- Switzerland has the highest McDonald's prices in the world, and I visited one during a recent trip.
- I spent $31 at a McDonald's in Zurich and got three sandwiches, fries, and some dipping sauces.
McDonald's is never my first choice when I'm traveling in Europe.
But of all the golden arches in the world, Switzerland sports the highest prices, as Business Insider has previously reported.
It makes sense. After all, Switzerland is widely considered the most expensive country in Europe.
Still, I wanted to see if there was something special about the world's priciest McDonald's.
On a recent trip to Zurich, I headed to McDonald's and ordered three sandwiches, fries, and three dipping sauces for 27.6 Swiss Francs.
I could pay in US dollars at the checkout though, and my card was charged $31.14.
Switzerland serves the world's most expensive Big Mac — and it was just OK
According to The Economist's Big Mac index, Switzerland has had the most expensive Big Mac in the world for years.
But the Big Mac is quintessential McDonald's, so I had to get one.
I don't eat at McDonald's very much, and I've probably only had a Big Mac once before. Still, I expected more.
The pickles were crisp and vinegary. The cheese was flavorful. The patties were just thin enough. The sprinkling of diced onions was barely noticeable.
It was all the same stuff that's on an American Big Mac. The only difference seemed to be the price.
Overall, I found this burger underwhelming, especially after trying the other two sandwiches.
In my opinion, it wasn't worth the $8 I paid.
The paprika chicken sandwich was unique and tasty
The Chicken Paprika, as it was called on the menu — or "Big Bang Chicken," as it was called on the wrapper — is not available to order at McDonald's in the US.
It's a fried chicken patty slathered in paprika sauce, on top of a slice of cheese on warm bun. The simple sandwich seemed to lean on the paprika sauce for its personality.
It was a nice change of pace from other fast-food chicken sandwiches I've had. The chicken patty had the texture of a chicken nugget with a crunchy crust.
The sauce was sweet, but I didn't taste very much paprika. Overall, it was tasty but a bit one-dimensional.
I paid $7.30 for it.
The $10 Big Tasty burger was the best thing on my plate
This $10 Big Tasty burger was by far my favorite thing on the table.
It was slathered in a sweet, smoky sauce, covered in creamy Emmental cheese, and topped with big slices of onion and crunchy, smoky bacon.
The bacon was the best part, and my only criticism was that the tomato tasted bland.
The Big Tasty is available worldwide but is not a main menu item in the US. I would buy it again if I was at a McDonald's that served it.
The french fries were the loser of my meal
They were pretty standard McDonald's fries, except that they were bland and not salty enough, in my opinion.
Thankfully, I had a variety of sauces to dip them in.
Some sauces at the Zurich McDonald's were different from what I could get in the US
I picked out three sauces I've never seen on a US menu: hot devil, pommes frites, and curry. Each packet cost less than 50 cents.
The hot devil sauce was unnervingly goopy, but I liked how spicy it was. It was the kind of spice that rests on the front of your tongue.
The next one was listed as pommes-frites sauce on the menu but showed up on my receipt as simply "mayonnaise."
It did not taste like mayonnaise. In my opinion, it was flavorless and very oily.
The curry sauce was my favorite. It was really sweet and had a nice curry spice flavor.
I almost wish my chicken sandwich had curry sauce instead of the not-very-paprika-y paprika sauce.
The sandwiches I can't order back home were my favorites
Overall, it was fun to try new dipping sauces, but the fries weren't very good. The sandwiches I can't order in the US were my favorite items.
And if you're at McDonald's in Switzerland, skip the world's most expensive Big Mac. Get the Big Tasty instead.