McDonald's bringing back fan favourites - but there's a catch

McDonald’s is known for rotating its menu throughout the year, with headline acts coming and going in a regular rhythm to keep fans tantalised.

Here in the UK, an interesting spin on that practice will see a series of regional exclusives hitting stores as part of the latest reshuffle.

The Big Arch, a new burger that McDonald’s hopes will become another menu stalwart alongside Big Macs and McNuggets boxes, isn’t going anywhere, and it’ll be joined in various corners by a few returning stars.

From 30 July 2025, three fan favourite burgers will be hitting restaurants across the nation, but you might have to hop on a train if there’s a particular one you want.

The return of the king (McDonald's)

For one, the Steakhouse Stack is back in action, featuring two 100% British and Irish beef patties, cheddar cheese, red onions, lettuce and a black peppercorn sauce. This one will be exclusive to stores in the Tyne and Tees region.

It’s become one of McDonald’s most beloved options, so perhaps it will become a permanent fixture in future.

Next up is the Big Tasty, which will only be available in East Anglia. This one has been doing the rounds for over 10 years now, with a beef patty, bacon, Emmental cheese, onions, tomatoes and a smoky sauce to get the tastebuds firing.

Finally, we’ve got the Chicken Big Mac. If you’re in Tyne and Tees or East Anglia then you’re out of luck, because this one will be available in every location except those.

Chicken Big Macs will be everywhere except Tyne and Tees and East Anglia (McDonald's)

It’s essentially what you’d expect: all the constituent parts of a Big Mac, but with the beef patties replaced with chicken burgers.

Other late-July additions across the country include the Spicy McNuggets, the Fajita Chicken One, Chilli Cheese Bites and the Milky Way McFlurry. Along with Frank’s RedHot sauce and burger options, these additions are raising the temperature in the McDonald’s menu.

The best to cool your mouth down would be to tuck into the brand new Jaffa Cake McFlurry, which features shortcake pieces and an orange sauce drizzled over the standard soft serve ice cream.

The brand-new Jaffa Cake McFlurry (McDonald's)

If that wasn’t enough, McDonald’s is adding customisable drinks to its UK menu for the very first time.

Customers will have the option to add syrup to Sprite Zero, selecting from either Green Apple or Mango and Passionfruit. Both sound delicious, and when the weather’s hot and the Maccies is spicy it seems we’ll be needing those thirst-quenchers more than ever.