REVIEW: McDonald’s McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade

McDonald's McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade

If I didn’t have a calendar, all I would have to do is see what McDonald’s is offering in order to figure out what time of the year it is. When they release their Holiday Pie, I know it’s fall. When the Shamrock Shake is available, I know spring is right around the corner. And, whenever the McRib is offered for a limited time, I know it’s that time of year when I eat a McRib and then think to myself, “Nope, it’s still horrible.”

But now, I have the McDonald’s McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade to let me know summer is near. Although, I think it’s a permanent addition to the McCafe menu, so I may think it’s summer all the time. But then again, I do live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where it pretty much always has nice beach weather.

The McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade is made by pouring blended frozen lemonade into a cup with strawberry syrup. As the lemonade slush is poured into the cup, the strawberry syrup mixes with some it, creating a swirling pattern. After the two are put together in a cup, they aren’t completely mixed together to blend all the flavors. That mixing is up to you, the straw that’s included, and your wrists.

However, I think McDonald’s doesn’t want you to mix the two because it’s kind of hard to do so with the included straw and because that swirling pattern looks so pretty before the heavier strawberry syrup settles to the bottom of the cup. But, I’d recommend fusing the two flavors together because when the strawberry goop comes to rest at the cup’s bottom, a sweet strawberry shot is what you’ll be tasting with every suck from your straw, leaving you with less of the syrup to slightly neutralize the tartness of the lemonade slush.

If you owned a box of crayons as a child, you know red and white make pink, while red and yellow make orange. But get ready to have your primary colored world turned upside down because thoroughly combining the yellow lemonade slush with the red strawberry syrup turns the McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade pink. It’s what Hello Kitty would drink if she wanted brain freeze.

Looking past the weird color anomaly, the McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade is tasty and refreshing. The ice crystals have a satisfying crunch and create a fluffy slushie. The tart blended frozen lemonade is front and center and the strawberry syrup moderately turns down the tartness, but in the process the strawberry flavor is nearly non-existent. So, basically, McDonald’s should’ve called this slushy beverage the McDonald’s McCafe Frozen Lemonade That’ll Turn Pink If You Mix It.

But, as tasty and refreshing as it was, I had trouble finishing the entire 16-ounce cup. Because, at a point the lemonade got annoyingly tart and the drink as a whole got annoyingly sweet. Thank goodness for freezers because I can enjoy the leftovers later by throwing it at the faces of glee club members.

Overall, the McDonald’s McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade is a pleasant reminder that summer is near.

(Nutrition Facts – 16 ounces – 270 calories, 0 calories from fat, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 30 milligrams of sodium, 68 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 67 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein, and 310% vitamin C.)

Item: McDonald’s McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade
Price: $2.59
Size: 16 ounces
Purchased at: McDonald’s
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: A tasty and refreshing reminder that summer is near. Fat free. Awesome amount of vitamin C. Swirling pattern is pretty. Shamrock Shakes.
Cons: Not enough strawberry flavor. Becomes hard to finish since it gets to be annoyingly tart and sweet. You have to do the mixing. Breaks the laws of primary colors.

52 thoughts to “REVIEW: McDonald’s McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade”

  1. I’m surprised how items the machine that makes the frozen coffee drinks and smoothies – now this? Just ask for more strawberry syrup.

  2. I tried the frozen lemonade today and did not care for it at all. I do not like their smoothies either.

    1. I absolutely agree! I tried the Strawberry Banana smoothie when it first came out and wondered how they could screw up something that should’ve been so simple! And this drink, I for sure thought would be easy enough to taste good…but it was awful. I couldn’t even finish it. I can’t even describe the taste…it just reminded me of grapefruit. Ugh. HORRIBLE!

      1. The Frozen Strawberry Lemonade was disgusting!!! Period,way to little strawberry. Don’t start me on the lemon part. It is sour( l like sour), but then they have to make really really bitter. I agree that its like grapefruit. McDonald’s please go back to the drawing board with this one. It was so horrible that I would give zero out of five, but since it is McDonald’s it gets 1/5. And if any McDonald’s people are reading you should consider keeping the Shamrock Shake permanently, or at least for the whole of Spring (March 21 – June 21). I hope my review helped people who are iffy on trying this.

  3. I also did not care for this. Way, way too sweet for my tastes; It was very Liquid Skittle-y.

  4. I think I may just be very partial to the freshly squeezed lemonade of Chick-Fil-A. Strawberries and lemonade are awesome together, just not McDonald’s rendition. Now I guess I’ll have to get my fix from Apple Bee’s or some other fancy family restaurant that serves flavored tea’s and lemonade. Good try tho.

  5. I’m drinking one of these right now and I can’t really decide if I like it or not. Honestly, it tastes like pineapple juice to me. I don’t mind pineapple juice, but I was expected something a little more lemony. It’s not nearly as good as a raspberry lemon slush from Sonic. Now THAT is the way this sort of drink should be done. Yum.

  6. Tried , was very nasty, to sweet tasted more like just sugar syrup, Stick with the coffe, dump the Strawberry Lemonade mess.

  7. I’ve tried this (along with all the McCafe fancy beverages, all of which I’ve been moderately happy with). It was significantly more tart than I expected, but pretty decent nonetheless. I’d consider getting it again certainly.

  8. I personally can’t wait to try one of these. I’ve wondered for years why McDonalds didn’t offer some type of slushie.

    I haven’t ate at McDonalds in at least a year, this is a great way to get me back into their restaurants.

