Fast Food Flops: 7 Worst Fast Food Ideas

There are a lot of stellar fast-food ideas that have crossed menus over the years. Some have gone down in history as iconic inventions. For instance, signature burgers have been competing for years, like the Big Mac and Whopper. But what are considered the worst fast food ideas ever? These ideas, while trying to beat their competitor, just completely failed. Whether because of the uninteresting flavor or just odd design, these are by far the worst fast food flops.

7. Buffalo Wild Wings Mountain Dew Wings

Buffalo Wild Wings is known as one of the best chicken wing chains around. But while they have a variety of delicious and worthwhile sauces and rubs, including unique limited-time promotions, they also have some of the worst fast food ideas around.

One idea includes their Mountain Dew Wings. The flavor was called the Zesty Citrus Sauce, which was made of Mountain Dew, lemongrass, ginger, soy sauce, and red peppers.

6. Pizza Hut Priazzo

One of the worst fast food flops in history goes to Pizza Hut’s Priazzo pizza, which was Pizza Hut’s take on a Chicago-style, deep-dish pizza pie that also featured their stuffed pizza. The option was available during the 80s and was actually around for a little more than a year before it was eventually removed from interest.

The pizza featured a variety of options, including sauce, meats, and cheeses. The pie was covered with an additional layer of dough and topped with even more cheese and dough. But it wasn’t the amount of heaviness of the pizza, but the time it took to cook. Apparently, the pizza took up to 40 minutes, which probably not only slowed service but also caused a lot of angry customers.

5. Wendy’s Frescata

Back in 2016, Wendy’s tried their best to give Subway a run for their money. Unfortunately, it quickly became one of the worst fast food ideas in history. While Wendy’s is known for their delicious burgers and fries, they tried to launch a line of deli sandwiches called Frescata in hopes of appealing to younger consumers and offering a healthier alternative.

The variety featured four options: the Frescata Club, Roasted Turkey with Basil Pesto, Black Forest Ham & Swiss, and Roasted Turkey & Swiss. The Frescata Italiana was eventually added after a few months, but even still, it didn’t make the cut.

4. Dairy Queen Breeze

Dairy Queen is known for their creamy and thick ice cream, as well as their delicious burgers. But did you know that the chain tried a new version of their popular Blizzard milkshakes? However, instead of ice cream, the brand tried frozen yogurt. Frozen yogurt is often seen as a great alternative that doesn’t have a lot of calories. Unfortunately, it was a complete flop.

3. Burger King Halloween Whopper

Another complete flop comes from the King himself, Burger King. It’s also one of the more recent ideas that turned out to be a complete waste. In 2014, Burger King in Japan released the Kuro burger, a premium burger with black cheese and a black bun. Later, the burger was released in the USA but labeled as the Halloween Whopper. The seasonal item earned negative press about what happened after eating the burger.

2. Taco Bell Seafood Salad

When you think about Taco Bell, you probably think about late-night trips to grab greasy burritos and tacos. Most of the time, seafood doesn’t cross the mind.

However, back in the 1980s, Taco Bell was trying to catch up to the bigger fast food chains, and because of that, they introduced a Seafood Salad in 1986, hoping to win the hearts of health-conscious individuals, as well as compete against McDonald’s successful Filet-O-Fish. Unfortunately, the bowl featuring cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and olives with shrimp, whitefish, and crab was quickly discontinued because nobody was grabbing it, becoming one of the worst fast food ideas.

1. McDonald’s Hula Burger

Did you know that Filet-O-Fish heavily competed to earn a spot on the McDonald’s menu permanently? While McDonald’s has had several bad ideas for their menu, from their Salad Milkshakes, Wings, and even Pizza, one of the worst fast food ideas ever was their Hula Burgers.

The meatless burger featured a grilled slice of pineapple topped with cheese on a bun. It actually competed against the Filet-O-Fish as the brand tried to figure out what was the best meatless option in order to get more customers during Lent. As you can guess, the Filet-O-Fish won easily, now becoming a permanent fixture on the menu and being a fan-favorite.