Burger King in the UK

A close friend of mine had her 22nd birthday on Tuesday and we, with 2 other guys, were watching the Depeche Mode video collection. When "Enjoy the Silence" came on, one of the guys commented that it looked like "Burger King with a lawn chair." After my friend and I got insulted (she's infatuated with David Gahan), I said, "I'm not sure there are BK's in the UK." I know there are KFC's (since Rocket Mick worked at one) in the UK and McDonald's is ubiquitous, but do those of you on the other side of the pond have to put up with BK, which is actually worse than McDonald's?

Yes

The one on Putney high street is a sorry sight. So little business they close it at 8pm!

Bacon double cheeseburger... Mmmm....

..and the chips oops fries are a lot nicer too!

Even we have Burger Kings. But I like McD better...

Do they have cars in America?

jeez

Al Jarvis wrote:

In London, at least, they're regarded as 'classier' than McDonald's.

Thats cause their nigh on twice the price!!

Agreed though the burgers are miles better than Maccy D's but they fucked up the fries when they put that "southern style" coating on ages ago

i note from my frequent excursions down under, that this magnificant eaterie is known as "Hungry Jacks" in Perth, Western Australia. Same flame grilled whopper Boigers though.

I think that we've got one BK in Liverpool, but tons of goldens arches, and a stack of Subways. the colonel does ok too, as long as you don't want to eat in.

We also have BK in Sweden. I like them better than McDonalds.

a couple of years ago i was in Sydney, and Maccas was doin an Oz Outback burger - with Beetroot. So, I had to get one. I also remember that Hungry Jacks had the Aussie Burger in Perth. dead little though.

I always get my hamburgers with Beetroot and a fried egg now in my local Chippy. the egg yolk must NOT be broken. 2 slabs of mad cow too. mega healthy?? i think it was me who started off the beetroot/egg/burger trend in the north west of England. haha

Anyways, what the fuck has this got to do with New Order.?haha.

so is it all over Europe that a Quarter Pounder w/Cheese is called a Royale With Cheese?

Burger King all the way. I had a McD a few weeks back and it reminded me why I don't like them very much. There is something very artificial about McDonalds and I love my double whoppers

frank smarra wrote: so is it all over Europe that a Quarter Pounder w/Cheese is called a Royale With Cheese?

Nope. Only in Holland (as far as I know.)

We call it Quarter Pounder.

Some facts from Sweden:

McDonalds, 230 restaurants, 50 in Stockholm.

BK, 53 restaurants, 25 in Stockholm.

Sweden is a small country.....

Al Jarvis wrote:

Rian wrote: Some facts from Sweden:

McDonalds, 230 restaurants, 50 in Stockholm.

BK, 53 restaurants, 25 in Stockholm.

Sweden is a small country.....

I was shocked by the number of McDonalds you have in Stockholm. I seem to remember thinking you could almost stand on any street corner in the city centre and see two McDonalds at any time by turning 360 degrees. I even had a streetmap which seemed more concerned about pointing out McDonalds as landmarks, they seemed to be just everywhere.

Also, you serve burgers in paper, don't you? Whereas we serve them in polysterene.

No reindeer burgers though. :(

Yes, we serve burgers in paper. Environment reasons.

And we don't have reindeer in our burgers. At least, I hope we don't.

Al Jarvis wrote:

Rian wrote: And we don't have reindeer in our burgers. At least, I hope we don't.

I had to search long and hard to find a restaurant in Stockholm that would server reindeer? I thought it would be quite common-place! Gaff we ended up in was rather posh and I had the reindeer in a redcurrant sauce, which my then partner commented made me look like I was eating Rudolph.

Reindeer is very popular in northen Sweden. Actually, that's all the eat there.

In mid/south Sweden, it's very rare that restaurants serve it. No one eats it here anyway. Only stupid tourists.

Now come on...is that really called for???

I guess not. Just seemed a bit banal after whats gone on in this forum recently.

