REVIEW : EAT - Six by Nico, Cooking Circus
Hair brushed - CHECK. Changed out of my pyjamas - CHECK. Mask - CHECK. Walking into a restaurant for the first time in what feels like forever - CHECK.
Excitement level is 15/10.
I’m not sure if it was the sheer joy of dining out again or the food itself, but I’m giving Six by Nico his BEST MENU YET accolade.
REVIEW OF SIX BY NICO EDINBURGH, COOKING CIRCUS
There is no doubt that Chef Nico knows how to put on a great show and promote each and every one of his 6 weekly new menus, but this one strikes a cord of fun which we all really need right now. So roll up, roll up, take your seats and let the show commence. Welcome to Circus.
1st Course - Waffles and Ice Cream
There is a normal menu and a vegetarian menu available; and for this course I chose the vegetarian choice as I am not a lover of chicken liver pate.
On the normal menu you’ll receive Chicken Liver Parfait with compressed peach and potato crisp. The vegetarian is similar just the chicken liver parfait is swopped out for Whipped Goats Cheese Mousse.
Delivered to the table in ice cream cups, this is whipped parfait or goats cheese topped with fruit components and crisps for the crunch. The chicken parfait is the stronger taste of the two but both were like eating softly, slowly melted ice cream with the frozen chill removed. Best opening act ever.
2nd Course - Candy Butchers
Beef tartare with burger sauce, aged parmesan and pickled cucumber. The beef and pickle were finely diced but you could still taste the soft silkiness of the beef and the crunch of the pickle. The parmesan adds a lovely mature saltiness and the cheese slice is swede. Brilliant. My favourite dish off the menu.
3rd Course - The Illusionist
Chicken Balloutine with crushed artichoke and caper and raisin puree. Here deception is the name of the game and you’d be forgiven for thinking, at first glance, that this was scallops on a shell with tastes of the sea. Instead it’s succulent chicken wrapped in bacon served on fennel. Every single morsel of this dish was eaten.
4th Course - a’Crab’atics
Sole with smoked tomato compote, bergamot gel and crab tortellini and bisque. Every component of this dish worked and complimented each other; whether you ate each ingredient separately, had the cod with one other ingredient like the crab or the courgette; or made up your own combo, this dish was faultless.
5th Course - The Greatest Show
Smoked Duck Breast with wild garlic, black truffle emulsion and duck leg ragout. The duck was pink and well cooked; my knife cut through it like butter. The black truffle was deep and savoury and I wish there was more. If you do try this menu leave the pot of gold - the duck ragout - to the end. You’ll want to eat this on its own and wish you could order a vat of this to take away. It’s also pretty bloody tasty piled high on top of a slice of the duck too.
6th Course - Grand Finale
What a way to finish with flourish. As a dessert, you expect it to be sweet but in fact, for me, this was more umani. The rhubarb was meaty and the peanut butter added a real creamy savouriness. The blood orange brought the acidity and the candy floss melted away to a sweet dream, the only reminder that this was dessert. Stunning! This was my dining partners (who doesn’t normally eat dessert) favourite dish!
At the moment we cannot drink alcohol indoors so Six by Nico have paired this menu with mocktails. Although not overly embellished, the mocktails are inventive and creative regarding flavours. We sipped on The Candied Apple and the Grape & Pineapple Fizz. You can have matching mocktails with each course or pick and choose. From the 17th May the wine pairing will reappear, but I do hope the mocktail menu will remain too.
At the start of your dining experience, popcorn arrives at the table as a distraction from menu perusal and the snack before the main event is a Corn Dog (an optional additional purchase).
Cooking Circus is a sublime menu and act after act puts on a superb show. Tasting menu costs £32 with matching mocktail menu an additional £17.
Cooking Circus is available in Edinburgh and Glasgow until Sunday 6th June 2021.
Six by Nico, 97 Hanover Street, Edinburgh www.sixbynico.co.uk
My Spoon Award : Tartan Spoon 10/10
I was invited by Six by Nico to review their menu. Food and drink were complimentary but the views are very much my own.
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