Review: Six by Nico’s four-course Tokyo tasting menu

Birdy and family went to Six by Nico Edinburgh – West on Queensferry Street to try out the delectable sounding four-course Tokyo tasting menu before it ended. This was a great shout for lunch.

This is my second time at Six by Nico now (you can read about the first in this Girdy & Birdy review) and it’s thanks to my partner’s mum who had spotted they were offering a four-course version of the Tokyo tasting menu as a lunchtime option.

Obviously, I jumped at the chance, especially as I hadn’t been to their Edinburgh West venue yet. It provided the perfect setting to catch up with family.

@edinburghreviews

Tokyo menu from @Six by Nico Edinburgh! Birdy really enjoyed the four-course tasting menu, but was allowed to try a fifth when her partner chose a different option to her! #sixbynico #edinburgheats #diningout

♬ MILLION DOLLAR BABY (VHS) – Tommy Richman

The vibe

The lunchtime vibe for Six by Nico west is decidedly relaxed, and when we first sat down, we had plenty of time to chat about various things going on in our lives before being asked if we’d like some water to get us started (the answer was yes!).

We did arrive about 10 minutes early for our on-the-late-side lunch of 14:15, but there was no trouble in seating us and there were already plenty of diners finishing up their (likely more conventionally timed) meals.

I enjoyed sitting on the plush sofa booth with the big cushions, because I’m a simple gal and comfy seats make me happy.

We got settled in for what promised to be a memorable lunch, and I was curious to see what Six by Nico would do with a Tokyo menu!

The menu

Before we go any further, here’s the menu. The four-course tasting menu isn’t on here, but how it worked was that we either chose course 2 or 3, and course 4, or 5 from the regular or vegetarian menu; courses 1 and 4 would remain the same.

NOTE: I’m going to review five courses in this review, because I was lucky enough to choose a different course from my boyfriend, Murdo, and he let me try a little of his (and in turn, he tried mine, too – a bonus of having a partner with slightly different tastes to yours!).

Course 1: Chicken Karaage

Reader, I’ve eaten chicken karaage before – but never like this! This was absolutely delicious, the Japanese flavours were there, but it was also quite different to anything else I’ve tried in Japanese restaurants. And I’ve been to Japan (albeit when I was 19 and eating a lot of fresh crab and bread from the hotel buffet).

Anyway, as a first course, this was absolutely perfect, and left us all wanting more.

Course 2: Tempura

This was by far the mushroomiest mushroom dish I’ve ever tasted in my entire life! I do like mushrooms quite a lot, so that’s not a bad thing; I was just unprepared for it. The tempura was also some of the crispiest tempura I’ve ever eaten, and everything worked perfectly together.

Murdo also enjoyed a taste of this dish and concurred – which leads me onto the piece of his course I tried; the Okonomiyaki!

Bonus course 2: Okonomiyaki

I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about savoury kimchi pancake, because I’m not a huge fan of kimchi.

However, because I was there for the experience, it seemed silly not to try a piece. I was very glad I did!

This pancake was melt-in-the-mouth soft, with quite a mild, subtle flavour and turned out to be really quite moreish!

If I’d been having the full six courses, I could easily have eaten a whole one of these to myself and enjoyed every mouthful.

Course 3: Tonkatsu

This was my favourite of the savoury dishes I tried. So many delicious flavours, and some very nicely done panko-crumbed pork. The cabbage and Yakitori ham jam were the perfect accompaniments, and I really savoured every mouthful.

I wouldn’t have thought to pair pureed pumpkin with this dish, and I’m not saying it felt out of place, but I could have taken it or left it, to be honest.

Course 4: Strawberry candy

This final course felt like the real showstopper to me. I’m not sure what the white chocolate was exactly – maybe a block of ganache? The matcha cake on top was incredible – especially for someone who isn’t usually a fan of matcha like me, it was again quite subtle in flavour which I appreciated.

This dish also came with real strawberry pieces, strawberry sorbet, crumbly white bits (not meringue) and some hard strawberry candy. I’m not very good at describing this… thing, but it was an incredible thing and you’ll just have to take my word for it, okay?! It was sweet, decadent and delicious.

The service

As mentioned, the service was a little slow to begin with, but then we did arrive 10 minutes early, so perhaps understandable that we were just left to our own devices for a bit. Our server was perfectly lovely, and took the time (in true Six by Nico style) to explain each dish as they came out.

One little hitch at the beginning of the meal happened when our first dish came out for three of us, but the vegetarian one of us was left with nothing for a good five minutes as our server promised she’d be “right back”.

We eventually decided to start before ours went cold, and halfway through eating, the vegetarian karaage showed up and this was when the dish was explained to us. Aside from that, all our other dishes came out together, and it was a lovely, smooth experience.

When it came to drinks, I saw that mocktails were on offer, but none were actually listed – it was up to me to think of one and suggest it to the bar staff! This leaves things wide open, so in an effort to make things easy, I asked for a ‘nojito’ mocktail – which, I got. And it was very tasty, too!

Overall

Lunch at Six by Nico was a lovely, memorable experience, and it didn’t feel like I was missing out by only getting four courses instead of six. It felt like just enough! Everything I tried was absolutely delicious, with the final course being the real showstopper for me.

My family definitely enjoyed themselves, too, and were already talking about potential opportunities for coming back – perhaps to the Hanover Street venue next time. I can’t imagine being disappointed with anything from Six by Nico, so of course I’ll be back, too.

NOTE: This menu is only on for another couple of days, but you can still book!