Some of the wrappers and drinks scattered across the Queen St store.

Messy McDonald's customers are being slammed for leaving a "disgusting" trail of rubbish at a Central Auckland store.

But the burger chain says it has launched its own investigation into the standards of cleanliness at the store.

Photographer Tyler Russell took photos at the McDonald's at 260 Queen St on Saturday night to show the extent of the mess strewn across the shop.

TYLER RUSSELL/SUPPLIED Messy McDonald's customers were enough to make one photographer grimace.

He said he visited McDonald's at 11pm to use their wi-fi but couldn't find a seat due to all the discarded wrappers, burgers and fries spilling over from tables and seats onto the floor.

He said drunk customers were to blame for the mess.

"It was filthy. There were a lot of rowdy groups coming in, you could tell they'd had a lot to drink.

"They were throwing rubbish around in front of the staff like they don't really care. Just typical young teenagers."

Russell said there was a small number of staff trying to tidy the growing pile of rubbish.

"I said to one of the guys I felt really sorry for him.

"It's just inconsiderate. I've never seen it that messy."

A McDonald's spokeswoman said the Queen St shop was left in a state on Saturday night that "does not meet McDonald's standards of cleanliness and is not acceptable".

She said they were working with the restaurant to investigate further.

Russell's photos drew a lot of comments on Facebook, with most criticising the customers for not cleaning up after themselves.

Prashant Patel wrote: "this is not a store or staff issue, this is a personal issue of the individuals who left their rubbish like this. Show and learn some decency and clean up before you leave."