7 Most Complained-About Fast Food Items

Fast food is such a normal part of our dining life that it's sometimes overlooked just how consistent the quality generally is. Companies like McDonald's or Popeyes are popular in part because eating there offers a predictable experience from how you order to the items on the menu. That's actually one reason fast food took off in the 1950s. People traveling on the new interstate highways could stop at a restaurant location knowing they'd get a meal that tasted the same as it did back home. But it catches a lot of people's attention when the quality is inconsistent or when a fast food joint introduces an item that customers just don't like.

That's why we've put this list together. While most fast food places will have a miss on the menu every now and again, the ones we've chosen to highlight have been especially egregious, according to diners. The items covered here were picked because people over the past year have made their opinions known about everything from disliking new recipes to being unhappy with shrinkflation. So, read on to find out which items you might want to avoid, or to see whether others agree with your take on a new fast food addition. 

Burger King has been around since the early 1950s, and in that time it's become a popular fast food chain. But its reputation is somewhat mixed, with fans being divided over everything from the quality of the flame-grilled Whoppers to the authenticity of its onion rings. The chain has listened to customer complaints for years and decided to revamp several of its long-time menu items in 2026. One of those was the chicken nuggets, which diners had criticized for being chewy, hard, and lacking moisture. The problem with the rollout was that few customers enjoyed the new version. 

The chain advertised the new nuggets as being 100% white meat, with improved breading and seasoning, and that they could be paired with several new sauce options. But those changes were far from impressive, prompting one Facebook user to say, "I didn't think it was possible for them to taste even worse than before.... 0 out of 10 stars." 

Others noted that they aren't crispy, and some people compared them with bad supermarket frozen nuggets. Even the official Burger King Instagram account had customers expressing their distaste with the chicken on a post about their release. Only time will tell if the new nuggets will fail like the chain's attempt at a steak sandwich back in the 1990s. 

McDonald's started as a small restaurant in the 1950s in California, and today, it's one of the most recognized names in the fast food world. That's why it may be surprising to realize the brand has many menu misses. For instance, the burgers helped make the company successful, but now they're considered among the worst in the business, taking last place in Food Republic's ranking of fast food burgers. The chicken is also low quality, as more people are pointing out with the revival of the McCrispy Strips.

Debuting on the menu in 2025, the strips are advertised as all-white meat covered in peppered breading. But customers didn't care for the new tenders, saying they weren't appetizing due to the tough meat and soft exterior. Many people called them disappointing, with others saying they were overpriced. A Reddit user said, "Opened the container to find these tiny strips. Two out of three of these were practically inedible and felt rubbery, and the third was meh at best with no flavor." Several people also said they wouldn't be buying them again after giving them a try. Fan reaction was so bad that McDonald's stocks suffered, and we think that sums up the new offering quite succinctly. 

In-N-Out is an iconic California-based drive-thru that's famous for its not-so-secret menu and consistently low prices. Founded in 1948, the chain keeps prices down by maintaining ownership of its many locations and limiting the menu to keep quality up. But one of the restaurant's most inconsistent items is the fries, which took last place in Food Republic's 2025 ranking of fast food fries. They're made from freshly cut whole potatoes that are fried in sunflower oil, and fans seem to love them or hate them. 

People have complained about the fries' sogginess, with one Reddit poster saying, "They're unique in that they have the same taste and consistency as the paper they're served in." Numerous customers agree that In-N-Out has the worst fries in the business, and diners have complained about the potatoes being served cold. Even In-N-Out fans say the fries have been terrible for years. The perception of the fries has even made it into memes, with people supposedly bringing potato sticks from other restaurants to In-N-Out to avoid the inferior fries entirely. 

Insiders suggest ordering the fries "well done" to have them cooked longer and turn out crispier to avoid the limp ones many people get. Getting the potatoes Animal Style adds more flavor, too, so it's up to the customer in the end. 

