Just over a week in and our socials are going crazy with burger pics and reels, the office Slack channel is chocka, the unofficial official Facebook group is popping off and The Spinoff have published their first of three burger rounds up. 

This is my seventh year programming Visa Wellington On a Plate and from the 16 burgers I’ve tasted so far, I can honestly say this is the strongest year yet. I’ve also already set my personal burger eating PB with two more weeks to go, some might say this is our Olympics. Every single one was delicious and I would easily want to eat them again (if you’re curious, I’ve listed them all here). 

We know that you’re all conscious of where your money is going right now, so we thought we’d give you the inside word on a few hidden gems that are quietly climbing up the leaderboard* with some pretty good ratings.

Here are this year’s quiet achievers:

Hidden City Gems

Chef Art - Burmese Bliss

Interislander Ferry - Boaty Boatface (popping up at the Railway Station)

Lulu Bar - Another Day in Paradise

Masala Cafe & Bar - Bombay Burg

Myrtle - Squid Game

Gemini - 3 Pointer 

Liberty - Delectabull

Choice Bros - La Bamba

Regional standouts worth the road trip

Sushil's Musclechef Kitchen and Café - Celebration of Spices

Café Medici - Down to the Bone

Karahui Wine Bar & Eatery - The Ace of Hearts

Elemental Eats - Mucho Crunch Birria

The White Swan Country Hotel - Fowl Play

Racecourse Road Cafe & Bar - Sweet Dream Supreme

Hey Coastie - Cluckin' Good Chilli Crisp

Burgs in the Burbs

Graze Wine Bar - The Crackening

BambuchiSan - Curd Your Enthusiasm

Café Polo  - Cormac

Park Kitchen - Parāoa Wai Poaka

The Larder - Pass the Pig

Is your favourite burg on the list? Don’t forget to rate them on our website by 11.59pm Sunday 25 August. You could win a trip for two to Singapore, thanks to Singapore Airlines - and help your faves make it to the final five! Finalists will be announced Monday 26 August, with the winner announced on Monday 2 September. 

* PS - we don’t share the leaderboard while the Burger Wellington competition is in progress. Why? Our kaupapa is to support hospo by getting people out into restaurants over August and if we share the leaders too early, then 5-10 restaurants get super busy while other excellent burgers get overlooked. This hidden gems list helps to shed light on the quiet achievers that may not have been visited by social media influencers (yet).