Fans slam new McDonald’s Wagyu beef burger as too expensive and tasting more like ‘cardboard’

IT’S McDonald’s newest menu item. A “world first” limited edition burger featuring 100% Wagyu beef. But customers don’t seem to be lovin’ it.

NOTHING gets fast food lovers salivating like a new menu item — especially when it comes to burgers.

So when McDonald’s announced they were dropping a “world first limited edition burger” — social media went flippin’ mad.

At about 10.30am on Wednesday, restaurants across the country launched the new burger which has a RRP of $10.75.

The new menu item includes a 100 per cent Australian-bred Wagyu beef patty in between a gourmet bun (made to a new recipe), with a specially created sauce, crispy bacon strips, caramelised onion, tomato, lettuce and a slice of Coon Cheese.

The new Wagyu beef burger will set you back more than $10.

The burgers, which will only be available for a limited time and while stocks last, is the first time the fast food chain has offered Wagyu beef as part of their menu.

But critics haven’t been kind to the new edition, with some claiming the “wagyu is dry”, tastes like “cardboard”, and that charging over $10 “is taking the piss”.

Posting to Facebook group Fatties Burger Appreciation Society, which has almost 90,000 members, the new burger has left enthusiasts less than impressed.

“Patty cooked to death sometime last week and presented with unmelted cheese, tomato, bacon, a crapton of wilted lettuce and a smear of nondescript sauce on a dry oversized bun,” one poster, David Winch, wrote on the page.

“Inferior in every way to even a McFeast ... and [charging] over a tenner is taking the piss.”

Facebook group Fatties Burger Appreciation Society gave the new burger a 1/5, saying it was “dry” and “inferior in every way”.

His post, which gave the burger a rating of just one out of five, was met with comments questioning the price, and how the patty had been cooked.

“For a company knowing they need to up their game in the burger market (especially in Australia), Maccas look like they f**ked up with this one,” one person posted.

“Had one earlier on the back of all the hype. Haven’t had Maccas cardboard burgers for a while but thought I’d give this a shot even though I knew it was gonna be cardboard V2. It’s rubbish.”

“I’m having this really strange feeling of disappointment,” another added.

“Guess I was hoping maccas were gonna come good! But it does look dry ... plus $10 gets a classic from brooklyn depot which is infinitely better.”

The new McDonald’s wagyu burger is getting mixed reviews.

On the McDonald’s Facebook page, social media users were quick to call out the price tag of the new burger.

“Went to get one but not paying that much for it!,” one person wrote.

“Go to a proper burger place or cafe in Melb and pay $15 with chips and salad.

“Had one from Lilydale VIC, unfortunately it was dry as a bone. Sad. Just had it. 1/10.”

Robert Sexton, Director of Supply Chain at McDonald’s Australia, said in a statement to news.com.au that the burger continues to show their supports of our agriculture industry.

“The launch of this burger is further testament to our commitment to use local suppliers wherever possible,” the statement read.

But others were in favour of the new addition to the menu, saying the wagyu patty was perhaps the best they’d tried from the fast food chain.

“The meat is divine,” one person said.

“Just had one for lunch...not bad at all,” another added.

The Classic Angus burger will set customers back around $7.50.

“We estimate that while this burger is on our menu, we’ll purchase more than 280 metric tonnes of Wagyu beef from Queensland.”

In comparison to other items on McDonald’s menu, the wagyu burger will set customers back a few extra dollars per serve.

The RRP for a Big Mac in Australia is $5.70, and you’ll be paying 10 cents more if you’re after a Quarter Pounder. A McFeast will set you back $6, which a Classic Angus from the Gourmet Creations range will cost around $7.50.

The new Wagyu beef burger joined the McDonald’s family on Wednesday. Picture: AP/Mike Stewart.

The introduction of the new burger has meant Macca’s has been able to source beef from a new stream of Aussie farmers, with all the wagyu being sourced entirely in Australia.