I’ve done a couple of menus at Six By Nico, my favourite so far was the The Chip Shop menu. It was the first menu to debut in the Edinburgh restaurant and it really captured people’s imagination. The new ‘Once Upon A Time’ menu based on classic children’s stories had the potential to do the same.
The menu itself was cleverly worked into a story book. Each page revealed a new ‘story’ and dish complete with illustrations. A lovely wee keepsake of your experience.
Aperitif & Snacks
The six course tasting menu at Six By Nico is £32 which is exceptional value. There are a few add ons to choose from. The matching wine flight is £27 and the snacks are £5. There’s also a themed aperitif called ‘A Spoonful Of Sugar’, I can’t remember how much it was but this time it was cherry flavoured with a cherry sherbet and very delicious (I did consider a second!). We also opted for the snacks; a Duck Liver Parfait Filled Doughnut or caramelised onion centre if you opted for the vegetarian option. We went for the vegetarian option but I found myself kicking myself a wee bit. It was lovely though. The second snack was sourdough bread and butter which was a wee bit boring, I think on previous menus there have been two themed snacks rather than bread, I may be wrong on that. That said it was lovely bread and we ate it all.
Oliver Twist ‘Please Sir, Can I have Some More’
Oliver was one of my favourite kids films so plenty of nostalgia here for me. Our first dish was a two layered affair to reflect the ‘more’ part of the Oliver theme. I didn’t get a photo, I think we took a wee video of this one instead but the first layer was a Confit Hasselback Potato which when removed revealed a bowl of Hay Baked Potato Mousseline. It was delicious and reflected the ‘poor’ theme of the film using such a humble vegetable and then elevating it.
Paddington ‘Marmalade’
Our second dish was a crispy Sourdough Bruschetta with Ox Cheek Ragu and on the side the ‘marmalade’ element of Mushroom XO Marmalade & Truffle. It was a really tasty dish and the mushroom marmalade came in a wee jar, it was missing a wee tag on the jar which would have made the theme even clearer. As much as I liked the dish, I also like traditional orange marmalade so much I’d have loved a dish built around this flavour profile.
Matilda ‘Hey Dipface, Have A Carrot!’
I’ve only seen Matilda once so I couldn’t recall this part of the film but the dish was a celebration of carrots. A Whole Baked Tandoori Carrot, Carrot Remoulade, Carrot Top Pesto, Saffron Pickled Carrot, Citrus Goats Curd. My mum wasn’t keen on this one but I quite enjoyed it, especially the tandoori baked carrot which had a lovely flavour. I’m not sure what the gel was but it was really tangy and really good when eaten with everything else on the plate.
Danny, Champion Of The World ‘Let’s Go Trout Poaching’ & Goldilocks And The Three Bears ‘The Best Ever Porridge’
Mum and I split off here. Mum had Danny, Champion Of The World (not one I’m familiar with, and I had Goldilocks. Mum’s dish was Sea Trout, Smoked Bone Veloute & Dill Dressing, Artichoke, Sea Herbs, Bergamot Gel & Salted Cucumber. It was really colourful and the fish was really well cooked, she really enjoyed it. My porridge was a wee bit disappointing, not my favourite dish and unfortunately not the best porridge I’ve ever had. I like Pecorino but I found it over powering this dish and there wasn’t much to break it up. I finished it but if I had my time again I’d choose the trout.
The Ugly Duckling ‘The Most Beautiful…’
There was absolutely nothing ugly about this duckling. Blushing pink and garnished with Pickled Walnut, Salsify, Pear & Fig she was a really beauty. Our only minor complaint, well actually it was my Mum’s complaint, was that my portion was noticeably bigger than hers haha!
Beauty & The Beast ‘The Last Rose Petal’
Dessert was an absolute triumph. If the theme was love then the delicately formed rose of mascarpone creme was packed full of it. Floral flavours complemented with sweet but not too sweet chocolate. Only pointer was that it was too small, we wanted more!
Overall a lovely menu, it didn’t quite beat The Chippie for us, but it got close. Ancient Rome is up next so check out the menu and see if you fancy it.
Find out more here – Six By Nico