It might surprise you to know that I haven’t been one of those people who has visited Six by Nico for every menu – as much as I might have wanted to! When the ‘Best of 2017’ menu was announced, I initially thought it was a bit of a cop-out – until I realised this was a great opportunity to go back and sample some dishes that I didn’t have the pleasure of trying first time around!
Six by Nico originally selected two dishes for each course and asked the public to vote on social media for the one they wanted to see make the final menu. Pleasingly, every dish which I voted for was the dish that finally won – meaning I was pretty excited about our visit.
The amuse-bouche was taken from Six by Nico’s first ever menu – ‘The Chippie’. ‘Chips and Cheese’ featured a smooth, savoury parmesan espuma, topped with crispy straws of confit potato and a drizzle of curry oil. The espuma was light and airy, with a pure parmesan flavour – I’ll never understand how it’s possible to impart such strong flavour into a foam, but boy was it good! The crispy potato was the perfect contrast to the espuma, although the curry oil was a little lost against the umami of the espuma.
Also from ‘The Chippie’ menu was ‘Steak Pie’ – Speyside beef shin with onion sauerkraut and brioche. The onions were tart yet sweet, and the brioche croutons provided the perfect contrast in texture. The crowning glory, however, was the beef. Perfectly cooked, the beef was melt-in-the-mouth and completely delicious!
Our next course came from the ‘Childhood’ menu in the form of ‘Mac and Cheese’. The very subtly cheesy pasta had been set in a block, and topped with glazed chicken wing, charred cauliflower and truffle oil. This was one of those dishes where every ingredient played a really important part – when eaten together they provided the perfect combination of textures and flavours. It was the cauliflower puree which was most impressive for me – pure, unadulterated cauliflower flavour in a silky smooth puree, I could have eaten it with a spoon!
Our fourth course was the only one which I had had before – the ‘Sea Bream Taco’ from the ‘Route 66’ menu. Now, the first time I visited Six by Nico, I cited this as my favourite course. Understandably, therefore, I was very excited to eat it again – and I wasn’t disappointed. Flaky, meaty fish with the perfect crispy skin was served with crunchy taco shell, silky guacamole and a zingy combination of pickled chilli and a preserved lime and onion salsa. It’s safe to say, this dish was as good as I remembered it to be!
Both courses five and six had been selected from the ‘Illusion’ menu, the first being ‘Duck’. Two, delicately pink slices of duck were accompanied by Parisian gnocchi, crushed hazelnuts, a cocoa puree and wild mushrooms. The potato flavour really came through in the gnocchi, with the savouriness of this a great contrast to the meaty duck and sweet cocoa. Surprisingly, one highlight of this dish was the crispy kale, proving that Six by Nico can take the most ordinary ingredients and turn them into something extraordinary.
The first time Six by Nico served the ‘Illusion’ menu, I was desperate to try the dessert, so I was thrilled when it won the vote to be the dessert on the ‘Best of 2017’ menu. ‘White Chocolate’ featured what looked like half an egg, but was in reality a sweet white chocolate parfait filled with a passion fruit curd atop a nest of thin pastry strands. The passion fruit curd was wickedly tart and full of flavour, a great match for the sweet (but not overly sweet) white chocolate. The crispy pastry and shards of coconut gave the dish another dimension, offering a contrast to the velvety parfait.
Six by Nico outdid itself once again, with a meal where every element had clearly been thought about in great detail. The only slight sour note came when we went to pay the bill, only to find out that the card machine was broken (and had been all night) but no-one had told us. I do think this was an honest mistake, and of course it doesn’t change how we felt about the food – I just wouldn’t want it to happen again!
Glasgow Food Girl 