The social distancing due to COVID-19 has been tough on restaurants. Delivery apps add some relief but at a cost – delivery rates of 30% of sale are charged to the restaurant on UBER Eats, and the food arrives on your plate at home far from the perfect conditions of the restaurant, to the frustration of many chefs I am sure.
I have been trying various delivery options and services as well as restaurant’s own delivery services to see what options are best and to see how restaurants are pivoting to a new business model.
Some restaurants, like MIRA Peruvian Restaurant in the King West neighbourhood, have their own delivery service through their website. They also deliver the meal with re-heating instructions and all the toppings loose for you to add when plating.
For our meal for two, we ordered the roast chicken, roast potatoes, beet salad and a Peruvian chocolate cake. With orders over $30 you also get the choice between 2 alcoholic beverages for two. Their Pisco Punch or their Espresso Martini. We went with the former.
The roughly $60 meal arrived in two bags with the containers inside. Each dish came with a little piece of paper with reheating and serving instructions. The chicken, for example, had a cassava puree that needed to be warmed as well as a uchacuta dressing, chili and peanut praline toppings that each came in their own tiny container. The Peruvian chocolate cake came with fresh mint, passionfruit and raspberry toppings.
The complimentary alcoholic beverage came in a bottle premixed along with a can of soda to mix when ready to serve. We had it over ice in a tall glass.
Placing the final toppings and warming the dishes added a certain freshness to the food that you wouldn’t normally get from delivery. By now, many of us are tired of cooking every meal at home so this is a happy medium that requires minimal time in the kitchen while feeling, and tasting, right out of the oven.
The online delivery menu is not Mira’s full menu but still has 12 items compared to their usual 29 item menu that is on their website. On their site, click the ORDER ONLINE button to see the menu items available for delivery, including the Prix Fixe for two that we had. The prix fixe menu allows you to choose between several main and side options.
You can visit their website HERE.
