Prices are approximate and vary by restaurant. Last updated September 2026.
Let’s clear this up first: McDonald’s UK has no official secret menu. You can’t walk in and order a “McGangBang” or a “Land, Sea and Air” and expect the person at the till to know what you mean. There is no hidden list, no special button on the till, no wink-and-nod handshake.
What does exist is something arguably more fun: a culture of customer-created customisations — DIY hacks built from standard menu items, assembled by you (or by a willing crew member) into something the regular menu doesn’t offer. Some are genuinely delicious. Some are stunts. All of them depend on the restaurant agreeing to your request, so politeness is the essential ingredient.
Here’s our guide to the UK “secret menu” — what’s worth trying, how to order it, and what to avoid.
The ground rules
Before the list, the etiquette:
- Order by components, not by nickname. Don’t ask for a “Poor Man’s Big Mac” — ask for a Double Cheeseburger with Big Mac sauce and lettuce. The crew knows their ingredients, not internet slang.
- Keep it simple. Kitchens are timed to the second. A request for “extra sauce” is fine; a ten-step build during the lunch rush is not.
- Accept no gracefully. If they’re too busy or the customisation isn’t possible, don’t argue. Try another branch or another time.
- Expect to pay for extras. Additional patties, extra cheese, extra toppings — these usually add to the price. That’s fair.
- Assembly may be DIY. Sometimes the easiest path is ordering the components and building it yourself at the table.
The classics worth trying
1. The Budget Big Mac (Double Cheeseburger with Big Mac sauce and lettuce)
The most famous McDonald’s hack in Britain, and the most worthwhile. Order a Double Cheeseburger (around £2.30–£2.80) and ask for Big Mac sauce instead of (or as well as) ketchup and mustard, plus shredded lettuce. What you get is remarkably close to a Big Mac experience — two patties, special sauce, lettuce — for roughly half the price of a Big Mac (around £4–£5.50). You miss the middle bun slice and the sesame top, but your wallet won’t care.
How to order: “Double Cheeseburger with Big Mac sauce and lettuce, please.”
2. Land, Sea and Air
The legendary stunt burger: a beef burger, a Filet-O-Fish and a McChicken (or chicken nuggets) combined into one towering creation. “Land” (beef), “sea” (fish), “air” (chicken).
How to order: order a Double Cheeseburger, a Filet-O-Fish and a McChicken separately, then assemble at your table. Don’t ask the crew to build it — that’s your job, and half the fun. It’ll cost you the three items (roughly £9–£11 total), so this is a novelty for a special occasion, not a value play.
3. The McFlurry remix (extra topping)
McFlurry toppings are portioned, but many restaurants will add an extra topping for a small charge — turning an Oreo McFlurry into an Oreo-and-Maltesers McFlurry, for example. With 2026 flavours including Oreo, Maltesers, Smarties, Galaxy Chocolate, Galaxy Caramel, Twix and Terry’s Chocolate Orange, the combinations are genuinely exciting.
How to order: “Can I get a McFlurry with an extra topping of [X]? Happy to pay extra.”
4. Cheesy fries (fries with cheese sauce)
Not on the UK menu board, but cheese-topped fries are a beloved hack. The simplest version: order fries and ask if they can add cheese — some branches will, some won’t. The reliable DIY version: order fries and a side of your preferred cheese-topped item, or bring the concept home and finish it there.
How to order: ask politely; if they can’t, no harm done.
5. The Double Mayo Chicken stack
Two Mayo Chickens (around £1.40–£2 each) combined into one double-decker chicken burger. Crispy chicken, double mayo, double lettuce — for under £4. It’s filling, it’s cheap, and it tastes exactly like you’d hope.
How to order: order two Mayo Chickens and stack them yourself. Zero crew effort required.
6. Big Mac sauce on everything
Big Mac sauce isn’t restricted to the Big Mac. Customers routinely ask for it on cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, wraps and even as a dip for fries or nuggets. Most branches will oblige, sometimes for a small charge.
