Big J’s Takeaways

Not bad but not great.
We dropped in this place seeing it had some great reviews. The burgers were pretty decent and the fries were ok. We asked the girl at the counter a recommendation on one of the burgers and she look at us confused and said «it tastes how it sounds.»
When we asked her for a ketchup after spending $ 30 they said it would cost $ 1. Seriously?! We just spend $ 30 on food. I’ve never had to pay for ketchup. That will be our last visit.

Love burgers? The juiciness, the texture, the right mix of veggies and meat to make it perfect? Then look no further, this is it!
Only problem, it’s not really fast food… about 20 mins wait, but it’s worth the wait to get one of these delicious burgers!

Best burgers in Auckland? They are seriously good. The perfect dollop of everything with generous portions of fish (I had the fish burger) The chips are cooked to perfection (we had garlic salt chips) and They are hands down some of the best chips Ive had. As too was the fish burger. Value for money is right up there too. But one tip I have is that because they are so busy, you should aim to order an hour ahead of when you want your food. The wait is that long.
I’ll be going back for sure. Just good old fish and chips really

I finally tried the legend that is Big J’s.
Don’t be put off by the stores less than glamorous appearance. It looks like any old fish and chip shop grouped with a dairy and liquor store, but the food is so much better.
I found the chicken and bacon burger to be delicious, although the meat patty in the beef burger was a bit weird, it seemed almost like the meat was quite old. Haven’t had anything like it before, it wasn’t juicy, it was quite dense.
Be prepared for a long wait if you turn up unannounced. If you have a large order, make sure to call them as soon as they open if it’s for lunch, we called at 11:30am asking for pickup at 12:30pm and they were fully booked till 2:45pm!

We rarely get takeaways but saw the 5 stars over 13 reviews and hankered for fish & chips. Called in the order and were told 10 minutes– we were pretty early — about 12:30 on a Saturday. Ordered 2 snapper and 1 chips, a spring roll and 1 onion rings. We arrived in maybe 5 minutes, paid and waited 10 minutes (guess optimism doesn’t hurt). The chips sure were good and one scoop was lots for 2. The fish was average, soggy even, (again big fillets –1 between us would’ve been better than 1 each) but we went and sat at the summit of One Tree Hill so the wait may have adversely affected it. Surely though it must be expected that takeaways will travel a bit… The spring roll and rings were disappointing. Good batter but inadequate filling and a tad greasy. Guess when everyone is raving about the burgers it’s the burgers you should try.

Before coming to Auckland I had heard of Big J’s already and how amazing their burgers were and I wasn’t disappointed! Each week they have a special burger, a special wrap and a special which most of the times is a toastie. I wish I could try the specials all week but it would be a lot of burgers! But yeah, their burgers are perfectly cooked, their flavours are usually something really different and really, really good! I also love their chips (you can choose its salt) and their corn dogs and onion rings. I won’t even start about their gravy! Great place, great service, great burgers!

Absolutely hands down THE BEST fish and chips I’ve EVER had. The food wasn’t greasy like other takeaway places. It was also the best Terakihi I’ve EVER eaten! It was AMAZING! Their Terakihi was sooooooo awesome, that I order that each and every time we go there, forgoing snapper which is my favourite fish.
If you want great tasting takeaways at a fantastically reasonable price, then Big J’s is the place for you!

I never imagined in my wildest dreams having to wait an hour and a half for takeaway burger and chips, but due to Big Js local renown I did just that. Despite the long wait and busyness, the staff here were friendly and relaxed — no doubt accustomed to being highly sought after. My partner and I made an order of onion rings, gravy, chips and two mushroom, bacon & beef burgers — which set us back only $ 26! — and were given an estimated time to collect our meal. We then went on a mini tiki tour ofEast Auckland in an effort to qualm the impressive rumbling of our bellies that began upon setting foot instore and smelling an array of delicious goodies.
Finally we arrived to the sight of our hefty order, which we then took to Cornwall Park to demolish in ‘style’. While eating somewhere gorgeous was nice, I would recommend eating Big Js on the grass outside the very second you get your order into your hot little hands. My meal was an absolute stunner even after being packaged for 10mins, so I can only imagine how good it would be fresh off the grill.
Every aspect of the food was great when considered out of context, but when you really think about the fact that this is local takeaway fare, the accomplishment is legendary.
Special mention goes to the $ 3 onion rings which deserve to have a planet named in their honour.

