McDonald's Big Arch Review: Cast This Burger Into The Fast Food Abyss And Just Order A Big Mac

McDonald's is constantly striving to fulfill a balance of serving nostalgia, while moving forward and delivering new flavors to meet modern tastes. In the last year alone, it caved to fans' demands and resurrected the Snack Wrap, and even blew off the dust and rust of one of its most memorable Happy Meal toys ever — Changeables. McDonald's has never been afraid to follow a trend, like its recent dip into Hot Honey territory, or even import an idea that has worked well overseas, like McShaker Fries. Its next release also takes its cue from a popular McDonald's item from abroad, in what has now become perhaps the most anticipated new McItem of them all — the Big Arch.

This whopper of a burger, with a brand new sauce, bun, cheese, and crispy onions, has been making the rounds in several international locations since 2024, with an eye on taking over America today. Upon its intial release, McDonald's President and CEO Chris Kempczinski called The Big Arch, "A quintessential McDonald's burger with a twist on our iconic familiar flavors." We at The Takeout were hoping the Big Arch would enter our Golden Arches in 2025, but had to settle on 2026.

It's finally our turn to take a taste of this next gen McDonald's burger. There are so many questions, but the main one remains — is the Big Arch the next big McThing, or is it a big swing and miss? The Takeout headed to McDonald's to try it out and find out where the truth lies. All can finally be revealed in this saucy McChew & review!

While March 3 was circled on our calendars as the official big release day for the Big Arch, I noticed social media was already abuzz with people gobbling them up in their cars. Lo and behold, it was available in advance of its due date at my local McDonald's in New York City. I scurried over, right after digesting some mighty awesome Krispy Kreme x Oreos doughnuts, to have lunch after dessert. I ordered the Big Arch as is, then a second one with extra sauce, pickles, and crispy onions, as well as a Big Mac for comparison. I ate the burgers onsite, in several rounds of tastings.

This review is a summation of my own personal tastes and opinions. I also took into consideration my previous experiences with McDonald's, its roster of burgers, and my current experience with the Big Arch. The ultimate criteria considered for this chew and review were flavor, appearance, presentation, smell, texture, value, familiarity, originality, uniqueness, archiness, and ultimately, whether this burger was the next big thing or not. Stay tuned for the answer.

Over its illustrious history, McDonald's has hit a couple home run burgers that dwarfed the size of its classic original, with the Big Mac going national in 1968, and the Quarter Pounder weighing in since 1973. Those remained the golden arched standard for decades, although the chain has often tried to introduce the next best and biggest thing over the ensuing decades to find a home on its menu. Burgers like the McD.L.T. and McLean Deluxe have come and gone, and have mostly been forgotten. There was even one called The Arch Deluxe, but it wasn't luxurious enough to stick around.

The "Arch" is now being utilized to headline a new burger, The Big Arch, which debuted at McDonald's in Portugal back in 2024, before appearing in the chain's outposts in Germany, France, United Kingdom, and Canada. Positive feedback and sales have warranted the burger a permanent place on menus overseas, and McDonald's U.S. is hoping the same will be true after its limited time launch in 2026.

The Big Arch starts with two juicy quarter-pound beef patties, topped with three slices of melty white cheddar cheese, crispy and slivered onions, pickles, lettuce, and a brand new Big Arch sauce. It's all sandwiched between a new toasted sesame and poppy seed bun. McDonald's describes the Big Arch sauce as "tangy, creamy, with the perfect balance of mustard, pickle and sweet tomato flavors."

The Big Arch is officially launching at participating nationwide McDonald's locations on March 3, but your local restaurant may already have it available on the menu. The Big Arch is a limited time offering, here to stay for an unspecified time. It's available to order when breakfast ends and switches over to the day menu, while supplies last.

The Big Arch can be ordered in-store at the counter, kiosk, or drive-thru, where available. It can also be ordered in advance for dine-in, pick-up, or even delivery. There may be additional fees for orders placed for delivery or through third party apps and websites. Prices will vary by location, but at the Manhattan location where I ordered mine, the Big Arch retailed for $9.49, and could be made into a meal, including fries and a drink, starting at $14.98. 

