McDonald's is letting customers design their own burger, as the fast food chain looks to tap in to the growing gourmet burger market.

The 'Create your Taste' promotion is being trialled at the Balmoral restaurant in Auckland, which has been chosen as a test lab for the company's new ideas and products.

McDonald's plans to roll out the concept at five restaurants over the next few weeks and eventually take it nationwide.

Using a digital touch screen kiosk, customers can choose one of three suggested gourmet burgers or build their own customised burger, choosing from 20 ingredients such as jalapenos, guacamole and grilled mushrooms.

Even paleo dieters are catered for, with customers having the option of going bunless if they are watching their carbohydrate intake.

The base cost of the burgers is $10.90, with extra ingredients typically costing between $1 and $1.50 each.

There are more than 25 million different combinations to choose from, although dieticians may not recommend burger lovers try all of them.

In another first for McDonald's, table service will be offered with customers offered free Wi-Fi as they wait for their burgers to be made, which takes eight to 10 minutes.

Meals are presented on a wooden board and fries in a wire basket, in contrast to the traditional plastic trays McDonald's food is served on.

New Zealand is only the third country after the United States and Australia to get the customisable burgers, which are part of a wider plan to transform the fast food chain over the next five years.

"Create Your Taste is the type of thing our customers have been asking for in New Zealand. This year and over the next five years you will see a number of new initiatives as we continue to evolve with our customers," said Patrick Wilson, managing director of McDonald's New Zealand.

"We're looking forward to hearing customer feedback about our new burger range and service offering. Our intention is to roll out Create Your Taste to selected restaurants nationally within the next twelve months."