Look inside Epic McD — the 'World's Largest Entertainment McDonald's'

The largest McDonald’s in the US.

“Welcome to Epic McD,” the front door beckons.

An indoor pergola towers over the tables by the entrance, which were all full around 4:30 p.m. on a Tuesday.

A huge counter features stools where you can sit and watch workers prepare food.

There are a ton of ingredients you can choose to add to your pasta, including veggies, chicken, and bacon. Sauces options include marinara, Alfredo, and pesto.

We watched a cook sauté a pasta order in the kitchen.

The location’s biggest draw is its menu of customizable pastas, sandwiches, and pizzas. Here were some on display.

There’s even a real pizza oven!

Giant kiosks implore you to “order here,” on electronic touch screens.

The pizza ordering reminded me a bit of Pizza Hut’s build-your-own pizza system online. You have your choice of sauces, cheeses (mozzarella or a cheddar blend), meat (chicken, bacon, sausage, or Canadian bacon), and other toppings.

Our order was complete: a cheeseburger meal, pasta, pizza, a Belgian waffle, and three drinks for just under $35.

The card machine wasn’t working at the robo-register, so we had to go to the human cashier to pay.

It can’t be said enough — the place is huge. Even the cashier area had a ton of open space.

Some of the custom dessert orders weren’t available at the electronic checkout machine, so you have to talk to a human to satisfy your sweet tooth. The dessert bar looked impressive, though there was no one working at it at the time.

But you can also create your own deluxe sundae. The cakes looked magnificent.

There are McDonald’s mainstay dessert options, like shakes and sundaes.

There’s even room for a fish tank.

And 16 minutes after we placed our order, employees delivered our custom items to our table. Note the real porcelain plates; we’re dining in high style now!

First up: the famous pizza. We opted for a small cheese with light sauce, mushrooms, and green peppers. The mushrooms tasted canned, which, as my mother noted, “shouldn’t be allowed to exist.”

The pasta was plated nicely, and I enjoyed it at first (I was very hungry). But a few bites in, I began to dissect what was really going on. The tortellini tasted like the frozen kind you buy at the grocery store, and mom observed the pesto tasted and looked like it was made with dried basil. The bread on the side (which appeared to be plain pizza crust) was a nice touch.

For our dessert/breakfast item: a glorious Belgian waffle with strawberries and “regular” whipped cream. The exterior petals were satisfyingly crunchy, while the inside was soft and gooey. It was mom’s favourite by far.

The decor seemed influenced by both futuristic space-age and retro persuasions.

Very full, we went to explore the “entertainment” portion upstairs. There was a massive playhouse, complete with what my mom called a “human gerbil wheel.”

There were a few little kids playing, and I longed to be a child small enough to fit in those tiny tunnels again.

There were also dozens of arcade games.

I could see why they called this an “entertainment” McDonald’s.

You buy arcade tokens from an electronic ordering system.

Yelp reviewers raved about the bathroom, and I couldn’t figure out why. They looked like normal (though spacious) restrooms.

Yelp reviewers were particularly enamored with the automatic seat covers. “Why?” mom asked. “They have those in the Bentonville, Arkansas airport.”

Though this McDonald’s was 19,000 square feet, it’s technically not the biggest one in the world. That title goes to the location at the Olympic Village in London.