Best burgers in Auckland. Hands down.
The chicken bacon burger is really tasty and the snapper burger is delicious. Also of note are their weekly burger and wrap specials-​check out there Facebook page for the latest yummy concoctions. This place is popular so make sure you ring ahead of your order.

I’ve eaten here one time on the back of reviews I’ve read online praising this place. It is WAY off the beaten track, but enormously popular and for good reason. We went about 3pm on a Sunday, and it was really busy.
The burger was great. It had that typical burger takeaway joint style beef patty, but was creatively topped with a tasty combination of extras. Big, tasty, and lives up to the hype. This is big man food, and is not lo-​cal, lo-​carb, organic or good for you. YUM.
I’ve taken it down 1 star because we waited about 30 minutes to get our takeaways. Great burgers, but not worth waiting quite that long. I wish they told us when we ordered. We saw a few people in the shop, but had no way of knowing there were 10 phone orders in line ahead of us.
LESSON — Call in your order first, and by the time you find the place buried deep in a residential area, you will be good to go.

Cheap and Cheerful. And boy you leave here feeling FULL– in the belly, and in your bank account.
New Zealanders should be well accustomed to the notion of «the local takeaway” — but if you’re a visitor, I’ll expand. It’s usually a run down old shop, that sells a lot of greasy food (usually with a Chinese side menu) that will feed your family of 10 for less than $ 20 (actually probably less than $ 10).
Big Jays is like the King of all «local» takeaways. It’s so good, that I, like many– travel from across Auckland just to eat from — my «not so local» burger joint. The burgers range from around $ 5-​$ 12. My usual order is the $ 6 beef and mushroom. Don’t let it’s coy price tag fool you ! This $ 6 vixen will be the cheapest food baby you have ever conceived. With a decent toasted (and buttered — v. Important) bun, filled with lettuce + onions, a hefty meat pattie that has been packed with flavour and of course topped that layer of sautéed mushrooms before the sauce gets slopped on. It’s amazing. Simple, honest and yet flavourful — it’s a Kiwi classic !
They have changing specials of the week which include a «wrap of the week» and «burger of the week». The B.o.t.W is usually listed on their Facebook page, and runs for $ 12 (exclusivity hikes the price — that and they usually use unusual ingredients not found in their other burgers).
The sweet potato fries are a new favourite of mine that they have recently added to the menu ($ 5)… And with any burger you can add on a $ 3 scoop of chips or a $ 3.50 combo deal (small chips with your choice of chicken salt + a $ 2 drink from the fridge). They also have a salad bar, weekly desserts, a fish and chip menu and an extensive range of customized American hotdogs which are made to order.
Because they’re a «local» — it can be a little hard to find them, but if you’ve made it to Sylvia Park shopping mall then you’re half way there ! (Google map this one so you don’t get lost). There is limited parking outside and especially at nights — be prepared to wait 20min+ for your order… Trust me though– it is definitely worth the wait ! Definitely in my Top 3 for burger places in Auckland! You can’t go wrong with a cheap feed that tickles my tastebuds like Big Jays does !

Stumbled on to this place completely by accident. It must have been serendipitous because this place has Awesome (with a capital AYE) burgers! Hands down this place needs a Michelin star. If your any kind of connoisseur of the dark arts of crafting the perfect hamburger, then you found your Mecca. Word to the wise… call ahaead and place your order. The wait is at least 20−30min and during lunch it’s 1 and a half hour wait. So yeah… that good. :)

