The originally-titled Come Dine With Me is a series of features on Keeva Eats taking a look at the increasing number of Belfast restaurants offering home delivery services. First up: accessible fine dining’s Six by Nico Belfast.
Scottish-Italian chef Nico Simeone’s tasting menus usually get people talking. Having opened just over a year ago, Six by Nico’s Belfast successor has generally received favourable reviews so far, and whether it’s the regularly-changing six course tasting menu, or the affordable price of what is on the face of it a fine dining experience; it’s a concept that intrigues: fine dining at reasonable prices without the stuffiness. Well, now that Six By Nico Belfast are offering their ‘Home By Nico’ service, you absolutely can cut out the stuffiness – you can scoff your frangipane galette in your boxers, if you so wish. Let’s continue.
(The menu wot we had was)
Six by Nico Belfast
French-Inspired Menu
Artisan Bread, Oil & Balsamic
Pistou Soup (Provencal vegetables & Basil Pistou Dressing)
Classic Beef Bourguignon (Pancetta & Roasted Baby Onion)
Lyonnaise Potatoes
Petit Pois a’la Française
Tomme De Savoie Cheese (Crackers & Spiced Chutney)
Raspberry & Frangipane Galette
Cuvee Jean-Paul Rouge, Pays de Vaucluse, Rhone, France
The first thing to say about Six By Nico‘s home delivery experience is: it’s incredibly easy to make. Everything arrives neatly and clearly-labelled, and the instructions are pretty much foolproof. “Warm to a boil”, “…around 18-20 minutes”, “Top with bacon”: this is the sort of clarity that we could all do with at the moment. In terms of preparation, it’s about as hands off as you could hope for without someone actually coming into your house to cook for you – which is frowned upon. A stressful night of preparation this is not.
It is also, happily, delicious. Everything on offer on our menu hits the spot; whether it’s the comforting Pistou Soup (a warming summer vegetable soup flavoured with pesto) or the ridiculous Petit Pois a’la Française (peas with pancetta, chicken stock and butter, when they’re at home) – everything is tasty. It is quite simply A Good Meal.
Our little box of goods from SBN was £50 – they charge a £3 delivery to anywhere within five miles of their Waring Street location, and now have a contactless collection service too. £50 for two – a price which includes a cheeky little Cuvee Jean-Paul Rouge – is pretty good value, particularly given the quality of the food and the fact that it only requires reheating. They also offer a dine in for four box at £85, so, y’know – fill your boots.
The main of beef bourguignon was undoubtedly the highlight: pulled meat with a herb crumb alongside heart attack peas and spuds – what more could you ask for? It’s comfort food; with touches that most of us are unlikely to apply to our usual Friday night dinners, and it’s worth splashing out on if only to change up your regular weekend meal. We’re pretty sure Lyonnaise potatoes are normally thin slivers of potato with sliced onions, but who cares – they’re tasty taters.
The cheese and dessert courses are more than just afterthoughts, too: a chunk of semi-firm cow’s milk cheese with crackers and a very cute spiced chutney (it comes in its own little thing!), and the rasperry & frangipane galette is buttery and rich. All in all the meal left us pleasantly plump and the only effort was turning on the oven and setting a timer. It might have been nice to get a heads up of the allergens before ordering, but they’re reasonable people and you could probably just ask them (we didn’t because we’re lazy).
(Edit: Six by Nico‘s product pages now contain allergen cards on every product page before ordering. Neat!)
Regardless; there’s no fault to be had with any of the food, and the fact that it’s so easy to prepare is a welcome bonus.
Even though Six by Nico‘s dine in at home experience might not match the formula of their six course tasting menu in the restaurant, it quite literally doesn’t matter. You’re still left with the feeling of having had a special meal, and actually, most if not all of the portions are more generous as a result. You’ll probably have to get dressed up a bit to sit down to dinner – which given The Current Situation™ means ‘putting on more than just shorts’ – but that’s probably not a bad thing. They also look to have settled into a groove of rotating their Home by Nico menus – which should keep everyone talking.
Check out Six by Nico here.
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