Holy Cheesus — Lustre Kitchen & Dining

$25

Lustre has become one of Kāpiti’s standout dining destinations, and its Burger Wellington entry quickly claimed the top spot on Shaan’s list.

Holy Cheesus brings together Conscious Valley beef brisket, Ōtaki cucumber pickles, Double Vision Brewery Hazy beer cheese and kimchi mayo in a housemade sourdough brioche bagel bun.

After his first few bites, Shaan had made up his mind.

“I’ve tried a lot of burgers in my life, I have no idea what I’m talking about, but I know that this burger was absolutely insane.”

He went on to call it a serious contender for one of the best burgers in Wellington, perhaps even New Zealand.

His final verdict?

“That was insane. It was delicious. I could eat another four of them.”

Birria On The Beach — Hey Coastie

$34

Hey Coastie brought a full Mexican fiesta to Paraparaumu Beach with Birria On The Beach.

A beef patty and pulled birria beef are layered with corn tortilla, onion and coriander salsa, Apostle Tropical Charred Sweetcorn Salsa and spicy crema in a housemade brioche bun, served with jalapeño poppers and birria consommé for dipping.

The crunch immediately got Shaan’s attention.

“Oh, that’s so good. This is yum. This has a great crunch.”

Bold, juicy and made for getting a little messy, it earned a well-deserved second place on his list.

Bombay Hook Bite — The Jolly Pub & Kitchen

$27

As a self-confessed fish burger fan, Shaan was always going to be interested in The Jolly’s Bombay Hook Bite.

The burger combines tandoori-spiced fish with tandoori onion, Prana Greens microherbs, coleslaw, mustard sauce and pickle mayo in a brioche bun, served with mint yoghurt and a chaat masala papadum.

It takes everything familiar about a classic fish burger and gives it a punch of Indian-inspired flavour.

“This might be the best one of the day so far,” Shaan said after trying it.

High praise, especially several burgers into the challenge.

A Waffle Lot — Rosetta Café

$28

Rosetta Café took the idea of a breakfast burger very seriously.

A Waffle Lot stacks a pork breakfast patty and bacon with a Shevington Farm fried egg, roasted mushroom, halloumi, hash brown, avocado, bacon jam and maple aioli between two housemade waffle buns.

Watching it come together in the kitchen, Shaan knew he was in for something substantial.

Once he got into it, the verdict was simple.

“This is really yum. This is legit.”

Big breakfast energy, Burger Wellington style.

The G.O.A.T — Paraparaumu Beach Bowling Club

$25

One of the biggest surprises of the day came at Paraparaumu Beach Bowling Club.

Created as a collaboration between The Bond Store and Seriously Pickled, The G.O.A.T combines wild goat and goat cheese with Crooked Vege roasted capsicum, kawakawa coleslaw, The Bond Store botanical aioli and Apostle Hot Sauce herb salt.

Then they put the whole thing inside a Seriously Pickled cheese scone bun.

Shaan needed a moment.

“Oh my gosh. Wow, this is yum. This is weird. This is yum as. How does this even work?”

Then came the cheese-scone revelation.

“This cheese scone is yum. How have I never had one of these before? What the heck have I been doing?”

By the end, he was wondering whether the Coast might have created something entirely new.

“Who has made a scone burger before? This is almost like a world first. GOAT — greatest of all time? Well, it could be. Bro, that was mean.”

Mare & Monti — Passo Pizza Pasta Caffè

$32

By burger number nine, most people would probably be slowing down. Then Passo brought out Mare & Monti.

A prawn and calamari patty is layered with pork belly, roasted pepper, pickled red onion, provolone, stracciatella, rocket, nduja butter and paprika mayo inside a housemade pizza dough bun.

The bread alone had Shaan sold.

“I love the bread. What a crazy burger. This is absolutely delicious.”

Despite how far into the challenge he was, this was one burger he was determined to finish.

“The food was incredible. The people are amazing.”

A very worthy final addition to his top six.