Kentucky Fried Chicken, or KFC, is one of the biggest chicken chains in the world. Started in 1930, the restaurant is known for its secret chicken recipe with 11 herbs and spices, as well as mashed potatoes and gravy. The problem with the latter is how few people enjoy them. And Colonel Sanders agreed that the gravy wasn't good after his original recipe was changed to increase profits in the 1970s.

Numerous customers call the gravy watered down, and one Reddit user was so disappointed they declared, "...don't even start with the mashed potatoes. That gravy tastes like it was engineered in a lab that specializes in 'brown.'" Other diners compared the gravy to broth, saying that it didn't get better even after being heated up. One person reported that the mashed potatoes they ordered came with gravy that wasn't even brown because it was so thin. On the flip side of the coin, customers have also received gravy that was old and congealed into something gel-like and rubbery. Either way, most people don't care for the taste, leading some to long for the days when the gravy had a distinctly peppery flavor and good consistency. 

Chick-fil-A claims to have invented the chicken sandwich, and that item remains one of the most popular things on the menu. But there are other iterations of the chain's chicken, too, including grilled and fried nuggets, grilled filets, and fried chicken tenders. The Chick-n-Strips were introduced in the 1990s and are another incredibly popular item, but they aren't universally loved. In recent years, fans have begun complaining about the chain succumbing to shrinkflation in both the sandwiches' filets and the tenders. 

Numerous people have noted the smaller size of the tenders, with some showing off just how tiny the strips are on social media. One Reddit user complained, "I have been getting chicken strips for a long time now. Past 2-3 times I've gotten [these] stingy pieces." They went on to explain that the meat is half breading compared to the thicker pieces they used to receive. "It feels like [Chick-fil-A] has lost its touch for me." That person isn't alone, as others have asked if the smaller pieces are normal at the chain now. And the answer seems to be "yes." 

Then there are the problems with the chicken's quality. People report the strips are tough, rubbery, and stringy, giving them an all-around unpleasant texture. One Facebook commentary video showed a customer pulling at the meat of one of the strips to demonstrate how stretchy it was. Those problems are making some customers rethink stopping at the restaurant at all. 

Domino's is a divisive restaurant even though it's the world's largest pizza chain. It's not known for quality, but maintains its popularity through its meal deals. Still, even though no one expects incredible food from the eatery, customers do want consistency and decent flavor. Unfortunately for those ordering the bone-in wings, neither is guaranteed. And that's a bit surprising considering the chain has had decades to perfect its wing game. 

There are four flavored versions, in addition to the plain wings, to give diners a chance for good flavor, but the main problem seems to be the quality of the chicken itself. Diners call the wings fatty, with one person finding them so soft they had to air fry and then broil the wings before eating the rest of the order. One reviewer was disappointed by the fact that there was no meat on the wings, saying they were mostly fat and tendons. One person received an order where the wings weren't cooked all the way through, making them inedible. 

Then there's the size of the chicken. Multiple people have commented about how tiny the wings are, with one person saying some of them are so small they're not actually wings. Another diner considered asking for their money back because the chicken was so little, with next to no meat on it. 

Wendy's was started in the late 1960s and reports it has a continuing commitment to quality. But customers have their doubts about that claim. The chain uses some of the lowest-quality chicken in fast food, and both fans and the company's CEO have complained that the food's quality in general has been declining for years. In an effort to right the ship, the brand has introduced new items and revamped some older ones. Fans of the nuggets specifically feel they're not as good as they once were.

One of the biggest problems diners have with the nuggets is how often they're hollow in the middle. This gives them an odd texture and makes them much less filling because there's less meat inside. Customers are also unhappy with how small the nuggets are now. One social media user posted a photo comparing the chicken to the size of a quarter. And the taste isn't winning over any of the chain's diners, either. Others found that the nuggets were small, spongy, gross, and cardboard-like.

To make this list, we began by doing a general search for disliked fast food items from the past year. We found several that stood out due to numerous complaints about quality, size, taste, and overall value. After that, we began looking through social media, message boards, professional reviews, and user review sites for specific instances where the food didn't meet the customer's standards. The fast foods with the most complaints across several platforms were chosen for this list.