McDonald’s has apologised to customers after they were unable to order food following an IT system outage in its restaurants.

The fast food operator said the problem has now been “resolved” at its sites in Ireland and the UK.

On Friday morning, customers in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Japan complained about issues trying to buy from the fast food giant on social media.

In the UK, a number of customers said on social media that their local restaurants were closed although they were able to make orders through the company’s app.

Most stores across Ireland opened as usual on Friday morning despite the problem.

The company blamed the issue on a “technology outage” and stressed that it was not linked to any cybersecurity issues.

A McDonald’s spokeswoman said: “We are aware of a technology outage which impacted our restaurants.

“The issue has now been resolved in the UK and Ireland. We thank customers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.

“The issue is not related to a cybersecurity event.”

It is understood that McDonald’s sites in some other countries are still being disrupted by the outage.