McDonald’s is set to open a reservation-only restaurant in High Street Kensington with cutlery, silver cloches and waiters with white gloves.
Opening next Wednesday the store will be the first of a luxury experience pilot that could get rolled out across the country.
The restaurant will welcome diners with a string quartet before seating them at a table complete with all the trimmings, including serving the food under a silver cloche (a bell-shaped dish).
With waiters wearing white gloves, burger-themed art on the walls, and cutlery that can be used more than once, it is a step up from the usual McDonald’s experience.
If successful it could get rolled out to other sites for special occasions, such as Valentine’s Day.
McDonald’s has faced pressure from gourmet burger chains such as Byron, GBK and Honest Burger over the last few years.
It has launched a high-end ‘Signature’ menu and now has table service across 93 per cent of its restaurants in response.
Last month the company also made a play for coffee connoisseurs with the announcement that it is trialling barista-made coffee in some London stores.