Our favourite burgers under $20 at this year’s Burger Wellington.

There are 197 restaurants entered in this year’s Burger Wellington competition, each offering a new, limited-time burger, and all trying to one-up each other with new weird ways to put meat and vegetables inside a bun. The options are overwhelming, even for the most dedicated burger afficionado.

The Spinoff sent a team of Wellington writers and reviews out to try as many burgers as possible. This week, they picked their favourite burgers under $20 (or $25 if it comes with a side).

LUCKY: Dazed and Confused, $15

Nick Iles 

When the late Anthony Bourdain was asked about his perfect burger, he urged cooks to ask themselves one simple question. “Is this, this thing that I am doing to this perfectly good classic dish, is it making it better?” It is a question not asked enough of many of the things we do in life, often confusing cleverness and trickery as betterment. One such team that not only asked themselves this question, but fundamentally understood its purpose, was the team at LUCKY.

We all know what a chicken burger is: soft bun, fried chicken, lettuce and mayo. The Dazed & Confused chicken burger is exactly this, but just a little bit better. The free range chicken schnitzel is hammered out to the size of a rugby pitch then breaded and fried until it is at once crisp and moist. The bun that tries its best to contain the monster is like that of a child’s drawing of what a burger bun should be: soft, golden all over and studded with sesame seeds on top. Next comes greens. Iceberg is the only lettuce appropriate when being tasked to support fried chicken, its crispness and high water content keeps it fresh and textured throughout.The addition of Fruit cru mustard is correct. It adds a grown up piquancy which is laced with a tart, apple booziness. To make the burger even sweeter, 50c of every sale goes towards supporting the vital work done at Everybody Eats. It is indeed a classic dish that has been made better, a burger I feel confident that Bourdain would approve of.

Zoe Mills 

When it comes to chicken burgers, I am extremely picky. Too many times have I been promised a delicious feed and have been let down by dry, bland bricks of chicken. But those days of disappointment are no more. LUCKY’s Dazed & Confused hits all the marks of a cheap and cheerful burger – the basics done really well.

The centerpiece of the burger is a ridiculously large slab of juicy chicken schnitzel, coated in a crispy layer of breadcrumbs. The chicken itself could be served stand-alone, it was that good. I was super impressed by the sauce-to-burger ratio. The Fruit Cru mustard adds a rich, creamy tang to the burger, and alongside slices of zesty pickles, provides the perfect accompaniment to the chicken schnitty without being overpowering. The sesame burger bun was a great choice, thin enough that I could eat the burger in one bite rather than squishing it down.

However, with the richness of the sauce and the juicy chicken schnitty, the burger could have done with an extra handful of lettuce to balance out the sandwich. The delightfully crispy thick-cut fries were a highlight. Overall, the Dazed & Confused resembles a really, really good McChicken.

Chow: Bao Gochu Crazy, $17

Preyanka Gothanayagi

I’m a complete sucker for Asian flavours, no matter the format. Which is why this offering from Chow was so appealing: a kimchi bao from Dragon Express, coq au vin ‘Korean-style’ fried chicken, kimchi pickles, slaw, and gochujang and wasabi mayonnaise. Extra points for the multilingual pun. 

From the very first bite, it was sweet, spicy, addictive goodness. The fried chicken was crunchy, perfuse with flavour, and the soft, pillowy bun soon became soggy with the sauces, but, like, in a good way. There was this beautiful contrast of textures, punctuated by the occasional acidic crunch of pickles. The fries had a bit of zest going on too, but the main event was definitely the burger.

It did prove a polarising dish. I loved the sweetness, but a friend felt it was too much. Another was embarrassed eating in front of our group because the sauce dripped everywhere. “Not a first date meal,” she said (although I definitely would #messybitch). A third friend declared it the best WOAP burger he’d had in his three years in Wellington. Anyways, I’m a huge fan (vegan option available! only $17!), and will definitely be back.

Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin 

Bao Gochu Crazy gets its name from the Gochujang chilli paste in the sauce of this burger. I am terrible with spice. But for seventeen bucks how could I resist putting my mouth on the line for this spicy chicken bao?

