The joy of Six
The restaurant that definitely ‘isn’t finedining.’.. but feels a lot like fine-dining. Here’s what Sam Cook thought of Six by Nico...
PRIOR to visiting Six by Nico, the newest restaurant on Cardiff’s High Street, I was fully aware of what it was. In the weeks leading up to the new venue’s opening, my social media platforms were jampacked with posts telling me that I needed to go. The Six by Nico chain launched in Glasgow in 2017 and, since then, several restaurants have opened up across the country.
Six by Nico, as its name suggests, has many associations with the number six. In fact, the restaurant’s whole thing is that it invites customers to experience a six-course tasting menu, which itself changes every six weeks.
This information was quickly relayed to me when I visited Six by Nico. No sooner than I’d sat down at my table, an enthusiastic waitress told me the lay of the land. The very same enthusiasm was shared by the rest of the restaurant’s staff, who were all clearly buzzing about the initial reaction Six by Nico had received.
Much like many other restaurants, Six by Nico is dimly lit. Although it’s clearly trying to be atmospheric, I can imagine that this makes the menu – which has a teeny tiny font – hard to read for some. As mentioned, the menu itself has six courses which change every six weeks. When it comes to going to restaurants, I’m not someone who looks at the menu beforehand – the surprise adds to the dining experience.
Upon first seeing what food was on offer I was both excited and sceptical. The menu jumped from fish to meat then back to fish and I wasn’t entirely convinced the flavours would work as a rounded experience. Considering my food writing is limited (shoot me, I’m a TV writer primarily) there were also several items on the menu that I had to Google, including “brandade”, “gribiche” and “choucroute”.
Service at Six by Nico is nice and speedy and it never feels like you have to wait too long before your plate is served or cleared. After they’ve placed your food down, staff give you an informative explanation on what you’re about to eat – which was really handy for a newbie to this. But what were the courses like themselves?
Course one – chips & cheese: Parmesan espuma, curry oil and emulsion, crisp potato terrine. Chips, cheese... and not a lot of either. Although a very strong start to the menu, I can’t help but feel short-changed. I completely understand this is because there were going to be five other courses afterwards, but I was disappointed there wasn’t more to my first course.
The curry oil and emulsion proved a wonderful dip for the crisp potato terrine. Two or three more potatoes would have improved things, though, as you were still left with the emulsion to scoop up after you’d finished the terrine.
Course two – scampi brandade: Dill emulsion, gribiche, spring peas, beurre blanc. After a strong start, the second course quickly made its way to the table. Again, the presentation was really nice and the dish’s strong, fishy smell reached my nostrils before the food had even arrived.
The fish was crunchy and worked really well with everything else that was on the plate. Flavours were also rich and I generally enjoyed this course more than the first.
Course three – steak pie: 24-hour beef shin, burnt onion ketchup, mushroom duxelle, “meaty salsa”. I love steak. It’s my favourite food and I have to say that this was the course I was looking forward to the most. Unfortunately, it was also the course that I was most disappointed by.
Course three was overwhelming in its flavours and, in my personal opinion, a little bit too smoky. Following the dish there was also a lingering aftertaste that was quite earthy. I can see why someone would enjoy this but, for me, it didn’t particularly work.
Course four – fish supper: Scrabster coley, pickled mussels, confit fennel, samphire, beer emulsion. Another fish dish and this one worked really well. Despite the fact I’d started to feel a little full after the steak pie, the fish supper didn’t touch the sides and I gobbled it down within minutes.
The mixture of different fish blended nicely together and the flavours really complemented each other nicely.
Course five – smoked sausage: Trio of pork, apple, crispy crackling, salt-baked celeriac, choucroute. The final savoury course on the menu was enjoyable but a tad heavy after the fish supper. This dish, which felt a little random I have to say, had a nice bit of fanfare beforehand and was served in a smoky glass cloche. I got the impression that everyone was as impressed as I was by the smoked sausage service.
Course six – deep-fried Mars bar: Chocolate pavé, Irn Bru sorbet, deep-fried Mars bar. Deepfried Mars bar felt like the perfect way to end the six-course meal. The idea to deep-fry the chocolate bar originated at a chip shop in Scotland as a novelty item.
Was I blown away by my first experience of it? Not really. Would I have it again? Probably. In fact, the bar was somewhat overshadowed by an overly zesty Irn Bru sorbet, which was nevertheless enjoyable.
All in all, my experience of Six by Nico was pleasant but more novelty-dining than a fulfilling experience. While the food wasn’t entirely to my personal taste – and I was disappointed by some courses – I recommend trying the restaurant to see if it’s for you.
Interestingly, Six by Nico does not class itself as “fine-dining”, but you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was. With its small plates, dimly lit but impressively gorgeous architectural setting and wine list accompanying the food, it feels like you’re somewhere where you need to dress up a bit.
At £39 per person for the six dishes, though, the meal feels like it’s definitely worth the money and I guess you can give them credit too for making such an experience a bit more accessible. Although I didn’t get the wine this time around, if I were to then it would have cost me an extra £30, which again feels very reasonable.
Staff were brilliant and everyone who served me had clearly done their homework and knew what they were doing.
Six by Nico is located at 27 High Street, Cardiff, CF10 1PU. Book at www.sixbynico.co.uk