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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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
Smash-hit sandwich shop Earl’s is set to open another site in Bolton
Danny Jones
Yes, beloved Bolton butty shop and bar, Earl’s, is set to open up their second location in the Greater Manchester borough, taking the food from the town centre over to Farnworth.
We’re keeping our fingers crossed for a metropolitan expansion either this year or next, but for now, we’re just glad to hear we’re getting more of the good stuff.
Earl’s Day and Night Deli, to give them their full name, is the latest name to join the lineup of new foodie faces joining the culinary boom over at the Farnworth Green development.
Soon, the stacked sandwiches, quality coffee and laid-back vibes will be coming to one of the best up-and-coming new neighbourhoods.
Founded by two local lads, Jonny Eckersley and Andy Partington, the first venue only opened back in December of 2024, but has gone on to become a North West-wide sensation.
Carb connoisseurs will literally travel for this scran, and having tasted it for ourselves a couple of times now, it’s no wonder.
Taking inspiration not only from regional food and drink, but also from the wider atmospheres and culinary cultures of Lisbon, Sydney, Antwerp and more, if they can translate even half the levels of chill from the OG Earl’s into this soon-to-open sister site, we’re sure it will hit the ground running.
As per an official press release, fans and those who’ve never tried it before can “expect a menu packed with freshly made sandwiches, alongside a line-up of hot and cold options available for both grab-and-go and delivery.”
Crucially, they’re also looking to carry over that feeling of a seamless transition between services, blending everything from morning coffee runs and the lunch rush with casual evening hangs.
Co-founder Jonny said in a statement: “We are staying true to our roots by bringing a second Earl’s in Bolton. This new venture helps to fuel our expansion plans and widen our catchment area so even more local people can enjoy the Earl’s experience.
“We have big plans for the space and can’t wait to get started.” An exact opening date hasn’t even been confirmed yet, but we’re already getting excited.
Tom Wilmot, joint managing director at Capital and Centric (the developers behind Farnworth Green) added: “We back standout local operators, and Earl’s is right up there – great food, loads of energy and a proper following already behind them.
“Farnworth Green is shaping up to be a neighbourhood with real character, and Earl’s is only going to add to that. Expect it to be busy.”
Crown and Kettle set to take over another former Northern Quarter bar
Danny Jones
The team behind beloved Ancoats pub The Crown and Kettle have announced that they are set to take over another former bar and restaurant location in nearby Northern Quarter.
We were gutted to see the old place go, but at least we can’t think of many better to take over the unit.
The historic watering hole on the corner of Oldham Road and Great Ancoats Street is said to have stood in that spot since the 18th century, but now the present owners have confirmed they’ll be taking on a third venue, having also opened The Rat and Pigeon back in June 2024.
Many of you may have been to one or multiple of its previous iterations of the site in question over the years, but most recently, it was the Calcio sports bar – and soon it’ll become ‘The Badger’.
Revealing the news online last week, Crown and Kettle wrote: “We’re delighted to announce that our new pub, The Badger, arrives on Dale Street this spring!
“Once home to Calcio, Allotment & Nickelbys, this beautiful old building first served as The Haunch of Venison public house back in the early 1800s. Over the past few months, we’ve been hard at work, quietly bringing it back to life & returning it to its roots as a community pub.
“With The Badger, we’ve set out to create the kind of place we love most, warm, welcoming, full of character, with all the charm of a great countryside pub in the heart of the city.
“Expect cosy corners, traditional pub foods, fine ales & the warmest of welcomes. Made for regulars. Open to all. Worth returning to. We can’t wait to welcome you to your new city centre local. GET SET(T)…” Oh, very good indeed.
We visited Calcio many times over the past couple of years, both for work and pleasure in our own free time; it was a great place to watch the footy, enjoy some matchday scran and roll back the years with retro videogames.
As mentioned, though, not only did it used to be one of multiple Allotment vegan and vegetarian eateries in Greater Manchester – thankfully, their presence still remains in multiple buildings – but it has a past long before that which many people bring up on social media.
Insert, “I remember when…’ post.
While we might not know much about what they have in store for this next chapter, knowing how much we love their current city centre favourites, we’re very excited.
As it stands, we’re also yet to hear anything about a more precise opening date, but at least we know it’s coming sometime soon, and we have every faith they’re going to smash it.
Georgina Pellant -
18th November 2021 