I’m not gonna lie, this burger was a fight and I love the way it didn’t hold back. I was chomping down through soft, fluffy bao dough burger buns into crunchy slaw and two pieces of crumbed chicken. This burger kept me sweating and blowing my nose all the way through. The slaw kept it fresh, and pangs of ginger caught me guessing.

I’m over here, panting, looking down at the mess on my fingers where a burger once had been. Are my eyes watering because of the gochujang or because I wish I could eat it all again? My tummy rumbles, full, and I know that I’m lucky to scrape a success after such a powerful burger and to have a second would mean I never wake up. There is also a vegan option which also slaps. Ka pai, Chow, that was mean as.

Pickle & Pie: Fancy-Free Cheesy, $15

Bryer Oden (@healthsensation) 

This burger is called the Fancy-Free Cheesy, probably because it was made with free-range, grass-fed beef from Conscious Valley. Instead, I’d like to imagine that it actually got its name by being free of all things fancy. This burger is humble, timeless, and approachable. It’s non-pretentious. This burger knows who it is. Young Big Macs look up to this burger and think, “I want to be you when I grow up.”

The patty was perfectly chargrilled, reminiscent of the classic kiwi bbq. The creaminess of the mustard alongside the tang of the pickles made for a burst of vinegary goodness. I am pleased to report that the sesame seeds were not in fact just decoration, but contributed a lovely woody nuttiness to the overall experience.

However, the cornerstone of this patty was the bun. It immediately transported me back to the steamed bun phenomenon of 2017, when everyone discovered you could customise your bun at Maccas by asking for it to be steamed, thus making the experience 10x better. The Fancy-Free Cheesy should induce the same amount of frenzy, because the Dough Bakery bun (described as being “soft as a baby’s bottom,”) was to die for. It’s always a bold choice to include the word “bottom” front and centre in an eating establishment, but there truly is no more visceral way to describe it.

The Fancy-Free Cheesy is the perfect choice for someone who is already feeling burgered out and overwhelmed at the grandeur of Wellington on a Plate – it’s light, flavourful, and simple: the perfect elevated basic.

Dough Bakery: Chicken Schnitty, $19

Jan Otis (@foodexperiencenz)

I love creativity, but simple and basic will always be timeless. Some of the most memorable burgers in the past have been basic burgers done to perfection. This burger only has five ingredients and I knew this would be a memorable one.

This burger has a nice thin chicken schnitzel and I love how they went with a thinner schnitzel. This made the burger lighter on the stomach and you didn’t have to chew for days. The crumb was crunchy and gave you the crunch element that burgers need. The rest of the elements complimented the schnitzel well – the pickles added much needed acidity and the parmesan mayo added a little creaminess and flavour. And the bun was fresh and light as it is made in-house.

Here comes the fun part. The burger comes with chips and a tomato kasundi sauce, but we were encouraged to add the sauce to the burger to add a different layer to it. Boy did it make it taste like a different burger. It reminded me of Kelson 4 Square’s WOAP burger back in 2022 where you can add as much or as little sauce you wanted to your burger.

Love these guys – not because they are someone locally, but because they are catering to affordable burgers this year. This one and their sister company Pickle and Pie is under $20 and both seem like a very good option right now.

Bebemos: Shiver Me Tenders, $25

Joel MacManus

Most burgers shine in their consistency. Every bite  should contain the same layered ingredients, in the same balanced portions. Usually, an inconsistent burger is a flaw. But not here. The Shiver Me Tenders burger pops with broad variety of different flavours, a new world in each mouthful. The layer of shredded sweet chicken on the top bun adds a caramel richness, more like a condiment than a meat layer. The three cheese jalapeño poppers are fatty and acidic, each bite is slightly different, depending on the amount of cheese you get. With the addition of pickled slaw, chipotle mayo, and a rum and birria dipping sauce, the hunk of fried chicken that acts as the centrepiece of the burger is almost forgotten. It serves its purpose, but it’s not the star.

The side of corn chips comes with a gluttonously rich cheese sauce, but Bebemos managed to balance it out with an impressively vibrant salsa. I think a great Burger Wellington is about experience; it should be memorable and interesting, and that definitely describes this burger.