Six By Nico Leeds review: I tried a magical new tasting menu - at a surprisingly down to earth price
Stepping through the looking glass, I found myself in Leeds city centre being handed a ‘drink me’ potion from Lewis Carroll’s beloved children’s story.
That’s how the evening begins at Six by Nico, on East Parade, where the new Mad Hatter’s Experience tasting menu has taken root like a rather eccentric tea party - six courses of nostalgia-laced fine dining inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The only thing more surreal than the edible menu and billowing dry ice? The bill: just £45 for six artful, imaginative plates.
This was utter food theatre, but stripped of the stiff upper lip. Six by Nico, known for its rotating themed menus, has gone fully surreal with this latest offering, which launched on Monday (July 14) and runs through to August 24. Designed to dazzle the senses, the menu toes a brilliant line between childlike fantasy and culinary precision.
A standout course was the third, titled ‘Paint The Roses Red’. With delicate goats cheese, artful swipes of beetroot and dots of ancho chilli, it’s playful but poised. The earthy tang of beetroot is grounded by the creamy cheese and the warmth of the pepper.
Before that, there’s ‘We’re All Mad Here’, a properly good opener: chicken fat doughnut - glossy, golden, and deeply savoury - swimming in a roast chicken jus. It sets the tone for what follows: dishes that make you pause to ask questions, then devour.
Course four, ‘Breakfast in Disguise’, is a miniature mystery in its own right. Black pudding and pollock make an unlikely duo, but are united by smoked bacon and a glowing orb of egg yolk jam. The course arrives with an edible menu perched on top of the plate - one of many visual gags throughout the night.
And then, the crescendo: ‘Jam First - Logic Later’. A sculptural plate of burnt toast delice and breakfast tea ganache arrives alongside a treasure chest leaking wisps of dry ice, only to reveal miniature jammy dodgers inside. Paired with a lively Brachetto d’Acqui, it’s almost too much fun - but the balance of bitterness in the ganache and the slightly burnt edge of the delice anchor it firmly in grown-up territory.
Not every dish leans on spectacle. The ‘Caterpillar Secret Garden’, while presented with a smoky flourish, is more introspective. It features smoked potato terrine, taramasalata and barbecued hispi cabbage. Paired with a bright Brut Cava, it was a moment of calm amid the chaos.
The penultimate course, ‘Off With His Head’, takes the boldest turn of the night: pig’s head, crisped and cubed, served with apple and mustard mousseline.
At a time when tasting menus are more often associated with eye-watering prices, the Mad Hatter’s Experience is a breath of fresh air. It invites you to be surprised. But most importantly, it invites everyone. At £45 per head - with a well-curated optional drinks pairing for £30 extra - it democratises fine dining without dumbing it down.