Inside the UK’s first ever McDonald’s where a Big Mac cost 45p

Since bursting onto the scene for the first time in 1965, the famous Big Mac burger has cemented itself as one of McDonald’s most iconic delicacies.

Costing less than 50 cents, it made its debut at a restaurant in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in a bid to directly compete with the Big Boy Burger from (who else?) Big Boy Restaurants. However, it’s arguably gone on to achieve greater heights of fame.

Famous for the two beef patties, pickles and iconic Big Mac sauce among other ingredients, an estimated 900 million of the burgers are sold each year around the world – averaging out at more than 2.4 million each day.

But did you know that, when the first UK McDonald’s restaurant opened in 1974, a Big Mac cost just 45p? Yes, you read that correctly.

The first location to open in the UK was in Woolwich, southeast London, throwing open its doors to curious customers 50 years ago, in the autumn of 1974.

The iconic McDonald’s (found just round the corner from Woolwich Arsenal) is still there to this day, though of course, a few details have changed.

When it opened, the Woolwich branch became the 3000^th McDonald’s restaurant worldwide. The interiors weren’t as fancy as they are today – with many modern-day locations featuring the likes of tablets installed with children’s games and even a drive-thru.

Instead, the original was fitted out with wooden seating and, since this was before the indoor smoking ban was introduced in 2007, there were ashtrays on every table.

The menu was much simpler than today’s operations, inevitably featuring the Big Mac as well as the quarter pounder, quarter pounder with cheese, the McMariner (AKA the original filet-o-fish), the United Tastes of America (a meal deal constituting a hamburger, fries and a milkshake), and the eternal (and always piping hot) apple pie.

And how much did these menu items cost? A simple hamburger came in at just 15p, made with 100% pure beef and topped with pickles, mustard and ketchup.

The cheeseburger was slightly more costly at 21p, while as we know, the Big Mac came in at over twice the price at 45p, with the quarter pounder costing the same.

The McMariner was a relatively costly 30p, and if you wanted fries with that (or indeed, any delicacy on the menu), it would total 12p for a small bag and 15p for a large portion.

But the greatest value was no doubt in the United Tastes of America meal, which totalled 45p – AKA the price of a Big Mac, but with fries and a milkshake too.

The same year that the Woolwich site opened, the head office was opened in Hampstead, north of the river. And in 1975, the first UK advertisement appeared in cinemas, while the first to be screened on the TV came one year later in 1976.

At the time, there was no iconic Maccies breakfast either: this wasn’t introduced until 1982.

It took the UK a while to catch up, as the first very McMuffin was served at the Belleville store in New Jersey ten years earlier in 1972. Perhaps British tastes weren’t quite ready for the joy of a hash brown instead of cornflakes!

But despite the delay, McDonald’s continued with an upwards trajectory, as by 1986, the 200^th UK restaurant opened in Ipswich.

Now, there are more than 1,270 across the UK, so it’s safe to say that even 50 years on, we’re still lovin’ it.

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