New health food cafe run by McDonald’s opens in Sydney

THERE’S not a golden arch, burger or fries in sight. In fact, the casual diner might be excused for thinking the best known name in the fast food business is quietly trying to conceal its true identity.

Maccas cafe The Corner

THERE’S not a golden arch, burger or fries in sight.

In fact, the casual diner might be excused for thinking the best known name in the fast food business is quietly trying to conceal its true identity.

Welcome to the future of McDonald’s, a mix of Lebanese lentils, tomato basil soup and chipotle pulled pork all washed down with a balsamic strawberry craft soda.

You’d be forgiven for not recognising this as your traditional McDonald’s outlet. Picture: Toby Zerna

The Corner offers salads, soups, rice boxes and has a coffee bar. Picture: Toby Zerna

The fast food giant last week opened The Corner, a cafe come food laboratory, next to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Camperdown without fuss or fanfare.

Amid the shiny white tiling the only way you would know it was Maccas is the tiny McCafe logo on the sign and the Ronald McDonald cookie jar on the counter.

Manager Kyle Jarvis, who oversees a crew of chambray shirt-wearing, cafe-trained workers, said The Corner would be able to hold its own in inner west cafe hipster heartland.

“If they’re looking for a Quarter Pounder they’ll probably be sorely disappointed,” Mr Jarvis said. “It’s a new concept for us, it’s a learning lab where we test the things that Maccas has never done before and push the boundaries of what we can do in a cafe environment.

There’s not a Big Mac or Quarter Pounder in sight. Picture: Toby Zerna

Instead you can choose from healthy alternatives such as these. Picture: Toby Zerna

“The only association we have is that we are a McCafe, but what we are offering is totally different to what we offer in McCafe.”

That much was evident to Kristen and Rohan Smith, dining on nutty rice, tofu and vegetables, chicken, pumpkin and coleslaw.

Kristen, who would never normally set foot in McDonald’s, said: “It doesn’t have the same bogan clientele that sometimes can congregate out the front of McDonald’s.”

Rohan said: “When I was younger I would go to McDonald’s, but not anymore, I just don’t see it as a healthy option.”

The protein and salad box containing chipotle bbq pulled pork, slaw, lebanese lentils and brown rice tossed in butter and garlic. Picture: Toby Zerna

But that doesn’t go for The Corner. He said: “It’s good at face value. I like the presentation and layout and the staff are friendly.”

Kyle started out as a 14-year-old burger flipper Kyle in a McDonald’s at North Ryde 14 years ago. But the workers under his watch have been poached from cafes.

“A lot of people I hired have cafe experience so they’ve been in cafes for two, three, four years,” Kyle said. “Some have run cafes, so for me to have people on board like that it’s amazing.”

The queues of RPA nurses and paramedics happy to eat there lend weight to the claim that their food is a cut above normal Maccas fair.

“We’ve got a lot of hospital workers that just love it. They love the fact that they can just come across and get a meal they don’t feel guilty about eating,” Kyle said.

Originally published as New health food cafe run by McDonald’s opens in Sydney