17 Unique McDonald's Dishes From Around The World

If every fast food chain is in a race for worldwide domination, it's safe to say that McDonald's is comfortably in the lead. With over 38,000 locations in more than 100 countries, the Golden Arches have a firm foothold across multiple corners of the globe, thanks in no small part to the chain's skill in adapting its standard lineup of burgers, fries, and shakes to meet local tastes.

From the U.S. to Japan, and Venezuela to South Africa, McDonald's menus vary across the world. While some items — like the McNuggets and Big Mac — are global hallmarks of the brand, there are some dishes you'll only find in a select number of countries, if not just one. These are usually pretty reflective of a location's culture. For example, while vegetarians and vegans are vastly outnumbered by meat eaters in the U.S., other countries are not as carnivorous, so in those places McDonald's has introduced dishes that will appeal to local appetites.

Every now and then, McDonald's restaurants Stateside will inherit some of the best menu items from worldwide locations. If they didn't, we'd be missing out — for example, the McDonald's iconic McFlurry was invented in Canada. However, there are still plenty of unique McDonald's menu items that are only sold outside the U.S., such as these. 

For the most part, what happened when McDonald's tried selling pizza was that each attempt has been largely unsuccessful. While the McPizza had a fairly long run in the 1990s, the chain ultimately decided that this menu item was more hassle than it was worth, and scrapped it everywhere — except for one location in Orlando, Florida. In 2023, however, the chain decided to take another stab at a pizza-adjacent dish with the launch of Panzerotti in Italy.

Stuffing copious amounts of Italian tomatoes and mozzarella into a small fried crust, McDonald's Panzerotti was essentially the chain's take on pizza pockets or mini calzones. The chain's Italian menu has a reputation for being a step above some of its other locations, and this dish was considered as a tasty addition to the lineup — although some people who sampled it have accused Panzerotti of being too dry or too greasy for their liking. 

Heartier foods are always welcome in winter. That explains the addition of a Cheese Beef Stew Pie as a seasonal item at McDonald's locations in Japan. Similar in size to the McDonald's Apple Pie, this specialty encases hot cheese, beef, carrots, and potatoes, mixed with veal stock (a rather sophisticated addition for a McDonald's dish), all together in a pastry crust.

Even when it's not Cheese Beef Stew Pie season, McDonald's excels at pies in Japan. While the good ol' McDonald's Apple Pie is the main fixture of its dessert menu, Japan's McDonald's locations have also experimented with sweets such as a sweet potato and caramel chocolate pie, a matcha-flavored pie, and a maple-butter hotcake pie. The latter sounds particularly enticing, but it was sadly only released as part of the chain's limited-time Kissa Mac menu, which took inspiration from the retro-style Japanese coffee shops known as kissaten. 

If you ever find yourself passing through Germany and need a break from the sauerkraut and strudel, McDonald's offers a unique experience with the Big Rösti. Also popular in neighboring Austria and other European countries, this burger contains a tantalizing beef patty, cheese, bacon, and a rösti patty — made with grated fried potatoes, not unlike hash browns — all drizzled in Big Rösti sauce and sandwiched within a kaiser roll topped with cheese and bacon bits.

The Big Rösti tends to come out in winter; during the same season, McDonald's locations in Bulgaria have previously also offered chicken and fish variants of the burger. Reviews are pretty mixed on the Big Rösti, with one complaint being that the rösti patty is actually too dry to really stand out as a positive addition. However, considering the fact that it's still going strong as a seasonal item over a decade after its debut, it's safe to say that there's a huge appetite for the Big Rösti in Europe. 

Japan boasts one of the most unique McDonald's menus, with everything from the drinks to the desserts differing significantly from items available in the U.S. When it comes to its entrees, the Gracoro is one of the most unique dishes you could order. Instead of relying on beef or chicken, this revolves around a croquette filled with shrimp, macaroni, and a creamy sauce atop a bed of cabbage. Its name combines the "gra" of gratin with "koro," as in the beginning of "korokke," the Japanese term for croquette.

The Gracoro has been a fixture on Japan's winter menu since 1993. It has also inspired several similar sandwiches over the years, such as one with a garlic tartar sauce in 2024. While the Gracoro may not be to everyone's liking, its annual return has become so widely anticipated by McDonald's customers in Japan that it's gained a cult following, similar to America's legions of McRib fans. 

Also known as chicken porridge, Bubur Ayam is a menu item at McDonald's in Indonesia and Malaysia. It's a common comfort food in Southeast Asian cuisine, and this probably isn't what you first envisage when you hear the word "porridge." Instead, it combines rice cooked to a porridge-like consistency with shredded chicken.

While the Malaysian version tosses in spring onions, ginger, shallots, and chilies, the Indonesian version relies on celery and fried onions. As per McDonald's Malaysia, each bowl of Bubur Ayam is "prepared fresh with ingredients that'll remind you of home." In Indonesia, this is strictly a breakfast item that's served alongside the likes of standard McMuffins, hotcakes, and another rice dish, Nasi Uduk, that is served with chili paste, egg, and onions. While you can also find standard porridge at McDonald's in the U.K., you'll need to make the trip to Southeast Asia to secure a taste of McDonald's chicken porridge. 

If you're looking for a quick way to assess the uniqueness of a country's McDonald's menu, we recommend skipping straight to the desserts section and taking a peek at the pies. In the U.K., customers have previously been treated to limited-edition flavors as tasty as Terry's Chocolate Orange and Hot Cross Bun — but in our eyes, McDonald's Hungary takes the cake with the offer of a Raspberry and Cream Cheese Pie.

Not only does this promise a blend of two sweet flavors, but it also tosses in chocolate for good measure by wrapping the ingredients in a cocoa dough. Not to mention, it's also prepared like McDonald's fried apple pies, as is often the case outside the U.S. The same pie was also previously offered at McDonald's restaurants in Malaysia. In the U.S., the closest we've come is the Strawberry & Crème Pie, which uses a vanilla-flavored crème instead of cream cheese. 

Gzik is a beloved dish in Poland that mixes a kind of cheese called twarog (which is similar to cottage cheese) with radish and other flavorful ingredients, like chives or onions, to create a dip. McDonald's may not sell gzik specifically in Poland, but it does offer a breakfast item that draws on the same flavors: the McMuffin Cottage Cheese and Radish.

This takes the regular bun used in a McMuffin and fills it with twarog, thin slices of radish, arugula, butter, and spices. As one fan on X decalred upon this handheld meal's launch in 2019, "That's peak Polanding." It joins a lineup of other menu items specifically tailored to the tastes of Polish customers, including the Farmer's McMuffin (which contains pork, cheese, and a mustard horseradish sauce) and the WieśMac (a relatively standard burger topped with the same sauce). 

If you're ordering food at a McDonald's in the Middle East, forget about your basic burgers, because it's all about the Chicken McArabia. We can attest to the fact that this dish — which is available in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain — is one of McDonald's finest culinary creations. Putting a McDonald's spin on a traditional shawarma sandwich, the McArabia wraps two halal chicken patties with a tasty garlic sauce, lettuce, tomato, and onion in flatbread.

It first made its debut in 2003, during a period when McDonald's and other U.S. products were rapidly losing ground in the region due to boycotts and political tension. The idea was to bring back customers with a product that directly reflected local appetites. "It has a local Arabic taste," Rafic Fakih, the then-managing director of McDonald's in the UAE, explained to Arabian Business. "The bread is close to Arabic bread; the chicken is grilled with a garlic sauce. We named it McArabia because it has Arabic bread and an Arabic taste. We are targeting everybody." 

In Spain, burger lovers can take their pick from the McDonald's McExtreme selection. As the name suggests, this lineup goes beyond what you expect from the standard fast food burger by offering more innovative flavors, such as the McExtreme Intense Cheddar.

The one that sparks the most envy for us is the McExtreme Pulled Pork (and its supersized double version). While McDonald's has toyed with pulled pork sandwiches in the past, this one promises a whole new world of flavor by layering beef patties with juicy pulled pork marinated in BBQ sauce, along with bacon, crispy onions, smoked cheese, and smoked mayonnaise. The McExtreme Pulled Pork was first launched in 2024, and definitely isn't designed for anyone who prefers a lighter fast food experience. For real meat lovers, however, this is nothing short of a dream come true — even if it sadly remains out of reach for anyone who isn't passing through Spain anytime soon. 

The McDonald's Egg & Cheese Burger is exactly what you'd expect. Well, nearly what you'd expect. Sold at McDonald's restaurants in Hong Kong, it's similar to the Egg & Cheese McMuffin, using a freshly cracked egg and a slice of savory cheese. The twist? As if to remind you that this is an anytime-of-day meal, not a breakfast item, McDonald's tops the egg and cheese with ketchup and mayonnaise. 

Egg may not be to everyone's taste, but if the menu is anything to go by, it's a hit with local customers. Other egg-focused dishes among the selection of food served at McDonald's in Hong Kong include the Sausage 'N Egg Twisty Pasta (which is served as a breakfast item) and the Chicken & Egg Burger. This is another case where McDonald's clearly understands its audience. In general, Hong Kong's population eats a significant amount of eggs, with the population's average consumption estimated to be over 400 tons per day, according to Statista. 

Two major changes hit the McDonald's menu in Vietnam in 2024. The first was that the country said a shocked farewell to one of McDonald's most famous menu items, Chicken McNuggets. The second was that the chain introduced a whimsical replacement: Happy Chicken Bites.

For all intents and purposes, these are basically Chicken McNuggets. The key difference is the shape. Sold in batches of up to 20, Happy Chicken Bites take the form of stars or hearts. This change may make them more fun to look at, but it hasn't necessarily impressed local customers. As one Reddit user so succinctly put it, "They're worse. Meatier but way worse batter / crunch."

Elsewhere on the McDonald's menu in Vietnam, customers can find McWings. While something similar was once sold in the U.S. under the name Mighty Wings, today you'll need to travel to Vietnam — or other far-flung nations like the UAE or Thailand — to get a wing fix at McDonald's. 

Spaghetti? At McDonald's? For those of us old enough to remember, there was a time when this didn't sound quite so far-fetched. Back in the 1980s and early '90s, McDonald's doled out spaghetti — also known as McSpaghetti — nationwide. By 1992, however, the chain had already started to give up on the endeavor. McSpaghetti was eventually dropped from McDonald's in the U.S. (with the exception of the world's largest McDonald's in Orlando, Florida), leaving Indonesia and the Philippines as the only countries with the pasta on its national menus.

Today, both countries offer McSpaghetti, topped with tomato sauce. In the Philippines, this is served with a piece of fried chicken, much like a menu item of its regional competitor, Jollibee. While McSpaghetti first launched in the Philippines in the mid-'80s, around the same time as when it was available in the U.S., its taste was markedly different. Filipino spaghetti is famously sweet, with sweet banana ketchup and hot dogs often used as key ingredients. 

The first McDonald's opened in South Africa in 1995, and has since expanded to nearly 400 restaurants. While the majority of its menu will look familiar to those who've eaten at McDonald's in the U.S. — with typical items like the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, and McChicken — the Boerie Burger is a unique standout. 

At first glance, the Boerie Burger seems pretty standard, with grilled onions, ketchup, and mustard on a beef patty — but it's that patty that separates it from the herd. This is a boerie beef patty, with "boerie" being the nickname for the traditional South African sausage known as boerewors. This is typically made with a mix of minced beef, pork, and occasionally lamb, plus seasonings like coriander and nutmeg. Customers can also get the same patty on a similar sandwich with an egg or hash browns as a breakfast item. If you ever get the chance to try this South Africa exclusive for yourself, we recommend going all the way and washing it down with a Sparletta Creme Soda — a luridly green and deceptively delicious beverage on South Africa's culinary scene. 

Empanadas can be stuffed with everything from meats to veggies, but McDonald's kept it simple and chose just hot, gooey cheese for its take on the classic dish in both Venezuela and Chile. McDonald's Empanadas are sold as a breakfast item in the former country, while in Chile, they are sold as a side dish along with fries and another rare menu item— balls of fried potato known as papas duquesas ("duchess potatoes" in Spanish).

McDonald's has been slightly more adventurous with its empanadas in the past. For a special promotion in 2014, restaurants in Chile briefly sold empanadas de pino, which are a national specialty stuffed with beef. You can also find empanadas de verde — traditionally made with green plantain — at McDonald's locations in Ecuador. In an effort to adapt to local tastes, McDonald's in Colombia previously also decided to add empanadas to its menu in 2012. However, with the dish nowhere to be seen on Colombian McDonald's menus as of January 2025, it seems like this launch may not have gone as well as hoped. 

The burger section of the McDonald's menu in Chile contains several gems, including the extremely well-named McNífica burger (which, fancy title aside, is actually pretty basic), the Avocado Burger, and the McFiesta. Its real highlight, however, is La Roja (aka The Red One), a burger with a crispy breaded cheese patty, tomato, fresh onion, and Chile's unique chancho en piedra salsa.

The burger and its name came as a result of a McDonald's partnership with the Chilean national football team, La Roja. McDonald's signed on as the sponsor of its men's, women's, and youth teams in 2023, with the burger making its debut just in time for the Copa América tournament. In a move to boost national pride with every visit to McDonald's, the chain specifically incorporated the chancho en piedra sauce to reflect popular local flavors. 

In 1996, McDonald's arrived in India, where it owes the bulk of its success to its skill in tailoring products to the local market. India boasts the world's highest rates of vegetarianism (via World Atlas), with beef consumption being particularly low for religious reasons. A menu predominantly offering Big Macs and Quarter Pounders was never going to fly there, hence the introduction of dishes such as the Masala McEgg Burger.

This was added to the menu in 2021. At its core is a steamed egg patty, which is topped with masala seasoning, onions, and spicy habanero sauce. Just like the McAloo Tikki Burger, this is a strictly meat-free offering that also leans into India's local cuisine. It's also managed to avoid the repercussions of a national issue impacting several McDonald's items in India: the rising cost of tomatoes. In 2023, the chain was forced to temporarily cut tomatoes from its menu amid supply shortages, quality issues, and a surge in wholesale prices.

If you head Down Under, where McDonald's is better known as Macca's, you'll find several menu items unavailable in the U.S. That includes the Hawaiian McCrispy, Cadbury Cherry Ripe McFlurry, and what is potentially the chain's most glorious breakfast item ever: the Big Brekkie Burger. This combines everything you could possibly want in a breakfast sandwich — beef, cheese, bacon, egg, a hash brown, and BBQ sauce — to give customers one heck of a morning meal (and an eye-watering 1,570 milligrams of sodium).

While there have been calls to add the Big Brekkie Burger to the U.S. menu, the Golden Arches are yet to make this dream a reality. However, the burger did expand to New Zealand's menu several months after it landed in Australia, and a chicken version is also available in Fiji, which means there could still be hope for further expansion. Take the hint, McDonald's.