THE VEGAN BURGER AT SMITHS CRAFT BEER HOUSE

Most Wednesdays I join a running group that starts and finishes at Smiths Craft Beer House.

After the run, I’ve always had a couple of beers but despite eyeing up the burgers, never seem to order one. So on the last night of my most recent Queenstown visit, I went to remedy that.

This post will go through that experience, including my tasting notes.

Smiths Queenstown focuses their beer, cider, and food around flavour with an emphasis on adventurous and creative options. Basically, they aren’t going for whatever is trendy (beer menu | food menu).

It was a Friday night, and compared to a Wednesday evening the place was busy. I did find it funny how easily the voices of those who were getting a little rowdy echoed through the room.

Smiths does have a great atmosphere when it’s busy though, and it doesn’t feel overcrowded. And the staff are super awesome.

RELATED: WHERE TO DRINK CRAFT BEER IN QUEENSTOWN

If you sit near the windows you’ll be able to look down at the main street of Queenstown, and while I’ve never noticed them, apparently you can see the Remarkables in the distance. That’s cool.

Given how busy it was I committed to getting my burger takeaway.

There were two vegan options:

BBQ Jackfruit
Slow cooked green jackfruit, pulled and coated in our BBQ sauce in a toasted bun with lettuce, tomato, red onion, pineapple slaw, BBQ, and vegan aioli. $23

Beyond
Beyond meat burger patty, on a vegan bun, vegan cheese, American mustard, tomato sauce, dill pickles, red onion, tomato, salad, vegan aioli. $25

The jackfruit got my attention more so than the beyond meat burger. At $23 it’s on the high side, but they come with cajun fries.

I did have to wait for 25, maybe 30 minutes for my order. That’s longer than most vegan burgers I’ve had in Queenstown, but I suspect that’s due to being so busy. On a Wednesday whenever others order food it arrives much faster.

When the food was ready, I was super impressed with the packaging. It’s not a flimsy paper bag. The burger wasn’t going to be falling apart on its journey back to the hostel.

TASTING NOTES FOR THE BBQ JACKFRUIT BURGER FROM SMITHS QUEENSTOWN

• I started off with the chips and wow, they’re good. The cajun spice transformed them from boring chips into something I was telling people at the hostel they have to try.
• The vegan aioli wasn’t great, a little oil.
• The jackfruit! It’s amazing, and while it dominated the burger it should. It’s that amazing.
• That does mean it’s not a great burger to eat while on the move.
• The burger bun was nice and soft and held together well despite the sauce.
• The rest of the ingredients were overshadowed by the awesomeness of the jackfruit, but they were all there and played their role.

This is my favorite vegan burger in New Zealand!

So while it’s a bit on the pricey side, I’ll be ordering this again.

If you’re a fan of experimenting with different kinds of beers and love high-quality burgers without budget concerns, Smiths Queenstown is your place to be.

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Smiths Queenstown is at 53 Shotover Street, Queenstown 9300. Phone: 03 409 2337.

Which beer and burger did you try at Smiths? Come back to leave us your experience in the comments below (or email jub@churnewzealand.com).

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