Anyway, whenever I see the words 'Depeche Mode' I get angry. Arrggh there it is again, right who wants some?

Al Jarvis wrote:

He shoots, He scores! wrote:

Barney Army wrote: Do they have cars in America?

jeez

Now come on...is that really called for???

Answer the question!

he prolly thought that the Bristish might have something better than Burger King... i would take it as a compliment!

i've have not been to the UK, but I had one trip thru some of Western Europe and the main thing i remember about fast food/ more budget food service was that in most places everything was WARM, close to ambient local temperature including all drinks and cooked food, as well as salad. almost no evidence of ice, where is the friggin' ice?.

France was the worst, all drinks were warm and totally flat, including the beer at McDonalds. the only place i could find a cold Pepsi at was at oriental run small groceries...and what was really annoying is that the actual cost was usually about 2 to 2.5 times more than the USA cost, no wonder Americans are so fat and unhealthy...

the rest of the world just has to wait another 20 years, Amercians are consuming themselves into a state of helpless dysfuctional unhealthiness that will be crippling along with the budget deficit and the end of era of cheap oil

never made it Sweden and Finland(the great grandparents were immigrants from Finland)), cause it was suppossed to so expensive, as well as a long train ride eating up time... maybe they have ice up there

Spotnick wrote:

Well, there are specialities in each and every country, I'm quite sure you can tell them, and people don't even know there.

I think in Glasgow you can get 'Irn Bru', not sure about the deep fried Mars Bars though.

Spotnick wrote:

I noticed that in the US, what they call "large" is extra-large in Canada.. they have an even bigger format!

I believe this rule also applies to clothes sizes.

pumped full of drugs wrote:

Al Jarvis wrote:

He shoots, He scores! wrote:

Barney Army wrote: Do they have cars in America?

jeez

Now come on...is that really called for???

Answer the question!

he prolly thought that the Bristish might have something better than Burger King... i would take it as a compliment!

i've have not been to the UK, but I had one trip thru some of Western Europe and the main thing i remember about fast food/ more budget food service was that in most places everything was WARM, close to ambient local temperature including all drinks and cooked food, as well as salad. almost no evidence of ice, where is the friggin' ice?.

France was the worst, all drinks were warm and totally flat, including the beer at McDonalds. the only place i could find a cold Pepsi at was at oriental run small groceries...and what was really annoying is that the actual cost was usually about 2 to 2.5 times more than the USA cost, no wonder Americans are so fat and unhealthy...

the rest of the world just has to wait another 20 years, Amercians are consuming themselves into a state of helpless dysfuctional unhealthiness that will be crippling along with the budget deficit and the end of era of cheap oil

never made it Sweden and Finland(the great grandparents were immigrants from Finland)), cause it was suppossed to so expensive, as well as a long train ride eating up time... maybe they have ice up there

I experienced the exact same dilemna in Bavaria when I visited Munich. I recall two instances- lost in the center of a town called Pfaffenhoffen and just outside of an art gallery in Munich near Odeonsplatz I believe. It was christmas time but I ended up being extremely dehydrated at both spots. I remember that at Pfaf. it was probably because of the two lagers and three schnapps I had quaffed with lunch, but for the massive sprawl of the art gallery I was painfully sober.

Anyways, all the soda and beverages were indeed flat and warm, laying unrefrigerated in the middle of every store. Ice was not to be seen in any served beverages, much less in a bagged form. What's even worse was that I didn't want a soda, I wanted some unadulterated water and it seemed that there wasn't a bottle of water in Bavaria that wasn't A) Carbonated B) Lukewarm. And yes, I remember I only found cold drinks being sold at an oriental market.

Oh and if it helps at all, the vast majority of fast food(except more realistic types like In N' Out and Dairy Queen) back up my digestive system and make me physically ill if I try to eat them.

pumped full of drugs wrote:

Al Jarvis wrote:

He shoots, He scores! wrote:

Barney Army wrote: Do they have cars in America?

jeez

Now come on...is that really called for???

