Make mine a Big Mac and friezes
Visits the world’s most beautiful McDonald’s
Surrounded by Porto’s greatest monuments, Liberdade Square is known as the gateway to the city. A bronze statue of King Pedro IV on horseback stands in front of the impressive Town Hall.
UNESCO-approved São Bento Railway Station, with its 20,000 traditional azulejo tiles depicting Portugal’s defining historic moments, is just a few feet away.
So what is a McDonald’s doing plonked in the middle of all this precious heritage? Surely the city planners could have found somewhere less obvious to ram in the golden arches of the fast-food chain.
But this isn’t any old brick-built box you’d see on the side of a motorway. This is McDonald’s Imperial, often described as “the most beautiful McDonald’s in the world”. Opened in 1995, it sits in a renovated space previously occupied by Cafe Imperial, a famous coffee shop dating back to the 1930s and seen as a prime example of Art Deco architecture.
McDonald’s retained most of the main architectural features when it took over the location.
A striking bronze eagle created by sculptor Henrique Moreira is perched above the entrance.
Inside there are ornate friezes on the ceiling, crystal chandeliers and, most interestingly, dazzling stained glass windows behind the counter, with designs by Portuguese artist Ricardo
Leone reflecting the building’s coffee-shop origins. Unfortunately, this is where its beauty ends as the flooring, seats and tables are all of standard design and the usual electronic ordering screens are in place.
As with all McDonald’s restaurants around the world, there are a few menu variations to reflect the country you are in. Try a truffle burger – the Maestro Cogumelos Maionese Trufada – which, for £6, comes stacked with mushrooms, Emmental cheese, truffle mayo, salad leaves and a beef patty. The Rustic Chicken Mostarda e Mel, meanwhile, is loaded with crispy chicken, mustard sauce, Emmental cheese and salad.
Some of the most interesting options are the soups, vegetable and cabbage, a watery version of Portugal’s traditional caldo verde soup, for £1.50. Portuguese beer, Sagres, is also on offer. You can sample their potato sauce and honey mustard for 44p. Tiny bottles of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and spicy mayonnaise are also available.
The Sundae Doce da Casa – its super-charged McFlurry – comes with ice cream, crumbled biscuit and egg custard sauce – a nod to Portugal’s famous pastel de nata pastries.
And McDonald’s Imperial is so popular there are often queues – you need a code from your receipt to use the loo too.
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There are chandeliers and a bronze eagle perched above the entrance