How to order: “Can I add Big Mac sauce to that, please?”
7. The breakfast stack
During breakfast hours (until 11am), combine a Sausage & Egg McMuffin (around £3.20) with a hash brown (under £1) tucked inside. Crispy potato inside a breakfast muffin is a texture revelation.
How to order: order both items and assemble yourself — it’s a 10-second job at the table.
8. Apple pie McFlurry
Order a plain McFlurry and an apple pie (around £1–£1.50), crumble the pie into the McFlurry and stir. Hot-cold, crispy-creamy, sweet-tart — it’s one of the best dessert hacks on this list, and it uses two permanent, cheap menu items.
9. The McPlant double-down (for vegans)
Vegan customers get hacks too. The McPlant (around £5–£5.50) with extra pickles and onions, or a Veggie Dippers wrap built DIY in a tortilla-style assembly, are popular customisations. Note that the McPlant is certified vegan by the Vegetarian Society and cooked on a separate grill — ask the crew if you have questions about preparation.
10. The “round egg” request
At breakfast, you can ask for a freshly cracked “round egg” (like the one in the Egg McMuffin) in items that would normally come with folded egg. Availability depends on the branch and how busy they are, but breakfast regulars swear by it.
Hacks that aren’t worth it
Honesty matters, so here are the ones to skip:
- Anything requiring the crew to invent a new item. If it can’t be made from standard components with standard buttons, it won’t happen.
- Overloaded monstrosities. A burger with six patties and four sauces isn’t food, it’s a dare. It’ll be cold, structurally unsound and expensive.
- “Secret menu” items from American TikTok. The US menu differs from the UK menu — many viral hacks involve items we simply don’t have. Check the components exist here before getting excited.
- Anything rude to order. If your hack holds up the queue or stresses the crew, it’s not clever — it’s inconsiderate.
The DIY mindset
The real secret of the “secret menu” is that it’s a mindset, not a list. Once you understand that every McDonald’s order is just components — patties, buns, sauces, toppings, sides — you can invent your own combinations. The crew deals in components too; ordering “a cheeseburger with no pickles and extra onion” is just as much a customisation as any internet-famous hack.
A few principles for inventing your own:
- Start from cheap bases (cheeseburger, Mayo Chicken, McFlurry) and add one or two things.
- Sweet-savoury crossovers (apple pie + McFlurry, hash brown + McMuffin) have the highest hit rate.
- Keep the total price in mind — hacks built from three full-price items stop being hacks and start being expensive lunches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does McDonald’s UK have a secret menu?
No — there’s no official secret menu. The “secret menu” is a collection of customer-invented customisations made from standard ingredients. Always order by describing the components you want.
Can McDonald’s refuse a customisation?
Yes. Simple requests (sauce swaps, no pickles, extra lettuce) are usually fine, but complex builds can be refused, especially at busy times. Be polite and accept the answer.
Do customisations cost extra?
Often, yes — extra patties, cheese, bacon and sauces typically add to the price. Simple swaps (one sauce for another) are usually free.
What is the most popular secret menu item in the UK?
The Budget Big Mac — a Double Cheeseburger with Big Mac sauce and lettuce — is by far the most ordered and most worthwhile hack.
Can I order secret menu items on the app or at the kiosk?
Kiosks and the app allow standard customisations (add/remove ingredients) but not free-text requests. For anything unusual, order at the till and explain what you’d like.
Are secret menu hacks available at every restaurant?
In theory, any branch can make anything from standard components — but willingness varies by branch, crew and how busy it is. Simple hacks work almost everywhere.
Final thoughts
The McDonald’s UK “secret menu” is a myth that points at a truth: the menu is more flexible than the board suggests. You don’t need a hidden list — you need to know the components, order politely and be willing to do a little table-side assembly. Start with the Budget Big Mac, graduate to the apple pie McFlurry, and before long you’ll be inventing your own. Just remember the golden rule: the crew are doing you a favour, so make it an easy one.