Burgundy, our local pride, my favorite restaurant in Lebanon which should have gotten a Michelin Star long time ago has made it on the world's Top20 list of the most underrated restaurants. Proudly Lebanese!
(CNN) — Even with influential guides navigating foodies to elite restaurants around the planet, great eateries continue to fly beneath the radar. So how do we find these unsung heroes?
Restaurant-industry insiders seem a good place to start. So we asked some experts: food writers and a regional chairs of the global academy that appoints panelists for the World's 50 Best Restaurants.
Here are their recommendations for underrated restaurants, none of which (at the time of writing) features on global culinary lists that matter. Read the complete list
Burgundy serves experimental seasonal Lebanese dishes.
Jade George, editorial director of Middle Eastern food culture magazine Carton, says: "It bills itself as contemporary French but chef Youssef Akiki of Burgundy challenges rigid dining habits by introducing Lebanese dishes done his way, and often experimenting with local produce.
"Although the restaurant's tasting menu changes seasonally, I am fond of Akiki's bird dishes, his pickled vegetable dish from Jacqueline's garden and the savory and sweet bites with which he takes you on a regional journey.
"The Middle East is a tricky region when it comes to 'fine dining'; it's split into countries with hardly any produce to speak of, and others in economic turmoil. To stand out in that category of restaurants and keep challenging what exists is worthy of a mention."
Burgundy, 752 Gouraud Street, Saifi Village, Beirut, Lebanon
