The Top 15 McDonald's Food Fails
Craving a burger and fries? There's nowhere quite like McDonald's for fast food on the go. But did you know that there's more to Mickey D's than just burgers? Over the years, the popular fast-food chain has seen loads of menu items come and go — some of these became instant favorites that we all miss, and hope will return, while others didn't fare so well.
Speaking of those that didn't stand the test of time, what are some of the biggest McDonald's food fails ever? From the ill-fated Hula Burger to the badly timed McAfrika, to curiosities like the McSpaghetti and the McLobster, we've rounded up 15 of the most epic food fails Mickey D's has ever had. Most of these have, thankfully, vanished from menus around the globe, though some of the items, like the McSpaghetti and pizza, are somehow still available at certain outlets in specific countries.
1. McLean Deluxe
It's hardly surprising that this burger failed epically. After all, McDonald's isn't exactly the first place you think of to go when you're on a diet.
The McLean Deluxe was advertised as being 91% fat-free ... but 100% delicious. It contained just 10 grams of fat, compared to the Big Mac's whopping 26 grams. How did they replace all that fat, you might be wondering? With water and seaweed. As you can imagine, it didn't taste so hot.
That's probably the reason the Wall Street Journal gave the McLean Deluxe the nickname "The McFlopper." It's also why it had such a short run at McDonald's, arriving on the menu in 1991 and becoming a distant — and unpleasant — memory for most of us by 1996. We're not sure who came up with the idea for the McLean Deluxe, or why they thought a "diet" burger that was low in fat would ever make a good fit for McDonald's, but we really wish they hadn't.
2. Hula Burger
Cast your mind back to the 1960s. That's when Ray Kroc, a McDonald's co-founder, discovered sales at Mickey D's in areas with large Catholic populations were suffering on Fridays. Why? Because that's the day Catholics often abstain from eating meat.
Kroc's solution? Replace the meat burger patty with a grilled pineapple patty, and sandwich it between two slices of cheese — and the Hula Burger was born. We're really not sure what he was thinking. Pineapple with cheese? On a pizza, of course, that's perfectly normal and good. But in any other context it's an abomination.
We don't need to spell out why the Hula Burger was an immediate flop. The story goes that Lou Groen, a McDonald's franchise owner in Cincinnati, came up with the idea for the Filet-O-Fish. When he told Kroc of his idea, Kroc suggested the two go head-to-head on a Friday, to see which sandwich sold more.
Groen sold 350 Filet-O-Fish sandwiches, though Kroc never told Groen how many Hula Burgers he'd sold. Smithsonian Magazine said it was only six, which we can believe. McDonald's waved aloha to the Hula Burger shortly afterward.
3. McCrab
Everybody loves crabcakes, right? Well, in the summer of 2003, McDonald's realized crabcakes were massively popular across Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware and decided it wanted a piece of the action. As a result, there was the McCrab sandwich. The only problem with this crab-based innovation? It was seriously lacking in fresh ingredients and couldn't compete with the best crabcakes out there.
Plus, nobody goes to McDonald's for crab. The McCrab sadly couldn't compete with a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, or even come close. Yet there were some fans of the McCrab who were happy to see its sort of return in 2017.
The McCrab made a brief comeback with a twist as the crab meat sandwich in 2017, but it only came to four restaurants in the San Francisco Bay area. We'll never know whether it was popular with San Fran locals, but it couldn't have been a huge success, as it was pulled from the menu after a short run.
4. Pizza
You go to Mickey D's for a burger, fries, or chicken nuggets, and maybe a milkshake, right? It's definitely not somewhere you typically head when a pizza craving strikes. It's no surprise that when somebody at McDonald's came up with the not-so-genius idea of introducing pizza to the menu in 1989, it wasn't an instant hit.
Why, you ask? Firstly, pizza was only available after 4 p.m. as Mickey D's tried to attract families and a hungry dinnertime crowd. Secondly, pizza takes a while to cook. The comparatively slow cooking times just didn't fit with the speedy service McDonald's is known for.
The fast-food chain took the hint: Pizza wasn't ever going to happen. By 2000, Mickey D's had pretty much discontinued pizza across all of its locations. However, there is still one place you can try McDonald's pizza, if you feel the urge: Head for Orlando, Florida and you'll still find it on the menu, as long as you don't mind the wait.
5. Arch Deluxe
The Arch Deluxe hit McDonald's menus in 1996, offering something a little more sophisticated than your average burger — or that was the plan, anyway. Instead of a sesame bun, the burger came on a potato roll, with peppered bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, onions, and a mustard mayo made from stone-ground mustard.
