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6 Fast-Food Items Falling Out of Favor With Customers

These once-popular items have been garnering criticism.

The adoration of a fast-food fan can be as fickle as the quality of fast food itself. Items that were once popular and delicious may fall out of style over the years, thanks to better and more creative offerings constantly being added to restaurant chain menus. Sometimes, good old classic favorites get tweaked in the name of innovation and never taste the same again.

Here are six such items, which seem to be falling out of favor with customers. While once supremely popular, they've simply lost their allure in the sea of grab-and-go options.

And don't miss 5 Fast-Food Chains Most Criticized By Customers.

Taco Bell's Nacho Fries

Taco bell nacho fries
Taco Bell

They may be back again, but the quality of Taco Bell's limited-time fries seems to be waning with every reappearance on the menu. At least according to customers who voiced their opinions on Reddit. "Has anyone noticed that every time the nacho fries come back they're slightly worse than the time before I remember when they first came out they were amazing 10/10 now honestly 2/10," said one user, prompting a lively pile-on. "Yeah, it's like they're trying to see how cheap they can make them until people stop buying them," "Seasoning tastes a little different," and "I agree, especially with this newest return. Every time I order them they're always dry," were just come of the comments posted on the thread in agreement. 

Burger King's Whopper Melts

whopper melts
Courtesy of Burger King

Hey Burger King, you know what customers dislike more than anything? When their hefty burger shapeshifts into an inferior, smaller version of itself. At least that's the complaint most often waged against the latest variation of the iconic Whopper. The Whopper Melts, a three-flavored attempt at old-school patty melts using Whopper Jr. beef patties, are making customers angry with their misleading name and "one-handed" size. Also, the bread is much too sweet, according to a food critic.

McDonald's McRib

Mcdonald's mcrib
Robson90 / Shutterstock

Another once-popular item whose time may have passed is the McRib. Last year, when the sandwich celebrated its 40th birthday, some fans made it clear that they'd much prefer a different item return to the menu: the snack wrap. A quick glance at Twitter shows that terms like "overrated" and "gross" seem to pop up quite frequently in connection to the limited-time sandwich. And while McDonald's just began teasing what very well may turn out to be another McRib return, we wonder how many fans are actually still excited about that. "

Wendy's New Fries

Shutterstock

Wendy's introduced a new takeout-friendly French fry last August, a spud that is supposed to be superior in its crispiness and overall texture. But customers have expressed their dissatisfaction with the upgraded item on social media. "They went from decent/really good if fresh, to bottom of the barrel as far as fast food fries go," said one Redditor, while customers on Twitter called the new fries "gross" and said they "just ain't it."

It also doesn't help that an alleged employee recently revealed that Wendy's may be serving the same amount of fries for both small and large sizes.

Taco Bell's New Freezes

taco bell island berry freezes
Courtesy of Taco Bell

The chain's freezes are definitely popular among fans, but the latest line called Island Freezes is a little more polarizing. The new fruity drinks pack a tropical dairy-based creamer, which is apparently an unhappy combo. According to a Taco Bell manager who opened up on Reddit, the Wild Strawberry and Blue Raspberry Island Freezes, launched in December, are "not for everyone." They said they've had multiple customers call the store back with complaints, and said he personally finds them "disgusting."

McDonald's McFlurry

mcdonalds mcflurry
Shutterstock

While still very much a popular treat, the McFlurry has the ability to throw Mickey D's fans into the depths of despair with its dicey and unpredictable availability. As such, it is one of the most often-complained about fast-food items in the history of the chain (and maybe in the history of fast food in general.) It also doesn't seem like the soft serve machines that cause the McFlurry issues—they regularly malfunction or need to be taken offline for cleaning—will get fixed any time soon. As of this writing, more than 10% of McDonald's soft serve machines around the country are broken.

Mura Dominko
Mura is ETNT's Executive Editor, leading the coverage of America's favorite restaurant chains, grocery stores, and viral food moments. Read more about Mura