It’s official, McDonald’s is 50 years old! The fast food chain is celebrating a very special birthday in the UK and to celebrate we’re taking a look back in time.
Over the last five decades, McDonald’s has changed substantially – from its look, to its menu items, and even the way you order food – it’s come a long way.
The very first McDonald’s in the UK launched on November 13, 1974 in Woolwich, and back then a Big Mac cost just 45p and a cheeseburger was 21p.
Now the food is more expensive, but there are also so many more options available. The Egg McMuffin arrived on the menu in 1982, while Chicken McNuggets weren’t launched until 1984. Believe it or not, these replaced Onion Nuggets, as customer tastes evolved.
The Happy Meal followed in 1986, along with the UK’s very first drive thru restaurant, but it was the 90s that saw something really interesting go on sale.
It’s a somewhat controversial product that many often think is fake, or don’t believe really existed as it wasn’t around for very long:
Yep, in the mid-1990s, McDonald’s trialled personal pizzas in the UK, which were an 8-inch pizza split into four slices. These came in three different flavours: Cheese, Cheese & Pepperoni, and the Deluxe (cheese, green pepper, onion, pepperoni, and more).
These were launched ahead of 1994, when the chain launched the power/breakfast/working lunch which allowed city workers to order food to their desks. Orders were placed by fax or telephone and menu options included the personal pizzas.
According to McDonald’s website, the pizzas were sold for a ‘limited period in some restaurants’ in the mid-1990s as part of a ‘sales and product test’.
But they might want to consider it, as the pizzas have a big fan base online. On Reddit people hailed the McPizza, or Pimma as some also call it, ‘amazing’, ‘delicious’, and ‘one of the best tasting pizzas’ they’ve ever had.
Others shared fond childhood memories of going to order a pizza at their local Maccies, with u/LochNessMansterLives saying: ‘I used to beg my mum to take me to get McDonald’s pizza. The last McD that had it was 25 min away and I would crave it!!!’
While u/PassengerTop2805 said: ‘Haven’t had in 30 years but I can still taste it. It was soooooo good.’
u/DevoALMIGHTY shared: ‘This is one of my fondest food memories. My granddad took me to try it, and we went back every week til it was discontinued.’
And u/brown_boognish_pants wrote: ‘Honestly the pizza was pretty great for what it was. The crust was totally delicious and kind of special honestly. That’s what I remember the most. The crust was actually great. It’s still fast food but it was something everyone liked where I lived. I’d have to say it was dramatically underrated if people think it was a flop. Better than lots of pizza chains. It was surprisingly great.’
The pizza was also sold in the US, launching there slightly earlier in the 80s. It was discontinued in almost all of the chain’s American restaurants, with two locations continuing to sell pizza for years afterwards. It’s thought you can still order pizza today at the world’s largest McDonald’s in Orlando, Florida – but it’s not the same as the one from the 90s.
Since pizzas were discontinued, we’ve been inundated with various other new menu items in the UK, including the McFlurry, which launched in 2000. More than 1.7 billion of them have been sold here over the last 24 years.
But it’s actually the, taking the top spot with £12.5 billion in sales over the last 50 years. The Big Mac comes in second, with £1.9 billion in sales, and the Cheeseburger is third with £1.8 billion.
Mcdonald’s UK 50 year timeline:
. McDonald’s first UK restaurant opens in Woolwich High Street. It was the 3,000th McDonald’s to open in the world and over 1,000 American guests flew in for the official opening.
. The price of a Big Mac was 45p and a cheeseburger was 21p.
. First TV advert is broadcast in the UK.
. First exclusively take-away restaurant opens in Shepherds Bush, London.
. The iconic Egg McMuffin arrives on the menu.
. McDonald’s launches Chicken Nuggets to replace its Onion Nuggets, as customer tastes evolve.
McDonald’s becomes the first restaurant group in UK to introduce nutritional information onto its menu throughout the country to help customers make an informed choice about what to eat and drink in its restaurants.
. First Drive Thru opened in Fallowfield, Manchester providing a new way to order.
. Happy Meal launched: early toys included Penfriends, Play-Doh and Christmas baubles.
. First UK franchisee – John King – opens a restaurant in Hayes, Middlesex.
. Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) becomes registered in the UK. Since its launch it has raised over £100m and supported over 95,000 families across the UK.
McDonald’s trials personal pizzas; an 8-inch pizza split into four and available in three flavours: Cheese, Cheese & Pepperoni and the Deluxe.
. McDonald’s launched the power breakfast/working lunch which allowed city workers to order food to their desks. Orders were placed by fax or telephone and menu options included the personal size pizza.
. McDonald’s starts cracking free-range eggs into its Breakfast Menu, sourcing from British and Irish farms, many of which are family owned.
McDonald’s opens its 1000th restaurant in the Millenium Dome, designed to maximise the use of recyclable and environmentally sound materials.
. McFlurry launched.
Fruit bag introduced to the menu.
McDonald’s launches Wifi in restaurants.
McDonald’s Apprenticeships launched, helping over 20,000 people kickstart their career to date.
McDonald’s launches Foundation Degree, which offers managers the chance to get a degree while they work.
McDelivery launches – increasing ways for customers to order and enjoy their McDonald’s favourites.
McDonald’s opens its first net-zero restaurant in Market Drayton, Shropshire.
. Convenience of the Future rolls out – an investment of over £250 million over four years to support in redesigning McDonald’s restaurants to keep pace with customer expectations today and into the future.
. After three years of research and development, McDonald’s launches its first vegan plant-based burger option: the McPlant.
McDonald’s launches the MyMcDonald’s App.
McDonald’s now has 1,435 restaurants, serving almost 4 million customers a day, across the UK, with support of our 200 franchisees and 171,415 crew members.
Through its supply chain, it has added £2.13 billion indirect gross value added to the economy in the UK, helping support around 15,775 jobs in our farming communities and further afield.
McDonald’s now offers 20 different apprenticeships across 9 providers including 4 universities and have supported 21,000 people in gaining an apprenticeship.
When McDonald’s opened there was just one way to order, and now there are 11.
Will pizza ever come back to McDonald’s UK?
The McDonald’s website says the chain doesn’t have any plans to put it on the menu again. But perhaps that’s for the best…
We recently discovered that bringing back an old classic doesn’t always go to plan, as fans spent almost a decade begging McDonald’s for the McRib, only to be disappointed when it made its grand return in October 2024.
Eagle-eyed customers spotted there had been a small change to the way the sandwich was made, with the barbecue sauce being squeezed onto the bun, instead of the pork patty being submerged in the smoky, sweet stuff. As such, people were quick to say Maccies had ‘ruined it’, and the new version was too ‘dry’ as a result.
And this isn’t the only change the chain has madre of late that’s caused a stir with customers. Some noticed the ingredients in the popular sweet and sour sauce had recently been tweaked, with Apricot Puree being swapped for Apple Pulp, and soy sauce being removed.
A McDonald’s spokesperson told Metro that the recipe has a ‘very minor variation’ which is to do with them using a ‘contingency supplier’, who created dips for McDonald’s in Germany.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.