Answer the question!

he prolly thought that the Bristish might have something better than Burger King... i would take it as a compliment!

i've have not been to the UK, but I had one trip thru some of Western Europe and the main thing i remember about fast food/ more budget food service was that in most places everything was WARM, close to ambient local temperature including all drinks and cooked food, as well as salad. almost no evidence of ice, where is the friggin' ice?.

France was the worst, all drinks were warm and totally flat, including the beer at McDonalds. the only place i could find a cold Pepsi at was at oriental run small groceries...and what was really annoying is that the actual cost was usually about 2 to 2.5 times more than the USA cost, no wonder Americans are so fat and unhealthy...

the rest of the world just has to wait another 20 years, Amercians are consuming themselves into a state of helpless dysfuctional unhealthiness that will be crippling along with the budget deficit and the end of era of cheap oil

never made it Sweden and Finland(the great grandparents were immigrants from Finland)), cause it was suppossed to so expensive, as well as a long train ride eating up time... maybe they have ice up there

They serv drinks with ice in Sweden, they sure do.

Dunno about Finland though.

I was in Paris 20 years ago, and drank something with crossed ice. Grappa? Well, it was cold anyway.

i once tried yellow snow in prague.

Substance User wrote: i was tried yellow snow in prague.

Rian wrote:

Substance User wrote: i once tried yellow snow in prague.

dont give me grammar errors, swede!!!

Spotnick wrote:

He shoots, He scores! wrote: Jessie asked a question...he didn't know if they have Burger Kings in England...why would one just assume that all American brands have made their ways overseas...

We still don't have any Taco Bell in Quebec ;)

Although some new ones are starting to appear (not only in food), like Little Caesar.

To be honest, I don't mind, the only thing I hate about this american invasion is that they keep their english name.. some of them however do change their name but it's a minority.

Example, McDonald's in Quebec is McDonalds without any apostrophe... Staples is "Bureau En Gros".. but beside that... they do confirm to the law though (because it is a law in here) as their real legal name is "Les restaurants Burger King", but of course, you never see the real business name ;)

And obviously, McDonalds tried to bribe us by putting a maple leaf in their logo

thats what i noticed when i went to Canada, wendy's too replaced their Apostrophe with a maple leaf

Check out my profile photo-- taken in Serbia.

Kevin Smith wrote: Burger King all the way. I had a McD a few weeks back and it reminded me why I don't like them very much. There is something very artificial about McDonalds and I love my double whoppers

Agreed whoppers are nectar...Maccy D's are shite in comparison and until now I thought Burger King was a British firm.Duh! someone once told me so

Boatraceface wrote:

Kevin Smith wrote: Burger King all the way. I had a McD a few weeks back and it reminded me why I don't like them very much. There is something very artificial about McDonalds and I love my double whoppers

Agreed whoppers are nectar...Maccy D's are shite in comparison and until now I thought Burger King was a British firm.Duh! someone once told me so

my old flatmate in london was floored when i told him that heinz was an american company. so all those heinz baked beans he was eating were, in fact, part of the great american pasttime of eating anything heinz!

has anyone seen 'super size me'? it's a real testament to the fast-food age in which we live. morgan spurlock gains 20-odd pounds in one month by eating nothing but mcdonalds. the destruction to his body is extraordinary (i don't want to give away too much if you haven't seen it). the irony? his girlfriend is a vegan chef!

for the record: i'm a mcdonald's girl. especially big macs. :D

Boatraceface wrote:

Kevin Smith wrote: Burger King all the way. I had a McD a few weeks back and it reminded me why I don't like them very much. There is something very artificial about McDonalds and I love my double whoppers

Agreed whoppers are nectar...Maccy D's are shite in comparison and until now I thought Burger King was a British firm.Duh! someone once told me so

Burger King did indeed used to be owned by Grand Metropolitan, a uk based company.

