McDonald’s McSpicy
McDonald’s McSpicy
McDonald’s McSpicy Review:
Price: £3.89/£5.49/£5.89.
Calories: 481 kcal.
Making its way to a McDonald’s restaurant near you, from Wednesday 14th July is the new McSpicy Chicken Sandwich.
Are you hyped? I’m pretty hyped.
This is the first time the McSpicy has been available in the UK, however, it has been on overseas menus for many years now.
The smartest fast food fanatics (yes you!) will have known about this promo item since our tweet on 3rd June – what’s that? Approximately 5 weeks before the official news came out!?
You only have to do a quick Google search to see that the McSpicy was first sold in Singapore WAY back in 1999, and has since been on-sale in other markets such as Australia, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Inevitably, our Press are already hyping it up calling it the “hottest burger yet” – they’ve probably forgotten the Hot (and Extra Hot) & Spicy Buffalo BBQ Chicken although that heat came more from the sauce than the actual burger/patty.
Odds on the same Press knocking it back down again a few days after launch by gleaming social media for only the negative reactions to suit their narrative?
There will be the inevitable crowd of McDonald’s fans knocking the McSpicy for “not being spicy enough” – possibly the same people also complaining that The Golden Arches never try anything new in the UK.
This is now the second new chicken patty/burger in this country in 2021 following on from the Homestyle Crispy Chicken – it’s gotta be better than two Chicken Selects in a bun surely?
On paper, this is basically a McChicken Sandwich but with the McSpicy patty/burger instead of the McChicken… but is it actually any good…or spicy!?
I am going to ignore the pleading of Rob who left an amusing and bizarre message via the website to “Please don’t give this a good review, it’s an utter rip off” – we will talk more about this in our next episode of the podcast.
IMO, the McSpicy is a really good chicken burger and I was quite shocked by the spice/heat levels.
You cannot please everyone and what one person finds spicy, another person will find mild. But for a high street, fast food chicken sandwich/burger, you cannot deny that there is a surprising spiciness to this.
I’m genuinely impressed.
On the first day of release, McDonald’s were giving away a free Milk which I appreciate is a bit of a gimmick. And checking the app, there are no customisation options other than removing ingredients and no, you cannot make this a double whoever asked me that question.
The McSpicy is spicy. I’m a Naga/Madras/Jalfrezi guy and honestly, I was slightly taken aback by the heat and I really did enjoy it.
The coating of the chicken is worth a mention – and no, it’s not “basically a Mayo Chicken with a spicy sauce”, Rob.
This is a McChicken Sandwich (sort of) but with an upgraded crispy coating which certainly feels thicker and crunchier… it’s satisfying and gives the KFC Zinger a run for its money. It’s nothing like the chicken burger on the Mayo Chicken.
The lettuce and Sandwich Sauce (yes there is a difference between this and Cool Mayo) are a safe option and enables McDonald’s to release a new burger but with no additional ingredients required.
I recommend it.
The downside to the McSpicy is that it does feel like a budget burger (I agree with you there Rob!). In fact, when our bag was delivered to our car, at first I thought I was missing the McSpicy as it doesn’t come in a traditional card clamshell. Instead, wrapped in what you would expect on the Saver Menu.
The burger alone is close to four quid depending on where you are… and this does feel more like something that should be in the £2.50 region.
Personally, I’m not fussed by the price but I can see that some people could be offended by the cost of the McSpicy. I wasn’t…
There will be an obvious comparison to the KFC Zinger and to an extent, the heat levels offered by the Spicy Chicken McNuggets (God I miss that dipping sauce they came with!).
If you want scorching heat – go and find some establishment that makes you sign a disclaimer before you eat it – the Cry for Help Wings at Solita can be your first destination/mission!
I believe that the introduction of the McSpicy to the UK market is a positive and could lead to future promotions such as The Spicy Challenge and/or other overseas menu offerings – similar to the postponed/cancelled(?) Worldwide Favourites LTO.
If you need a reminder, The Spicy Challenge was at McDonald’s Singapore in 2014 and offered four levels of spiciness; Sizzling Citrus, McSpicy, Flaming Green Curry and the Fiery Mala Burger.
It’s actually similar to “Meet the Zingers” which KFC introduced in this country in 2016.
Something similar to The Spicy Challenge could work in the UK if you offered each burger/sandwich for two weeks over an eight-week period, and has the potential to appease those cohorts saying that anything McDonald’s offers with “spicy” in the name is never spicy enough. And it never will be…
As you will have already heard via the podcast or seen via our usual channels, up next is the BBQ Quarter Pounder (also available as a Double) which is scheduled for Wednesday 28th July for “4 weeks only – so you’ll have to be quick”!
