Tucked away just off King street, Six By Nico seems to be just as busy as it was when it first opened in Manchester two years ago.
Hardly short on hype, the restaurant – known for its themed tasting menus that change every six weeks – is more than half full when we nip in at 4pm on a Monday night, not exactly peak time for dining out in the city.
Filled with young couples on dates, girlfriends catching up, and a handful of older couples on double dates (we wonder if perhaps they’ve lost patience with their own partner), Six By Nico has clearly got no trouble drawing in a crowd.
One key reason, surely, has to be that it is cheap here. Six-courses-for-£32 cheap.
Tasting menus, typically, do not come cheap – packing a dish with flavour, imagination, and quality ingredients generally tends to cost a bit of money. But chef Nico Simeone seems to have worked out a way around it.
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The menu we’re here to try is called ‘Thai Fusion’ and offers – as you might expect – a selection of Thai-inspired fusion dishes, served with paired wines for the ultimate degustation experience.
We begin with an aperitif – a Mai Tai cocktail, minus its characteristic almond syrup. Technically Polynesian in origin, it’s given a fusion ‘twist’ with added lemongrass and mango.
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Things kick off properly with a taster of beef massaman. Already a fusion of Thai and Indian-style curries in its own right, it’s made extra ‘fusiony’ here with the help of every chef’s favourite trick: culinary deconstruction.
Melt in the mouth aged beef tartare comes together with massaman emulsion, fermented chilli and crispy potato matchsticks to offer a tiny but delicious morsel that sets the tone for things to come (spoiler, I end up making myself a second dinner when I get home).
Next up is a twist on the spicy and sour Thai soup Tom Yum served with pork cheek that’s falling apart in a good way, and a glass of Hungarian red that tastes more like white wine in a red jacket.
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It’s not the best Tom Yum I’ve ever had, coming a bit low on the spice factor, but the pork is cooked beautifully.
The pumpkin spring roll ends up being a stand-out favourite – proving big on flavour, albeit small on the plate.
The pumpkin spring roll ends up being a stand-out favourite – proving big on flavour, albeit small on the plate.
The whole thing’s then finished off with a palm sugar delice – combining milk sponge cake with macadamia nuts, lychee and calamansi gel, yoghurt and mango sorbet.
It’s all accompanied by more wine, which ultimately piles up on the side of our table as I discover drinking one glass takes much longer than finishing its accompanying plate.
Selfless as always, my dining partner offers to help me out with some whilst our wonderfully-attentive server quietly whisks the rest away. She’s a good egg.
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When Six By Nico first opened, there was some well-founded speculation as to how well a restaurant offering taster menus exclusively would fare. In a tricky part of town, where many restaurants (including Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s Italian group) have failed before it, it seemed like a bit of a gamble.
Given that you can go around the corner to Rudy’s and stuff yourself silly for under a tenner, I have to wonder – is this good value for money? The answer, I think, is yes – provided you’re going for the experience or perhaps for a special occasion.
Just don’t be surprised if you end up leaving a little bit hungry.
Food & Drink
One of Manchester’s best restaurants is opening a ‘bread kitchen’ in Exhibition food hall
Daisy Jackson
A Michelin guide restaurant in Manchester is branching out with a new project, and this time it’s all about bread.
The team behind Another Hand will be taking over one of the kitchens in food hall Exhibition, launching Jaan, which will specialise in Persian cooking.
The new bread kitchen will focus on Wildfarmed House Flatbreads, which will come with an array of seasonal toppings.
And a lot of the produce heading to the Jaan kitchen at Exhibition will be taken from what’s not used at Another Hand around the corner.
For example, a whole sirloin that’s used for Another Hand’s ex-dairy sirloin dish will provide meat trimmings that will be turned into Jaan’s beef tartare.
The tail and trim from Another Hand’s seared trout will head to Jaan to be used in a fire-roasted sea trout fatoush salad.
And the two restaurants will share other bits of produce too, like a squash that will go into both a Winter Squash small plate at the main restaurant and a scorched summer squash dish at the food hall.
Another Hand’s famous flatbreads will be the staple on the menu at Jaan, which is moving into the beautiful kitchen on Peter Street hot on the heels of the departure of Rigatoni’s.
Jaan is a new Persian bread kitchen from the team behind Another Hand restaurant in ManchesterJaan will specialise in flatbreads
Since it launched in 2022, the restaurant’s become known as one of Manchester’s best, even earning a place in the Michelin guide.
