After globetrotting through Canada and several European countries over the past few years, McDonald’s Big Arch has finally landed in the US for a limited time. Okay, there was a layover at the McDonald’s headquarters restaurant in Chicago last year. Either way, it has more passport stamps than me, and now it’s available to everyone across the country.
The highly anticipated burger features two quarter-pound beef patties, white cheddar, slivered onions, crispy onions, pickles, lettuce, and a Big Arch Sauce on a toasted sesame and poppy seed bun.
Just opening the box and seeing that bun made this feel like an elevated experience. I’m used to the standard sesame seed bun on most McDonald’s burgers, but the black poppy seeds gave it a premium feeling. They don’t add much flavor, but they make a strong first impression.
Think of the Big Arch as the Big Mac’s younger, but more sophisticated sibling — a Big Mac that went abroad, and came back to the States more refined, mature, and cultured, and clearly hit Planet Fitness three times a week while it was away. Its size alone makes the Big Mac look, well, less big. Though for all its refinement, it still has the bad habit of leaving toppings scattered across the bottom of the clamshell box, just like its older sibling.
As for the flavor, it’s Big Mac-ish, thanks to the familiar combination of beef, pickles, onions, lettuce, and cheese. The creamy, slightly sweet Big Arch Sauce reminds me of French dressing with the tang dialed back, and it works beautifully with the pickles and onions, much like Big Mac Sauce does. The crispy onions add a pleasant crunch and a mild onion bite, though I’d say the slivered onions do most of the heavy flavor lifting. The white cheddar is milder than the orange American slices in a Big Mac, but its cheesiness still comes through among all the other toppings. Although there’s a lot of beef, every ingredients shares a bit of the spotlight, making each bite well-balanced, and I can taste why this burger was a hit abroad.
While it tastes great, the Big Arch isn’t something I’d order regularly if it became a permanent menu item. At 1,020 calories and as the most expensive burger my local McDonald’s currently offers, it’s firmly in splurge territory. If it were brought back periodically, like the McRib, I’d order it every time it returns.
It’s also worth asking: does it actually need two patties? The photos in this review are from the second Big Arch I ordered, which I had to purchase because the first one I bought had only one patty. Even with just one, I walked away completely satisfied with the meatiness and the overall flavor. A single-patty version would bring both the price and the nutrition numbers down to something far less intimidating, and, just like the Quarter Pounder, McDonald’s could always offer a double-patty version for those who want more meat.
Either way, McDonald’s Big Arch is a delicious burger, and I’m glad I don’t need to pull out my passport to try one.
Purchased Price: $8.99*
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 1,020 calories, 65 grams of fat, 25 grams of saturated fat, 3 grams of trans fat, 175 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,760 milligrams of sodium, 59 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 15 grams of sugar (including 10 grams of added sugar), and 53 grams of protein.
*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.
I’d prefer a single-patty “Little Arch” burger myself (and opt to omit the raw onions). The “Big Arch” is supposed to be released in the continental US in early March (3/4, I think), but I’ll be checking the McD’s app on my phone to confirm if it’s available at my local McDonalds.
$10.69 here in Tucson… one of the most expensive McDonald’s markets anywhere. I was actually amazed last time I was in Hawaii that the store in Haleiwa (Oahu) was cheaper than back home by a lot.
correction the only burger that mcdonalds sells that included seseme seeds is the whopper. That isnt standard by any means because every other burger they sell has the standard bun and obviously the best selling burger they have is the mcdouble so again not standard. Anyway this is 8.89 by me and for the most part its just a double quarter pounder so ill be skipping this personally. Abhalf pounder burger is pretty easy to make at home got $4
McDonald’s does not sell Whoppers.
As far as sesame seed buns, McDonald’s using them on Big Mac’s and ever version of the Quarter Pounder.
Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun.
mcdonalds doesn’t have a whopper
It’s $11.39 plus tax where I’m from in New York LOL!!! As someone fortunate enough who can buy this burger (I won’t) COUNTLESS times over and won’t blink an eye, there’s no way in hell i’d pay pay that. That’s not even talking about the fact that it barely looks appetizing on the official marketing photos.
Was it snowing (*wink) at the McDonald’s headquarters during the entire R&D process????
Using drugs does cause people to commit crazy shenanigans, but I don’t think that causes crazy burger shenanigans.
Counterpoint: Once a buddy and I went to a 24-hour Steak ‘n’ Shake drive-thru at 4:30 am. We were the only people in line the entire time, but it took them 45 minutes to make our food, they asked us three times what we ordered, and then they still got it wrong. No one can convince me drugs WEREN’T involved there.
I didn’t mean pot. I meant the nose “candy.”
Tell me you’ve never done coke without telling me you’ve never done coke, lol. No one calls it nose candy anymore, and it definitely doesn’t make anyone hungry. Your joke would have landed better with a “wacky tobaccy” reference instead.
Oh my bad, I’m sorry – you weren’t the joke originator. I still stand by my “nose candy” statement though, lol
Oh they were definitely “gardening” back there, lol
“Snow” doesn’t make anyone want to eat, let alone a big, meaty burger. A weed joke would have worked though!
We ordered 2 of them. One had 2 patties and the other had only one. And the one with the single patty was pink inside which I do not like. Disappointed.
Double QP’s at McD are always way too much meat for my tastes so I’ll have to skip out on this one ;( . Going by what is usually the more expensive McD here, the Big Arch is $7.59, and a Double QPC is $6.29. So, that’s $1.30 for sauce, an extra slice of cheese, different cheese, different bun, and crispy onions. I don’t think the pricing is all that wild.
Have you ever been to Brazil and tasted the cheddar mcmelt? Only Brazilian McDonald’s has it. It’s delicious when well done. Maybe the best of McBrasil!!
This review is spot-on with my experience, and I wholeheartedly agree on the “Why two patties?” point. It’s a solid evolution of the Big Mac formula, and the (slightly) less sweet sauce and crispy onions really shine. Halfway through the sandwich, though, I felt like I was hitting a wall…and in need of a nap.
($8.69 in the Southeast – this thing is an indulgence on every front.)
The sauce on the arch burger is almost like Big Mac sauce but much worse ?
The wife and I went to try it tonight (the first day it was locally avaliable) and we really liked it, but it was a messy burger. A little difficult to eat because it seemed to have too much Arch sauce on it. The Arch sauce is better than the Big Mac sauce as it was more savory than sweet. Overall we would recommend it on an occasional basis.
I was expecting to like the Big Arch but I just didn’t care for the sauce. I wonder if I can get it with Big Mac sauce on it instead?!? If not, maybe with no sauce and some Big Mac sauce on the side. McDonald’s can be a bit weird with what substitutions they allow. So far as cost goes, it was $10.58 for the sandwich by itself.
The Big Arch is one of the worst burgers I have ever had. The Mc double Is a lot better, don’t waste your $10.00 for just the burger
Me and my husband tried the big arch today and we both were unhappy with it definitely will not buy again