Six by Nico? Sloshed by Nico.

I decided that my boyfriend Jake and I should go to Six by Nico. I was impressed at the thought that a fine dining, tasting menu experience could actually be rather affordable. And with the frequently changing menu’s (every six weeks, hence the name), I was hopeful that we would get a fun gastronomic experience that wouldn’t make me want to cry when I looked at my current account the next day.

Jake and I had decided that we would turn the experience in to a full on date night. Which meant for me slowly primping myself for the entire day, accompanied with watching the sickliest girly films you could imagine, and accidentally drinking half a bottle of wine and two G&T’s in the process. By the time I arrived at the Fitzrovia pub near the restaurant I was tipsy and looked fabulous. Jake wasn’t far behind me and we decided to have a drink as we were still quite early for our booking.

This was our first mistake.

It was now time to go and get our table. We entered the restaurant which was warm and dimly lit, it was opulent without being too try-hard. Jake’s lovely housemate who happens to be assistant manager seated us near the lovely open kitchen and since we decided to splash out we got the tasting menu with accompanying wines. We were swiftly brought two glasses of bubbly and the aperitif for the evening. The pleasingly peachy coloured drink was rum based with sweet ginger and tart lime notes, it immediately transported me to the east which boded well considering the theme for this six weeks was Hanoi.

We opted to try the “snack” which was on offer for the evening, this consisted of shrimp crackers and crispy oyster mushrooms served with soy and a peanut satay sauce. These were delicious, particularly the satay sauce and umami oyster mushrooms which could’ve had me fooled for chicken strips.

Now this is where the hurdles came in. The first course came, Vietnamese shellfish foam, avocado, grapefruit with crispy noodles and wild rice. It sounded rather strange from the menu, but I assumed that it must be a winning combo if it was on there in the first place. Boy was I wrong. It was utterly strange. Individually, the components were well flavoured and interesting, but all together was a clashing, confused bundle of bitter, creamy and fishy. The grapefruit overpowered the shellfish foam, the avocado was completely hidden and the noodles with wild rice was purely there for some crunch.

The savoury dishes kept rolling in, as did the glasses of different wines that sometimes paired, sometimes didn’t. It was a really lovely evening. The atmosphere was busy, the staff were personable and attentive, and we just got drunker and drunker. As the night went on we got more and more in to critiquing the food as if we were Jay Rayner and Jonathan Gold. The stand out dish of the night was definitely the cod with coconut and coriander chutney, Vietnamese curry, bok choy and banh da. The combination of flavours were surprisingly delicate and sweet, there was also a freshness from the bok choy which came as a sort of salad; this dish was a sweet memory once the following came, oh my, what a disappointment. The tamarind glazed chicken was the bum note of the night, with dry, flavourless chicken breast in the shape of a spear, nestled amongst an unimaginative sweet potato mash and mango puree, all served with a side of chicken salad!?!? Everything was overly sweet, dry and seemed like they were reaching for ideas.

By the end of the savoury courses we were pleasantly full, and still having a great evening. The restaurant had quietened as it was getting quite late which was a gentle relief from the bustle around us earlier on. Out came our desserts, which were presented as slithers similar to cheesecake. I think this may have been my favourite course overall because for the very fist time during the meal, the wine chosen paired absolutely perfectly. It was a fruity, soft gewurztraminer riesling, that just slid along with the caramel-tart notes of the kumquat and palm sugar.

We left the restaurant feeling full, happy and romantic. Whether or not we would go back is undecided, as we have had better food in other places, however the experience as a whole was fun, relaxed and made us feel a bit special for the night. I think Six by Nico is a brilliant gateway for people who maybe want to start trying fine dining experiences, or just want an exciting evening trying new foods. You get what you pay for. If you’re going expecting Michelin standard food, you will be disappointed, but if you’re just down for some nice flavour combinations and good talking points, it’s a good place for you.