Our review of that will be slightly delayed due to holiday – OMG I MIGHT MISS IT!!!
After the new BBQ QP, we are informed by Secret Sauce (P.S. we love you Secret Sauce!!) that Monopoly will return on Wednesday 25th August alongside the Big Tasty.
Thinking back to the McSpicy – I was genuinely surprised how spicy the crunchy chicken fillet was and it is (IMO) a more than adequate limited time offer at McDonald’s. I hope it returns in the future in various guises (again see The Spicy Challenge).
Yes it is overpriced for what it is but it is certainly refreshing to see another new chicken patty/burger in the UK especially with an import of an item normally reserved for overseas menus.
That’s what you wanted isn’t it!?
You can never please everybody and some will say it is mild… others will say it’s fiery… I guess that is exactly what the Marketing Department wanted with their #McSpicyDebate tagline.
The McSpicy will be available until Tuesday 24th August – I anticipate sampling one more before that time.
Burger Lad®
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb.html
McSpicy
£3.89
Hot
- Spice levels
- Crunchy chicken
- Overseas menu item
Not
- Bit overpriced
- It's "not" a Mayo Chicken with spicy sauce
Nice review. I will try one tomorrow. Can always go to KFC for a zinger later if this burger doesn’t hit the spot.
Nice review. I had one last night and I was impressed by the level of spiciness too and equally disappointed by presentation as a budget looking burger. I wonder if McDonalds has finally woken up to the fact that spiciness is addictive, will compete with KFC and will keep people coming back for more? It’ll be good to see some more spicy products in future.
Unfortunately as delicious as the burger tastes it didn’t agree with my digestion and I’m usually fine with curries so I’ll be giving it a miss in future.
I’m looking forward to trying this as I can’t have KFC. All of KFC’s chicken has milk in the batter (I’m lactose intolerant) and even the chips have milk on! McDonald’s doesn’t put milk in their batter so this is an awesome option for fellow milk avoiders!
I totally agree with this review and most of the comments .
I had a Mc spicy yesterday lunchtime and have spent alot of my time on the toilet since.
I’m writing this from the toilet in fact and am seriously contemplating going sky diving with no pants on to cool my ring down.
I’m not saying the Mc spicy will give you the Mc shits but if you get effected by hot food like me then I’d swerve the Mc spicy and get a chicken sandwich meal which is basically the same without the heat.
I did not expect this to be as hot as it is so beware and don’t be fooled by the child friendly red and yellow sign.
I always eat spicy food and am also a jalfrezi kinda guy but I ain’t never ate no jalfrezi that set my pants on fire.
I agree with the score but I’d give it only 4/10 for the look.
Comes wrapped in paper like a kid’s cheese burger. Had only mayo for lubricant and looked kinda sad. If I was rating this on the one I had it would only get 2/10 because it looked like someone had slipped over on it before wrapping it up.
Hopefully Mc Donald’s will use the pattie in a more adventurous looking burger in the future.
Not that I’ll be having one.
Whimper.
This is a pretty decent if basic burger. There is not much too it but it achieves what it sets out to do which is deliver spice. Its hard to tell it apart from the Zinger in all honesty which is no bad thing with the KFC just edging it on quality of chicken. I would definitely order again.
I would love it to come with some crispy fried red jalapeños next time and some pepperjack cheese. That would be perfect.
Very enjoyable with a good kick it but it’s ripped through my digestive system and shot out of my ring with fiery intent. I shan’t be returning for another!
I agree with Burger Lads review, although a 5/10 for price is a bit generous. If it was priced the same as a standard McChicken sandwich it would be fine. The free milk offer was a farce however, as when I went to try it at about 1pm the app was having an outage for some technical issues and the restaurant I used refused to honour the offer on the app. And im still waiting to try the raspberry ripple cooler as well as the same restaurant has yet to have their machine working!!!!. If they offer the sandwich as an offer in their app then I’ll most certainly have another – if not I’ll probably get my spicy chicken from a rival with the zinger.
Burger tore my ass hole to pieces
As others have said, burger is decent and not overly spicy when eaten however it would appear the spice is a slow release variety! Woke up in the night with my body on fire and an urgent need to visit the toilet. Even judicious application of wet wipes has not managed to alleviate the burning sensation that this burger has left behind!
I would recommend caution if trying this burger and at least put the toilet roll in the fridge before hand!
no bloody cheese and cant add on line , really??
Burger was nice, however not worth it for the pain I experienced when pooing it out
You mentioned chicken fillet when you talked about the McSpicy.
Looks like chopped, glued and shaped cr*p to me.
Other than that, the coating, crispness and spice levels were good.