SIX BY NICO - CHRIS EATS

ROUTE 66 JOY RIDE!

There’s not many places that I’d be willing to book 3 weeks in advance for a 9:30 dinner reservation on a Friday night but that’s exactly what I did with Six by Nico. I’ve been intrigued by this place since I heard about it and its constantly changing menu and decided the Route 66 menu was the one for me to take the plunge.

For those unfamiliar with Six by Nico or the concept here it is in a nutshell. They choose a theme every 6 weeks and create a 6 course tasting menu based around that theme. They also offer wine pairing for those wanting to go that little bit further into the experience. The previous themes offered so far were picnic, childhood and the chippie.

You’ll find Six by Nico on Argyle Street in Finnieston where seemingly every cool bar and restaurant is located these days. As I mentioned you’ll need to book plenty in advance, especially for a weekend booking, as it is quite small inside. It may not be for everyone but I certainly enjoyed my visit, the food was excellent and 6 courses for £25 per person is very reasonable giving the quality of the food on offer.

The only bad thing I can say is I found it a bit noisy which made conversation a bit harder but that was more due to an unruly table having a good time and not really a blemish on the restaurant itself. So lets get on to the food… there’s 6 courses for us to get through after all!

First up on the Route 66 menu was a Chicago inspired dish and, perhaps unsurprisingly for this, they opted for a take on the classic deep dish pizza Chicago is so renowned for. The base was a thin pastry topped with pepperoni, trapenese pesto, goats cheese and candied olives. Now as someone who isn’t normally a fan of goats cheese I couldn’t get enough of this dish, the flavours worked perfectly together and my only complaint was that it wasn’t the size of a normal pizza.

Next up on the night was a Great Plains inspired dish comprising of buffalo mozzarella, heritage tomato and fennel crumb. This is what I took to be the ‘salad’ course which by my own admission would always be my least favourite option on any menu. That said, this was a very refreshing dish and I did enjoy it. To say it was my least favourite isn’t doing it an injustice, it just speaks more for the quality of the other dishes I had.

From one end of the spectrum to another, the American Diner dish was by far the highlight of the night! This dish had everything I love but with a new take on a classic. The chickpea pancake was topped with Ayrshire pork belly and drizzled with maple syrup. Now I may be blinded by my love of all things brunch, pancake or maple syrup related but I could have happily eaten six courses of this and only this and went home a happy man!

Next to the table was the Texas offering; 24 hour barbecue brisket, sweetcorn salsa and chilli bon bon. This was also a tremendous dish and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The brisket was cooked perfectly and pretty much melted in the mouth. The chilli bon bon was delightful and the little cube of polenta that came as an added extra was the definition of a pleasant surprise.

For the fifth course, the New Mexico inspired dish, I tried 2 different versions. The menu version; sea bream, taco, guacamole, preserved lime and pickled chilli was delicious, I’m not a big fish fan but this taco was excellent. However, my girlfriend who it’s fair to say is much less of a fish fan than me asked to change and was given the same dish with halloumi instead of the sea bream. Having tried a little bite of this I kinda wish I’d declared my hatred of sea bream and went for the fried cheese!

Last but by no means least on the Route 66 experience was the California inspired dessert. Now usually my go to dessert is cheesecake so not having a choice and being forced out my comfort zone wasn’t something I was enjoying. Dessert was a lemon tart with orange espuma and red wine sorbet and I needed have wasted my time being worried as it was tremendous.

I wasn’t sure what espuma was if I’m being honest but my god that little orange dollop was one of the nicest things I’ve ever tasted on a dessert plate. The tart and sorbet were equally as good and overall the dessert was one of the best I’ve had, ever!

A special mention should also go to the staff who were extremely attentive and explained each dish as it was brought to the table. I also liked the TV screen in the picture above that meant you could watch the extremely talented kitchen plate up the dishes as they were being prepared.

I mentioned earlier that this might not be for everyone, mostly because some people like choice, but I can’t recommend Six by Nico enough. The concept is refreshing and different and I’m sure that regardless of the theme the food would be just as good. So get down before August 27th to catch the Route 66 menu or keep your eyes peeled for the next theme announcement.

SIX BY NICO REVIEW

Food: 5/5

Atmosphere: 4/5

Value for Money: 4/5

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