Community Burgers is a locally owned and operated burger spot on Tennyson Street, right in the middle of Napier — opposite the Napier municipal theatre, in a beautiful Spanish mission building with vibrant orange umbrellas outside. It is built around wholesome food, easy takeaways and relaxed dine-in meals, served with cozy, old-school, personalized table service and made from high quality, fresh ingredients at around the same price point as the big chains.
The kitchen does things properly: fresh NZ beef mince pressed daily, chicken thigh coated in store, and house-made sauces and plant-based patties crafted weekly. Burgers like The Captain, The Pilot and The Dancer share the menu with fresh lunch bowls, sides such as double-fried Agria fries and 24-hour pickle spears, and weekly-made sweets.
Beyond the food, Community Burgers lives up to its name — every month it supports an important local cause with customers' help through its This Burger, Goes Further® programme, and it even publishes its recipes so you can try them at home. Most plates can be made gluten-free, with coeliac-friendly fryers, gluten-free buns, plenty of vegetarian and vegan options, and a Community Littles menu designed with kids in mind.
Open daily from 11:30am to 8:05pm for dine-in, takeaway and delivery through Delivereasy and Uber Eats, with tap beers, cocktails, wines and zero-percent drinks available in the restaurant.
On Tennyson Street in sunny downtown Napier, directly opposite the Napier municipal theatre, you will find a beautiful Spanish mission building with vibrant orange umbrellas out the front. That is Community Burgers — a locally owned and operated burger restaurant serving wholesome food, easy takeaways and relaxed meals right in the middle of the city.
It works for a quick lunch, a casual dinner, a family meal or a relaxed catch-up before an evening in town, and it is an easy stop if you are near Tennyson Street, Emerson Street, Marine Parade or the Art Deco centre. Inside, expect cozy, old-school, personalized table service rather than a fast-food counter.
Community Burgers uses high quality, fresh ingredients to make wholesome, good-for-you burgers at around the same price point as the big chains. That means fresh NZ beef mince pressed daily, chicken thigh coated in store, and house-made sauces and plant-based patties crafted every week.
The burgers read like a roll call of community characters. The Captain is the house classic — fresh beef mince, double cheddar, sweet and spicy McClures pickles, house-made tomato chutney, diced onion and mustard — while The Double Captain doubles the patties for a bigger hit. The Pilot is built on pulled pork slow-cooked for over 16 hours in a house marinade, and The Lifeguard is freshly fried chicken thigh in gluten-free breading.
Plant-based eaters are well looked after: The Dancer is a chickpea, spinach and sundried tomato patty made in store weekly, and The DJ pairs a tofu, spring onion and peanut patty with satay sauce and spicy chipotle mayo. The Beekeeper brings black bean, rolled oats and beetroot together with Arataki honey, while The Lady, The Ranger, The Paperboy and The Orchardist round out a menu with something for most tastes.
Lunch bowls are built around the same house-made sauces, pickles and proteins — think chicken caesar, 16-hour pulled pork, pan-fried halloumi, vegan tofu and ground beef.
The smalls and sweets side of the menu is where the kitchen has fun. Straight-cut fries are 13mm Agria potatoes double fried in gluten-free oil; pickle spears spend 24 hours in a classic pickling brine; and there are chicken bites, sumac-dusted halloumi sticks, tempura-battered crispy cauliflower with hot Arataki honey, and broccoli florets pan-fried to order. Then there is A carrot — literally a whole washed little orange carrot, which the team will tell you is good for you and fun to eat.
Dessert is made weekly too: a semi-tart lemon cheesecake in a shareable tub and a warm chocolate brownie with vegan caramel sauce. A paper bag of hand-batched lollies doubles as the perfect show snack if you are heading to the municipal theatre after dinner.
Most plates can be made gluten-free, the fryers are coeliac-friendly and gluten-free buns are available — the team will happily help you work through suitable choices. There are plenty of vegetarian and vegan options, and the Community Littles menu has been designed with kids in mind. The whole set-up is casual and welcoming for family meals, quick dinners and lunch stops with children.
To drink there are tap beers, cocktails, wines and zero-percent options, and the restaurant has its own merchandise if you want to take a bit of it home.
The name is a promise. Through the This Burger, Goes Further® programme, every month Community Burgers supports an important local cause with customers' help — and you can even nominate a community cause yourself.
There are no secret sauces here either. The team is open and proud about what goes into the burgers and publishes its recipes so you can give them a go at your place. The restaurant has been featured in Living Hawke's Bay magazine and is recommended on TripAdvisor.
Whether you dine in, order ahead online for pickup, or get delivery through Delivereasy and Uber Eats, the menu is straightforward, satisfying and designed to travel well. Open seven days from 11:30am to 8:05pm, Community Burgers is easy to find, easy to visit — and doing a bit of good while it feeds the neighbourhood.