Fergburger has been a part of Queenstowns’ party side since 2001 when it started as a hole in a wall burger joint for late night drinkers down the back of a very back alley. Its’ incredible success( Ferg’s opened at the same time as Burger King which failed to be survive in the small town) spurned a brand new restaurant on the main street. Fergburger is still the first choice destination for late night revelers (and it continues that tradition of hole in the wall – by shutting off the main restaurant leaving only an outside serving window) but now being open from 8am till late Ferburger serves breakfast, lunch and dinner to a varied and discerning travelling crowd.
So what is so great about Fergburger? Firstly, it is the freshness of the ingredients – which you would kind of expect from a country that is obsessed with no preservatives, no additives and no nuclear anything. But, there is something special about Fergburger contents – the pineapple just seems juicier, the tomatoes have that crisp fresh taste, the beetroot is so sweet and the meat whether chicken or beef always tastes so good. There is one thing that always strikes me about eating Fergburger and that is the mess. With so much juicy flavours it always seems to simply go everywhere – maybe that is part of the Fergburger magic – I don’t know how the drunks manage to get the majority inside them and not down the front of their best night hunting clothes!
Secondly, there is the names – burgers known as things like Tropical Swine, Mr Big Stuff, Hollier than Thou or Bun Laden. Although I am a regular at Fergburger on my travels I am certainly not obsessed like some. Many budget travelers on their big round-the-world trips will spend extended periods in Queenstown, partying, working and lapping up the range of adventure activities. An unofficial adventure activity seems to be working your way through the entire 17 odd burger menu. It is certainly not an unreasonable challenge – I am yet to come across a burger that I can not fastidiously say is not the “best burger I have ever had”.
Maybe it is the size – these are no normal MacDonalds sized morsels. The Mr Big Stuff contains a whole 1/2lb of beef! I am a big boy and one burger and a small fries is a big dinner meal for me.
But I think the thing that really makes Fergs special is the inventiveness of the concoctions. Although it may sound like late night drinking fuel – Fergburger is a seriously stylie burger bar attracting families, locals and even the high-brow traveller alike. Burgers containing such ingredients as “Grilled chicken tenderloins marinated in a chilli ginger an coriander yoghurt with cucumber raita, lettuce, tomoato, red onion, aioli and mango chutney” (the Bombay Chicken) or “tempured tofu with a spicy satay, coconut coriander sauce, lettuce, tomato, red onion, cucumber, alfalfa and aioli” (the Hollier than Thou) are no ordinary burgers – and Fergburger is no ordinary burger bar.
While Queenstown is regularly voted as the top travel destination in the world by everyone from Lonely Planet to Trip Advisor and Conde Nast. a trip here would not be the complete without the culinary institution that is Fergburger. Whether it be as the best late night drunk food ever, or the a good fun great tasting family meal- surely there is no other restaurant in the world that can boast so many Facebook followers, so many good reviews on Trip Advisor or as much hype as Fergburger can. Quite simply if there were Fergburgers all over the world instead of MacDonalds there would be no wars!
Dan Roberts
Takeaways
Queenstown, Central Queenstown