Mimó Restaurant, which started as a sandwich shop, has become one of the best restaurants in the area, serving mainly Italian food. Ninety-second Neapolitan pizzas and fantastic pastas are made in the Pilis kitchen, and we sampled two of them!
Mimo started out as a small sandwich shop, but quickly outgrew it. Since the owner, Árpád Juhász, has always been a lover of Italian cuisine, and since there was no really good pizza anywhere from Esztergom to the 2nd district, the idea to fill the gap in the market came up. Three quarters of a year, a lot of renovations, a course in Milan and a wood-fired oven later, and it was open again. This time with son Aaron by his side, who knew from a very young age that he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps.
Regulars from travellers
The new concept was well received, and they have not really spent on marketing since, preferring to believe in the slower but long-term effect of word of mouth. The menu now includes 18 types of pizza, 8 types of pasta and several seafood dishes. Traditional, they make Neapolitan pizza, which cook to perfection in 90 seconds. They also follow tradition when it comes to toppings, and luckily these are also the most popular, so you won't find Hawaiian or meat-loving pizzas here. Their huge oven can hold up to 7 pizzas at a time, with an average of 50-60 pizzas a day. The most popular doughs are definitely the ones with more special ingredients, as they have no competition in the area. Due to their location, some of their customers come from through traffic, so in addition to Italian food there are some Hungarian classics, and their weekly menu is fully international.
Prosciutto crudo and Calamarata with prawns
The pizza dough is perfectly thin, and the crispy edge is just as the Italians invented it. As I'm an absolute „less is more” person, I was delighted to see that the pizza not packed to the rafters, just enough of everything is added to make the result delicious and complex, without being unpleasantly saturating. The pleasantly sweet taste of the tomato sauce was well balanced by the distinctive saltiness of the smoked ham, and the arugula gave it a fresh finish. So anyone looking for a good pizza will definitely not be disappointed at Mimo.
But the surprise of the day was definitely the pasta, for several reasons, one of which was the serving. I think it's fair to say that I go to a lot of restaurants, not just for work but also for pleasure, but I still don't know when I've seen such a beautiful plate. This is closely linked to the fact that Aaron has become a true lover of the profession in recent years, and fine dining is particularly close to his heart, so he enjoys being able to fully express his creativity and experimentation here. But then, looks are worth nothing without the inside. Well, that's not the case here either, because the food was as impeccable as the serving itself. The sauce was thick, creamy, full-flavoured, yet not overpowering the seafood. Working with very intense flavours, this is a flawless dish, and one that is sure to leave you hungry for a while!
It's only worth dreaming big
The restaurant and the kitchen are constantly evolving inside and out to keep up with customer demand, and of course they are constantly training themselves. Aaron wants to push the restaurant more and more towards the bistro line, with the ultimate goal of one day becoming a Michelin-starred chef. Until then, of course, he has a lot to learn, but if he stays on this path, with perseverance, he is sure to achieve great success in the business. I say you should visit the terrace of Restaurant Mimo in Pilis for his cooking now, because who knows where this boy will stop...#
Address: 2084 Pilisszentiván, Szabadság út 14.
