McDonald's to open first ever vegetarian-only restaurant next to Golden Temple in Indian holy city of Amritsar

Iconic: The golden arches of McDonald's will soon be welcoming vegetarians at their first ever completely meat-free restaurant

McDonald's will open its first ever vegetarian-only restaurant in the northern Indian city of Amritsar, the fast food chain said today.

The world's second-biggest restaurant chain after Subway tailors its menus to suit local tastes, which in India means no beef to avoid offending Hindus and no pork to cater for Muslim requirements.

The first vegetarian outlet will open its doors mid-next year near the Golden Temple in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in northern India, where religious authorities forbid consumption of meat at the shrine.

Rajesh Kumar Maini, a spokesman for McDonald's in northern India, said: 'It will be the first time we have opened a vegetarian restaurant.

'There is a big opportunity for vegetarian restaurants (in India) as many Indians are vegetarian.'

After the opening in Amritsar, the US chain has plans to open another vegetarian outlet near the Vaishno Devi cave shrine in northwestern Indian Kashmir - a revered Hindu pilgrimage site that draws hundreds of thousands of worshippers year.

McDonald's in India has a menu that is 50-percent vegetarian. Its McAloo Tikki burger - which uses a spiced potato-based patty - is the top seller, accounting for a quarter of total sales.

Among the chicken-only meat offerings, the Maharaja Mac is also a favourite.

The first vegetarian outlet will open its doors mid-next year near the Golden Temple in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar in northern India

'At the moment, India is still a very small market -- we just have 271 restaurants in India and across the world we have nearly 33,000,' Maini said.

'But when you look at the potential of the country, it is one of the top priority countries and we are laying the groundwork for capturing the market.'