A popular takeaway stop is due to be hitting a retail park in Wokingham. 

An advertising application for a new Mcdonald’s fast food restaurant has been validated by the council.

The establishment will serve the company's iconic happy meals, nuggets, milkshakes, and burgers.  

Although many have expressed excitement about the new fast food chain becoming an addition to Wokingham's culinary choices, some have expressed open disdain. 

The original article reporting the news that McDonalds would soon be situated in Wokingham collected almost 100 comments with many giving their views. 

One person wrote "And Wokingham continues it's decline. So many shops have already closed, all that's really left now are coffee and charity shops now."

Another person said "We don’t need it in Wokingham. That site is not suitable at all between the railway bridges because the road is congested enough with a filling station almost opposite and the turning to Tesco a little further on.

A further person said "I don’t think the council have thought this through, especially as there isn’t much parking and the traffic is bad enough along that road in rush hour and at weekends!

However, some people did express some excitement for the new fast food chain's imminent arrival. 

One person wrote "Sadly, It’s an improvement on the crappy Burger King that’s been here for years."

One person said "We had Applebys for over 30 years about time Ronald came to Oakingham. Yes Oakingham as it was called in the old days."

The new restaurant will replace the Carpetright unit in Bridge Retail Park on Finchampstead Road. This retail park is also the home to a Pets at Home and Majestic Wine.

This application contains a request to erect the well-known McDonald’s advertisement logo, a 4.5 metre ‘yellow acrylic internally illuminated “Golden Arch."

In May 2024 plans were approved for a change of use for the Carpetright store that meant it could be used as a restaurant or takeaway.

This new McDonald's will join the other cohort of takeaway and eat-in fast food restaurants already visible in Wokingham. 

One such restaurant is a popular Chinese food vendor called Shanghai Takeaway. On Tripadvisor, Shanghai Takeaway is rated mostly five stars and has rave reviews. 

One customer wrote the following message about their experience eating at Shanghai Takeaway:

"After exhausting all of the Chinese takeaways in Wokingham and being thoroughly disappointed we found The Shanghai.

"We have been greatly impressed and pleased with all of our orders over the past three months and will continue to order.

"This takeaway is just by the Fire service station in wokingham. Definitely worth it, recommend ordering in advance for weekends and special dates. Thank you Shanghai Team."