The team at His & Hers are huge fans of Six by Nico, and when we think the tasting menu could not get any better, through its changing themes, the next one manages to excel. There are always six courses and five are accompanied by wine, carefully chosen to perfectly complement the dish.
Feature by Jean Hill
The menu is always wittily written: the aperitif: Miami Vice was a glorious mixing of strawberry, lime, pineapple liqueur, coconut rum and coconut mist. Adds up to a really delicious, heady mix!
My companion chose the first course as her favourite. This was Ibiza Sunset: Paella Bombas: Bombas being the best rice for the dish with wonderful flavour, and the paella was presented as a ball, accompanied by saffron aioli (exotic addition), roasted red pepper and crispy chorizo. Simply the best: was the verdict.
If I can have two favourites, they would be Miami Beach: the seared tuna and then Es Vedrà: sea bass (I love fish). The seared tuna loin came with bonito emulsion (saffron, vanilla emulsion), cucumber, spring onions and chilli ponzu (Japanese dipping sauce) dressing. The tuna was unbelievably tender and juicy (just lightly seared). The sea bass came with white grape, celery, smoked potato, and Ajo Blanco (Spanish cold soup with crushed almonds). The combination of ingredients was inspired. The accompanying wine was: Gozatu Txakoli, which is described as crisp and fresh with notes of apple, pear, grapefruit and fennel, from the Basque region.
There were The Cuban: pressed pork sandwich and then Churasco: beef rump cap along the way, both beautifully presented and with great emulsions.
Then to finish, Little Havana: coconut & rum parfait, marinated pineapple, brandy snap cigar (witty referencing), passion fruit mousse…(Take a breath)…white chocolate, Namelaka (very creamy cross between a ganache and a crème pâtissière) and pina colada. Heaven on a plate, particularly loved the passion fruit mousse. The dessert wine, Moscatel de Setubal from Portugal which was golden, not too sweet and perfectly matched to the dessert.
I have no idea how all this can be conjured up and (seemingly effortlessly served). The staff are wonderful. They understand the food and are always able to explain how the ingredients come together to make the whole. We asked how the pork was cooked (served wrapped in the finest filo pastry). We discovered it was braised for many, many hours so that it melted in the mouth. What is remarkable is the wealth of knowledge about dishes that come from far and distant places. The ability to bring all this together to a such a high standard is awe-inspiring.
We chatted to chef and Chief Creative Officer for Six by Nico, Andy Temple who helps to bring all this together, and oversees the new menu every six weeks. He loves his job and relishes the challenges involved. He has great staff to support him and we can only admire his encyclopaedic knowledge of food and how to combine that with fine, matching wines.
Thanks are due to Kiera and colleagues who looked after us so well: always smiling, always busy and always ready to stop and explain how the course was prepared. We had an amazing evening, and hope to be lucky enough to be invited back next time. There are Six by Nico restaurants elsewhere: highly recommended.
From the archives: Six by Nico’s take on Hollywood cuisine at the movies in six acts.
