Fergburger Queenstown: Menu, Prices, Hours, Owner

Fergburger is at 42 Shotover Street, Queenstown, and opens daily from 7am to 2:30am. The signature Fergburger costs NZ$17.20, or NZ$18.20 with cheese. Anthony “Ant” Smith started it in February 2001 as a tiny late-night hatch in Cow Lane, and the Otago Daily Times (ODT) still called him the owner in February 2021. I checked every price and opening time below against the official site and menu on 21 October 2026.

Fergburger Queenstown at a glance

Fergburger is a single burger restaurant in central Queenstown, New Zealand, run by the Ferg Foods group. No franchise, no second branch. Patties and sauces are made by hand every day, and the buns come from the group’s own bakery.

Map of central Queenstown with the marker on Fergburger, 42 Shotover Street. Fergbaker and Mrs Ferg are next door at number 40, Ferg’s Bar at 44 and the second Mrs Ferg at 69 Beach Street. Fergbutcher is about 20km away in Arrowtown, at 7 Bush Creek Road. (Map: OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL, https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright)

Who owns Fergburger? The Ant Smith story

Fergburger was founded by Anthony “Ant” Smith, a Queenstown local who started it in 2001 “originally with a partner”, according to the ODT. In February 2021 the paper called him a “reclusive local” who was “still the owner”. I found no more recent public confirmation, so his ownership is stated as of 2021.

Smith has never courted publicity. His age, his training and his career before Fergburger are not on the public record, and I won’t fill those gaps with guesses. What is documented is the business.

And it started small. In 2011 the ODT reported that Smith opened with two barbecues from The Warehouse and a deep-fryer in a 3m-by-3m outlet in Cow Lane. He had spotted a gap: in 2001, almost nowhere in Queenstown served food in the small hours.

From Cow Lane hatch to Shotover Street: a timeline

In 23 years Fergburger went from a midnight-to-5am takeaway to the centre of a group of five businesses. Every milestone below is dated and sourced.

The Fergburger building on Shotover Street, central Queenstown, in daylight in September 2011, six years after the move from Cow Lane. (Photo: bob walker (rjw1), CC BY-SA 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/48524258@N00/6616215323)

The early years: a midnight-to-5am burger hatch

Fergburger opened as a purely late-night business, trading from midnight to 5am. It fed the bar crowd of a resort town that, in 2001, had little else to offer after dark. Today’s official hours, 7am to 2:30am, turn that around: the grill now covers breakfast to closing time.

Fergburger’s neon sign lit up on Shotover Street at night in August 2008, with late-night customers gathered outside. The burger shop started in 2001 as a midnight-to-5am hatch. (Photo: Ted & Dani Percival, CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/16767930@N05/2727642782)

Growth without marketing

Fergburger has never employed sales or marketing staff, the ODT reported in 2013. Word of mouth did the work: Lions fans in 2005, then bloggers, then celebrities. Steve Bradley, then general manager, put it best at the 20th birthday: “the queues of Fergburger have been the queues of Queenstown”.

Two visitors hold up their Fergburger paper bags, printed with the bearded Ferg logo, outside the Shotover Street terrace in March 2012. (Photo: chee.hong, CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/40135642@N00/7031439079)

Bradley ran Fergburger and Ferg Foods for 12 years. According to the ODT in July 2026, he has since left and now runs LyLo budget accommodation. Claire Burke was quoted as group general manager in July 2024 and as general manager in February 2025.

Who is Ferg in Fergburger?

Nobody knows who Ferg is, and that is deliberate. The ODT wrote in 2011 that Smith “liked to keep customers guessing”. The bearded face on the logo is said to resemble William Gilbert Rees, the founder of Queenstown, but the company has never confirmed it.

Panorama of Fergburger’s covered terrace in May 2014: the ‘In Ferg We Trust’ wooden sign above the door, the round menu board on the left and the bearded Ferg face carved into the wooden door on the right. (Photo: Athn, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fergburger\_restaurant.jpg)

Fergburger menu and prices (October 2026)

A burger at Fergburger costs between NZ$17.20 and NZ$26.90, and fries add NZ$8.50, according to the official menu checked on 21 October 2026. That is a steep climb. A photo of the menu board from July 2010 shows The Fergburger at NZ$10.00, so the signature has gone up 72% in 16 years, and fries have nearly doubled, from NZ$4.50.

