Anyone planning a trip to Queenstown will, sooner or later, come across Fergburger. It’s the city’s most famous burger joint and pretty much a mandatory stop for anyone visiting. It’s also a favourite of singer Ed Sheeran, who, after eating there, called it “by far the best burger in the world”.

And there’s one thing that almost always comes up alongside the restaurant’s name: the monumental queue. Depending on the time of day, it can wrap right around the block! When you get there and see that absurd number of people, the question that comes to mind is: is the burger really that good? In our case, we waited around 20 minutes to be served, which actually turned out to be pretty reasonable given the countless reviews we’d read.

Finally, our turn

After a whole morning hiking up and down the Tiki Trail, we were all in serious need of refuelling, because the trail, I’ll admit, put up a bit of a fight. It was our first full day in New Zealand, so we were still recovering from jet lag. Since the Queenstown gondola is, in my opinion, way too expensive for mere mortals, we decided to walk up instead. It was tough, but we made it! At the top, we also got to try the Luge, little carts that slide down a track, which was a lot of fun and just as pricey. But those adventures are a story for another article. After all that, we were tired, starving and ready for the day’s next mission: the famous Fergburger.

  • Address: 42 Shotover Street, Queenstown, New Zealand
  • Opening hours: Daily, 07.00h to 02.30h
  • Average price: Around 19 to 22 NZD per person (approx. €9.50 to €11.00)

When we got to Fergburger, we immediately realised the hype wasn’t just down to all the reviews we’d seen online. The queue must have stretched about 50 metres and was so packed that some of the shops along the street were practically hidden behind the crowd. It was almost comical seeing that huge queue for Fergburger while the restaurants and shops right next door stood practically empty. Right next to Fergburger is Fergbaker, which had an incredible-looking window display. But we were there for the burger. Despite the number of people, the queue moved pretty fast, and within about 20 minutes we were being served. There were two staff members at the counter, and after placing our order, we’d get a number that was called out at the collection point. When we finally heard our number, off we went to pick up our burgers. Our first thought was: this thing is huge! I’d ordered The Fergburger with cheese and, even knowing the burgers had a reputation for being big, I wasn’t prepared for that size. We’d also ordered fries and some fried baby calamari to share, and when we saw it all laid out in front of us, we quickly realised we might have gone a little overboard.

The size really was absurd. One of those burgers would easily have been enough for me and my mum, and we probably both would have left satisfied. I still tried eating mine normally, but by the halfway point I was already completely full. I ended up taking the bun off and just eating the patty. But size aside, what really surprised us was the quality of the meat. It was full of flavour, not greasy, and had almost the texture of a steak rather than just tasting like mince in a bun. The fries and the calamari were also really tasty, and in the end we all left rolling out of there, but very happy.

In the end, the 20-minute queue was completely worth it! The one thing I’d change is really the number of tables, because there just aren’t enough for that many people, and finding somewhere to sit wasn’t easy. That said, I get that the concept is more about grabbing your burger and eating it elsewhere. Other than that, we all left really happy, with the feeling that all that queuing had been for a good reason.

A queue of people at the door of Mrs Ferg, the ice cream shop next to Fergburger, with dark wooden signs for sorbet, espresso and affogatoPlush keychains hanging from a backpack, including a kangaroo wearing a New Zealand jumper and a pink cartoon characterA Fergburger paper bag with the restaurant's logo, next to fries, breaded onion rings and a bottle of Coca-Cola Zero on an outdoor wooden tableA group sitting on an outdoor terrace in Queenstown eating Fergburger burgers, with pine-covered mountains and autumn trees in the backgroundA group at a table sharing fries from a box with the Fergburger logo, with Queenstown's forested mountain in the backgroundThe author holding a Fergburger burger wrapped in paper, with the brand's paper bag in her other hand, leaning against a wall painted blue and brownThe author holding her Fergburger burger, sitting next to a black backpack, with a painted mural in the backgroundA group standing by the window of the Global Culture shop in Queenstown, with a cap reading New Zealand in the foreground

Fergburger vs. my favourites

After trying Fergburger, it was impossible not to compare it to two burgers we already love: Betty’s Burgers, in Australia, and In-N-Out, in the United States. One of the biggest differences between the three is the size, and if I had to compare them in a very unscientific way, I’d say they’re almost like a family: Fergburger is the dad, Betty’s Burgers is the teenage son and In-N-Out is the baby. Fergburger is massive, Betty’s is a much more normal size, and In-N-Out is the smallest of the three.

As much as I loved Fergburger, Betty’s Burgers still holds a special place in my heart. I think it’s the sauce that makes all the difference. As for In-N-Out, I’m not sure if it was just how hungry we were when we went, but we loved that one too. Fergburger is different from both. Size aside, the meat is really what sets it apart. If I had to pick just one, I’d probably still go with Betty’s Burgers, but that’s very much down to personal taste.

The orange Betty's Burgers & Concrete Co. sign, with a burger and fries out of focus in the foregroundFour Betty's Burgers wrapped in branded paper, next to two cups of friesThe illuminated In-N-Out Burger sign, shaped like a yellow arrow, lit up at dusk next to the roadFour In-N-Out Double-Double burgers with cheese, lettuce and tomato, in a red tray

I really do think Fergburger deserves the hype. I’m not sure I’d go as far as Ed Sheeran and call it the best burger in the world, since for me Betty’s still takes first place, but I completely understand why so many people make a point of stopping by when they visit Queenstown. I quite literally travelled to the other side of the world and, among so many other incredible things to do in New Zealand, one of the experiences that stuck with us most was waiting 20 minutes for a giant burger. It’s not exactly the most obvious reason to cross the planet, but that’s travelling too, trying out the places everyone talks about and drawing your own conclusions. 🩷