Like most items at McDonald's, the Big Arch is completely customizable to remove or add given ingredients, or add extra ones like three half strips of bacon or three slices of Roma tomato. Extra or add-on ingredients come at an additional cost, which will also vary by location.

The Big Arch's burger patties are 100% beef, and contain no fillers or extenders. They are simply seasoned with salt and black pepper. The Big Arch's bun pops with poppy and sesame seeds, and in its make-up, contains wheat and malted barley enriched flour, as well as salt, vinegar and corn starch. The Big Arch Sauce combines the talents of water, soybean oil, tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, egg yolks, salt, and contains 2% or less of modified corn starch, mustard, spice, garlic powder, onion powder, xanthan gum, lemon juice concentrate, turmeric and paprika extract for color, and natural flavors including celery seed extract. If you were wondering how the Arch sauce may differ from the Big Mac sauce, the key inclusion is a tomato flavor.

One Big Arch nets an eater some big numbers in the form of an astounding 1020 calories, 59 grams of total carbohydrates, 65 grams of total fat, 25 grams of saturated fat, 3 grams of trans fat, an eye-popping 1,760 milligrams of sodium, 175 milligrams of cholesterol, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 15 grams of sugars (including 10 grams of added sugars), and 53 grams of protein. Between the buns also lay 290 milligrams of calcium, 7 milligrams of iron, and 810 milligrams of potassium. It contains the allergens wheat, sesame, milk, soy, and egg.

The first detail of the Big Arch that struck my eye was the new bun, with the chain's signature sesame seeds as well as poppy seeds. The toasted bun was surprisingly dense and rigid to the touch. I looked under its hood, and its contents didn't look all that different from a Big Mac, with the newcomer fried onions hiding out between the bottom patty and bun.

Before I embarked on a full bite, I wanted to meet the new sauce. It was slightly more orange than Mac sauce, with a taste that seemed like a crazy riff on that familiar favorite. While tomato paste is one of the lead flavors touted in its flavor chemistry, the pickled relish notes play loudest. Regardless of the unique taste, I wasn't fully ready to cheer for this cacophony. I had small nibbles of the white cheddar, which seemed light on flavor besides a hint of smokiness, as well as the crispy onions, which lost a hit of crispness amongst the sauce but still drew me in. The burger patties had a well-done, smashed look to them, but sadly were devoid of any smashed crunchiness.

It was finally time to take a full bite, and while there were a lot of flavors swimming together, my taste buds focused on the bun. It had a toasty texture, and the more bites I took, the more it became a distraction. The sauce, while certainly novel, ultimately didn't stack up to me as a winning formula. I love pickle-forward flavors, but it didn't enhance the burger, instead working as an obstruction for full enjoyment.

Before rendering my final verdict on the Big Arch, I wanted to revisit the Big Mac. Visually, the Big Mac certainly appeared super puny versus its new little "Big" brother. On those looks alone, the Big Mac just seemed like a big loser in comparison. Alas, looks aren't everything. Beyond the needless second bun and a sea of way too much chopped lettuce, a fresh bite of the Big Mac reminded me of its glorious combinations of flavors, all punctuated by its awesome sauce. 

I also ordered a second Big Arch, doubling up on the sauce, pickles, and crispy onions. I was hoping the results would be better, but the experience sadly proved more of the same. I really couldn't get over the bread; the main issue is that it lacks the squishy, cushiony softness of the McDonald's buns we all know and love. Also, the sauce, while totally tangy, just seemed outright odd, and in turn, at odds with the rest of the burger.

I wanted a new signature burger to dot McDonald's menu, but I am convinced the Big Arch is not the one. It's completely edible and very filling, but I think I'm good after trying it twice in one sitting. Going forward, I will stick with the classic Big Mac, or turn to my usual go to — a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese.