Fergburger – Queenstown NZ

Every time we past Fergburger the queues of hungry patrons were well out the door, it didn’t seem to matter what hour of the day or night it was. The crowd was young and noisy, the beer was flowing and the aroma of the grills was intoxicating.

Queues at Fergburger Queenstown
Queues at Fergburger Queenstown

Fergburger prides itself on being open 21 hours per day so that it can feed people in need. By “in need” Ferg means “as drunk as hell and ready to eat their own clothing.”  It may not sound like a glowing recommendation but that is the way this iconic burger joint started life. Ferg saw hungry drunk people, and decided Queenstown should have an establishment to feed the starving party people of Queenstown, whatever the hour. He stood aloft and decreed “Let there be burgers” and Fergburger began.  That was almost thirteen years ago, and Queenstown has completely embraced Ferg and his gourmet burgers.

The Fergburger Menu
The Fergburger Menu on a Bottle Top Lid

Now there are 18 burgers on the menu with names sure to give you a laugh, and flavour combination which make me wish I had enough time to work my way through the menu. The “Holy Than Thou” is of course a vegetarian burger, the “Codfather” a play on words for a fishburger, “Morning Glory” is for all those early risers wanting a burger fix with their bacon and eggs and the “Bun Laden” a falafel burger with a lemon tzatziki and salad.

Fergburger Takeaway
Fergburger a Serious Dude!

After much deliberation I ordered the “Southern Swine” made from Prime NZ beef, American streaky bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion, avocado, aioli and tomato relish. Now you may wonder how they manage to get all those ingredients onto one burger? Well the secret is in the bun… The bun is almost as big as your head! It is truly massive!

Fergburger's Southern Swine Burger
Fergburger’s Southern Swine Burger

I loved my choice of burger.  Despite the size of the enormous bun every square centimetre of it was covered with  a melt in the mouth, moist, meat patty, the creamy avocado, salty bacon and spicy full flavoured relish clinched the deal for me.

I should probably mention, the buns are especially baked for Fergburger in the bakery next door… which coincidentally is Fergburgers own bakery :).  Trays of fresh baked buns were being run in every five minutes or so by busy staff members.

Fergburgers Chief Wiggum Burger
The Chief Wiggum Burger

…anyway Mr GG decided to try a Chief Wiggum. A slow roasted New Zealand pork belly with lettuce, tomato, red onion, hash brown, aioli and a delicious apricot seeded mustard.

Fergburger two hand burger
Fergburger’s two handed burgers

Did I mention the burgers are as big as your head!

Hubby’s burger was mouthwateringly delicious, the massive soft bun was covered in salty delicious pork belly matched with a crispy hash brown and a sweet apricot mustard. The perfect food fix.

Fergberger Onion Rings
Fergberger Onion Rings w Wasabi Aioli

Even though I knew we would struggle to consume these monster burgers I had asked Mr GG to order the fried onion rings with a large aioli and a serve of fries with wasabi mayo.

The fires were impossibly crispy with powdery soft innards, and the garlic aioli creamy and lush! I was filling up fast but alternating between the onion rings and the fries I just couldn’t stop… I was on a feeding frenzy!

Ferburger Fries with Garlic Aioli
Ferburger Fries with Garlic Aioli

In case you are wondering the house special is the Big Al. This burger delivers a 1/2 pound serving of prime New Zealand beef, lashings of bacon, a whole lotta cheese, 2 eggs, beetroot, lettuce, tomato, red onion relish , and a big wad of aioli!

When I saw the person alongside of me collect a Big Al from the counter I wondered if anyone has ever tackled this monstrosity and lived to tell the tale! It was an EPIC burger!

Back to my struggle though, so much yummy burger and such little tummy space.  You will be pleased to know that not a chip went uneaten! I couldn’t bare to leave even the tiniest scrap of food.  Mr GG and I settled in for the long haul and watched the patrons bopping around to the music playing and continued to devour our meal long past the point of content.

Ordering at Fergburger Queenstown
Ordering at Fergburger Queenstown

It was such a fun crowd, backpackers everywhere, ordering their beer and burgers, dancing on the spot whilst waiting for their food. (They had to dance on the spot as there was standing room only!)

Interestingly, in the 15mins it took us from ordering our burger to collecting it, Fergburger had gone from order 29 to 73. They had served 40 plus orders in 15minutes! WOW!

The turnover was amazing for such a small shop!

Fergburger

42 Shotover Street,

Queenstown Town Centre 9300, New Zealand

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