It’s famed for its sharing plates, as well as the team’s efforts to drive sustainable practices, sourcing produce from across the north west.
Most ingredients used in the restaurant have travelled no more than 40 miles, and the bread comes from Holy Grain while the chocolate comes from Dormouse, both right next door.
Jaan will be moving in to the Exhibition food hall in Manchester
They hope that Jaan will help their sustainable credentials even more, allowing them to use up almost every scrap of produce.
Small plates will all be served with house flatbreads, and toppings will include smoked aubergine, whipper butterbean, black garlic cheese bread, ex-dairy beef tartare, and ras el hanout spiced lamb.
And larger plates will include slow-cooked lamb shank with ancient grains, grilled octopus and nduja, and chermoula chicken rice.
Chef patrons Max Yorke and Julian Pizer said: “We feel extremely privileged to be offered the opportunity to cook alongside Osma and Baratxuri at Exhibition Manchester.
“Over the last few years our small 24 cover restaurant has generated a large waitlist and we are excited to showcase our new concept to a wider audience.
“Most importantly, as we make more steps to improve our environmental standards, our food waste systems showed an obvious area in which we could develop.
“By opening a second kitchen in such a fast paced venue we can take unused produce from Another Hand and even further reduce, and hopefully eradicate, our wastage.”
Jaan Persian Bread Kitchen will open within Exhibition on 8 May, joining Osma and Baratxuri on the venue’s restaurant floor.
Gary Neville lines up Michelin star chef for his Stock Exchange Hotel restaurant
Daisy Jackson
Gary Neville has announced a new restaurant within his five-star Stock Exchange Hotel, which will open almost a year after the previous eatery announced its shock closure.
The magnificent dining room at the heart of the hotel was previously home to Tom Kerridge’s The Bull & Bear, which closed at the end of 2022.
It was then replaced by Stock Market Grill, a restaurant by the award-winning Schofield brothers (who operate officially the best bar in the UK) – but that was open for only a matter of months.
Thankfully, the Manchester United legend and property mogul now has grand plans for the Stock Exchange’s restaurant offering, roping in two-time Michelin star chef Niall Keating.
Niall will be launching Tender this summer, a luxury dining experience ‘named after the tender care put into crafting each dish’.
There’ll be gourmet food for everyday dining within the hotel’s historic dining room, which will undergo a renovation before Tender’s launch.
Its menu will offer weekday brasserie lunches, a la carte dinners, afternoon teas, Sunday roasts, a chef’s table and a special tasting menu.
The Stock Exchange Hotel is home to one of Manchester’s most beautiful restaurant spaces. Credit: The Manc GroupThe Stock Exchange Hotel is home to one of Manchester’s most beautiful restaurant spaces. Credit: The Manc Group
Niall Keating at just 33 years old has already earned two Michelin stars, making him one of the youngest two-time Michelin star chefs in the UK.
His CV has included stints in kitchens at the best restaurants in the world, including Restaurant Sat Bains and Benu in San Francisco (a three Michelin-star spot).
He then headed to The Dining Room at Whatley Manor Hotel, where he earned his first star in 2017 and a second in 2019, as well as a prestigious Green Star in 2021 which recognises sustainability practices.
Speaking about today’s announcement, Gary Neville, owner of Stock Exchange Hotel, said: “We couldn’t be happier to be partnering with Niall Keating for Tender and bringing his culinary expertise to the hotel.
“His vision to create versatile and accessible dining options is exactly what we’ve been looking for, to allow everyone visiting Tender to find the right experience for them.”
Niall Keating added: “From when I first walked through the doors of the hotel into the dining room, I knew this was the place for me and that we could create something really special.
“I immediately felt connected to both Gary and General Manager, Tracy Harrison, and I knew what I wanted to create at the hotel and restaurant. I want a space that feels vibrant, warm and energetic, that brings to life the history of the stock exchange roots of the hotel, while providing an upscale and comfortable brasserie dining experience.
“In addition to the main dining room, we will also be opening ‘The Bank’, which is a beautiful private space for up to 12 guests, where we will be providing a truly exceptional dining experience.”
Gary added: “We will also shortly be announcing a series of events and live music experiences, including a weekly music plan, within Tender, that will really bring the venue to life, making it the heart of Stock Exchange Hotel.”
Tender restaurant at the Stock Exchange Hotel will officially open on 5 June.
Its opening hours will be Wednesday to Saturday, midday to 10pm, and Sundays midday to 7.30pm.
Georgina Pellant -
18th November 2021 
