McDonald's opened its first United Kingdom restaurant in Woolwich in 1974.
The restaurant opened on October 1, 1974, on Powis Street in Woolwich, southeast London. It was the company's first British location and introduced the McDonald's name, restaurant layout, menu style, and visual branding to the UK market.
Woolwich was then a busy commercial area with strong transport links and a substantial local population. Choosing it gave McDonald's a prominent first foothold outside North America while allowing the company to adapt its operations to British regulations and customer expectations.
The opening is sometimes described simply as McDonald's arriving in London, but Woolwich is the specific district and historic location. The United Kingdom became one of the company's major European markets, with later restaurants adopting increasingly localized menus while retaining the core brand identity.