Finally, we’d be able to actually eat a proper meal whenever out drunken friends dragged us through the golden arches, rather than just nicking a few chips. Finally, there’d be a way for us to satisfy our longings for McDonald’s without compromising on our animal-friendly morals. Yes, the McVegan is currently only a month-long trial in Tampere, Finland, but if all goes well it could be rolled out around the world.

So we’re understandably enthused. But after that initial excitement mellowed, a big question emerged: Would the McVegan actually be any good?

We couldn’t justify flying over to Finland just to get a vegan burger, so we asked Tampere resident Essi Saloniemi to try the McVegan out on our behalf. Here’s what she thought.

It’s really had been a while since I last ate at McDonald’s. ‘As soon as I stepped inside I bumped into a friend of mine who I know to be a strict vegan, which I must admit I’m not. She told me she’d already eaten two burgers so I expected it had to taste really good.

So basically, it tastes good, it’s a decent vegan knockoff of a regular McDonald’s burger, but it’s not the most filling meal you can get. Essi also reports that one of the McDonald’s in Tampere had entirely sold out of the vegan burger, which suggests that the trial’s going well. That could indicate that the McVegan will be added to the menu in other locations.

‘As I unwrapped the burger I was pleased to notice that the soybean steak was not mashed at all. Otherwise the filling was the usual: salad, pickles, tomato but topped with vegan McFeast sauce. ‘All in all the taste was surprisingly lush. ‘The burger definitely looked and tasted like a classic McDonald’s burger.

‘I was chatting with my friend later in the evening and she told me that one out of total five McDonald’s in Tampere had ran out of the vegan steaks by the end of the day. ‘In the end I had two burgers. And yes, I was still a bit hungry. But I’m happy there’s a vegan choice on the menu.’

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