Ferg - Tāhuna / Queenstown
FERG
The Long Way Around - BEAR’s Guide to New Zealand’s South Island
Location: 40-44 Shotover Street, Queenstown, NZ.
Ferg is an empire for a reason! Fergbaker, Fergburger, Fergbutcher, Mrs Ferg, Ferg’s Bar - they’re all iconic, and all worth visiting.
FERGBAKER
TikTok told me the Boston Cream Doughnut from Fergbaker is something I needed to get my hands on, so off I went. Straight off the plane to the Ferg strip, all the while crossing my fingers they weren’t sold out at 1pm. I was in luck - many-a-doughnut left. I bought two - one for now, one for later. Unfortunately both were for later because after lunch I was full. This meant the next day I had two of Ferg’s Boston Cream doughnuts (at altitude no less), they were very squished after having spent the day in my backpack, but as far as a hiking snacks go - these were top tier. I did manage to get my hands on a freshie before leaving NZ, and I think it’s safe to say that consumption on day one is advised. So fresh, so fluffy, so not-squashed!
In terms of savoury treats, you can’t go past the Lamb Kumara & Horopito Pie - slow cooked lamb shoulder & roasted sweet potato in a native NZ Horopito herb spiced gravy. Delicious.
FERGBURGER
The nasty side of the internet tells you that Fergburger isn’t worth lining up for, but I'm here to tell you that side is wrong! We visited Fergburger multiple times in a two-week span. Each time the line was long, and took approximately an hour from entering the line to wrapping our hands around Fergy-goodness. The Ferg strip is an excellent people-watching scene, equipped with heaters, speakers, and benches on the street! The staff at Ferg also do a great job at handling the crowds by handing out menus in the line, so everyone knows what they want by the time they hear “NEXT”. I tend to be a creature of habit, and once I find something I love, I’ll order it over and over again. ‘The Codfather’ was that for me. Containing South Coast Blue Cod, tempura batter, Ferg’s dill tartare, lettuce, tomato, red onion (which I always remove) & aioli. It was delicious, the only critique I could give, is that I prefer shredded iceberg lettuce over a piece of iceberg lettuce! Liam tried the Ferg Deluxe, and the Sweet Bambi. The Sweet Bambi came out on top for him - Wild Fiordland deer, brie cheese, boysenberry & caramelised onion chutney, lettuce, tomato, red onion & aioli.
When your order is ready, your number is displayed on the screen that you can see from the street. They also have live tracking via a QR code if you decide to go for a wander. When we collected our food, we headed over to Perky’s Floating Bar - a moored boat in the Queenstown harbour that lets you bring your takeaway on board if you order a beer!
MRS FERG
Mrs Ferg is a gelateria, producing 50 flavours of gelato, as well as offering specialty coffee, and acai. A perfect place to pop in for late night dessert! We didn’t attend, because in the dead of winter I didn’t feel like gelato, but I imagine in summer Mrs Ferg would go hard!
FERG’S BAR
Open daily from 7am-2am (whoah), Ferg’s Bar offers both a breakfast menu, a drinks menu, and a typical wine-bar style menu, with an abundance of seafood options which I love. Think of Ferg’s Bar as a classier older brother to the other three Ferg’s. A beautiful spot to stop and have a glass of bubbles while watching the world go by - I like to face the street so I can peoplewatch.
FERGBUTCHER
Located away from its brothers and sisters, Fergbutcher resides at 7 Bush Creek Road, Arrowtown. They also do a hot food menu that includes an array of burgers, people might call it a hack to visit Fergbutcher instead of Fergburger, but I enjoyed the atmosphere at Fergburger! I didn’t try the baps, however the look delish. As well as a hot food menu, they also obviously operate as a classic butchery, stocking a large range of quality cuts and ‘top quality bangers’. Grocery is available too, with artisan butters, salts, and stocks for all your cooking needs.
Like I said, Ferg is an empire worth visiting.
Stray beautiful,
BEAR.