I suppose it is better (very) late than never, so here is my review of my visit to Six By Nico…finally! If you are an active ‘grammer you will have heard about Six By Nico’s arrival in London. Set to open on 31st March this year, before 2020 took a nosedive, the restaurant was finally able to open in July and has been an instant hit with Londoners.
The new Fitzrovia restaurant is one of six run by Italian-Glaswegian chef Nico Simone that bridges the gap between casual restaurant and fine dining. The interior is a charming Art-Deco bistro vibe with exposed pipes, dark woods, and leathers, an assortment of contemporary light fixtures, and an open kitchen that adds theatre to the dining experience.
Each menu lasts for six weeks to keep the pop-up ‘visit before it goes’ feel while being a permanent restaurant, a clever idea to ensure that diners keep going back and that it is constantly on trend with the foodie crowd. The first menu in the ever-evolving concept restaurant, (and the one I visited) is ‘The Chippie’ a well-loved British favourite creatively re-imagined and significantly less beige. This is inspired by Nico’s childhood in a family-run chip shop that has been in his family for two generations.
The six-course tasting menu is a staggeringly reasonable £35, and you can add wine pairing for only £33 which gives you five wines throughout your meal. We started with the Aperitif ‘Seaside 75’ for an additional £7.50 and it was absolutely worth it. A play on the French 75 cocktail, it was made up of Earl Grey, Lemon, Prosecco, Samphire, and Sherbet which came on a wooden chip fork that you mixed into the cocktail which then froths up. It was very creative and refreshing and a really fun way to start the dining experience.
We also treated ourselves to the additional snacks for £5 per person, these snacks were sourdough bread with strong shellfish butter, and crispy delicate twirls of Filo Cannelloni loaded with creamy taramasalata, which was beautifully presented on a bed of beach pebbles, the first of many Instagrammable moments created by the stunning presentation.
The first course was Nico’s take on Cheese & Chips, which was a brandade croquette covered in vinegar powder with a small dollop of ‘brown sauce’ and served with a creamy and velvety Parmesan espuma. This again was beautifully presented, placed on top of a mock-up newspaper with the title ‘The New Plaice In Town’, a nod to your chips wrapped in newspaper from the local chippie.
The second course was a twist on the classic Scampi dinner, it was beautifully flaky Scrabster monkfish cheek in a golden batter served on peas and an insanely delicious beurre blanc that left me scraping the bowl. If you had opted in this was where the wine pairing kicked in, and this dish was paired with a light and fresh Casa de Vila Nova Vinho Verde which cut the richness really well. This was one of my favourite dishes and considering I’m not a huge fan of fish this was really really impressive!
Next up was the Steak Pie, a deconstructed pie of tender beef shin with a rich ‘meaty salsa’ with fine slices of mushroom and a burnt onion ketchup. This was deliciously rich and paired really well with the Amauta Malbec.
The fourth course of the evening came in the form of the ‘Fish Supper’, as I previously mentioned I am not big on fish so I substituted this for delicious halloumi with confit fennel, samphire, house sauce, and beer scraps. This was another highlight of the meal for me and was paired with a soft and light Boutinot La Fleur Solitaire Cotes du Rhone Blanc.
The penultimate course, ‘Smoked Pork’ was a trio of pork that arrived at the tables with added theatrics of a glass cloche filled with smoke that was removed at the table to great effect. It was served with squares of cubes of black pudding, apple sauce, and salt-baked celeriac and paired with a Pinot Noir. I think this may just be because I was pretty full at this stage, but this was the only dish that I didn’t enjoy, it was too rich and meaty for me after having already eaten so much.
The final course of an absolutely show-stopping meal was the Deep Fried Mars Bar, an infamous Scottish chip shop special. For me, this was my favourite course (yes I do have a sweet tooth). The deep-fried mars bar itself was a first for me and totally delicious and seriously naughty. It was plated beside a rich chocolate pavé which was balanced against the refreshing and citrusy blood-orange sorbet which also gave the dish a beautiful pop of colour. The final course was paired with a honeyed dessert wine Araldica Moscato Passito Palazzina.
Six By Nico really is a smash hit and you can see why, it makes fine dining more accessible and the constantly changing menu means you’ve just got to go back for more – it seriously plays on your FOMO! At the moment while we endure lockdown 2.0 why not try out their new Home By Nico venture – a 4-course restaurant experience delivered to your door with a changing monthly menu. Learn more and order your menu here!
