The runaway success of Six By Nico is continuing, with the popular affordable restaurant about to open its second restaurant in Manchester.
Six By Nico is famed for making tasting menus affordable, with six courses for only £39.
And it’s built up a solid base of returning customers by changing its menu to a different theme every six weeks, taking inspiration from places, memories, literature and imagination.
For its newest opening, Six By Nico has returned to Manchester again and is launching a 75-cover restaurant on John Dalton Street, directly opposite IKaro.
The beautiful restaurant space features sage green walls, brown leather banquette seating, and dark marble and mahogany tables, as well as a checkerboard tiles floor and impressive overhead gold light fixtures.
The brand new restaurant space splits into two areas, with a relaxed bar area looking out on the street outside.
Its design takes a few nods to Manchester’s history too, from huge woven hangings inspired by the city’s illustrious cotton trade, and timber and antique brass details.
Inside Six By Nico’s new Manchester restaurant. Credit: The Manc GroupInside Six By Nico’s new Manchester restaurant. Credit: The Manc Group
For its launch, the menu will be Cooking Tokyo, available until 14 January.
The newest menu has once again been created by founder Nico Simeone, following a research trip to Tokyo, inspired by street food favourites and Japanese classics.
Dishes include chicken karaage, tempura mushroom, oknomiyaki (a pork and prawn pancake), ramen, and panko pork cutlet, with a white chocolate, matcha and strawberry dessert.
As always, a full vegetarian version is available, where the protein is swapped for ingredients like kimchi, tofu, and pumpkin.
There’s the option to add a selected drink pairing for £30 alongside your £39 menu, plus a selected aperitif, which will be the £9 Sakura (gin, cherry, ginger, and lemon).
Panko pork cutlet and glazed pork belly at Six By Nico. Credit: The Manc GroupThe Cooking Toyko dessert at Six By Nico. Credit: The Manc Group
In 2023 alone, Six By Nico has opened sites in Leeds, Cardiff and Birmingham, and now has a second Manchester restaurant to its bow.
Nico Simeone said: “We are very excited to be opening our second venue in the vibrant city of Manchester.
“Since launching in 2019, our Spring Gardens venue has gone from strength to strength, prompting demand for a second site in the heart of the city. The support we have had from the people of Manchester and further afield, as well as the team we have had there since day one, have all helped make a second-site possible.
“Our aim at Six by Nico is to help our guests create memories and stories together, by pushing our creative boundaries with a new menu every six weeks.
“We look forward to welcoming new and regular guests when Six by Nico Deansgate opens its doors on 30th November.”
Mother and daughter-run bakery selling nostalgic cakes issues plea for support
Daisy Jackson
A Bury bakery run by a mother and daughter has shared a heartfelt message asking for support as running costs continue to skyrocket.
Little Blonde Bakes in Unsworth has enjoyed great success with its colourful occasion cakes and its nostalgic puddings and desserts.
We’re talking old-school cake with sprinkles and custard, thick slabs of banana bread, and pancake stacks with Nutella and strawberries.
They’re also all over the latest sweet trends, like pistachio kunafa strawberries and even a Dubai chocolate-inspired cookie pie.
But despite putting in such graft and creating such beautiful bakes, Little Blonde Bakes has said it’s falling on tough times.
The family-operated bakery, fronted by mother and daughter Jayne and Fran Harrison, said that it’s struggling to balance the rising costs of ingredients, national insurance, rates, and taxes, as well as a fickle Instagram algorithm that sometimes leaves them with only a few likes on a photo.
In their heartfelt statement, they added that events like the huge concerts that have come to Greater Manchester this summer, the hot weather, and the school holidays are having a negative effect on the small local business.
They wrote: “It feels like we our putting ourselves out there by sharing this & feels a little scary. but we need your help and support to keep going.
Little Blonde Bakes sells treats like old school cake and custard
“We’ve been doing this for 10 years now, and although it may seem like we are doing well, behind the scenes we are now trading and working to pay the bills. This goes for lots of small, local & independent businesses. They need us!”
The post from Little Blonde Bakes continued: “So if your local, or want to visit us, please do, we strive to always use the best ingredients and put so much love into our baking.
“If your not local, we have a full postal menu each week online which delivers anywhere in the uk.
“If you can’t do any of that (i know the cost of living crisis is also affecting a lot of people and families) then please, turn on our notifications, like & share & comment on our posts where you can, or even leave a review. Any support means the world.
“We really want to be able to continue doing what we love, with our amazing team, but the future looks a little scary without the amazing support of our customers. We love you all.”
You can pay Little Blonde Bakes a visit at 62 Sunny Bank Road, Unsworth, BL9 8HJ and follow them on Instagram @littleblondebakes.
Palms Bakery opens beautiful little coffee shop in Manchester shipping container village
Daisy Jackson
Viral bakery Palms Bakery has opened its own coffee shop over in the shipping container village that is Pollard Yard.
The bakery rocketed to fame with its colourful shag cakes, where spikes of icing are used to make psychedelic baked show-stoppers.
Since then, founder Rachel Samuels has expanded to all sorts of playful retro-inspired bakes and set up shop at Pollard Yard alongside a whole host of other Manchester independent businesses.
Previously, the Palm Bakery masterpieces were only really been accessible when you ordered an entire cake.
But now she’s taken on an extra unit at Pollard Yard and launched Palms Coffee, a sunny little spot that’s keeping her neighbours well-caffeinated and well-fed.
Blueberry matcha at Palms CoffeeThe sunny terracePalms Bakery cakes and cookies are on the menuPalms Bakery cakes and cookies are on the menuPalms Coffee is open at Pollard YardPalms Bakery now does sandwiches at Palms Coffee
It means you can now tuck into bite-size, individual helpings of Rachel’s amazing bakes.
There are pretty, nostalgic cupcakes (sprinkles and glace cherries a must), gooey chocolate chip cookies, and miniature banana bread loafs too.
Customers can sit on the terrace surrounded by plants, tucking into flavoured matchas and iced coffees (best-sellers include maple cinnamon, pistachio, and blueberry).
It seems to have become the go-to lunch spot for those working in Pollard Yard and surrounds, but there’s enough here to tempt anyone out from nearby Ancoats too.
Think sandwiches made with house-made focaccia, filled with mortadella and mozzarella, and a whole menu of toasties, like Reubens, kimchi cheese, and Caprese.
Palms Coffee is open now at Pollard Yard near Holt Town tram stop.
Daisy Jackson -
27th November 2023 
