For many of us, the highlight of Christmas is the roast dinner in itself – we’re talking crispy roast potatoes, perfectly-cooked meats, an assortment of seasonal vegetables, a big dollop of stuffing and, of course, lashings of gravy.
But not everybody is into the traditional all the time. And, if you fancy switching things up this winter, then a Manchester restaurant is offering an ultimate festive dinner that’s unlike anything you’ll have ever had before.
Last week Six By Nico – which has sites in Spring Gardens and in Deansgate – unveiled a new six-course menu. It’s the first time it has delved into the world of festive Sunday roasts. Previously, they have created menus inspired by the likes of the Wizard of Oz and even Chippy teas.
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The six-course feast features heightened takes on everything from pigs and blankets to Brussels sprouts, and even a reimagined version of a mince pie. The Manchester Evening News headed over on the opening weekend to give it a go.
Priced at £44 per person every Sunday until January 5, you can also add to your meal with a curated cocktail pairing for £40 or a matching wine pairing £30. Intrigued as to how it would pair, I went for the cocktail selection to go with each course.
Joined by a friend, our first impressions of the first course – billed as pigs in blankets – was that it looked like nothing you’d ever have at home. “If your mum served you that on Christmas Day and said it was pigs in blankets, you’d have questions,” my companion said.
Not meant critically, it can’t be argued that it wasn’t a fair point to be made considering it looked far from the usual sausage wrapped in bacon we were both expecting. Instead, the pigs in blankets here consisted of a pork pressé with Sauerkraut, burnt onion and grain mustard.
To me, the name of the course felt a little deceiving as it really didn’t taste like pigs in blankets either – but that’s not to say it wasn’t delicious. The sharpness of the onion blended well with the smoky meat to give a really pleasing start to proceedings.
For the second course, my companion had smoked salmon with Granny Smith apple, fennel and dill, whilst, not eating fish, I swapped for the vegetarian option of ‘Roasted Turnips’ featuring a crispy egg, Pecorino Royale cheese, a turnip Veloute sauce with smoked hazelnuts.
And it’s here where things really started to get festive for me. The warmness of the dish was comforting, and the turnip matched with the cheese and hazelnuts were a delight even though the egg ended up just slightly overpowering the rest of the flavours. Cocktail wise, the course was served alongside a Winter Orchard Martini featuring vodka, dill, lime and apple which really partnered up well and brought some festivity to proceedings.
Third course involved the dreaded Brussels Sprouts. Whilst not a fan by any means of the little green things, I was willing to give it a go. Mixed with barbecue hispi cabbage, aged ewe’s cheese, pickled mushroom and black garlic emulsion, it’s certainly a new way to try it.
Sadly, neither of us were too keen on this one. Whilst I praise the chef for trying to think outside the box, it just wasn’t enough to convert us. But I’m sure it will be a delicious treat for those already on board the sprout bus. The cocktail to go with it was far better received by me and consisted of a Festive G & T featuring gin, creme de peche, tea syrup, lemon and cold brew tea – essentially a very fancy, and grown up, peach iced tea.
The fourth course was essentially what we’d all been waiting for. The Three Bird Roast (duck, chicken and turkey) was served with liver parfait, honey glazed carrot and a madeira jus. You can also get an add on ‘ultimate Yorkshire pudding’ with pork and sage stuffing to go with it, which we both did.
Honestly, it was truly a show-stopper in all the senses. The meat was succulent and flavoursome, whilst the carrot was sweet yet crispy and the Yorkshire pudding was delicious. It was truly something special that was worth the build-up for. Served alongside a Spiced Rum Punch, with brandy, lemon, honey and giner syrup, it was another beautiful match made in festive heaven.
Whilst starting to get incredibly full, the fifth course switched things up into dessert territory. The Baked Brie De Meaux featured a homemade mince pie with walnut and Peckham’s Pear. Perhaps one of the fanciest mince pies I’ve ever had (move out of the way, Tesco Finest), it was deliciously sweet with the usual flavours and spices all there yet reinforced to be something different.
Matched up with a Smoked Rosemary Royale, made with Prosecco, Cassis, and Smoked Rosemary, it was a flavoursome cocktail that helped amplify yet settle the flavours of the mince pie and balanced it all out on the palette.
The last course consisted of 55 per cent chocolate profiteroles made with Tahitian vanilla Choux au Craquelin, Chocolate Cremeux, Buttermilk Sorbet & Dulce De Leche. Again, it’s like a profiterole you’ve never seen or tasted before. Instead of soft and destructible, it was more of a cookie than anything thanks to the Craquelin with an unexpected crunch to it. But the dark chocolate and vanilla combination was a succulent way of ending the meal. And that buttermilk sorbet was truly divine.
To go with it was perhaps my favourite cocktail of them all – a Winter White Martini. Whilst essentially just Baileys, Kahlua and espresso, it was a welcome festive favourite and, again, a perfect way to end the meal.
The service we received at Six By Nico was honestly faultless. Our server knew every single ingredient of both the dishes and the cocktails, and was able to specifically outline them to us and why they were being used to enhance each other. Me and my companion were both in awe of how well they knew everything.
Never once did we feel rushed yet our plates were taken away and replaced with new cutlery in a very efficient manner. And the atmosphere was also delightful and its lovely to see a place that caters to a fine-dining crowd both in terms of its menu and its aesthetic without the matching price tag. It’s by no means a cheap night out, of course, but for what you get and how much it costs, it all feels very reasonable.
On the tables beside us were a nice mix of families and couples, which goes to show that it can be a lovely special treat out for anyone looking for something a little bit different this Christmas. And that three bird roast is definitely worth the trip alone, if you want to take my word for it.
Six By Nico’s Christmas six-course menu runs every Sunday, until January 5, at both the Spring Gardens and Deansgate venues as well as others across the country.
