Not a single day passes by without thinking about our adventures in New Zealand, like when we went swimming with wild dolphins in Kaikoura. And then there’s Queenstown… this activity packed town. You can literally chuck yourself off/down/around anything in any way you please, Ms. Rice even jumped out of a plane above lake Wakatipu !
We also trust him now 🙂
A legend
We first noticed the tiny shop rather early morning, 8AM, while we were wandering around town, exploring the place and looking for which activity we could do. Even at this time, there was already a queue of 25ish peeps.
A quick glance in our Lonely Planet told us the following:
“Queenstown’s famous Fergburger has now become a tourist attraction in itself, forcing many locals to look elsewhere for their big-as-your-head gourmet burger fix. The burgers are as tasty and satisfying as ever, but is any burger worth a 30-minute wait? You decide.”
So we did make a decision, but not about a burger at Fergburger. Ms.Rice was going to do a skydive with O-Zone ! After the payment, preparations, waiting time, she jumped in the plane, jumped out of it, and 5 minutes later, she was safe and sound back on the ground.
We had to celebrate this epic moment… tackling a Fergburger before leaving Queenstown!
Queueing time is Ferg time
Whats The Big Deal?
Basically Fergburger has become the place for a solid gourmet burger on the south island – if not NZ. In fact I’ve never really heard so much hype and praise for a single burger place anywhere I’ve been in the world!
So there we were, 4PM, queueing for a burger place. It felt strange yet very exciting at the same time. We topped at 30 minutes, then we could make our ORDER 🙂 This still did not mean you got your burger. The place can probably sit 10 people, with some extra public benches outside.
Their menu shows you’re not at a McDo’s copy cat – with a whole range of burgers going from your standard “Fergburger” (with lettuce, red onion, tomato, aioli and relish) through to the “Sweet Bambi” which boasts wild Fiordland deer with a Thai plum chutney.
It’s gained a huge amount of popularity in recent years and you can barely walk around the town without seeing someone munching one down.
Tackling The Beast
Time to order!
After staring at the menu for a good 10 minutes while drooling with excitement, we opted for the “Big Al’s” – a double serving of NZ beef (3/4lbs) lashings of bacon, a whole lotta cheese, 2 eggs, beetroot, lettuce, tomato, red onion, relish and a big wad of aioli and “Southern Swine” – prime New Zealand beef, American streaky bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion, avocado, aioli and relish all sandwhiched nicely between a toasted bun. We also added a side dish, fries with wasabi mayonnaise and sweet chili, because hey, let’s go crazy.
After waiting another 15 minutes for our order to be served up (they serve beer on tap there too so you can pass the time quite easily!) our number rolled off the screen. BINGO!
We couldn’t really believe the size of the thing – it was a solid chunk of food porn goodness!
From the first bite it was clear that the hype was well deserved. It was a perfect balance of flavours and the burger itself was some heaps good beef! And trust me: Big Al was really big… I never saw any burger like this in my entire life!
I’m stoked to say that I successfully managed to sink Big Al’s all in a single sitting – a long drawn out sitting in all fairness! You could easily share one between two and still be fully content!
Rounding up: many travellers come and go at Fergburger, all looking for some burger goodness. Pick your spot in the line, go with the flow and enjoy that piece of meat.
Worth the wait, worth the buzz? Definetily!
Practical info
You can find Fergburger, and neighbouring Fergbaker on Shotover street in Queenstown. Don’t worry about timing, they are open from 8.30AM until a whopping 5.00AM
A burger at the Ferg will set you back between 11 and 19 NZD. Sides run at 4.5-6.5 NZD.
Looking for a place to chug away all these proteins and carbs? Head over to Smith’s Craft Beer House (Shooter street 53). It’s a great place to try some New Zealand craft beer. We sure enjoyed it!
Heading out to New Zealand? Check out our 25 day schedule!
Looking for an awesome adventure? Go for some swimming with wild dolphins in Kaikoura!
