same thing! Hey at least I got my bacon thins time and it was crispy delicious bacon!
I think less is better, this time I didn’t do caramelized onions or mushrooms, only because I forgot to. I actually enjoyed my simple creation last time better than this time. I do like the crispy onions I added.
My creation this time was:
Sesame Bun (Which I didn’t get), regular onions, Guacamole, Grilled tomato, Lettuce, Pepper Jack Cheese, Fried onions, Garlic sauce.
Chocolate Milk Shake was Crazy sweet! I took a few sips and dumped it.
Because of convenience and customization I think I would come back. Price for just a burger with bacon is around $ 8.

Best MCD I’ve ever been to.
Brand new café set up with plenty of outlets and seating, clean, quiet, spacious (2 levels), CLASSY, and with an exceedingly friendly and helpful manager (I wish I got his name!).
Introverts, now you can order your meal and play on your phone without having any human interaction. Order from the kiosk (credit/​debit), grab a table locater and wait to get served! I swear the fiancé and I were going back and forth for 10 min playing with the kiosks trying to «create» our burger. The poor manager had the upmost patience helping us learn this new technology.
No wasteful paper containers here. Your dine in meals are served in metal baskets. I’m telling you MCD is stepping up their game.
The create your burger has a choice of two meats, and a variety of buns, cheeses, toppings, and sauces. Just like most fast food joints, the burger itself was cooked well done. I had the mushroom, grilled onions, jalapenos, onion, tomato and lettuce. All was pretty good and in good quality. Fries were delicious — as always. I ordered no salt, and hot and unsalted they were.
I’m not one to eat at fast food restaurants frequently anymore, but this is one MCD I would go back to.

I felt better when McDonalds was farther away from me and in not so easy access. This one is just too close! The first few weeks it was open, I kept gravitating there (plus they sent me coupons rrrr). I liked how you could order electronically and have your food brought to you. Plus there are many plugs for us SF people who cannot be unconnected or have a low percentage charge level on our phones.
Now that the luster has waned a little, I can see it for what it is. Customer service is spotty. Sometimes it was great, complete and courteous. Other times, items were missing, my drink, my sauce. I don’t like that you can upgrade so easily to a larger size soda for just a few cents more — that is just encouraging diabetes. I got the Big Mac and the meat did not look real. C’mon ok, I am digging for reasons not to like McDs, especially this one since it is so very close to me.
You will probably see me here once in awhile, ok maybe more, but it is not my fault because it is just too close and convenient to me now. Ugh.

Hold the pickles
Hold the lettuce
Special orders don’t upset us
All we ask is that you let us
Serve it your way…
Oh, wait a sec, that was Burger King’s jingle, wasn’t it? Damn, I always screw that up. The irony in my memory error was that back when I was an acne-​laden adolescent, McDonald’s didn’t do anything to tailor their food to their customers When you ordered a Big Mac, that was what you got. No exceptions. The rigidity must have bugged me back then since I remember I would only order the fries if my friends insisted on going to Mickey D’s on Friday nights. And then I’d go to Winchell’s afterward to gorge on a dozen donut holes all by myself, but that;s another story. Well, let’s flash forward a century or so as it must be officially the End of Days since I’m about to review a McDonald’s. So what, pray tell, has caused me to perform such an act?
After seventy years in operation, it looks like McDonald’s is bending a little, at least at this newly opened franchise where they are introducing their Create Your Taste program on touch-​screen menus that look like giant iPhones (photo:
). It’s quite a dramatic shift for someone like me who hasn’t been in a McDonald’s since Jamie W. insisted we go to one on the Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona. Oh yes he did. In the new set-​up, you have to make several decisions in a matter of seconds, so I wimped out and ordered a Quarter Pounder with Cheese and added some Mushrooms to it. Fries of course and a Diet Coke since I treat my body like a temple. Then some McDonald’s minion told me to take a buzzer, and my order will come to me like a real restaurant.
As I waited, I flipped through the Create Your Taste menu and saw all the choices that were open to me had I been more observant at the big iPhone (photo:
). Jalapenos. Guacamole. Tortilla chips. Hell, I could’ve had a whole fiesta burger if I was so inclined. When my order came out, my Quarter Pounder was almost exactly the same as I recalled it with the same bland patty, barely grilled and with a smattering of mushrooms. Sure enough, the fries were also as I remember them. To me, this is the one item Mickey D’s does really well and only because they add 18 different chemical compounds to enhance the flavor (photo:
). Even with my minor order alteration, the bill came out to over $ 10. So much for their original value proposition.
FOOD — 3 stars… it’s still McDonald’s no matter how much you customize your order
AMBIANCE — 3.5 stars… spanking new location with plug-​in workstations
SERVICE — 3 stars… struck me as extremely overstaffed
TOTAL — 3 stars… the new-​fangled approach doesn’t really alter my opinion of Mickey D’s…some things are better left to one’s memory bank

