(McDonald's in Portugal while moving from one place to another - 1 of 2)…read more
You may come across this McDonald's if you are a local and are shopping at the huge Vasco da Gama indoor shopping center in the Parque das Nacoes complex. You may also come across it if you are at the Oriente train station minted as a landmark for Expo 98 and you decide you don't like the food options in there while waiting for a train or a long distance bus. In this regard, this McDonald's is a win ... because I don't like the food options in the Oriente station.
There are very few things I like at McDonald's and most of their food isn't really that good for you. I could go for a Filet-o-Fish but the price difference for a Big Mac isn't that much more, so that's what I order when at a McDonald's in another country and I make it a combo, with medium fries and a medium soft drink. Note that the prices for this meal are fair here and more favorable than in Italy or Spain. They will also give you some ketchup whereas in Italy you have seemingly have to pay for it at most McDonald's. To me, that's like not giving you napkins with your meal.
I have wandered over from the massive and unique multi-modal Oriente station and have eaten here twice. On both occasions, they were packed with folks having lunch. For that matter, all of the food court merchants were very busy and finding a place to sit was not easy. When you find one, you move quickly. On both occasions, my hat was off to the employee who saw that I had luggage and could not wheel it to the table and carry a tray with a Big Mac meal without having it tip over. They helped me by carrying the tray to the table I had found.
It's all there at this McDonald's - the food you know, service that is better than that provided by sullen teenagers in the U.S., a value priced meal, and, most of all, the interior of the Vasco da Gama center is big, open, and airy, featuring regular stores, high end stores, and a big (possibly on steroids) Continente "hypermarket" at the ground level.
Getting here from the Oriente station across the street is easy, either via the pedestrian crossing at street level, through a below street level passageway, and, if I recall, there has been a footbridge over Avenida Dom Joao II as well, though it seemed to be closed this last time. Except for how busy it is, this is a good McDonald's and you can be among the few token tourist gringos (a term definitely used in Brazilian Portuguese) in here having a meal.