Many fast food chains have released their Christmas menus – but which one received my highest festive rating?
Christmas is a time for many things and personally I believe that guilt free overeating is definitely one of them. Fast food might not be for everyone but for many it’s convenient and cheap and can certainly add a bit of Christmas cheer in December.
In honour of the festive season, many fast food chains have launched their delicious Christmas specials and some of them are absolute crackers. But what is it that makes a menu item ‘festive’?
Some fast food companies have simply added an extra item of food associated with Christmas, such as a piece of stuffing into an already established burger, while other places have used traditional Christmas colours and packaging to justify its ‘festiveness’.
Festive menus tend to be for a limited time only which adds to part of the fun as what foodie doesn’t love switching up their orders every now and again? I certainly do! So I chose to make it my mission to try out five of the top fast food restaurants’ seasonal menus and rate them on their festive levels. PS. I leave the best till last!
The Festive Bake, Greggs – £2.10
Starting off strong with the seasonal items is the Greggs Festive Bake. The puff pastry parcel is essentially a chicken bake with some added festive ingredients. However, it unfortunately drops an immediate festive point from me due to the lack of turkey filling – which is undoubtedly the most traditional type of Christmas meat right?
That being said, Greggs did try its best to make up for it with some added sweetcure bacon, sage & onion stuffing, and a creamy sage & cranberry sauce. The herb coating on top was also a nice touch for a good old festive crunch.
Many of us are familiar with the frustration of receiving a stone cold Greggs which is unfortunately what happened to me when I picked up my Festive Bake. However, you know something is delicious when it tastes good even without warmth.
Top tip – ask them for a fresh one!
Festive Rating: 3/5
Ultimate Festive Sub Meal – £9.58
Subway was chosen as one of my fast food chains to hit because who doesn’t love a good old festive sandwich? I had high hopes for this as a regular Subway customer and it did not disappoint.
The Festive Sub has pretty much the same ingredients as the Greggs Festive Bake but they are just assembled in a different way.
Subway also went the extra mile with their special stuffing topped bread which earns them some brownie points, along with the rotisserie-style chicken, bacon, sage & onion stuffing, American-style cheese, and cranberry sauce sandwiched in between.
While turkey was also missing from the festive menu in Subway, one thing you can always count on is for your food to actually be warm! And of course, no Subway is complete without a cookie and a drink.
Subway is currently offering a double Terry Chocolate Orange cookie on its festive menu which was absolutely delicious.
Festive Rating: 4/5
KFC Stuffing Tower Burger Meal – £11.78
By this point, I’d established that stuffing was going to be the main event in most festive fast food menus.
The KFC Stuffing Tower Burger consists of its original recipe chicken fillet (we’ll let them away with the lack of turkey as it is KFC), cheese, lettuce and a sage and onion stuffing patty on top, drizzled with burger dressing and a spicy cranberry sauce. If you get the meal, this also comes with chips and a drink.
And I’ve got to say it tastes as good as it sounds. While there were no particular stand out ingredients in the burger meal, all the flavours blended together wonderfully and it’s certainly something I would order again.
For those looking for a bigger feast, KFC also offers an even bigger Stuffing Stacker Burger which is essentially the same thing but with double the amount of chicken and cheese. KFC also have a festive double bucket on offer, which has been added to the seasonal menu for its sheer size rather than a twist in ingredients.
Festive Rating: 3/5
Double Big Tasty Meal & Grumble Pie, McDonalds – £11.78
McDonalds’ festive menu this year is based around a ‘Grinchmas’ theme.
The fast food giant has also reintroduced its beloved Big Tasty menu item, which is a regular promotional product at McDonalds, but this time they have made it a double patty.
The Double Big Tasty consists of two beef patties, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and onions and of course the signature Big Tasty sauce – which by the way tastes absolutely nothing like any other sauce on the McDonald’s menu. I would argue it is more of an acquired taste with a smoky flavour to it and I would personally opt for a Big Mac, but it was still a nice enough burger.
In terms of festivity ratings, I think this was a poor effort from McDonald’s and I don’t believe there is anything Christmassy about adding a bigger version of a regular promotional item and calling it ‘festive’.
Festive Rating: 1/5
However, I was more impressed with the Grinchmas Grumble pie, which is a twist on McDonald’s well known apple pie.
The crispy pastry is green in colour and filled with a tart mix of spiced apple, cranberry and creamy custard. While it’s not something I would personally order again, I’ve got to give it to them for the festive Grinch packaging, appearance and ingredients which is also fun for kids.
Festive Rating: 3/5
The Festive One Pizza, Dominos – £10
The Dominos Festive One Pizza has returned for the fifth year in a row – and I can definitely see why after sampling it for myself.
The pizza is abundant with Christmas flavours including juicy pulled turkey breast (finally!) marinated with sage and onion, Cumberland sausage (hooray a new ingredient!), bacon, red onion and cheese, all topped off with a tangy cranberry drizzle.
Before I go any further with my Domino’s festive rating, I urge you to check the collection deals on the Domino’s app before ordering a highly overpriced pizza for delivery or just brushing the idea aside altogether because of their ridiculous online prices.
I managed to grab a small version of Festive One Pizza for £10 when I collected it from the store in a limited online collection deal. A small pizza consists of six slices so this was still more than enough for me to enjoy.
The Festive One Pizza ticked every box for me in terms of a brilliant Christmas food item and next time I will definitely be trying out Domino’s brand new four box of Mince Pie Cookies which they also currently have on their seasonal menu for £6.99.
Overall it was the best thing I tried out of this Christmas selection and will definitely be ordering it again before December 25.
Festive Rating: 5/5
