McDonald’s is celebrating its European presence by showing how its restaurants across France, Italy, and Portugal draw on local culture and community to shape their uniquely regional menus.
According to its press release, McDonald’s has empowered its European teams in those countries to develop menu items that reflect the tastes and traditions of their local communities.
McDonald’s Menus in France
France is home to more than 1,500 McDonald’s restaurants, which together serve nearly two million meals each day.
McDonald’s France incorporates iconic local ingredients into menu items like the Croque McDo—a take on the classic croque monsieur—and its assortment of McCafé macarons.
The company also partners with 28,000 local farmers and employs 78,000 people, underscoring its deep economic ties to the region.
McDonald’s Menus in Italy
In Italy, more than 760 McDonald’s restaurants now serve Italian‑inspired items such as the Pistachio McFlurry, Parmigiano Reggiano Snack, and Chicken McNuggets made with Asiago PDO—a cow’s‑milk cheese from northern Italy—and Speck Alto Adige PGI, a lightly smoked, dry‑cured ham from South Tyrol.
These menu innovations were developed in collaboration with Italian chefs.
McDonald’s Menus in Portugal
In over 200 locations across Portugal, McDonald’s offers classic Portuguese dishes such as Pastel de Nata (traditional egg custard tarts, made with flaky puff pastry), rustic soups like Carrot Cream, Green Bean, and Peasant Soup, and locally sourced Delta Coffee.
Its Portuguese restaurants also feature interiors designed to reflect the warmth, hospitality, and traditions of Portuguese culture.
This approach is not unique to these countries. Recent years have seen the introduction of unique, sometimes surprising, menu innovations such as Switzerland’s McRaclette or The Netherlands’ McCrispy with Old Amsterdam cheese, as reported by Fortune.
In fact, localized items are estimated to make up about a third of McDonald’s menu in each European country.
What People Are Saying
Tim Kenward, McDonald’s Chief Marketing Officer for International Operating Markets, told Fortune: “The heritage is absolutely American … in the U.S., they probably hold more true closeness to the core when they innovate, versus in Europe, where they stem a little bit away from the core—but respectfully.”
Photojournalist Gary He, author of McAtlas, told the BBC: “McDonald’s has succeeded because it has brilliantly incorporated local flavours and ingredients–from the McRaclette in Switzerland to egg bulgogi burgers in South Korea and the Halloumi McMuffin in Jordan. Without adjusting, without localising, without kow-towing to local tastes and local cultures, you can’t do business on an international level, no matter how big or powerful you are.”
According to Fortune, McDonald’s introduces an average of ten new items in each European market annually, but only the most successful items become permanent additions.