On a recent day out in the town and in search of some lunch, I stopped in at Miro Brasserie & Lounge.
Upminster has a wide range of restaurants on offer, with Miro being one of the most recent additions to the high street in Station Road after having opened in early December.
The European-inspired restaurant was relatively busy for a weekday at around 2.30pm.
I was quickly shown to a table and was left to ponder the vast menu.
Feeling torn between two options on the menu – the plant-based burger or the vegetable skewers – I asked for the chef’s recommendation.
The staff at Miro were attentive and friendly, and definitely added to the experience.
I placed an order for the skewers based on the advice from the chef and was completely taken aback by the portion size when it arrived.
In my opinion, it is very good value for money and could be split between two.
To my delight the food came out steaming and beautifully presented, with a mound of fluffy rice and three colourful salads.
The skewer, a mix of aubergine, courgette, peppers and onion, was cooked well, with each vegetable retaining the perfect bite to it.
However, it was the tomato sauce that was the best part of the dish for me.
Miro’s menu promises a “homemade rich tomato sauce” and it delivered just that.
This may have been the best tomato sauce I have ever tried, and was evidently homemade but in the best way.
Thinly sliced ribbons of red onion and slivers of freshly chopped garlic elevated the sauce, and blew this far and away from any simple tomato sauce I was expecting.
It’s fair to say it will now have ruined all other tomato sauce for me.
The richness of the sauce was perfectly balanced by the well-balanced acidity of the purple cabbage and grated carrot salads.
If you’ve been contemplating a visit, let this be your sign!
