‘Six by Nico’ - Fine dining on a budget
The brainchild of Scottish-Italian chef Nico Simeone has landed in the big smoke after their massive success in Manchester, Glasgow and Liverpool. Offering the classic 6-week-changing themed tasting menu, the Six by Nico London outpost is housed on Charlotte Street in the edgy Fitzrovia, serving up their unique concept to eager London diners.
The entire site was gutted and refurbished to be transformed into the glittery new ‘Six by Nico’. The main dining room is bright and airy, lit with swinging lightbulbs. The ambience was very impressive. The problem sometimes with fine dining is that you can feel too cut off from the rest of the restaurant, but at Nico’s, you were close enough to the table next to you to see what course they were enjoying, but also distanced just the right amount to also have some hand-holding privacy.
Six courses for £35, and £33 for a wine pairing - a steal in London!
Reinventing the quintessential British dinner, the new menu finesses the hearty fare with stunning plating and quality ingredients. Chips & Cheese, Scrabster Monkfish, Steak Pie, Fish Supper a deep-fried Mars bar are served up with style. Their debut offering “was originally designed to bring a sense of fun and nostalgia, and when talking to our team and Six by Nico community about which menu we wanted to re-open with, it was clear we wanted to bring those feelings back,” says chef Nico. And he does just that.
“Chips and cheese” - Parmesan emulsion, Curry oil, Brandade Croquette, Vinegar powder, Brown sauce
‘Chips and cheese’ turned out to be a lusciously crumbed croquette, plated smartly on printed newspaper with Nico’s story - a touch I adored. Flavoured with parmesan emulsion, the ingredients were of good quality and it was an inspired pairing. I couldn't stop stealing tastes of it, eagerly polishing my pot of parmesan clean with the little spoon.
“Scampi” - Scrabster monkfish cheek, Dill emulsion, Pea, Gribiche, Beurre Blanc
Our second course ‘Scampi’ elicited ooh's of delight from the gaggle of girls in the room - myself included; the tender, crisp sphere of monkfish was accompanied with leaves dressed with a dill emulsion, a sliver of pea and beurre blanc here and there to counteract the richness. The fish was cooked to a superb perfection, leaving the meat juicy and the flavoursome crumbs golden.
“Steak Pie” - Speyside beef shin, burnt onion ketchup, Mushroom duxelle and ‘Meaty salsa’
My favourite dish of the evening was the Steak Pie (pictured above) with beef shin and mushroom; I often have beef shin served stewed, and I find the whole thing can get a bit claggy, but this was a lot lighter, creamier and all the more balanced. The ketchup added a sweet tartness, detracting from the fire and smoke flavour of the salsa. I loved this.
“Deep fried Mars Bar” - Chocolate Pave, Blood Orange Sorbet, Cocoa Nib
I didn't love the deep fried mars bar, the last course of the menu. Served with orange sorbet and chocolate pave, it would have been great had it not been quite as sweet. All the components of a great dish were there, I just wondered if it was just my taste buds, or whether I was too full from the dumplings I had scoffed down before the meal. It turns out that it was perhaps both, as my dining partner finished the other half of my portion and licked his plate clean.
This is a great introductory experience for first-time fine diners, as it greatly represents what to expect from a typical tasting, but only for a fraction of the price. We left feeling fabulously full, and the price would usually just be £35 per person with matching wines for £33. I will definitely be going back to try it out when the menu flips again.
Thank you to Nico, the entire London Six by Nico team and the lovely Andrea for our evening x
Website: https://www.sixbynico.co.uk/
Address: 41 Charlotte St, Fitzrovia, London W1T 1RR