Book a table at McDonald's for a fancy two course dinner

News outlets worldwide are reporting that McDonald's in Sweden are now taking reservations, see Yahoo news and Eatery, who are both quite excited that "The Scandinavian country is the first place the US hamburger king is testing this new way of serving customers". The idea of making reservations at McDonald's seems so silly, that of course it made it into everyones "offbeat news" sections.

The "book a table" idea is at select McDonald's restaurants, roughly 30 of them around Sweden, and it's a way to launch the new McMaestro. A gourmet burger, the kind that you don't expect at a fast food restaurant but rather would find at a place where you.... make reservations. McDonald's has partnered with a "book a table" app, popular in Sweden, to make sure their offer is seen.

"We want to give burger lovers a unique experience at McDonald's. New Maestro Classic is a really good quality burger, so we want to launch in a fun and exclusive way. Therefore, we let our guests sample the gourmet hamburger by reserving a table and feel extra welcome to us"

says Staffan Ekstam, director of menu strategy and product development at McDonald's Sweden. Any customer that books a table to try this new burger will have to wait to be seated, and then brought the burger by waitstaff. They'll also have a choice of desserts & coffee, either the classic pies or the new McFlurry's.

"They've never had the opportunity to 'book a table' at their favourite restaurant in Sweden. With the new Maestro burger, we thought it was the right time to give them a chance to do so."

says McDonald's Sweden Director of Marketing Jeff Jackett, who apparently doesn't remember Valentine's Day 2014. Two Tampa Florida restaurants offered diners a chance to make a reservation and their own “McMemories” on Valentine’s Day. Of course, that stunt was only in Tampa, so no, there's never been a "make reservations at McDonald's" before in Sweden.