Though initial focus groups enjoyed the burger, this didn't play out when it went on sale. McDonald's spent over $200 million on an ad campaign which pushed the Arch Deluxe as "the burger with the grown-up taste," showing a commercial where kids hated it. Since the fast-food chain's core market was and pretty much still is families, this wasn't a wise move and alienated their younger customer base.
McDonald's franchisees weren't happy about the burger, either. Making it required purchasing specialty ingredients used only for the Arch Deluxe, and with a poor return on investment, they saw no reason to do so.
Even a commercial featuring a young Jessica Biel before she was famous — and a special dance created just to promote the burger — couldn't save the Arch Deluxe from being consigned to the McDonald's library of epic fails. By 2000, it had vanished from menus around the world, though it made a brief comeback in 2018.
6. Mighty Wings
The '90s saw the introduction of many new and ultimately unpopular items to the McDonald's menu. Right at the start of the decade, in 1990, Mighty Wings — bone-in wings with a crispy, spicy coating — hit menus.
Priced at $1 per wing, Mighty Wings were pretty expensive for the time, and their spicy coating was just too hot for many people. They didn't sell well and were pulled from the menu in 2003.
Mighty Wings did make a brief comeback in September 2013, though. This time around, McDonald's was so confident of the success of these spicy wings, it spent around $65 million on them. It was round two of failure, as in December 2013 the company had to dispose of around $13 million worth of leftover wings. Whoops.
Mighty Wings re-appeared in 2016 at McDonald's across Atlanta but didn't take off in restaurants around the country. Could we see Mighty Wings return for round three? Only time will tell.
7. Onion Nuggets
"Mmmm, chicken nuggets taste so good; I wish they made ones with just onion instead of chicken," said no one ever. Yet somehow, way before McNuggets were even a thing at McDonald's, somebody thought that breading and deep-frying chunks of onion, then serving them with a dipping sauce, was a good idea. Of course, they were right; onion rings are wildly popular. But the same general idea didn't work out at McDonald's.
Onion Nuggets launched in the 1970s, and it's fair to say they weren't popular. You don't need to be a genius to figure out why; if we wanted onion rings, we'd just get onion rings. Thankfully, by the end of the decade, they were a distant, onion-breathed memory, and when Chicken McNuggets came along in 1980, it was as though their onion-y predecessors had never existed.
We really hope that Onion Nuggets never make a comeback on menus across the U.S. We definitely won't be trying them if they do. ... Or will we?
8. McLobster
What is it with McDonald's and seafood? The fast-food chain just will not give up on its efforts to introduce seafood to its menu, even though except for the Filet-O-Fish, it never goes down well.
We all love a New England lobster roll — the freshness of the lobster and the creaminess of the mayo combine to create something really special. The problem is, McDonald's is all about value for money, and lobster isn't cheap.
McDonald's introduced the McLobster to menus in 1992, hoping it would go down as well as New England's lobster rolls. At around $6, it was one of the most expensive items on the menu, and it wasn't popular in most markets.
Shortly thereafter, the McLobster vanished from menus, but Mickey D's, undeterred, wasn't done. The fast-food chain tried to bring the McLobster back several times in New England to no avail, with its most recent attempt in 2015.
In all honesty, we'd rather enjoy a lobster roll on our next trip to Maine. We'll just have a cheeseburger at McDonald's, thanks.
9. McHotdog
Since McDonald's is known for its burgers, it probably figured that introducing another American classic would be a good move. In the summer of 1995, Mickey D's tested the McHotdog across the U.S. Midwest. It didn't take off.
McDonald's might have tried to introduce hot dogs sooner, but corporation founder Ray Kroc prohibited the sales of hot dogs because there was no way to know what ingredients were in them. Kroc commented on this in his autobiography, "Grinding It Out, The Making of McDonald's," saying, "There's no telling what's inside a hot dog's skin, and our standard of quality just wouldn't permit that kind of item." It wasn't until after his death in 1984 that the idea for the McHotdog took off.
Over the years, McDonald's tried to introduce the McHotdog to markets several more times, but it never caught on. Never say never, though. It may have failed in the past, but the McHotdog could return to menus one day.
10. McAfrika
Has there ever been a more epic McDonald's fail than the McAfrika? We don't think so. It's not that it was a bad product per se, but the timing was just all wrong.
A beef burger patty, cheese, salad, and sauce sandwiched in a pitta sounds pretty good, right? The McAfrika was tasty, and when it was launched in Denmark and Norway in August 2002, people didn't mind the combo. Sadly, the summer of 2002 was also when one of Africa's worst modern famines took place.
The launch of the McAfrika couldn't have been more insensitive, and a media storm followed its arrival on McDonald's menus. The Norwegian Red Cross and other aid agencies raising funds to help the plight in Africa heavily criticized McDonald's for its ill-considered release.
