World Vegetarian Day: Are these Auckland vegetarian burgers any good?

Much like a classic Kiwi pie, when it comes to a good burger, a juicy meat patty has traditionally been considered a crucial component.

But when you look at what Kiwis are eating these days, that element may be changing: According to findings from Roy Morgan Research, an increasing number of New Zealanders are turning to plant-based diets, with the biggest uptake seen among Kiwi men.

Given today is World Vegetarian Day, we decided to bring in some meat-free options from three well-known Auckland burger joints and put them in front of a pair of carnivorous male colleagues.

From a crumbed mushroom to a meat-free patty with more protein than its beef equivalent, could any of these vegetarian burgers sway our duo to make a meat-free choice in future?

Here's what meat-eaters Storme and Max, from Flava, had to say about vegetarian burgers from Lord of the Fries, Better Burger and Burger King.

Lord of the Fries: Original upgraded to a Beyond Meat patty

The "meat" patty on Lord Of The Fries vegetarian option impresed our taste testers. Photo / lordofthefries.co.nz

You may have heard of this one before: It's the meat-free patty that got Winston Peters all hot under the double-breasted suit collar when it was served up on Air New Zealand flights earlier this year.

But in Stome's opinion, this was the winning choice that he could see himself choosing over a real beef option.

Dubious upon first bite, he says: "To be honest, this is really good. It felt like a meat burger."

Better Burger: Mushroom Burger

Better Burger's crumbed portobello mushroom was the winner for Max. Photo / Instagram

Storme and Max were on board with the crumbed portobello mushroom in place of a meat patty. And this one also got points for having the crispiest lettuce and freshest ingredients.

Topped off with a pretty intense sauce, this was Max's favourite.

Burger King: Salad Burger

The salad burger from BK is kitted out with deep fried onion rings in place of a meat patty. Photo / burgerking.co.nz

Described as "essentially the Whopper-sized burger, with a Whopper bun", the meat replacement here is deep fried onion rings.

Unfortunately our taste testers didn't get to far in to reviewing the burger as a sans meat option: Their attention was turned to how "chewy" the burger was, noting the bun was "like rubber".