Isn't the real issue; what toys are being given away with Happy Meals in your country? We have little dinky puppy dogs in England at present...

AgentWood wrote:

i'm a mcdonald's girl.

especially double cheeseburgers! :p

digitalwaters wrote: Isn't the real issue; what toys are being given away with Happy Meals in your country? We have little dinky puppy dogs in England at present...

aly

Dunno what they give away now, but it's usually shit stuff.

A kids trap!

For a while we had both Burger King and Hungry Jacks, here in Oz. Somekind of franchise problem. Hungry's was here first, and they won out in the end.

Spotnick wrote:

He shoots, He scores! wrote: Jessie asked a question...he didn't know if they have Burger Kings in England...why would one just assume that all American brands have made their ways overseas...

We still don't have any Taco Bell in Quebec ;)

Although some new ones are starting to appear (not only in food), like Little Caesar.

Good for you on the TB front, bad news for you on Little Caesar, probably the worst excuse for "pizza" that I've encountered.

What's everybody got against Taco Bell?

Some facts about McDonald(ignore globalism)

1. The Kroc family who established McDonald's gave tons of dough away to charities.
2. Proceeds from the salad dressings ( Paul Newman's) are given to charties.

Has anybody seen SUPERSIZE ME? A documentary of a guy who goes on a MD's diet for 30 days. Very good. Guy almost destroys his body.

Just reading this topic has given me chest pains and the urge to run to the nearest toilet fast.....

Right here goes, after a little research I have determined:

Grand Metropolitan (a UK company) bought out the Wimpy chain of burger joints and bought a number of international franchises for Burger King (including those in France). So, whether it qualifies(in the UK) as a UK concern or a US one I don't know.Wimpy has since been demerged.

Substance User wrote: Has anybody seen SUPERSIZE ME? A documentary of a guy who goes on a MD's diet for 30 days. Very good. Guy almost destroys his body.

yes. see my above post. ;)

FDISK wrote: Right here goes, after a little research I have determined:

Grand Metropolitan (a UK company) bought out the Wimpy chain of burger joints and bought a number of international franchises for Burger King (including those in France). So, whether it qualifies(in the UK) as a UK concern or a US one I don't know.Wimpy has since been demerged.

Grand Metropolitan was BK's parent company for a while. BK corp has changed hands several times over the years but hasn't been without a parent company for some time now. There was talk of letting it stand on it's own not too long ago, but I'm not certain as to what became of it or who owns it now. BK headquarters is based in Miami.

how come nobody's mentioned white castle?

i haven't been to one in years, although i have purchased their microwave burgers from the supermarket.

bLuE oRdEr wrote: What's everybody got against Taco Bell?

Just a little bit of not feeling so well an hour after I had some, the last two times I was there.

McDonalds might do some good charitable things with their money, but I'm not particularly fond of the food; living across the street from one, I eat there only when I absolutely don't feel like cooking, or the weather's too bad to drive in; either way that amounts to about once every other year now.

AgentWood wrote: how come nobody's mentioned white castle?

i haven't been to one in years, although i have purchased their microwave burgers from the supermarket.

I don't think White Castle is as ubiquitous as McD's and BK; it seems to mostly be in NJ - there are none in Philly or Boston. I've never been to one but I see them all over NJ.

pumped full of drugs wrote:

...and what was really annoying is that the actual cost was usually about 2 to 2.5 times more than the USA cost, no wonder Americans are so fat and unhealthy...

the rest of the world just has to wait another 20 years, Amercians are consuming themselves into a state of helpless dysfuctional unhealthiness that will be crippling along with the budget deficit and the end of era of cheap oil

You can leave us out of that trend, PFD,thankyouverymuch.....

Everyone's gaining.........:)

The BK in my neck of the woods is not fit for human consumption...:barf:

England survived the Spanish Armada, the Luftwaffe, and Peter Noone. But this may prove too much for that great nation