The six-course menus at Six by Nico are designed to take you on a journey through a particular memory, place, or idea. They’ve now launched a new ‘Land of Oz’ tasting menu, so I was intrigued to see how they’d capture the over-the-rainbow magic of a fictional world.
Themed dining experiences are tricky to pull off without falling into a world of kitsch silliness, but done right, they can be delectably creative. So how did they do?
They certainly go all-in on the Oz story.
Apparently, the chefs who developed the menu had all watched the film for inspiration, and the food remained on theme throughout. Even before getting into the main menu, we started with some ‘munchkin munchies’: two chorizo and pork croquettes with burnt pepper and espelette sauces. These made for some attractive and tasty little mouthfuls. Note that there was a veggie alternative available for this and every subsequent dish, so vegetarians are well catered for.
Our first course was a Nugget of the Yellow Brick.
I enjoyed the pretty little sweetcorn fritter served on yellow courgette slices with a punchy little saffron chilli sauce. it was sweet, crispy; and pleasingly light. One big bite and it was gone, so I was ready for course no. 2.
The Scarecrow arrived theatrically as a dish of hay-smoked pork under a vapour-filled glass cloche.
I really appreciated the interplay of the different elements and textures: sweet tender pork, tart apple, tangy fennel choucroute, and surprisingly mild peppercorns. I was also surprised at how non-smoky the meat was in taste, but as it was so delicious I still gave the dish high marks.
Course number 3 – Tin Woodman & Cowardly Lion – was part wonderful.
The goat’s cheese curd heart enveloped in a bright red plum glaze was unctuous and tasted great. But I wasn’t thrilled by the ‘liquid courage’ broth on the side, as its bitter notes were too jarring. The delicious veggie version of the broth – a sweet tomato-y concoction – was a much better pairing. Just serving the latter would make everyone happy.
The fourth course (Deadly Poppy Field) really hit a high note.
The plate of blackened miso coal fish looked gorgeous and tasted just as good. Most of all, the flavours worked fabulously together. Each forkful combining fish, coal emulsion, red pepper ketchup, and sweet chutney did a subtle dance across my tongue and made me very happy. The coal flavour by itself was less interesting, so it’s definitely the mosaic of tastes that wins.
The Wicked Witch arrived for course number 5.
This involved a juicy chicken leg and breast, rather ironically given how dried up the witch was in the original story. It was served with black onion and a parsley risotto. The veggie alternative was a charred leek, and both versions got rave reviews at our table. I thought the slightly under-seasoned risotto was the least interesting part of this course, though the rice itself was cooked perfectly.
The last course took us to the Emerald City: a vibrant green dessert with a playful cartoon-like design.
It featured a velvety apple crémeux made with white chocolate and a sweet and silky honey mousseline. The citrusy yoghurt sorbet and lemon gel on the side brought a nice contrast, making dinner’s finale a real treat.
And so we came to the end of our meal, after a leisurely and entertaining culinary journey.
It was successful in making Oz a running theme rather than aiming for a theme park vibe. Some of the Oz links had worked better than others (I wasn’t convinced by the Witch allusion in course 5), but that didn’t really matter. What really counted was that they used the concept to deliver enjoyable food in a friendly ambience.
The tasting menu is £50, with an optional matching wine menu for £38. I only sampled a few of the wines (such restraint!), but those I tasted were well paired with the food. For example, a dry white Portal de Estrela from Portugal complemented the pork beautifully and an elegant Austrian Weissburgunder was a charming companion to the fish.
All in all, Six by Nico makes fine dining fun rather than pretentious, by bringing a blend of variety, drama, and even humour to the table. I can recommend their current menu, though a new one will be coming along when the current six-week run has ended if you want to wait and see what it is. Alternatively, they also offer a six-course Sunday roast and an ongoing Monday Chippy menu, so you have choices.
The Land of Oz menu will be running until 15 December
Six By Nico
RU3, 309 Westgate Roof Terrace, Oxford OX1 1TR
Bitten were invited as guests, all views are our own
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