McDonald's has been a source of comfort for me when travelling across the UK and even the world.

You can generally rest assured that when all else fails, you can go to McDonald's and everything will meet your expectations, whether you're in Bath, or Belfast.

Products are all prepared the same way every time, with the same grills and the same fryers - the machines even have their own timers, just to make sure that nothing is under or over cooked.

However, we've shown that different McDonald's restaurants get very different reviews, even across Somerset.

The restaurant opened Bath's first drive-thru last year
The restaurant opened Bath's first drive-thru last year

The McDonald's in Twerton is rated among the worst in Somerset, and is dangerously close to being ranked dead last on 'Quick Bites in Bath', according to TripAdvisor.

It's ranked 83 out of 84 restaurants, which isn't the kind of glowing feedback you'd expect from a restaurant with around 1,300 UK branches.

After reading a number of negative reviews, I thought I'd share my experience at Twerton's McDonald's - is it really as bad as it seems?

"Chaotic, Disorganised and Unbelievably Slow"

Out of the restaurant's 28 reviews on TripAdvisor, almost half, rate it as "terrible".

Complaints about Twerton's McDonald's have varied from long waiting times, to poor service, to wrong orders, to "disgusting food", and even "stomach turning" toilets.

One reviewer even suggested that people "avoid the drive-thru like the plague".

I've been to this McDonald's on a number of occasions before, but decided that today, I would grab my notepad, and give it a full review.

McDonald's, Twerton
McDonald's, Twerton

My Order

The time you spend waiting for a McDonald's order can be luck of the draw - abnormally long queues or unexpected staff absences can make things much slower on some days - but there's also a method to getting in and out as quickly as possible.

When it gets busy, a lot of branches seem to churn out tonnes of extra food, with the expectation that it's going to be bought.

These are normally preset items like Bic Macs, quarter pounders, cheeseburgers, and fries.

If you need something standard like a regular Big Mac meal with a coke, chances are you won't have to wait long.

However, ordering something like a plain burger, or fries with no salt can take longer and are a bigger test of how well organised the branch is.

I decided to switch things up a little bit, just to make sure that I had something that was freshly prepared.

I ordered a large Big Mac meal with a coke, but the burger had added bacon, no lettuce, and ketchup instead of Big Mac sauce.

I also grabbed an extra cheeseburger and a Creme Egg McFlurry.

A regular Big Mac and fries
A regular Big Mac and fries

The Restaurant

The restaurant is a good size, and is also the only McDonald's with a drive-thru in Bath.

It recently had an upgrade on the interior so looks modern and well-presented.

The inside of the McDonald's was mostly clean.

A couple of tables here and there needed a scrub and the floor was getting close to needing a fresh mop, but there was nothing worth complaining about.

The McDonald's drive-thru
The McDonald's drive-thru

Service

McDonald's has invested heavily in upgrading its restaurants with self-service ordering points.

This means that for a smaller branch like Twerton, unless it's exceptionally busy, there isn't usually one designated person on the tills ready to serve you.

They're normally juggling that role with preparing orders that have already been made.

On this occasion, the woman who served me was polite and got everything done quickly and easily - no complaints.

Order Time

I arrived at the branch just after 8.30pm on Thursday night and it was relatively empty.

I had to wait just under 5 minutes for my food, which is about what I'd expect for an order that needed to be fresh, but wasn't anything too fancy or awkward.

BELOW VIDEO: When Bath Live reviewed the drive-thru just after it opened in 2018

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The Food

All the food tasted fresh and was well prepared.

There were no problems with the order, and they made the Big Mac just as I asked.

The fries could have stayed in the fryer a tiny bit longer, and didn't seem to have been salted, but a couple of salt packets sorted that out right away.

The Creme Egg McFlurry had plenty of toppings, which was great, but unfortunately, I was given a pretty measly portion of ice cream.

Overall, it was a good meal.

The cheeseburger and Big Mac in particular, tasted like they'd come right off the grill and into my hands.

A bit of a measly ice cream portion
A bit of a measly ice cream portion

Overall

This was a good experience.

I was in and out pretty quickly and was satisfied with a good meal and good service.

I'd give this experience a 4/5.

However, having been to this branch a number of times, I can say that I haven't always been this lucky.

Service has never been bad, however I've come to expect some abnormally long waiting times.

At worst, I waited 15 minutes for a chicken legend meal.

I haven't had any problems with my orders in the past either, but I have experienced a few cases of stale fries and old chicken selects.

I can see how some customers may have had a bad time here, but on the whole, the staff get the job done, even if it is sometimes a little slow.

Overall rating: 3/5

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