The fast-food chain was quick to exercise damage limitation with a public apology to the press, saying they were sorry the product had unintentionally caused offense and that the timing of the launch was unfortunate. McDonald's later agreed to consider a request from aid agencies to share proceeds from its sales of the McAfrika. However, this never happened.
The McAfrika wasn't immediately taken off menus, either. However, the company did agree that aid agencies could display fundraising posters and install collection boxes in its Norwegian eateries selling the McAfrika while the product remained on sale.
11. McSalad Shakers
McDonald's once seemed to be as obsessed with trying to introduce "healthy" items like salad to its menus as it was with making seafood rolls a thing. You don't go to McDonald's for salad, and although you might grab one if you find yourself at a fast-food chain with friends and absolutely can't break your diet, salad is never going to be a best-seller.
McDonald's thought it had a hit on its hands when it came up with the idea of the McSalad Shaker in 2000. Salad in a cup that you shook to mix the dressing with the ingredients? What could go wrong? Nobody ordered it, that's what.
Available in several different flavor combos, like Chef Salad and Grilled Chicken Caesar, the salads themselves weren't offensive — they were actually quite tasty. But let us repeat again for those in the back — nobody goes to McDonald's for salad.
By 2003, McDonald's realized the McSalad Shaker was never going to be a real thing. It moved onto its next salad idea: Premium Salads, served in a regular bowl. Just give us a cheeseburger already.
12. McStuffins
In the 1980s, Hot Pockets were a big thing. Why not introduce a version of them at McDonald's? Because it's a bad idea, that's why.
McDonald's actually waited until 1993 to introduce McStuffins. We're not sure if it's because Hot Pockets had their heyday in the '80s, or if people just didn't need an alternative to the OG, but McStuffins bombed hard.
These stuffed small French baguettes weren't actually unpleasant. You could choose from four flavors, including pepperoni pizza, cheesesteak, BBQ beef, and chicken teriyaki. We're not quite sure why customers didn't go for them. Whatever the reason, McStuffins were quickly removed from menus before the end of 1993.
An epic fail? Undoubtedly. But we wouldn't actually mind if McStuffins made a comeback, and who knows, maybe they will. McDonald's might even introduce some new flavors this time around — how about something spicy? Relaunching McStuffins would definitely be better than any more seafood rolls.
13. McSpaghetti
Most people don't go to McDonald's for lobster rolls. They don't go for salad. And they definitely don't go for Italian food like spaghetti. We think Mickey D's should stick to burgers, but for some unknown reason, the fast-food chain thought pasta was a good move.
In the late 1970s, McDonald's introduced McSpaghetti to its menu. Not only did it have a not-very-catchy name, but it wasn't very flavorful, either. Spaghetti with a meat ragu just wasn't ... McDonald's. Unsurprisingly, nobody was interested in McSpaghetti, and it was removed from most McDonald's menus as quickly as it had arrived.
If you never got the opportunity to give McSpaghetti a try, though we're not sure why you'd want to, never fear. You can still find it on the menu at McDonald's in the Philippines, for some reason, as well as at Mickey D's restaurants in Orlando, Florida. Don't expect gourmet pasta, though, or you'll be disappointed.
14. McGratin Croquette
McDonald's has definitely launched some interesting products in international markets over the years, like the McGratin Croquette. This was mostly introduced to the Japanese market. When we first heard about it, we thought, "How bad can it be? It's a croquette."
Wait until you hear the ingredients. With macaroni, mashed potatoes, and shrimp, this is like no croquette you've ever eaten before. Deep-fried and served on cabbage in a bun, it's just ... weird. The Japanese market agreed, and the McGratin Croquette wasn't a hit.
Maybe if McDonald's had stuck to a simple ham and cheese or chicken and cheese croquette, it would have had a hit on its hands. We can't say for sure, but one thing we do know is that the McGratin Croquette is, thankfully, gone. We hope it never reappears on U.S. menus; at least not without changing up those ingredients into something a little less whimsical.
15. Chicken Fajitas
We'll give McDonald's credit here: It seems to be keen to include as much world cuisine as possible on its menu. Is that a good thing? It might be under other circumstances, but not if you consider this addition.
Nobody needs Mexican food from McDonald's — we have taco trucks, burrito joints, and Mexican eateries for that. It won't shock you to hear that McDonald's chicken fajitas were a huge fail.
Launched in 1993, they were pretty standard, as far as fajitas go: A flour tortilla with chicken, cheese, diced onions, and red and green bell peppers.
McDonald's chicken fajitas weren't around long, though. These days there are still people out there who think of them fondly, with a Change.org petition launched in 2013 to bring them back. It wasn't a success, but that doesn't mean we definitely won't see McDonald's try introducing Mexican food to its menu in future.