In the case of Spaniards (and depending on the age), it's true. In my city, Zaragoza, with a population of 750,000, there are two Starbucks, both in the city center and generally full of tourists. I drink four coffees a day and haven't set foot in a Starbucks. I know that chain because Spanish stand-up comedians always make fun of them.
Spain and Italy share many things, including coffee and its culture. Those countries consume 4.6-4.9 kilos of coffee per person annually. Until now, the world knew words like cappuccino and macchiato, although less well-known ones are corretto, lungo, and ristretto. Thanks to Hispanic migration, Spanish words like cortado and carajillo are becoming increasingly popular, and it's no longer surprising to see a glass of ice next to a cup of coffee and a slice of lemon.
We're talking about simple strong-tasting, concentrated coffee, served in small glass or ceramic cups, costing between €1 and €1.50 and drunk according to certain rituals and times of day, which in Spain may include ordering a deck of cards (a tradition that is being lost in Italy) or to read the newspaper standing at the bar counter, and of course, the bar tender is the same as always, who knows your name and earns a decent salary.
Added to this is the fact that Spain (unlike Italy) is one of the most refractory and hostile countries toward English language and American culture. Going to Starbucks, an American "temple," and paying four to six times more for a watery, sweet coffee in a plastic cup doesn't fit with the Spanish culture, perhaps more so with the Italian "tu vuo’ fa’ l'americano," but everything has its limits.
If there’s something that Italians love and are proud of, it’s their cuisine, associated with restaurants. The real competition for McDonald's would be the paninis (Italian sandwiches) and the pizza sold as street food, even the bacari, where they serve Venetian appetizers and snacks.
In Spain, on the other hand, fast food has indeed taken over from traditional restaurants, not just in bars and tapas culture. Luis García's answer to How is tapas a traditional Spanish dish if you can refer to every single food on the Earth as tapas (maybe except soups)? but also through bocadillos, Spanish paninis, and bocaterías, similar to the Milanese paninoteche, but older and less sophisticated, for thirty years now, both tapas and sandwiches have become increasingly sophisticated, even becoming part of the menus of several Michelin-starred restaurants, although more traditional bocadillos remain a staple in everyday meals.
McDonald's is mainly associated with suburban malls and targeted at kids, teens, and Latino immigrants. Hearing Spaniards over twenty say, "Hey, how about we go get something to eat at McDonald's?" is very unusual. It doesn't make sense to go to the outskirts and pay double for a meal associated with a playground with a very limited selection, when on the street, below your apartment, you have everything you could want and at half price.
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