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
Mulligans are making butties with the team behind some of the best sandwiches in Manchester
Danny Jones
We feel like we say this almost every time they set up one of these crossovers, but Bada Bing might have just hit it out of the park with their latest collaboration, as they’re teaming up with beloved Irish bar Mulligans to create what could be the sandwich of the century.
In case you’re wondering where we’ll be when this butty becomes available, we’ll be in the legendary Manchester pub, clutching at least three of these while asking the live band to play The Sopranos theme tune in full Celtic reel fashion.
Yes, two of our very favourite places in the city centre are teaming up not just for a one-off special, the Deansgate boozer – widely considered one of the best Irish bars (if not THE best) in Manchester – is actually going to be supplying the crucial ingredient in their limited-time menu item.
Teasing the collab earlier this week, the Bada Bing boys roped in Mulligans owner, Pádraig Brady, to play his role in the announcement that quickly went viral.
Now, in case you weren’t already salivating at the mere thought of it, wait until you hear what concoction they have come up with.
Simply titled ‘Split the B’ (nice), the Bada Bing x Mulligans special edition sandwich features Mulligans’ Guinness-braised short rib, crispy spuds, greens, pickled cabbage and crispy onions. Oh. My. Word…
With punters’ favourite ‘Mullies’ pouring in more than 13,000 pints of the black stuff every single week, it won’t surprise you to learn that those lines have to be cleaned and maintained almost constantly.
It also goes without saying that wasting even a single drop of that liquid gold is a tragedy, so they had the ingenious of using that surplus stout to create a limited supply of slow-roasted, Guinness-flavoured beef fit to grace any authentic Irish stew.
Slap that meat between bread, and what do you get? Perhaps one of the greatest culinary creations we Manchester foodies have ever seen.
Speaking on the collab, Pádraig said: “At Mulligans, we take pride in every pint of Guinness we pour, so when the chance came up to team up with Bada Bing and create something special for Mancs to enjoy beyond the pub, it just made sense. Quality recognises quality.”
“We’ve always admired Mulligans for how they do things – with no shortcuts”, says Sam Gormally, co-founder of Bada Bing.”
He went on to add: “This collab celebrates everything we both love about Manchester hospitality – craft, quality and a bit of heart. It’s a proper Manc sandwich, made with a proper pint.”
In case it wasn’t already blatantly obvious, we cannot wait to try this thing, and since it’s only being served for a few days, we intend to eat as many as possible.
The ‘Split the B’ Mulligans x Bada Bing Guinness Sandwich will be available exclusively at Bada Bing, 125 Oldham St in the Northern Quarter from Thursday, 6 November – and once they’re gone, they’re GONE.
Manchester Food and Drink Festival announces nominees for 2025 MFDF Awards
Daisy Jackson
The Manchester Food and Drink Festival has announced the shortlists of nominees for this year’s MFDF Awards, championing the best hospitality talent across Greater Manchester.
The annual awards will return to New Century in January, promising to celebrate the businesses and individuals doing incredible work across the industry.
There are 16 categories in this year’s MFDF 2025 Awards, including new categories to reflect the region’s growing wine scene, coffee shop rise, and turn towards low- or no-alcohol drinking.
This year, the Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards will welcome Therme as a headline sponsor, ahead of the hotly-anticipated launch of the Therme urban wellbeing resort in TraffordCity.
The shortlist announced today features 128 nominees, from cosy pubs to Michelin star restaurants to bakers.
The shortlist has been compiled by the MFDF Judging Panel, which is made up of the region’s leading food and drink critics, writers and experts.
As well as the public vote, a mystery shopping period will now commence where judges will anonymously visit nominated venues and will compile scores based on their experiences.
Alexa Stratton-Powell, Awards Director of Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards, commented: “We’re delighted to announce Therme Manchester as the headline sponsor for this year’s MFDF awards. The Awards have always reflected the ongoing excellence and innovation here in Greater Manchester.
Manchester Food and Drink Festival announces nominees for 2025 MFDF Awards. Credit: The Vain Photography Carl Sukonik
“As we welcome Therme Manchester as a partner it’s an opportunity to celebrate the next chapter for our world-class city region and champion the talent and communities that make it extra special.
“This year’s list of nominees is a phenomenal example of this innovation with talent from all quarters of Greater Manchester to celebrate -from takeaways in Trafford to Michelin star meals in Ancoats.
“The list should serve as a journey of discovery for food lovers around this great region. Please support all your hospitality heroes and vote for them on the awards website.”
Ben Dutson and Charlotte Harbour, joint Heads of Therme RPC, the food and wellbeing function of Therme Manchester commented: “We’re incredibly proud to partner with the Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards — one of the North West’s most significant celebrations of culinary talent.
“Supporting an event that champions creativity, community, and excellence in food and drink perfectly reflects Therme Manchester’s commitment to wellbeing and shared experiences. We’re looking forward to celebrating the people and places that make Manchester’s dining scene truly exceptional.”
The Manchester Food and Drink Festival (MFDF) Awards will take place at New Century on 26 January 2026.
Georgina Pellant -
18th November 2021 
