I have to admit the advert that was presented to me had me hooked from the start. An Alice in wounderland inspired 6 course tasting menu at Six By Nico. The advert may have you thinking that it would have people at the restaurant dressed up and all the theatrical performance. But the premises was about the food.
We booked far in advance to avoid disappointment as we could see spaces going quickly. Located in Soho just a stones throw away from Tottenham Court Road Station. Not looking like much from the outside, we arrived promptly to get the most out of our time slot.
As we entered we were welcomed by the hostest who saw us to our table. The place is beautifully decorated with plants hanging from the ceiling and a somewhat industrial vibe. We were seen to our seats , but then had to shuffle ourselves over a table due to a wobbly table.
We browsed the drinks menu first, but we're disappointed to see no cocktails. It's only when a very friendly server came over(think he was the manager) to check on us did it all become clear. So the cocktails menu was missing out of our drinks menu. He soon rectified this and was happy to explain the menu.
Firstly the menu we had been given with the theme down the rabbit hole were edible. Only thing about this is that the hostess had been touching the computer screen then touched these menus. A suggestion would be to place them on a plate with tongs to stop cross contamination. Then menu had been shaped around the whole theme including an aperitif.
We opted for the extras to get the whole experience. The aperitif was named Alice's gin and jam tart(£7.50). Containing raspberry, white chocolate liqueur, gin and lemon. When it was brought over there was a whole experience of adding either grenadine or raspberry to the drinks. It was actually really a nice blend and not too strong. We ended up having 2 of these through our time. We also got some table water which was brought over promptly and asking on the first instance.
So there was a option for a snack as well so we went all in. This was consisted of two dishes in addition to the mains costing an additional £6.50, named have I gone mad. The first dish was ox and comte nuggets, these came as a trio and were very mini. They came sprinkled with parmesan and sat on a bed of confit garlic and onion. These were nice but not the wow factor. The second dish though had the wow factor, the best sourdough I had ever had. I'm not sure if the accoumpied yeasts butter what made the perfect blend of tastes.
We then moved on to the main 6 course, costing £44 , with an option to get the matching wines at an additional £35. Each dish was brought over and explained excellently, with some part of interaction or presentation for each course.
First course named 'mad hatters tea party , comprised of a drink and food. The mushroom tea I was suspect of tasting of a strong earthy depending on what mushrooms were used. I was delighted the taste was amazing and the prefect temperature. The cheddar scone came with smoked bacon jam, truffle parmesan royale and picked walnut. The flavours were well balanced that not one flavour over powered the other. The scone was a great texture not too crumbly that you could actually eat it.
The second course named 'the white rabbit' had the best carrot I've ever had. The cooked carrot was cooked perfectly, soft and warm, not mushy and not too crunchy. The was accompanied by rabbit and date ballotine, which was lovely once you dipped the sauces in was with. A mix of tarragon pesto, carrot ketchup and rabbit bolognese.
It was time to move on to the third course, in my eyes the worst of them all. Named painting the roses red, with the server drizzling beetroot over the dish. It came with a beautifully shaped celeriac rose, baby beets and garden radish. These were all such earthy flavours that it was not to my pallets liking.
The forth course may not be to others taste pallet with it being a very fish based dish. Named eat me, drink me, brought over and covered in the dashi broth. The roast cod was beautifully cooked , but not being over powering in fish flavour. This was my friends least favourite course and was a bit over powering for her.
The fifth course was the final savoury course named off with his head. Pork belly was the star of the dish cooked well and paired well with the apple gel. The other star of the dish was the cauliflower and sauce charcuterie.
The final course was one the the best and well worth the wait. The sweet course named learn how to make mushrooms. The dish comes topped with 54% chocolate shaped mushroom. The base sprinkled with chocolate soil and candied hazelnut. The creamy praline ice cream bought the dish all together. Each mouthful I took just as enjoyable as the last.
My first ever tasting menu I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the majority of dishes. They have got vegetarian and vegan options, but I'm not sure they would be as exciting. The staff describing the food was great as you knew what you were eating. The theatrical aspect was also good as it added to the dish. Although I went as it was Alice in wounderland themed, I would return to experience the other tasting menus on offer in the future.
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