Best Burgers in Dunedin: Octagon to North End

The best burgers in Dunedin are clustered around the Octagon, the eight-sided plaza at the heart of the city, and along George Street, which runs north from it towards the university. The Warehouse Precinct around Vogel Street, just south of the Octagon, adds cafés and bars in converted industrial buildings.

Dunedin is a student city. The University of Otago brings thousands of students, known locally as scarfies, to North Dunedin, and cheap, filling food follows them up George Street. The city’s Scottish heritage shows in its stone buildings and street names more than on its menus. On Saturday mornings, the Otago Farmers Market sets up beside the railway station, a good place to see what the region grows and raises.

Burgers in Dunedin: key facts

• Neighbourhoods to explore: the Octagon, George Street, the Warehouse Precinct, North Dunedin and St Clair.
• Student quarter: North Dunedin, around the University of Otago.
• Market day: the Otago Farmers Market, Saturday mornings at the railway station.
• Getting around: the centre is walkable, but the hills are steep; Baldwin Street holds the Guinness World Record for the steepest street.
• Currency: the NZ dollar (NZD); Otago uses the same currency as the rest of the country.
• What our guides check: a venue open in the year of publication, its address, a dated menu price and a dated rating with its review count.

Every guide we publish on Dunedin is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. For other cities, browse our burger restaurant guides by city.