Fergburger’s ‘Serious Burgers’ menu board photographed in July 2010: The Fergburger cost NZ$10.00, Sweet Bambi NZ$12.00, The Codfather NZ$13.50 and a half-pound Big Al NZ$16.50. (Photo: My Aching Head, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/29981276@N05/4789461105)

Fergburger prices, July 2010 vs October 2026 (NZ$): The Fergburger 10.00 → 17.20 (+72%), with cheese 10.50 → 18.20, double with cheese 14.50 → 21.90, Sweet Bambi 12.00 → 19.50, The Codfather 13.50 → 21.90, Holier Than Thou 11.50 → 18.50, Big Al 16.50 → 25.90, The Bullseye 18.50 → 26.90, fries 4.50 → 8.50 (+89%), onion rings 5.50 → 10.50. Grouped bar chart; 2010 from the menu board photo above, 2026 from the official menu checked 21 Oct 2026. (Chart: Burger Breton, CC BY-SA 2.0 (derived from the 2010 menu photo by My Aching Head, https://www.flickr.com/photos/29981276@N05/4789461105, and https://www.fergburger.com/menu))

Beef burgers

• The Fergburger: prime NZ beef, lettuce, tomato, red onion, aioli and tomato relish. NZ$17.20; with cheese NZ$18.20; double beef and cheese NZ$21.90.
• Big Al: double 3/4lb prime beef, bacon, cheese, two eggs, beetroot, lettuce, tomato, red onion, relish and aioli. NZ$25.90.
• The Bullseye: 200g prime ribeye, caramelised onion and cheddar. NZ$26.90.

A Fergburger beef burger on its paper wrapper in September 2011: a tall soft bun, frilly lettuce, red onion and the patty. The exact menu item is not identified. (Photo: Dennis Stenbjerg, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/60416827@N02/6216225456)

Local burgers: deer, lamb and blue cod

The burgers that taste most of New Zealand are built on South Island deer, lamb and fish. I’d send any first-timer here who wants something they can’t order back home.

• Sweet Bambi: Fiordland deer, brie, boysenberry and caramelised onion chutney. NZ$19.50.
• Lamby with Blue: high country lamb, blue cheese, mint jelly and beetroot. NZ$18.90.
• The Codfather: South Coast blue cod in tempura batter with dill tartare. NZ$21.90.

Vegetarian options, sides and kids’ burgers

Fergburger has two vegetarian burgers at NZ$18.50 each: the Ferg-lafel (falafel) and Holier Than Thou (tempura tofu with spicy satay).

What to order at Fergburger

On a first visit, order The Fergburger with cheese (NZ$18.20). It is the burger every review uses as its benchmark, and the cleanest test of the beef. The Spinoff’s Don Rowe found the patty cooked “on the right side of medium-rare” in 2019.

My real pick, though, is Sweet Bambi or Lamby with Blue. Deer with boysenberry, lamb with mint jelly: this is what separates Fergburger from any big-city gourmet chain, far more than portion size does. Big Al, at NZ$25.90 with two patties and two eggs, is a burger to share, or one for 2am.

The Ferg Foods group: Fergbaker, Mrs Ferg, Ferg’s Bar and Fergbutcher

Ferg Foods runs five businesses under the Ferg name: the burger restaurant, a bakery, a bar, a gelato shop and a butchery. Most sit on the same block of Shotover Street. The exceptions are a second Mrs Ferg on Beach Street and the butchery in Arrowtown.

The bakery counter with pies, bagels, pretzels and filled rolls, photographed in October 2017 in the Ferg block on Shotover Street. The setting matches Fergbaker at number 40. (Photo: othree, CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/12452841@N00/37882867814)

Fergbutcher: buying the butcher behind the burger

In July 2024 Ferg Foods took over Evan Dennison’s Arrowtown Butchery, Fergburger’s long-time meat supplier, and reopened it as Fergbutcher with about 15 staff, the ODT reported. The bakery was already in-house. Now the butcher is too.

Fergbutcher also serves its own burgers, separate from the Fergburger menu: smashed burgers on Viennese buns. The Smashed Cheese Burger costs NZ$18.40 and the Smashed Southland Lamb Burger NZ$21.40.

Why Fergburger refuses to franchise

Fergburger has turned down franchise offers to stay “one little special place”, the ODT reported in 2013. There is one Fergburger, and it is in Queenstown. Every expansion since has been a sister business next door or nearby, never a copy of the burger shop. I think that refusal is half the appeal: you can only eat a Fergburger by making the trip.

