McDonald's Launches 'Big Arch' Burger in Major Market. Is It the New Big Mac?
McDonald's hamburgers are instantly recognizable. The Quarter Pounder. The Big Mac. The....Big Arch?
That's the name of the oversized burger the chain launched with great fanfare on June 18 in the United Kingdom. Some think the mega burger could be headed to the U.S. soon.
Reviews were mixed, although some believe the Big Arch could end up rivaling the Big Mac.
"The Big Arch burger is what a Big Mac once was," one man wrote on X. Another person called it a "new restyled Big Mac."
"McDonald's is launching a new burger called the Big Arch and I got an early first taste. Spoiler alert: It's better than a Big Mac," wrote a Metro UK journalist, Courtney Pochin.
Although the burger was first rolled out in more limited fashion as a pilot program in 2023, McDonald's just gave it a major, sweeping public relations-fueled rollout in the UK.
Ben Fox, the chief marketing officer for McDonald’s UK and Ireland, told Design Rush: “The Big Arch is the most exciting burger we’ve launched in a generation, a future classic, giving customers exactly what they’ve been asking for… 2x juicy, 100% British and Irish Beef patties, cheddar cheese, crispy onions and a new signature Big Arch sauce."
According to the June 18 Design Rush story, "McDonald’s sent out oversized McDelivery and takeaway bags marked with the 18.06.25 launch date."
"Following rollouts across Europe, the UK leg involves a nation takeover spanning social, organic social, OOH, TV, cinema, radio, in-restaurant, CRM and PR," Ibbonline wrote.
But not everyone was a fan. "What an absolutely disastrous disappointing overpriced burger which quickly turned into a huge pile of mess. It’s certainly big but far too much over powering smokey and tangy sauce," wrote another X user.
I just tried @McDonaldsUK new burger #BigArch
— Ophelia Butts ( ㅅ ) ???? (@Ophelia_ButtsUK) June 18, 2025
What an absolutely disastrous disappointing overpriced burger which quickly turned into a huge pile of mess. It’s certainly big but far too much over powering smokey and tangy sauce.
The bun disintegrated within a couple of bites,… pic.twitter.com/lD2LtrTJRE
But another person wrote on X, "Can confirm the new big Arch burger in McDonald's is by far the best burger they've done for years."
So what's in it?
"Two 100% beef patties, white cheddar cheese slices, crispy and slivered onions, lettuce, pickles and the Big Arch sauce delivering that distinctive McDonald’s taste all in a poppy & sesame seed bun," McDonald's explains on its website, saying it's only available for a limited time.
"The Big Arch is definitely a need for sauce-lovers, as its signature sauce covers most of the burger. I found the sauce was oozing out of the burger on each bite and required a fair number of napkins as I began to see the distinct yellow marking my hands and the table around me," wrote the Manchester Evening News.
McDonald's first introduced the Big Arch burger in 2023 in more limited fashion with the goal of introducing "a larger, more satiating burger at restaurants across the world in response to customer demand," according to Eat This. Initially, in 2024, the burger was unveiled in Canada, Germany and Portugal, the site reported, and it was successful, leading to a greater rollout. The UK expansion is a big test, with the U.S. possibly on the horizon.
"We’re encouraged by the results showing the Big Arch has universal appeal with sizable opportunity across markets,” McDonald’s CFO Ian Borden said during an earnings all last October, according to Eat This. “And thanks to the success of the pilot, we’re accelerating plans and we’ll work with franchisees and partners to deploy the Big Arch faster to more international markets in 2025."
CEO Chris Kempczinski told CNN in 2023 that a bigger burger could also come to U.S. markets.
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