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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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“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.”
Inside Chinatown’s enormous new three-storey restaurant, with futuristic karaoke booths
Daisy Jackson
A gigantic three-storey restaurant and karaoke bar has just opened its doors in Chinatown in Manchester.
Sovereign Clouds is the newest addition to one of the city’s most beloved and ever-evolving neighbourhoods, taking over a sizeable building on Faulkner Street that’s been vacant for 10 years.
Inside the 1,000 sq metre space, you’ll find a glittering restaurant adorned with marble and gold, where you can tuck into a massive menu of dim sum and traditional dishes.
One floor up and you’ll find yourself surrounded by live lobster tanks and the massive kitchen, alongside several flexible private dining spaces.
And up on the top floor are the most futuristic karaoke rooms in town, where you can customise lights, LED ceilings, and even sing through an autotune microphone.
Three roast meats from Sovereign CloudsDelicious dim sumAuthentic Chinese cooking from Sovereign CloudsBlack Gold Lava Buns with salted custard fillingThe massive Sovereign Clouds restaurant
On the menu you’ll find tonnes of steamed dim sum, stir fries, traditional claypot stews, roast meats, and loads more.
There’s seafood like stir-fried lobster with salted egg yolk, and traditional Cantonese steamed grouper; a whole section for abalone (advance orders only) including braised goose feet and fish maw; and a good selection of spicy Sichuan dishes.
The chefs here also have an impressive array of Chinese roast meats, like Peking crispy duck, pork belly, and char siu, as well as three roast meats with rice.
Futuristic karaoke roomsThe main restaurant at Sovereign CloudsFuturistic karaoke rooms
And that’s alongside ingredients you don’t find on a lot of menus in Manchester, like jellyfish, tripe, and century eggs.
It’s all led by Terry Ni, who has been behind the popular Dynasty Chinese and Thai takeaway in Timperley for more than a decade, and has spent years transforming this empty old building into one of Chinatown’s most glittering restaurants.
Come for dinner, stay for a turn on the karaoke upstairs, and tell everyone – Sovereign Clouds is a fantastic addition to Manchester.
‘Surreal’ moment Stevie Wonder dines at Stalybridge restaurant after enormous Manchester gig
Daisy Jackson
Stevie Wonder has stunned a local restaurant in Stalybridge after he popped in for dinner after his massive Manchester show.
The soul icon had performed a huge gig at Co-op Live on Sunday night, performing hits from his illustrious, decades-long career.
And while you might expect someone of Stevie’s fame and stature to dine at one of the city centre’s many Michelin-recommended restaurants, the star instead headed straight for the suburbs.
He was spotted dining at Cafe Continental, an independent restaurant that’s become one of the Greater Manchester’s most-hyped neighbourhood haunts since it launched two years ago.
The stylish spot is famed for its European-style restaurant and cafe culture, aiming to recreate the atmosphere of the sort of place you’d stumble upon down a back street in Rome or Paris.
On the menu they’ve got a rotation of small plates, open-fire dishes, pastas and burgers, along with their divine Parisian hot chocolate, served with a bowl of whipped cream on the side.
Cafe Continental has had a good track record for pulling in local famous faces, but arguably nothing comes close to Stevie Wonder himself.
Inside Cafe Continental in Stalybridge. Credit: The Manc GroupSoup and focaccia at Cafe Continental. Credit: The Manc Group
The night before Stevie’s visit, they’d served his band and daughter – and clearly word got back to Stevie fast, because he returned the next night to test it out for himself.
Cafe Continental posted: “Surreal things happen now and again. This is one of them! Pleasure to welcome Mr Stevie Wonder to the restaurant to close off his tour!”
And according to the MEN, Stevie left a whopping £1,000 tip for the staff.
Not only did Stevie Wonder support a local hospitality business, but he also arrived dressed in Drama Call, a Manchester-based sportswear brand.
Daisy Jackson -
27th November 2023 
