Burgernaut is the burger kitchen inside Urbanaut Brewing Co.'s Kingsland taproom on New North Road, where beer brewed metres away meets smashburgers, loaded fries and irresistible morsels made to order with top-quality ingredients. It runs for dine-in or pickup and, by the kitchen's own cheerful reckoning, serves the best burgers in the hood.
The setting is a working brewery. Urbanaut has been crafting beer in Tāmaki Makaurau since 2017 — everything brewed, kegged and canned on site by a crew it calls crafting aficionados and party scientists — so pints here come about as fresh as fresh gets. The kitchen was built to keep pace, with a menu centred on smashburgers and loaded fries plus snacks like halloumi bites, mac'n'cheese, tofu fries, cheese sauce dipper and the house secret sauce.
Dietary needs are covered with meat, vegetarian and vegan options, and the bar matches: Urbanaut beers, Kihi ciders, alcoholic sodas, low-carb and non-alcoholic brews, plus wine, soft drinks and juices. The menu may change daily based on fresh-as ingredient availability, so it pays to check what's on.
Walk-ins roll on a first-come, first-served basis, crews of 10+ can reserve, and it's an R18 venue with under-18s welcome alongside a parent or legal guardian. Dogs on leads are welcome, there's an accessible entrance with ramp at 2B Western Springs Road, and pickup orders are typically ready within 30 minutes at the Taproom bar.
Burgernaut is what happens when a brewery decides its beer deserves a proper sidekick. Set inside the Urbanaut Brewing Co. taproom at 597 New North Road in Kingsland, Auckland, this is the kitchen that turns a quick pint into dinner: smashburgers, loaded fries and a run of irresistible morsels, all made to order with top-quality ingredients. You can dine in among the brew kit or take the feast to go. Either way, the banner claim of serving the best burgers in the hood is made with a straight face.
Burgernaut lives inside Urbanaut Brewing Co., the Kingsland brewery that since 2017 has been producing some of New Zealand's freshest and most innovative beers, crafted by a team it affectionately describes as crafting aficionados and party scientists. Every beer is brewed, kegged and canned on site in Tāmaki Makaurau, so the pint in your hand has travelled metres rather than motorways from its source.
A serious kitchen was the natural next step — if you're pouring beer this fresh at a taproom, the food has to keep pace. The answer was the smashburger: patties smashed and cooked to order, built with top-quality ingredients and served alongside loaded fries and snacks that go well beyond the usual pub suspects.
The smashburgers are the headline, made to order and matched with a fries lineup that runs from classic shoestring to fully loaded. Plant-based eaters are looked after with tofu fries and a broader vegan menu, while the snack list brings halloumi bites, mac'n'cheese, a cheese sauce dipper, the house secret sauce and chorizo into play.
There's a special menu too, and it moves — the kitchen notes the menu may change daily based on fresh-as ingredient availability, so repeat visits genuinely can turn up something new. Drinks lean on the brewery itself: Urbanaut's range on tap, Kihi ciders and boozy sodas, low-carb and non-alcoholic brews, plus wine, soft drinks and juices.
Walk-ins are the default and the taproom rolls on a first-come, first-served basis, though crews of 10 or more can make a reservation, and groups over 20, special events and corporate functions can email the team to sort something bigger.
It's an R18 venue and ID may be requested, with under-18s welcome alongside a parent or legal guardian — so family dinners are on the table, within the rules. Good dogs are welcome too, as long as they stay on lead and by their humans. Accessibility is well handled: a dedicated accessible entrance sits at 2B Western Springs Road at the back, with ramp access, parking options and accessible bathrooms.
If you'd rather eat at home, Burgernaut runs an order pickup service. Place your order and an 'Order Confirmed' email arrives from the team's pals at Eats365, with orders typically ready within 30 minutes for collection at the Taproom bar. Pickup is 18+ only and runs on its own, slightly earlier hours than dine-in — worth checking before you time an order on a Friday or Saturday.
Because the brewery holds an off-licence, you can round out the visit with takeaway cans or get a rigger filled straight from the tap on your way out.
The kitchen and taproom are closed Mondays. Tuesday runs 4pm to 9pm; Wednesday and Thursday go midday to 9pm; Friday and Saturday stretch to 9.30pm; and Sunday wraps at 7.30pm. Pickup windows close earlier across the board.
Between the fresh-from-the-source beer, smashburgers cooked to order and a room that welcomes dogs, big groups and designated drivers alike, it's easy to see why the locals rate it the best burger in the hood — and why the taproom's testimonial wall, The Brew Buzz, keeps on growing.