This is a brand new McDonald’s across the street from 450 Sutter. The interior is very nice. They will bring you your food once the portable alert device they give you goes off.
Nice layout. Plenty of spaces to charge your phones too. I noticed two self serve stations where you can order yourself. It looks like this McDonald’s is trying hard to be as current as possible.

I like this McDonald’s not for the food, but for the charging station where you can sit and charge your phone when you’re in Downtown SF. Also they have 3 stalls in the Women’s bathroom upstairs, didn’t need to buy anything and no security code — just walk right in.
If you use the giant ordering machine it takes Forever for the first time, I watched a lady use it and it took like 20 minutes. You get a buzzer thing and someone brings your food to you. Could be mistakes on your order so check it when you get your food. They have regular cashiers too.
Thank you McDonald’s.
FREE Wi-​Fi
Hrs:
M-​Th 6am-​11pm
F-​Sat 6am-​1AM
Sun 6am-​11pm

Probably one of the best dining experiences EVER! I had pretty low expectations walking through the door but McDonald’s turned my hopes and dreams into a reality. FRESH, MADE TO ORDER BURGERS! Within 8 to 10 minutes from ordering, you can expect a tasty burger made with quality meat, buns and toppings with a pleasant surprise of superior service (both from the kiosk and the servers). Let me break down the experience for you:
+ Kiosk style self-​ordering: Most kiosk style machines are not very user friendly, really confusing and have really annoying response times. The Create Your Taste system, friends, is a masterpiece. I envision myself playing an arcade game while customizing the perfect burger. I choose if I want to create my own MCD Masterpiece or choose a preset option. Then I choose my meat, buns, toppings, and
+ Quality meat (premium beef or sirloin): The patty quality is an impressive 7 out of 10 (with 10 being a 100% Wagyu burger and 1 being a 7– Eleven microwaveable burgers). Succulent and surprisingly not overcooked! I didn’t get a WOW factor but I was pretty damn close to a mouthgasm. Extra patty is $ 1 so go ahead — make it a double!
+ Buns (grilled ciabatta, artisan — maybe an egg bun?, lettuce wrap, and another one that I don’t remember): I ordered the Artisan bun and it was lightly buttered and perfectly toasted. The bread was soft and fluffy. A part of me wished it had a little more body to contain the goodness inside because it started to fall apart as it absorbed fat from the meat and water from the produce.
+ Toppings (bacon, cheeses (American, White Cheddar, and Pepper jack), jalapenos, lettuce, grilled onions, pickles, raw onions, guac, etc.): At a regular McDonalds, all this stuff costs extra. Here, it’s most included in the price! Bacon is an extra $ 1.10. They weren’t over generous with the produce but more so than usual.
+ Service: You order, get a number, and servers come around and bring your meal to you! It makes the 8 – 10 minute wait for my burger extra worth the wait. The floor staff is also in charge with welcoming guests and clearing tables (although picking up after yourself is nice too). I was completely taken aback by how nice and friendly the workers were.
I’m going to tell the new hire that I’m bringing him /​her to a 5 star restaurant for their first day and bringing them to here. Surprise #1: It’s a McDonalds! Surprise #2: Will be an amazing dining experience. Plan a visit here and let them change your perception of McDonalds.

The McDonald franchise is back in San Francisco’s Union Square. This is maybe the first fast food restaurant in the city with a kiosk machine to order your food and customize your meal the way you want. From this location, you can order your meal from either the machine or go to the counter and order your food through the cashier.
I was first introduced to the kiosk machine from Jack in the Box in Las Vegas. And I find the bonehead method very convenient and efficient. Yet very advance in technology.
From the kiosk machine, I selected my usual; a small vanilla milkshake for $ 1.99 plus tax. You can pay with your credit card or debit card at the machine or pay cash at the cashier in the back with a waiting number.
I got my milkshake within minutes after the purchase. I was also taking advantage of the free Wi-​Fi with my mobile device.
This Mickey Dee’s is located in the heart of Union Square/​downtown and within minutes of Chinatown. I am happy the McDonald’s is back in the downtown area!