Fergburger queue: how long is the wait?

Expect to queue. In 2019 The Spinoff timed its wait at 23 minutes 18 seconds, at 12:30pm on a weekday.

Customers queuing at the Fergburger counter under the menu board in October 2017, while staff work the grill behind the steel hood. (Photo: othree, CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/12452841@N00/38567397802)

Fergburger publishes no data on quiet times. The site gives no phone number for orders, only a contact form, so I could not confirm any way to order ahead. With the grill running from 7am to 2:30am, my advice is to go mid-morning or mid-afternoon, away from the lunch and dinner rush.

Is Fergburger worth the hype?

Yes, if you come for what makes it unusual rather than for a “best burger in the world” title. It bakes its own buns, makes its patties and sauces by hand daily, now owns its long-time butcher, and serves deer, lamb and blue cod burgers you will rarely find elsewhere. That is a better argument than any celebrity post.

The hype has a cost: a queue, and a burger close to NZ$20 before fries. TripAdvisor rates it 4.4/5 and ranks it #43 of 268 Queenstown restaurants. Read that as very good, not unbeatable. And the record isn’t spotless. In February 2025 the company dismissed an employee over a racial slur printed on a tourist’s receipt; general manager Claire Burke apologised and announced cultural sensitivity training.

Comparing it with the rest of town? Our Queenstown burger page covers the other late-night spots in the centre, plus Frankton and Arrowtown.

Frequently asked questions about Fergburger

Who owns Fergburger? Anthony “Ant” Smith founded Fergburger in 2001, originally with a partner. The ODT reported in February 2021 that he was still the owner; no more recent public confirmation was found.

Who is Ferg in Fergburger? Ferg’s identity has never been revealed. Ant Smith liked to keep customers guessing, and the bearded logo is said to resemble Queenstown founder William Gilbert Rees.

What are Fergburger’s opening hours? Fergburger is open daily from 7am to 2:30am, according to its official site on 21 October 2026. It started in 2001 as a midnight-to-5am takeaway.

How much does a Fergburger cost? The Fergburger costs NZ$17.20, NZ$18.20 with cheese and NZ$21.90 as a double with cheese. Fries are NZ$8.50 (official menu, 21 October 2026).

What is the most popular burger at Fergburger? The namesake Fergburger is the signature: prime NZ beef, lettuce, tomato, red onion, aioli and tomato relish. It is the burger most reviews, including The Spinoff’s, are based on.

Does Fergburger have vegetarian options? Yes. The Ferg-lafel (falafel) and Holier Than Thou (tempura tofu with spicy satay) cost NZ$18.50 each.

Can you order Fergburger ahead by phone or online? The official site lists no phone number, only a contact form, and I could not confirm any call-ahead or online ordering. Plan to order in person.

Does Fergburger have other locations or franchises? No. There is a single Fergburger at 42 Shotover Street, and the company has turned down franchise offers. Its sister venues are Fergbaker, Ferg’s Bar, Mrs Ferg and Fergbutcher.

What is the difference between Fergburger, Fergbaker, Mrs Ferg, Ferg’s Bar and Fergbutcher? Fergburger sells burgers, Fergbaker is the bakery next door, Ferg’s Bar is the bar, Mrs Ferg sells gelato and Fergbutcher is the Arrowtown butchery, which also serves its own smashed burgers.

How I researched this profile

I built this profile from Fergburger’s official site and menu, five ODT articles (2011, 2013, 2021, 2024, 2026), The Spinoff, 1News and Scoop, using Wikipedia only for leads. I checked every price and opening time on 21 October 2026. Sales figures, 2026 staff numbers and a Mrs Ferg opening date are left out because no current source confirms them.

Sources: Fergburger, Fergburger menu, ODT 2011, ODT Fergbaker 2011, ODT 2013, ODT 2021, ODT 2024, ODT 2026, The Spinoff 2019, 1News 2018, 1News 2025, Scoop 2025, TripAdvisor, Wikipedia.

More New Zealand burgers

Fergburger is one stop in our New Zealand coverage. Ed Sheeran got his Fergburgers in Dunedin, where you can read our guides to BurgerFuel Dunedin and the wood-fired burgers of No.7 Balmac. In the North Island, see BurgerFuel Wellington and our profile of chef Al Brown and Best Ugly Bagels in Auckland. Every city we cover is on the Burger Breton restaurants hub.