Reasons to Go to McCafé

It has been described as McDonald’s disguised as a hipster cafe. While the hipsters may scoff, we think there are more than a few good reasons to go to a McCafé. One of the reasons is the McCafé’s Sandwich and Coffee Set, currently priced from just $6.50.

McCafé

McCafé is a coffee chain owned by McDonald’s offering espresso coffee freshly brewed by trained baristas. Ice cold frappes, muffins, cakes, desserts and sandwiches have been added to its menu.

The real reason we went to a McCafe recently was mainly because the queue to get into McDonald’s was very long. We wanted to get hamburgers but at about 11.30 am on a weekend there a was a very long, though orderly, queue at the McDonald’s outlet. Standing at the end of the queue, we saw that the McCafé would offer a bit of peace and quiet and there was no line at the counter. We decided to eat at McCafé but alas all available tables were taken up.

McCafé’s Sandwich & Coffee Set

McCafé has a Sandwich & Coffee Set which essentially allows you to get a sandwich and pay $1.50 more for a coffee of your choice. Usually, a small flat white or latte would cost $3.

We opted for a Egg Mayo & Chicken Ham Set ($6.50) and a Chicken Ham, Cheese & Tomato Set ($7.40) for takeaway. We had a small cup of cappuccino with each of the sets.

Good Sandwiches

The sandwiches would be toasted and nicely packed in paper pockets.

Both the Egg Mayo & Chicken Ham Sandwich and Chicken Ham, Cheese & Tomato Sandwich tasted quite good. They were simple but the fillings had nice textures and were flavourful. We thought they were as good, if not better, than some of the expensive toasties served in hipster cafes.

They were filling and also felt like they were more nutritious than the usual hamburgers.

Nice Coffee

The cappuccino would come with Biscoff cookie – another reason to go to McCafé for coffee instead of buying coffee from McDonald’s. When we had coffee at the cafe previously, it was served in a big cup with latte art (see photo below). For takeaway, the coffee came in brown paper cups. The freshly brewed espresso crested with steamed and foamed milk was aromatic, smooth and nice.

We are not coffee sommeliers or connoisseurs of artisanal coffee so McCafé coffee is really quite good enough for us. Fussy coffee lovers may disagree. Others may simply think that coffee from a fast food chain cannot be good. How much of that is down to perception affected by marketing and branding is unclear. It is of interest to read reports of blind tests, where McDonald’s wins taste test and McCafe beats Starbucks in taste test.

Good Reasons to Go to McCafé

We think we have good reasons to go to McCafé. Taste is subjective, but we like the coffee and the sandwiches are nice. There is variety on its menu. The prices are reasonable – the sandwich & coffee set is a bargain. We get cheerful service. There are many outlets in convenient locations and the opening hours are long. Skipping the queue to McDonald’s won’t be our only reason to visit McCafé.

McCafé Webpage

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The Ordinary Patrons | Real Dining Experience of Ordinary People
an independent Singapore food blog