McDonald’s unveils Christmas menu with ‘sensational’ new burger and Grinch ‘adult Happy Meal’

If you’ve been enjoying the World Heist menu at McDonald’s lately, we’ve got some bad news for you.

The items from Canada, Japan, Australia and more are about to disappear, stolen by the Grinch… well, kind of.

Things are getting festive at Maccies as of November 26, and the Pineapple McSpicy and Mac and Cheese Bites will be replaced by a brand new Grinch meal, as well as Grinch-themed desserts.

If this weren’t enough, several favourites are also returning and there’s a brand new burger and some new drinks.

The Grinch Meal (£9.09) is the adult Happy Meal you’ve all been waiting for, except for instead of a toy, you’ll get a pair of Mismatched Grinch x McDonald’s festive socks in a box.

For this you can choose between a Big Mac, McPlant, or 9 McNuggets, and the main is served with Grinched McShaker Fries (which have a gherkin seasoning), and a regular drink.

The Grinch McShaker Fries are also going to be available to order separately, for £2.19 (Medium) or £2.99 (Large).

Carrying on with the Grinch theme, there’s a bright green Grumble Pie (£2.39), inspired by the main man himself. This sweet treat features a custard filling along with a cranberry and apple fruit mixture.

Or if you prefer ice cream there’s a new Mischief McFlurry (£2.49 regular, or £1.89 mini) that sees dairy ice cream swirled with Smarties, sugar Christmas trees, and strawberry sauce.

All of this can be washed down with a Frozen Grinch Lemonade (£3.19), which features a vivd green melon swirl.

Also new on the menu is the Cheesy Chicken Stack (£8.99 for a meal), a burger that sees a chicken breast topped with a mega cheese melt, chipotle salsa, lettuce and a cheese slice, because really you can never have too much cheese.

The Big Tasty is also making a comeback, as well found out earlier this week, but with a few changes.

Customers can order a Single (£7.99 for a meal) or Double Big Tasty (£9.49 for a meal) and now have the option to add on bacon for an additional 90p.

The burger now uses quarter pounder patties, white cheddar instead of emmental and shredded lettuce instead of a slice.

And Cheesy Melt Dippers (£2.79) are returning as well, served with a rich tomato dip.

Rounding out the festive menu, there’s a Chocolate Brownie McFlurry (£2.49 regular, £1.89 mini) with brownie cookie pieces and chocolate sauce, a new Coconut Latte (£2.89) and a Coconut Hot Chocolate (£2.49).

All of these items will be around for a limited period of six weeks once they launch. So you’ll have to be quick if you want to get your hands on them.

What did Metro’s specialist food writer think of the new items?

I was invited down to Maccies HQ for a special preview of the Christmas menu ahead of its launch and I think I found my new favourite McDonald’s burger.

This is a bold claim, but the Cheesy Chicken Stack is sensational.

The combination of the crispy chicken and the melty cheese is what fast food dreams are made of, and the chipotle salsa has a really nice kick to it.

Granted, the only thing particularly festive about it is the decadence. Otherwise it’s more Tex-Mex in terms of the flavour, thanks to the salsa, gooey cheese and crispy chicken combo that makes me think of nachos.

As a big fan of the McShaker fries on the World Heist menu, I was pleased to see they were staying on the menu in some form or another. If I’m completely honest, I don’t think these gherkin ones are quite as good as the sour cream, but they’re still very fun and I like them more than regular fries.

When you first open the sachet, the pickle smell is very intense, which will probably put many people off, but once you’ve added it to the bag and given your fries a shake, the taste is much more subtle.

As for the rest of the new items – the Grumble Pie is visually striking and festive but I didn’t think it packed much of a punch. It’s perhaps a little more interesting than your basic apple pie, but I much prefer the Chocolate Caramel one. Can we get that one back again soon, please?

The Mischief McFlurry also isn’t really anything to write home about. It’s pretty much your standard McFlurry, just in Christmas colours.

The Grinch Frozen Lemonade is super citrusy and does what it says on the tin, but the Coconut Hot Chocolate surprised me the most.

I’m not much of a coconut fan, so I wasn’t expecting to like this at all but I actually really did. You can definitely taste the coconut, but again, it’s not too overpowering and it pairs really nicely with the chocolate.

It was always going to be a tough job following up the World Heist, but overall, I think McDonald’s has done a pretty solid job with the Christmas menu this year, giving fans a mix of old and new items and offering a bit of festive fun with the Grinch partnership.

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