I was actually recommended Big J’s before it made it on The Metro’s Cheap Eat list. Friends of mine live near by and were raving about Big J’s. I have been wanting to come since xmas of last year after seeing plenty of photos of their burgers posted on FB. Big J’s is takeaways with a difference. Its owned and operated by a chef with 25years in the industry.
Most of the time you are judging a burger on two things — the patty and burger bun. These handmade patties are super soft. This has to be one of the best patties I have had from a takeaway store. The burger buns were nice but maybe could have used a bit more toasting, just to hold the burger together a bit better. I chose the beef and mushroom burger, great size for someone like me also I didn’t want to order a huge burger like the bf because I wanted to keep room for the chips and gravy. Yes they do chips and gravy! Not sure who else is as big of a fan as me when it comes to chips and gravy — but its one of my fav combos. The hawaiian burger had great flavour but just lacked more pineapple and disappointed with the bacon as the texture was a bit tough — this could just be improved by putting a crispy piece in instead.
Orders come out relatively quick — we came a sunday night so not sure on the hype on a fri and sat night but for a sunday it was pretty busy — but it was probably feeding a great deal of the hangover demographic. I personally liked my burger better but being a chef you always analyse any menu and try pick what item you think will be best to avoid food envy. Great Takeaways and would recommend it any day.
Rating
Food: ⁸⁄₁₀
Service: 7.5÷10
Value for Money: Very Good
⁴⁄₁ Melton Road, Mt Wellington
Opening Hours:
Tues 12 – 9
Weds-​Sat 11am-​9pm
Sun 11am-​830pm

Seriously, this place is as good as it gets when it comes to the humble burger. Fresh buns, thick & juicy REAL beef patties and loads of toppings for a fraction of what you’d pay anywhere else, be it a takeaway joint OR restaurant.
My $ 5.50 cheeseburger was perfect, I can really only explain it as what you should expect to get when paying a lot, lot more at a really good café or restaurant. Shame is, now all future burgers will be compared to Big J’s and I already know that many of them will fail miserably in comparison.
There is only a couple of tables inside and one outside so don’t expect to dine in as this place is very busy.
‘A’ grade food hygiene rating :)

Wow!!! Went here for the first time after driving by it a million times and it was soooo good! The burgers were so fresh and tasty and the people were very friendly. I’m so happy we found this place, will def be our new spot!!!

This is a proper hidden gem! Definitely best known for its delicious burgers which are large, tasty and great value. We called ahead as knew they would be busy on Friday night but food was ready only fifteen minutes later #veryspeedy. We will definitely going back!

I don’t want to tell any of you about this place because its so delicious. The burgers are packed full of flavour. You want bacon? You get real bacon like you’d have at home, not just fatty bits with no substance. The burger of the week is definitely the thing to go for — they push boundaries with flavour combinations. Everything is perfect. But please don’t go because I like that not everyone knows about it.

It’s a shame more people do not know about this little hidden gem. IT’S FANTASTIC! Hidden on Melton Road in Mt Wellington, just off Aranui/​Portman Road. Its located next to a dairy in a very suburban area.
The burgers here are AMAZING! And sooooo cheap! I couldn’t get over it! For what you get you’d think it would have to be so much more expensive. Not only that but the food is freshly made, so filling and so much better than the likes of McDonalds!
My boyfriend and I found this place as his friend posted a photo on Facebook with a link to Big J’s page. It was a good move liking them! Each week they upload their incredible weekly specials. Last night we both got the weekly special which was Texan Steak! INCREDIABLE! Absolutely delicious! We also got gravy and chips (which might I add, you get soooo many chips and its only $ 4!!), and some chocolate mousse to top it off for dessert!
What I love about this place is that they take so much pride in making their meals the best they can! All the staff looked so happy to be working there, which is so rare for a takeout joint! It really made the Big J’s experience memorable!
Follow Big J’s on Facebook and keep up to date with their weekly specials!

BEST BURGERS IN AUCKLAND. Look no further than Big J’s. Price ranges between $ 5-​$ 8 for these perfect burger beauties. The bread is fresh, and toasted. Just enough there to hold the burger together and the perfect quantity to the last mouth full. The sauces are condiments, as they should be (not drowning out the fresh flavours of the tomatoes, onions and correct amount of lettuce). Eating at Big J’s place, with its unassuming décor and shop front, it becomes a privilege to know of this hidden nugget of the universes perfection.