Fergburger (Queenstown, New Zealand)

If there is one burger joint, I have been wanting to try for the longest time it will be our restaurant for today, Fergburger in Queenstown but why? Well, the likes of CNN, The Telegraph, Lonely Planet, the Los Angeles Times and even celebrities call this the best burger in New Zealand and most of them said it’s the best burger in the world. I even have friends who tried them and sworn by it but since then all I heard was good stories up until now.

Queenstown is one of the places we wanted to visit since we migrated to New Zealand but every time, we have a chance to travel, we always opt out either to Europe, Hawaii or somewhere in Asia because of different reasons but most of the time we find it as expensive as going to those places mentioned. This time is still as expensive but because of COVID our only choice for now is somewhere domestic, so Queenstown it is.

When going to Queenstown a trip to Fergburger must be on your to do list otherwise it’s like visiting New York without seeing the Statue of Liberty, it is that iconic. We came here late at night after our trip to Milford Sound, and it is also the best time visiting this place because like any tourist attraction like the Louvre or Eiffel Tower it is jam packed with long queues, after 9:00 PM it is more manageable but still have queues, it’s just shorter.

Don’t expect for you to sit down at their restaurant as it is near impossible with the sheer amount of people, so plan ahead and think of where you want to enjoy your burger when you visit the place. For us we were quite lucky, as we leave the premises it was a perfect timing for us that the people in the outside dining was just to leave, it also helped that it’s in the middle of winter when we were here so some people would not like to sit Al Fresco in a cold winter night.

The place is quite small, the kitchen is quite small too, there are a lot of crew members in the counter and its quite cramped to move freely so I can’t imagine how they churn out that much of a burger in a day, but they constantly do. This is what I notice when we were waiting for our order, but even with that organised chaos our order came in quite quick, so in a matter of less than 10 minutes we are ready to try our first Ferg!

We ordered three items, first was the Fergburger (NZ$12.90), made with Prime NZ beef, lettuce, tomato, red onion, aioli & tomato relish.

Next was this Tropical Swine (NZ$15.90), prepared with Prime NZ beef, streaky bacon, cheddar cheese, grilled pineapple, lettuce, tomato, red onion, aioli & tomato relish.

And finally, the Big Al (NZ$18.90). This burger delivers a double serving of prime New Zealand beef (3/4lbs), lashings of bacon, a whole lotta cheese, 2 eggs, beetroot, lettuce, tomato, red onion, relish & a big wad of aioli.

First impression, they were all massive even the normal burger is quite big. The weight mostly comes from the meat patty as the bread was quite airy and light. Burgers were picture perfect not like the fast-food ones that never looked anything like the ones you see on ads. Time for the first bite, my first reaction was, this is what a burger should be, that damn thing was very tasty, and it’s not coming from the extras and the sauces that it accompanies, it was the beef patty that made it special, it’s the beefiest patty you will ever try. Perfect density, perfect fat content, perfectly cooked and perfect thickness. I don’t know, usually burgers this big I have a hard time finishing because you feel that heaviness afterwards but with Fergburger it felt lighter even with its density, probably its less greasy giving it that nice satisfying feeling and not guilt. Like I said the patty was the star, all other ingredients are just slight hints of flavour, I am pretty much sure of that because when I taste all of the burgers, we had what dominates is that nice patty.

Other than the patty they bread was light, the cheese used was not over powering and oily like other burger chains and finally the vegetables used was fresh and crisp. All of that in a very affordable package, which I can’t believe. Some McDonalds burgers are even more expensive than this one.

So, was it the best burger in the world? Well so far, they are one if not the best burgers I ever tried, like I said this is what a burger should be. I had tried many burgers around the world, from America, to Scandinavian countries, in Europe and in Asia but nothing beats our burgers here in New Zealand, that does not even include Fergs yet. We are just lucky to have the best produce in the world to create this humble burger. If we are just talking about the basic burger alone, the ones with a patty, cheese, tomato, lettuce and bread then this is the best not just in New Zealand but probably the world. What I can’t say is that if this is the best non classic burger, the ones with all the other extras, because I know there will be something outrageous out there whether they add a foie gras, topped with lobster, use wagyu, cooked in premium duck fat or even with generous amounts of truffles, I just haven’t tried it yet, but for classic yes it is and I am so glad I had tried it.

Fergburger
Address: 42 Shotover Street, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand
Website: https://fergburger.com/
Phone: +643 441 1232