Delta Guide honours up and coming new restaurants

29 June 201929 June 2019 Martin Banks

Martin Banks

It is widely regarded as the “bible” for food lovers in Belgium and, this year, the Delta Guide also honours up and coming new restaurants. For its 42nd edition, the Delta Guide Brussels selected 840 restaurants, including 70 new ones, and 140 hotels.

Classified from A to Z they cover every neighbourhood in the city plus all genres and prices.The guide continues to apply a “rigorous” selection procedure and inclusion is much sought after. It has won an enviable reputation for giving an objective, accurate and detailed analysis of restaurants of all kinds and types.

These range from gastronomic establishments to relatively humble and low-priced places. All are based on 10 separate criteria such as the welcome given to diners and all are judged on their price/quality.

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About 60 restaurants have been deleted in the 2019 issue, either due to bankruptcy or non-compliance with the strict selection criteria. As it has done since 2011, the guide once again includes a Delta Discovery Pass which offers 30% discount (excluding drinks) in 45 restaurants in and around Brussels, all scrupulously selected by the Guide’s gastronomic columnists.

For the second year in a row, the publisher, Stephane Desmet has also included, under the heading “Tips from the Delta Guide”, about 60 restaurants considered “essential to discover.”

These are classified in four categories: trendy, gastronomic, must-sees and those classed as cool.

The 45 gourmet addresses have been scrupulously selected and are classified by district and category (gastronomic table, good value for money, favourites and those in a beautiful setting). The Discovery Pass is also available at these restaurants.

The guide, first published back in 1977 and the only one of its kind in Belgium, is also available as an electronic version

With an average of 7,000 visitors per day and a database of 5,620 hotels and restaurants, the website (as is the book) a reference to find a good restaurant or a hotel in Belgium and also the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

Each year, it also presents awards to mark the new edition and 2019 is no different. Desmet, publisher for the past 11 years, explained that while the temptation, with each new edition, is to honour well known chefs who have helped win Brussels its culinary reputation the “Delta Guide philosophy is more about discovery than consecration.”

This year, the guide has therefore honoured relatively new restaurants and young chefs.