  9. They gave me a small sample and sucked me into buying it. I really like it but the ‘strawberry’ syrup tastes absolutely rancid when its concentrated and they dump it on the bottom of the cup and barely stir it in. I know it looks pretty but if you don’t know to mix it in yourself and you just take a sip with your straw at the bottom… oh man, that taste will mess up your day.

    I can’t believe that the people in the testing stage let it through with such an obvious flaw. I don’t think its a mater of it being too sour, its just pure unpleasant until you mix it in and even then I like it much better without the syrup. I love strawberries but that just tastes too all around artificial to me. Almost cough medicine like.

    They are on the verge of something good with this one..

    1. Im guessing you can order it without the syrup. 🙂 i just want to know if its gluten free…

  10. I tried one today and it was HORRIBLE. There’s nothing fresh about this expcept the ice it’s blended in. Lemonade concentrate that’s neither natural or delicious, the strawberry is just artificial flavoring smothered in high fructose corn syrup. Save your money.

  11. I was very much looking forward to having a frozen strawberry lemonade accessible via drive-thru for the summer. But after tasting this nasty concoction, I’ve decided to stick with making lemonade myself. This was not good at all. I got a big gulp of the artificially flavored syrup at the bottom – yuck! So then I tried drinking just the lemonade alone – ewww! Then I mixed it all together – blah! Everything about it is artificial and nasty. How did this make it on the menu? The taste testers have been eating too many plain country chicken sandwiches with pickles, I presume. Stay away.

  12. This was by far the worst drink that I have ever tasted!! The flavor is disgusting, I had to throw it away, it has the nastiest aftertaste. McDonald’s has an elaborate testing facility, I don’t know how this drink slipped through the cracks, or got the final approval for nationwide distribution. In the future, I will stick to the slushie’s that I get from the gas station.

  13. I been drinking this drink for a bout a week now and my face has broke out wit these lil bumps on my chin that hurt and some girl from my job has witness the same thing and I want to kno has anybody else witness this?

    1. I think the frozen strawberry lemonade is delicious WITHOUT the strawberry syrup. I actually like the tartness of the lemonade.

  14. I tried this concoction yesterday – thought it tasted a bit like soap. Curious about the comment from the gal with the bumps on her face. I woke up this morning with a sore lip and I threw most of my drink down the drain. Connection? Hardly sure, but has me thinking. My extra free coupons are gonna be given away.

    1. That’s how my lip felt and chin felt after, the same wit my friend.. Im looking in to it cause if it’s something in it thats making us feel these ways they need to know so this drink won’t be sold anymore.

  15. The worst part was that it gave me a stomach ache while drinking it. I thought it was nothing and kept drinking which only made it worse.
    The taste is too artificial to my liking, andthat aftertaste is yucky.

  16. Bad Bad Bad…

    Tastes Bad, bad for you (250 calories) and bad for your wallet (> $2.00).

  17. The strawberry syrup is disgusting is taste like cough medicine! The lemonade is sour, and when together they make a cup of blech!

  18. I just got one and drank two drinks. Disgusting, how do you mess up frozen lemonade.

  19. It must be that different restaurants mix them differently. Some people here say they are too sweet. Mine was so sour I couldn’t drink it. Absolutely horrible.

  20. a bunch of whiney people on this sight. i got a frozen lemonade almost everyday last week. its sweet but the flavor is sooo good. it takes some mixing but it is a very cool looking drink. “its too sweet!” “its crap” must be a bunch of old foggies on this site. jeez.

  21. Yes because a bunch of people are wrong and you’re right… Can you say delusional? I’d love to live in your little world.

    -21 year old ‘foggie’

  22. This drink is terrible. It has the worst aftertaste to it. My first sip was the strawberry syrup since I hadn’t mixed it up yet. It tasted really artificial almost toxic. Than I mixed it together and it didn’t taste any better after doing that. Save your money. After is sits for a while and melts it turns this horrible color.
    I’m a big fan of lemonade but McDonalds screwed this one up!

  23. I absolutely LOVE this drink! I would actually be willing to drive to McDonald’s each and every day to get it! Just cannot seem to get enough of this drink — LOVE IT!

  24. This is an absolutely foul concoction. I was with a group of elementary kids to seasoned citizens and all hated it. I had free coupons to try it and would not now drink it for free. You was in the test panel?

  25. This This of course coming from a 56 year old, 5’8″, 98 lb. foggie!

    McDonald’s keep it all year! LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!! 😉

  26. I love this drink and all the mcdonalds in my area don’t sell it anymore. I realy loved the strawberry syurp! Anybody know where I can buy some strawbery syurp that tastes like the kind macdonalds uses? If so please email me at [email protected]

  27. I only had to try it once and it was dreadful. I couldn’t even finish it and gave it to my husband who can drink anything.

    In the summer, the Church’s Fried Chicken here in Dayton have a Strawberry Lemonade that is regular lemonade with frozen strawberries (like from the freezer case in the grocery store) in it– and that drink is wonderful. McDonald’s should take note.

  28. Lets just say…… this drink looks awesome and refreshing. We do have to give that one to mcdonalds. but that doesnt mean its going to taste like the fruit shakes from heaven. They need to make a drink that looks and tastes awesome

  29. I love this thing. It’s really refreshing, especially when it is hot outside. I spend all of fall and winter waiting for it to return. 😛

    1. I also spent fall and winter waiting for that for the strawberry lemonade to come back, I call it an addiction, better for you than others I could think of

  30. It should be posted next to product that it contains milk. Thanks to not knowing I had to rush my child to the emergency room.

  31. I have 3 a day sometimes – wait all fall and winter for them. Missed them last year. I too have an addiction to them. There is nothing better on a hot day!

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