A McDonald's employee in Hamilton has been caught on camera hurling abuse at a hungry customer before threatening to "come outside" during a nasty altercation on Saturday night.

A hungry man was attempting to order food at the 24-hour Peach Grove Road McDonald's in Hamilton when he was told they were temporarily closed.

But when he questioned why a 24-hour McDonald's wasn't able to serve him, the employee at the drive-thru swore at the man, yelling abuse through the speaker and threatened to confront the customer outside.

"The f*** you want b****? Want me to come out there?" the employee can be heard yelling in footage obtained by the Herald.

"I am telling you how it is but you're just being a little b**** because you can't get food."

A McDonald's employee in Hamilton has been caught on camera hurling abuse at a hungry customer before threatening to "come outside" during a nasty altercation on Saturday night.

The customer can be heard swearing while asking why he is being refused service despite the store sign claiming the drive-thru is open 24 hours a day.

But his question was met with more attitude, with the employee hitting back saying: "Nah we don't have to be open 24 f***ing hours a day. Just f***ing get out of here, okay?"

The customer then accuses McDonald's of false advertising before the employee tells the driver to call up head office and complain.

A McDonald's spokesperson told the Herald they had seen the footage and said the employee's behaviour was unacceptable.

"Clearly the way the staff member handled the situation was unacceptable.

"The restaurant manager spoke with the customer on Sunday and apologised, and an investigation into what happened is taking place."

The customer has since told the Herald he was forced to order McDonald's on the UberEats app and says the employee could have handled the situation better.

"She just overreacted to something that could have been handled a little bit better. We only asked why a 24-hour store is always closed late at night.

"At the end of the day we just wanted to eat!"